Look beyond the coincidence : Call to delist from ST
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 29 2023 -

Sounds more like a coincidence, but the timing is significant.

Even as thousands of tribals from across the country are set to converge at New Delhi in February next year to raise the call that converted tribals should be removed from the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution, the Meitei Leepun has put forward the case that ‘illegal Kuki immigrants should be removed from the ST list.’

Does not need rocket science technology to understand why the Meitei Leepun should raise such a call at this moment, but remember the Tribal Solidarity March organised by the All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur on May 3 was staged ostensibly to protest the demand that the Meiteis be included in the ST list of the Constitution of India.

That the call for the Tribal Solidarity March rested on a false premise has already been sounded many times in this column, but it is interesting to see that the narrative, ‘ST for Meiteis’ demand may morph into a ‘delist the illegal Kuki immigrants’ from the ST list.

And given the current situation one can never say what may happen in the coming days and one wonders whether the Meitei Leepun has reached out to any of the organisations spearheading the movement that the Meiteis be included in the ST list on this count or not.

Or maybe the very call to delist the illegal immigrants may just be the first stepping stone of turning the tide against those who have been championing the lie that the May 3 rally was organised to protest the demand that the Meiteis be included in the ST list.

The call of the Meitei Leepun to delist all illegal immigrants from the ST list may also rest on the fact that the Kuki as a community was not included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Manipur State Gazette of December 5, 1956.

The said Gazette list included communities such as the Aimol, Anal, Angami, Chiru, Chothe, Gangte, Hmar, Kabui, Kacha Naga, Koireng, Kom, Lamgang, Any Mizo (Lushai), Maram, Maring, Mao, Monsang, Moyon, Paite, Purum, Ralte, Sema, Simte, Suhte, Tangkhul, Thadou, Vaiphei and Zou, but not the Kuki.

Gazette notification of 1956 and the call for a National Register of Citizens with the base year put at 1951 and if one takes the call to delist the illegal immigrants into consideration, then the logic in the call raised by the Meitei Leepun may fall into place.

It however remains to be seen whether this will remain as just another call or will gather more steam with the passing days.

Only time can tell that but to the keen observer, the significance of the point raised by the Meitei Leepun would not have gone missing.

The call to delist all tribal converts from the ST list, the call to delist all illegal immigrants, the demand that the Meiteis be included in the ST list, the ‘ST for Meiteis demand lie’ on which the May 3 Tribal Solidarity March was organised may seem different but the common thread that runs through all these is the inclusion of any community in the ST list and to Manipur it carries immense interests.

It should also not be forgotten that while the call to include the Meiteis in the ST list of the Constitution was first raised more than 10 years back, never once had it taken a violent turn.

Not once has the demand targeted any community. Differences of opinion or different takes on the matter were discussed and debated and The Sangai Express has had the opportunity to see first hand the ideas and write ups on the topic from personalities and organisations of either side.

This is one primary reason why it has been the stand of this newspaper to debunk the fiction that the May 3 rally was staged against the demand that the Meiteis be included in the ST list.

It would be interesting to see how things unfold in February but it is significant to note media reports that the call to delist all converted tribals from the ST list has the backing of the RSS.

How would things be like if the call of the Meitei Leepun to delist all illegal immigrants from the ST list also finds takers from some of the more prominent and powerful pan India organisations ?

Too early to expect any answer, but the very fact that this poser has been raised should raise the pique of the organisations which have been at the forefront demanding that the Meiteis be included in the ST list of the Constitution.