Rights, Privileges, Safeguards and Protections for the Scheduled Tribes of Manipur

K. Yugindro Singh *

The following are the rights, privileges, safeguards, and protections being enjoyed the Scheduled Tribes of Manipur under various constitutional provisions, acts and schemes of the Government of India:

I. SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR THE SCHEDULED TRIBES OF MANIPUR

1. Article 371C of the Constitution of India: This is a special provision with respect to the State of Manipur for establishing a Hill Areas Committee and for overseeing the administration of the Hill Areas of Manipur. This Article was inserted into the Constitution of India by the Constitution (27th Amendment) Act, 1971 w.e.f. 15-2-1972.

Section 52 of the Union Territory Act, 1963 (existing before 1971) is the progenitor of both Article 371C of the Constitution of India and the Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972. Section 52 of the then Union Territory Act, 1963 (existing before 1971) was deleted by the North-Eastern (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 (Act 81 of 1971, section 75).

2. The Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972: This is a Presidential Order issued on 20-6-1972 under Clause (1) of Article 371C of the Constitution of India. This order empowers the Hill Areas Committee to oversee all scheduled matters relating to Hill Areas of Manipur and to protect and safeguard the interest of the tribals living in the wholly or partly situated Hill Areas of Manipur. The First Schedule of this Presidential Order specifies the Hill Areas of Manipur.

3. The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971: This Act enacted on 26-12-1971 provides for establishment of autonomous District Councils in the hill areas of Manipur, allowing for self-governance. These councils have the power to administer and govern the hill areas by making laws on various subjects, inter-alia, Land Management, Education, Healthcare and Economic Development.

4. The Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act, 1956: This Act enacted on 22-12-1956 deals with the constitution and functions of Village Authorities in the Hill Areas of Manipur and the Administration of Justice by the Village Authorities. This Act focusses on village-level governance.

5. The Manipur Land Reforms and Land Revenue (MLR & LR) Act, 1960: Sub-section(2) of Section 1 of the MLR & LR Act, 1960 states that the Act extends to the whole of the State of Manipur except the hill areas thereby spelling out clearly that the Act is not operational in the hill areas which constitutes about 92% of the total land areas of Manipur. Implicitly, the MLR & RL Act, 1960 which was enacted on 13-9-1960 is operational only in the central valley. Further, section158 of the MLR&RL Act, 1960 prohibits selling of lands owned by a member of Scheduled Tribes to any non-tribal individual without proper authorization.

6. Section 10(26) of the Income Tax Act, 1961: Section 10(26) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides exemption from income tax to the members of Scheduled Tribes of Manipur on any income which accrues or arises from any source, thus saving every year crores of Rupees which are to be paid as Income Tax to the Government of India, had they been not Scheduled Tribes.

7. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: This act safeguards people belonging to SC and ST communities whenever any atrocity has been committed including loss of life and damage to the property.

II. CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS FOR THE SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA

The Constitution of India provides several provisions to protect people belonging to Scheduled Tribes. Some of the important provisions, inter-alia, are:

i. Article 15: It pertains to prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and allows the State to make special provisions for advancement of weaker sections including Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs);

ii. Article 16: It pertains to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment and it allows the state to make any provision for reservation in matters of appointment and promotion for weaker sections including SCs and STs;

iii. Article 23(1): It pertains to prohibition of traffic in human beings and beggar and other similar forms of forced labour;

iv. Article 29(1): It pertains to interest of minorities which includes conservation of language, script or culture;

v. Article 46: It pertains to promotion of educational and economic interests of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other weaker sections;

vi. Article 335: It addresses the claims of SCs and STs to services and posts;

vii. Article 338A: It pertains to National Commission for Scheduled Tribes regarding its constitution, powers and functions.

II. MULTI-PRONGED STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEDULED TRIBES IN INDIA

The Government of India has adopted a multi-pronged strategy for overall development and mainstreaming of tribal people in the country, which includes support for education, health, sanitation, water supply, skill development, livelihood, infrastructure, etc.

Major part of infrastructure development and provision of basic amenities in tribal areas / regions in the country is carried out through various schemes / programmes of concerned Central Ministries and the State Governments concerned, while the Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides additive to these initiatives by way of plugging critical gaps.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India has been implementing several programmes/schemes for the benefit of scheduled tribe people. These, inter-alia, are:

i. Scheme of Girls & Boys Hostels for STs: Under the scheme, Central assistance is given to States / UTs / Universities for construction of new hostel buildings and / or extension of existing hostels.

ii. Scheme of Ashram Schools in Tribal Areas: The objective of the scheme is to provide residential schools for ST children to increase the literacy rate among the tribal students and to bring them at par with other population of the country.

iii. Scheme for Strengthening Education among ST Girls in Low Literacy districts: This scheme is being implemented in 54 identified low literacy districts where the ST population is 25% or more, and ST female literacy rate is below 35%, or its fractions, as per 2001 census.

iv. Scholarships for ST students: In order to maximize retention of ST students within various stages of school education and promoting higher learning, monetary incentives are provided by Ministry of Tribal Affairs in the form of scholarships such as Pre Matric Scholarship, Post Matric Scholarship, National Overseas Scholarship, Scholarship for Top Class Education and Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship for ST students.

v. Tribal Research Institute (TRI): Tribal Research Institute (TRI) is the research body of the Ministry of Tribal affairs at state level. It is envisaged that TRIs should focus on their core responsibilities as body of knowledge & research more or less as a think tank for tribal development, preservation of tribal cultural heritage, providing inputs to States for evidence based planning and appropriate legislations, capacity building of tribals and persons/institutions associated with tribal affairs, dissemination of information and creation of awareness. There are 28 Tribal Research Institute (TRIs) across the country including a TRI in Manipur.

vi. Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Scheme (SCA to TSS): It is 100% grant from Government of India. Its objective is to bridge the gap between Scheduled Tribes (ST) population and others by providing support for education, health, sanitation, water supply, livelihood, skill development, minor infrastructure etc. It is a flexible scheme and supplements the efforts of the line Ministries/Departments.

vii. Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution: It is 100% grant from Government of India. Funding under this programme is to enable the State to meet the cost of such schemes of development as may be undertaken by the State for the purpose of promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes in that State or raising the level of administration of Scheduled Areas therein to that of the administration of the rest of the areas of that State. Funds are provided to States for various sectoral interventions.

viii. NSTFDC Schemes for Economic Upliftment: The National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides several schemes including Term Loan, Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran ,Yojana Adivasi Shiksha Rinn Yojana etc. for economic upliftment of the Scheduled Tribes of the State.

ix. Scheme for Development of PVTGs: The scheme for development of The dedicated Scheme of Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) aims at planning for the socio-economic development of the PVTGs in a comprehensive manner while retaining the culture and heritage of the community by adopting habitat development approach and intervening in all spheres of their social and economic life, so that a visible impact is made in improvement of the quality of life of PVTGs.

Some of the important schemes/programmes being implemented by Ministry of Tribal Affairs for Scheduled Tribes across the country are:

(i) Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub Scheme (TSS);
(ii)Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of India;
(iii) National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education of ST students;
(iv) National Overseas Scholarship for ST Students;
(v) Pre-Matric Scholarship for ST students;
(vi) Post Matric Scholarship for ST students;
(vii) Girls & Boys Hostels for STs;
(viii) Ashram Schools in Tribal Sub-Plan Area;
(ix) Vocational Training in Tribal Areas;
(x) Equity Support to National /State Scheduled Tribe Finance and Development Corporations;
(xi) Institutional support for Development and Marketing of Tribal Products / Produce;
(xii) Support to Tribal Research Institutes; (xiii) Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs);
(xiv) Grants-in-Aid to Voluntary Organisations working for the welfare of STs;
(xv) Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP);
(xvi) Tribal Festival, Research, Information and Mass Education;
(xvii) Development Programmes in the Tribal Areas(EAP);
(xviii) Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana.

Notably, every year, the Scheduled Tribes of Manipur have been receiving financial assistance in terms of crores of Rupees from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India through various welfare schemes of the Ministry apart from enjoying the benefits of 31% reservation in appointment to posts under the Government of Manipur and a number of scholarships awarded by the Ministry.