Ensuring the sanctity of Manipur :: ST : Protecting the Meiteis
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 15, 2024 -

The tasks before Imphal should be clear and going about addressing the tasks must be accompanied by a vision, a vision that seeks to see where one would like to see Manipur 10/20/30 years down the line.

And this vision should be guided by the fact that the Meitei community is intrinsic to the understanding of Manipur as a distinct geopolitical reality.

A recall may be in line here.

It was only some time back that Chief Minister N Biren himself had admitted publicly that in all instances it is the Meiteis which have identified themselves with the existence of Manipur and this logic should also be understood in the context of the growing pressure on the Meiteis and in the face of this pressure, the growing demand for some sort of a Constitutional protection.

This is where the demand that the Meiteis be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India gains credence.

It was with a reason why the World Meetei Council had urged the Government to adopt a resolution to this effect during the recently held Budget session of the State Assembly and one wonders why this has been swept aside so non-chalantly.

The sense of urgency in the stand of the WMC should be understood in the context of the delimitation exercise which is most likely to be held in 2026.

It is only in the State Assembly where the presence of the Meiteis can be felt prominently but this can go for a big toss once the delimitation exercise is held and any of the 40 seats which are open at the moment may be included amongst the ST reserved seats.

Keep the reality in mind. The fact is, once any seat from the 40 in the valley is tagged as an ST reserved AC, then no Meitei will be allowed to contest the election there.

As things stand right now, no Meitei can contest in any of the 20 seats reserved for the STs while any tribal candidate can contest in any of the 60 Assembly seats, except maybe the lone seat kept aside for the Scheduled Caste.

It is keeping this fact in mind that the WMC has given more thrust to the demand that the State Government send the report sought by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry to see if the Meiteis can be included in the ST list or not.

If the Meiteis do not fulfil the criteria to be included in the ST list, then let the Centre say so.

Mindlessly opposing the ST for Meiteis demand that they do not fulfil the criteria is at best nothing but dry arguments.

And remaining indifferent to the demand, as the State Government has done so far, would mean overseeing the annihilation of the Meitei community.

The past should be enough lesson for the present BJP led Government to understand.

It was back in 2013 that the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs had sought the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the Meiteis, but the then Congress Government kept it, in cold storage down, the years, a trend which the BJP led Government has been carrying forward.

This runs against the grain of the fact that while the present BJP led Government has not hesitated in pointing the finger of accusation at the past Governments of the Congress for every ill afflicting Manipur, it has not bothered to act on its wisdom when the question over the survival of the Meiteis has been laid down so succinctly by the ST for Meiteis champions such as the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur (STDCM), the Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union (MMTU), the WMC and others.

Let better counsel prevail. Send the report, as sought back in 2013 and let Delhi decide.

Imphal should come around to the fact that the survival of the Meiteis is crucial for the continued existence of Manipur as a distinct geo-political reality and this is where the importance of recalling what the Chief Minister had publicly said some time back, that it is the Meiteis only which have stood by the understanding of Manipur, becomes extremely important.

That the Meiteis are a tribal group cannot be contested and it is only right that it be included in the Scheduled list of the tribal communities. Ensuring the future and safety of Manipur invariably involves ensuring Constitutional protection of the Meiteis and that can come with including the ethnic group in the ST list of the Constitution.