Distributive Injustice

Seram Neken *

"A few select group of people among the tribal population have been reaping the fruits of reservations and of leaked funds out of the development schemes meant to uplift the scheduled tribes. The real beneficiaries residing in the remote and under-developed villages of Manipur can hardly get what have been provided to them and for them.

We have apparently seen formation of an elite well-off community within scheduled tribes who can amass properties and status in the name of backwardness. The growth has been vertical while social justice demands horizontal progress among the downtrodden.

The vast difference of status between the well-benefited and un-benefited tribal population has proved beyond doubt that reservations have turned social injustice."
– Writes Seram Neken

The framers of the Indian Constitution were of the view that certain communities in the country were suffering from extreme social, educational and economic backwardness due to age-old practice of untouchability, caste system, their primitive agricultural practices, lack of infrastructure facilities and geographical isolation.

They needed special consideration for safeguarding their interests and for their accelerated socio-economic growth. These communities were notified as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution. The president of India and the parliament have been empowered to include, exclude or enlist a particular tribe as scheduled tribe on certain defined criteria.

Special safeguards have been provided in favour of scheduled tribes under the various provisions of the constitution. Article 330 and 332 of Indian constitution provide for reservation of seats in union and state legislatures for the scheduled tribes in proportion to its share of population to the whole population.

Article 335 provides for consideration of claims to services and posts in consistent with maintenance of administrative efficiency. There is also a National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes to safeguard their interests under the various laws of the state. However, the ground reality is that real beneficiaries do not get the benefits meant for them.

In Manipur, we have 29 notified scheduled tribes. As per the 2001 Census, in the state's total population of 2,166,788, scheduled tribes contributed 741,141. It is said that Thadou community has the largest population representing 24.6 per cent of the state's total ST population, followed by Tangkhul with 19.7 percent and Kabui with 11.1 percent.

The ST population in Manipur is predominantly rural with 95.3 per cent rural and 4.7 per cent urban. The Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Churachandpur, and Chandel are predominantly tribal populated districts with more than 90 per cent of the district's population as scheduled tribe population. (Source: Office of the Registrar General, India)

The growth and development of the hill areas and among the hill brethrens have been extremely vertical as against horizontal, which the constitution of India aimed to bring about during its making more than a century ago. A few educated and well-to-do among the tribal population have been reaping the fruits of reservations meant to uplift the downtrodden, thereby excluding the huge poor and backward population residing in remote and most inconvenient areas of the state.

There are exemplary families among the scheduled tribes which have produced 5-6 IAS and IPS officers under the reservation scheme. The poor becomes poorer, the backward becomes more backward while the wealthier becomes wealthier day by day. Many well to do tribal families have established well and secured settings in the foreign countries and in metro cities of India, in the quest for the highest living standard and wealthiest among them.

They provide their wards with the best education in the best schools and colleges and universities. They are academically, economically, socially, politically well off. There have been inter-marriages among them and tendencies also to groom a well-off community within their own tribe. They remain reaping the fruits of job reservations, scholarships etc.

The ground reality is pathetic in the sense that the backward common people among the tribal groups are in no position to compete with such creamy, advanced and well-to-do tribals who rose to the position by reaping the reservation benefits of the state.

In most tribal villages, the so called village chiefs exercise their arbitration on land properties by taking undue advantage of the customary land management system which has been in vogue. The system is seen to be strictly dictatorial among most Kuki-chin-zomi-mizo groups while the Naga-kabui-tangkhul-mao groups are somewhat democratic in land distribution and management.

The common and backward members of tribal community in remote areas do not practically enjoy the democratic way of life. During times of elections also, they are not free to exercise their franchise. It is alleged that armed groups, chieftains etc. often make them vote for the intended candidate as against their wishes.

There are also a lot of tribal people who don't follow Christianity and who follow their age-old tribal faith. They are also looked down upon by their brethrens who follow the major religion. Gradual and spatial revolts of the downtrodden tribal people against the chiefs and leaders are not totally unseen among the tribal groups.

However, such uprisings are often subdued with the arbitration and dictatorial control of the village chiefs. This has been mainly possible because the state control and its land reforms laws do not bind them seriously.

Moreover, a large portion of the huge funds poured into for improving the infrastructure and living standard of hill people have been siphoned off paving the way for the elite class to become wealthier day by day. Most contractors, engineers, political leaders and unlawful armed groups operating in hill areas have been collaborating to extract the maximum for themselves while ignoring the real beneficiaries.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (MNREGS), Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana (MPGSY), other schemes and programmes of the Tribal Development Departments etc. do not reach the real targets.

The educational institutions in hills are bereft of buildings and students, not to talk of teaching staff. Moreover, the teachers for the hill institutions who have been recruited from among the well-off non-tribal and tribal population in the valley areas prefer to stay home by engaging even illiterate substitutes only to put signatures on the attendance register. Many are thus enjoying the benefits of backwardness and under-development of the tribal population.

Reservation should be an opportunity for the downtrodden and it should have limitations too. Those who extract opportunities should be vigilantly dealt with by limitations provided in the statutes. The scheduled tribe status needs to be updated regularly on some defined criteria as the OBC status similarly is validated every year.

The reservation opportunity is availed of during recruitment, promotion and scholarship. However, it must be noted that a person can get the reservation benefits of recruitment and promotion for once in lifetime. If there were any claim for job reservation and promotion benefit, it should be one time for a person. The facility should not be provided again and again. The law has to deal with such extra-reaping.

Growth can come only by increasing capacity and improving infrastructure whereas reservation only divides existing available resources. Reservation in Manipur has existed for years, but no real progress among the downtrodden tribal population is seen. Gujarat, Haryana, Maharastra and Punjab were able to prosper even without exorbitant reservations for decades.

States with high percentage of reservation does not show any significant growth difference in comparison with states which does not follow high percentage of reservation.

Even if the constitution speaks of ceasing the reservation after seventy years of its commencement, there is also fear that reservation once introduced will never be withdrawn due to political issues.

(This article is filed under R.K Maipaksana Journalist Fellowship)