Meiteis as Tribal

Lt.Col. Laishram Lokendra (Retd) *

Meitei Ethnic Dolls by Konthoujam Maikel Meetei at his 1st Solo Exhibition :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Armed with the knowledge and confidence that you Meitei are Hindu non- tribal as per what you have been taught to believe in Manipur, go to Hyderabad, Bangalore or for that matter Delhi and there you suddenly suffer the indignity of being referred to and treated as dog eating tribal of Manipur. You are taken aback and painfully try to explain that you are a chaste high class Hindu and your Gotra is Madhukallya or something like that and as per the Indian Constitution you are a general cadre Hindu supposedly at par with other Indians.

With a total disbelief the other guy says, "Oh! You are not a tribal?" To how many Indians and for how long can you keep explaining that you are not a tribal when every mainland Indian takes it for granted that you are a tribal?

Fortunate are those Meiteis who have not left their habitat Manipur and exist with a blissfully ignorant feeling that they are no longer tribal when the world around them thinks otherwise. Manorama Year Book 2013 on page 605 while giving out list of tribals in India clearly mentions Meitei as a tribal of Manipur. In fact they are only calling a spade a spade.

June 2005 I had gone with my son and daughter to Safdarjung Enclave in New Delhi to look for a room on rent for the ensuing academic year. A property dealer had taken us to a particular house and the land lady looked at us from head to toe and said, "koi dhang ka admi nahi la sakta?" The three of us didn't utter a word and left the place quietly. I was sure in my mind that even if the land lady magnanimously gave a room for my children to stay on rent they would be racially discriminated by her and her family because of our Mangoloid features and looks synonymous with tribal of North East.

When a tribal is called a tribal there is no question of suffering any indignity. It is when somebody who believes is not a tribal and then he is bracketed within the ambit of tribal, that's when he feels painfully hurt. In this regard, it would be of extreme interest to know how the Meitei MP from Inner Parliamentary Constituency of Manipur is perceived and treated by his colleagues of mainland India. Going by the fact that he was a member of the team to submit a memorandum to PM Manmohan Singh demanding Scheduled Tribe status for Meiteis, perhaps he has also gone through the indignity of being perceived as a tribal by his Indian colleagues.

Anthropologically and historically Meiteis who are indigenous early settlers of Manipur were tribals and still continue to practice tribal mores. Historically, TC Hodson in his book The Meitheis (1908) on page 8 says among others that on the occasion of the King ascending the throne (coronation) the Raja and Rani wore tribal dress. Today even after 3 centuries of having imbibed values of Hinduism and following some of their ways of worship yet Meiteis have largely not given up their animism tribal culture.

As per tradition Meiteis build their house facing east and keep their house deity Sanamahi in the south western corner of the house. Even Bamon (Brahmin) do the same and no Hindu god is worshipped inside the house itself. Then there is the ancestral clan deity with different names such as "Yumjao Lairembi" in all localities adorned with an additional tribal ensemble perhaps symbolizing tribal roots. Sanamahi temple located at 1st MR premises is officially maintained under the State temple board. At Kangla the heart of Imphal after the Assam Rifles moved out "Pakhangba Temple" has been officially constructed and rituals are being carried out from time to time.

During the lunar month of Lamta (roughly corresponding to March), on Saturdays elderly women folk carry out Saroikhangba at road intersections where offerings are made to appease spirits to keep them away during the ensuing year. Again on Sajibu Nongma Panba, first day of Lunar month of Sajibu (roughly corresponding to April) New Year offerings are made to the house deity Sanamahi and Leimarel and cooked food is offered outside the gate to Lamaba Tumaba spirits.

When a child is born the placenta is buried at home on the eastern/southern side of the house and on the 6th day Epan Thaba ritual is carried out before observing Swasti Puja. During marriage it is essential that Heijingpot ceremony is held prior to the actual conduct of the marriage itself wherein groom's party brings fruits along with eatables to the bride's residence and had together to formalize the agreement invoking God as witness to fix the marriage.

On the day of the marriage offerings are first made to Sanamahi and clan/locality deity before commencement of the marriage. The bridegroom is received and welcomed by showering parched rice on a makeshift fire at the entrance of the bride's place. Again during the conduct of Shradh ritual on the 13th day after death or while observing death anniversary, offerings are first made to house deity Sanamahi before the ritual commences.

During Holi celebration boys and girls do Thabal Chongba - dance collectively, and this carries on for days after Holi is over. Religious festival Laiharaoba or merry making with god is another tribal ritual in which the enactment of a particular tribal folk lore in tribal dress is an essential part of the ritual. These are just a few of the tribal customs/mores Meiteis still follow till date. This culture has a personality of its own, which pervades every aspect of life.

When mainland Indians, therefore, call Meitei a tribal, there should be no room for taking offence to it as they are calling a Mongoloid tribal a tribal. It is only due to reason of circumstances after Manipur merged with India and sometime in 1950 when the National Commission on Minorities inadequately/incorrectly collected/collated data based on which Meiteis were wrongly Constitutionally classified as non-tribal Hindus. In any case religion is not the criteria in this context.

Other tribal of Manipur have become Christians - so called most advanced religion of the world, as per which tribal practices/customs have been done away with since the bible does not allow it and western culture is being followed. Yet they are the recognised tribal of Manipur and Meiteis have suffered historical and Constitutional injustice now for more than half a century. Meiteis are a section of the community in Manipur convinced of the wholesomeness of its way of life and yet willing to change when faith and reason convince it that a change is necessary.

If therefore Meiteis are to live with dignity in India, the error in Indian Constitution of classifying tribal Meiteis as non-tribal should be corrected to undo the injustice done and a Constitutional provision made to provide legal protection and Constitutional safeguard to this 10 lakh odd Meiteis to exist with their customary tribal practices and rituals, by recognizing their original tribal status and declaring them as Scheduled Tribe in accordance with Article 366,342 of Indian Constitution.

It is tragic that Meiteis are projected by other tribals of Manipur as cunning non-tribal out to exploit and suppress simple, innocent tribal which is far from the truth. Further Meiteis are blamed for all the ills in their midst perhaps because the State capital Imphal which is the administrative hub and centre of economic activities of the State is seen to be developed vis-à-vis peripheral districts thereby projecting development in Manipur to be Meitei-centric which is again way off the mark and fodder for propaganda to create fissures between ethnic communities by vested interests. Perhaps we are not at war with each other but may be at conflict with Indian Constitution.

In the final analysis taking a cue from Thanglianpau Guite, General Secretary UPF who says, "perhaps the opportune time has come for all of us to think out of the box and change our parochial mindset in the interest of our collective survival"; this demand for undoing historical injustice and correcting the error from the Constitutional non-tribal status to the original scheduled tribe status to Meiteis should be the basis of a solution to our collective survival - the survival of all the indigenous people of Manipur as one fraternity, not only in India but also in this fast paced global world of 21st Century.