Why meiteis should not be scheduled as tribe
- Part 1 -

Kulajit Maisnam *

Before the advent of the modern nation-state, it is known that the present geo-political entity Manipur was functionally based on material conditions centered around the fertile valley and the time to time covenants and treaties made with the Meitei Monarch and the various nationalities settled in the hills, and sometimes of dominance and subjugation making some of the nationalities to pay tribute to the Meitei monarch.

And with the overpower of the entity by the British, the whole polity was restructured (the administrative division of Hills and Plains is attributed to the colonial intervention by many intellectuals) and became more exploitative to the population by introducing new 'economics'. Subsequently, Manipur was overtaken by India with no radical and accommodative structural changes in the polity of the state.

Indeed, it is very saddening to witness a once sovereign Manipur, having been annexed by India begin to resemble the opening of a pandora box where myriads of issues and conflicts of all kinds has emerged both vertically and horizontally. The horizontal conflict need not be necessarily and solely be attributed to the act of annexation by India but the annexation has cut short the organic process of a democratic nation-state formation which is supposed to be inhabited by numerous nationalities.

We have been besieged by a concrete political framework which only yield majoritarianism and nothing else, a quasi-federation (as some Indian intellectuals defines) which operates on population logic; thus establishing a power matrix where Meiteis became the 'dominant' politically with the maximum seats in the state assembly. Even though the highlands have been scheduled as tribal areas, the autonomy given to them has been minimal. Hence the expressions and aspirations of the highlanders became marginal.

This very same matrix applies to the Meiteis in relation to the mainland Indians if we look at the larger polity of Indian Union, Meitei which is a 'dominant' community in Manipur is a microscopic nationality situated politically within the Indian Union. Thus this power matrix is systematically filtered down to the village level polity creating a string of hegemonic and heretical political expressions and practices.

Apart from political dominance, the Meiteis has been the 'mainstream' and has the sense of 'superiority' socially. With the advent of Hinduism, and the practice of casteism, othering of the highlanders has been rampant and continues till today (the terminology 'hao' finds its place derogatorily in the lexicon of the Meitei society till today both openly and insidiously).

So with these socio-political processes, Meiteis became the dominating group in Manipur socially, politically and thus has been one of the major factors of hill-valley conflict which ails Manipur. This power matrix has been operational in the day to day lived experiences of the citizens of Manipur, in polity, economy and social interactions which have yielded an unequal valley centric socio-economic development.

Today the fertile valley of Manipur, home to the Meiteis, has been under a tremendous demographic changes wherein Meiteis faces the 'existential' crisis. A fear-psychosis has been shared among the populace that Meiteis will become minority in their own land as there is no regulatory mechanism to regulate the unabated migration from other parts of India. Thus to defend the population, there has been popular movements to monitor and regulate the demographic changes and land tenures.

The recent move to introduce Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) initiated in the valley spearheaded by Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) is one such assertions urging to protect the 'indigenous' people of Manipur, which ended up in an unprecedented opposition from the highlanders. It was perceived as another move by the majority Meiteis to 'encroach' upon territory of the highlands which the Meiteis does not traditionally own, and are owned in a different manner by the highlanders, and delegitimising the citizenship of the highlanders. Till today nine dead bodies remain unburied in Churachandpur signifying the opposition and resistance.

In midst of this turmoil, there has been another parallel move by few sections of Meiteis to schedule Meiteis as tribe under the Constitution of India spearheaded by Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee (STDC). The protagonists comprising of ex-servicemen, bureaucrats etc.

Claims that by scheduling Meiteis as tribes, the land, the people and its 'unique' 'glorious' culture will be constitutionally 'protected'. And there are 'freebies' attached: such as reservation policies, development funds etc. It is being argued that in the present 'political scenario' tribal status will be far 'lucrative' and 'feasible' to achieve and 'protect' the Meiteis as compared to the present Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill (PMP) 2015 and three other supplementary bills which is lying in President of India's table.

Even claims have been made to the extent that if Meiteis are scheduled as tribes and at the same time if 2015 bills turns into reality, these combination will complement each other and 'strengthen' the 'protection' provided to the Meiteis. No doubt the valley needs to be 'protected' and 'regulated' but the concern here is the possible negative dynamics within the Meitei society (yes within the Meitei society) and in relation to the highlanders if Meiteis are scheduled as tribes.

I have a strong conviction that granting of tribal status will be perceived as more 'deadly' than the ILPS by the highlanders, as it has components of job and educational reservation and of course there is always the apprehension of structural territorial 'encroachment' which we have also seen in the case of ILPS bills (though the three bills are 'debatable', the politics surrounding the three bills has to be analysed in relation to the geo-politics of the state and is beyond the preview of this write-up)

No doubt the scheduling of Meiteis as tribe is 'legit' within the bounds of the Indian Constitution and there is no concrete definition of tribe, rather it is conceptualised as comprising of various parameters which has been changing from time to time within the contours of the socio-political context. So any community falling under those parameters can legitimately claim the status and enjoy the constitutional provisions.

But why claim this 'legit' demand which will yield a possible catastrophe in the State and further strengthen the hill-valley dichotomy? For this very reason the present move needs a serious scrutiny by dissecting the movement itself and engaging with the possible ramifications. So herein the line of argument opposing the move will be not on the thesis of Meiteis crossing the stage of 'tribe' guided by the Social Darwinism which projects a linear development of society, as sometimes such arguments succumbs to labelling the contemporary tribes as non-contemporary stuck in a particular stage of societal evolution, static, or in other words 'denial of coevalness' in the words of Johannes Fabian; hence requiring 'mainstreaming'.

Rather my arguments will be more on dissecting the movement and the 'promises' espoused by the Demand Committee and the grounds for possible conflict among the various communities in Manipur and even among the Meiteis. The Movement is premised on three core 'promises': Peace, harmony and equality among the communities (undoing the constitutional division is the loose phrase the demand committee is using in achieving the said 'promise') especially the highlanders and Meiteis; freebies and job opportunities in state services; protection of land and culture of the 'unprotected' Meiteis.

First we need to identify these group of Meiteis who are demanding tribal status. The movement has been spearheading from the beginning by the 'creamy' section of the Meitei society who are well established comparatively and largely Imphalites. They include Ex-Army Men, retired Bureaucrats etc. Interestingly they are the propertied middle class unlike the standard sociological understanding of 'middle class' possessing feudal characteristics and mannerisms. Their sudden interest in ST status is quite intriguing.

It has also been said that claiming ST status is a 'temporary' 'arrangement' until Manipur determines its destiny by its own and develop a mutually respecting polity among the nationalities residing inside the state. Anyway the issue here is the proposed 'temporary' solution and its 'temporary' ramifications in the state.

I have left with no other understanding than saying that these section of Meiteis 'for the time being' sees the 'creamy layer' concept in affirmative action policies of India a road block for their 'progress' as I very much convinced that their 'promises' are mere rethorics; cannot be operationalised within the larger political economy and the geo-politics of the state.

(To be contd....)