MMTU justifies ST demand, cites historical oversight
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 27 2025: The Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union (MMTU) has intensified its national campaign demanding the restoration of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Meetei community under Article 342(1) of the Indian Constitution, asserting that the community was historically recognised as a hill tribe by the British authorities and deserves restoration, not fresh inclusion.

Informing this, a MMTU statement said that as part of the campaign, an MMTU delegation is meeting national political, religious, and Adivasi/Scheduled Tribe leaders across India.

Many leaders have agreed that the Meeteis' demand should be viewed as a matter of rightful restoration rather than a new claim, the union said.

MMTU cited extensive colonial-era documentation to support its claim, stating that the British administration had categorised the Meetei as a forest or hill tribe following the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891 .

The press release referred to the General Report of the Census of India, 1891 by JA Baines, which identified Meetei as Hindu practising hill tribes, and the Census of India, 1891 (Assam) by EA Gait, which also made similar references.

In his 1912 publication Ethnography (Castes and Tribes), Baines again described Meetei as Hindu Hill tribe.

Further support literature includes TC Hudson's The Meitheis (1908), officially commissioned by the British Indian government, which noted that Meetei originally lived in the hills before settling in the plains and adopting Hinduism around 1720.MMTU also pointed to successive census records - the 1921 Census Report by GT Lloyd and the 1931 Census Report by CS Mulla - in which Meeteis were listed as the first among selected hill tribes in the Assam Province, including Manipur.

While the 1941 census was not published due to World War II, the 1931 record remains the last available official categorisation under British India, where Meeteis were still listed as a hill tribe.

The union also highlighted a critical administrative juncture just before the implementation of the Indian Consti tution in 1950 .

On April 28, 1949, the Ministry of States had asked the then self-governing Manipur government, led by Maharaja Bodhchandra and 'Dewan' MK Priyobarta, to recommend communities for inclusion in Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste lists.

On June 6, 1949, Priyobarta submitted 24 tribes for ST and two for SC status, but Meetei were not on either list.

This omission, MMTU argues, was a result of the prevailing societal belief among some Meetei leaders that ST status would degrade the community.

At the time, there was also no clarity on Manipur's political future regarding its merger with India, which was for malised later through the Instrument of Accession in August 1947 and the Merger Agreement in September 1949 .

Subsequently, based on a complaint from certain Kuki-Zo groups, NK Rustamji, the then advisor to the Governor of Assam, advised against implementing the June 6 list.

He instead recommended recognising only "Nagas, Kuki and Mizos" .

Following this, the first ST list for Manipur, published on September 20, 1951, included 'Any Kuki Tribe, Any Lushai Tribe, Any Naga Tribe", leaving out Meetei entirely.

MMTU contended that this was a historical injustice, as even tribes ranked lower in the 1931 census list were later granted ST status, while Meetei, listed first, were excluded.

The union maintained that Meetei community rightfully deserves restoration of their hill tribe status as recognised under British India and called upon the Government of India to rectify the long-standing omission through constitutional remedy.

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