Long-festering problem

Violence in Manipur reveals govt failures

The chief minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh, has said that recent violence in his state caused the death of 60 people and injured 200. In addition, 35,000 people have apparently been displaced. The security situation in the state might have improved since, with the curfew being relaxed in several districts. The immediate spark for the violence was a “tribal solidarity march” that had been taken out following a direction by the high court that the state government “shall consider the case” of putting the Meitei community on its list of Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Supreme Court has since remarked that high courts do not have the power to direct the granting of Scheduled status to a community, as that is a presidential power. Even so, the damage was done since the delicate balance of power in Manipur appeared to have been upended by the high court’s intervention.

Recorded demographic data suggests the state is almost equally divided between the Meiteis, who are predominantly Hindu and live in the Imphal Valley, and the hill tribes of the Nagas and Kukis or Zomis, who live in the high ground surrounding the valley that constitutes the majority of the state’s land area. The state is currently ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. This is not uncommon for states in the northeastern part of India, which are sometimes so dependent on financing from the Union government that the party in power in New Delhi has an inbuilt advantage in local elections. Yet there has been a significant deterioration in inter-community relations in the past decade. State politics has come to revolve around paranoia about “illegal immigration” into the state from other states (especially Nagaland, where Nagas are the majority) and from across the border with Myanmar (where members of the Kuki or Zomi community reside). The ethnic rivalry has thus taken on an insider/outsider aspect, as well as a religious aspect given that most Meiteis are Hindus and the hill tribes are members of various Christian denominations.

The political and demographic balance of the state conceals an uneasy conflict over resources, identity, and recognition. Only members of Scheduled Tribes can buy land in the hills, whereas Nagas and Kukis can buy land in the Meitei valley, which has fuelled fears in Imphal about an “influx” of outsiders. Meanwhile, many members of the hill tribes believe that the state government is pushing a Meitei agenda, especially as part of an “anti-encroachment” drive in the hill forests. Recognition of the Meiteis as ST by the state would amplify the fear of dispossession from ancestral lands among the hill tribes. Naturally, given the relative importance of government funding to the state economy, extending ST status to Meiteis might also reduce the hill tribes’ access to state patronage, and return some confidence to Meiteis who feel economically marginalised. To that extent, the need for rapid economic development in the area, especially in the central valley, is underscored by this violence so that the economic pressure on its residents is reduced. However, the central question here is one of identity and land, and one which the government has ignored for too long. A more equitable settlement that respects the requirements of all communities in the region is overdue.