Circumstances that appears to be symptoms of policy
paralysis is discussed to enable readers to decide whether it may not be
totally wrong to conclude that tribals are slowly losing their sharpness.
Spontaneity is missing in the actions of Nagas whenever
situation calls for taking urgent decision without inordinate delay. Take for
instance the scrapping of FMR (Free Movement Regime) and border fencing issues.
Mr N Biren Singh, as Chief Minister of Manipur, had urged the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) on September 23, 2023 to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR)
between India and Myanmar and construct border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar
border. MHA took four months to consider the proposal and announced its
decision on 8th February 2024 that FMR has been scrapped to ensure the internal
security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s
North Eastern States bordering Myanmar. Two days ahead on 6th February 2024 MHA
had announced its decision to fence the Indo-Myanmar border.
In Nagaland, where several tribes share social, economic,
traditional and cultural heritage with their brethren across the border
compared to only one Naga tribe in Manipur, there was hardly any protest from
the Naga CSOs, political parties and public of the nature currently being
witnessed. Now, in 2025, i.e. one year after decision by MHA, a crescendo of
protests is reverberating across Nagaland and Manipur. Protests at this stage,
when decisions taken more than a year back are being implemented on ground, is
meaningless. These protests may not yield any result as MHA will not roll back
its decisions unless heaven falls. The protests are more or less symbolic for
the slumbering Naga bodies to absolve themselves from their omission and redeem
their self respect. Take, for example, another case of stupor from the Naga
CSOs of Manipur. While the tribal-hill district of Churachandpur erupted on
August 31, 2015 on the decision state legislature passing the Protection of
Manipur People Bill, 2015, and two amendments in the Manipur Land Revenue and
Land Reforms (7th Amendment) Bill and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (2nd
Amendment) Bill, the Naga districts reaction was more or less subdued even if
it seriously affected the Nagas too as these laws encroached into the rights of
the tribals in “hill areas” safeguarded by Article 371-C.
Further, in the current ongoing ethnic conflict between the
Meitei community and the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar tribes, when the issue of Manipur High
Court’s Oral order dated 27th March 2024 favouring ST status for Meitei
community became public only on 19th April 2023 and triggered the clashes on
3rd May 2023 during the Tribal Students’ Solidarity March, the Nagas stayed
befuddled. The Nagas did not react to the violence perpetrated on the
Kuki-Zomi-Hmar tribes by the Meiteis in Imphal. No Naga CSOs, leaders or bodies
condemned the violence or pleaded for calm and peace to both parties.
Today, the tribes are faced with threats from the Meiteis
community over designs of grabbing tribal lands in the “hill areas”, but there
are no concerted efforts by both the group of tribes to counter it through
representations against the multi-pronged attack of Meitei leadership to grab
tribal lands by:
1) trying to become ST so that they can buy land from
another ST with a favourable Order from the Manipur High Court through deceit
and legal manipulations;
(2) proposed redrawing of district boundaries between valley
districts and hill districts to amalgamate portions of “hill areas” with valley
districts in the guise of administrative convenience; proposal for amendment of
Article 371-C to blur the boundaries between valley and “hill areas” and dilute
the powers and functions of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC);
(3) attempt to sabotage the working of the HAC given for
“hill areas” under Article 371-C by an order of the Speaker in September 2021
(now withdrawn) inducting 9 MLAs from the valley districts (non-hill areas) in
the HAC; and
(4) provocative suggestions for amendment of the MLR&LR
Act to extend it to hill areas with designs to usurp tribal lands by
manipulation of law and monetary inducement.
All these strategies solely aimed at grabbing tribal lands
is a serious threat given the fact that the Meitei community has 40 MLAs out of
60 in the Assembly and controls the state government.
Furthermore, a number of Meitei leaders are openly opposing
the directive of the Supreme Court for implementation of delimitation based on
Census 2001 within three months, but the various tribal bodies, who are likely
to be benefited by three additional number of MLA seats, have been keeping mum.
The tribal bodies and leaders should be submitting representations to the
Delimitation Commission, MHA, Governor etc. urging them to ensure that “rule of
law” should be implemented and upheld in Manipur. It should be pointed out
clearly that the dominant community should not be allowed to deny the tribes
their rights under the Constitution.
The dominant community of Manipur has always been following
such strategy of opposing everything that benefits the tribes and manipulating
everything in their favour by majoritarian politics. The tribal bodies should
fight back and carry out awareness campaigns in the hill district headquarters
to educate the tribes of their rights. They should not make the familiar
mistake of lying back and doing nothing while their opponents are working overtime
to sabotage the decision of the Supreme Court. The silence of tribal bodies on
all these issues is deafening. The slow and sluggish reaction/response begs a
question whether policy paralysis has afflicted tribal leaders. Has decades of
gradual stranglehold by extraneous forces over the tribal voices numbed the
brains of tribal leaders? You decide. Citizens should, however, urge their
leaders to petition various authorities to fight for the rights of the tribes
of Manipur and Nagaland and not allow the oppressive forces to win.
