The Nagas of Manipur have a right to address their pressing problems by demanding for Sixth Schedule which also does not go against the Framework Agreement.
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Ngaranmi Shimray
The much awaited Prime Minister’s visit to Manipur (currently rumoured expectation) calls for the Naga apex body and CSOs to present a memorandum to Prime Minister relating to the core problems faced by the tribes in “hill areas.”
Lately the tribes have been witnessing aggressive strategies of the Meitei people to retain their dominance over the tribes. They are asking for ST status to corner government jobs and educational seats from the existing ST and primarily to buy tribal lands in “hill areas” as a member of ST community; they are trying to encroach on tribal lands in the “hill areas” by demanding redrawing of district boundaries to amalgamate strips of foothills into the valley districts; they have proposed in the past and is doing now again to extend MLR&LR Act to “hill areas” in order to dilute legal provisions that will enable non-tribals to buy tribal lands in “hill areas” and cause alienation of tribal lands from the poor tribals; they are proposing for amendment of Article 371-C which has defined “hill areas” inter alia other safeguards aimed at encroaching tribal lands in “hill areas”; they attempted to pass three Bills in August 2015 viz - The Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, 2015, The Manipur Land Revenues & Land Reforms (7th Amendment) Bill, 2015 and The Manipur Shops & Establishment (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2015 which would be applicable to “hill areas” without referring the Bills to the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) as required under Article 371-C; in 2021 the Speaker tried to induct nine MLAs from the valley districts as members of the HAC in violation of Article 371-C of the Constitution of India to disrupt and vitiate the functioning of the HAC; they are continuing the overlapping of gram panchayat constituencies with the district council constituencies falling in “hill areas” in violation of Constitutional norms aiming at encroaching tribal lands in “hill areas”; they have scuttled the half century old demand for extension of autonomous district councils under the Sixth Schedule to prevent the tribes empowered local self government which will inter alia strengthen their customary and land holding practises; they have not allowed delimitation exercise based on 2001 census to be carried out to prevent tribals their rights to proportionate representation in the state assembly; they have prevented the proper functioning of the HAC by keeping the chairs of CM (since the late 1990’s) and Speaker (since 2007) to hinder the functioning of the HAC as per Article 371-C; they have given only 4 posts of ministers in the council of ministers to the tribal MLAs when it should have been 6 out of 12 considering that the post of CM and Speaker are always retained by them; they have located all the national and state level institutions in the valley with the exception of a few in the hill districts; they have proposed major projects/infrastructure etc mainly in the valley without maintaining equity for the “hill areas”; they have taken the lion’s share of resources/funds for the valley without allocating equitable share to the “hill areas”; they have not allowed the budget for “hill areas” to be referred to the HAC as provided under Article 371-C; they have diverted posts created for “hill areas” to the valley thereby depriving delivery of good services and proper governance to “hill areas”; and they have imposed cultural and linguistic dominance of the dominant community over the tribes by disregarding the rights of the minority tribes.
A majority of the grievances relating to land can be addressed by including “hill areas” of Manipur in Article 244(2) of the Constitution and Sixth Schedule. The autonomous district councils under Sixth Schedule in Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura have been given powers to legislate on matters relating to customary laws, land practises etc. with a legal court system. These tribal rights should be similarly given to the tribes residing in the “hill areas” of Manipur. In respect of issues relating to sharing of resources for development, political power, locating institutions/institutes, equitable distribution of projects/infrastructure, safeguards against cultural and linguistic dominance etc, it is suggested that these could be addressed by incorporating them appropriately under Article 371-C and a Presidential Order to be notified under it.
The Nagas of Manipur have been holding back in making any demands for themselves in view of their expectation of a settlement under the Framework Agreement, but given the ongoing severity of the assaults by the dominant community over tribal lands in Manipur and efforts for continuing subjugation of the tribes, it has become a critical existential crisis for the Nagas to demand for extension of the Sixth Schedule to “hill areas” to protect their lands and tribal customs. The ENPO (Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation) has already proceeded with the FNTA (Frontier Nagaland Territory Authority) to overcome their current developmental imbalance which does not go against the Framework Agreement. Similarly, the Nagas of Manipur have a right to address their pressing problems by demanding for Sixth Schedule which also does not go against the Framework Agreement.
This write up is meant for the apex Naga bodies and CSOs to prepare well ahead of time to present a comprehensive self contained memorandum to the Prime Minister of India when he visits Manipur.