Unite in One Voice

• The greatest setback and disease for the tribes of Manipur is their division. The Nagas and the Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes are never united on any issue and the lack of unity between these two big tribal groups has been exploited time and again by the dominant Meitei community.
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• Opposing the delimitation exercise based on census 2001 directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court (SC) is the latest challenge to the tribes thrown by the dominant community. They are trying their best to deny the tribes three assembly seats likely to be added to the hill districts in “hill areas” from the valley districts based on the principle of proportionate representation as enshrined under the Constitution. The delimitation exercise ordered by the SC in respect of Manipur, which should have taken place right after the 2001 Census along with the rest of the country, is limited to realignment and adjustment of assembly constituencies. However, the Meitei community has taken a stand to deny the tribes their constitutional rights by submitting petitions and mounting political pressure to obstruct and stop the implementation of the SC’s direction.
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• The tribes have already lost 20 plus years of proportionate representation since 2001 Census and could even lose the remaining period before the next nation-wide delimitation exercise on account of the political campaign being carried out by the dominant community to deny the tribes their constitutional rights. The opposition by the dominant community can be viewed as a challenge to the tribes to test how they can fight back. If the tribes allow the dominant community to ride roughshod over this issue now, they could use the same excuse when the population figures of first census after year 2026 are published. The next census data is likely to witness tectonic demographic changes; the signs of which has started becoming evident from census 2001.
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• The dominant community, sensing the demographic change which may impact on the apportionment of proportionate representation between the valley districts and the hill districts in “hill areas” have started to blame the increase in population of the Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes to the presence of immigrants and have demanded NRC. As regards population figures of census 2001, the dominant community is not accepting the population figures of census 2001 already rectified by office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. On one pretext or other, obstructions are raised by the dominant community at every opportunity to deny the tribes their constitutional rights and this attitude is beginning to look unreasonable and is driving the tribes towards breaking point. The tribes have started questioning how long they can tolerate such devious and manipulative tactics and think of peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
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• The strategy of the dominant community has always been exclusion and not inclusion and this is driving the tribes away from thoughts of coexistence. Coexistence means sharing power, resources, and inclusive governance and development. How can the Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes be blamed for not wanting to be part of Manipur when ethnic cleansing has already taken place in Imphal, the capital city of Manipur and they are not able to return to Imphal for more than two years? They have no physical participation in the administrative, legislative and judicial organisations situated in the capital city. Carrying out administrative functions and duties through online computer systems from locations other than their place of office is a farcical exercise. No tours or physical spot inspections of works and projects are taking place as certain communities, Meitei and Chin-Kuki-Zo, cannot go to territories controlled or inhabited by warring communities and this has become the perfect recipe for furtherance of corrupt practises and non-implementation or poor outcomes of schemes, programmes and projects. How long can this sham be allowed to go on?
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• The calm prevailing now is deceptive. There is no rule of law and no assurance that chaos will not prevail again. The society is tethering at the edge of a precipice and any adverse outcome can plummet the State into the pit. The rot is setting in fast as mindsets remain intransigent and different tribal groups are thinking that the idea of Manipur as a single entity will not work anymore. This line of thought is gaining traction, as the dominant community has no desire to share power and show magnanimity. There may be leaders who may think that the best strategy is to exhaust the tribal people into submission, but this will not work as the tribal people are resilient. They will weather out the storm and bid their time. Besides, this is a bad strategy and may breed extremism.
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• Some Naga organisations have urged the Hon’ble Governor for implementation of the SC direction. Considering the influence of the dominant community over the authority and the pattern of responses witnessed in the past, mere petitions of the tribes may not be enough to make the government resolve to implement the direction of the Hon’ble SC. The apex organisation of tribes should consider stepping up their own game of applying more pressure for the authority to follow the rule of law and not bow down to political pressure of the dominant community. This could become a test for the current impartial authority under President’s rule on whether it will uphold the provision of the Constitution which the Hon’ble SC has directed for implementation or whether they will bow down to the pressure of the dominant community to pacify them at the expense of minority tribes.
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• The hour is not too late for the Chin-Kuki-Zo tribes to join the apex Naga organisations and take a stand on the issue of delimitation exercise based on census 2001 population data as the outcome of the SC direction will have its impact on the next census operation and the delimitation exercise that will follow thereafter.
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• The political thinking is changing as the Nagas are getting disappointed and dejected with the mindset of the dominant community who continue to carry out their vicious campaign of denying everything that would benefit the tribes and pay only lip service for peaceful coexistence, while all their actions betray their chicanery.
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• The dominant community have been employing every conceivable tactics to prevent benefits to the tribes in “hill areas”, besides trying to grab tribal lands from “hill areas” including making attempts to become ST, proposing to redraw district boundaries between valley and hill districts on the ground of administrative convenience to grab tribal land, attempting to extend MLR&LR Act to “hill areas” to facilitate ownership of tribal lands by non-tribals, attempting to dilute Article 371-C which protects various rights of the people living in “hill areas” to grab land, denying Sixth Schedule to “hill areas” to keep them oppressed and marginalised, and now mounting political pressure to deny implementation of a constitutional provision directed by Hon’ble SC to keep them subjugated.
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• The apex organisation of both tribal groups should unite and pitch their efforts unitedly against this latest affront of obstructing implementation of delimitation exercise based on census 2001 to test the sincerity of the dominant community on their slogan of coexistence. Although the benefit of delimitation exercise, if implemented, may witness just one election benefit, it is the stand on the principle that counts. The tribes should not be swayed by the often simplistic thinking with a self-defeatist thought that the current delimitation is too trivial a matter as the bigger delimitation exercise is just a few years away and this fight is not worth the effort. This is exactly what the dominant community is implying. Absolutely wrong! Nothing on matters of principle is too small or trivial. This is a matter of principle and the tribes have a unique opportunity to stand unitedly on an issue where they can display their solidarity to the adversary whose intention is to suppress, oppress and subjugate the tribes.
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• In the fast changing political scenario, if the two tribal groups find common goals and fight together unitedly, none of the challenges before them will be insurmountable. Burying their ego and past to work together on a common issue would increase the chances of success. Do it for the sake of solidarity!
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• Ngaranmi Shimray