Violence in Manipur

Subject :Geography

Section :Places in news

Concept :

Violence between Manipur’s Kuki tribe and the majority Meitei community continued to rage in several parts of the Manipur.

Background

Manipur was boiling since February 2023
Manipur has been restive since February when the state government launched an eviction drive seen as targeting a specific tribal group.
The drive led to protests but not on the scale of the one seen recently.
High Court’s order as a trigger point
The recent protests were triggered by the Manipur High Court’s direction to the State to pursue a 10-year-old recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the non-tribal Meitei community.
The Court’s order has brought the historical tensions between the valley-dwelling Meitei community and the state’s hill tribes to a boil.
Violence started
A ‘tribal solidarity march’ was organised by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM) against the order of the High Court.
Violent clashes broke out at various places in Manipur during the course of this march.

Which are the major communities residing in Manipur?

The State is like a football stadium with the Imphal Valley representing the playfield at the centre and the surrounding hills the galleries.
The valley, which comprises about 10% of Manipur’s landmass, is dominated by the non-tribal Meitei.
This area yields 40 of the State’s 60 MLAs.
The hills comprising 90% of the geographical area are inhabited by more than 35% recognised tribes.
This area sends only 20 MLAs to the Assembly.

Why does the Meitei community want ST status?

There has been an organised push in support of this demand since 2012, led by the Scheduled Tribes Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM).
In their plea before the High Court, it was argued that the Meitei community was recognised as a tribe before the merger of the princely state of Manipur with the Union of India in 1949.
It lost its identity as a tribe after the merger.
The demand for ST status arose from the need to preserve the community, and save the ancestral land, tradition, culture and language of the Meiteis.

As per the arguments forwarded by the community in the court:

The community has been victimised without any constitutional safeguards to date.
The Meitein/Meetei have been gradually marginalised in their ancestral land.
Their population which was 59% of the total population of Manipur in 1951 has now been reduced to 44% as per 2011 Census data.

Why are tribal groups against ST status for Meiteis?

Tribals including Nagas, Zomis, and Kukis against the ST status for Meitei.
They comprise around 40 per cent of the state’s population.TheMeiteis are a dominant group controlling the state and its apparatuses.
Hence, the claim that Meiteis need ST status to protect their culture and identity is self-defeating.
They feel the ST status to the Meiteis would lead to loss of job opportunities and allow them to acquire land in the hills and push the tribals out.
The Manipuri language of the Meiteis is included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Sections of the Meitei community — which is predominantly Hindu — are already classified under Scheduled Castes (SC) or Other Backward Classes (OBC).