Misinterpretation of Meitei as a Tribe in the name of indigenous people
|
Dr Arambam Birajit
Contd from previous issue
Formation of Meitei Nation is like the English Nation that was created in the early medieval period about 800 CE by unification of various small Anglo Saxon kingdoms of England because of frequent invasions by the Vikings from Denmark. Before the arrival of Christianity, they believed in paganism, an animistic belief system.
As a result of this complex unification, the key components of a civilization such as more refined culture, common Meitei language known as Meiteilon-a fusion of many dialects that were spoken by the various Salais or Clans, administrative and cultural institutions, professional specialization, urban settlement, commoners, slaves, trade & market system and defined territory had come up.
In the same manner, the British anthropologist and Asstt. Political Agent of Manipur TC Hudson mentioned very clearly in his book - “The Meitheis” that “The successive waves of foreign invasion, Shan, Burmese, English, Hindu, have each left permanent marks on the civilization of the people so that they have passed finally away from the stage of relatively primitive culture into one of comparative civilization but their ultimate homogeneity with Naga and Kukis of the hills is undoubted, and in my opinion needs no further instance”.
In fact, hill peoples had ensconced themselves in the highland regions but Meitei in the plain had incorporated many different communities in the Meitei society and polity that the identity of the Meitei as ethnos had incorporated mainland Indian Brahmins, Bengalis, Assamese, as well as Chins merged in the social composition of the Meitei community. That means Meitei as historically understood is obviously a racially mixed identity forged through complex challenges of history and substantially advanced to produce a state and civilization unique to their soil. In many ways, without considering this journey of Meitei detribalization process from prehistoric experiences to their transformation of Nation State, the claiming of being tribal status for the purpose of scheduled tribe status, clearly smacks of intellectual and academic dishonesty.
Even, as we see the differences of western and oriental civilizations with reference to modernization, technology, culture, economy and so on, some degree of comparative backwardness, mainly economic, cannot be a rational reason for Meiteis to be downgraded to tribal status.
Colonial census report, indeed mentioned Meitei as Hindu tribe in the Census report of 1931 and this has become the basis for claiming ST status by some sections of Meitei society. However, the entry does reflect their biases or conflicts between census field officers and census decision making authorities. The vivid example of this issue is that appendix page No. 220 under Sub Heading (2) Backward Tribe, Census of India 1931 volume III, Assam Part I – report by C.S. Mullan, MA, ICS mentions:- “the question of the Manipuris of Sylhet and Cachar requires special mention.
These people are descendents of persons who originally emigrated from Manipur State and settled in those districts. They form an entirely separate community–a kind of Manipuri oasis in the plains and as the census officer, Silchar, has reported :- they have their own society independent of general Hindu society. They call themselves Kshatriya by caste but have no intermarriage or dinning with Hindu of any class. They are, however, making rapid stride towards progress and education”. Mr. Grimson ICS (Former Deputy Commissioner, Cachar) who knows the Manipuris well has written as follows:- I doubt whether the Manipuris of Cachar ought to be classed as “backward”. They are intelligent and are taking to education and they are free from most of the habits (i.e. overindulgence in opium and liquor) which tend to perpetuate the backwardness of other backward classes”.
The Manipuris of Cachar and Sylhet are really a people apart – they are foreigners who have settled in a strange land have kept very much to themselves, preserving their own culture and their own language. Another peculiar fact about these Manipuris is that although the majority are devout Hindu there are also many Muslamans among them. They must, in my opinion, be considered rather as a community requiring special treatment than as a backward race”. From the above opinions of Census field officers, there is a distinct disagreement on whether the Meitei are to be enlisted as backward tribe. The colonial mindset of census decision making authorities exposed their negligence and lack of research on Meitei civilization. It is not surprising to find that, after independence, in Census 1951, Meitei have been delisted from the tribal category after scrutinizing the irregularities or misconceptions done during the colonization period. This write up is just a brief ethnography. Even this sketchy write up clearly shows that the Meitei have long out-grown their tribal social evolutionary stage. Dragging back the Meitei who have developed and attained a civilization as well as a Nation State centuries ago, to a tribal status is just like turning the clock back, distort history and disrespectful of the pride of a people who have their own script, language in the eight schedule of the constitution and have a dance form, which is one of India’s few classical dances.
Contd from previous issue
Formation of Meitei Nation is like the English Nation that was created in the early medieval period about 800 CE by unification of various small Anglo Saxon kingdoms of England because of frequent invasions by the Vikings from Denmark. Before the arrival of Christianity, they believed in paganism, an animistic belief system.
As a result of this complex unification, the key components of a civilization such as more refined culture, common Meitei language known as Meiteilon-a fusion of many dialects that were spoken by the various Salais or Clans, administrative and cultural institutions, professional specialization, urban settlement, commoners, slaves, trade & market system and defined territory had come up.
In the same manner, the British anthropologist and Asstt. Political Agent of Manipur TC Hudson mentioned very clearly in his book - “The Meitheis” that “The successive waves of foreign invasion, Shan, Burmese, English, Hindu, have each left permanent marks on the civilization of the people so that they have passed finally away from the stage of relatively primitive culture into one of comparative civilization but their ultimate homogeneity with Naga and Kukis of the hills is undoubted, and in my opinion needs no further instance”.
In fact, hill peoples had ensconced themselves in the highland regions but Meitei in the plain had incorporated many different communities in the Meitei society and polity that the identity of the Meitei as ethnos had incorporated mainland Indian Brahmins, Bengalis, Assamese, as well as Chins merged in the social composition of the Meitei community. That means Meitei as historically understood is obviously a racially mixed identity forged through complex challenges of history and substantially advanced to produce a state and civilization unique to their soil. In many ways, without considering this journey of Meitei detribalization process from prehistoric experiences to their transformation of Nation State, the claiming of being tribal status for the purpose of scheduled tribe status, clearly smacks of intellectual and academic dishonesty.
Even, as we see the differences of western and oriental civilizations with reference to modernization, technology, culture, economy and so on, some degree of comparative backwardness, mainly economic, cannot be a rational reason for Meiteis to be downgraded to tribal status.
Colonial census report, indeed mentioned Meitei as Hindu tribe in the Census report of 1931 and this has become the basis for claiming ST status by some sections of Meitei society. However, the entry does reflect their biases or conflicts between census field officers and census decision making authorities. The vivid example of this issue is that appendix page No. 220 under Sub Heading (2) Backward Tribe, Census of India 1931 volume III, Assam Part I – report by C.S. Mullan, MA, ICS mentions:- “the question of the Manipuris of Sylhet and Cachar requires special mention.
These people are descendents of persons who originally emigrated from Manipur State and settled in those districts. They form an entirely separate community–a kind of Manipuri oasis in the plains and as the census officer, Silchar, has reported :- they have their own society independent of general Hindu society. They call themselves Kshatriya by caste but have no intermarriage or dinning with Hindu of any class. They are, however, making rapid stride towards progress and education”. Mr. Grimson ICS (Former Deputy Commissioner, Cachar) who knows the Manipuris well has written as follows:- I doubt whether the Manipuris of Cachar ought to be classed as “backward”. They are intelligent and are taking to education and they are free from most of the habits (i.e. overindulgence in opium and liquor) which tend to perpetuate the backwardness of other backward classes”.
The Manipuris of Cachar and Sylhet are really a people apart – they are foreigners who have settled in a strange land have kept very much to themselves, preserving their own culture and their own language. Another peculiar fact about these Manipuris is that although the majority are devout Hindu there are also many Muslamans among them. They must, in my opinion, be considered rather as a community requiring special treatment than as a backward race”. From the above opinions of Census field officers, there is a distinct disagreement on whether the Meitei are to be enlisted as backward tribe. The colonial mindset of census decision making authorities exposed their negligence and lack of research on Meitei civilization. It is not surprising to find that, after independence, in Census 1951, Meitei have been delisted from the tribal category after scrutinizing the irregularities or misconceptions done during the colonization period. This write up is just a brief ethnography. Even this sketchy write up clearly shows that the Meitei have long out-grown their tribal social evolutionary stage. Dragging back the Meitei who have developed and attained a civilization as well as a Nation State centuries ago, to a tribal status is just like turning the clock back, distort history and disrespectful of the pride of a people who have their own script, language in the eight schedule of the constitution and have a dance form, which is one of India’s few classical dances.