Ultimate chance for the elected MLAs to save the Meetei community

LB Singh
After the conversion to Hinduism in 1720 AD, Meeteis were exceptionally proud of the false belief that they were Aryans and descendants of Arjuna of the Hindu mythological epic Mahabharat. The orthodox Hindu Meeteis considered people from other religions, including the “Hill Tribes,” as “Impure (AMANGBA)” due to their utter ignorance and blind faith in the new religion. They even considered the British Officers as “AMANGBA” and carried out religious rituals for purification (SHENGDOKPA) if a British officer had entered their house.
The Meithei (Meetei/Meitei) was classified as a “Hill Tribe” in five censuses conducted by the British from 1881 to 1931 (No census wasconducted in 1891 due to the Anglo-Manipur War, and the 1941 census was significantly disrupted by World War II). The British Government of India recognized the book “The Meitheis” by the distinguished Professor of Social Anthropology, TC Hudson, ICS, and former Assistant Political Agent of Manipur, as the authoritative book on the ethnology of the Meetei/Meitei community. Further, the book “Ethnography (castes and tribes)” by Sir Athelstane Baines, published in 1912, and many other documents classified the “Meithei” as the “Forest/Hill Tribe” of Manipur. However, the Meeteis in the 1950s falsely considered themselves as belonging to the Kshatriya caste of Hindus and had the misconception that branding them as Hill Tribes would make them “Impure (AMANGBA)”.
On the other hand, the prominent Meetei social and political leaders of that time lacked foresight and were ignorant about the modern world outside the kingdom. They were also against Western education and even treated the books written by the British as “Impure (AMANGBA).” The primary school established in the valley by Reverend William Pettigrew in 1894 was compelled to shut down and shift to the hill in Ukhrul. Therefore, the Meeteis had deprived themselves of learning from Western-educated missionaries the benefits of being included in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST). The orthodox, illiterate, and ignorant Meeteis Hindus did not want to be included in the list of ST along with the other tribes. Therefore, in 1951, Meeteis neither requested inclusion in the list of ST nor objected to the exclusion from the list.
After exposure to the people of the other States and countries, and Western education for more than half a century, increasing number of Meeteis realized the following facts, even though they continued to be devoted Hindus :
· The name of the Kingdom changed to Manipur only during the reign of Maharaja Garibniwaz (1709 to 1748), and the Kingdom of Manipur mentioned in the Mahabharat was situated on the coastline, near the Mahendra Mountains. Therefore, it was not our landlocked State, Manipur.
· The Meeteis are not the descendants of Arjuna of the Mahabharata.
· Therefore, Meeteis’ belief that they were the Kshatriya caste of Hindus was wrong.
· The Meeteis are Mongoloid and not Aryans.
· The Meeteis also realized their mistake of treating people of other faiths as “Impure (AMANGBA)” due to ignorance and blind faith in the orthodox Hindu customs.
If the Meeteis of the 1950s had known the above facts, the community would have been included in the list of Scheduled Tribes, and it would have enabled the peaceful co-existence of the Nagas, Kukis, and Meeteis in harmony as ST. The State would have progressed immensely, all the land in the hill districts would have been surveyed/documented, and the Nagas and the Kukis would have cooperated in the implementation of the New Land Use Policy, 2014 (NLUP Manipur), etc. The Acts, like MLRand LR Act 1960, Section 52 of the Government of India Union Territory Act 1963, Article 371- C, and the Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972, etc., would not have divided the people in the hill and the valley. The Meeteis would have received all the special facilities of the ST, and many of them would have been in senior positions in various departments of the Government of India (GoI), and some might have even become Secretaries and Ambassadors. The perception of the Meetei youths about the attitude of the GoI towards the State would have been much more positive.
Therefore, most of the problems faced by the present generation of Meeteis, such as the acute shortage of land, financial difficulties for the higher education of their children, unemployment, etc., are due to the blunder committed by our forefathers due to ignorance. The Meeteis can now settle only in the central valley of the State, and there is a restriction for them to settle in the hill districts, which is about 90% of the geographical area of the State. The problem is compounded as many Meeteis sell their meager land to meet the expenditures for the higher education and employment of their children. Therefore, the number of landless Meeteis is rapidly increasing, and the preservation of social practices and cultural identity by the landless people would be next to impossible.
The composition of the Meitei population [excluding Pangal (Meetei Muslim)] in Manipur decreased from 58.9% in 1951 to 44.9% in the 2011 census. Meitei’s annual population growth rate is the lowest among the ethnic communities in Manipur. The childbirth rate or Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of Meetei, as per the 5th National Family Health Survey (2019-2021), was 1.77, below the critical minimum TFR value of 2.11 required by a community to sustain its survival. Therefore, the Meeteis are heading to a precarious situation, and their unique social practices and cultural identity may not survive for another century. The ST status will only provide the Meeteis with Constitutional safeguards for the protection of social practices, culture, identity, and their meager land in the central valley.
The majority of the Meeteis, including the elected MLAs, are now aware of the above facts. The mass missed call campaign was conducted from 20 November to 30 December 2023, receiving 8,70,350 missed calls, indicating their support for the inclusion of Meeteis in the list of the ST under the Constitution of India. However, the GoI would process only those proposals for inclusion/exclusion that have been recommended and justified by the concerned State Government/UT Administration.
It is against natural justice to deny the examination of the request for the inclusion of Meeteis in the ST list of Manipur by the competent authority of the GoI. Therefore, it is unethical and undemocratic for any tribal organisation to prevent forwarding of the recommendation for consideration of the competent authority by intimidation and violent means. The Meeteis have inadvertently missed the special facilities of the ST and suffered for the last 75 years due to the utter ignorance and false belief of their forefather that they were the Kshatriya caste of Hindus. Therefore, the Nagas and the Kukis should be magnanimous and endeavour to save the social practices, culture, and identity of the Meeteis by supporting their request for inclusion in the list of ST of Manipur.
The present situation demands a selfless and bold Chief Minister with unwavering determination to forward the recommendation officially to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI, due to the following challenging circumstances:
· The Union Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah, stated that the Manipur High Court’s directives to the State Government on 27 March 2023 to forward the recommendations regarding the inclusion of Meeteis in the ST list triggered the present crisis in Manipur.
· All Kuki and most Naga MLAs are opposed to the ST status of Meeteis, even though many knowledgeable Naga and Kuki individuals are not against the inclusion of Meeteis in the ST list.
· If the State Government forwards the recommendation, the divisive forces may also start disturbances in the Naga-dominated areas, and the situation in the Kuki-dominated areas may further deteriorate.
· Since the people influenced by the proponents of the Nagalim or Greater Nagaland or South Nagalim and the Kukiland or Zalengam or Zogam or Greater Mizoram will always oppose the inclusion of Meeteis in the ST list, it will be impossible to bring a consensus on the issue among the various tribes of Manipur.
· In addition to the Kukis, some Naga MLAs are likely to withdraw support to the State Government, and there may be a risk to the survival of the Government.
· The political leaders at the National level may or may not support the action of the State Government.
The GoI is likely to allow the formation of a popular State Government within one or two months by lifting the President’s Rule to give adequate time to the new Government to show appreciable improvement on the ground before the next Legislative Assembly electiondue in early 2027. However, the delimitation exercise is scheduled in 2026. Therefore, it may be the ultimate chance for the elected MLAs to save the Meetei community from extinction by forwarding recommendations for the inclusion of Meeteis in the list of ST of Manipur.
Since a selfless and bold person is required to overcome the above challenging circumstances for forwarding the recommendation officially to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI, those elected MLAs who can’t overcome the above challenging circumstances should refrain from accepting the Constitutional post of the Chief Minister of the State in the interest of the community.
In this crucial time, it will be prudent for the elected MLAs of the ruling party to select a selfless and bold Chief Minister who can overcome the challenging circumstances highlighted above and forward the recommendations officially on priority for the inclusion of Meeteis in the list of the ST within a reasonable time of the formation of a popular State Government. The gratitude of the people for initiating the steps to save the social practices, customs, and cultural identity of the Meeteis will be reflected in the next Legislative Assembly election of the State.
The writer is a retired Captain of the Indian Navy.
Email ID: bimollaishram@gmail.com.