Giving a push to the ST demand Eyes on 2027 Assembly polls
|
Make it an election issue. This has been the call of The Sangai Express for quite some time and now is perhaps the right time to pitchfork the ST for Meiteis demand into the limelight. A step that the Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union (MMTU) appears to have set into motion if its slogan ‘No ST, No Vote’ is anything to go by. It was in the midst of the ongoing conflict that Manipur saw activists of the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee going on a door-to-door campaign of all the elected representatives in the valley to elicit their support to the call to send the needed report sought by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry on the demand that the Meiteis be included in the ST list of the Constitution of India. The Sangai Express still stands by the argument that it is the Centre which will decide whether the Meiteis fit the bill to be included in the Scheduled list of the tribals or not, and not any pen pushers here and there who have emerged as speaking out on behalf of the Scheduled Tribes of Manipur. It was in 2013 that the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry sought the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the Meiteis to study whether the said community fits the bill to be tagged a Scheduled Tribe or not. The then Congress Government did not seem to have given it much thought, other than discussing it on the floor of the Assembly, while the BJP led Government preferred to sleep over the matter. And in between, the ST for Meiteis demand was never a major issue in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections that followed after 2013. The issue however was never given the quiet burial with the STDCM, MMTU, World Meetei Council (WMC) and others keeping it alive. Then came the May 3, 2023 Tribal Solidarity March, a rally that was ostensibly held against the order (now since struck down) of the High Court of Manipur directing the Government of Manipur to send the report sought by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry. This is where it becomes important not to forget that it is not the judiciary which can decide whether a community fits the bill to be tagged an ST or not, but Parliament. And this is exactly what the High Court of Manipur asked the State Government to do. To send the report as sought by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry. This is where the lie of staging the May 3, 2023 Solidarity March stands exposed for one and all to see. At the moment, Manipur is still reeling from the violent confrontations that broke out at Churachandpur on May 3, 2023, but this should be no reason why the ST for Meiteis demand should be given the quiet burial. The MMTU has made it clear that this demand would be made central in the next Assembly elections scheduled in the early part of 2027.
The Meiteis missed the bus to be included in the ST list, but this should be no reason why attempts shouldn’t be made to board the ST bus this time. The reality demands it and to give more teeth to this demand, it is only right that this is made a major issue when Manipur goes to polls in 2027. Reach out to the different political parties, reach out to all the potential candidates and see where they stand on the matter, take the campaign to the grassroots level. This can certainly go some way in convincing the local political figures of the need to get the Meiteis enlisted in the ST category. For those who are already in the ST list and fear their ‘quota share’ being infringed upon, it would do good for all to look at the reality. The reality is, the competition for anything, whether it is for jobs or admissions to educational institutions, should be looked at the pan India level. And Manipur can always have an internal arrangement when it comes to the State itself. A look at the Nagaland model wherein communities are divided into indigenous, backward and forward tribes should help. The journey will be long, no doubt about it, but a beginning has to be made and the coming Assembly elections is perhaps the best time to give the ST for Meiteis demand another big push and in the process make it more meaningful. Along with this, it is also important to see how the other communities can be taken on board, so that there are no misunderstandings and misgivings. This is not to say that it is in the hands of the others who are already in the ST list, to decide whether Meiteis fit the bill to be included in the ST list, but is about the need to reach out to as many people as possible. MMTU has sounded the right call and it would be interesting to see how the political parties, especially the BJP and the Congress, respond to it.
The Meiteis missed the bus to be included in the ST list, but this should be no reason why attempts shouldn’t be made to board the ST bus this time. The reality demands it and to give more teeth to this demand, it is only right that this is made a major issue when Manipur goes to polls in 2027. Reach out to the different political parties, reach out to all the potential candidates and see where they stand on the matter, take the campaign to the grassroots level. This can certainly go some way in convincing the local political figures of the need to get the Meiteis enlisted in the ST category. For those who are already in the ST list and fear their ‘quota share’ being infringed upon, it would do good for all to look at the reality. The reality is, the competition for anything, whether it is for jobs or admissions to educational institutions, should be looked at the pan India level. And Manipur can always have an internal arrangement when it comes to the State itself. A look at the Nagaland model wherein communities are divided into indigenous, backward and forward tribes should help. The journey will be long, no doubt about it, but a beginning has to be made and the coming Assembly elections is perhaps the best time to give the ST for Meiteis demand another big push and in the process make it more meaningful. Along with this, it is also important to see how the other communities can be taken on board, so that there are no misunderstandings and misgivings. This is not to say that it is in the hands of the others who are already in the ST list, to decide whether Meiteis fit the bill to be included in the ST list, but is about the need to reach out to as many people as possible. MMTU has sounded the right call and it would be interesting to see how the political parties, especially the BJP and the Congress, respond to it.