In pursuit of ST tag for Meiteis Think of the future
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Are the Meiteis more advanced than the Meena tribe of Rajasthan or the aboriginal Tripuris ? Are the Meiteis more advanced than the six communities of Assam, for whom the nod has been given for including them in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India ? The communities of Assam tagged to be Scheduled Tribes are the Adivasis, Chutia, Koch-Rajbongshi, Matak, Moran and Tai-Ahom. Should getting the ST tag be viewed only within the State of Manipur or countrywide ? These are questions relevant to the present when voices of opposition have been raised from some quarters belonging to the groups which are already included in the ST list of the Constitution as well as from among some sections of the Meitei community. The time is not opportune to give more push to the ST demand, is one of supposed reasoning that one hears, but the important point to note is the fact that getting the ST tag is a long and cumbersome task, a rough detail of which has been spelt out by the World Meetei Council a few days back. The first step is for the State Government to send the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the Meiteis to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, with the recommendation that the Meiteis be included in the ST list. The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has already sought the report from the State Government as way back as in 2013 but for reasons which have not been spelt out, this has been kept in the cold storage. Next the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry should send its report to the Registrar General of India and the RGI should report back to the Tribal Affairs Ministry. The report is then to be tabled before the Union Cabinet and if accepted then Parliament will have to amend the Constitution to include the Meiteis in the ST list. A long and cumbersome process, if one may add and it is precisely because of this that a sense of urgency has been added to the call for the State Government to send the report before the next Delimitation exercise is carried out, which is expected to be by 2026. And what happens if the valley seats are adjusted to be included in the Assembly Constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Tribes is the question that has been raised. Everyone knows of the plight of the people of the eight Assembly segments that fall within the reserved Outer Parliamentary Constituency. A classic case of getting the right to vote but denied the right to contest the election and this has been the story of Manipur in every Parliamentary elections. Now what happens if this situation comes true in the case of Assembly elections ? A distinct possibility this is and it was with a design why some areas in the hill districts witnessed abnormal population growth in the 2002 Census.
Meiteis missed the ST bus a long time back, but given that new communities are being added to the list, there is no reason why the Meiteis should not throw its hat into the ring now. The Meitei community possesses all the traits of a tribal and the only thing left is to be included in the Scheduled list. As a community Meiteis continue to worship nature, best exemplified by the annual observance of Lai Haraoba. The socio-economic conditions of the Meiteis should not be understood only by looking at some of the suited, booted class who live in pucca buildings and stay in Imphal. Go and take a look at how the Meiteis continue to survive at the foothills. Look at the Meitei villages, the soul of Manipur. The demand for ST categorisation should continue and if anyone is under the impression that the Meiteis are a developed community who have passed the stage to be tagged a Scheduled tribe, then why raise such an opposition to sending the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the Meiteis along with a recommendation to the Centre ? If the Meiteis do not fulfil the criteria to be tagged a Scheduled Tribe, then let the Centre decide that. This cannot be decided by just opposing the ST for Meiteis demand. And remember the ST categorisation should be viewed and understood in the pan India context and not viewed only through the prism of Manipur. Why was no voice of opposition raised by the STs of Manipur when the decision to grant the ST tag on the six communities of Assam was taken ?
Meiteis missed the ST bus a long time back, but given that new communities are being added to the list, there is no reason why the Meiteis should not throw its hat into the ring now. The Meitei community possesses all the traits of a tribal and the only thing left is to be included in the Scheduled list. As a community Meiteis continue to worship nature, best exemplified by the annual observance of Lai Haraoba. The socio-economic conditions of the Meiteis should not be understood only by looking at some of the suited, booted class who live in pucca buildings and stay in Imphal. Go and take a look at how the Meiteis continue to survive at the foothills. Look at the Meitei villages, the soul of Manipur. The demand for ST categorisation should continue and if anyone is under the impression that the Meiteis are a developed community who have passed the stage to be tagged a Scheduled tribe, then why raise such an opposition to sending the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the Meiteis along with a recommendation to the Centre ? If the Meiteis do not fulfil the criteria to be tagged a Scheduled Tribe, then let the Centre decide that. This cannot be decided by just opposing the ST for Meiteis demand. And remember the ST categorisation should be viewed and understood in the pan India context and not viewed only through the prism of Manipur. Why was no voice of opposition raised by the STs of Manipur when the decision to grant the ST tag on the six communities of Assam was taken ?