What is Manipur dispute?
In Manipur, Meitei, the majority community of the state, is demanding ST status. They make up 53 per cent of the state’s population, but according to the traditional rule there, the people of the Meitei community can live in the valley, which is 10 per cent of the total area there, while 90 per cent of the state’s area is hilly, on which the Nagas and Kuki is the right of the tribal community. According to the rules there, no non-tribal can take land in the hilly area.
The Meitai community has been demanding tribal status for itself for more than a decade. The matter reached the Manipur High Court, where in April the court directed the state government to send its recommendations to the central government to consider including the Meitai community in the ST list. For this, four weeks time was given by the court. After the verdict came out, protests started from the Naga and Kuki communities. The Nagas and Kukis are predominantly Christian, while the Meitei are mostly Hindu.
What are the arguments of both the sides?
The Nagas and the Kukis believe that the Meitei community should not be accorded ST status, as it would harm the interests of tribals living in the hilly areas. While the argument behind Maitai’s ST status is that Maitai had ST status during the British period, which kept going after independence.
Status of ST community in the country
- In 1951 the number of ST community was 225.
- This number has reached 700 today
This is the condition of Manipur
- 90% of the area is hilly, here minority Nagas, Kukis live
- 10% of the area is a valley, where the majority of the Meitei population lives.
- 53% of the population belongs to the majority Meitei community in the state.
What is the definition of tribal?
Basically, the land on which the tribes who have been living since primitive times, who are the natives there, are called tribals. To identify them, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has made some standards or scales. These parameters include primitive characteristics, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, reluctance to contact with outside communities, and ‘backwardness’. These general norms are established in the Census of 1931, the First Backward Classes Commission Report 1955, the SC/ST Review Report by the Kalekar Advisory Committee and the Lokur Committee.
What is the procedure related to ST status?
Section 342 of the Indian Constitution lays down the procedure for granting ST status to any community. It states that the President may, on the advice and proposal of any state, consider any caste of that state for that community. For this, first of all, any state government passes a proposal in the cabinet regarding the status of any caste here. It sends this proposal to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. The ministry first consults the Registrar General of India (RGI) on this proposal.
RGI has an old history of castes of India. He will give opinion about the tribe on that basis. He sees whether it meets the standards set for caste tribes or not. After that the ministry will consult the Anthropological Survey of India. It looks at the social background. After getting opinion from both the organizations on the proposal, the Ministry sends this proposal to the National Commission for ST Affairs.
To whom does the commission send the proposal?
The Commission after studying the proposal in depth sends its recommendations to the Central Government. He can also make changes or additions to the proposal if needed. Based on the recommendations of the commission, the ministry introduces a constitutional amendment bill in the parliament regarding the status of a particular caste. After the bill is passed by the Parliament, the bill is sent to the President. After getting the stamp of the President, the way is legally cleared for a particular caste to get ST status.