The rejection of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act 1971 and the The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (3rd Amendment) Act 2008 by the tribals of the present State of Manipur.
For more than 20 years the tribal have refused to have elections under Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act 1971 demanding extension of the provision of the 6th Schedule.
Nagas and other tribals did not object to the inclusion of Meiteilon in the 8th Schedule, the extension of Panchayati Raj to Imphal valley under the 11th Schedule nor the implementation of the Municipality Acts in Imphal valley under 12th Schedule. But when tribals demanded for the extension of the 6th schedule in the hill areas, the successive Manipur State Governments formed by whatever party or collisions have consistently opposed and sabotaged the rightful demands of the tribals from 1990 till date. At times it was outright rejection, at another it was a commitment for extension of the 6th Schedule “with local adjustment” and at this time around the meaning and intent of “local adjustment” has been spelt in the form of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (3rd Amendment) Act 2008.
The manipulative slicing out of what is rightly due to the tribals, which is enshrined in the Constitution of India, speaks eloquently of the deep seated intention of the majority community to keep the tribals politically, economically and socially suppressed. When Meiteis take the 8th, 11th & 12th schedule and refuse the 6th schedule to the tribal, does it strengthen the territorial integrity of the State of Manipur? When what is due to the tribals is rejected, is it not leading to disintegration of the State? It is not a new story. The process for disintegration of Manipur had started long before the formation of the so called State of Manipur, even before the much touted Ching-Tam (hill-plain) amity was phrased, when the majority community and their representatives over the years manipulated legislations so that the rights and benefits of the tribals are gradually reduced with legals hedges.
Yes, the extension of the provision of the 6th Schedule to the hill areas of Manipur has been equated with disintegration of Manipur. Which means no self governance for the Hill people, while the full provision of the panchayati Raj system and Municipality Act is fully in place and enjoyed in the Imphal valley. So what does disintegration of Manipur mean to the Majority community? It means that the dominant 40 MLAs in the house of 60 can no more decide, interfere and manipulate the lives of the hill/tribal people, because they will be self governed. It means that all development works and plans, all allocation of funds for the entire State of Manipur will not be in the hands of the 40 MLAs alone, but budgeted to provide for the autonomous councils of the hill people. With the extension of 6th schedule, the 40 MLAs of Imphal valley will no more have the free hand to take up development works that would benefit Imphal valley alone, divert funds meant for hill areas to the imphal valley, and enjoy the double benefit of developments and development incidentals such as contract works, supplies and commission.
The hill people have consistently demanded for the extension of 6th Schedule since 1990. If granted, the tribals would have the benefit of decentralization, self governance and development in their land. Knowing that these benefits would accrue to the tribals and result in concurrent loss to the same extent to the Meities, after 20 years of agreeing to extend 6th Schedule to the tribal areas of Manipur, with dithering on “local adjustment” the valley centric Manipur State Government comes out with the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (3rd Amendment) Act 2008, carefully doctored and stripped off of all the provisions that go into self governance and the rights of the hill people over their land and resources and removing the primacy of the traditional institutions of the tribals.
Thus after a series of Consultative Meetings conducted under the aegis of the United Naga Council, Manipur and Naga frontal organisations held at Ukhrul, Taphou, Tadubi, Kangshang, Chamdil and Tamenglong in January – Febraury, 2010 the Naga people unanimously decided to reject the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act 1971 and The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (3rd Amendment) Act 2008 in its present form and content, as it does not protect and safeguard the rights of the people.
The State Govt. spokesman says that election should be held as notified and amendment could be taken up after elections. What is this politics and statesmanship of putting the cart before the horse. Tribals have foregone any semblance of governance and government development programmes in the hills demanding for the 6th schedule and the Ibobi Government says that ADC 2008 Act must be implemented immediately and that amendments can be made latter after the election. What is the “amendments” that the Govt. of Manipur is talking about after the ADC election? We have understood what “local adjustments” means now. So does “amendments” mean further reduction in powers and functions and less empowerment for the tribals to be pushed through by using the elected stooges?
Had the elections been deferred and the empowering amendments enacted, the election would have been a successful democratic exercise. But because of the Ibobi Government and their hegemonistic policy towards the tribals, we have launched the economic blockade. On the other hand the stage managed election is under way, where the belligerent candidates have been lodged in high security camps in Imphal. Candidates are kept at Khuman Lampak Youth hostel guarded by 2nd IRB with high security. The intending candidates for ADC who all want to withdraw/retire/resign from the election on realizing the profound wishes of their people and return to their villages in the Naga hills are kept in imphal under high security. High security from what ? Will Nagas come and do them harm in Imphal?
Allowing the extension of 6th Schedul to the tribals would mean allowing the tribals to decide their own future which would understandably be different from that of the Meiteis. So the only way left for the Ibobi Government to impose an election under the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (3rd Amendment) Act 2008, which does not provide for any sort of autonomy and leaves the District Councils at the mercy and control of the State Government, which we repeat for emphasis, is controlled by the Imphal centric interest of the 40 MLAs of Imphal valley. Thus a semblance of local self government would be put into place to silence the insistence of the Govt. of India to the Manipur Government to fulfill its constitutional obligations. On the other hand the rights of the tribals to their land and the ascendancy of their traditional institutions and customary practices can now be rough shod over with the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils (3rd Amendment) Act 2008, which has been skillfully crafted to look harmless but which can be used as a potent weapon of suppression of the tribals by interpretation.
In the other north eastern states of Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam and Mizoram to which provisions of the 6th Schedule have already been extended and made operational, voices of discontent and demand for devolution of more powers are being raised very vociferously and a tussle between the state level legislators and district level representatives have come into play. It is about decentralization and increasing the level of self-governance. But in the state of Manipur, considering any form of self governance or devolution to the district councils in the hills or tribal areas is almost criminal to the understanding of the people of Imphal, leave alone upgrading empowerment at the grassroot levels for the hill areas.
But the tribals have seen through the game plan of the Communal Manipur State Government. The Manipur State Government is therefore today caught in a very unenviable position as the crisis of the confronting desires and wishes of the tribal and the Meities is heading for the inevitable collision. Meities and tribals were brought together by a forced marriage. Meities despised the tribals and considered them as inferiors. Through deceit and calculated schemes, all through these years, the rights of the tribals have been undermined and attempted to be curtailed with legislations by taking advantage of the brute majority of 40 MLAs in a total house of 60. Now the world must understand that the tribal people cannot bear it any more and the situation has reached its explosion point of no return.
The sensible Imphal valley people must seriously think how they are being misled by the State Government and the Organisations colluding with it, who are still on the outdated mission of forced decimation of hill people. The rights of the tribal people must not be denied whatever the perceived loss to the majority community and their sentiments which have been hurt arrogantly must be made good again.
Publicity Wing
All Naga Students’
Association Manipur
