Opinion P Chidambaram writes: Incompetence, Injury & Insult

The Article is significant in more ways than one. The Union (central government) has the duty to protect every State, not to undermine or destroy it. Thus, Article 355 is an affirmation of the federal nature of the Indian State.

The central government is also obliged to ensure that every State is governed according to the Constitution. It is a reminder to the central government that it cannot be a bystander when a State is misgoverned or not governed at all. These are two distinct obligations.

The Union is a constitutional concept. Ultimately, it is men and women who act and speak on behalf of the Union government. That body of men and women is the Council of Ministers. The lynchpin of the council of ministers is the prime minister.

Twin Obligations

In the case of Manipur, both obligations are being violated every day since May 3, 2023. Instead of discharging the duties imposed by Article 355, the Union (that is the council of minsters and the prime minister) is violating the Constitution. Since May 3, the prime minister has not uttered a word on Manipur — not even appeal for peace. Nor has he considered it necessary to visit Manipur. Meanwhile, over 120 people have been killed.

If some critics think this to be madness, we must examine the reasons behind the madness. I can think of the following reasons:

1. Manipur is ruled by the BJP and if the central government reprimanded or dismissed the state government it may be a self-inflicted wound. So much for the boast of “my country above my party”.

2. Mr Narendra Modi may wish to dissociate himself from the unpopular Mr Biren Singh, chief minister of Manipur. So much for the boast of “double-engine government”.

3. Manipur is distant. What happens in Manipur has no reverberations in the rest of the country. So much for the boast of “Act East”.

4. Let the Meiteis and the Kukis fight. With the support of the Meitei-controlled state government and the Meitei-dominated BJP, the Meiteis will ultimately prevail. So much for the boast of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas”.

If one or more of the above reasons is true, it is evident that the Manipur policy of the central government is a cynical mixture of selfishness and callousness.

Black Day Repeated

May 3 is a black day in the history of Manipur. Thirty years ago, on May 3, 1993, there were violent clashes between Meitei Hindus and Meitei Muslims (Pangals) and over 100 people were killed. History repeated itself on May 3, 2023. This time, the violent conflict is between Meiteis and Kukis. The trigger was an ill-advised order of the High Court of Manipur.

The Meitei community has demanded for long that Meiteis should be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes for Manipur. Successive state governments, advisedly, did not act upon it because there were conflicting interests in a state that is comprised of, mostly, three communities — Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas. The governments were accused of “dragging their feet”, but there was a larger purpose in not taking a quick decision. Before Independence, the Meiteis were listed as one of the tribes of Manipur but the community was not included in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. Presently, most Meiteis are categorized in the general category; about 17 per cent are OBCs.

The political balance among the three major communities is delicate. Of the 60 constituencies in the legislative assembly, 40 are dominated by Meiteis, 10 by the Kukis and 10 by the Nagas. The Kukis and the Nagas are among 36 communities categorized as scheduled tribes. If Meteis are categorized as ST, it may make little difference to the electoral map but there are implications for owning land in notified tribal areas and government jobs.

Ill-advised Direction

As I noted, the trigger was the judgment of Mr Justice Muralidaran, Acting Chief Justice of Manipur. Noting that the state government had not submitted a recommendation on inclusion of Meiteis in the ST list for 10 years, the Court directed the state government to send a recommendation to the central government in four weeks. There is much that can be said on both sides, but it was certainly not an issue on which the Court should have issued a direction. The Court ought to have lobbed the ball into the corner of the political institutions such as the legislative assembly and the Commission for the Scheduled Tribes.

A 30-member delegation of BJP MLAs was not given an appointment by the prime minister. Ten Opposition parties led by a former chief minister of Manipur, Mr Ibobi Singh, waited in vain for an appointment. The honourable prime minister left the state of Manipur to burn. Incompetence, neglect and partisanship have marked the tenure of the Biren Singh government in Manipur. Insult has been added now.

One engine in Manipur (state government) has run out of fuel; the other engine (central government) has decided to decouple itself and hide in the loco shed. Thanks to the double-engine, Manipur is a boiling cauldron. Cry, my beloved country.