Opinion Express View: Manipur needs a new political imagination and a more encompassing Manipuri identity

The demand for a separate Kuki homeland seems to have found a new life following the ethnic clashes in Manipur that left at least 70 persons dead and hundreds homeless. A day after Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and his senior ministers apprised Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the situation in the state last weekend, 10 MLAs from the Kuki-Zomi tribes also met Shah. The MLAs have demanded “a separate administration under the Constitution”. Singh, on the other hand, has said that “the territorial integrity of Manipur will be protected”.

The Kuki homeland demand has a long and contested history that underlies and propels insurgency in the Manipur hills. The geography of “Kukiland” has varied according to the various origin myths and has spread beyond Manipur to include parts of Myanmar. The state-building process in the region has hardened borders and identities. The assertion of ethnic identities in a region which is a patchwork of tribes, communities, languages and faiths has also been a reaction to the consolidation of state power around the dominant tribe/community. It is a tool for negotiating a better bargain in terms of political power, allocation of material resources, educational and employment opportunities. The Kuki homeland demand stems from the sense of being subjugated by a state perceived to privilege the Meiteis, who control political and economic power in Manipur. The recent riots have led the Kukis to believe that state agencies are not neutral arbiters but act in favour of the dominant community. The onus is now on Imphal, and the numerically dominant Meiteis, to prove otherwise and win back the trust of the state’s ethnic minorities.

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The Supreme Court’s rebuke to Manipur High Court Wednesday for directing the state government to consider inclusion of the Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes list should calm Kuki fears for now. Kukiland is unviable and statehood claims can only further roil the region. However, Kuki-Zomi concerns about underdevelopment and their questions about the fairness of the administration have to be addressed. Domination of a numerical majority over the minority population is not the way forward in a diverse democracy. Manipur needs a new political imagination that promises equal citizenship to all, irrespective of ethnic identity. It calls for the Meitei, Kuki, Zomi, Naga and other leaderships to sit across the table to build a consensus around a Manipuri identity that encompasses the ethnic selves.