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Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said that the state government may consider setting up a committee to discuss the Scheduled Tribe status of Kukis in the state.
He was responding to questions about a representation made by a Meitei leader seeking that Kukis be removed from the list, while reiterating the long-pending demand of Meiteis for ST status.
Asked about the stand of the state government on whether “all Kuki tribes would be listed as ST”, Singh said Tuesday: “They were included in the list, but how it was included has to be reexamined. So before giving any comment, we have to form a committee consisting of all tribes, then only will we be able to send a complete proposal for deletion or inclusion… Anything might be… but after the committee is formed.”
Singh’s statement might trigger fresh tension as the original trigger for the continuing Manipur unrest was the question over who was entitled to ST status in the state.
Last month, Meitei leader Maheshwar Thounaojam, who is the national secretary of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), sent a petition to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs seeking a review of the ST list in the state, claiming that “the Kukis including Zomis of Manipur” do not qualify for it “on the ground that they are not original inhabitants of Manipur”.
Thounaojam’s representation, sent on December 13, was forwarded by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Tribal and Hill Affairs Department of the Manipur government on December 26. The Union ministry stated that the state government’s recommendation was a prerequisite to process any proposal for inclusion or modification in the list of STs.
Claiming that it was an “anomalous situation” that the Kukis have ST status in Manipur while the Meiteis do not, Thounaojam said in his petition, “Available historical records of authority and Census data of the erstwhile British Government of India and the Cheitharon Khumpaba (Royal Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur) point out that the Kukis inhabiting in Manipur are all refugees / migrants. On the other hand, Meetei / Meitei are the descendants of the original tribes of Manipur.”
This argument, that the Kukis are not original inhabitants of Manipur, is particularly contentious as it aligns with the claim made by several Meitei stakeholders, who also allege uncontrolled illegal immigration from the Myanmar side, adding to the Kuki numbers.
The immediate trigger for the Manipur conflict, which began in early May, was a High Court order submitting that the government consider ST status for Meiteis. This was opposed by the Kukis, who see a dilution of their privileges if the ST bracket was extended to the Meiteis, who control most levers of power in the state.
A single judge Bench of the Manipur High Court had at the time asked the government to submit its recommendation after considering a petition by the Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union that a recommendation for its inclusion in the ST list be made to the Union Ministry for Tribal Affairs.
A ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ against this demand ended in violence, leading to clashes between the Meiteis and Kukis in the state, which have now been on for eight months, with periods of lull in between.
Manipur has 34 recognised tribes, including ‘Any Mizo (Lushai) Tribes’ and ‘Any Kuki Tribes’. There has been an organized push since 2012 for the inclusion of the Meiteis in the ST list.
