Why is Manipur burning? The Meitei community vs the Kuki-Naga battle in the state, explained

Manipur in north-east India is witnessing extreme violence – armed mobs attacking villages, house after house being set on fire, ransacked shops. Locals say scores of people have died and many more injured, but there’s no official confirmation on this.

The situation came to a boil on Thursday, leading the Manipur government to issue shoot-at-sight orders to contain the spiralling violence. Moreover, 55 columns of the Indian Army have been deployed to the area, with another 14 columns being kept on standby.

While Chief Minister N Biren Singh urged people to maintain peace, the authorities have brought the situation in Moreh and Kangpokpi in the state under control. They are now working hard to restore normalcy in the capital, Imphal, and Churachandpur.

But what has caused this outbreak of violence? At the crux of the matter is the demand for Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community and other tribal groups opposing it. In fact the violence that has broken out across the state first erupted on 3 May when thousands turned up for the Tribal Solidarity March called by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) in Torbung area of Churachandpur to protest against the inclusion of Meiteis in the ST category.

Also read: What’s behind the violence in Manipur?

But who exactly are the Meiteis? Why are they demanding Scheduled Tribe status? Why are other tribal groups opposed to it?

Meitei community in Manipur

The Meitei are the largest community in Manipur. They are dominant in capital Imphal and are the ones commonly referred to as Manipuri. According to the last census of 2011, they are 64.6 per cent of the state population but occupy only about 10 per cent of the landmass of Manipur.

On the other hand, there are the tribals known as the Nagas and Kukis, who account for nearly 40 per cent of the population but reside across 90 per cent of Manipur’s land.

While the Meiteis are mostly Hindu, the Nagas and Kuki-Zomis are mainly Christian. Manipur has nearly equal populations of Hindus and Christians, at around 41 per cent each, according to data from the 2011 census.

Apart from being the majority community, Meiteis also have more representation in Manipur Assembly. That’s because 40 of the 60 Assembly seats in the state are from the Imphal Valley region – the area that is mostly inhabited by the Meiteis.

Push for Scheduled Tribe status

As of today, 34 sub-tribes of the Naga and Kuki-Zomi tribes are on the government’s list of Scheduled Tribes, but the Meiteis are not. However, the Meiteis have long been demanding for Scheduled Tribe status, arguing that it needs to be protected from the influx of outsiders and “infiltration”.

K Bhogendrajit Singh, general secretary of the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur, which has pushed for tribal status since 2012, was quoted by The Scroll as saying, “Any citizen of India, including our own hill people, can come and settle in Imphal Valley.”

For the Meitei community, there’s resentment as tribals have been buying land in the Imphal Valley where they live, but they haven’t been allowed into the hills.

In a plea before the Manipur High Court, demanding the same, the Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union argued that they were a recognised tribe before the merger of the princely state of Manipur with the Union of India in 1949 but lost that identity after the merger. They have argued in court that the demand for ST status goes well beyond reservation in jobs, educational institutions and tax relief and extends to the need to “preserve” the community, and “and save the ancestral land, tradition, culture and language” of the Meiteis.

Hearing this matter, on 19 April, the Manipur High Court issued a directive to the government to consider the request of the community for its inclusion in the reserved category within four weeks and send a recommendation to the Union government for its consideration.

Pushback against ST status for Meiteis

The demand for ST status for Meiteis has always faced resistance from the other tribals, namely the Kukis and the Nagas. They argue that the Meiteis are the dominant population in the state and also hold dominance in political representation.

They further argue that the Manipur language of the Meiteis is already included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, and that sections of the Meitei community — which is predominantly Hindu — are already classified under Scheduled Castes (SC) or Other Backward Classes (OBC), and have access to the opportunities associated with that status.

As Thongkholal Haokip, assistant professor at JNU’s Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, in his paper The Politics of Scheduled Tribe Status in Manipur wrote, “The claim that Meiteis need ST status to protect their culture and identity is self-defeating. The Meiteis are a dominant group controlling the state and its apparatuses. The state has been protecting their cultural, political and economic rights. As such, their culture and identity are in no way endangered.”

This view has also been shared by political scientist Kham Khan Suan Hausing. In a report by The Scroll , he has said, “If the Meiteis are successful in including themselves in the ST list, they will arguably become the only community in India to corner all the benefits of protective discrimination along the four axes of recognition – ST, SC, OBC and EWS.”

Also read: Who is Kuldiep Singh, the former CRPF chief appointed as Manipur’s new security advisor amid violence?

The All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM), an influential tribal body, called the high court’s order of 19 April a ‘black letter day’ for them and called the decision as an “ex parte judgment that only heard the interests of the petitioners”.

Violence unfolds on 3 May

Angered by the high court’s decision, the ATSUM call for a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in the Torbung area of Churachandpur. This was the tipping point and soon after violence broke out in the area.

Kelvin Neihsial, general secretary of All Manipur Tribal Union, told IndiaToday that an hour or so after the march ended, a group of Meiteis brandishing guns entered Kuki villages and set their houses on fire. However, the Meiteis have a different version of events. One of the community members said that it was the Kukis who entered Meitei villages, torched houses, vandalised properties and chased away them away.

Following the outbreak of violence, a curfew has been imposed and internet services have been snapped.

The violence prompted Olympic medallist and boxing icon MC Mary Kom to plead for help. “My state Manipur is burning, kindly help,” she tweeted.

With inputs from agencies

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