Raising ST demand ahead of Shah's visit : The bargaining chip
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 01 2020 -

So many questions at the moment.

Will another round of debates between those who are behind the demand that the Meiteis be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India and those who are against this demand play itself out on the pages of the dailies published from Imphal?

Is this the right time to raise such a demand given that Manipur is reeling under the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and will Union Home Minister Amit Shah take due note of the demand raised, when the memorandum submitted by the Kangleipak Kanba Lup is presented before him when he arrives here?

All questions at the moment and apart from the debate over the ST tag for Meiteis, what is of profound interest in the memorandum addressed to Amit Shah, is the manner in which the ST status demand has been raised in the backdrop of the impending final agreement between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India.

Explicit in the stand of the KKL is the stand that since something is bound to be given to the NSCN (IM), which will impact on the neighbouring States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, something concrete for Manipur too should be taken from the Centre.

How far such a line of argument will cut ice with New Delhi remains to be seen, but a very interesting point has been raised and this is something which should be taken note of.

So far, all that one hears is the stand of the people of Manipur and not anything on what may be acceptable to the people, if and when a final agreement is inked with the NSCN (IM).

What is it that something which will be acceptable to Manipur?

The KKL has been candid enough to admit that ST status will ensure that the 'scarce land to which the Meiteis are now confined to,' is protected.

That should in the backdrop of the reality that non-tribals but indigenous folks of the land-the Meiteis cannot buy landed properties in the hills as the hills come under tribal territories is significant.

Take something for 'the something' which is most likely to be given to the NSCN (IM), is the stand of KKL and it is the ST status that it has backed.

Too early to say how things will unfold, but if anything is to be given to the NSCN (IM), other than Nagalim, 'then surely Manipur should also try to get something in return, is what the KKL is saying.

The final pact is yet to be signed but this is the time for Manipur to ponder over all the possibilities of how the final deal may emerge.

The Centre has already assured that all stakeholders, including Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will be taken into confidence before the final agreement is inked and perhaps this is the right time for the Government at Imphal to reach out to its counterparts at Dispur and Itanagar.

Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh are all under the BJP and this is an advantage which the Government at Imphal should try to capitalise on.

Reach out to them too and see if a shared common interest can be worked out.

It is for Imphal to acknowledge that in Th Muivah the NSCN (IM) has a far sighted leader and it will not hurt to discuss all the possible outcomes and sitting down with the other two States may just help the cause of all three together.

This is a line which has been advocated in this column for years and now is the time to act on it.

Civil society organisations too can chip in and see what they may do at the grass root level.