Thorny Bill in election season
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: August 23, 2021 -

ALL Tribal Students' Union Manipur(ATSUM) declaring imposition of bandh in the hill districts of the state in denunciation of the government's purported hesitancy to table, debate and enact The Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill 2021 recommended by the Hill Areas Committee in the ongoing session of the State Legislative Assembly, Tangkhul civil society organisations sharing the same view as ATSUM and valley-based International Peace and Social Advancement (IPSA) raising objections on contents of the proposed legislation sum up the varied socio-political aspirations and agenda among the ethnic communities settling in Manipur.

As pointed out by ATSUM general secretary SR Andria at Saturday's media briefing, the Autonomous District Council Act 1972 under the Hill Areas Committee is being amended from time to time since Manipur became a state to frame and recommend implementation of welfare programmes for the tribal communities and therefore rectification of the existing Act with incorporation of new clauses suitable to needs of contemporary society is but natural.

Though the ATSUM secretary shared his observation that such continuous process has been helpful in promoting affection and equality among the people of hills and valley, the fact remains that the aura of camaraderie has been on the wane ever since leading community-centric organisations embraced ethnicity specific goals and started to interpret history of Manipur from their respective perspectives.

Regardless of ATSUM accusing the incumbent legislators of failing to introduce the Bill in the on-going Assembly sessions, the fresh pitch for reinvigorating the ADC Act suggests that the tribal commoners are not satisfied with the performance of their elected representatives and hence want to strengthen governance at the grassroots level.

Apart from the proposed Bill having the potential to put the present regime in a tight spot, what should worry the N Biren-led government the most is that the Bill issue has brought to the fore the existing discord in the society in-spite of the establishment repetitively claiming that communal amity and development have been the hallmark of its governance.

However, sharp reactions and objections raised against socio-political aspirations of specific communities by others imply that the chief minister's wish for a non-sectarian and progressive society will remain a far-fetched dream in a multi-ethic state like Manipur.

At every public or political platform, the chief minister has been advocating social harmony and calling for discarding the divisive outlook but the sharply divergent views over the ADC Bill has laid bare the fact that issues plaguing the state merit strong political will to bring an amicable solution.

There have been various instances in the past and contemporary society that caused serious strain to the age-old relationships amongst the native people apart from bitter bickering among the civil society organisations whenever any sensitive issues crop up. Unarguably, the present regime has so far been fairly successful in tackling the problems on time and preventing possible adverse implications on the public.

However, the current rage revolving around the proposed ADC Bill will be a challenging task for the government as ignoring or endorsing the demand/objection would inevitably infuriate one community or the other.

It seems that other than reaching out and pacifying the parties in dispute to buy time at-least till the upcoming assembly election there is no other option left for the government.