Context: 

Recently, violent protests in Manipur were triggered by the Manipur High Court’s direction to the State to pursue a 10­ year old recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the non­-tribal Meitei community.

About Manipur’s ethnic composition:

• The Imphal valley, which comprises about 10% of Manipur’s landmass, is dominated by the non­-tribal Meitei
• Meitei account for more than 64% of the population of the State and yields 40 of the State’s 60 MLAs. 
• The hills comprising 90% of the geographical area are inhabited by more than 35% recognised tribes but send only 20 MLAs to the Assembly. 
• While a majority of the Meiteis are Hindus followed by Muslims, the 33 recognised tribes, broadly classified into ‘Any Naga tribes’ and ‘Any Kuki tribes’ are largely Christians.

Underlying issue Behind violence:

• Orders of the Manipur High Court: It recently directed the State government to submit, within four weeks, a 10­ year ­old recommendation to the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the ST list. 
• Union Tribal Affairs Ministry’s letter: The court referred to the Ministry’s letter in 2013 to the Manipur government seeking specific recommendation along with the latest socio economic survey and ethnographic report. 
• Arguments of Meiteis: 
  • They were recognised as a tribe before the merger of the State with the Union of India in 1949. 
  • The ST status is needed to preserve the community and save the ancestral land, tradition, culture, and language of the Meiteis. 
• Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur: 
  • It submitted a representation in 2012 demanding ST status for the Meiteis.
  • The commitee also said the Meiteis needed constitutional safeguards against outsiders, stating that the community has been kept away from the hills while the tribal people can buy land in the “shrinking” Imphal Valley.

Why are tribal groups against ST status for Meiteis?

• The tribal groups say the Meiteis have a demographic and political advantage besides being more advanced than them academically and in other aspects. 
• They feel the ST status to the Meiteis would lead to loss of job opportunities and allow them to acquire land in the hills and push the tribals out. 
• They argue that the language of the Meitei people is included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and many of them have access to benefits associated with the SC, OBC or EWS status.                                                                                                               

News Source: The Hindu

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