The ethnic violence in Manipur has claimed over 180 lives (File)
The Tribal Affairs Ministry in a reply to a representation by a Manipur-based leader of the Republican Party of India (Athawale) has said any move to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) needs the state government's permission, along with a go-ahead from the Registrar General and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).
"The recommendation of the state government concerned is a prerequisite to process the case further," Ashish Kumar Agrawal, Undersecretary to the Centre, said in the letter to the Additional Chief Secretary of Manipur.
The Tribal Affairs Ministry's response came on a representation filed by Manipur-resident Maheshwar Thounaojam, the National Secretary of the Republican Party of India (A), who requested for removal of the "nomadic Chin-Kuki" from the list of ST communities in the ethnic violence-hit state bordering Myanmar.
Following the Centre's response, Mr Thounaojam has asked Manipur's BJP government led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh to send a proposal to the Centre for removing the Chin-Kuki communities from the state's ST list.
"... I got the reply to my letter submitted to the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs regarding deletion of the nomadic Chin-Kuki from the list of Scheduled Tribes of Manipur. The ministry said modifications related to the ST list must be recommended and justified by the state government and later should be recommended by the Registrar General of India as well as the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes," Mr Thounaojam said in a post on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter. He also shared a copy of the Tribal Affairs Ministry's letter.
"In this regard, I strongly urge the state government of Manipur to send proposal for deletion of the nomadic Chin Kuki from the Scheduled Tribes list of Manipur. All the indigenous people of Manipur are looking forward to it," he said.
Manipur has seen large-scale clashes between the hill-majority Kukis and the valley-majority Meiteis in the past few months. The violence that began on May 3, 2023 after a march by tribal groups in protest against the Meiteis' demand for inclusion under the ST category has been linked to many other factors such as tensions over land, resources and political representation. Other tribes in Manipur later distanced themselves from the ethnic clashes and have accused the Kukis of misleading them under the "all tribal" banner.
Mr Thounajam's representation seeking delisting of Chin-Kuki from the ST list in faraway Manipur also comes amid the "adivasi delisting" campaign run by the Janjaatiya Suraksha Manch, an affiliate of the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which claims converted tribes - mostly to Christianity - should be removed from the ST list as they enjoy both benefits of being tribes and religious minorities.
The Tribal Affairs Ministry's response to Mr Thounajam's representation, however, does not place a demand on the state government to reply, according to a senior lawyer in the government who has direct knowledge of the matter.
"We have seen reports that say the Centre has asked the state to examine a representation for removing 'nomadic Chin Kuki' from the ST list. That is not correct. Nothing has been asked from the state government," the senior lawyer told NDTV in Delhi.
"The letter only states the conditions to be met for such a process to start," said the senior lawyer, requesting anonymity.
Another lawyer who has been attending Supreme Court hearings on issues linked to Manipur said the Tribal Affairs Ministry's letter is stating a factual position and is not a request to the state government to do anything on it. "Seen that way, it's only a piece of paper," the lawyer told NDTV on phone from Delhi, asking not to be identified.
What Mr Thounaojam can do, however, is to ask the state government to start the process, which he said he is doing. "As I have been saying, I will not stop knocking on every door even if I don't have the key. And I also request all the indigenous people of Manipur to stand together for this cause..." Mr Thounaojam said.
"The representation we gave was 800 pages long," he told NDTV on Monday.
Mr Thounaojam in his representation alleged the ST tag has been used as a powerful means for settling Kuki refugees and illegal immigrants entering Manipur from foreign countries and other neighbouring states. He alleged they have built settlements illegally in reserved forest lands in the previously uninhabited hill areas of Manipur.
"Taking supports from such Kuki refugees and illegal immigrants, the Kukis of Manipur have now claimed that they have... occupied more than half the geographical area of the state, including the hill areas surrounding Manipur valley and have even started demanding a separate homeland of Kukis in the name of 'Central Zalengam' by dismembering Manipur," Mr Thounaojam said.
Any attempt to remove Kukis from the ST list will face fierce resistance from the tribes, who have already been accusing the Biren government of neglecting them - politically and economically.
The Kukis are convinced the arguments by a large section of Meiteis who want to be ST are only excuses to grab government benefits meant for ST. The Kukis say the Meiteis have enjoyed political and economic power in Manipur for a long time, but as the population increases and resources become limited, the Meiteis want easy access to benefits, even at the cost of rejecting the "general" category and losing their perceived hold on state affairs.
The two communities are sharply divided at the moment, with civilians from either community not crossing over into the other's areas. Over 180 have died in the ethnic violence, and thousands have been internally displaced.
The Supreme Court on November 29 specifically pointed out the role of some civil society groups in keeping tensions in Manipur simmering, during a hearing on burying bodies kept in morgues. Ordering the petitioners to bury the dead respectfully in designated sites instead of government land, the Supreme Court had said the petition appeared like an "idea only to keep the pot boiling."