Despite the “ching-tam amatani” slogan, which can be loosely translated as “hill-valley is one”, being extensively used by successive Manipur governments to propagate the idea of oneness among the people of the state, frequent cries of discontent from the hills and occasional ethnic clashes tell that not much has been done to reduce the hill-valley divide, and most unrest in the state, including the gory clash between the Meitei and Kuki communities last week, are connected to this disparity. The fact is that the majority Meteis, which constitute about 53 per cent of the state’s population, are concentrated mostly in the Imphal valley that accounts for just 10 per cent of the total area. But with 40 seats in the 60-member legislative assembly, they clearly have advantage in the decision-making process and government policies, which is reflected in the concentration of most government facilities and infrastructure, be it educational institutions or hospitals or offices, in the valley. Their literature can be traced back to thousands of years. Having a script of its own, Manipuri is one of the 22 official Indian languages and their dance is one of the eight major Indian classical dance forms- a rich literary and cultural heritage indeed. On the other hand, the tribals comprising the Nagas, Kukis and other smaller communities, which constitute more than 40% of the state’s population, inhabit the hill areas that account for about 90% of the state’s total land area. However, their representation in the state assembly is only 20 seats, making them feel helpless in the decision-making process. Many villages in the hills are still deprived of basic infrastructure including all-weather roads and government institutions; they have no lingua franca or literary history, and most educated persons are first generation literates. Most hill-valley conflicts stem from this disparity. And to address it, the gap has to be acknowledged however uncomfortable it may be.
Though last week’s ethnic clash, which led to loss of dozens of innocent lives, mass displacement and destruction of more than a thousand houses, started during the solidarity march of the tribals in all the hill districts to protest the Meiteis’ demand for Scheduled Tribe status, it may be difficult to ascertain the exact cause. If it was about the demand for ST status, why was the clash only between two communities? Was the supposed incident on the day of protest too detrimental to one party that violence of such magnitude was unavoidable? What has it got to do with religion that church buildings were targeted? We may not find the exact answers to these questions but the events leading up to the unfortunate violence, especially the eviction drive initiated on some Kuki villages supposedly established in the reserved forest and disagreement on ST demand, point to growing insecurities among various communities in the state. What happened last week was avoidable. It has tainted the image of the state beyond repair. The government should take all the stakeholders into confidence before implementing any policy decisions that will affect the lives and livelihoods of the people. Hasty decisions will only widen the hill-valley divide.
