Is it the Opportune Time for Nagas to Demand for a Sixth Schedule Governance under Article 244-A of the Constitution?

THIS AUTHOR has written a few discourses on Article 371-C of the Constitution which provides for a special provision for the Hill Areas of Manipur. Under this Article, the mandate and procedures for the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) to implement Article 371-C has been notified in the Presidential Order dated 20th June 1972. With the special provision for a HAC having been enshrined in the Constitution, it is the bounden duty of the state government to make the HAC work for carrying out its functions properly and effectively. The state government is obligated to provide office building, officers, staff and office equipments. It is evident that the state government and Speaker of Assembly, since 1972, have not taken any interest in enabling the HAC to discharge its responsibilities specifically provided in the Presidential Order. For instance, the Presidential Order has specified the functions of the HAC and they include all Scheduled matters that relate to the Hill Areas; every Bill, other than a Money Bill, affecting wholly or partly the Hill Areas and containing mainly provisions dealing with any of the Scheduled matters shall, after introduction in the Assembly, be referred to the HAC for consideration and report to the Assembly; the right for HAC to consider and pass resolutions recommending to the Government of the State any legislation or executive action affecting the Hill Areas which are in conformity with the overall financial provisions for the Hill Areas made in the Annual Budget or contemplated in the Plans of the State; and the right of HAC to give its views on the development plans, which shall show separately the Plan Schemes proposed to be taken up in the Hill Areas and the rest of the State before it is finalised by the state Government. All these are to be facilitated by including such matters as items in the List of Business of the House for each Assembly session. These have not been facilitated by the Chief Minister and the Speaker. Besides these, there are many more functions for the HAC entailing them to work in tandem and in close coordination with the state government, which have not been facilitated by the state government since issue of the Presidential Order in 1972.

On the issue of the inability of HAC to function properly and effectively, one comment was received relating to one of the author’s articles in which it was commented that the members of the HAC, who are MLAs from the Hill Areas, should resign if they cannot make the HAC function as envisaged under Article 371-C. This comment is thought-provoking and at the same time an eye-opener. The comment seems to imply a confrontationist policy of not being receptive and responsive to any of the demands from the tribes and to leave them frustrated and angry. The harassed and irritated tribes are then pushed to the edge making them to fight for every grievance and demand. When this happens, economic blockade is imposed by the tribes and this action makes the tribes look bad in the eyes of the Central government.

Opinion | Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Imphal is the capital city of the state where the legislative, administrative and judicial organs are located. However, the geo-political factors of Manipur compels the tribal communities to exercise caution while organising protests or bandhs. The Imphal valley being overwhelmingly populated by the Meitei community, the tribes have avoided organising any protests or bandhs exclusively relating to tribal matters in Imphal for fear of provoking the dominant community. Protests and bandhs are always organised by hill CSOs only in the Hill Areas to avoid confrontation with the dominant community. This is so as the dominant community always identify themselves with the state government when it comes to the demands exclusively related to the tribes. Under these circumstances the tribes are left with no option, but to resort to the only effective weapon they have in order to draw the attention of the government to their grievances and demands. This cycle of economic blockade is often repeated and it has created bad blood between the valley and hill people and New Delhi has misunderstood the desperation of the tribes. The best route to resolve grievances and demands is always through dialogue, but in view of the indifference of the government to the grievances and demands of the tribes the aggrieved party, having left with no option, has often resorted to taking drastic action causing suffering to all citizens alike.

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Given this eye opening comment that the MLAs from the Hill Areas should resign if they cannot make the HAC function, fully aware that the remedy lies in the hands of the Chief Minister and the Speaker, amounts to a deliberate strategy of ignoring everything that relates exclusively to the tribes and treating their demand and grievances with indifference. When it comes to sharing funds, benefits, employment and services with the Hill Areas, attempts are made not to give the Hill Areas their due share and whatever small and inequitable fund is allocated, attempts are made to divert them to the valley. The cycle of discrimination and manipulation against the tribal people in the Hill Areas have kept them impoverished resulting in higher growth rate of tribal population, which has become yet another prickly issue for Manipur. After witnessing and indirectly suffering the impact of the current Meitei and Kuki-Zo conflict, many Naga people in the Hill Areas would be finding it morally unacceptable to countenance the continuation of suffering, discrimination, suppression and subjugation meted out by the dominant community, who control the state government, against another tribal brethren. One of the solution to resolve the current ethnic conflict is to agree to the demand for empowered district/territorial council under the Sixth Schedule. The time has perhaps come for the Naga CSOs to sit back for a moment and ponder as to whether they should help themselves while at the same time coming to the aid of the Kuki-Zo tribes to achieve one of their common goal by making a coordinated demand for extension of the Sixth Schedule in the Hill Areas of Manipur.

This is, however, not to be construed as a call to join in the fratricidal conflict between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo, which both warring brethren have to settle between themselves. The tribes of Manipur have been demanding for extension of the Sixth Schedule to the Hill Areas of Manipur since the 1970’s and this being the common goal, a thought is being shared as to whether it would be beneficial for both tribal groups if the Nagas make their demand in a coordinated manner for granting empowered district/territorial council under Article 244-A along with the Kuki-Zo demand for similar administrative self government arrangement. Basically, there may be different types of empowered district/territorial council under the Sixth Schedule in Manipur Hill Areas; one type for areas predominantly belonging to Naga tribes/Kuki-Zo tribes respectively and another type for areas inhabited by both groups of tribes with mixed population. This is suggested as endless debate over territorial jurisdiction of land belonging to Nagas or Kuki-Zo should be avoided and allow status-qou to continue in areas with mixed population without trying to redefine or amalgamate territorial jurisdiction of each tribe. The aim of this suggestion is to prevent ill-feeling to emerge between the Naga and Kuki-Zo tribes over land and to ensure smooth negotiation with the governments at the Centre and state.

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Keeping in view the confrontationist attitude that the tribes have to fight for everything from the state government, which is effectively a Meitei controlled government, it may be a strategic step for the Naga CSOs to have a coordinated demand alongside the Kuki-Zo tribes and also seek similar local self government under Article 244-A. The idea is to pool in both separate demands in a coordinated manner for extension of Sixth Schedule to the Hill Areas of Manipur under Article 244-A to avoid the imminent risk of the Meitei dominated state government tackling the demands separately at different point of time and depriving both tribal groups individually one after the other. The valley districts have already got the Panchayati Raj institutions since 1994 i.e. 30 years ago and the Hill Areas should not be denied its right for a self government.

There are rumours that the Manipur government is likely to propose for having ten autonomous district council under the existing Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971 and the sitting Naga MLAs are being persuaded to consider the proposal. When the entire nation has moved ahead in other states for substantially empowerment self government under Article 243 to Article 243-O of the Constitution for the Panchayati Raj institutions, Fifth Schedule for scheduled areas inhabited by tribes in mainland India, Sixth Schedule autonomous district councils in four north eastern states under Article 244 (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram), Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam under Article 244-A in the Sixth Schedule and special provisions for Nagaland under Article 371-A, why should any intelligent tribal person from the Hill Areas of Manipur be willing to continue with the antiquated autonomous district councils under the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971 which is only a state legislation and can be amended anytime by a state government dominated by the majority community with no constitutional safeguards. The very idea of enticing the tribes in the Hill Areas by offering ten autonomous district council is denigrating and an insult on the intelligence of the Naga people especially when the Kuki-Zo tribes are already demanding district/territorial councils under Article 244-A in the Sixth Schedule on the lines of the Bodoland Territorial Council. It is not the number of district council which is material. It is the political, administrative, judicial, police and legislative powers for the district/territorial council which are the ingredients of an empowered district/territorial council to be enshrined in the constitution for the Hill Areas of Manipur that is being demanded.

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A coordinated effort for a common goal demanding Sixth Schedule for the Hill Areas of Manipur under Article 244-A submitted separately to both the governments, that is the Centre and state, will improve the chances of success for both groups i.e. the Naga tribes and the Kuki-Zo tribes. It would also help the Central government to consider the matter in a holistic manner together for both group of tribes to solve the current Manipur crisis. The age old school days idiom comes to mind – “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Ngaranmi Shimray is an activist and political observer based in New Delhi. Views are personal. Shimray2011@gmail.com. Feedback/comment @Aran Shimray on X

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