THE MANIPUR High Court has stated in Review Petition No. 12 of 2023 [Ref. : W.P.(C) No. 229 of 2023] that the offending para 17 (iii) is deleted. Hence the surviving and actionable point is only para 17 (ii) of the order passed in W.P.(C) No. 229 of 2023. This para reads as follows:-
“The first respondent is directed to submit the recommendation in reply to the letter dated 29.05.2013 of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India.”
The letter dated 29.05.2013 of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India states as follows:-
The state government is requested to send “specific recommendation along with the latest socio-economic survey and ethnographic report.”
Note the word “latest”. This means only one thing – to send the latest report at that point of time which in May 2013. Since then ten years had lapsed, the latest report should now be with reference to the current point in time i.e. 2024. Further, note that there are two reports (1) the socio-economic survey and (2) ethnographic study to be sent to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India and both should be the LATEST reports.
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The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) approach of pressurising the state government to send specific recommendations for inclusion of Meitei Community in the list of Scheduled Tribe (ST) without carrying out socio-economic survey and an ethnographic study smacks of trickery to by-pass the order of the Manipur High Court.
Assertions have been made by STDCM and Meitei researchers that there are several historical records to show that the Meiteis were termed as a tribe. Amen! But the context of the issue is of the PRESENT TIME and not the PAST. The Meiteis may have been a tribe in the PAST, but are they still a tribe TODAY? That’s the first question. Further, are the Meiteis a BACKWARD community? That’s the second question.
To satisfy the Lokur Committee criteria an ethnographic study and socio-economic survey would be required to be carried out. The study and survey need to be conducted by an independent third party of repute and credibility whose reports should pass the test of impartiality and transparency. This is the most important requirement as the Meitei community is in majority and is the dominant community in Manipur. They control the state government with 40 MLAs out of 60 and more than 65 percent government employees. The Meiteis are therefore in a commanding position to influence researchers or institutions who are dependent on the state government. Hence the importance of conducting the study and survey by an independent third party of repute and credibility is paramount.
The operative part of the Manipur High Court order in Review Petition No. 12 of 2023 [Ref. : W.P.(C) No. 229 of 2023] is very clear and there is no ambiguity in its interpretation. It does not matter how many times the demand was made by different organisations for inclusion of Meitei community in the list of ST and the number of communications exchanged between
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