ARE THE Nagas dreaming? The Meiteis are attempting to grab ancestral Naga lands currently occupied by Kuki-Zo in areas surrounding the Imphal valley (part of Sadar Hills/Kangpokpi) by becoming Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Kuki-Zo tribes are likely to receive district/territorial councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for the areas they inhabit. The Nagas could miss out, as they may be asked to wait for a settlement under the Framework Agreement (FA) by the NSCN, which is unlikely to occur in the next five years due to coalition politics. Solving the Manipur crisis has become urgent as the conflict has dragged on for more than a year. A district/territorial council under the Sixth Schedule may be the most plausible outcome for the Kuki-Zo tribes. The Manipur Naga areas might miss the opportunity if the NSCN decides to wait for a settlement under the FA, a scenario that cannot be ruled out.
The Meiteis have made their moves. They want land in the Hill Areas of Manipur, which they cannot possess as tribal lands are constitutionally protected. They plan to overcome this protection by arguing, through outdated and irrelevant ethnographic studies and socio-economic surveys, that they are backward and primitive, deserving of being classified as ST. Several justifications are presented by the three Meitei ST demand organizations, claiming tribal traits, backwardness, primitiveness, and an existential crisis. This is self-deprecating and self-denigrating, considering the Meiteis are advanced, having more doctors, engineers, lawyers, bureaucrats, and academicians than all the tribes of Manipur combined. Everyone knows there are no recent ethnographic studies or socio-economic surveys as required by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MTA). Yet, pressure is mounted on the state government by the three Meitei ST demand organizations to send the outdated reports to the government of India. They know that recent studies would not be in their favor and are reluctant to pressurize the government to institute new studies. Regardless of the risk of triggering a wider conflict between tribals and non-tribals, they continue to insist on sending the old reports. They should instead request a new ethnographic study and a fresh socio-economic survey by an independent third party, as upheld by the Manipur High Court.
The Kuki-Zo have made their position clear following the May 2023 ethnic clashes. They are not allowed back to the Imphal valley, where the legislative, judicial, and administrative machineries are located. The state government has been functioning without them for more than a year. The Kuki-Zo have demanded a separate administration, and their current reality of being banished from the Imphal valley has made their demand for a Union Territory (UT) more substantial than in the initial days of ethnic conflict. Now that the BJP is heading a coalition government, it can no longer deal with the Manipur crisis with indifference as before. They are now answerable to their coalition partners and an invigorated opposition. The central government is now firmly on the path to finding a solution but will face several challenges.
The Nagas of Manipur have been neutral in the Meitei and Kuki-Zo ethnic conflict but now face a new reality in Chandel and Kamjong areas. Large numbers of Myanmarese refugees fleeing the military junta have entered the Naga areas, outnumbering the natives. The
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