Manipur State Population Commission: An antidote
- Part 1 -

Prof RK Narendra Singh *

Ningol Chakkouba Shopping :: A very crowded scene at Ema Keithel in November 2015 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Yumdangbana keinare! Loumapu yongna talle!
Sandrembi, Imadi ngak yauredo …!
No introduction to what next!

Introduction:

The Manipur is known for its rich unique cultures, traditions, rituals and festivals. It is the home of scenic beauty and biodiversity hot spot with terrestrial salubrious climate. Simplicity, innocent, sympathy and hospitality are the inherent quality of the people. According to the various ecological and geo-climatic conditions, habits and settlements, cultures and traditions, languages and dialects, etc., they are further alienated into various tribes and sub-tribes.

Since earlier days they are backward with primitive traits, calm people, cherry-picking working style, less revelation and prophecy; and less mixed-up with the other people of neighboring states in terms of trade, economy, and any forms of livelihood at large. These might be due to tribal behaviors, geographical isolation (topographical bottle neck), language problem, and lack of knowledge and far-sightedness. With the melding of these imperfections as pull factors that bidding to intruders for the last many decades. Over these decades, a stream of people from neighboring countries such as mainly Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar has been taking advantage of India's lop hold migration policy to migrate in the state in one hand. On the other, as safe guard of the Constitution of India, a large scale inter-state migration from other parts of the country has been going on in the state.

By them state is treated a safe haven which may entail foods, secure livelihood, better avenues and economic liberalization, pursue dream, and they are now ready to face odds situations even in the most hostile environments. As a result, once a homogenous predominantly pluralistic Manipuri society has been utterly reshaped into assimilated non Manipuri society. In brief, the state faces the menace from two dimensions, one from the inundating migrants flow and another from the disequilibrium demographic components, so called demographic imbalance, within and between communities. These two forces are again inter-related to a great extent. Another upcoming issue is the arrival of Trans-Asia Railway Network (TARN) trains that might cause human Tsunami in the state.

Manipur has been witnessing demographic imbalance for the last many decades and consequently now facing demographic aftermath. The menace is escalating year to year and triumphing highest peak in very near future. The state has beheld overall high population growth rate and within the state, disequilibrium growth pertains to diverse communities which further creates distortion of size, distribution, structure, composition and growth of the population. The authenticated data reveals the fact that there are alarming population growth; disequilibrium growth in terms of hill-valley, districts, religions, castes, etc.

Now the state has faced a bunch of social and economic problems like high unemployment, dwindling job prospects, tarnishing culture and belief, loss of trust, geopolitical instability, rampant corruption, crime, insurgency, etc., that to a degree didn't exist before.

Moreover, the present social turmoil, conflicts, chaos, communal tensions persisting among the diverse sections of the society is mainly due to the inundating migrants flow and the manifestation of demographic imbalance. The situation turns from bad to worse which is a real threat to the peace, harmony and tranquillity of the Manipuri society as it becomes assimilated and acculturated society.

Not only to become an assimilated and acculturated society due to nuptial relationship with native women by migrants but it also becomes a complex legal issue to recognize them and their offspring as migrants. On socio-legal perspective the issue is a very serious emanating through veiled strategy. Another more urgent issue is the question of survival and identity of the indigenous people as they are shrinking in the ocean of migrants.

Thus, need of the hours is to curtail migration flow and to maintain equilibrium demographic phenomenon amongst the diverse communities so as finally to achieve population stabilisation in the state. To accomplish this gigantic task, state should have an effective and authoritative State Population Policy with the objectives, which can ascribe existing state problems. Further to implement these objectives, a detail plan based on scientific reports is very much necessary and therefore such a technical body, that can study prophetically the present socio-demographic, geo-political, ethno-cultural scenarios and find out remedial measures, should be constituted. This is none other than State Population Commission.

This article illustrates the present fading demographic scenario in the state; highlights the exigent necessity of State Population Commission; and also enlightens its benefits for all the indigenous people of Manipur irrespective of all kinds of social milieus.

Brief demographic profile:

The Manipur state, one of the tiny states, has 22,327 sq. km., which constitutes only 0.7% of the total land surface of India with a population density of 128 per sq. km. It has a population of 28,55,794 consisting of 14,38,586 males and 14,17,208 females (2011 Census, after final population adjustment of 3 sub-divisions of Senapati district – Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul) with a decennial growth of 24.50%. The rate is running much higher than the National figure of 17.64% (2011 Census) which is still treated high. It is supporting about 0.24% (including migrants) of the total population of India and hence nearly every four hundred seventeenth person in the country is a Manipuri.

Out of the total 624-kilometer (1,009 mile)-long border of the country with Myanmar, the State has a porous international long border of 398 km. with Myanmar to the southeast. On the north, south, and west it is bounded by Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam respectively.

Taking the advantages of, more or less, similarity in terms of its language and dialect, culture and tradition, and habit and settlement, etc., to local inhabitants, a huge number of Myanmarese immigrants mostly Chin, Kuki & Mizo tribes (in broader sense) have been entering without much interruption for the last many decades through porous international border of 398 km. and settled them in hill districts of the state especially Chandel and Churachandpur. They can easily assimilate with the native population.

At the same time, some local tribes who are the same fraternity encourage and even invite them to migrant and help them to settle. It is learnt that a similar process of migration especially inter-state migration of Chin-Kuki tribes like Zomi has been going on in Churachandpur district mainly through Mizoram. A huge amount of immigrants from Nepal were already settled in several parts of hill districts of the state mainly in Sadar Hills and the immigration process is still going on.

In some parts of valley districts of Manipur especially in Serou and Sugnu of Thoubal district they settled in large colonies. They used primarily National Highway No-2, Imphal-Dimapur as their transit route. In earlier days, Muslims were migrating from the neighbouring Cachar, repartitioned Sylhet and undivided Bengal. Now they are intruding directly from Bangaldesh. First they stayed some times in anywhere in Assam then enter in Manipur through mainly National Highway No-37, Imphal-Jiribam and also through National Highway No-2, Imphal-Dimapur. Muslims already dominated Jiribam sub-division of Imphal East district with more than one third of the population. The continue influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal has been of deep concern as the state has experienced a comparatively high population growth rate in the post-Independence period.

Immigrant Muslims are also fraternizing in vast number with the local Muslims in several parts of all the valley districts of Manipur especially in Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal and Bishnupur as some local Muslims encourage and even insist them to migrant and arrange their settlement. They give some kind of training, even the basic communication Manipuri language to immigrants, and some of them sent back to their place of origins to bring back some more immigrants. According to 2011 Census, the composition of Muslim population is third in rank with a decadal growth rate of 25.61%.

In one way or other, immigration process is going on in the state in large scale that one can easily notice a number of immigrants who couldn't speak and understand Manipuri move every parts of the state, and new settlements as their colonies are coming up in valley as also in hill. This immigration process is due to the combination of pull factor and craft domination. The latter is more prominent than the former, in the sense that the minority community tries to craft or boost their folks, in religion, tribe or caste lines, to dominate the majority in terms of population. It is really a dangerous form of demographic terrorism. On the other hand, majority community resists or tries to keep status quo, so does the state enters craft-resist domination (minority crafts to dominate majority while majority resists it) stage.

In terms of inter-migration, enormous amount of in-migrants have been entering in the state from other big states of India for the last many decades through road surfaces as well as air ways. As affluent communities, Marwaris and Sikhs mainly dominate the entire trade and commerce in the state while Bengalis and Biharies are also sharing the race. They occupied entire Imphal market, the main business hub with more than 95% population ratio. The market seems to be a market of Mayang (outsiders) only. In Moreh (literally means "I'm tired" in Burmese dialect) town, the International Border Trade Centre, Tamil is the majority business group followed by Punjabi, Marwari, Telugu, Bihari and Nepali. These in-migrants from other big states of India are hatching in population and spreading their business activities in all the districts and settled in big colonies then and there.

On the other hand, enormous non-skill and skill in-migrants (Bihari, Oriya, Assamee, etc.) have been coming to joint work force through either National Highway No-2, Imphal-Dimapur via Nagaland or National Highway No-37, Imphal-Jiribam. They already snatched the entire semi and non-semi works, these are the once time livelihoods of the local common people, from the natives. They settled in and round the big markets to small (local) markets all over the state. One can find those in-migrants anytime – day or night and anywhere – hill or valley, rural or urban, city or locality in the state. Their population is multiplied year by year with exponential growth rate. As Manipur is their safe heaven, now they are ready to face any odd situation arises against them.

To be continued....