Vie for a strong Manipur nation

By Seram Neken *

History is replete with bitter encounters for peoples and cultures around the world. Manipur, as an independent entity having 2000 year old history of its own, had to join the Indian squad in 1949 amid the strong efforts of independent India's reconstruction process. Either forcibly or with the wishes of some sections of inhabitants, Manipur was merged to Indian union as an historical reality.

The long history of the state and its composite character are sometimes threatened by the mainland administrative diplomacies from time to time. The state and its people have been plagued by divide and rule designs, negligence, partiality and discriminatory attitude of the Indian rulers for a long time. All these tendencies have been more and more facilitated by the weakness of the state and its people.

When the state becomes strong and self-sufficient, tendencies for disintegration of the entity will be more and more diminished. It is high time the people of the state built a strong, self-sufficient and unified Manipur under any circumstance to remain either as a state of India or even as an independent Manipur nation.

The tendency of moulding homelands within the small state of Manipur by different ethnic groups disturbs the age-old co-existence of peoples in his land. The whole population of the state is around twenty five lakhs only and the size of the state is 22,327 square kilometers.

Before the generic nomenclatures like Naga or Kuki were introduced during the British period, the various tribal groups were known in their ethnic brands as Aimol, Anal, Chiru, Chothe, Kharam, Koireng, Kom, Kabui, Khongshai, Maring, Mayon, Monshang, Lamkang, Mao, Maram, Maring, Thangal, Thadou, Paite, Hmar, Poumai, Tangkhul, Tarao and Zeliangrong, Ao, Angami, Lotha, Sema, Tangkhul, Mao, Maram, Zeliangrong etc. But with creation of the 'Naga' and 'Kuki' terminologies by the British for their administrative convenience two centuries ago, the divide and rule designs were emerged.

Nowadays, there are strong forces for growth of different views of Meitei nationalism, Naga nationalism, Meitei-pangal nationalism and Kuki nationalism thereby disturbing the composite blooming of Manipur. The influx of alien faiths Vaishnavite movement in the valley and Christianity in the hills was also a main factor for the hill-valley divide.

Some of the Naga organisations are demanding formation of a greater Nagaland by carving out a large chunk of Manipur's territory while some of the Kuki organisations have placed their desire for a Kuki Homeland by integrating a large section of Kuki inhabited Manipur. Other groups like the Zous, Hmar and Paite communities are also seen to be moulding their own idea of homeland on ethnic lines.

There are also the potential for other smaller groups to demand their own homelands in quest for preservation of separate ethnic identity. Meitei tradition indicates the existence of seven tribes namely Ningthouja, Angom, Khuman, Moirang, Luwang, Sarang-Leishangthem and Khaba-Nganba. The Khumans had appeared to be the most powerful until the Moirang became prominent after its decline. And ultimately the Ningthoujas subdued the whole and the name Meitei has become applicable to all the tribes.

In fact, the name 'Manipur' was also created only three centuries ago during the reign of king Pamheiba. It will be a mockery, if all the seven clans namely Ningthouja, Angom, Khumal, Moirang, Luwang, Sarang-Leishangthem and Khaba-Nganba resort to demand their own homelands in the valley. So, homeland quest on ethnic grounds is not sensible. It is unfortunate that some components of the composite Manipur as a nation have started asserting their own identities within the existing identity.

It is natural that every ethnic group seeks to preserve its own identity for a dignified social status in society. The tryst for homelands within the existing homeland has affected Manipur many times, since Manipur is composed of varied peoples, languages and cultures. Manipur, as a nation, shall never be defined on communal, cultural and ethnic lines. The totality character or unique entity of this state may be defined in terms of love and emotional blending among different inhabitants.

There are more than 30 different ethnic groups speaking different dialects in the state. They have their own age-old beautiful traditions that narrate their socio-cultural lives. The rough topography of Manipur adds to the diversities of its people, as hills and valley connectivity in terms of communication and transport is considerably poor. Balanced growth still remains a far cry in spite of the government's hectic efforts. Here the sincerity and commitment of the tribal leadership is highly called for.

Emotional ties among the people have almost naturally diminished in course of time, thereby leading to tendencies to assert separate identities within the existing identity. This is not a healthy trend. Instead of demanding homelands, it is valid and rational for the various groups to vie for a strong Manipur. If the whole is strong, the component parts are also strong and vice versa.

A retrospective look on the government's achievements during the last ten years, 2001-2010 clearly reveals the efforts for revival of age-old hill-valley ties and whole-hearted protection of territorial integrity of Manipur. The present SPF government has taken up numerous development initiatives in both the hills and the valley, even though some of them lack its desired quality at the implementation level.

The autonomous district councils have been revived to decentralize powers to the local administration in hills amidst strong opposition from certain circles. Ibobi Singh ministry is in the process of establishing sports complexes in each hill district of the state including one in Jiribam. The self-employment generation schemes have been taken up in wide scale in the hill districts. The Khuga project has been inaugurated recently and a tribal market in Imphal is yet to be opened to facilitate the tribal traders.

So as to bring about a strong Manipur, the government on its part has to take up a long term project for a balanced and impartial development for the whole state. The road connectivity among the nine districts of the state should be accorded top priority, besides improving essential social services like water supply, electricity, health and education.

The Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act needs to be amended in order that people of the valley are allowed to settle in the hill areas to mingle with the hill peoples. Even though the government takes up a number of development programmes for the people, no fruitful initiative for ushering in sustainable growth has so far been in our eyes.

The state government needs to establish big industries suitable to local resources to provide employment to its people. The erstwhile cement factory at Hundung, Tea estate in Jiribam and many such establishments may be revived so as to bring in sustainable development in hills. The state government has to put emphasis on cultural exchange programmes among various ethnic groups to bring about emotional integration for preserving the composite identity of Manipur.

Here, the Art and Culture department, Sports department, Information department etc. shall play their defined roles. The e-governance concept shall be made fully operational in far flung remote areas to translate transparency and accountability into action. The government in collaboration with civil society organisations has to take initiative to bring about emotional and cultural unity among the groups. Inter community marriages shall be encouraged to bring about more intimacy among different groups.

School curriculum shall be designed so as to mould Manipuri nationalism, instead of Meitei nationalism, Kuki nationalism, Naga nationalism or Meitei Pangal nationalism.