Ganja Jaunts III :: Demand for ST Status by the Meiteis

Czadanda Saint *

A women vendor selling flowers on the eve of Bor Festival near Hiyangthang Lairembi on Oct 12, 2013
Pix - Deepak Oinam

There are some things I cannot change about myself. I am a very proud Manipuri. A true blue Meitei. And a bona fide Indian. I don't consider myself as a humanist yet. Because watching a movie like 'Kangla Karbar' still makes my blood boil with indignation. And in the deep recesses of my imagination, there always lies the apprehension that my beloved Manipur is going to be taken over by some filthy, waste-of-a-space parasites. However, these are just my thoughts. And it is quite immaterial of who I am. It is what I do which should matter.

The recent demand of the ST status by the Meiteis, and the opposition shown against it by the Nagas and the Kukis; the justifications and the arguments hurled against each other, are fairly a piece of work! In a sense, it shows how deep the wedge has been driven, how wide the gulf has become. And it is unfortunate to see some of the best minds of Manipur, engrossed in such a debate, a debate more comparable to the war of Troy. The age-old slogan, 'chingmi-tammi-ammatani' seems to have totally lost its relevance today. Because, as recent events transpired have shown, 'chingmi-chingmi-ammatani' makes even lesser sense under the present climate. So, what has actually gone wrong? What exactly is ailing Manipur? Is there a solution in sight? Or is Manipur doomed?

But, of course, we should never give up hope. We should always remain optimistic. Good things usually happen to those who are in a positive frame of mind. Some say that life is short. Nevertheless, life (our lives, our lifetimes) is the longest thing we will ever have anyways. So, we have to make the best we can, give the best we can, and do the best we can. Always. Now coming back to the point: the demand of the ST status by the Meiteis, without going into the pros and cons, have again brought into the foreground one of the major ills afflicting Manipur. The problem of unemployment. Because, no matter how much we try to look in the other way; no matter how much we try to justify ourselves otherwise of the demand, the issue of reservation in employment always crops up, in one way or the other. The Nagas and the Kukis are afraid that the Meiteis will eat into their small share of reservation. The Meiteis are trying hard to convince them that the demand has got nothing to do with getting employment and other incidental benefits under the ST status. Or to say so in other words, the Nagas and the Kukis are thinking locally, within the boundaries of Manipur.

On the other hand, the Meiteis are thinking of Meiteis in relation to the rest of India, of which we formed only a miniscule percent of the population. To elucidate this singular scenario, we can recall one particular doctrine of Jainism- Anekantavada, which postulates that there are many perceptions to reality. And so, both these assertions of the Meiteis as well as the Nagas and the Kukis are equally right and also equally wrong at the same time. But it is outside the scope of this article to discuss the benefits and the drawbacks; the fears, real or imaginary; the reasons, right or wrong. And that's it. Period.

The way I see it, we Manipuris are like two very hungry dogs that are given only one piece of roti to eat. So, we fight with each other for that roti. All our efforts are exerted in trying to get the roti for oneself, even to the point of snatching it from each other's mouths. We fight to kill… for that roti. But while we are at it, we forgot to ask the more pertinent question – why were we given only one roti in the first place? Why were we not given two rotis, one each? (Khuswant Singh's 'Train to Pakistan'). And that, I believe, should be the crux of the matter.

There's no denying the fact that the demand of ST status by the Meiteis, or at least the perception of it, will always remain intricately linked with the issue of reservation and quota system. And this in turn, reflects the prevalence of high rate of unemployment in Manipur. So, now, let me make a hypothetical imagery and ask a purely hypothetical question. Suppose, there was no dearth of employment opportunities in Manipur, would there be so many hue and cries against the ST status demand of Meiteis? Or again in a much broader spectrum, if the right to work and the right to livelihood were virtually guaranteed and effected in toto, would there be the need for reservation? Because, quite contrary to popular belief, it is not for the protection of minority groups that the system of reservation exists. It is actually because of the shortage of/limited employment opportunities that the minority groups needs protection (reservation), as regards employment, in the first place.

Let me now narrate a particular case, not precisely isolated or singular incident, yet peculiar in its own aspects. Let me name it as – the lady with the thumok.

There is a lady who comes to our locality almost every day to sell vegetables. A vegetable vendor of sorts, she will carry the thumok, laden with vegetables, on her head and will visit almost all the houses in our locality. Except when it's raining, heat and cold doesn't matter much to her, she will walk miles every day. Sometimes, she will take a siesta, smoke a beedi, and will recall fondly the many memories she have, from her twenty plus years of being a travelling vegetable vendor. She seemed so strong. Watching her was always a sight. Walking at such a brisk pace. With the thumok above her head. She was womanhood redefined.

And it is very hard to imagine her without the thumok. Sometimes, I think I will not be able to recognize her elsewhere without the thumok above her head. To me, she and her thumok were inseparable. It was the image carved in my mind since my age of innocence. To me, she is an institution by herself. Unrelenting, unchangeable… like forever. But if she happened to take out the scarf or the cloth covering her head, it can be easily seen those years and years of carrying the thumok have already taken its toll. In a moment, the same eyes which were playfully nostalgic while recalling the fond memories were all empty and hollow; painfully revealing years of hardship and deprivation. The smile was no longer deceptive. The smoke from her beedi could no longer obscure the lines and the wrinkles on her face. Times like this, I used to wonder, for how long will she able to continue toiling on. One day had to come. And then it happened. That day came. She came no more.

Its more than two months now, I have not seen the familiar sight of her walking down the streets. The lady with the thumok was gone. Honestly, I wouldn't have realized it if my mother had not told me the other day. My mother was wondering what had happened to her. And though I have a general idea of where she came from, it would be unrealistic to try to reach out to her now. And in any case, it is pointless.

But what is truly ironic is that, all this time, while I was so busy theorizing about Manipur, development, alleviation of the poorest of the poor, a living embodiment of what I was talking about came, and went away. And I did nothing at all. Nothing et al. And all my thoughts, however noble they may appear to me, were, frankly, just a waste of time. It is action which counted, or rather what was needed. Just by being an armchair analyst doesn't really bring the changes as desired. It continues to remain as mere wishes. There, I realized, 'I have to be the change I want to see in the world'. I have to stand up and be accountable.

Now, keeping aside my rebellious and 'Che Gueveristic' musings, let me go back to the lady with the thumok for the time being. Of course, it is true that she's entitled to or rather she deserves far more than what the well-off Scheduled Tribes who are living in plush houses and driving fancy cars are enjoying. However, she used to say that whenever she used to visit their houses to sell vegetables, most of them were fairly understanding and sympathetic to her. They knew they are in a much better position than her in the social strata, and thus are kind to her. But, in the eyes of law, say Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, she is a general and doesn't need protection while the ones living in the fancy homes do!

Maybe the Founding Fathers of our Constitution had a hunch that such a situation might arise, and so had the foresight to insert a clause in the Constitution that such reservations are to be temporal. But to ask for how long such temporary scheme of reservation is to be in operation, it becomes a different matter altogether. And in any case, the biggest concern or priority should be how to ameliorate the basic conditions of people like her in particular and the masses in general. And this has nothing to do with the demand, grant, or opposition of the demand of the ST status by the Meiteis. To make my case, let me cite an illustration.

There are some people who doesn't bargain much with the lady with the thumok while buying vegetables, and sometimes does odd favors for her. And it is purely out of love and unconditional. In other words, they understood her suffering, her hardship and by doing and giving a little 'this-and-that', they are not only helping her, but also acknowledging her efforts, in her fight against fate… against life. And these people (a motley collection of people from different walks of life) are not even bothered (aware) that the Meiteis are demanding ST status. Thus, my point being, if we love Manipur and care for We, Manipuris, the way ahead is very clear indeed.

Now, how to alleviate the prevailing conditions of people like her. As mentioned earlier, she's been doing the rounds of our locality for more than twenty years. Meaning thereby, the economic or social standing of her lot has improved during this time. Otherwise, there would be no need for her to toil like this every day. And the reason is painfully obvious. The finger can be directly pointed at the unavailability or the barest minimum availability of other avenues of employment.

The failure to generate sustainable employment opportunities proportionate to the growing population is one of the basic causes for the stagnant nature of our 'development' status; which in turn translates into the pitiable and pathetic state of affairs of people like the lady with the thumok. Affirming this chain of thought is also the generally accepted opinion that most (or rather all) of the centrally sponsored schemes have not succeeded because they failed to create new or sustainable employment amongst the masses. Unless the job pool enlarges or increases at a suitable balanced ratio, all our efforts in other areas will be of no avail. We will remain as backward as ever. That is the bottom line.

Moving on, I hope We, Manipuris will pay a little more heed to Khuswant Singh's example of two hungry dogs and a roti. To me, it seems like we are all fighting against all the wrong persons, and for all the wrong reasons. To all the people who still believe in the idea of Manipur, there is a dire need for introspection/retrospection vis-à-vis the various demands of the Kukis, Meiteis and the Nagas. I, being a Meitei, do sincerely hope that we stop looking back into the past to justify our demands. Because, history always have something to teach us. The emergence of Indian Nationalism during the latter half of the 19th Century teaches us a very important lesson. The growth of this nationalism was accompanied by a tendency to look back into our ancient past and glorify it. But such glorification was, sometimes, totally baseless, biased and very less justifiable. And it is widely believed that this ultimately sowed the seeds of communalism in India. And the British, being the opportunists they were, pounced upon it and made it assume demonic proportions.

Likewise, in the recent times, new theories have emerged regarding the origin of the Meiteis. Some state that our ancestry lies in some illustrious Chinese race. Some theories have propounded that our genesis can be traced to some obscure parts of Africa. Yes, I have not gone through both the theories. And honestly, there's no reason for me to do so. To me, only one thing is dead sure. Either both are wrong or one of them is wrong. But both cannot be right. Perhaps this is why the bickering would not stop in online domain and in academic circles. Personally though, for what it is worth, we might have come from Mars, for who cares. We might have come as little green man in tiny suits and evolve into whoever (whatever) we are today under the effect of Sun's rays or something. The point should be that we are now living in Manipur, India. And this is the 21st Century. That is all that matters. Hopefully, the message is reached!