Vung
SOME ISSUES
(This paper is from the heart and does not claim or make any academic posturing. As I am unable to present this paper I have, at the last minute, requested Mr. Rahul Bedi to read my paper. Questions, opinions, suggestions may kindly be sent to: vungatonsing @ yahoo . co . in I shall be glad to respond and be enlightened.)
Sitting here today in Delhi, or in any part of the country where people number in their hundreds of thousands, a word like marginalization sounds out of place at best, and on the worse side distasteful or manipulative. The worst – I believe – is far beyond most reckoning. Yet all three kinds are very much present in differing degrees and forms almost everywhere in India. Though it seems to this writer that where there are huge populations – along with today’s accompanying harsh pace of life – sheer numbers seem to simply, and most cruelly, overwhelm and squeeze out all thoughts of marginalization!
It is like saying: numbers themselves seem to have a way of resolving marginalization. Or is it plain suppression? Anyway, in the light of the above, it follows that where the communities are many, and yet the total population is small, it is fertile ground for marginalization of all sorts, forms and degrees! Especially when there is an indifferent, self-centred dominant community in total control.
But I was going to say … fly with me tomorrow on Jet Airways, for two hours due east, into the North-East (I truly wish I could proudly say: ‘fabled north-east’ because, mind you, we have the makings) … and the word – marginalization - breathes and lives and moves over the hills and plains of the North-East. In fact, in every nook and corner, the power to marginalize, and the opportunity to be made and kept marginalized abound. This is terribly true of the state of Manipur, where there is as many as 33 recognized scheduled tribes and, of course, the all-dominating 16-17 lakh strong Meitei majority, who, almost to a man reside in the central valley of Imphal. In comparison, the said hill tribes range from the teeny-weeny 110 (1991) strong Ralte tribe to its few big/major ones, like the Tangkhul Naga tribe, 1,12,944 (2001) and the Thadou-Kuki tribe 1,15,045 (2001). It is to be noted that by North East standards a hill tribe comprising of a lakh members, or thereabouts, is a big big tribe. And as we can see from Annexure-1, the majority of the hill tribes of Manipur are very very small indeed, hence the easy dismissal, the easy marginalizing by the big, and easiest by the biggest.
The abounding of marginalization in Manipur seems natural-like because of the smallness, isolation, voiceless-ness and the sheer number of different tribes, all of whom are fighting for a place in the sun.
However, beneath the natural-like sheen lies the un-natural: where the lives of myriad tribes are artfully played upon by Manipur’s overwhelmingly large and imperious Meitei community.
So, now, for the whats and whys etc. of marginalization in Manipur: First of the firsts, to help us in the understanding of the ease with which marginalization takes place in Manipur, is to always keep in mind that in such a small state there are 33 recognized scheduled tribes, with several others still seeking recognition. The above tribes can be broadly divided into two distinct groups – the Naga tribes and the “Non-Naga”tribes. (“Non-Naga” is a great misnomer, but is used here for lack of a unanimously acceptable name among such tribes). The 33 tribes may be split, say 50-50* as belonging to the Naga or Non-Naga group. (*This grouping is a very sensitive and highly contentious issue, hence the neither here nor there break-up of 50-50).
No:2 of the firsts is that according to the Statistical Handbook of Manipur, 2002, Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Government of Manipur, the population of the state stands at 23,88,634, of which the 33 plus tribes account for 6,32,173, or 34.1% of the population. These figures are against 17,56,461 for the Meiteis or the balance 65.9% (including others, like the 1.3 lakh strong Pangans/ Muslims).
No: 3 of the firsts is that 9/10ths, or 20,082 sq. km., out of a total land area of 22,327 sq.km., is inhabited by tribals who form only 3/10ths/34.1% of the total population. This is a totally askew distribution, given that 17 lakh Meiteis (and others) i.e. 65.9% live in only 2,245 sq.km. or 1/10th of total land area i.e Imphal valley!
*Here, it is interesting and significant to note that the valley of 2,245 sq.km. has 40 MLAs, with a constituency of, say, 56 sq.km. each!
*Whereas, the 19 tribal MLAs in a House of 60 (one is Reserved for SC) have among them 20,082 sq.km.
Or, each hill MLA represents 1,056 sq.km.!
*So each tribal MLA looks after almost 20 times the area each valley MLA represents. Or, even more revealing: each valley MLA looks after a constituency that is 20 times smaller than his tribal counterpart!
One can, thereafter, draw one’s own conclusions about marginalization and any thing and every thing else from the above given facts and figures.
Incidentally, the above firsts – may be considered - the alpha and the omega of half of Manipur’s problems and its unending issues and, more than half of why the hill tribes of Manipur are marginalized.
Second, it can be surmised from the above firsts that marginalization has been going on for long … be it 58 years since Independence, or 2000 years of history! Here, it is quite true that the ones doing the marginalizing have been at it, for so long, that they may have even forgotten they are doing something terribly unfair and wrong, though, that does not absolve them, nor any one so positioned.
Third, the form, duration and degree of marginalization depend on and are decided by how much the marginalized tribe, or tribes, are needed in the marginalizer’s scheme of things.
Fourth, it is now the turn of the long marginalized to raise an issue here and there when most would like to never see or hear of it or them! But the victims of yesterday now have the power, opportunity and forum to get heard and, hopefully, noticed to the extent that some thing will be done. Thanks to, for instance, occasions like this two-day gathering, a thing unheard of before and which may be able to put the ‘marginalizer force(s)’ on the defensive. The victims may even extract more than their pound of flesh, with compounding interest to boot, if fair play and sympathy is permitted. In this ironic turn of events, one cannot blame the marginalized tribes for their ruthless pursuit of their new goals: they are only striking while the iron is hot. And, if at all blame is to be apportioned, the said ‘marginalizers’ – even if they have forgotten they ever had a role – have to bear the greater responsibility. Somewhat like: a railway minister resigning because of a rail accident in an unheard of habitation on an endlessly vast arid plain somewhere in C. India.
Fifth, marginalization grows – from seedling to even a jungle - without anyone planning or knowing about it till it hits one in the face … as promised communication, trade, education, employment and a host of other benefits, including empowerment, is a bus missed altogether.
Sixth, the focus of this paper is the marginalization directed against the “Non-Nagas” by the majority community, for the simple reason that because of the ongoing Naga Peace Talks the Nagas are not too side-lined. They are very much in the news and escape many a marginalization. Having said that, they too have, and continue to suffer marginalization’s ignoble and damaging effects.
Now, for a gear change:
Some of the papers of this seminar, and the discussions that follow, are bound to bring out some form or degree or the other of marginalization in the hills of Manipur. On that presumption, the remainder of this paper will highlight a few clear areas and instances that prove beyond doubt how the “Non-Naga” tribes of Manipur are made to feel – more like rubbed in - that we are not important enough … that we are marginalized:
1. Ex-gratia:
*On August 10, 2005 at Umathel village, Thoubal District valley militant’s attacking a security force convoy happened to kill 4 civilians travelling in a mini-truck. On August 17th the GOC, 59 Mtn. Brigade called on the family members of the victims. On August 20, 2005 MLA Shri AK Ranjit handed over Rs. 1 lakh to each family of the 4 victims. It took 10 days to do the needful. Full credit to the government.
*On 13 August, 2005, at the Gateway of India, Mumbai a Tangkhul Naga girl, Leishichon Shaiza was brutally killed. Most promptly our Chief Minister handed over Rs. 1 lakh from his relief fund to her parents.
Most appreciated and commendable.
*Now, in comparison: The first land-mine victim, Doukholun Lhangal of remote Thanlon Sub-Division was
killed on 25th November, 2004. On August 19, 2005 a frustrated Zomi Students Federation agitated, 12 victims and many memorandums later. The Sangai Express headlines read: “Churachandpur in flames, 5 police vehicles torched”. Many were injured. Bandhs were called. On August 25, 2005 the Government inked a 12-Point MOU with the ZSF, among which it was said that within 10 days of the new Deputy Commissioner, Shri A.K.Sinha, IAS, taking charge the ex-gratia payment would be made. On 18th September, 2005, almost 10 months later … after unprecedented agitation … ex-gratia payments to the land-mine victims and financial assistance to the18 injured during the agitation were finally paid.
The question here is: Why should it take so long for one section of people of one state to get what another section very much in the same state gets in 10 days or less?
Through replays of such tragedies, the marginalized hill tribes of Manipur cannot help but think they are not worth much, nor important, both in life and in death!
2. Sports:
*Tribal folks can never forget and forgive the Imphal-centric holding of the National Games hosted by Manipur. One remembers very clearly the brilliant-white painted arrows /road markings for the cycle races … markings coming all the way from Imphal, through Bishnupur and Moirang and then a few metres from the “Kangvai, Churachandpur District” sign-board make a neat U-turn and snake its way back to Imphal. In sadness, the hills were not given even one single item/event, or a part of them, to host/conduct. Not even the easy to manage i.e. sans-infrastructure-events like archery, boxing and weight-lifting!
*In the year 2000 Ng. Dingko Singh did Manipur proud by winning a Gold Medal in the Asian Games.
Much deserved accolades and cash awards etc. were instant-like showered upon him. The road that led to the newly built Khuman Lampak Stadium Complex, the pride of Manipur, was promptly named after him.
*MC Mary Kom (Kom is a 15,000 strong small hill tribe) won 2 World Boxing Gold Medals and a number of national championships, including Best Boxer etc. But it took many write-ups and comparisons, and her small community naming a village road in her honour, to wake up the state government. They then named the road to the Games Village after her and gave her a house in the Games Village too. They also appointed her a Sub-Inspector of Police. Interestingly, they also, at the same function, appointed Sarita Devi, a World Boxing Bronze Medallist a Sub-Inspector of Police! All are happy for Sarita, but the bad taste in the mouth is, as the joke doing the tea-shop-rounds says it all: “One Meitei Bronze = 2 Tribal Golds!” And: “Sarita must have joined service forenoon and Mary afternoon!”
(My, my .. sounds petty. But aren’t we all petty? Actually, marginalization is all about pettiness!)
3. AIDS:
*Ever since AIDS hit the headlines in the North-East, the town of Churachandpur came into the limelight, and soon earned the infamous sobriquet – “AIDS Capital of India”. Many years and much much funds later, when one of the NGOs here still rasps out: “Every 20th person you come across in Churachandpur is infected!” and: “5% of the pregnant women of the district are infected”… Yet the only place you can get Anti-Retro-Viral Therapy is Imphal, the state capital km. 65 km. away, where two outlet-hospitals are assigned to meet the demand.
Question: How does a desperate high CD4 count patient make it or make do … when there are
bandhs-innumerable between Imphal and the hill district headquarters ?
*If the above is the ground reality about a scourge, like AIDS, what chance does general medical problems/treatments have? They have none! The less said or imagined the better. And mind you, compared to the other hill districts, Churachandpur is known to be far far better off!
4. Roads:
*The 52-days Economic Blockade along NH-39, sponsored by the ANSAM, All Naga Students Association, Manipur, exposed the state to great hardships never to be wished upon anyone. It also exposed the myopic vision of the majority community. Like a child denied something switching his attention completely elsewhere, in a thrice, the clamour to get the long long neglected NH-53 to Jiribam opened and developed for heavy traffic - as the alternative life-line, in lieu of Naga-controlled NH-39 - rose to fever pitch.
Because of the Imphal-centricity of all thoughts and cares … other routes – that did not cater directly to Imphal – were not even considered as viable ‘alternatives’.
Churachandpur has the long-forgotten NH-150 to Tipaimukh and the NEC Guite Road. Both go to Aizawl/Mizoram, and can become good so-called alternatives. Of the two, the Guite Road is the more viable, especially as it is fairly safe to travel on. At least for now. In fact, during the said long blockade petrol, diesel and cooking gas, among other essentials, though expensive (because the Manipur section of the road is terrible) were made available at Churachandpur through this route.
*These roads, especially the Guite Road, need not come into importance only because of the NH-39 blockade. It merits its own case as it veers off to the left at Singhat to Behiang, on the Indo-Myanmar border, a potential trade centre, which it was once in the not too distant past. The NH-150, especially if the Tipaimukh Dam comes up, is loaded with potential.
*However, as these roads pass through areas belonging to the marginalized “Non-Naga” hill tribes of Manipur, the Imphal-centric state government ignores the two roads completely. In fact, they – all with the Imphal mind - seem to anticipate that increased trade and commerce, between Churachandpur and Mizoram, will not only be a economy booster, but usher in a closer people to people contact … a contact between people who dress, weave, cook, eat, talk, swear, dance, sing, joke, worship and so on in the same way. Hence, the not un-founded Meitei fear of another “greater” issue: here, “Greater Mizoram.”
But those who harbour such fears should keep in mind that: the more they deny, the greener the pastures on the other side!
The above four areas where marginalization has been clearly illustrated are just the tip of the iceberg, for it insidiously pervades every field and aspect of life in Manipur. I shall deal with only one more aspect, that of education, to cut short a long story of grouses and banging of heads against un-yielding walls.
5. Education:
Education is said to be the most widely accepted intervention for marginalization. Having said that, any education, as the hills of Manipur are wont to get, would simply aggravate the marginalization. In fact, the answer lies in only real quality and quality forms of education. Instead, what the hills get are :-
(i) Higher Education: For obvious financial reasons the dependence on the government for higher education is total, hence the well-being of the 7 general government colleges in the 5 hill districts of Manipur are absolutely vital. (There are 18 general government colleges in the valley of 2,245 sq.km.).
That none of them are able to meet the needs of the people can be gauged from the example of Churachandpur College, established in 1964 and providing classes for +2 (Arts & Sc.) and +3 (Degree, both Arts & Science). Though it has an enrolment of 1300 plus every year there is 1(one) lecturer (Regular) in Chemistry with the only Part-Timer transferred a week ago; Physics, 2 regulars and 2 PTs; Botany, 2 regulars and 1 PT; Zoology, 2 regulars and 2 PTs; Anthropology, 1 regular and 3 PTs; Mathematics, 1 regular and 1 PT; Geography has 3 regular lecturers only, Education has 2 regulars and 1 PT and English has 4 regulars!
It is obvious, from the above, that the once premier college is not expected to produce good students. It seems: half-baked the better, is the policy for the marginalized hills! In fact, if there were a conspiracy policy, it would be that the hill colleges should not produce any science graduate … so that … all Graduate Science Teacher posts for the thousands of schools, both government and private, would be gobbled up by products of the valley colleges!
Then again, when expensive and big multi-purpose halls were to be constructed in the colleges of Manipur only 9 were selected. Needless to say, all nine are located in the valley! Never mind that in 4 of the 9 colleges enrolment was about 400 only! Mind you, this again, is the tip of the iceberg.
(ii) Science education in the hills: That the above “no-tribal-science-graduates –conspiracy” has its roots in the hill schools is clear from the fact that, as per editorial in the popular Sangai Express, there were 824 Science Graduate Teachers in government service. Of them 663 were posted in the valley. The hills got 161 only. And, we must not forget the valley is all of 2045 sq.km. and the hills 10 times more. Also, let us not ask how many of the 161 are in their place of hill posting!
(iii) It is no wonder then that about 10,000 tribal students from Manipur’s marginalized hills – as regards Education, Naga and Non-Naga are on the same footing - study outside at huge cost to the pitiful tribal economy. Imagine that each tribal parent sends out Rs.3000/- per month. That is, the tribals enrich Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkatta etc. by RUPEES THREE CRORES PER MONTH or 36 CRORES PER ANNUM! If Delhi could help us save 70% of that by taking over tribal education in Manipur, it needn’t send us any more money. The hills would manage and do better than they ever would under the present dispensation.
And mind you this is still the tip of the iceberg!
What those who enforce the marginalizing have to wake up to is that – like in a student’s exercise book – without margins being provided for … the page would look both bad and incomplete!
Finally, today’s much used word, marginalization, is in many ways so subtle and elusive that one gets to think it does not exist. I for one never ever knew, or thought, about it till but the last one month! Yet, when I gave it some serious thought, thereafter, I realized it had been there all along … in my life (for which I did and do not bother, as fate enabled me ignore it completely). Now I see it everywhere around me, back home … for which I bother very much and seethe with anger. Because it is most de-grading and de-humanizing! Because it is all-pervasive. Because it has come to mean the unseen and grossest of human rights abuses. Because it is all so insidious! And, believe me, when I say – without meaning to be unkind at all - to those who say, from the bottom of their hearts that they understand, sympathize and feel for us, the marginalized … and will do everything they can … it reminds me of a family-friend who lost his leg during the Indo-Pak war, and to whom I said I could understand and feel what he was going through … and he told me … No, you cannot … unless you don’t have a leg! I was not brushed off. In fact, it opened my eyes more.
So, today, do not be brushed off. Go away with your eyes opened more!
As for suggestions…another time and another place.
Dook! The lights let me down again. Hence my usual last minute work for you. If it is too long … you know where to cut down. Hack, as you please. Thanks. Tom.
