Imphal-based Maheshwar Thounaojam, national secretary of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), filed a representation asking for delisting Kuki – Zo tribals from the list of ST/SC.
According to a letter shared by him, it has been forwarded by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the State government, as its view is needed. “In this regard, it is to state that the Scheduled Tribes are notified under Article 342 of the Constitution. The Government of India held on 15.6.1999 (and further revised on 26.6.2002 and 14.9.2022) approved modalities for determining claims for inclusion in and other modifications in the list of STs,” the letter said.
“Only proposals recommended and justified by the State government concerned and agreed to by the RGI as well as NCST are considered for amendment of legislation,” the tribal affairs ministry’s letter stated.
In a Facebook post, Thounaojam said, “Today I received a reply to my letter submitted to the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs regarding the deletion of the Nomadic Chin Kuki from the list of Scheduled Tribe of Manipur. The Ministry said that the modifications related to the ST list must be recommended by the Registrar General of India (RGI) as well as the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe (NCST).”
Manipur has been grappling with ethnic violence since May 3rd of last year when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in the hill districts to protest the majority Meitei community’s demand for ST status. More than 180 people have been killed, and several hundreds injured in it.
The immediate trigger for the conflict was reportedly a March 9 order by the Manipur High Court, which directed the State government to send a recommendation on ST status for Meiteis to the Centre, upsetting the existing STs in the state. This order has since gone into review in the High Court and has been appealed by tribal bodies.
In the representation marked to Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on December 11, 2023, Mr. Thounaojam cites a Supreme Court judgment from January 2011 to suggest that “all Scheduled Tribes shall be original inhabitants of India.” He then goes on to argue that considering this judgment, “the Kuki’s including Zomis of Manipur do not qualify as Scheduled Tribes of Manipur on the ground that they are not original inhabitants of Manipur.”
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