What a parody. And now sections of the Meiteis want to be classified as tribals. It is a parody because there is almost a contest today to be considered backward and primitive, not for anything else, but for the sake of some preferential treatment in the government scheme of things. Pride and dignity in the ability to take the world head on without needing props is becoming a thing of the past. True there are situation in which certain sections of the society which have lagged behind because of unfair historical reasons need to be extended the liberal state`™s facilities of positive discrimination, but this is a bitter medicine to enable these sections to catch up and be at a par with the rest before open competition becomes the rule again. A very curious twist in the understanding of the terms tribal, tribalism, backwardness etc have happened because of the nature of statutory incentive structuring. Today these terms are no longer a sociological condition but a Constitutional definition. Under the circumstance the criteria that make somebody a tribal is not about primitiveness of lifestyles, customs, worships etc, but simply a matter of finding a place in the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. In the Indian context then, we are no longer talking about `tribes` in the real sense of the term, but `Schedule Tribes`. For surely, a Class-I Central government officer from the tribal belt of the northeast for instance, posted in New Delhi, owning a flat, car, mobile phone, bonds in the money market, and for whom credit cards are virtual oxygen for survival in the advance market economy, cannot by any stretch of imagination, be still considered a `tribal` except by the sterile definition given by the Constitution.
The truth is, the Constitution continues to stick to its definition, hence the mad race to be defined thus, the latest to join in being this section of the Meiteis. This is close on the heels of the Adivasis in Assam. Some years ago, the world witnessed the shocking incident in Guwahati`™s Beltola when Adivasi demonstrators, demanding to be classified as tribals in Assam, were savaged by residents of the area, after, it is reported, the demonstrators started rampaging shops in the vicinity and cars parked on the roadside. All of us also watched with horror on the television, an Adivasi woman atrociously stripped and physically abused by the mob, even as onlookers did nothing more than click pictures on their mobile phones. Some of these images later found their way into the newsrooms of various newspapers and satellite television channels. The reprisal was reprehensible and deserves universal condemnation, but having said this, it is essential to go beyond the immediate. What is it that made the Adivasis in Assam, who are the descendants of indentured labourers brought from the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, to the state by the British during colonial days to work on their tea estates, suddenly decide they should be classified as tribals. Should a tribal who has volitionally shifted from his original land and tribal environment be still entitled to be called a tribal, is the million rupees question. Sanjib Barua in a recent article in The Telegraph tried to tackle the problematic question. The reason why the Adivasis (tea tribes as they are also known as) of Assam landed in Assam`™s tea estate and not in the sugar cane plantations in Mauritius, Fiji Islands or the Caribbean, is just a matter of having signed on different labour contract forms of the then British India government. Descendants of those who went to these other destinations have risen to become Prime Ministers and Presidents or win the Nobel Prize. Would it be appropriate to call Sir Vidya S Naipaul a tribal? Would he like the idea? Doubtful! The Meiteis, especially the Sanamahi faith followers who have been in the forefront of this demand, must reconsider their decision. Reservation would only deepen their addiction to government jobs, and in the process prevent the diversification of the place`™s economy. Vietnam`™s miraculous resurgence after the devastation of 30 years of war, is attributed to such a diversification of economy and consequently human resources, and this often contrasted with the stagnation of the Arab world despite its tremendous natural resources, resulting from the latter`™s addiction to doles and easy money. It would also split the Meitei society further. Indigenous worship does not always have to equate with tribal status. In any case Sanamahi is still a very important deity of the Hindus Meiteis too. There is something seriously wrong in a community which once prided itself for having evolved into a monarchy politically and economically regressing to the extent of wanting to be called primitive again.
Leader Writer: Pradip Phanjoubam