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Egalitarian Society
:
Manipur is
characteristically heterogeneous and at the ame time
homogeneous. 29 (twentynine) tribes speaking 19
dialects, Meiteis, Muslims and others live together in
an egalitarian society. The evils of discrimination on
grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
are not present in Manipur. Inter-caste/community
marriage is a common practice. The lingua franca is
Manipur, which is spoken by one and all in the State.
Home to the Manipuris, this ancient State was not built
on communal lines. It is not divided into districts or
sub-divisions or villages on communal lines either.
Equity in Polity :
There is pristine
democratic practice of equity in the Manipur polity
which has strengthened the egalitarian character of
Manipuri Civil Society. Notwithstanding the fact that
the Muslims and the Nagas constitute, approximately,
only 6.5% and 15.5% of the State's total population,
Alimuddin, a Muslim leader, was made the Chief Minister
of Manipur twice, Yangmaso Shaiza, a Tangkhul Naga
leader, twice and Rishang Keishing, another Tangkhul
Naga leader, 4 times for over a span of 15 years since
it attained statehood in 1972. There are 2 Lok Sabha
seats of which one is reserved for the hill peoples. In
a House of 60 in the Manipur Legislative Assembly, 9
MLAs are from Nagas, 11 MLAs from the Kukis and Zomis
and the rest from the Valley.
As provided under
Article 244 (1) of the Constitution of India, a Hill
Areas Committee comprising 20 representative of the
Scheduled Tribes in Manipur Legislative Assembly, has
been established. The Committee advises the State
Government on such matters pertaining to the welfare and
advancement of the Scheduled Tribes in the State. To
protect the interests of the Scheduled Tribes, the State
Government, in consultation with the Hill Areas
Committee, makes regulations prohibiting/restricting
transfer of tribal land in a Scheduled Area. There are 6
autonomous District councils which have certain
delegated powers and functions with respect to the
administration of the tribal areas. |
