State-induced distress: Why the ADC Bill is important for Manipur

A few years ago, in the backdrop of the controversial MLR & LR Bill, 2015, which resulted in the killing of nine tribals by the state in protest against the Bill, a tribal scholar wrote that “post-colonial” Manipur was turning out to be more repressive than the “British colonial rule for Hill Tribes”. This claim, in many forms, rhymes voraciously with the experiences of Hill Tribes in Manipur over the last 50 years and more.

The ongoing scene of the political imbroglio, the brutality of the state towards activists, student leaders and protestors from the tribal communities, and the subtle Machiavellian subversion of tribals’ assertion of Constitutional Rights i.e. ADC Bill 2021, appear quite analogous to the typical, but mutated, colonial ‘divide and rule policy’ of suppressing the subjects in their heydays.

It is even more shocking perhaps to witness sections of the dominant community, like Meitei Leepun, conveniently enabling the repressive action of the state and maligning the image of the aspirations of tribal communities. It might be correct, categorically, in condemning the methods of organising blockade by the students’ organisations from the Hills. However, the absence of condemnation from the said organisation towards the state’s hesitancy to introduce the Bill on the floor of the House exposes the intent of the organisation. In a parallel just world, the activist organisation would have spoken the truth to power for the marginalised sections. Such a chauvinistic stance simply invites polarizing politics at the centre stage in a highly (ethnically) sensitive yet staple-governance aspiring state like Manipur.