The Hill-Valley conundrum around the Manipur Autonomous District Bill

The Imphal valley has opposed the recently introduced Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bil, 2021 (ADC). Their opposition follows their similar objections to the announcement for delimitation exercise in 2020, the valley of Manipur expressed similar opposition against the recently introduced Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021 (ADC). Civil societies representing the valley of Manipur submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Manipur on August 22, 2021, rejecting the ADC bill 2021 on grounds that the separate administration will lead to “bifurcation of the state”. They also cautioned that the major stakeholders of the state must not be kept in abeyance. The opposition echoes the sentiment that the territorial integrity of Manipur should not be compromised. But the ADC is in place in Manipur since it gained statehood in 1972, wherein the hills come under different administrations from the valley of Manipur. This separate administration is in place since the time of the British conquest of Manipur in 1891.

In essence and intent, the proposed ADC Bill 2021 aims to expand what the existing ADC has failed to achieve so far since its inception. The existing ADC is framed under Article 371C. In ADC, the hills gained trust to carry out their way of life while anchored under the Manipur state. However, the past six decades of experience of hill people in terms of their relationship with the state and valley people informs that they are at a disadvantageous position socially, politically, culturally, and economically. The recently released book by Raile Rocky Ziipao entitled “Infrastructure of Injustice: State and Politics in Manipur and Northeast India” presents the huge infrastructure disparity between the hills and valley as an injustice of infrastructure through empirical data.

The current ADC Bill 2021 proposes a possibility for securing interests, aspirations, and rights of the hill peoples to a greater extent by expanding the scope of ADC. On this note, it is imperative to mention that the Sixth Schedule, which was notified to be implemented in the hills of Manipur, is yet to see its day.