In an interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Nishikant Sapam, an independent Meitei MLA from Manipur, who supports the Biren Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Imphal, has emphatically said that Meiteis will never accept the division of Manipur.Sapam, who is also Chairman of the Committee of Privileges and Ethics in the Manipur Assembly, said the demand by 10 Kuki MLAs (seven of whom are from the BJP and two are ministers) for a separate state or Union Territory was a fundamental breach of the oath which they took when they became MLAs. That oath commits them to protect the integrity of Manipur. The demand to divide the state is a flagrant breach of that oath.This interview with Sapam was arranged at the request of Meiteis who wanted an opportunity to reply to and, perhaps, rebut statements or allegations made in an earlier interview (Tuesday, May 9) by the BJP Kuki MLA Paolienlal Haokip. Haokip is one of the 10 Kuki MLAs who have, since then, demanded a separate state or Union Territory for the Kukis.This 42-minute interview is frequently argumentative, often emotional and passionate but always very revealing.The two things that come through very strongly are the sense of injustice the Meiteis feel because, although they are 53% of the population, they cannot buy land outside the Valley area which is just 10% of the state. The remaining 90% is restricted for the tribals (Kukis and Nagas) who can also, in addition, buy land in the Valley. The sense of injustice that the Meiteis feel on this count comes through very strongly in this interview.The other sentiment that comes through strongly is the belief held by many Meiteis that the percentage share of the Kuki population has increased because of illegal immigration from Myanmar. On two or three occasions in the interview, Sapam says Manipur needs an National Register of Citizens to identify those who are genuine citizens as well as those who are illegal immigrants, and then the latter must be sent back to Myanmar.Another quality that does strikingly emerge from the interview is the depth of and, possibly, the long standing history behind the distrust – perhaps even animosity – that separates the Meiteis from the Kukis. You will sense that it goes back all the way to the 1950s, shortly after Manipur’s merger with India, when the Kukis and Meiteis were granted tribal status under the constitution but that was not given to the Meiteis. Till then, Sapam says, the Meiteis, the Kukis and the Nagas were all the same. Now, Sapam elaborates, a difference has been created which has also conferred advantages on the Kukis and disadvantages on the Meiteis.As Sapam explained, it’s not just land that is a key problem in Manipur but also the fact that Meiteis believe they are losing out on government jobs and that the best are going to the Kukis. The demand for Scheduled Tribe status for the Meiteis is intended to address this as well as the land issue.
