Old divides have surfaced over a proposed bill in Manipur as elections approach

Manipur has seen simmering tensions for more than three months over the introduction of a new bill that seeks to give more powers to the autonomous tribal councils in the state.

Tribal bodies have held intermittent protests, economic blockades and shutdowns demanding that the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021, be passed. Most recently, on December 19, the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur called for a 12-hour shutdown in the hill districts while tribal students from the state held a rally in Delhi.

Manipur’s coalition government, headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, has staved off tabling the bill so far. Chief Minister N Biren Singh claimed it had to be examined whether the bill was constitutional and whether the state government had the authority to pass such a legislation.

Yet the bill has been proposed by the hill areas committee – a body consisting of 18 legislators from the tribal hill districts – of whom five belong to the BJP.

The debate over the bill is not just about constitutional procedure or even party rivalries. It cuts to a deeper political divide in Manipur – between the Imphal Valley, where the Meitei community forms a majority, and the hill districts that surround it, home to several tribal communities.

“It is all about…

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