THE DEADLOCKED BURNING ISSUE
The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971 was passed by the Parliament to provide for establishment of Autonomous District Councils in the Hill Areas in the then Union Territory of Manipur, but following the attainment of statehood in the year 1972, the Government of Manipur immediately adopted this Central Act by issuing the Manipur (Adaptation of Laws) Order, 1972 and in exercise of the power vested in him under Section 3 of the Act, the then Governor of Manipur vide Notification dated 14.02.1972 initially constituted 6 (six) Autonomous District for the purpose of constitution of Autonomous District Councils (ADC in brief) under the aforesaid Act of 1971, namely (i) Manipur North ADC now Senapati ADC, (ii) Sadar Hills ADC, (iii) Manipur East ADC now Ukhrul ADC, (iv) Tengnoupal ADC now Chandel ADC, (v) Manipur South ADC now Churachandpur ADC and (vi) Manipur West ADC now Tamenglong ADC.
Unlike the ADC created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, this 1971 Act does not provide legislative and judicial powers to the said ADC, but merely provides limited Administrative Powers under the pervasive control of the State Government under the Act of 1971. The ADC can make recommendation to the state government to bring legislation on the matter concerning the members of the Scheduled Tribe namely (a) appointment or succession of chiefs, (b) inheritance of property, (c) marriage & divorce and (d) social customs.
The ADC is not empowered to generate its own revenue but made it dependent on grant-in-aid from the state government. It is therefore evident that no elected ADC under this centralized legislation of the 1971 could function effectively to the satisfaction of the Hills people since its first election in 1973. Despite of calling to safeguard the rights and interest of the Hills people, each political party in power in the State deliberately reduced the ADC to merely an agent of the state ruling party, resultantly, the ADC totally failed to deliver to the backward and illiterate Hills people. Admitting the weakness of the ADC under the above 1971 Act, the first minor Amendment of section 25 of the Act was exercised by the state government in 1975, but the same could not bring tangible results in favour of the Hills people.
Realizing this, amongst others, from late 1970s onwards, the right thinking hills people including the NGOs started a campaign to do away with the ADC altogether and demand for greater autonomy had begun thereafter. Finally, admitting to some extent the unworkable arrangement of the ADC under 1971 Act, the state government though unwilling but compelled to dissolve all the elected ADC i.e. Chandel ADC dissolved on 17.10.1988, Ukhrul ADC, Churachandpur ADC, Sadar Hills ADC and Tamenglong ADC dissolved on 18.03.1989 and Senapati ADC dissolved on 24.11.1993. The state government by misusing the power under the Act of 1971 in discriminately dissolved an extended term of the ADC and thereby the ADC meant for the Hills people were completely brought under the control of the State Government and as a result practically all the functions of the ADC contemplated in the Act have ceased to exist except education.
The ADC is not empowered to generate its own revenue but made it dependent on grant-in-aid from the state government. It is therefore evident that no elected ADC under this centralized legislation of the 1971 could function effectively to the satisfaction of the Hills people since its first election in 1973. Despite of calling to safeguard the rights and interest of the Hills people, each political party in power in the State deliberately reduced the ADC to merely an agent of the state ruling party, resultantly, the ADC totally failed to deliver to the backward and illiterate Hills people. Admitting the weakness of the ADC under the above 1971 Act, the first minor Amendment of section 25 of the Act was exercised by the state government in 1975, but the same could not bring tangible results in favour of the Hills people.
Realizing this, amongst others, from late 1970s onwards, the right thinking hills people including the NGOs started a campaign to do away with the ADC altogether and demand for greater autonomy had begun thereafter. Finally, admitting to some extent the unworkable arrangement of the ADC under 1971 Act, the state government though unwilling but compelled to dissolve all the elected ADC i.e. Chandel ADC dissolved on 17.10.1988, Ukhrul ADC, Churachandpur ADC, Sadar Hills ADC and Tamenglong ADC dissolved on 18.03.1989 and Senapati ADC dissolved on 24.11.1993. The state government by misusing the power under the Act of 1971 in discriminately dissolved an extended term of the ADC and thereby the ADC meant for the Hills people were completely brought under the control of the State Government and as a result practically all the functions of the ADC contemplated in the Act have ceased to exist except education.
Realizing the failure of this Act, from early 1980's the Hills people started demanding for extension of Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India in the Hill Areas in Manipur. Denying the merits of the said demand, the Manipur Legislative Assembly without the genuine mandate of the hills people purportedly inacted Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Act, 2000 to repeal the parent Act of 1971 by inserting the word "Autonomous" for the first time in the cause title of the Act without providing true autonomy to the Hills people in the real sense of the term. Fortunately, the said new Enactment of 2000 also could not brought into force.
The Government of Manipur as determined before not to allow the tribal to enjoy autonomy had again amended the Act, of 1971 by Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Second Amendment) Act, 2006 to the extent of inserting sub-Section (1A) in Section 29 (1) thereby conferring power on the ADC to notify any areas in the District Council as Urban Areas for the purpose of formulation of development plan and inserted Section 44A in the Act of 1971 providing therein that no land situated within the ADC shall be allotted, transferred, leased by the Deputy Commissioner, other than for public purpose except with a resolution passed by the ADC at its meeting by a majority of not less than 2/3 of its members. However, this Second Amendment of 2006 also did not bring out vital change in the parent Act of 1971 and the Autonomy remained elusive to the ADC.
Again openly defying the core interest and rights of the Hills people, the Governor of Manipur in exercise of his power under Article 213 of the Constitution of India vide Notification dated 12th May, 2008 promulgated the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2008 and immediately the District Council Delimitation Committee also constituted by the Governor vide Order dated 23rd May, 2008 to expedite the process of imposition of election of the ADC on the Hills people in Manipur. Without wasting any time, the State Government of Manipur finally brought Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Third Amendment) Act, 2008 into existence vide Notification dated 27th October, 2008 with the false pretension by declaring that the wishes of the hills people have been incorporated in the aforesaid third amendment. But on perusing the said amendment it appears beyond reasonable doubt that this Third Amendment Act, 2008 also did not bring major changes in the parent Act of 1971. There are few minor amendments like the strength of the members of the ADC has been increased from 18 to 24, administrative functions has been increased from the existing 17 to 26 by inserting a few more functions like fisheries, co-operative, sports & youth affairs, adult & non formal education, horticulture and floriculture, rural housing scheme, village and cottage industries, small scale industries, non-conventional energy sources, library and culture activities and power to recommend to the State for recognition of villages subject to resolution passed by a simple majority of the Council. This aforesaid powers incorporated in the Act by the Third Amendment are merely an administrative powers to be exercised by the elected MDC as per the dictates of the political party /parties in power in the State. It is correct to assert that conferring more administrative powers/functions on the ADC is not the right approach to safeguard and protect the interest of the Hills people in Manipur but rather this exercise under the present Act of 1971 will open wider doors to State Government to control and misuse the ADC as mere agents/instruments to implement the policy of the State Government instead of tribal policy formulated for uplifting the hills people socially, economically, politically and culturally and therefore, it is very clear that the Third Amendment could not change the nature of the ADC created under the parent Act, 1971.
Admittedly, the present ADC in the Hill Areas in Manipur is only a statutory authority /body created under the Act of 1971 unlike the ADC created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and is a constitutional authority/body. There is unmatchable distinction between the statutory body and constitutional body in terms of power, status and jurisdiction under the constitution. The present ADC in Manipur is absolutely under the extensive control of the State Government in power and as such it is a part of the State. However, the ADC constituted under the Sixth Schedule is neither absolutely under the control of the State Government nor it is a part of the State, but it is 'a state within a state' under the Constitution.
Basically, the executive, legislative and judicial powers of the ADC under the Sixth Schedule is directly springs from the Constitution of India itself, but the sources of administrative powers of the present ADC in Manipur is only draw from the 1971 Act, as amended in Third Amendment Act, 2008. The ADC under the sixth scheduled enjoy constitutional status and has the privilege of exercising legislative, executive and judicial powers to protect and safeguard the interest of the tribal people and whereas the ADC under the present Act in Manipur lacks such independent power. The urgent needs of the Hills people in Manipur is to have ADC under the Sixth Schedule to restore their tribal autonomy, to safeguard social practices and customary laws, to protect the interest and rights of the tribal over their land, etc.
They do not need to have ADC like the present arrangement which is only a State Agency to implement the Flagship Schemes of the State Government as openly stated recently by Shri. Ibobi Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur.
The fundamental objective of providing Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India is to establish ADC in the North Eastern States where the indigenous tribal is minority to safeguard their culture, land, natural resources etc. from unscrupulous exploitation of the majority or plains people and therefore, infact, being minority, the Hills people in Manipur is socially, culturally, economically, politically and constitutionally deserve to have ADC under the Sixth Schedule, but the same has been strongly objected and denied by the Government of Manipur on behalf of the majority Meitei in Manipur Taking advantage of the simplicity of the Hills people, the State of Manipur has forcibly imposed the present ADC upon the Hills people and the present form of ADC in the Hill areas in Manipur is nothing better than a ploy to control the Hills people by the State Government to enable the Maitei majority for unjust enrichment at the cost of the minority hills people. Every now and then the Government of Manipur is trying to persuade the Hills people by saying that the Government is ready to go for further amendment of the Act, 1971 as amended in 2008.
In fact, the urgent need of the hour is not to go for further amendment of the Act, but complete repeal of the Act and grant Autonomy to the hills people under the Sixth Schedule to the constitution of India. Until and unless the Act is completely done away with in toto, hundred of Amendments of the present Act will never serve the interest of the hills people as because more financial and administrative power as invited by the state government to endorse on the ADC through further amendment of the Act means more control by the state government. Imposition of election on the unwilling hills people is not only runs contrary to the settle democratic norms but arbritarily demolish the democratic existence of tribal autonomy in Manipur.
Therefore the ongoing economic blockade in Manipur called by the ANSAM supported by the hills people and others is the ultimate ultimatum to the state government to constitutionally respect the tribal autonomy. The state government must stop exercising tyrannical forces against the minority hills people to undermine the existence of the hills people in open democracy. Therefore, the central government and the state government of Manipur are constitutionally responsible to the injustice done to the hills people in Manipur under the Act of 1971 and as such onus to respect the cultural, social, religious and political rights of the hills people heavily casted upon the this two governments by immediately bringing the hills areas of Manipur within the purview of the Sixth Scheduled to the constitution of India.
Shri. H. L. Shangreiso
Advocate, Guwahati High Court, Shillong Bench, Shillong 793001
The Government of Manipur as determined before not to allow the tribal to enjoy autonomy had again amended the Act, of 1971 by Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Second Amendment) Act, 2006 to the extent of inserting sub-Section (1A) in Section 29 (1) thereby conferring power on the ADC to notify any areas in the District Council as Urban Areas for the purpose of formulation of development plan and inserted Section 44A in the Act of 1971 providing therein that no land situated within the ADC shall be allotted, transferred, leased by the Deputy Commissioner, other than for public purpose except with a resolution passed by the ADC at its meeting by a majority of not less than 2/3 of its members. However, this Second Amendment of 2006 also did not bring out vital change in the parent Act of 1971 and the Autonomy remained elusive to the ADC.
Again openly defying the core interest and rights of the Hills people, the Governor of Manipur in exercise of his power under Article 213 of the Constitution of India vide Notification dated 12th May, 2008 promulgated the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2008 and immediately the District Council Delimitation Committee also constituted by the Governor vide Order dated 23rd May, 2008 to expedite the process of imposition of election of the ADC on the Hills people in Manipur. Without wasting any time, the State Government of Manipur finally brought Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council (Third Amendment) Act, 2008 into existence vide Notification dated 27th October, 2008 with the false pretension by declaring that the wishes of the hills people have been incorporated in the aforesaid third amendment. But on perusing the said amendment it appears beyond reasonable doubt that this Third Amendment Act, 2008 also did not bring major changes in the parent Act of 1971. There are few minor amendments like the strength of the members of the ADC has been increased from 18 to 24, administrative functions has been increased from the existing 17 to 26 by inserting a few more functions like fisheries, co-operative, sports & youth affairs, adult & non formal education, horticulture and floriculture, rural housing scheme, village and cottage industries, small scale industries, non-conventional energy sources, library and culture activities and power to recommend to the State for recognition of villages subject to resolution passed by a simple majority of the Council. This aforesaid powers incorporated in the Act by the Third Amendment are merely an administrative powers to be exercised by the elected MDC as per the dictates of the political party /parties in power in the State. It is correct to assert that conferring more administrative powers/functions on the ADC is not the right approach to safeguard and protect the interest of the Hills people in Manipur but rather this exercise under the present Act of 1971 will open wider doors to State Government to control and misuse the ADC as mere agents/instruments to implement the policy of the State Government instead of tribal policy formulated for uplifting the hills people socially, economically, politically and culturally and therefore, it is very clear that the Third Amendment could not change the nature of the ADC created under the parent Act, 1971.
Admittedly, the present ADC in the Hill Areas in Manipur is only a statutory authority /body created under the Act of 1971 unlike the ADC created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and is a constitutional authority/body. There is unmatchable distinction between the statutory body and constitutional body in terms of power, status and jurisdiction under the constitution. The present ADC in Manipur is absolutely under the extensive control of the State Government in power and as such it is a part of the State. However, the ADC constituted under the Sixth Schedule is neither absolutely under the control of the State Government nor it is a part of the State, but it is 'a state within a state' under the Constitution.
Basically, the executive, legislative and judicial powers of the ADC under the Sixth Schedule is directly springs from the Constitution of India itself, but the sources of administrative powers of the present ADC in Manipur is only draw from the 1971 Act, as amended in Third Amendment Act, 2008. The ADC under the sixth scheduled enjoy constitutional status and has the privilege of exercising legislative, executive and judicial powers to protect and safeguard the interest of the tribal people and whereas the ADC under the present Act in Manipur lacks such independent power. The urgent needs of the Hills people in Manipur is to have ADC under the Sixth Schedule to restore their tribal autonomy, to safeguard social practices and customary laws, to protect the interest and rights of the tribal over their land, etc.
They do not need to have ADC like the present arrangement which is only a State Agency to implement the Flagship Schemes of the State Government as openly stated recently by Shri. Ibobi Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur.
The fundamental objective of providing Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India is to establish ADC in the North Eastern States where the indigenous tribal is minority to safeguard their culture, land, natural resources etc. from unscrupulous exploitation of the majority or plains people and therefore, infact, being minority, the Hills people in Manipur is socially, culturally, economically, politically and constitutionally deserve to have ADC under the Sixth Schedule, but the same has been strongly objected and denied by the Government of Manipur on behalf of the majority Meitei in Manipur Taking advantage of the simplicity of the Hills people, the State of Manipur has forcibly imposed the present ADC upon the Hills people and the present form of ADC in the Hill areas in Manipur is nothing better than a ploy to control the Hills people by the State Government to enable the Maitei majority for unjust enrichment at the cost of the minority hills people. Every now and then the Government of Manipur is trying to persuade the Hills people by saying that the Government is ready to go for further amendment of the Act, 1971 as amended in 2008.
In fact, the urgent need of the hour is not to go for further amendment of the Act, but complete repeal of the Act and grant Autonomy to the hills people under the Sixth Schedule to the constitution of India. Until and unless the Act is completely done away with in toto, hundred of Amendments of the present Act will never serve the interest of the hills people as because more financial and administrative power as invited by the state government to endorse on the ADC through further amendment of the Act means more control by the state government. Imposition of election on the unwilling hills people is not only runs contrary to the settle democratic norms but arbritarily demolish the democratic existence of tribal autonomy in Manipur.
Therefore the ongoing economic blockade in Manipur called by the ANSAM supported by the hills people and others is the ultimate ultimatum to the state government to constitutionally respect the tribal autonomy. The state government must stop exercising tyrannical forces against the minority hills people to undermine the existence of the hills people in open democracy. Therefore, the central government and the state government of Manipur are constitutionally responsible to the injustice done to the hills people in Manipur under the Act of 1971 and as such onus to respect the cultural, social, religious and political rights of the hills people heavily casted upon the this two governments by immediately bringing the hills areas of Manipur within the purview of the Sixth Scheduled to the constitution of India.
Shri. H. L. Shangreiso
Advocate, Guwahati High Court, Shillong Bench, Shillong 793001
