The 2024 general election results have hit a new low for the Bhartiya Janata Party and its allies. Political analysts have hinted about the revival of India’s celebrated parliamentary democracy following the defeat of many BJP candidates, including the must-anticipated Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where Ayodhya City is located. This has put a thrust for the Indian National Congress and, more generally, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc to oust the BJP. Nevertheless, the biggest obstacle the INDIA bloc could overcome is the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s ideological hegemony through Hindutva in modern Indian politics. Until recently, the bloc employed Caste politics to challenge the BJP and the RSS.
Where does Manipur
fit in light of these political shifts in India? To be clear, Manipur still has
a functioning Legislative Assembly. Despite the state being well-known for
horse trading and shifting party allegiances, the five opposition INC members
of the Legislative Assembly have remained active. It has maintained the
opposition’s spirit in the Manipur Assembly. Nevertheless, despite the
continuous violence, the BJP endures while the INC-Manipur struggles. This is
due to the politics of indigeneity and the majoritarian appeasement of the BJP
combined with the ethno-religious politics, which confused the INC-Manipur. To
counter BJP’s ideology, the INC-Manipur needs to develop an alternative political
approach. The party could see the applicability of Caste politics in the state
in this scenario.
Indigeneity dominates
The BJP’s
unleashing of indigeneity politics seems to have overtaken state politics, and
it has been expanding its influence to secure long-term dominance in the state.
Furthermore, it appears that the BJP is using this politics as an approach to
confronting the demands of the Naga and Kuki ethnic groups for their homeland. At
the same time, bridging the ethnic divide between the Meiteis and Nagas and
asserting both as the original “indigenous tribes” are other ways that the
politics of indigeneity have been rewarding for the party. The incumbent BJP Chief
Minister even offered the Ukhrul District, mainly inhabited by Tangkhul Nagas, as
the summer capital of Manipur. The Nagas responded quickly to this offer,
stating that only some factions of the Manipur Nagas had blood relations with
the Meiteis, signalling the rejection.
The Kukis have
been accusing the regime of othering their ethnic group through its politics of
indigeneity. The debates on the politics of othering are linked to various
policies unleashed by the regime. For instance, it is preserving forests and
waging a fierce campaign against illegal encroachments. Although Kukis views
these policies as politics of othering, Meiteis, mainly see them as policies
that unite the states “Indigenous” peoples. Nonetheless, these policies are degrading
the multi-ethnic compositions of the state.
Distressingly, these
varieties of politics have deepened ethnic contestations and the question of
citizenship. At the same time, the Kukis demand for “separate administration” seems
to be losing political traction due to the question of ‘indigeneity’ amongst
its community since there have been contestations between the Thadou and Kukis
over indigeneity. Following the Indian Constitution, there is a strong
correlation between Scheduled Tribe designation and indigenousness. Thus, the contestation
is expected to get worse. Therefore, the issue of indigeneity directly
challenges the Kukis’ ST classification. At the same time, several Meitei
frontal organisations are calling for the Kukis’ ST designation to be revoked
on the grounds that they are not “Indigenous” and are instead “outsiders.”
Ethno-religious politics in everyday life
While the BJP thrives
on religious nationalism, the case of Manipur is quite different, but this is
similar, with most of the northeastern states combining ethnicity and religion
as a mobilising agent. The ethno-religious politics of the BJP combined with
the Meitei majoritarian appeasing politics is penetrative given the political
dominance it enjoys in the state. The revivalism of indigenous faiths combined
with Hindu religious nationalism has become the everyday politics of the state.
The INC-Manipur, on the other hand, has a liberal stance on religion and has
refrained from getting involved in such politics. It has also not responded to
the increasing prominence of Indigenous faiths, which are becoming increasingly
institutionalised as a consequence of Hindu nationalism.
Source: TFIPOST. Available at: (https://tfipost.com/2019/09/enough-is-enough-rss-all-set-to-counter-decades-of-world-propaganda-against-it/) accessed on 11 September 2024.
For instance,
considering the lack of attention that ethno-religious politics have received
in public discussions and states political discourses thus far, the
manifestations of these politics during the violence must be closely observed. While
considering the religious politics of the regime and the number of churches and
temples that have been vandalised during the peak of the violence, it is also
true that the majority of national and international media portrays the
violence between Meitei Hindus and Kuki Christians.
The 2011 census
found that Christians comprise the second-largest portion of Manipur’s
population after Hindus. The BJP and RSS are aware of this and fear that
Christians will eventually overrun the Hindu population in the state. This is because
Hindu nationalist organisations perceive Christianity as a “foreign” religion
and oppose the coerced conversion of tribal people to Christianity. In an
attempt to counteract Christianity, it has strategically supported indigenous
faiths. Presently, ethno-religious politics permeate public life daily. The
Meietis are now firmly embedded in this politics, especially with the Sanamahi
faith’s followers. Nonetheless, it is essential to carefully observe the RSS’s
presence and work in the border state beset by “national security” concerns,
among other issues.
INC-Manipur and Caste politics
The advent of the
BJP and its political ideology of Hindutva in Manipur has deeply penetrated the
contemporary politics of the state. Some may argue that the BJP’s loss in the
recent general election in the state was the defeat of its ideology. However,
the INC-Manipur candidates’ victory in the two Lok Sabha seats was not
attributable to its ideological stance but due to anger and help from the BJP’s
reluctance to end the violence. Meanwhile, the violence is still in its
formative stages and has not yet reached its ideological peak. When that
occurs, the states “indigenous” population will likely plan enormous
demonstrations endorsing the religious nationalism of the BJP and RSS. This
will likely deter the INC-Manipur from the states politics for a long time.
Since Manipur has
historically been a religious state, the BJP has immensely benefited. The INC-Manipur,
which has dominated the state for the longest time, should be concerned about
the BJP’s increasing hold on the state’s social structure. While the INDIA bloc
ideologically fights the BJP and the RSS at the national level, and the nationwide
Caste census looms. INC-Manipur must prepare its political ground to counter
ethno-religious politics before evolving its entire form.
It might see the
applicability of social justice and equality politics in opposing
ethno-religious politics by uplifting minority communities, Meitei Scheduled
Caste, and Meitei Other Backward Class groups in the state. This would reduce
social fragmentation, understand development patterns, redistribute power and
resources, and check the consolidation of ethnic majoritarianism. To achieve
this, the party must be revitalised, making room for younger politicians.
Moreover, it must resist the states unravelling political homogenisation by
exploring beyond the politics of religion, ethnicity, and indigeneity.
The article first appeared in the editorial section of The People's Chronicle and is being published with slight modifications. The original version of the article can be accessed from here (https://epaper.poknapham.in/edition/maineidition/POKNAP_TPC/POKNAP_TPC_20240906/page/4#). Views expressed are personal.
The writer is a Research Scholar at the Department of Political Science, Manipur University.
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