Lamka, Churachandpur today is predominantly a town inhabited by the indigenous Zo kindred tribes. It is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and has a cosmopolitan worldview. Inter-ethnic clashes on June 27, 1997, had led to the breakdown of trust among communities and encouraged patronisation of ethnic affiliations. These tensions can be traced to the time of the merger of the princely state of Manipur with the Indian Union or even before to the colonial era. The Khul Union, formed in 1947, which comprises all the hill people in Manipur except the Nagas, to protect their interests and political future, was disrupted due to the assertion of linguistic dominance by the numerically larger ethnic groups. More recently, the anti-tribal bill movement in Manipur in August, 2015 widened the ethnic divide and disrupted communal harmony, especially in Churachandpur. The anti-tribal bill passed by the Manipur legislative assembly was opposed by the hill people of Manipur and a Joint Action Committee against the Anti-Tribal Bills (JACAATB) was formed to articulate the opposition. The subsequent protests led to attacks on the houses of MLAs from the hill areas and nine persons, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed in police firing. However, the ethnic divide came into play and the outcome was the withdrawal of some tribes from the JACAATB.
The ethnic and political divides impact everyday life, sometimes in a subtle manner and at other times in an explicit fashion. It triggers conflict and fuels violence. During elections, ethnic, institutional, money, gun, and muscle power become prevalent. In a region that has historically emphasised ethnicity, elections are not seen as an opportunity for electing lawmakers but imagined as a form of ethnic and geopolitical dominance and assertion. One’s candidature in an election is perceived as a representation of one’s community socio-culturally and politically. The outcome is that only a minuscule amount of space is provided to minority tribes like the Simtes, Gangte, Vaipheis, Mizos, Zous, and others to articulate their rights in a democratic manner.
Thangkhangin Ngaihte, the president of Lok Janshakti Party in Manipur and a member of the Simte community, has lost eight elections to the assembly and Parliament. He says, “Ethnic organisations govern our land, and our votes are cast on ethnic grounds. For a minority tribe like the Simtes, come a thousand years, the chances of getting their representative elected are still futile. Considering ethnicity as the ground for vote casting, a qualified candidate’s chances to get elected are nullified.”
This convoluted state of ethnic politics is further complicated by money, guns, and muscle power. It was alleged that Rs 16 crore was paid to Manipur militant groups ahead of elections to influence voters in the assembly election held in February. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that elections in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts in the first phase on February 28 were undemocratic because payments had been made. Demands were made for a repoll in 30 polling stations across Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts.
The entry of James Khuma Hauzel, an independent candidate in 58 AC Churachandpur, into the electoral fray became interesting because he refused to follow the dominant pattern of political discourse. He sought to break the symbolic, social, and cultural norms ascribed to political elites during his campaign. He attacked corruption, gun power, kinship, and institutional politics from a position that combined the Zo worldview and Christian ethics and morality. On the day of the election, Khuma and his wife, Ing Borang, visited several polling stations, exposing the redundancy of the security provided to the candidates.
Churachandpur 58 AC recorded the lowest voter turnout in the state with 71.53 per cent. However, this is still the highest voter turnout for the district after several decades of public disinterest in politics. The turnouts in 2012 and 2017 were 64.13 per cent and 62.56 per cent respectively. Khuma secured only 2,244 votes while the leading candidate, LM Khaute of JD(U), secured 18,321 votes. However, Khuma’s campaign against corruption, money and muscle power, kinship, and institutional politics had a resonance among young people, who desperately yearn for a change in the political discourse. This is how a supporter put it: “Khuma paved the way for new ways of seeing politics.
Winning or losing doesn’t matter.” On March 26, 2022, a month after the Manipur assembly election, the town held a “Pakhuma Night” at Lamka public ground with a large young crowd in attendance to take forward the issues Khuma highlighted in the campaign. Addressing the crowd, Mang Taithul, a journalist from the Zou community who hosted the event, said: “Tonight, a Gangte artist sings, a Zou hosts the event. If only all the tribes in our town came together like this, why wouldn’t Lamka be a convivial place?… There is no reason for Thadou, Paite, or Zou (tribes) to segregate… The Church, tribe and ethnicity have failed to bring Lamka together. Only Pakhum and music can bring us together…”
Although Khuma lost, the election has become a catalyst to unite people of different political persuasions in Churachandpur, a region that has been riven by divisive ethnic politics. Hopefully, these non-ethnic mobilisations driven by the belief in the power of democracy to transform the society and end corruption in public life will not dissipate.
Written by Suanmuanlian Tonsing , Sangmuan Hangsing
Tonsing is a doctoral candidate at the School of Information, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Hangsing an independent researcher
Source: Indian Express, 23/04/22
