By Barnes Mawrie
I have on earlier occasions suggested that Northeast India needs a tribal political party one that will put tribal interests at the forefront. We had the erstwhile APHLC which brought together prominent tribal leaders of the region. It was basically a unified political party intended mainly for attaining separate autonomous states from Assam. That was the reason why, this party disappeared soon after the creation of hill states. Today however, with the tragic incidents in Manipur where tribals are being targeted by the allegedly state sponsored non-tribal groups, the need for tribal leaders of the region to join hands in a single political party, has become an urgent and necessary step to be taken. The NCP which at one time projected itself as a tribal party, has lost the confidence of most tribal leaders. Its alignment with the BJP has further tarnished its image and now it is being perceived as a corrupt party which has very little interest in tribal development. There are a few credible reasons why such a party is urgently needed for our region today.
First of all, we tribal people of Northeast India are but a small minority in India and since political representation in our country is based on population, our impact in policy making at the center is insignificant when we stand divided among ourselves. But imagine if all tribal leaders from Northeast India come together under one banner, under one political party and with a common ideology, what a force we could become at the center. If such a tribal political party could send 11 MPs (Meghalaya 2, Nagaland 1, Mizoram 1, Arunachal Pradesh 2, Tripura 2, Manipur 2, Sikkim 1) and at least 4 to 5 MPs from the 14 total MPs of Assam, what a bargaining power we would have in the Lok Sabha as well as in the Rajya Sabha. With 15 or 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha and with 11 to 12 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, what a powerful party we could have from Northeast India that no government at the center would dare to bypass such a political force.
Secondly, the presence of such a powerful tribal political party would ensure that tribal voice and demands would never be taken for granted. It would mean an empowerment for the tribal communities of our region. If the BJP government today does not seem concerned about the pitiful plight of our Kuki brothers and sisters, it is partly because there is no unified tribal political voice at the center. Our tribal leaders who are dispersed among numerous national and regional parties can offer only a very weak voice in the national media. It is common knowledge that exploitative non-tribal groups take full advantage of our tribal disunity. Today fundamental Hindu elements like the RSS are fully exploiting this lacuna in our tribal communities and they are succeeding to drive a wedge between us.
The present development in BJP ruled tribal-dominated states to derecognize the ST status of tribal Christians and deprive them of all minority privileges, is one manifestation of such a divide and rule strategy. Think of Assam where tribals account for more than 16% of the total population (the number would probably be much higher if some other tribal communities were recognized as STs), yet out of 14 MPs, there is only one tribal. Why so? It is precisely because tribal communities are divided. Evidently, if there were to be a single regional tribal political party, all tribals would be more inclined to vote for it. It is here that tribal genius (intellectuals, statesmen and politicians) of our region should come together without any selfish motivation, and share the common issues of survival, identity, growth and development and thereupon work on the possibility of a unified tribal party. Until and unless we have a cohesive political party in the region, we will always remain politically marginalized, socially discriminated, economically exploited and culturally threatened. We do have qualified and capable tribal political thinkers and leaders in every state of the region who are undoubtedly able to bring about a political unification in the region.
The pogrom in Manipur has proven that we tribal communities are always vulnerable unless we stand up together as a united force.