Understanding Ethnicity-based Autonomy Movements: A Study of Manipur

Abstract

Since the 1960s, Manipur has been plagued by Meitei secessionist movements demanding/striving for independence from India. However, in the 1990s, following the upsurge of Naga ethnicity-based autonomy movement within the state and its counter movements by other groups, the secessionist movement was embroiled in internal feuds. In this process, grouping and regrouping of tribal communities had taken place, impinged by the predatory elites for their political and economic interests. Unfortunately, the state's interventions failed to contain protracted conflicts; they rather compounded the situation, gave rise to hybrid ethnic identities and led to the recurrence of demands for internal autonomy.

Migration, Ethnicity-based Movements and State’s Response

“…It is simply constructed by the elites, empowered by modernization and competition (Horowitz, 1985, p. 99). Ethnicity is, therefore, an elastic and highly flexible instrument to serve multiple objectives of the leaders (Dudková, 2013;Horowitz, 1985;Singha, 2017aSingha, , 2017b. In fact, Varshney (2009, p. 282) raised a very pertinent question that though ethnic members are instrumental, why not it be crippled by free rider problems?…”

“…Since the 2000s, goalpost of the movement slowly shifted towards internal feuds, rendered more vicious by the ongoing rapid multiplication of ethnicities in an already prodigiously heterogeneous society (Singha, 2017a). In the process, following the direction of predatory elites (ethnic leaders who primarily aim for personal gains), the peripheral communities (smaller ethnic groups) have often been urged to re-align with the bigger ethnic groups (Singha, 2017b).…”