North-East Is India's Tribal Stronghold

Unrest has broken out in India's North-Eastern state of Manipur in a dispute over whether the state's majority population group should be recognized as a registered tribe - a designation that would give the Meitei freedom from income tax payments as well as access to more land purchases and affirmative action programs, for example when applying for government jobs. Dozens of people are believed to have died and thousands are believed to have been displaced in the violence that started around a week ago, BBC reports. Indian troops have since entered the state, where a curfew is now in place and internet access has been suspended.

In April, the state's high court recommended consideration of the Meitei for the scheduled tribes category. Critics and other tribal groups have pointed towards the Meitei's privileged status as a reason the designation should not be granted. The group that occupies valley territory in the hilly state and is descended from the rulers of the former Manipur Kingdom has had more access to economic and infrastructure advancement and is dominating government employment as it is. However, its distinctness from mainstream Indian society means that the Meitei fulfill some of the criteria for tribal recognition and they have been lobbying for it for years.

A look at the 2011 Indian Census shows that the North-East of India is the country's tribal stronghold. Manipur's neighboring states - for example Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya - do list between 85 percent and 95 percent of their populations as tribal members. The count would be around 95 percent in Manipur if the Meitei would get recognized. While some of the inter-minority class dynamics seen in Manipur are also present in neighboring states, none of the tribal-dominated North-Eastern domains have a majority group that follows Hinduism like the Meitei - another factor making their potential tribal recognition contentious.