India: Understanding the Hills-Valley Divide and Meitei-Kuki Conflict in Manipur

This paper explores the notion of the hills-valley divide in Manipur, focusing on the divide between Meitei people and hill tribes and its consequences on ethnic conflict. It examines the hills-valley divide through secondary data such as articles, news reports, and talks. The Meiteis, the largest community, enjoy power in all aspects of life. Due to poor representation in the Legislative Assembly, tribals have a lesser voice in decision-making. Moreover, since funds are allocated by population size, dwellers have a natural advantage over hill people. The existing hills valley divide and development inequality lead to misunderstanding between the tribals and the non-tribals in Manipur. The tribals of Manipur came up with different demands for developing their respective areas and safeguarding their identity. However, their demands were never fulfilled by the Meitei-led Manipur government. The state government tried to change the law to alienate tribal land in a very well-planned manner. This creates inter-ethnic tensions, and tribal political problems have remained unresolved. This paper suggests that the state must formulate policies for Manipur's moral and emotional integration by proportionately diversifying developmental infrastructure.