Dereliction of Duties or the Politics of ‘Political Quadrangle’? The Governor,Hill Areas Committee and Upsurge in the Hills of Manipur

Abstract

This article looks into the role of the Governor of Manipur, particularly its ‘special responsibility’ under Article 371C of the Constitution of India, ‘in order to secure the proper functioning’ of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC), and attempts to explore whether there is dereliction of duties on the part of the governor in fulfilling what the constitution intents. Consequently, it examines whether the HAC is able to perform its functions under the Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972, to ‘safeguard the interest of the people of the Hill Areas’. The article identifies the existence of the politics of ‘political quadrangle’ which unleash a peculiar ‘political process’ in which the role and functions of the governor and the HAC are constrained in protecting the rights and interests of the hill people. This ‘politics’ is largely shaped by the very peculiar political process in the state, particularly the electoral trend and government formation, in which there is propensity to change government with the corresponding change in the ruling party at the centre. This has a significant role to play as the majoritarian state government’s reluctance for tribal autonomy is perpetuated by the existence of the same political regime at the centre, with a politically affiliated and politically appointed governor, in which acting on the ‘advice of’ largely becomes ‘diktat of’ the ‘council of ministers’, thereby circumscribing the role and functions of the governor and the HAC. The recent upsurge in the hills of Manipur is a clear case of the state Legislative Assembly overriding the HAC on scheduled matters that affect the hill areas.