Privileges of Scheduled Tribe Population in Manipur

Under the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the Scheduled Tribes (ST) are allowed to own land in the hilly region. These are scheduled land protected under the rights of scheduled tribes by the Indian constitution. However, scheduled tribes are also allowed to own and occupy land in the valley, and once owned by a scheduled tribe, valley land ownership may not be easily transferred to a non-ST individual.

Scheduled Castes (SC) mostly own and occupy land in the valley, but few reside in the hilly regions.

Other ethnic groups are only allowed to own and occupy land in the valley.

This is a serious concern for other ethnicities who are not protected since the valley is already overpopulated.

The Rights of Scheduled Tribes

The Scheduled Tribes are various officially disadvantaged groups of historically disadvantaged people in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the various groups are…