Wednesday 10 October 2012

Population and Educational Development of the Nagas : A Brief Account

Population and Educational Development of the Nagas: A Brief Account *


(in Ethnicity, Resources and Institution for Development of North Eastern States of India, PC Dutta and Komol Singha (eds) Akansha Publishing House, Delhi, 2013  pp.188-212)

Abstract: Nagas mainly living in the hill districts comprises of less than half of the tribal population in Manipur. Substantial increase in educational attainment both in terms of literacy and educated rates have induced in the contest and quest for higher education irrespective of the gender and family background. Despondently, females are lacking behind the males in it. However, interestingly, females are catching up to the level of males as the gap of literacy rates has narrowed down. Nagas appeared to be more educated among the hill tribes of Manipur. People in urban areas are more into education. Both males and females receive a similar opportunity in studies. More than ninety percent of the population lives in rural areas resulting to a similar share of population studying in it. Students’ concentration in urban areas was relatively greater for the Naga than other tribal groups or scheduled tribe in general. About fourteen and twenty percent of the share of rural students and urban students respectively were in college and other institutions and the rest were in school. Nagas were relatively ahead of other tribes in accessing higher education.

Introduction
Nagas predominantly dwell in the hill districts of Chandel, Senapati, Tamenlong and Ukhrul in Manipur. Shimray (2001) has classified 16 tribes of Manipur as Nagas. The tribes are Anal, Angami, Chiru, Chothe, Kabui, Kacha Naga, Koirao, Koireng, Lamkang, Mao, Maram, Maring, Monsang, Moyon, Sema and Tangkhul. These tribes have similarities in their cultural and traditional practice that bound the bond of Nagas. The government of India recognises Nagas as scheduled tribes in the Indian Constitution, while anthropologists classify them as of Mongoloid stock speaking one of the Tibetan-Burman languages. Nagas presents a unique traditional, cultural, ethnic, linguistics and religious characteristics which are atypical. It reveals a unique trait in terms of its demographic, social and economic structure. Nagas, who were mostly depending on agriculture for their livelihood, has gradually emerged towards non-agriculture activities particularly formal job as their educational attainment increases. The government of India recognized on 29 scheduled tribes till the census of 2001; however, at present there are 34 recognised scheduled tribes (STs) in Manipur. The 16 Naga tribes are clubbed as a single ethnic group called Nagas, the rest are group as Other Tribal Groups and Generic Tribes. The share of scheduled tribe population is expected not to change much due to improvement in education. The difference in the growth of population between various ethnic groups has altered in dominating ethnic group in terms of population size. It is expected that educational development is taking place both in terms of attaining higher literacy rates and educated. The paper attempts to examine the Naga’s educational performance and participation using the limitedly available census data during the 1990s and 2000s.
A Brief Account of Nagas
The government of India, as per the Population Census of India (1991), recognized the following Naga groups as scheduled tribes in Manipur: Anal, Angami, Chiru, Chothe, Kabui (including Puimei), Kacha Naga (Zemi and Liangmei), Koireng, Lamkang, Mao (including Poumei), Maram, Maring, Monsang, Moyon, Sema and Tangkhul (Shimray, 2004). Shimray (2001) has classified the 16 tribes of Manipur as Nagas such as Anal, Angami, Chiru, Chothe, Kabui, Kacha Naga, Koirao, Koireng, Lamkang, Mao, Maram, Maring, Monsang, Moyon, Sema and Tangkhul; Other Tribal Groups as Aimol, Gangte, Hmar, Vaiphei, Kom, Any Mizo/Lushai, Paite, Purum, Ralte, Simte, Suhte, Thadou and Zou; and Unclassified tribes [or the generic tribes]. The tribes of Manipur are non-homogeneous group. They are one of the most distinctive features of the states which are scattered over the state particularly across the hill areas. They represent a unique feature of the state covering 34 communities that originated from Tibetan-burmese tribal groups of Mongoloids. They are categorized on the basis of their distinct language, culture, traditional attire, food habits, belief and superstition. Presently there are 34 recognised tribes in Manipur such as “Aimol, Anal, Angami Naga, Any Kuki Tribes, Chiru, Chothe, Gangte, Hmar, Kabui, Kharam, Poumai, Rongmei, Liangmai, Zeme, Koirao/Thangal, Koireng, Kom, Lamgang, Mao, Maram, Maring, Monsang, Moyon, Paite, Purum, Ralte, Simte, Suhte, Tarao, Mate (read as Maate), Tangkhul, Thadou, Vaiphei, Zou” (http://en.wikipedia.org). The major tribal ethnic groups in Manipur are the Nagas, Kukis, Chins and Zomis.
Shakespear (1909:371) described that the term “Naga…is not recognised by the people to whom we apply it…but it has come to have a definite meaning, and we understand by it certain closely allied clans, with well-marked common characteristics, belonging to Tibeto-Burman stock.” Hutton (1927:131) wrote that the “Naga tribes have never in the past used the word “Naga” of themselves. It is a term of opprobrium, used for them by the Assamese of the plains, and means probably “naked” possibly merely “mountainy man”.” No Nagas of Assam claim any descent from any ruler of Assam or elsewhere, and certainly they claim none from a “Naga” family”. The word “Naga” has a definite geographical limit, and that, the race so designated is subdivided into literally innumerable independent tribes, who are constantly at war with each other (Peale, 1874). Nagas can conveniently be group under one classification by their language. The “Naga’s are members of that great race conveniently called Tibeto Burman, which extends from the source of the Indus to Siam” (Godden, 1897:165). Damant (1875) as cited in Godden (1897:165) states in a paper in the “Calcutta Review” that “The Nagas are the oldest settlers, if not the aborigines, of North Cachar”. Naga Hills which is partly the present Nagaland state is carved out from North Cachar of Assam. Hodson (1901:309) stated that the “Nagas live in permanent villages, and the power of the head of the village depends mainly on his exercise of the sacerdotal functions”.
The identity of the Naga and neighbouring Kuki tribes is an open question, though we may note that Damant as cited in Godden (1897:165) found “as a rule, a marked distinction in dress and manners between the Kuki and Naga, even in cases where their dialects closely resemble each other”. The wonderful multiplicity of their languages is a salient characteristic of the Naga race. All the Naga tribes speak different languages which are so different “that a member of one tribe speaking his own language is quite unintelligible to a member of the next tribe.” Damant (1880:229) described that for “Naga alone, there are not less, and probably more, than thirty different tribes, all speaking different languages and mutually intelligible one to another. In some instances, perhaps, a few may be reduced to the rank of dialects, but in the majority of cases they are essentially distinct languages, and often no connexion or similarity is to be found between them, as, for instance, Angami and Lhota are so entirely different, that it difficult to believe they belong to the same family”. The linguistic variation was maximum among the Eastern Nagas. Further, Damant (1880:229-230) noted that the “greatest confusion exists; there is such a multiplicity of tribes, each speaking a different dialect, and they are so small in numbers, sometimes consisting of only one village, that without visiting each village personally, it is almost impossible to define the limits of each tribe with any approach to accuracy, or even to say precisely how many tribes there are.”
It is noticeable that in several cases dissimilarity of language and dialect was not found to involve equal dissimilarity in customs and manners. Thus, the Mao, Maram, and Miyangkhang Naga, though very similar in dress and customs, spoke dialects which differed considerably; the Lhota language differed very materially from that of its neighbours, but in dress and customs they resembled each other closely; the Angami did not differ materially from other members of the Naga family in manners and customs, but the linguistic divergence was so great “that it is doubtful,” Damant (1880:243) wrote, “whether they should not be classed as a distinct family of themselves.”
Nagas has unique features in dress, food habit or even governance. There is a “marked distinction in dress and manners between the Kuki and Naga” (Damant, 1880:231). Damant (1880:237) described that Kuki tribes are a “migratory race, living by jhum cultivation, and preferring the densest forests”. Damant (1880:246) described that the Luhupa a “very important and large tribe is found to the north-east of Manipur…They are distinguished from the other tribes by the helmet of cane which they wear in battle, with a brass cymbal in front, whence their name is derived (Manipuri luhup, helmet), as well as by their custom of wearing a ring of ivory or ebony over the foreskin, and by their curios way of wearing hair, which is cut into the shape of a cockscomb, the sides of the head being shaved. The Tangkhul, Phudang, and Khongoe are mere sub-divisions of this tribe”. Tangkhul is said to be very great, almost every village in the interior speaking a distinct dialect. Phudang which is presently called Phadang/Phalli and Khongoe have only one village each.
Meanwhile, smaller tribes such as Koireng, Chothe or Aimol are compelled to attach with the geographically closer ethnic group for their survival and security. Oinam (2003:2031) asserted that the “fate of those tribes who prefer to maintain their distinct identities, not to be called either as Naga or Kuki, has to face threats and at times severe atrocities in the hands of those who want to encompass them into the larger folds of ethnic identity. For instance, while Hmars and Koms have been able to retain their separate identities, other tribes like Paite, Lamkang, Maring, etc, have called themselves as Nagas. Most of the instances of such assertions are marked by the politics of survival rather than ideological influences”.
Naga Population in Manipur
Nagas dominates, with about 46 percent in 2001, among the various tribal ethnic communities in Manipur as presented in Table 1 and 2. There were about 3.44 lakh Nagas in 2001 which was increased from 3.36 lakh in 1991 in the state. Nagas constitutes of 18.28 percent in 1991 which has declined to 15.89 percent in 2001. Nagas of Manipur comprises to a level of 0.033 percent in the India’s population; that was lower than its contribution of 0.41 percent in India’s ST in 2001. Nagas population in relation to general and ST population of Manipur’s or India’s have declined in 2001 over 1991. Moreover, the contribution of ST population of Manipur in the country population is negligible at 0.07 percent. Tribal predominantly living in villages has reflected to a large share of more than 95 percent living in rural areas in Manipur in 2001. Nagas are also more concentrated and settled in the rural areas with a significantly large share of close to 97 percent during the same period. It is coincidence with the economic deprivation and unprivileged in the form of poverty and the geographical and topographical setting which is underdeveloped due to poor inclination of government in developing the rural areas. Census data has revealed that tribal and Naga people settling in urban areas are gradually declining as the share of rural population increases. It could partially be explained by migration towards outside the state. It also signals that rural to urban areas migration within the state is not largely happening due to social unrest in the state. As much as 4.19 percent of the Nagas were in urban areas in 1991 which has declined by about one percentage point to 3.34 percent in the following period. Data shows a marginal decline in the share of ST population in the state by about 0.2 percentage point as presented. It was partially due to the exclusion of census figure in the three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district which are tribal, particularly Nagas, dominated areas in the state in census 2001. These subdivisions is clearly a Naga dominated sub-divisions because the contribution of Nagas population has showed a substantial declined by 2.39 percentage point from 18.28 percent in 1991 to 15.89 percent in 2001. Assuming that Nagas population continue to constitute 18.2 percent in 2001 like in the previous decade then the population of Nagas is “short by slightly over 52 thousand”, from the three subdivisions, in Manipur. Nagas population has sharply declined due to the exclusion of about half a lakh of Nagas in 2001 census. The 1991 data reveals that more than 53 percent of the tribal population were Naga; however the share went down to about 46 percent due to the non coverage of some Naga areas during census enumeration in 2001.
Table 1: Nagas population profile, Manipur
Particulars
1991
2001
Nagas Manipur percentage to population Manipur
18.28
15.89
Other Tribal Groups Manipur percentage to population Manipur
15.71
17.95
Generic Tribes Manipur percentage to population Manipur
0.42
0.37
Nagas Manipur percentage to ST Manipur
53.12
46.44
Nagas Manipur percentage to ST India
0.50
0.41
Nagas Manipur percentage to population India
0.040
0.033
ST Manipur percentage to population Manipur
34.41
34.20
ST Manipur percentage to ST India
0.93
0.88
ST Manipur percentage to population India
0.07
0.07
Population Manipur percentage to population India
0.22
0.21
ST India percentage to population India
8.01
8.20
ST in Manipur
Total (Number)
632173
741141
Rural percentage to total
91.58
95.25
Urban percentage to total
8.42
4.75
Nagas (Manipur)
Total (Number)
335801
344196
Rural percentage to total
95.81
96.66
Urban percentage to total
4.19
3.34
Population (Number)
India
846302688
1028610328
Manipur
1837149
2166788
Note: *ST population of India excludes J&K in 1991. **Unclassified in 1991. The 1991 population for India includes projected figure for J&K as projected by the Standing Committee of Expert on Population Projection (Oct.1989). Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 1991 and 2001.
As large as 8.01 percent of India’s population was ST in 1991 which has increased to 8.20 percent in 2001. Two factors have contributed to the rise of the tribal population’s share in total population from 5.36 percent in 1951 to the present figure: (i) the removal of intra-state restrictions by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976, and (ii) inclusion of new tribes into the schedule. Removal of inter-state restrictions on recognition of scheduled tribes may further increase their share in the total population (Verma, 1990 as cited in Chaube, 1999).
Table 2: Nagas as the percentage to scheduled tribes population, Manipur
Ethnic Name
1991
2001
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
Nagas
53.16
53.07
53.12
46.53
46.35
46.44
Other Tribal Groups
45.53
45.78
45.65
52.38
52.58
52.48
Generic Tribes etc.**
1.31
1.14
1.23
1.10
1.07
1.08
All Scheduled Tribes
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
Note: **Unclassified in 1991. Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 1991 and 2001.
Nagas population was growing at very slow pace at 0.25 percent annually, which requires an attention by the government, against the all ST population growth rate of 1.59 percent annually during 1991-2001 in Manipur as shown in Table 3. Population of females was growing faster than that of males. The slow growth of Naga population was mainly attributed by a sharp declined in the number of Mao Nagas and Maram Nagas (Appendix I).
Table 3: Sex ratio and annual growth rates of scheduled tribes population, Manipur
Ethnic Name
Sex Ratio
Annual Growth Rates in percent,1991-2001
1991
2001
Male
Female
Person
Nagas
957
976
0.15
0.35
0.25
Other Tribal Groups
964
984
2.88
3.08
2.98
Generic Tribes etc.**
837
959
-0.32
1.04
0.32
All Scheduled Tribes
959
980
1.48
1.70
1.59
Note: Annual growth rate is computed using a formula LN(Year 2001/Year 1991)/Time period X 100; here time=10. Sex ratio is computed as the number of females per 1000 males. **Unclassified in 1991. Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 1991 and 2001.
The growth of population was also largely attributed by the growth of female population. It is validated by the improvement of sex ratio, as presented in Table 3, during 1991-2001. The ratio has improved from 957 to 976 for the Nagas during the same period; however, it’s slightly disturbing since its ratio was slightly lower than for all ST of the state at 959 in 1991 and 980 in 2001. The improvement in the ratio reflects the reduction for the son preference amid rising educational attainment. Hesketh and Zhu (2006:13272) mentioned that sons are preferred because “they have a higher wage-earning capacity, especially in agrarian economies; they continue the family line; and they are generally recipients of inheritance. Girls are often considered an economic burden because of the dowry system; after marriage they typically become members of the husband’s family, ceasing to have responsibility for their parents in illness and old age”. Further, Hesketh and Zhu (2006) noted that the population sex ratio depends on the sex ratio at birth, differential mortality rates between the sexes at different ages, and losses and gains through migration. Although sex ratio at birth favors males, differential gender mortality favors females. Females have greater resistance to disease throughout life and greater overall longevity, so in circumstances where they have the same nutrition and health care as males, females have lower mortalities across all age groups. The situation for men is compounded by their greater tendency to engage in risk behaviors and violence, thus increasing their risk of premature mortality. The decline in preference of son due to the improvement in education particularly among mothers along with an increase in urbanization and changes in the old systems of social and economic control might explain the improvement of sex ratio among the Nagas, so as for the tribal, over the years. The increased in male mortality due to the conflict and violence in the state apart from underreport or under-enumerated during census has undoubtedly resulted to the improvement in the sex ratio.

Table 4: Percentage distribution of Nagas population, Manipur
Tribe/Ethnic Name
1991
2001
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
Anal
3.05
3.29
3.17
6.01
6.34
6.17
Angami
0.10
0.08
0.09
0.04
0.04
0.04
Chiru
1.81
1.78
1.80
1.65
1.62
1.63
Chothe
0.77
0.77
0.77
0.77
0.83
0.80
Kabui
18.43
18.80
18.61
23.78
24.10
23.94
Kacha Naga
10.11
9.92
10.02
12.30
12.11
12.21
Koirao
0.50
0.52
0.51
0.68
0.68
0.68
Koireng
0.24
0.28
0.26
0.39
0.43
0.41
Lamgang
1.20
1.20
1.20
1.69
1.74
1.71
Mao
23.03
22.80
22.92
1.37
1.38
1.38
Maram
2.96
2.75
2.86
0.35
0.36
0.36
Maring
4.72
4.63
4.67
6.83
6.67
6.75
Monsang
0.54
0.53
0.54
0.62
0.62
0.62
Moyon
0.58
0.66
0.62
0.83
0.90
0.86
Sema
0.04
0.02
0.03
0.01
0.00
0.00
Tangkhul
31.91
31.96
31.94
42.69
42.18
42.44
Nagas
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
171565
164236
335801
174167
170029
344196
Note: Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district. Figure in bold are in number.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 1991 and 2001.
The dominance by Nagas was largely determined by the Tangkhuls with about 32 percent followed by Mao, Kabui and Kacha Naga (Zemi and Liangmei) in 1991. Tangkhuls (about 42 percent) continue to dominate in terms of population size followed by Kabui and Kacha Naga in the latter year. The exclusion of the three sub-divisions which are dominated by Mao resulting to a sharp fall in the share of Mao population from 22.92 percent in 1991 to mere 1.38 percent in 2001 as shown in Table 4. Kabui and Kacha Nagas forming the Zaliangrong tribe contributes the second largest tribe. During 1991-2001, the share of the dominant tribes such as Tangkhuls and Zaliangrong has sharply increased due to the sharp declined of Mao population.
Education among the Nagas
The British paved the way for entry into tribal society such as Nagas by the Christian missionaries. They spread Christianity in concurrence with the introduction of education from late 19th century. They brought education and introduced the roman script, and made communication easier between the Naga tribes as well as with the outside world (Chasie, 2005). Serto (2000) as cited in Thiyam (2007) asserted that tribal people in the hills generally lack education, training, communication facilities, etc. Among the Naga tribes of Manipur, the Tangkhuls were the first to receive Christianity; therefore, they were more educated and better adapted to the modern and Western cultures than other tribes (Lalitkumar, http://e-pao.net). It appears that Christianity has played a major role for the tribal in general and Nagas in particular in Manipur. As a result many Nagas are not only literate but also educated. Literacy rate measuring the educational development has substantially increased for Nagas following the general pattern of the tribal over the years as presented in Table 5. Ethnic consciousness is very much prevalent in Manipur. Every ethnic group tries to assert their ethnic identity which many a times has resulted to conflict and violence. It was believed in western democracies that the spread of education would over a length of time erode ethnic consciousness (Burman, 1989).
Table 5: Literacy rates of the Nagas, Manipur
Tribe/Ethnic Name
1991
2001
Male-female gap
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
1991
2001
Anal
59.54
44.77
52.03
70.37
57.90
64.04
14.77
12.47
Angami
71.19
46.56
60.71
87.32
67.21
78.03
24.62
20.11
Chiru
58.42
42.05
50.50
63.69
50.87
57.42
16.36
12.82
Chothe
62.38
55.41
58.97
76.39
63.53
69.80
6.97
12.86
Kabui
54.02
37.48
45.85
61.52
47.35
54.47
16.53
14.17
Kacha Naga
47.56
32.56
40.30
58.19
43.52
51.00
15.00
14.67
Koirao
62.63
46.67
54.66
72.54
65.34
68.99
15.96
7.20
Koireng
67.63
46.41
56.47
80.39
65.26
72.48
21.23
15.12
Lamgang
49.78
34.98
42.52
64.82
52.96
58.87
14.80
11.86
Mao
46.54
27.03
37.05
71.05
57.60
64.40
19.51
13.45
Maram
36.08
25.83
31.26
63.04
49.43
56.16
10.26
13.60
Maring
39.38
19.53
29.77
55.25
36.79
46.23
19.84
18.46
Monsang
64.49
50.23
57.63
71.36
58.70
65.07
14.26
12.67
Moyon
61.69
52.07
56.66
72.41
66.08
69.16
9.63
6.33
Sema
52.86
43.90
49.55
77.78
100.00
84.62
8.95
-22.22
Tangkhul
57.73
44.17
51.09
67.55
56.30
62.02
13.56
11.25
Nagas
52.06
36.27
44.34
64.44
51.51
58.05
15.79
12.93
Other Tribal Groups
52.10
38.03
45.19
61.35
49.37
55.41
14.06
11.98
Generic Tribes etc.
55.05
36.58
46.64
62.41
45.09
53.94
18.48
17.33
All Scheduled Tribes
52.12
37.08
44.76
62.80
50.31
56.62
15.03
12.48
Note: A Literacy rate is the ratio between number of literates aged 7 years and above and population in percent. Population includes 0-6 years of age. **Unclassified in 1991. Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 1991 and 2001.

Literacy rate has considerably increased for both males and females. The level of increased was higher for the females than males for the Nagas, following general tribal pattern, for example the rate has increased by about 15 percentage points for females against an increased by about 12 percentage points for males. The increased in the rate is partly attributed by the government intervention through free educational scheme, establishment of schools in tribal remote areas and reservation policy; and partly due to the increase in motivation by both self and parents recognising the importance of education which is required for entering into formal employment. The gradually eroding false belief and superstitions has also induces tribal to enter in modern educational system. The increased in agriculture density necessitate to seek employment in non-agriculture sector which requires modern education raises the level of educational attainment. Various government schemes and programmes for reduction of poverty among the tribal population have also help in raising the level of literacy rates. In 1991, Nagas were fewer literates as compared to other tribal groups or all ST; however, in 2001, Nagas became more literate as its rate was higher than other tribal groups.
The detail literacy rates for each tribe that is presented in Table 5 shows an increased of the rates for all the Naga tribes for both males and females during 1991-2001. The highest increase was for the tribe of Maram which was followed by the tribe of Sema, Mao, Angami and so on for males. For females, the highest increase appeared for Sema followed by Mao, Maram, Angami, Koirang, Koirao and so on. The rate was increased at the lowest for Maram for males in 1991, and Maring for females in 1991 and both gender in 2001. It has grown more for females than males for all the Naga tribes in Manipur; except for Chothe and Maram where it has grown faster for males. In developing economies “each worsening of the employment situation calls forth an increased demand for more formal education at all levels” (Todaro, 1991:339). This also partially explains the increased of literacy rates. Further, it suggests an increased in the number of educated. Interestingly, the wide gap of literacy rates between males and females in the Nineties has narrowed down for all the Naga tribes; except for Chothe and Maram due to the slow performance of females’ education. The narrowing down of the gap was more prominent for the Nagas when compared to the other tribal groups or all ST. Empirically, the gap for the Nagas has narrowed down from about 16 percentage points in 1991 to 13 percentage points in the latter year.
Educational Achievement of the Nagas
Nagas are increasingly becoming literate as its number increases from about 1.5 to 2 lakh from 1991 to 2001. Concurrently, the number of educated has also increased. As large as 77.89 percent, as shown in Table 6, of the Naga literates have attained an educational level below secondary educational and the remaining share were educated who have attained secondary and above educational level in 1991. In 2001, the share of literates below secondary has declined to about 67 percent because of the increased in the share of secondary and above educational attainment. The level of educated Naga people has increased by more than 10 percentage points over the years. A similar pattern and trend prevailed for other tribal groups and all ST. However, the proportion of Nagas who have completed secondary and above educational level was evidently more significant when compared to the other tribal groups or the general ST populace. It indicates that Nagas, who were exposed to modern educational system at the end of 19th century by the Britishers, were relatively more educated than others. Naga’s aspiration and quest to attain higher education surge more than for all ST or even for other tribal groups.
Table 6: Percentage distribution of educational level of Nagas population age 7 and above, Manipur
 Tribe/Ethnic Name
Number of Literate
Below Secondary
Secondary and above
1991
2001
1991
2001
1991
2001
Anal
5537
13603
76.40
65.15
23.60
34.85
Angami
187
103
48.66
28.16
51.34
71.84
Chiru
3046
3228
86.21
67.81
13.79
32.19
Chothe
1516
1928
76.39
63.49
23.61
36.51
Kabui
28648
44876
79.58
67.43
20.42
32.57
Kacha Naga
13556
21427
84.18
76.08
15.82
23.92
Koirao
938
1620
78.25
69.01
21.75
30.99
Koireng
493
1022
81.34
54.01
18.66
45.99
Lamgang
1714
3470
86.64
65.76
13.36
34.24
Mao
28518
3050
68.31
67.54
31.69
32.46
Maram
2998
688
71.38
64.39
28.62
35.61
Maring
4673
10744
83.03
69.99
16.97
30.01
Monsang
1039
1386
76.80
55.27
23.20
44.73
Moyon
1179
2054
71.76
57.21
28.24
42.79
Sema
55
11
74.55
27.27
25.45
72.73
Tangkhul
54796
90603
80.03
65.14
19.97
34.86
Nagas
148893
199813
77.89
66.96
22.11
33.04
Other Tribal Groups
130420
215486
82.54
75.14
17.46
24.86
Generic Tribes etc.**
3627
4331
77.97
67.07
22.03
32.93
All Scheduled Tribes
282940
419630
80.04
71.16
19.96
28.84
Note: * Includes figures for educational level not classifiable. **Unclassified in 1991. Below secondary includes literates without educational level, below primary, primary and middle. Secondary and above includes matriculation/secondary, higher secondary (intermediate/pre-university/senior secondary), diploma or certificate not equal to degree in non-technical and technical, and graduate and above. Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 1991.

The share of below secondary education was largest for the Lamgang with 86.64 percent followed by Chiru, Kacha Naga, Maring, Koireng, Tangkhul, Kabui, Koirao, Monsang, Anal, Chothe, Sema, Moyon, Maram, Mao and Angami (48.66 percent) in 1991 as given in Table 6 on one hand. On the other hand, Angami with 51.34 percent has the largest share of literate with secondary and above education followed by Mao, Maram, Moyon, Sema etc. to the lowest with 13.36 percent among the Lamgang. Kacha Naga has the largest share of literates below secondary education with 76.08 percent followed by Maring, Koirao, Chiru, Mao, Kabui, Lamgang, Anal, Tangkhul, Maram, Chothe, Moyon, Monsang, Koireng, Angami and Sema (27.27 percent) in 2001. Conversely, educated with secondary and above was highest for Sema with 72.73 percent followed by Angami, Koireng, Monsang and so on. Tangkhuls, the biggest tribes in terms of population among the Nagas, who have attained below secondary has declined considerably by about 15 percentage points from 80.03 to 65.14 percent over the period against the declined by 11 percentage points for the general Nagas. On the contrary, it indicates an increased in the share of educated among secondary and above.
Naga Students
Empirical evidence shows that smaller share of the Nagas were students, who were attending educational institution, with 35.75 percent in rural areas when compared to the urban areas with 44.62 percent in the year 2001 as shown in Table 7. The same situation prevailed for both the genders and for almost all the Naga tribes. The share of students was also higher in urban areas than rural areas for all ST and for other tribal groups. The difference is due to the better educational infrastructure in urban areas, better educational accessibility due to lower poverty and higher educational competition which is demanded in most of the urban formal labour market. Rural people educate mostly upto secondary level due to inaccessibility of educational infrastructure. However, rural people who want to pursue higher education and can afford migrate towards urban areas following the general prevailing trend in any society. Rural people could not access to education as much as urban people do due to engagement in economic activities to supplement their household income primary arises because of poverty. They think that spending on education is a waste of time and money as they are most likely to drop schooling on the mid way which would be of less implication and use on their life. Opportunity cost for the tribal is supposedly higher as compared to the developed society. Urban people are relatively more educated and affluent which enable them to access education. It is important to note that affluent rural people migrating to urban areas to pursue higher education contributes to the growth of urban population.
Females could not attend to educational institutions as much as males could among Nagas, other tribal groups and ST in both the areas as males are considered as the family bread winner. It is evident that the share of female students was lower in both rural and urban areas. It could partially be explained by the world experience that males are more ambitious or economically more responsive. The prevailing lower literacy rate of females, which is discussed above, also explains the lower share of female students. As expected the gap of level between males and females was narrower in urban areas for the Nagas, against a wider gap for other tribal groups. For the general ST population the gap was of similar extent. In addition, the sex ratio of students was lower than the sex ratio of population in both the areas for Nagas, other tribal groups and STs. The ratio of students was much better in urban areas than rural areas, corresponding to the sex ratio of population, indicating a lesser biasness in motivating and supporting in educating children of both the gender in urban areas. The ratio for students was 866 and 982 in rural and urban areas respectively for the Nagas, which were considerably higher when compared to other tribal groups and all ST. It suggests the prevalence of gender indiscrimination among them. Female population outnumbered in urban areas, with a sex ratio of more than thousand, attributes partially due to larger female migration towards urban areas and high prevalence of male mortality due to violence and conflict. There prevails more equitable in accessing and delivering education to both the gender in urban than rural areas.
Table 7: Percentage of  Naga students* to the total Naga population and sex ratio, Manipur in 2001
Ethnic Name
Students* as percentage to total ST population
Sex ratio of Nagas
Rural
Urban
Population
Students*
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Nagas
37.79
33.65
35.75
46.27
43.05
44.62
972
1056
866
982
Other Tribal Groups
31.79
27.59
29.71
40.39
35.70
38.01
981
1034
852
914
Generic Tribes etc.
35.85
32.43
34.16
34.95
35.56
35.22
974
773
881
787
All Scheduled Tribes
34.61
30.43
32.55
43.23
39.43
41.29
977
1040
859
949
Note: *Attending educational institutions. Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 2001.

The economic backwardness and the question of educational infrastructural inaccessibility has resulted most of the Naga students studying in rural areas with a striking share of 93.65 percent; and the rest about six percent studies in urban areas in 2001 as presented in Table 8. This is because majority of them are living in backward rural areas with about 95 percent of the total ST population; and the rest only 5 percent lives in urban areas. A similar pattern prevails for both the genders of other tribal groups and the general STs. However, Naga students studying in urban areas were marginally higher by about one percentage point, which is to an extent of the relatively larger share of Nagas population by about one percentage point living in urban areas, than other tribal groups and STs.
Table 8: Rural-urban distribution of Naga students* in percent, Manipur in 2001.
Ethnic Name
Students*
Population
Rural
Urban
Rural
Urban
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
Nagas
94.00
93.25
93.65
6.00
6.75
6.35
95.05
94.65
94.85
4.95
5.35
5.15
Other Tribal Groups
94.66
94.29
94.49
5.34
5.71
5.51
95.75
95.53
95.64
4.25
4.47
4.36
Generic Tribes etc.
92.64
93.37
92.98
7.36
6.63
7.02
92.46
93.92
93.18
7.54
6.08
6.82
All Scheduled Tribes
94.30
93.75
94.05
5.70
6.25
5.95
95.39
95.10
95.25
4.61
4.90
4.75
Note: *Attending educational institutions. Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 2001.

Table 9: Percentage distribution of Naga students* by educational institutions, Manipur in 2001.
Educational Institution
Rural
Urban
Total
Nagas
OTG
GT
All ST
Nagas
OTG
GT
All ST
Nagas
OTG
GT
All ST
Students* (No.)
116705
110504
2556
229765
7911
6443
193
14547
124616
116947
2749
244312
School
86.38
88.83
86.66
87.56
79.31
82.28
75.13
80.57
85.93
88.47
85.85
87.14
College
12.24
10.01
11.11
11.15
18.27
16.13
21.24
17.36
12.62
10.35
11.82
11.52
Vocational institute
0.46
0.39
1.10
0.43
1.61
0.93
0.52
1.29
0.53
0.42
1.05
0.48
Other institute
0.81
0.58
1.10
0.70
0.80
0.64
2.59
0.75
0.81
0.58
1.20
0.71
Literacy centre
0.11
0.19
0.04
0.15
0.03
0.03
0.52
0.03
0.11
0.18
0.07
0.14
Note: Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.* Attending educational institutions. OTG – Other Tribal Groups; GT – Generic Tribes etc.; All ST – All Scheduled Tribes.
Source: Calculated by the author based on data from census of India, 2001.
Table 9 shows that, in 2001, out of the total 1.2 lakh Naga students, who studies mostly in rural areas, as large as about 86 percent were attending in school institutions while 12.62 percent in college institutions, only 0.53 percent in vocational institute, 0.81 percent in other institute and a small share of 0.11 percent in the literacy centre. There were more college students in urban when compared to rural areas for the Nagas, which is valid for the other groups too. This is due to the availability and concentration of more and better educational infrastructure that is also expected due to the higher population density and relatively more developed in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Moreover, increasingly students also preferred to study in urban areas that provide better facilities ranging from accessibility, amenities to services. Naga students in college were more prominent than other tribal groups or ST in general indicating Nagas are ahead in accessing higher education.
Conclusion
Scheduled tribe population has experienced a stagnant growth in Manipur due to the dismally low population growth among the Nagas due to the exclusion in census enumeration in the three scheduled tribe subdivisions of Senapati district in 2001 census. Sex ratio has improved due to the changes in son preference and increased in male mortality due to violence. Population of Nagas has dropped over the recent years. Tangkhul, Kabui and Kacha Nagas (and Mao previously) form the largest population among the Nagas. Moreover, literacy rates have substantially surged indicating an educational development. Females are lacking behind in it resulting to a wide gap of literacy rates. However, interestingly, the gap has narrowed down over the years. Nagas appeared to be more educated as the share of educated was larger when compared to other tribal groups. There were more students in urban areas than rural areas in terms of proportion. Accessing to education does not indicate any sort of discrimination between genders. More than nine-tenth of the population lived in rural areas resulting to a similar share of population studying in rural areas. Fairly greater share of Nagas than other tribal groups studied in urban areas. About fourteen and twenty percent of the students were in other than school, such as college and other educational institutions, in rural and urban areas respectively. Students studying in college were more striking among the Nagas than other tribal groups or ST in general indicating Nagas is slightly ahead in accessing higher education.



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Appendix I


Number of scheduled tribes population, Manipur
Tribe/Ethnic Name
1991
2001
Male
Female
Person
Male
Female
Person
Anal
5232
5410
10642
10459
10783
21242
Angami
177
131
308
71
61
132
Chiru
3112
2920
6032
2870
2752
5622
Chothe
1313
1258
2571
1347
1415
2762
Kabui
31613
30874
62487
41413
40973
82386
Kacha Naga
17351
16289
33640
21429
20584
42013
Koirao
859
857
1716
1191
1157
2348
Koireng
414
459
873
673
737
1410
Lamgang
2053
1978
4031
2939
2955
5894
Mao
39518
37454
76972
2394
2342
4736
Maram
5077
4515
9592
606
619
1225
Maring
8096
7602
15698
11892
11346
23238
Monsang
935
868
1803
1072
1058
2130
Moyon
992
1089
2081
1446
1524
2970
Sema
70
41
111
9
4
13
Tangkhul
54753
52491
107244
74356
71719
146075
Nagas
171565
164236
335801
174167
170029
344196
Aimol
1039
1069
2108
1248
1281
2529
Gangte
6621
6172
12793
4806
4636
9442
Hmar
18172
17595
35767
21699
21234
42933
Kom
6726
6278
13004
7354
7248
14602
Any Mizo (Lushai) tribes etc.
4237
4003
8240
7618
7546
15164
Paite
20811
19981
40792
24679
24592
49271
Purum
212
176
388
286
285
571
Ralte
132
118
250
4
1
5
Simte
4455
4378
8833
5533
5532
11065
Suhte
375
371
746
911
994
1905
Thadou
61880
60114
121994
92261
90333
182594
Vaiphui
13839
13038
26877
19335
18932
38267
Zou
8422
8381
16803
10318
10249
20567
Other Tribal Groups
146921
141674
288595
196052
192863
388915
Generic Tribes etc.**
4234
3543
7777
4100
3930
8030
All Scheduled Tribes
322720
309453
632173
374319
366822
741141
Note: **Unclassified in 1991. Manipur figure for 2001 excludes three sub-divisions namely Mao-Maram, Paomata and Purul of Senapati district.
Source: Census of India, 1991 and 2001.





* Reimeingam Marchang, Assistant Professor, CSSCD, ISEC, Bangalore – 560 072

*************************************************
For citation: Marchang Reimeingam, Population and Educational Development of the Nagas: A Brief Account in Ethnicity, Resources and Institution for Development of North Eastern States of India, P C Dutta and K Singha (eds) Akansha Publishing House, Delhi, 2013 (ISBN: 978-81-8370-349-9) pp.188-212.