Manipur, March 4 -- Of all the symptoms of the increasingly claustrophobic siege mentality amongst the Meiteis today, the demand by a good section of them now for Scheduled Tribe status under the Indian Constitution must rank as the foremost. There is also however another section in the community who are dead opposed to the idea, convinced this is a retrogressive move by which the community would have sacrificed a future of dignified living for the sake of some immediate gains, in the shape of easier availability of government jobs and other benefits. The other argument by those who want ST status, that they want it in the belief this would forge greater unity amongst the hill and valley populations is nothing more than an excuse to give th...