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By Anup Sharma One hospital for a population of 1.86 lakh, 136 villages electrified out of a total of 552, infant mortality at 4 per 10 infants, and per capita income at Rs 39 a day. Such underdevelopment is a fertile breeding ground for ethnic strife and militancy in Assam’s North Cachar Hills district
Deronjoy Kemprai (55) and Pordamon Phonglo (65), both residents of Deutohaja village which comes under Maibong police station in central Assam’s North Cachar Hills district, went out to cultivate their jhoom fields (shifting cultivation, the typical agricultural practice of the area) on the morning of July 28, 2009 as they did every day. But they did not return home at the end of the day. Unidentified armed men shot them dead in the fields around 10 am. The ongoing ethnic violence in the district, which began on March 19, 2009, has killed 67 people so far. Around 16,000 people, including children and pregnant women from various villages in the district, are living in 42 relief camps set up by the district administration. According to the district administration, 539 houses have been burnt down in 50 villages belonging to both the dominant Dimasas and the Jeme Nagas, who also constitute a sizable number in the district. Pausulae (28), a Jeme Naga, is not willing to return to her house in Guilong village although there has not been fresh violence in the villages for the last few days. “There is no point in returning home now. No one knows when fresh violence will break out. We will go only when security forces are deployed in our village,” Pausulae says as she feeds her one-and-a-half-year-old baby boy. Guilong village was set ablaze by suspected Dima Halam Daogah (J) militants on May 11, 2008. “Three people were killed in the violence and we all escaped from the village,” recalls Pausulae, adding that they have been living in the Lodi village relief camp near Haflong for more than four months now. The population of 1.86 lakh has been living in fear because of the ethnic clash between the Dimasas and the Jeme Nagas. The conflict seems to have originated in the poor economic condition of the area and the desire of each group to get the most from the meagre benefits. The beautiful North Cachar Hills district, covering an area of 4890 sq/km, used to be a favourite holiday destination of domestic tourists till a few decades ago. It was also of immense interest to ornithologists for the migratory birds that are seen here from August to November. The district was part of the Cachar district till the formation of the United NC Hills and Mikir Hills district in 1951. In 1970, the district was separated from the United NC Hills and Mikir Hills district and declared a full-fledged district. The North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council constituted to administer the district has three wings of administration -- legislature, judiciary, and executive. Besides the subjects enshrined in the Sixth Schedule, the government of Assam has transferred almost all the departments and all executive powers to the Council except law and order. Though these measures were taken in order to aid development of the region and its people, the current socio-economic condition of the people shows that the autonomous council has failed in this respect. Michidui village, under the Haflong police station, is located only about 50 km from the district headquarters, Haflong. But to reach it takes an exhausting five to six hours of walking as there is no motorable road. Yeah, another village ravaged by the recent violence, is just 35 km from Maibong subdivision, but it takes a minimum of two to three hours to reach the village, again on foot. There is only one hospital to cater to the needs of a population of about 1.86 lakh, and only five primary health centres (PHCs) and two community health centres (CHCs). Only 136 villages out of a total of 552 have electricity. According to official records, the infant mortality rate in the district at present is 4 per 10 infants, not surprising considering there are just two doctors per 10,000 population. Even after 58 years of ‘autonomous council’ status, per capita income stands at only Rs 39 a day. There are only 676 lower primary schools and 175 middle English schools to cater to the educational needs of about 60,000 children aged 0 to 14. For higher education, there are only four arts and science colleges, all in a dilapidated condition. The district has just 605.98 km of surfaced roads, according to official records. Sunita Haflongbar of Yeah village pointed out that many children, especially boys, don’t study beyond primary school as they have to augment the family’s meagre income by working in the jhoom fields. Anyway, to pursue high school means sending children to the subdivision or district headquarters, which few can afford. Lack of teachers and infrastructure has also added to the drop-out rate. “We had been living a good life earlier with the jhoom and a small shop in the Michidui market. But these clashes have reduced us to mere refugees. I lost my paddy last year too, due to some minor clashes between the militant outfits in the area. This year also I am losing my crops in the field,” said K Robert, a resident of Michidui village who has become a seasonal refugee. Families like the Roberts have to vacate their homes and take shelter in the camps whenever there are violent clashes among the militants or between communities. The militant activity has only hampered development work further. Besides, there is a nexus between the politicians and militants in the district and this has deprived the district of its development funds. Says former chief executive member (CEM) of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council, J K Thousen, “Funds which are given by the central and state governments have never reached the interior places of the district. As a result people in some interior places are still living in the primitive age—there is no drinking water, proper housing, no medical facilities and electricity is a distant dream. Just imagine, there are only 276 government fair price shops in the district and only 39,415 households have ration cards.” Principal secretary to the Council, Dibakar Mishra, said, “There are no official records maintained by the district council on utilisation of developmental funds.” As a result, “no one knows where the funds have gone.” The officer however refused to divulge more as a central government agency is investigating the militant-politician nexus in the district. P K Hafila, a student leader, says there is no one to ensure implementation of the developmental schemes. “Most of the employees of central and state government organisations who are posted in the district do not even visit the district. They are known to draw their salaries not at the place of posting but at their headquarters outside the district due to the extortion and kidnapping threat by the militants,” he says. Local people say that every elected government of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council has maintained a nexus with militant outfits in the district in order that the council retains its power. The Assam Police recently arrested the chief executive member of the Council, Mohit Hojai, for allegedly paying more than Rs 1 crore to the faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) led by Jewel Garlocha, which has refused to join in the talks. Sources in the Assam Police allege that seven militant outfits, including those that are part of the ceasefire, thrive on funds amounting to several crores siphoned off every year from the central and state governments’ development funds allocated to the Council. The seeds of the conflict lie in the struggle for dominance by the various communities. There are currently 17 members of the Dimasa community in the Council, while the representation of other communities is much less: Jeme Nagas 3, Hmar 2, Kuki 2, Karbi 1, Jaintia 1, Baite 1 and Hrangkhal 1. In February 2009, when the NC Hills Autonomous Council adopted a resolution to change the name of the district to ‘Dima Hasao Raji’ on the grounds that the name ‘NC Hills’ is actually a misnomer because since 1951 it has ceased to be part of Cachar district, the other communities objected. The Council in its resolution also clarified that the proposed name is not new; from time immemorial, the Dimasas called the NC Hills ‘Hasao Raji’ meaning ‘high or hilly lands’ inhabited by Dimasa people. The other communities which together constitute 65% of the population of the district, did not buy this argument and have demanded bifurcation of the NC Hills district to provide a separate administrative set-up for the non-Dimasa hill tribes. The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum (IPF), a conglomeration of non-Dimasa organisations holds that the Jeme Nagas, Kukis, Hmars, Baites, Hrangkhals and Jaintias are the earliest settlers and protectors of the district, and the Dimasa-dominated Autonomous Council has always shown scant regard for the rights and feelings of other hill tribal communities. Renaming the district Dima Hasao Raji threatens the very existence of other communities. These other communities rallied behind the Naga militants. “The involvement of both factions of the Naga militants is obvious in the fresh clash. More than 90% of the NC Hills falls under the proposed map of ‘greater Nagalim’ and a change of name, more particularly a name indicating Dimasa inhabitation, might also threaten the Naga militants’ desire of achieving a ‘greater Nagalim’,” said a senior security official deployed in the district who did not want to be named. A senior citizen and former chief executive member (CEM) of the Council said the situation was different earlier. “There was adequate representation of all communities in the Council and the first CEM of the council in 1952 was C H Khotlang, a Hmar. The differences between the communities have increased over the years. The non-Dimasas feel that they are deprived, and because of the lack of development, the Dimasas have started feeling that the other communities are infringing on them,” he said. He says that this is basically a war fought between the militant outfits of various communities with only very little participation of the common people. “Whether it is the DHD (J) or the NSCN (IM) and NSCN (K), their behaviour is irresponsible and never considers civil society and common people,” he said. He indicated that militant groups that are in the ceasefire have also played a role in the clashes. It is incumbent on the Government of India to seriously pursue the objective of holding formal peace talks with the ceasefire groups like the DHD (Nunisa), the NSCN (IM) and the NSCN (K). In 2003, ethnic clashes between the Dimasa and Hmar communities had left more than 100 people dead. The root cause of the violence then, too, was the resolution of the NC Hills Autonomous Council to change the name of the district to ‘Dima Halali’, to which the Hmars objected. The militant outfits on both sides took over and homes and villages of both communities were burned and destroyed. The council finally had to abandon the resolution to change the name of the district. (Anup Sharma is a freelance journalist based in Guwahati, Assam. He covers the seven states in India's northeast region for various web portals and newspapers) Infochange News & Features, September 2009
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