FEATURES:

Chakma in Arunachal: Big problem

By K N Sarma Barooah

About 65,000 people belonging to the Chakma and Hajong (henceforth termed as Chakma) communities are living in Arunachal Pradesh for the last 25 years or so without any voting right. Out of them about 62,000 people are living in the Changlang district and the rest in the districts of Lohit and Papumpare. Out of the above population, approximately 35,000 will be adults eligible for exercising voting rights.

The Chakmas are living as second grade citizen without any right of franchise, right to carry on trade and commerce, purchase of land and properties of fixed nature and thus deprived of their basic human rights.

Originally 56 families came to Ledo (Assam) and were settled there in the year 1964, and then they were taken to Miao and settled there in certain camps specially set up for these Chakmas. As it appears, 4012 Chakmas were settled in the Arunachal state and the government of India sanctioned Rs 4200 per family for settlement of these Chakmas. In the absence of proper vigilance fresh infiltration from time to time increased the population which may exceed 70,000 by this time.

The rights of the local inhabitants of the Changlang district, mostly belong to the Singphoes, the Tangeas, the Khamtis, the Deuries. The Naote tribes whose population taken together may not exceed 35,000, have badly been effected due to the influx of the Chakmas. They are going to be out-numbered by the Chakmas. If these Chakmas are given citizenship rights, the condition of the indigenous people would be like that of the Tripuris in Tripura.

The cultural, ethnic, linguistic and tribal rights of the local tribes are in great danger due to the influx of the Chakmas.

The virgin forests of Arunachal Pradesh, specially of Changlang district including the world famous Nam-dapha National Park where a tiger project in located, the Miao Reserve Forest and the bio-diversity obtaining in these area have already been threatened due to the largescale encroachment of forest land. Approximately 16,000 hectares have been encroached upon and forest products have been destroyed by the Chakmas as stated by local forest authorities.

The Chin Hill Regulation, 1896, empowered the district administration of Arunachal Pradesh to extern any person not being a native of the area if his presence is found injurious to the peace and good administration of the government.

The Panch Sheel declared by the first prime minister of India, late Jawaharlal Nehru for administration of the tribal areas of Arunachal Pradesh provide:

People should develop in the line of their genious and we should avoid imposing on them. We should try to encourage in every way their own tribal rights and culture.

Tribal rights on land and forest should be respected.

We should try to train and build up a team of their own to do the work of administration and develop. Some technical persons, from outside the state no doubt, will be needed specially in the beginning, but we should avoid too many outsiders into the tribal territory.

We should avoid over administer these areas or overwhelm them with multiplicity of schemes, we should rather work through and not as rival to their own social and cultural institutions.

We should judge not by statistics or the amount of money spent by the quantity of human character that is involved.

The Assam Forest Regulation, 1891, which is applicable for Arunachal Pradesh also provides protection to the forest and the indigenous people’s right for jhuming cultivation, village forest for the community etc. The Regulation also further provides prohibition on acquisition of forest land by any outsider.

According to the customary laws and social practices the tribal people have full protection under the Act, which has stood the test of time over a hundred years. Their personnel rights, community rights remain unaffected, undisputed and undisturbed till date.

According to the judgement delivered in Khudiram Chakma-vs-State of Arunachal Pradesh, the Chakma refugees are foreigners and they have no right and claim to have a permanent residence and the authority concerned may at any time ask them to move or vacate the place or to quit the state if.

It was recommended by the Committee to the Constituent Assembly while framing the Constitution that the hill people should have full powers of administering their own social laws and customary institutions.

As per agreement made between late Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, all Bangladeshi nationals of Indian origin coming to India in the wake of the disturbance in then East Pakistan are entitled to claim citizenship.

As per Section 6(A) of the Indian Citizenship Act, persons of Indian origin who came before January 1966 to Assam territories who had been ordinary resident of Assam, shall be claimed to be citizen of India as on 1.1.96.

Since the Chakmas came in the year 1964, according to Indian Citizenship Act, they are entitled to Indian citizenship.

According to the latest judgement of the Supreme Court of India:

l Lives and personal liberty of each and every Chakma residing in the state (Arunachal Pradesh) shall be protected.

l Except in accordance to the law the Chakmas shall not be evicted from their home and shall not be denied domestic life and comfort therein.

The above judgement had resulted in serious conflict of human rights of the local tribal inhabitants of Changlang district vis-a-vis the Chakmas or Arunachal Pradesh.

(The writer is SP, Investigation Cell, Assam Human Rights Commission)