February 26

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Editorial

 

 

 

Large scale migration is matter of worry

In recent year Arunachal is witnessing massive migration of people from rural to urban areas. Due to this large scale migration, the urban areas are getting populated and messy too. Also the ever thinning rural population especially in the Indo-China border area poses serious national security threat. Unfortunately successive government in the state has not given due importance to this problem. Therefore it is encouraging to hear Governor JP Rajkhowa raising this important subject.

Yesterday while interacting with the delegation of Eastern Arunachal People's Organization, Rajkhowa emphasized on development of remote border areas in order to arrest the problem of migration to urban areas. The new government led by Kalikho Pul should take note of the concern raised by the Governor. There is urgent need to take the developmental process to the rural areas. In this regard first of all government should improve the road connectivity. Last year union government announced that they will construct frontier highway to connect people living along the international border. The Mago-Thingbu-Vijaynagar Border Highway is a proposed 2,000-kilometre-long road to be built along the McMahon Line.  However, not much progress has been made in this regard. The announcement has remained just a media showpiece. Government of India should expedite the process of constructing the frontier highway. Once completed, this highway will bring massive change in the life of people living at interior China border. Besides road connectivity, government should also explore the possibilities of generating employment opportunities for the people living in rural areas. These are some of the important measures to arrest migration of people from interior Arunachal.

 

 

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Readers’ Forum

 

 

 

Fill posts

Dear Editor,

We would like to draw the attention of the Director of Secondary Education, Govt, of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar.

Degree holders of Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) who are unemployed are waiting for the written interview to fill the posts of Post Graduate Teacher and Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) as per advertisement No. ED2/DSE/234- 2014-15 published in local news paper.

Since the last two months, there is no sound from concern department regarding recruitment of PGT/ TGT.

Therefore, we appeal to the Department of Director of Secondary Education not to intentionally extend the period.  

Yours,

Citizens

Itanagar

 

 

 

Selective intolerance

Dear Editor,

It is important to note that with respect to the vicious and highly condemnable attacks on foreign students in Karnataka, none of India’s infamous award returning Brigade, intellectuals, student unions and celebs threatened to live in India have not uttered a single word of protest or condemnation. Most possibly there is no immediate assembly elections nearby to take political advantage of the incidence or increase the ratings of the TV channels or to occupy big spaces on the newspapers.

The political motivations behind taking advantage of every condemnable incident within the nation has truly exposed the true nature of a section of politically motivated, fed and supported agenda of Indian intellectuals who shed crocodile tears based on selective intolerance that suits their political agenda. It is also important to notice that Karnataka where such incidents have been rampant has been ruled by a specific political party that has been vocal about similar incidents in other states but voiceless when the incident occurred at their own backyard.

Yours,

Saikat Kumar Basu

Lethbridge AB Canada

 

 

 

Arunachal Pradesh: The long journey from secluded entity to full-fledged state

[ Denhang Bosai ]

India was under the mighty British rule for more than two centuries during which almost all the regions of the country came under its administrative control. However, it is rather intriguing that nothing was known about the tribes of present Arunachal Pradesh and the region during the most part of the British rule. Only in the later parts beginning from the early 40s people had a vague knowledge of the many tribes residing in the region. The famous British writer Verrier Elwin played a stellar role in throwing open some of the facets of tribal life of the hitherto unknown region to the outside world through his writings and travelogues. Some people came to know about the region and its tribesmen because of the constant conflict between the British expedition and survey teams and the tribesmen who considered any outsiders as intruders. The tragic incident of killing of Captain Williamson and his men during such an expedition in 1911 at Komsing village in formerly Siang district, cold-blooded murder of a Circle Officer and CRPF personnel at Chayangtajo in undivided Kameng district, massacre of more than 80 survey team members including British officers at Nyinu village in undivided Tirap district and other such ugly incidents have been recorded in the history of present Arunachal Pradesh. These are of course, dark chapters that the world and the people of Arunachal Pradesh would not like to recall. The Britishers did not venture out beyond the plains of Assam due to which there was a total lack of communication and understanding of the region and its people. The tribesmen of the unexplored and unexposed region came in contact with sepoys of the Assam Rifles and other plainsmen deployed by the British regime to take punitive action against the ‘ferocious’ tribesmen living in the hills who often raided and attacked the people living in the foothills of Assam. These unknown tribesmen were apparently fiercely protective of their land, forests and rivers.  Apart from these punitive actions, the British government had no development plans or programmes for the tribesmen in the beginning. The realization of the many tribesmen residing in the inhospitable hills of the region dawned very late in the corridors of power of the British India. Later on, the Northeast Frontier Agency (NEFA) shot into prominence albeit for all the wrong reasons; Chinese aggression in 1962 and the great Assam earthquake in 1950. These were truly defining moments for the innocent tribesmen. The hill dwellers as they were better known then used rivers, streams, big trees and even rocks to demarcate boundaries of their land. Since these tribesmen lived in complete isolation, they were oblivious of the winds of modern development blowing across the globe. The hill dwellers did not have the necessity to venture out of their territories because Nature bestowed upon them whatever they required. In most parts, natural salt springs were available. So, there was no need for them to travel to the plains in search of salt. The currency was hardly known or seen as these tribesmen practised barter system. They lived honest and simple life in the hills and they never used locks and keys. Most of these hill dwellers came in some contact with outsiders long after India’s Independence through teachers, VLWs, WHO DDT sprayers and other government employees. However, even after India’s Independence the simple modern equipments like mirror, torch light, comb, match box etc were things of great mystery and curiosity for the simple and innocent tribesmen. The transistors or radio, watches, pens and clothes were luxury items for them. They looked at the strange plainsmen; the way they dressed, spoke and ate with great curiosity.  

The different ethnic groups lived in complete isolation in the then Arunachal Pradesh. Leave alone coming in contact with the outsiders, the tribesmen were not even aware of the existence of other tribes in the region. They lived in naked or semi-naked condition. Summers and winters made little or no difference to them. They lived happily in the lap of Mother Nature. For the tribesmen, the day was to toil in the field and the night was to sleep. They had neither worldly wants nor these worldly wants were available those hard, harsh and unforgiving days. Since they lived in naked or semi-naked state, the urge for clothes and other accessories was blissfully absent. However, interestingly, almost all the tribesmen in the region had a settled agriculture and were governed by well-defined and well-structured traditional systems unlike the other nomads or tribesmen in other parts of the world. In fact, the Apatanis had a very well-developed practice of wet rice cultivation by using irrigational systems even those days. So also the Noctes, Wanchos, Adis etc had traditional institutions that greatly helped in running the village administration smoothly. Apart from the Singphos, Khamtis, Sherdukpans and the Monpas, the other tribes had no religion of their own. Apart from the Singphos, Khamtis, Monpas and Sherdukpans the other ethnic tribes have no scripts of their own.  Some of them worshipped the forces of Nature including the Sun and Moon and their Ancestors. Medicines and other necessities of life were beyond their imagination. So, in the absence of modern medicines the priests played a pivotal role in looking after the sick people. Use of priestly chants, animal sacrifice and jungle medicinal herbs was largely practised by most of the tribes. The diseases that the priests found no remedies for, where treated as a curse from the malevolent spirit. Apart from engaging themselves in agricultural practices, the tribesmen were expert hunters and fishermen. They loved community hunting and fishing. They also celebrated a number of festivals to mark various occasions. Most of these tribes used the pattern of the waxing moon to start their agriculture cycle. Since their subsistence totally depended on their land, forests, rivers and animals, the tribesmen greatly venerated Nature. This veneration for the Nature brought them closer to her. Life was hard, harsh, cruel and at times unforgiving then. The tribesmen literally lived at the mercy of Mother Nature. However, long after 1947, the year India got freedom from the British rule, the government of India discovered that the hitherto unknown region was a rich land with varied flora, fauna and colourful tribes. The GOI also discovered some important historical ruins like Bhismaknagar, Malinithan, Itafort and places of Hindu pilgrimage like the famous Parashuram Kund. The Indian government at long last came to know that these unknown hill dwellers were the Adis, Galos, Apatanis, Nyishis, Mishimis, Khamtis, Singphos, Monpas, Sherdukpans, Akas, Mijis, Noctes, Wanchos, Tangsas etc.

Just as the origin of these tribesmen and their existence in the unknown jungles for many centuries are shrouded in mystery the political history of the region is also not less interesting. It was a long and arduous journey from an un-administered region to a full-fledged state called Arunachal Pradesh - the land of the rising sun. Before the advent of modern democratic institutions, it was the village councils with different nomenclatures that administered the people. These village councils had great influence over the villagers. Later the Political Assistants (PAs) and Political Interpreters (PIs) appointed from amongst the villagers played a pivotal role in assisting the administration. The Gaon Burhas (GBs) also later acted as a link between the administration and the villagers. There was no Police then. It may be mentioned here that for a very long time the present Arunachal Pradesh was a part of undivided Assam.  

The Inner Line Regulation of 1873, for the first time, separated some tracts inhabited by some tribesmen from the districts of Assam and British administration.  These separated tracts were kept outside the purview of regular laws of the country and were administered differently by passing regulations and framing procedures from time to time. The region was eventually given formal recognition as a separate administrative unit with the notification of 1914 by the Foreign and Political departments of the government of British India. The notification facilitated extension of Assam Frontier Tracts Regulation, 1880 to the hills occupied by the hill dwellers. So, the hill areas inhabited by those tribesmen were separated from the Darrang and Lakhimpur districts of the province of Assam to put these areas under own administrative jurisdiction thereby using the power under Regulation of 1880. As a result, the Northeast Frontier Tracts came into being. The government of British India was reluctant to introduce full administration in the region inhabited by the hill tribes. In fact, the British India was keener to protect the interests of the plains people and harboured unfriendly attitude towards the tribesmen mainly because very little was known about these tribesmen. The administration of this little known region was directly under the Governor of the provincial government of Assam. The federal government of British India used to earmark some fund for administrative and development purposes of this region which was implemented by the government of Assam.

However, after the historic transfer of power in 1947, the Governor of Assam was deprived of his discretionary powers vis-a-vis Northeast Frontier Tracts. The administrative jurisdiction was passed on to the government of Assam under the provision of the Indian Independence Act, 1947. In the aftermath of the Indian Constitution coming into force, the government of Assam was relieved of its onus of administration of the Northeast Frontier Tracts and the discretionary powers were re-vested in the Governor of Assam who was the agent of the President of India. Although the region was still a part of Assam, the legislative jurisdiction was not extended to the area. Later in the year 1954, a full-scale administration of the area was formally inaugurated with the promulgation of Northeast Frontier Areas (Administration) Regulation of 1954. In due course, the Northeast Frontier Tracts came to be known as Northeast Frontier Agency (NEFA). The President of India promulgated the Northeast Frontier Agency Panchayati Raj Regulation, 1967 based on the Daying Ering Committee. Thus the Regulation created three-tier local administration viz. Gram Panchayat at village level, Anchal Samiti at Block level and Zilla Parishad at district level. The fourth-tier in respect of NEFA was the territorial level body christened as Agency Council which was later re-christened as Pradesh Council in the year 1972.

The Northeast Areas (Reorganization) Act, 1971 provided a new name and new political status to NEFA. NEFA was re-named as Arunachal Pradesh and subsequently in 1972 it (Arunachal Pradesh) became the Union Territory of the Republic of India. The UT was placed under the control of a Chief Commissioner. The overall administration of the UT was run by the President of India through his central agent the Chief Commissioner till 15th August, 1975. 1975 was truly a watershed year for Arunachal Pradesh because the Pradesh Council was converted into a Provisional Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers was appointed for Arunachal Pradesh. The administrator of the UT of Arunachal Pradesh until then designated as Chief Commissioner was upgraded to the Lieutenant Governor. Consequent upon the passing of the Constitution 55th Amendment Act, Arunachal Pradesh finally attained the fullest political status on 20th February, 1987. The Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh unanimously passed the State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986 in order to give effect to the 55th Amendment Act, enabling it to become the 24th State of Federal India with a full-fledged Legislative Assembly and a popular government.

So, without an iota of doubt the state of Arunachal Pradesh has traversed a long and slippery journey and this year we are celebrating the 30th year of Statehood with great fanfare and enthusiasm. But I sincerely feel that our celebrations should not limit to songs, dances and feasts only but we should take a solemn pledge to re-dedicate ourselves to work with unwavering dedication and unbreakable resolve to take our state to that cherished goal of all round development and prosperity. Though the state has made rapid strides in all spheres, we cannot afford to be complacent and rest on our laurels instead we should strive harder to achieve excellence in every field. Tourism, Horticulture and Hydropower hold great promise for the state. Many are not even aware that Arunachal Pradesh is the leading producer of the passion fruit KIWI. The state can be the numero uno producer of rubber, tea, oranges, apple, pineapple, large cardamom and other cash crops in the whole country provided they are grown systematically with proper transfer of the required technology to the farmers. The state of Arunachal Pradesh is synonymous with verdant hills, lofty mountains, roaring waterfalls, murmuring brooks, freshly snow-fed rivers and its pristine ambience and glory. It’s God’s own land of rich and varied fauna and flora and rare orchids and medicinal herbs. But these gifts of Nature are yet to be gainfully harnessed. The state supplies fresh and unpolluted oxygen and fresh waters to the rest of the country absolutely free of cost. No effort should be spared to protect our rivers from pollution and the fragile environment. The wanton destruction of our rich forests and rampant hunting and fishing must stop if the state is to attract tourists. More viable alternative to the destructive and unproductive shifting cultivation must be explored in the interest of the state. Arunachal Pradesh, like most of the North-eastern states, is one of the largest consumers of mutton, pork, beef, chicken and fish. But paradoxically, these daily needs come from other states which is a shame. The state needs to be self-sufficient in food production. The rich ethnic cultures and folk arts must be preserved for the posterity.  It’s heartening to see that our youth are doing exceedingly well in games and sports, especially weight lifting, karate, badminton and adventure sports like mountaineering. It is needless to say that our youths are naturally agile, talented and have inherent stamina. What they need is better facilities, trainers and coaches to hone their skills in competitive sports. However, there are grey areas like frequent political instability, growing menace of opium, drug and alcoholism among the restive youth and lack of work culture that should and must be addressed with earnestness and with a greater degree of urgency. The youth are our future who will shoulder the onerous onus of our state for that they should be physically and mentally fit; well-educated, well-disciplined and well-equipped.  No state can make any headway sans active and willing participation of the potent youth force. Though the state has done well in some sectors, there is much more to be done.

Let’s do away with our perpetual habit of complaining. Let’s shake off our smallness. Let’s come out of our cocoon and look at the big world outside which is full of avenues, opportunities and possibilities. Let’s spread our wings of determination and dreams to soar higher in the limitless firmament of success. Let’s not forget our humble primitive days of living in the hills unknown and uncared and strive to take our state forward by surmounting all the stumbling-blocks in the way and give our state a pride of place in the country.  (The writer, DIPRO, Tirap who also writes for The Times of India, India Today and Outlook can be WhatsApped in 8415023508.)

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