Guwahati: When a group of masked men raided Tungrepungo village in the early hours of March 19, 30-year-old Deiseyile initially thought the commotion was caused by local youths who were up early to go hunting. She was soon proved wrong. Even as the shouts of people increased, her husband Manpui Dungbe, who went out to find out what was happening, was shot in his chest.
Meanwhile, in Yea, a village of Dimasa tribals, residents suffered heavy losses as the unidentified “miscreants” also set on fire their granaries in addition to their houses. Gaonburra (village headman) Rabinarai Langthasa, for instance, lost at least 800 quintals of paddy that he had just harvested, when his village was raided on April 12. More than 240 people from Yea have since taken shelter in a makeshift relief camp, with a few CRPF personnel standing guard. Children have suffered the most, especially after the authorities decided to shut schools down for an indeterminate period in view of the violence.
The incidents at Tungrepungo and Yea are not isolated. Assailants have raided more than two dozen villages, more than half of them, like Tungrepungo, belonging to the Zeme Naga tribe. The remaining villages belong to the Dimasa tribe.
On Wednesday, fresh violence erupted in the hill district, leaving at least five persons, all Zeme Nagas, dead. Sources from Haflong, the headquarters of North Cachar Hills district, said a group of unidentified men raided Borosenabasti, about 20 km from the district headquarters, set houses on fire and opened indiscriminate fire on villagers. At least 54 houses were burned down. “The Governhas to be held responsible. While security forces have failed to tackle a small group of militants, over 4,000 people, including women and children, have been rendered homeless in the recent violence,” says Jaleswar Brahma, a social worker who returned from the district this week.
Brahma added that 11 Dimasa tribals and 19 Zeme Nagas have been killed, and villagers are now scared of venturing out to their fields. “With over 1,700 men and 2,300 women and children putting up makeshift relief camps, imagine what the situation is,” Brahma said. At least 11 Dimasa villages and 18 Zeme Naga villages have been burnt down in the on-going violence in the district.
“The situation is really bad, especially in the interior areas, where the train was the only link to the outside world,” says Sapna Matterpunsa, a college student in Haflong. “I know a number of people who have migrated to Guwahati or Silchar because of the trouble. But not everyone can afford to do so. The poor tribal in the remote village is at the mercy of his fate,” she adds.
The district is also facing a shortage of essential commodities. “Prices of whatever is available have sky-rocketed. Rice, for instance, is selling at anywhere between Rs 20 and Rs 25 per kg in interior areas when it used to be just Rs 18 earlier,” says N C Kemprai, a social worker, from Mahur. “People in and around some places like Langting and Hatikhali, which are connected only by rail, are facing a serious shortage of foodgrains.”
At some places, members of one tribe or the other are scared of venturing out of their villages for the fear of being attacked. “Some circles are trying to portray the incidents as ethnic violence between the Dimasa and Zeme Naga tribes. This has spread mistrust between the two communities,” says LK Nunisa, secretary of the Jadikhe Naiso Hosom, the apex body of the Dimasa tribals, who constitute about 35 per cent of the hill district’s roughly two-lakh population. The Zeme Nagas, on the other hand, are the second-largest ethnic group, constituting about 12 per cent of the district’s population. Zeme Nagas living in and around Haflong town, too, are scared of venturing out of their homes, especially after the body of a tribal was found in front of a school in the district headquarters two weeks ago. “The common people, who live in scattered clusters of houses in the hills, are really scared. Some have even shifted to nearby villages and are living in closed clusters,” said Samsadin Jeme, president of the Zeme Council.
In places like Daotahoja or Phiding, only those villages that have plain fields grow paddy. “But, though there was a good harvest this season, granaries have been particularly targeted, leading to heavy losses. And if the situation does not improve in the next two to three weeks, people will probably end up starving,” Jeme says.
With the monsoon round the corner, people in North Cachar Hills expect even more serious problems. “The district is notorious for landslides that cut off road and rail link for weeks. Rains also trigger epidemics like malaria and water-borne diseases. With communication at its worst due to the ongoing violence, the days ahead look very grim,” says Thomson Hasnu, a student leader in Haflong.
“The violent incidents have almost brought vehicular traffic across the hill district to a halt. No buses or private taxis, for instance, have been plying between Haflong and Maibong for almost three weeks now after militants stopped a bus and gunned down four Dimasa persons,” said Gouranga Gope, a businessman based at Haflong.
“But, while villages are being attacked and innocent people are killed, what is most surprising is that not a single culprit has been arrested till date despite the strong presence of security forces,” notes Kalijoy Sanguing, an executive member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council.
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