Ethnic Fratricide and the Autonomous Councils of Assam

Navaneeta Deori
August 01, 2013 | Navaneeta Deori Web Exclusives, Fratricide, Bodoland
Assam is idyllically located as an entry point to Northeast India. It has a
blend of population belonging from diverse cultures and beliefs. However
troubled relations have emerged between different communities (tribes
and non-tribes) of the region which have been exacerbated by various
militant activities. A maority of the ethnic groups! tribes resides in the
three autonomous councils of Assam. "hese autonomous councils fall
under the #ixth #chedule of the Indian $onstitution and have been vested
with a special provision to self administer. %ut self-governance under the
autonomous councils has not fulfilled the aims and aspirations of its
people. &ften there are ethnic conflicts in these areas and there is
constant struggle for self-determination initiated by various militant
groups. "here were more than '( insurgent groups active in Assam) each
trying to preserve and assert their tribal identity. In *(++ and *(+*
almost all the maor militant outfits have laid down arms and some of
them are involved in peace tal,s with the $entral government and the
Assam government. Nevertheless other militant outfits are not only active
in the Autonomous $ouncils but also creating disturbances in rest of
Assam.
In undivided Assam) most of the hilly regions inhabited by tribal
population fell under Article *-- (*) of #ixth #chedule of the Indian
$onstitution. "he provisions brought a process of decentralisation which
enables the tribal population to have separate laws for the governance
and administration of these areas. "his provision also allows them to
preserve their distinct identity) history) customary practices and traditional
beliefs. .radually states li,e Nagaland) /eghalaya) /i0oram and
Arunachal 1radesh was formed after territorially separating from Assam.
"he twin hill districts of 2arbi Anglong and 3ima Hasao remained under
the state of Assam with exclusive politico-administrative powers under the
#ixth #chedule provisions of the Indian $onstitution. "hese areas do not
have a homogeneous culture which is the root cause of conflicts between
them.
4ithin the common political boundary of Assam there are manifold
communities with varied ethnic bac,grounds. "hough the Assamese
language is widely spo,en by the people who can be largely termed as
non 5tribals) there are tribal communities residing in the state. "hey are
the %odos of western Assam) 3imasas of North $achar Hills) 2arbis of
2arbi Anlong and other tribes are /iris) "iwas) 2acharis) 3eoris) 6abhas)
etc who reside in the plains and hills of Assam ma,ing the state a multi-
ethnic society. 7arlier they were the sub branch!part of the Assamese
ethnicity. "hough most of them have shared common history of rulers and
tribulations from invaders) they have still managed to preserve their
customs and traditions. #ince each of these tribal groups have their own
distinctive ethnic identity) it is with this attribute that they assert the
cultural differences with the Assamese spea,ing community who they
perceive to be a part of the larger Indian society.
It is perplexing to understand as to why the tribal groups are asserting
their self-identity in recent times. 1erhaps some assumptions can be
made in this regard. "he gradual shift from being a part of the Assamese
society to assertion of one8s own identity comes from the fact that
maority lived in penury with no assistance from the state government.
"hey believed that this negligence on the part of the government was
because they were distinct from the mainstream Assamese people and
they were excluded from the developmental processes. However it8s a fact
that much of these autonomous councils have failed to improve the socio-
economic conditions of the people. According to the Annual Health
#urvey) *(++) conducted by the .overnment of India in *9- districts of
eight states including Assam) the highest Infant /ortality 6ate (I/6) in
the country was in 2o,rahar) at :;. /oreover in last six decades Assam
itself is going through rapid demographic transformation with la,hs of
infiltrators coming from across the border) occupying the lands of the
tribal and non-tribal people. Hence) different communities have expressed
their dissent through movements that can be broadly characterised as
ethno-nationalistic) demanding for greater political autonomy or complete
secession. Hence Assam an integral part of the north east is no exception.
It has its own share of conflicts which are protracted and complex. <rom
anti-foreign agitations to demand for a separate state by dominant tribal
communities) conflict has been regular phenomenon of post-independence
politics of the region. 7thnic conflicts and cleansing among the
communities of %odos -#anthal) Assamese-%engali people) 3imasa-=eme
Nagas) 2u,i-2arbis in last two decades have aggravated acts of political
violence and internal displacement of thousands of people.
"he %odo community of western Assam) the largest tribal community of
the region) attained an autonomous council for themselves in *(('. >et
they have been demanding for greater autonomy i.e. to have a separate
state called ?%odoland8. "he %odo population who reside in the %odo
"erritorial Autonomous 3istrict (%"A3)) in fact have a mixed population
consisting of tribal and non-tribal people. It is paradoxical that even
though these areas are given special constitutional powers for integration
among tribes yet there exist internal feuds within the communities due to
ideological differences in context to their aspirations for their
communities.
&ver all) in present day Assam there are three Autonomous $ouncils) the
2arbi Anglong Autonomous $ouncil (2AA$)) North $achar Hills
Autonomous $ouncil (renamed as 3ima Hasao Autonomous $ouncil)
(3HA$) and the %odoland "erritorial Area 3istrict (%"A3). "hese $ouncils
have special provisions under the #ixth #chedule of the Indian
$onstitution. "he political autonomy was provided to these regions in
order to have a territorial identity for safeguarding their tribal rights)
custom and traditions. However due to absence of homogeneity of tribes)
the maority tribes overpower the minority tribes resulting into ethnic
clashes. "his remains an inevitable fact since the Autonomous councils
are named after the maority tribe residing there. Hence the minority
tribes) on the basis of their historical origin) assert their identity through
coercive ways) since the maority tribes constantly resort to ethnic
cleansing to demonstrate their control and authority over the region.
<rom early +@@(s onwards) insurgency in the Autonomous $ouncils has
become a regular feature with sporadic ethnic violence resulting in
bloodshed and hatred among the ethnic groups.
The Autonomous Councils of Assam:
"he federal character of the Indian state becomes apparent with the
provisions of autonomy given to a group of people on the basis of
preserving the ethnic identities and ?preservation of traditional authority
(%arbora *((*A+*99)8. "hese are called as Autonomous 3istrict $ouncils
(A3$) which have less power than states but more than local
governmentsB they are intended to incorporate their predominantly tribal
populations) as communities) into the Indian state (#tuligross+@@@A -@9).
As such the tribe in India) as recognised by the state machinery for the
purpose of special protection on grounds of social ustice) is basically a
politico-administrative category and generally devoid of the classical
consideration of sociology) anthropology and economics (3utta +@@'A +).
4hile formulating these provisions of providing territorial autonomy) the
policy ma,ers considered the basic characteristics that they were all
indigenous groups coming under the larger community what is termed as
the #cheduled "ribes (#") under the Indian $onstitution. %ut their cultural
diversity was not ta,en into consideration. Hence in the coming years
such administrative and territorial autonomy led to discontent among the
minority tribal and non tribal groups. /oreover other discrepancies in
governance and differences among the ethnic groups led to unrest in
these regions.
Among the tribal populations of Assam the %odos consist of more than -(
C of the #cheduled "ribes population) residing mostly in the %rahmaputra
valley. Amalendu .uha comments that on the basis of the $ensus of
+99+) in the late +@th century the %odos formed one third of the
indigenous population of the %rahmaputra valley (3utta+@@'A *). "hey
now reside in maority in the %odo "erritorial Autonomous $ouncils (%"A3)
consisting of four districts namely %a,sha) 2o,rahar) $hirang and
Ddalguri with a total population of ';)':E;: (6eport of the 7xpert
$ommittee *((;A *9). "he %"A3 is included under the constitutional
provision of the #ixth #chedule with the obective of bringing about
economic development and also preserve the land rights and cultural
identity of the %odos. According to #anib %aruah) there are certain
challenges in creating a separate homeland for the %odos. "he %odos who
are demanding significant portion of the northern ban, of the
%rahmaputra) comprise of +.+ million or ++.E percent of the total
population) hence some of the areas cannot be turned easily into
%odoland.
In November +@E+) a new district) the Dnited /i,ir and North $acher Hills
was formed and in +@:() they were divided into two districts called the
/i,ir Hills district and the North $achar Hills district. In +@:; the /i,ir
hills district was renamed as 2arbi Anglong. In +@9;) the Autonomous
#tate 3emand $ommittee (A#3$)) spearheaded the movement for a
separate state that led in +@@E to a memorandum of understanding with
the Assam .overnment that granted greater powers to the hill councils in
both districts as per the $onstitution8s sixth schedule (7lusive Identities
*((EA E'E+)."he North $achar Hills) is an autonomous district located on
the north of 2arbi-Anglong) neighbouring the district of Nagaon) a part of
/anipur and Nagaland. &n + April *(+() the state government of Assam
renamed North $achar Hills district as 3ima Hasao 3istrict (3utta*(+*A
:-). "he district is a melting pot of various ethnic groups) an
amalgamation of several cultures and religions. "he 3imasa consist of
E9.-;C of the total population and the other tribes belong from the =eme
Nagas) 2u,is) Hmars) 2arbis) %ietes) Faintias) Hrang,hols) 2helmas)
Giapheis etc. "he 2u,is are in maority in the #inghason Hill area and the
Hmars population is scattered around the $achar and the North $achar
Hills district.
In the last couple of decades there have been several incidents of violence
between different ethnic groups and communities claiming for land and
territory. "he 2arbi and the 3imasa militant groups aimed for socio-
cultural and economic upliftment and also greater political
autonomy!separate state to administer their region. "hey also demand
that the non tribal population residing in the area after +@E+ should evict
their land and resources. &ne of the maor reasons of conflict among the
militant groups of 2arbi Anglong and North $achar Hills is that the aims
and aspirations which they have are common to each other. #ince they
share the same territorial area) their demand for a separate state for their
ethnic group eopardises the other ethnic groups. Hence a 2arbi state or a
3imarai (dimasa ,ingdom)) will obviously be at the ris, of the other
ethnic groups and communities. "he 2arbis demand for a separate state
includes areas beyond the 2arbi Anglong district - they also want to
include the 2arbi-dominated areas of Assam (Nagaon) /origaon and
2amrup districts) and /eghalaya (6i-bhoi district). "he 3imasa militant
group on the other hand demands for the creation of 3imarai 2ingdom)
comprising of the 3imasa dominated areas of the North $achar Hills)
2arbi Anglong) parts of Nagaon and parts of 3imapur. "he idea to have a
separate homeland for these communities has resulted into forced
migrations of other minority groups and fierce competition for land and
resources. /oreover ethnic clashes between the two maor ethnic groups
the 2arbis and the 3imasas have created a lot of bloodshed and hatred
for each other.
Conclusion:
"he ethnic violence initiated by the insurgent groups is not limited to the
autonomous councils but their activity is widespread in the region. &n +:
/ay *(+*) an umbrella body of -: %odo civil society organisations staged
a protest for formation of a separate state of %odoland and have also
submitted a memorandum to Assam .overnor /r. F.%. 1atnai,. #ince the
movement for separate %odoland is being re-launched again there have
been recent reports of agitation by the non-%odos against the proposed
%odoland) it is li,ely that in near future more violence may erupt between
the %odos and non-%odos) disrupting normal lives of these regions.
/oreover the past ethnic cleansing had done by the %odo militants and
the fratricidal clashes in the %"A3 area have created a sense of insecurity
for the people.