The Rengmas Nagas are belonging to autochthonous people of the Rengma Hills, Assam. They have been living in the Rengmas Hills long before the arrivals of Ahoms into the plains of Assam. The Ahoms entered into the plains of Assam through Patkai Hills in 1228 A.D.,led by prince Sukapha. It is surmised that the Rengmas have been living in the hilly tracts between the plains of Nowgong and Sibsagar districts which is dated back to 9th century A.D. Whereas, the Mikirs (Karbis) swooped down into the plains of Rengma Hills during the end of 19th century A.D. The history of Mikirs who came to the Rengma Hills is still fresh in our memory. It was Rongpharpi Rongbe and Bere Resebong who led the first migration from Khasi Hills into the Rengma Hills across the plains of Kopili River and took refuge under the permission of the Rengmas. The statue of Mikirs migration is erected in Diphu town which depicted Rongpharpi and her family members migrated into the Rengma Hills after she became the fugitive of Khasi chief.
The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council under the leadership of Joyram Engleng, CEM is taking initiative to convert the Rengma Hills into Tiger Reserve Forest in collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).The Rengmas who live in Rengma Hills, forest is the only source of livelihood. Since the Karbi Anglong government did not come forward to help the Rengmas in every sphere, the native people are entirely depending on agricultural cultivation in the forest. If the Karbi Anglong declared the Rengma Hills as Tiger Reserve, the native people will die of starvation because jhum cultivation and forest products are the only resources of the people to live in. It is better to cut our heads off rather than allow Tiger Reserve in the Rengma Hills. If the Karbi Anglong goverment is at all necessary to declare our ancestral land into the Tiger Reserve, we did not deserve to live as human being but better to eliminate the souls of the Rengmas. The Rengma Nagas have no objection if the KAAC has proposed Tiger Reserve in Mikir Hills (Hamren Sub-Division) but it will never allowed to set up in the land of the Rengmas Hills. The Rengmas inhabited in the Rengma Hills not by accident but by blood, tears and sweat. We shall claim our ancestral land at any cost through the last soul and blood. We shall claim our ancestral land even after hundreds generations. No part of our land shall be allowed to misuse and converted into animal forest.
The Karbi Anglong District Council was attained in 1952, but till today there is no development activities taken place in Rengma areas. It is now sixty years after the attainment of District Council but it is very pathetic to have stated that there are no basic needs like road, communication, electricity, water supply, medical facilities in the Rengma areas. Every year, hundreds of Rengma people died of malaria and malnutrition due to lack of medical attention in the Rengma areas but the Karbi government is paying aloof and apathy towards the misery of the Rengmas. There is not even a single medical centre for the Rengmas to take care in times of sickness and diseases. The situation gets worsen where there is not even a Jeepable road to transport the bed-ridden sick man to the hospital for treatment. Consequently, many patient dies without medical attention and care.
The poor villages men are solely depend on primitive method of agricultural products. They have no sources of income except rice and vegetable produced from jhum field. It is, therefore, if Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council declares the Rengma Hills as Tiger Reserve Forest, where and how the Rengmas will survive? Since the forest is the only source of their livelihood and entirely depend on the forest resources, where the people will go and look for survival, if the forest is protected by the government? The Karbi Anglong government did not spend even single penny for the welfare of the Rengmas. There are no grants-in-aids and relief given to the indigenous Rengmas even though their crops failed due to infestation of rodents and natural calamities. Ever since the attainment of District Council, not even a single Rengma received a kg.of rice under PDS from the government. There are many developmental prorammes and schemes launched by the government like MPLAD, NREGA, JRY, SJSY, JOB CARD, Rural Housing etc. but none of these are implemented in Rengma areas.
Whichever Karbi Anglong government and party affiliation comes to power, they simply deprived the Rengmas from development, relief, rehabilitation, employment opportunities etc. The Karbi Anglong government is still adopting and maitaining late Sotro Sing policy upon the Rengmas, who once remarked in Karbi Adorbar held in 1950 at Purana Bazar,Dimapur, while they discussed about the issues of the Rengmas said, ‘‘Let the Rengmas be considered as unattended field and the weeds would overgrown them, so that there wouldn’t be anymore issues’’. This statement is made in ulterior motives upon the Rengmas. According to Sotro Sing policy, no development facilities would be given to the Rengmas, so that they will gradually extinct from the soil of the Rengmas and the Karbis will claim the entire Regnma Hills as the owner of the land. This policy and attitude is adopted by the Karbi government even today and therefore neglecting the Rengmas and devoid of any development activities, employment and other humanitarian services to the Rengmas, so that slowly and gradually the Rengmas would be extinct from the soil of Rengma Hills and the Karbis will occupied the entire land. The Karbi is eagerly waiting to close the chapter of the Rengmas in the Rengma Hills and open a new chapter of Karbis as the sons of the soil. The Rengmas populations are started dwindling owing to lack of basic needs like medical facilities, road, transport, electricity and water supply in the villages. If the same condition remains, the population of the Rengmas will be completely extinct from the soil of the Rengma Hills in a few years time.
The Western Rengmas are the most wretched and hapless people in the world even though they are the indigenous people of Karbi Anglong, the then Rengma Hills, Assam. They have their vast ancestral land inherited since time of immemorial but today they were duped by the migrating Karbis and dominated them politically, socially, economically and all the other spheres of life. The Karbis, who migrated from Khasi Hills, North Cachar Hills, Nowgong, Arunachal Pradesh, Tezpur etc. and settled down in the Rengma Hills; established District Council, now upgraded to Autonomous Council, and totally deprived the indigenous Rengmas to a refugee status. Their situations and positions are worse than that of war-torn refugees and slums dwellers on the streets of Kolkatta. They are not recognized and considered as human beings by the Karbi government. The Karbi government treated them as refugees, if not on the level of wild animals and beasts living in deep forest. The woes and cries of the Rengmas are not taken into account by the government. When the development activities like construction of road and connection of electricity comes into the vicinity of Rengma villages, it gets diverted to Karbi village and the Rengma villages are left unattended. Almost all the Karbi villages in Rengma areas are electrified and approach roads are connected but not even a single Rengma village is electrified or connected with road. This is the attitude of the Karbi government towards the Rengmas of Assam.
ISAHA NANDU
Secretary, WRPO
