Dimapur, June 23 (MExN): The Zeliangrong Baudi of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland on June 19 submitted a representation to the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram calling for intervention of the Central government in restoring peace and immediate relief measures in the NC Hills district of Assam. Bringing to the knowledge of the Home Minister, the ZB representation pointed out that the Zeliangrong people had been divided and scattered by the British into three states of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland and that they remained a minority community in all these three states.
The ZB also reminded the Central government that the Zeliangrong Nagas are an indigenous people living in their ancestral lands since time immemorial and that Asalu, a Zeme village under NC Hills was the first capital of the then Naga hills. “Therefore, the North Cachar Hills was very much in Naga Hills in Assam before the separate state of Nagaland was created”, stated the ZB representation.
It also claimed that the Dimasas were the “intruders in the territory of the Zeliangrong Nagas in NC Hills” but now they “practically control the NC Hills Autonomous District Council”.
While buttressing its claim of being the indigenous people of NC Hills, the representation pointed out that even the name Haflong, the district headquarter comes from the term ‘Happelua’, in Zeme Naga meaning “the crying land of god as fairy was crying in the thick forest”. The ZB also stated that different communities had been living in peaceful co-existence for many years but that the Dimasa’s communal feuds against other tribes had shattered this harmony. It informed that first there was the Dimasa-karbi communal clashes flowed by Hmar-Dimasa clashes in 2003-04 and now the Dimasas terrorizing and killing the Zeliangrong Nagas.
The Union Home Minister was also informed that the root cause of the problem was the proposal for altering the nomenclature of NC Hills District to “Dima Hasao Raji” meaning “Dimasa’s Kingdom”, which according to the ZB involved demand for reservation of 80% government jobs for Dimasa people alone. Further, the demand was for transfer of land rights to the Dimasas only. Issue of Inner Line Permits (ILP) was also demanded for all other non-Dimasa tribes. The Union Minister was informed that the Zeliangrong Naga community in NC Hills did not agree to such a proposal and non-Dimasa sister tribes also did not agree to it. It also stated that both the DHD factions had been demanding a separate State of Dimaraji comprising Dimasa dominated areas in NC Hills, Karbi Anglong, Cachar, parts of Nagaon district in Assam besides Dimapur and Dhansiripar in Nagaland.
Pointing out that the Indigenous People Forum (IPF) comprising of non-Dimasa minority tribes had been opposed to the aforesaid change in nomenclature and the charter of demands attached to it, the ZB stated that the DHD (J) and DHD (D) had let loose its reign of terror for the past nine years. It stated that the Zeliangrong Nagas had exercised their utmost restraint in spite of this inhuman killing without retaliation. The ZB also informed that till date in 2009 alone, a total of 38 persons had been killed and 247 houses burned or destroyed.
It was also alleged that joint operation of the DHD (D) and Indian security forces had obstructed the village volunteers from defending their respective villages against the attack of Dimasa and their militants. It also stated that the DHD (D) having ceasefire with the government of India was violating the ground rules by roaming freely with sophisticated weapons and obstructing the free movement of Zeliangrong Nagas in NC Hills besides imposing economic blockade..
The ZB also cited what it termed as the worst form of inhuman activities carried out by the DHD (D) cadres such as preventing Nagas from distributing relief; not to sell more than 5kgs of rice to Zeliangrong people, not to sell petrol to Nagas, blocking the movement of taxis, circulating demand notes to traders and shopkeepers in the district besides issuing quit notice to Zeliangrong Nagas from Haflong town.
