Karbi peace accord shouldn’t bifurcate Rengma Nagas’ ancestral land, youth body writes to Assam CM

Dimapur, June 11 (EMN): The Rengma Naga Youth Organisation, Karbi Anglong, has written to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, urging his government and the Centre to consult all the stakeholders before signing the purported final Karbi peace accord and not to bifurcate the ancestral land of the Rengma Nagas in the state.

In the letter to the chief minister of Assam, the youth body expressed its apprehensions over speculations that the accord would be in the lines of “the UPDS Accord 2011 with some new demands” that are against the interest of the indigenous primary stakeholders – the Rengmas and other non-Karbis — in Karbi Anglong.

It came close on the heels of reports that the Central and Assam governments were planning to create a Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC) by signing a peace accord with several insurgent groups of the region.

‘While we appreciate the peace initiative of the government as well as the rebel groups which would bring down the extremism-related violence in the region, our contention and concern is the kind of demands being made by the surrendered groups,’ read the letter.

“Granting financial packages and rehabilitation to the surrendered cadres is not an issue and we support that, however, creation of new districts/subdivisions/regional councils by bifurcating the Rengma Naga ancestral lands will not be acceptable, neither should the rights of any other stakeholders be affected,” it stated, adding that peace accord, which is supposed to bring peace and harmony, shouldn’t create discord “between the different indigenous communities who are living together peacefully”.

The youth body maintained that it would be biased on the part of the state and Central governments to entertain demands such as autonomous state, autonomous territorial council, autonomous regional council and creation of new districts by bifurcating the Rengma indigenous land or allocating reserved MAC and MLA seats to the other communities while the Rengma Nagas, the aboriginals are yet to get even a single MAC seat in the Council or an administrative unit.

While questioning the rationale in “declaring regional council for communities whose migration history is comparatively of recent years” while the Rengmas are yet to have their own administrative unit, it said “70 years of deprivation is a long and patient wait” and their due rights should be granted.

Citing close friendship the Rengmas share with the Assamese people even before the Burmese invasion in 1817, the youth organisation wrote to Himanta Biswa Sarma that “Our people deserve your kind consideration of the common history we share”. “We relied on each other in the darkest of times. Even today we celebrate our Rengma Ahom Friendship Day,” it added.

It stated that the Rengma Nagas have submitted dozens of representations and memorandums to both the state and central governments in the past without resorting to any violence or protest in their quest for their indigenous, political and basic human rights but their plight was never heard.

Reposing their hope in Himanta Biswa Sarma’s governance, the youth body has appealed to listen to the plight of the Rengma Nagas in Assam.