‘Give us pens and books, not bullets and grenades’

DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 8 : Pens and books in place of “AK-47 bullets and hand grenades.” This was the suggestion forwarded to New Delhi and Naypyidaw – the power centres of two neighbouring countries India and Myanmar – during a press conference at Dimapur on Saturday.

“Instead of AK-47 bullets and hand grenades, the government on both sides of the (Indo-Myanmar) border should give us pens and books,” the president of Eastern Naga Students’ Association (ENSA), Reego Shonshei told reporters here.

Shonshei, who is from the Naga Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar, said that the living conditions of the people in the area was extremely poor. “There are no roads, no medical centres. People still die of hunger there.
“Recently there was the measles outbreak, people died from it. But people die from all kinds of disease in the region. We hardly have schools there, even the ones that we have are looked after by one single teacher,” he said.

It was only in the year 2000 that people in the area came to know that “Burma” exists, he said. It was the year that the then military junta of Myanmar launched offensives against insurgent groups taking shelter in the region.

According to Shonshei, the disconnect between the people living there with the outside world was so complete that it was only when the Burmese army arrived in their villages that they were exposed.

“After that the (Myanmar) government established some schools but all of them have only a single teacher,” he informed. But most Naga children don’t want to attend those schools because “they are taught Burmese there”.

Along the 43-km-long India-Myanmar border, governments on both sides permit movement regime up to 16 km across the border. Shonshei said that what the people in the region really need now was access to education.

“That will really help us, if people on both sides can help us get education. Our people need pens and books, not guns and bombs,” he shared.

Special policy for 7 border blocks

At the same news conference, representatives from the International Border Area Peoples Welfare Organization (IBAPWO) called for a separate state policy for development of border blocks along the Indo-Myanmar frontier.

There are seven border belts from the four districts of Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire and Phek who shared boundary with Myanmar. “These border blocks are literally behind in each and every sector. For the last 7 decades, we have been facing so many tragedies,” said Mokshom, the general secretary of IBAPWO.

People in the border blocks suffer from lack of access to ‘healthcare, connectivity, infrastructure and basic amenities’, he said. “The education system along the border has been completely destroyed. Teachers posted there never visits.

“The state government should have strategic planning to fight these problems. It should come forward to tackle the issue,” Mokshom said. The IBAPWO offered some policy suggestions that could be incorporated in the Nagaland Vision 2030 Document.

First was tourism. “The state government should identify at least 50 tourist hotspots by 2022 (in the border blocks),” Mokshom said. Other IBAPWO named Longwa, Mimi, Wangti, Choklangan, Pangking, Reguri and Phokhungri (among others) as villages that could be set as tourist destinations.

Next was skill development. “We have enough raw materials in the area. And the people are also skilled and talented in indigenous handicraft and handloom.” Instead of transporting raw materials, the government could set up skill development institutes in the region, they reasoned.

“There are more than 100 rivers in the Indo-Myanmar border area. These rivers have the potential to be used for hydro-power projects. It can produce at least 50000MV (combined),” Mokshom said. The region is also, according to him, home to ‘almost all of our forest area.’ “The government should consult with all the important stakeholders in order to save our dwindling forest area.”

The IBAPWO member also said that the government has indentified 5 International Trade Centres (ITCs) in the area. “We need 2-lane roads from all the district headquarters to the ITCs.”

There are around 160 Naga villages located in the Indo-Myanmar border belt. In the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, they entire region combined has 7 elected representatives.