Influencers on Yobin Society: Late Dishington Sohkhlet

With respect, he was locally called Bah Dishing. In the late 70s he studied his masters from the Cincinnati Bible College and graduated in 1974. He returned to India and founded North East India Christian Mission the same year at Nongpoh, Meghalaya. He served as its Director till his death in May 1999. His son Bill took over his baton.

During his lifetime, he had never been to Shidi. But looking at his contribution to our society, I am so much amazed to see what a person could do even from a distance. In a sense, he was “savior” to us. His support came at a time when all the State Government rights and privileges had been cut off from us.

WHAT HE DID

• He supported us in education and Bible training for two decades, from May 1979 to 1999.
• During this period, he provided hostel to stay, money for food, taught Bible and school education. Each student was support for a period of four years.
• Most probably about 100 students had an opportunity to be in his hostel. Many did not complete their term because the transition from village education to town (that too in English) was too much to bear. Gratefully several went on to complete their graduations in theology and secular. Almost all graduates in 80s and 90s were those who have gone through him.
• A partnership with a school at Nongpoh called Ri-Bhoi Presbyterian School so that we could get admission easily. The Headmistress of that school, Mrs K. Ranee, loved us and supported us. Like Dishington she had never been to our area.

RESULTS

• People who had been in his school became government servants, school teachers.
• The study in Bible provided a platform for our people to study further in Chennai at Madras College of Evangelism (Now Lakeview Bible College and Seminary). These graduates became key church leaders among us, many became missionaries, some became directors of mission organizations/NGOs.

Once again I thought: what would the situation among us if we did not have the privilege of studying at Nongpoh?

PEOPLE IN THE BACKGROUND

In addition to Dishington, many played their part to ensure this support system functioned well. Late Mathi was at that time posted at Shillong. He corresponded with other missionaries (primarily Joseph) to help us and then routed support through Dishington. Then there was the Gospel Evangelizing Committee of Shidi Churches of Christ which took active interest to educate our young boys. Finally, we had the early graduates from that institution taught in the Bible institute. They were Nathaney, Barnabas and Stephen, who taught and gave much moral support to our students.

Influencers on Yobin Society: Aparajita Datta

Aparajita Datta (Photo: Topnews.ae).

As we all know, in our villages all know her by the name “Loghina” (loghi is a variety of deer and na is the Lisu way of indicating the first born daughter). I have never met this great lady but her reputation goes much ahead of her.

Recently I have been thinking how to describe her. She is a mobilizer, a social worker, a scientist, an adventurer and a leader. Then I read her bio in the National Geographic and I thought they captured her well, “… persistent requests for government attention, Datta is uniquely poised to connect political, conservation, and local interests.”

HER CONTRIBUTIONS FOR LISU

Among all the researchers who have come to Lisu area, none have influenced us as much as she did. Look at what she and her team did among the Lisu/Yobin:

• In partnership with Katha Schools, she started four schools in Ngwazakha, Hazolo, Shidi and Shidiku since 2005. One of my sisters studied in their school and she is doing well in her studies.
• Flood control in Shidi. Noa-Dihing River destroys our paddy field. She and her team built control by putting stones and boulders inside metal wrap locally called “Jhali”.
• Medicines at Shidi. Essential medicines were dispensed until recently. That helped many sick people.  For one round, she organized medical camps in many of our villages.
• Solar lamps, water heaters for Hazolo villagers were provided in collaboration with Madam Nandita Hazarika of EcoSystems-India, based in Guwahati.
• She wrote a lot on her research. Through her writings, our problems and needs are projected to the world.

I am very glad she recently received “Green Oscar” award for her initiatives to preserve the hornbill.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

She used emotions to get her way. When people don’t agree with her, she cried. What can you do? Sometimes she gets extremely angry and walked away, leaving the people behind confused.

I’m often surprised in her statements about us, hunters or to her Lisu workers “ex-hunters”. Its strange to brand the whole tribe as “hunting tribe”.

She never disclosed she is working for the Namdapha National Park and a member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India. That became apparent to all Lisu only in 2010 when she represented the Tiger Project at Miao. People in the villages without internet access blindly believed. Because of this, I wonder whether our people will accept her as we did in the past.

She had also formed a group of Lisu men, several years ago, to help her distribute financial assistance to the Lisu students studying in and around Miao. She had also proposed to financially help Lisu business aspirants.  Both these promises are yet to be realized. But we hope she will fulfill them as well.

FINAL COMMENT

But whatever the reasons, she is a remarkable woman. She benefitted the Namdapha, the Lisu/Yobin, her organization “Nature Conservation Foundation”. For Namdapha she had provided information, to us she has done several humanitarian projects, and to her organization, she developed many scientists and a name.

Read more:  her writings, profile, Nature Conservation Foundation.

 

Strategies of Namdapha People

The Expert Committee reported to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) with the following recommendations:

• To recruit our people as protection force.
• Forest camps in every 10 km, posted by Lisu. Potentially more from Nibodi.
• Forest Department to change the habit of blaming the Lisu.

Brilliant suggestions. If these are implemented we will have to be careful. They have these provisions coming up but there is no solution for our settlement.

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Read below the full report:  Special force pill for Namdapha – Evaluation experts suggest involving Lisus to prevent poaching, by Roopak Goswami (The Telegraph, 6 December 2010, accessed on 27 June 2013).

 

Namdapha tiger reserve. Telegraph picture

Guwahati, Dec. 5: A rapid field evaluation on Namdapha tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, conducted by experts, has suggested to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) the need to have a separate protection force by members of the Lisu tribe, who have excellent knowledge of the terrain to help in detection of poachers from Myanmar.

The conservation authority has categorised Namdapha as a poor tiger reserve and had asked experts to carry out a rapid appraisal.

The expert committee report, which was recently submitted to NTCA, said there could even be an agreement with the Lisu community that they would take an active role in preventing hunting and other disturbances.

“There can be forest camps every 10km with regular staff posted along with members of the Lisu community,” the report said.

The team opined that Namdapha tiger reserve is of immense value from biodiversity point of view as it also shelters tiger and other key animals. Illegal hunting is a serious threat to wildlife in the park, and is prevalent among all tribal groups.

The report said poaching was likely to be among the primary factors resulting in the current decline in Namdapha, which is located along the international border with Myanmar and close to hotspots of trade in animal body parts.

“In Myanmar, there is a documented decline of tigers because of hunting for trade. Hunting of tigers is a significant threat to the persistence or recovery of tigers and other large carnivores in Namdapha,” it said.

There are 84 families staying in eight villages in the core area of the tiger reserve. It says contingency staff for protection squad should be hired from local communities, rules on educational qualifications should be relaxed as this often hampers the selection of the right people for forest patrolling duties. The best people for this work are often uneducated, but skilled in the jungle.

Not only in regard to recruiting local people, the committee has also called for a change in attitude of the forest department as there has been a long history of blaming the Lisu with poor efforts at understanding their problems or dialogue.

The committee feels this mindset needs to change to move forward positively to solve the park’s problems.

The biggest problem is in relocation of Lisus outside the park as the leaders of the community have indicated that they were not willing to settle for the Rs 10 lakh compensation and would want adequate land to be notified and demarcated for them in lieu of the occupied land in the park.

Settlements inside the park came up since 1997-98.

“All these problems have also been exacerbated by the remoteness of the area with no road connection, poor communication and infrastructure, low staff strength and motivation, poor official interest in the park with very limited action/management on ground. These also results in further deterioration of morale and functioning of the lower field staff,” the report said.

Too remote for politicians to go

Source: By Sushanta Talukdar (The Hindu, Apr 11th, 2009, accessed 27 June 2013). 

Voters in Vijaynagar, Arunachal Pradesh, cannot recall having met a candidate yet

Vijaynagar: A bag of cement (50 kg) costs Rs. 3,000, a kilo of salt Rs. 30; mustard oil is Rs. 150 a litre. There are no roads, no electricity, no phones; and no ration shops, either. Twice a month, an AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force flies into Vijaynagar, the only contact with the outside world. Even this is irregular because of the unpredictable weather.

Snow capped Mugaphi hill overlooks the 13 villages of this remote and totally air-supplied administrative circle in Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh, which come under the Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency. This must rank as one of the most remote areas of India where polling officials will set up booths.

 

Villagers waiting to board an IAF AN 32 plane in Vijaynagar, Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Photo: RITU RAJ KONWAR

A Lisu tribesman with his children. Photo: RITU RAJ KONWAR

The 3000-odd voters of the 5,000-plus population here on the India-Myanmar border are ready to vote: however, they don’t know who the candidates are — no one has come here to campaign. Nobody seems to remember the last time a candidate visited their area for campaigning. They do send agents, but the difficulty in reaching the area and the small numbers of voters lead them to give it a miss. The population is a mix of Lisu tribals, who migrated from Myanmar in the early 1930s, and Nepalis, most of who are families of ex-servicemen of the Assam Rifles settled by the Indian Government from 1964 to 1969 in this valley.

The Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at an altitude of 4,200 feet is considered one of the toughest landing grounds by IAF pilots; whenever the AN-32 lands the villagers rush to the airstrip, hoping to get a chance to be among the 10-12 passengers, who fly down to Mohanbari airport in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district from where they can travel to the nearest town Miao, and the district headquarters, Changlang.

Vijaynagar is surrounded by Myanmar on all sides. On an average, not more 20-25 people can fly out every month. The incoming flights bring a maximum of 24 passengers and registered parcels and rations for government staff. Patients get priority on the flights.

For those who can’t find a seat on the flight, there is only one alternative: a six-day trek through the thick jungles of Namdapha National Park to reach Miao. The 157-km long Miao-Vijaynagar road was motorable till 1976, but it has fallen into disrepair since. The villagers hire Chakma refugees to bring goods from Miao on head loads or on elephant back for which they have to cough up Rs 50 a kilo, which explains the exorbitant prices. Vijaynagar is yet to be covered by landline or mobile phone networks. The Circle Office had a satellite phone which went out of order in February this year. Each call made by the villager is charged Rs 50 plus Rs. 5 a minute.

“Every time we vote, we hope that the elected representative will do something to end this isolation. However, during his last term our MP Tapir Gao did not visit Vijayangar.

“Till now no agent of any candidate or political party has visited us. We have come to know that polling will take place on April 16. However, we still do not know who the candidates are this time,” said K.D. Yobin, the Secretary of the Vijaynagar Baazar Committee.

The voters are also yet to get their new Electors Photo Identity Cards; they are awaiting the arrival of the 30-member polling team which will make the necessary arrangements.

The ungoverned territories

Source: By Patricia Mukhim (The Statesman, 6 February 2011, accessed 11 February 2011). 

ONE of the blessings of journalism involves forsaking the beaten track for the road less travelled. On one such trip to the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh, adjacent to Namdapha National Park in Changlang district, I met a group of people who called themselves the Lisu and occupy that fringe which is India’s border with Myanmar. The Lisus claim they live on their own land, which comes under the Vijaynagar area of Changlang district since the early 19th century. But they have virtually lived like refugees, uncared for and with no administration. They are one of 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by China. In Myanmar, the Lisus are known as one of the seven Kachin minority groups and a small number of them also live in Thailand. The Lisus call themselves the Yobin tribe in Arunachal Pradesh.

There is an Army base camp at Gandhigram under Vijaynagar circle which, like all frontiers of Arunachal Pradesh, is accessible only by helicopter. The Lisus get their essential food items all the way from Miao, 157 km away. They have to trudge through the Namdapha forests for four days, camping at  night before reaching there. The Border Roads Organisation has made a grand plan for connecting Vijaynagar to Miao but work is yet to be completed. Interestingly, the Lisus of Arunachal Pradesh are deprived of their Scheduled Tribe status because they were equated with the Chakma migrants of Bangladesh who were allowed to settle there by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964.

Following the anti-Chakma movement in Arunachal Pradesh, the Lisus unwittingly were tagged with the Chakmas and lost their ST status. Arunachal Pradesh is geographically very vast. There are parts so remote that administration is simply not possible because there are no roads. Vijaynagar is one such place. In fact, many academicians are confused about the exact status of the Lisu people. In September last year, a seminar to discuss the “confusing” status of the Lisus of Arunachal Pradesh and attempt to give them a voice was held under the aegis of the Sokjar and Gamde Gamlin Foundation. Lisu representative Phusa Yobin, president of the Yobin Tribe Welfare Committee, claimed his tribe had an historical attachment with Arunachal Pradesh since the North East Frontier Agency days. He questioned the “confusing” stand of the state as well as the Centre’s not according them their correct status. Perhaps it is their small number that makes the Lisus voiceless. After all, democracy is about how much noise a particular group can make. The total Lisu strength in Arunachal Pradesh at present is a mere 1,293, too small to make an impact and not enough to make sense as an electorate. Surprisingly, their literacy rate is nearly 72 per cent and those who are educated teach their illiterate brethren Lisu, Hindi and English. There is a middle-English school at Vijaynagar where the young are taught.

The group of Lisu men and women I met at Miao spoke impeccable English and their attire was regal despite the four-day journey. In fact the women were costumed akin to Mongolian attire. A couple of young Lisu men study at the North Eastern Hill University in Shillong.

Let’s now focus on Arunachal Pradesh’s East Kameng district. Here slavery or bonded labour is still prevalent. There are, according to studies, about 3,500 slaves working under various masters. The Nishi and Miji tribes of the state actually keep slaves to this day. A botanist surveying medicinal plants in the verdant forests of eastern Arunachal came across this peculiar situation. He found a slave girl murdered by her master for not performing a certain task. Her body was dumped in the nearby forest. There is no law but that of the jungle. In 21st century India it is amazing that such stories should continue to be part of our narrative.

But this is also the reality of India where the peripheries continue to bleed because of neglect and a complete vacuum of governance. A few studies have also confirmed that slavery/bonded labour is alive and kicking in Arunachal Pradesh and that the slaves have no identity, no citizenship and no rights.

Other stories emanating from this easternmost frontier of India are equally interesting. They beg the question whether Arunachal Pradesh, despite the pro-India rhetoric adopted by its affluent and educated class, is really an integral part of this country. If so, can the Indian Army explain why in some of the extremities of the state the Chinese airdrop blankets and food items to people living there on a regular basis? According to those villagers, even bad weather does not deter the choppers from doing their rounds. For these scattered villages, unreachable by any government programme and too far away from civilisation, the airdropped food and materials help them tide over harsh winters. There is, in fact, a certain bonhomie between the people there with the Chinese and they feel much closer to their neighbours on the eastern frontiers than to Itanagar.

Such are the vagaries of life. Boundaries and borders may be the topic of high diplomacy but for the ordinary mortal survival comes from knowing who one’s friends are and whom one can depend on when the going gets tough. It is also no surprise why the Naga militants share a fraternal bond with the Chinese and have depended on them for all their strategic needs. There is something about the hill tribes that highly civilised, highly feudal and socially stratified Indian society — ruled by a set of people who are dyed in Chanakyan philosophy — will never comprehend. Not that they have ever tried to. The metaphor about the man who will never know what it takes to walk in someone else’s moccasins rings true all the time.
Does India care that slavery in one form or the other is still alive and kicking in many of its states? Does the current governance model take care of the large swathes of remote North-east India? Do the rulers in Delhi know what it is like to be outside of the public distribution system and to have to depend on a friendly neighbour for those supplies? The Indian bureaucracy functions like an unthinking machine gone rusty through overuse; a machine that churns out junk most of the time.

The politician, no matter which state he represents, is a picture of venality. Whether at the Centre or in the states, they all share the common traits of corruption and nepotism. But these politicians are patronised by a Centre that seems to have made it an agenda to puff up a tiny tribal elite that will carry out its bidding. This tribal elite is pursuing its wealth-pilfering agenda to the hilt and sowing the seeds for future revolutions.

It, therefore, sounds a bit incongruous when people in Delhi speak of governance deficit. You can be governance deficit only if you have experienced some kind of governance. Not when you do not even know what governance is and have had to survive on your wits.

The writer is editor, The Shillong Times, and can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com.

 

Non-existence of Road inflicts Miseries: a Story of Vijaynagar, Changlang District

A good description by Rawat on the basic problems of Vijoynagar people: roads, education, telecommunications, electricity. In other words, the area is totally cut off from development and neglected. Though the prices mentioned by the author have changed since 2009, the situation remains the same.

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Source: By Dr. J.S. Rawat (Published in Arunachal Times, 26 Nov 2009).

Vijaynagar is a remote circle in Changlang District, Arunachal Pradesh. It is a narrow stripped mountain valley; surrounded on three sides (Northeast, South and West) by Mayanmar while from Northwestern side, enclave by stretches of Namdapha National Park. There is no surface road connection to the area and is totally cut-off from rest of the world. The nearest settlement in the Indian side is Miao, at the distance of 157km. Where as, Putao (Fort Hertz), a town of North Mayanmar, lies within the radius of 40 km from the Vijaynagar. As per the census 2001, there are 13 villages in the circle with a total population of 3988. This excludes the newly established villages like Preetnagar and Daodi and also those villages inside the Namdapha National Park (Ngwazakha, Nisadhi, Niboti and Hisichu). The 19 villages are inhabited by two communities – Lisus (Yobins) and Ex-Assam Rifles with a population of about 6000.

In the beginning of 1970s this remote circle was connected by motorable road to Miao. PWD started building the road in 1972, and it was formally inaugurated in 1974. However, the road was abandoned within a short time as PWD could not maintain it.  Now, it is buried under dense forest with thick undergrowths and washed away by landslides at several points.  Thus, the area is still 157 km away from the road which, by and large, inhibits basic services to life. The non-existence of road is a curse for the miserable condition of life and impoverishment in the area. The Indian Air Force (IAF) operated AN-32, known as IAF’s workhorse, is the only mode of transportation for about 6000 population of Vijaynagar. People look to the sky, not for rain, but for the fair weather, which facilitates the get in of the sortie (AN-32) from behind the snow-clad mountain. Generally, there are two passenger sorties and a ration sortie in a month from Dibrugarh (Mohanbari) to Vijaynagar. However, air service is very uncertain constrained by many factors like weather condition, wills of IAF and officials of the Deputy Director of Supply and Transport (DDST), Mohanbari, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. To add to this, the weather at Vijaynagar is also so unpredictable that thick rain clouds suddenly engulf the valley. For months together the passenger remains stranded at both ends (Mohanbari and Vijaynagar).

The uncertain nature of air service has compelled people to rely on six days on foot journey to Miao for the essentials. Foot marching for six days through thick forest, steep accidental slopes and across the gushing waters really puts the life into stake.   In many places the foot-track passes through precipitous slopes. In between 27 to 31 miles from Miao, it negotiates steep cliff overlooking the river below. People crawl along the slope climbing up and down and holding rocks, twigs, plants and roots. Fortunately, the local MLA, since Shri Kamlung Mossang came into power in 2004, has been provisioning rest camps, bridges and occasional clearing along the foot-track out of the MLALAD fund.

Earlier the two co-operative societies at Vijaynagar catered most of the requirements of the people. They are now lying completely defunct since the Government of Arunachal Pradesh scrapped air lifting of departmental and commercial goods. The transportation of the goods on head-load for six days increases the price more than double in the local shops. The porters charge Rs.70 for every kg. Thus, a bag of cement costs more than Rs.3,000, salt Rs.80 to Rs.100 a kg and mustard oil costs Rs.150 a litre. Many often, the inhabitants endure with an acute shortage of salt and other essential commodities like rice, oil, kerosene, sugar, pulses, etc. The proscription on departmental and commercial loads has its worst effect on the supply of PDS goods, CPO items, life saving drugs, school books, mid-day-meals, etc. The story does not end here. Tragically, in January 2009 the Advanced Landing Ground at Vijaynagar has been declared out of condition by IAF for landing AN-32. Since then, not a single AN-32 landed at Vijaynagar. Very recently, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh started weekly Pawanhans (MI-172) service to Vijaynagar w.e.f. 1st September 2009. This service, if ensured regularly, could provide much needed solace to the people from ghastly and hideous foot marching for six days.  However, the MI-172 service too is not living up to the expectations. Since from 1st September 2009, only two MI-172(s) have been conceded to Vijaynagar.

There are seven primary schools, one middle school and one secondary school in the area. Almost all the primary schools are run by single teacher, although there is no dearth of qualified locals. Of course, few of them are engaged in teaching by MLA at the rate of Rs. 2000 per month.  The daily routines of most of the single teachered schools include attendance, one or two periods of classes, games and sports, etc. Most of the teachers are appointed under Sarba Siksa Abhiyan (SSA), and apparently display lack of interest. Due to the communication bottleneck the teachers cannot join on time after the vacation. Consequently, the schools remains closed during such period of time. The teachers are also very often assigned with official duties such as election duty, revision of electoral rolls, census operation, economic survey, etc which further deteriorates the school activities. The non-availability of books, blackboards, chalk, toilet, dirking water, inadequate or dilapidated conditions of school buildings and teacher quarter also calls mention.  Consequently, the performance of Secondary School in the CBSE examination since its up-gradation in 1994 is zero percent every year. Similar is the story of the service into the area. Most the time the lone Health Unit at Vijaynagar runs without Doctor or trained staffs and it is looked after by untrained subordinate staffs. The patients are straight way referred to the Assam Medical College (AMC), Dibrugarh.

There is no supply of electricity in this remote border area. Power Department of the State government has an installed generator set which is lying unused in the want of diesel. Department of Hydro Power has taken up construction of a micro-hydel power plant with a generation capacity of 100 kilowatt at Gaherigaon, with two turbines of 50 kilowatt each. The construction of canal started in the year 2003 but the mini-hydal is still half way through. Although, Arunachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency (APEDA) has been distributing Solar Home Light System, but the number of beneficiaries are very few.  Recently, drinking water facilities have been provisioned in almost all the villages by the Department of Public Health and Engineering (PHED). The water is piped directly from the river or springs without any siltation and treatment tanks. Since the area has no banks, the Post Office provides the service of savings apart from the routine postal deliveries. More so, there is no landline or mobile facilities available in the area. The Circle Office had one INMARSAT satellite phone which charge Rs.50 plus for a “hello” and Rs.5 per minute. Therefore, it was popularly know as “Hello 50”. Now, with the installation of Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (DSPT) system in the month of July 2003, people are no longer required to pay the extra Rs.50. However, the call charge in DSPT is still Rs. 6 per minute.

Certainly, the reopening of the Miao-Vijaynagar road, therefore, can go a long way to emancipate the people of Vijaynagar from rigorous condition of life, unpredictable and irregular sorties and hardships of six days foot marching. The revival of this road would not only bring these remote people into the national mainstream but also streamline developmental activities in the area. Given the proper road and other facilities, the nearby Chaukan pass would serve as yet another important gateway for India’s looking to the east. It is this Chauken route served as shortest route to India through Port Hertz for the rescue operation during Worl War II. Through better road connectivity would thus bring Port Hertz, (an important town in North Myanmar) as well as other South East Asian countries within shortest range from the Indian soil.  Better road and communication would also help improving the affectivity of surveillance and patrolling by forest guards and armed forces in the Namdapha National Park as well as in the border areas. Last but not the least, the road would also facilitates tourists, nature lovers, adventurers, researchers and environmental activists to reach fascinating destinations inside the Namdapha and into the picturesque valley of Vijaynagar surrounded by majestic mountains. ( The contributor is with Department of Geography, Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills,  E-mail:jsr_06@rediffmail.com)

Miao (ST) Assembly Constituency and Leaders

Our people came in contact with this political constituency in 1995, after a gap of fifteen years. Since we became heavily involved with its political processes. I summarize basic information about our constituency.  

• Two Circles, Vijoynagar and Miao, make up this constituency. Population of Vijoynagar is 3,988 and Miao 20,266 (Wikipedia), which is about 17:83 ratio. Perhaps, this delimitation came in 2008 (Delimitation  Of Parliamentary And Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008).
• Congress Party dominated this power seat. Data available from 1990 till date, Congress candidate took over. So unless another stronger political party comes to the picture, the Congress will continue to hold the power in the days to come.
• From 1980s till now, two Congress candidates ruled: Samchom Ngemu and Kamlung Mossang. Ngemu was in power till 2003. During his tenure, no one could win him. But strangely, he no more contested. I wonder why. After that Kamlung Mossang came in power and he is still the current MLA from our constituency. KK Muklom is the only one who challenged both of them as Independent candidate but lost both times.
• In the 2004 State Assembly election, Miao Constituency had 16,018 voters. 10,523 casted their votes and Mossang overtook Muklom by a margin of 651 votes.

Highlights of the two leaders:

• Ngemu: at the start of his career, we saw the cut off of our Indian citizenship. But our basic right of citizenship was restored in 1994. We began to participate in Panchayati Raj. He also proposed a separate border block for Vijoynagar in the cabinet. He worked with the YTWC.
• Mossang: He helped many patients – many got medical treatments. He helped some students; I was one of those whom he helped. Vijoynagar Anchal Block was declared in March 2013. He secured a settlement for Lisu at the LC Line. The construction of the MV Road started. He strengthened the Congress in our society and worked only through the Congress workers.

Both did not answer for our Scheduled Tribe status.

Katha Lisu Schools

Katha Lisu School Students and teachers at Shidi.

Description from their site:

The Katha-Lisu Schools in tribal Arunachal Pradesh are at Gandhigram, 38 mile settlement (Ngwazakha), Hazulu village, Sidikhu village. In the year 2009-2010, the five schools enrolled a total of 245 students, 3-6 years old. Started in 2005, these are part of a community-based programme that help wildlife conservation by reducing hunting pressures on Namdapha National Park. Managed by the local church and Lisu elders from communities that live in remote villages with poor access to health care, education, and employment opportunities. The schools are 136-157 km on foot from the nearest town.

 

They do good job. I really wish they will upgrade to matriculation and provide good teacher training in the village.

Tigers in Namdapha National Park

The Project Tiger boasts the number of tigers in Namdapha have increased over the years. 49 in 1993, 52 in 1995, 57 in 1997 and 61 in 2002. If there were so many how could Aaranyak, a Guwahati-based NGO captured only one during their research in 2012? Read their news release.

Aparajitta Datta, who researched in Namdapha area over a decade, concluded there was no indication of the presence of tiger “there was no evidence of tigers (Panthera tigris), suggesting their possible extinction from the lower elevation forests”. (See her paper “Empty forests: Large carnivore and prey abundance in Namdapha National Park, north-east India”). This is coming from a researcher who have recently became a member of National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The villagers of Vijoynagar Circle, both settlers and Lisu, have been trekking to and fro through the Park for these years. I wonder how many have seen a tiger. I haven’t heard anyone attacked by tiger till this date.

Throughout my student years and since, I have been walking through, in all 13 times. I haven’t seen either. Below: My itinerary through the Namdapha.

Shidi to Miao	Miao to Shidi
1993 Feb
	1998 April
	1998 October
	2003 April
2003 June
	2004 April
2004 June
	2006 August
	2008 Dec
2009 January
2011 October
	2012 February
5 Times	7 Times

I keep thinking: Why would Namdapha people over shot the numbers?

Our Stand on the Traditional Land

Aparajita Datta captured it well (Making headway in Down To Earth, April 15, 2006. Page 44):

“The Lisu had two suggestions  to make: either push back the park’s boundary or resettle Nepalis inhabiting  the area (Nepali families are economically better off, with better jobs and landholdings three times bigger than that of the Lisu); and give them more agricultural land in Vijaynagar circle. They also made it clear that they would not settle in areas near Miao, the traditional territory of other tribes”

PROBLEMS

The Yobin society had made our stand clear: either push back the Namdapha or resettle the settlers. This has problems both sides.

If the Park’s boundary is pushed back to 40^th Mile, half of the Namdapha Wildlife Sanctuary will be lost. The authorities will hesitate alot or never want to do that. For them animals and trees have sometimes more value than human.

The option to resettle the settlers is difficult for the administration, not for wildlife people because they reside outside the Namdapha area. It would be even touch on  ex-servicemen to leave where they have been living for the last five decades. But if the administration  really want to do this action to save the Park, they just have to deny the renewal of the land lease, which is renewed every 30 years.

If either of the options are not provided as solution, it is very difficult for our community to servive. We have been crunched between 80 Mile to Angichidu (Ramnagar), about 12 km. Only Shidi has plain land. How would we survive as more than 90% of our people depend on land produce?

RESPONSES WE RECEIVED

In 2011, the Namdapha authorities and administration chaired by ADC, wanted to resettle us at 10 Mile. They want to see a settlement like Cheophelling Tibetan Settlement at Miao, where they cannot move beyond the boundary. How can we agree to such non-sense proposal?

Another observation, in the proposal, they gave solution only those currently living within the Namdapha Park. The problem is not just for them. It is for the whole tribe.

I wonder what other strategies our administration and the Namdapha authorities will have in mind. Whatever the proposal, none of them will be in our favour. They have never been thinking for our welfare. Their only mindset: How can Lisu/Yobin be thrown our of the Namdapha National Park.