By Sujit Chakraborty
Agartala, Jan 1 (IANS) Ahead of the assembly elections in three northeastern states — Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura — the demands for separate states by the local parties for the tribals are gaining momentum. The national parties, in terms of tribal vote share, are caught in a tricky situation on the issue.
The creation of separate Garo, Khasi states in Meghalaya, the separate state of ‘Frontier Nagaland’ and elevation of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) into “Greater Tipraland State” for the tribals are the key issues in the poll bound three states.
The leaders of the national political parties including the BJP, the Congress and the CPI-M, though not supporting the separate state demand, remained non-committal about openly opposing the issue fearing loss of tribal votes.
Leaders of TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance), who have been demanding the elevation of the TTAADC into the “Greater Tipraland State” for the tribals, said that it is ready for an electoral alliance with those parties who give their commitment and support to their demand.
Senior TIPRA leader and Deputy Chief Executive Member of the TTAADC, Animesh Debbarma told IANS: “We have only one agenda, that is ‘Greater Tipraland’ and constitutional solution for the Tiprasa (tribal) people living in the TTAADC area. Until this issue is resolved we are not going to form any type of alliance with anyone. We are also protesting against the violence unleashed by the BJP.”
The TIPRA is now ruling the 30-member TTAADC, which has jurisdiction over two-third of Tripura’s 10,491 square km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals, making the autonomous council a mini-assembly.
The TTAADC, in terms of its political significance and geographical area, has been considered a mini-assembly in Tripura after the 60-member Assembly.
The TIPRA organised a two-day sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on December 5 and 6 and submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding upgradation of the TTAADC to a “Greater Tipraland State” under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution for the protection of the demography and rights of the tribals.
In Nagaland, the influential Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) is firm on boycotting the forthcoming assembly election if the Centre does not fulfil its demand for a separate state of ‘Frontier Nagaland’.
ENPO Secretary W. Manwang Konyak said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to visit the ENPO areas in northern Nagaland in the third or fourth week of January to discuss the issue.
“The three-member central team, which visited Nagaland in mid- December to study the separate state of ‘Frontier Nagaland’ demand, has submitted its report to the central government,” he told IANS over phone.
The ENPO leader said that the ‘Frontier Nagaland’ would cover six of the 16 backward districts of Nagaland — Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak and Shamator.
The central team, constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), headed by adviser (North East) A.K. Mishra, during its visit to Nagaland in mid-December held a series of meetings with various Naga bodies including the ENPO, Eastern Nagaland Women Organisation, Eastern Nagaland Students’ Federation and ‘Gaon Bura Union’ representatives.
The team also met leaders of various religious communities in the ENPO region besides Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police.
A delegation of the ENPO met the Union Home Minister in New Delhi on December 6 and Shah, according to the Naga leaders, highlighted a clear roadmap for an amicable, legislative and sustainable solution of their demand which also includes consultation with the people of Nagaland and the state government.
In support of their demand for the creation of ‘Frontier Nagaland’, seven tribes of Nagaland rejecting the state government’s appeal had also boycotted the recent ‘Hornbill Festival’.
Seven tribes of Nagaland — Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Tikhir, Sangtam and Yimkhiung — are spread across six districts.
On the separate state demand, the Nagaland cabinet had recently resolved that whenever a Legislative Assembly session is convened, legislators and members of Eastern Nagaland Legislators’ Union (ENLU), if and when they desire to discuss, may move accordingly and the issue would be deliberated threadbare.
In Meghalaya, different tribal groups in the state in support of the separate Garoland state demand organised a sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in mid-December under the umbrella of the National Federation for New States (NFNS), in an effort to make their respective demands for statehood heard by the Centre.
The Garoland State Movement Committee in collaboration with the NFNS has been agitating for a separate Garoland state for the past many years.
The Garo Hills region in western Meghalaya is spread across 10,102 sq. km and according to the 2011 Census, is home to 13.94 lakh people, mostly tribals.
NFNS Vice-President Nikman C. Marak said: “If we work together, we would be able to achieve our demand. We need to work unitedly to achieve our long-standing demand of Garoland,”
The assembly elections in Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya are expected to be held in February.
(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
–IANS
sc/bg
