People's Democracy

VIOLENCE IN KARBI ANGLONG

Left & Democratic Parties Take Out Peace Mission

Isfaqur Rahman

THE orgy of continuing violence in Karbi Anglong district has been one of the bloodiest chapters in Assam's history. The pain and anguish of the people of the hill district has transcended state's borders.

An eight party peace-mission comprising the CPI (M), CPI, CPI (ML), RSP, AGP (P), SUCI, UMF and UDF visited the district headquarters of Diphu town and nearby affected places to take stock of the prevailing situation in the trouble-torn district. The eight party delegation also visited the relief camps and interacted with the inmates and inquired about their problems. The four-member CPI(M) delegation comprised state secretary Uddhab Barman, CCM Hemen Das and two State Secretariat members Isfaqur Rahman and Ajit Das. Among others in the peace-mission were Utpal Dutta, MLA (AGP-P), Rubul Sarma (CPI-ML), Hafiz Rashid Choudhury (UMF), Upen Talukdar (CPI), Bimal Nandi (SUCI) and Ratneswar Gogoi (RSP). The primary task of the mission was to appeal to all ethnic groups, especially the Karbis and Dimasas, to exercise restraint and to maintain peace and harmony in the trouble-torn district. The eight-party delegation appealed to the people to immediately cry a halt to the savage manifestation of ethnic feuding in the hill district where jittery and rickety administration was reduced to a callous, clueless and silent spectator.

Karbi Anglong is one of the only two hill districts of Assam, the other being the adjoining North Cachar Hills. The two rival extremist outfits — Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) and United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) are actively involved in the horrible carnage. The DHD professes to represent the Dimasa community's aspirations for a new state called 'Dimaraji' while the UPDS is the dominant extremist group of Karbi Anglong. Although NC Hill district is predoninately inhabitated by the Dimasas, and Karbi Anglong by the Karbis, there has been a sizeable section of Dimasa people in Karbi Anglong. The UPDS and DHD are out to destroy the hitherto harmonious relationship between the Karbis and Dimasas residing in green hills of Assam. Both outfits have ceasefire agreements with the central and state governments.
 

The ethnic strife started on September 26 when three Dimasa youths were killed by miscreants in a remote village at Manja area. In retaliation suspected Dimasa assailants hacked eight Karbi villagers to death in two separate incidents at Sing-Terang and Manja Fanchu villages. The feud became full blown ethnic clashes after two entire Dimasa villages were torched at Doldoli on
October 8.
 

On October 17, A pile of bodies — all of them passengers travelling on two buses headed for Diphu and Hamren towns from Jirikinding — lay in pools of blood on a road passing through Sarsing village, close to the district headquerters. It was around 7 am a government bus owned by KAADC headed for Hamren. Another bus going to Diphu was just behind. As the two buses approached Sarsing, the assailants stopped the buses, forced all passengers out and segregated the Karbis from the non-Karbis. The assailants then slit the throats of 23 Karbis, including nine women.

The highway slaughter over, the militants set both vehicles ablaze and entered Sarsing village, where they went about setting fire to a cluster of huts. The group showed no mercy to even a three month old infant, hurling her into the flames along with two adults. Four more residents were gunned down. Another group of extremists was in nearby Prseek village around the same time adding to the body count. A total of 35 persons have been killed in the barbaric mayhem on October 17.

The body count till October 17 was 35. Later, more killings were reported in the sequence of clashes between the two communities and body count is still on till filing of this report.

As per reports available so far, around 100 innocent people, including women and children, were slaughtered in the clashes between the Dimasas and Karbis. The causalities among the Karbis are much higher. Houses were set ablaze and more than 50,000 people were rendered homeless. Around 50 villages were torched and the dwelling places were burnt to ashes. Now, more than 40,000 people are taking shelter in 53 relief camps and are languishing for want of food and medicines. In spite of drizzly and chilly weather, the state administration has done precious little to provide adequate food and medicine, clothes and blankets, tents and security cover to the panick-striken people in the camps. The plight and suffering of the infants and women carrying their babies has been immense and intense. In fact the relief camps are overwhelmed by children and breast-feeding women.
 

The eight party peace-mission visited affected villages of both the Dimasa and Karbi communities in and around Diphu town, the district headquarters on October 22. They visited Hemari Terang Gaon (8th Kilometer in the Lumding Road) where five Karbis including the village headman Sing Teron (65) were killed on October 2 at around 11 p.m. Chandra Terang was a victim among the five killed. His son Dilip Terang, now staying at a relief camp, narrated the horrific incident to the delegation of peace-mission at Taralangsu relief camp. The delegation also visited Kheroni Dimasa Gaon at Manja Road (7th Mile) where another five persons, including two women — Soybada Daola Gajao (55) and Rohila Diphusa (16) were killed and around 75 houses were burnt to ashes in the morning of October 10.

The eight party mission also visited the relief camps and interacted with the inmates of Karbi People's Hall at Taralangso, Dimasa Club at Amulapatty and government Higher Secondary Schools at Diphu. In the Taralangsu camp there were 1337 inmates, at Dimasa Club — 106 inmates and at government Higher Secondary Schools — more than 1500 inmates — overwhelmingly women and children.
 

After returning from the affected areas the eight-party delegation addressed a press conference at Diphu and condemned the Tarun Gogoi led Congress government for its inaction and abject failure in controlling the situation. While appealing for exercising restraint and maintaining age-old amity between Karbis and Dimasas, the CPI(M) leader Hemen Das came down heavily on the state government and criticised the administration for inordinate delay in deploying army. When the hill district was burning, the state administration was playing a second fiddle and army was deployed only on October 18 — after a full gap of 22 days. The CPI(M) leader also stated that political steps must also be initiated along with administrative measures to contain violence. Hemen Das also charged the UPDS and DHD with violating ground-rules of ceasefire agreements and demanded to disarm the extremists with whom ceasefire agreements are on. After returning, a nine-party delegation comprising the CPI(M), CPI, CPI (M-L), RCPI, RSP, SUCI, AGP (P), UMF and UDF met the Assam governor Lt. general (Retd.) Ajai Singh at Rajbhawan, Guwahati on October 24 and presented a memorandum to him.
 

Among others, the delegation to the Rajbhawan included Uddhab Barman and Hemen Das (CPI-M), Munin Mahanta (CPI), former chief minister Prafulla Kr. Mahanta (AGP-P), Hafiz Rashid Choudhury (UMF), Badruddin Ajmal (president of the newly formed UDF).

In their memorandum, the nine-party delegation stated, the existing government of Assam "has no moral right to continue in office for its inaction and failure in protecting the life and properties of innocent people. On the relief front too the State government has totally failed to provide adequate relief materials."
 

The delegation sought immediate central intervention to protect the life and properties of the people and save Karbi Anglong from the present carnage. Other demands raised by the delegation included:
 

1. Government should immediately order for a CBI inquiry to find out the culprits responsible for the massacres and bring them to book at the quickest possible time.

2. The government must disarm the extremist outfits with whom ceasefire agreement is in force. Further, the ground rule of the ceasefire agreement should be reviewed and amended. Only one designated camp be set up for each militant group. Such camps should not be located in sensitive and mix-populated areas.

3. Apart from administrative measures to contain violence, political solution must also be immediately sought through dialogue with concerned militant outfits. Dilly-delaying tactics must be avoided in the name of negotiations.

On relief measures, the delegation in their memorandum demanded:
 

1. Adequate relief materials including food and medicines, clothes and blankets, fire-woods and safe drinking water, tents etc must be provided in the relief camps without further delay.

2.  Supply of baby foods and study materials for students must be ensured immediately.

3. Provide free full rations and other essentials at least for 6 months or till Rabi crops are harvested to the affected families.

4. Adequate security cover should also be ensured in the relief camps.

5. Ensure normal academic life for the student in the district. Government should also make special arrangement for temporary schools, so that the displaced students do not lose current academic year.

6. Adequate compensation and rehabilitation measures must be ensured immediately, Rs 5 lakhs must be sanctioned as compenstion to the families of victims who have lost their lives in the clashes, Rs 1 lakh should be given as one time grant for construction of houses and full responsibilities should be taken by the government for the treatment of the injured persons.

The Governor gave a patient hearing to the delegation and fully agreed with the demands raised by the delegation. He also stressed the need to disarm the extremist outfits like the DHD and UPDS.
 

Later, on 24 October itself, a crowded press conference was also organised jointly by the nine parties at the State Office of the CPI and expressed the common views of the left and democratic parties. The press conference was addressed, among others, by Uddhab Barman and Hemen Das (CPI-M), Prafulla Kr. Mahanta (AGP-P), Munin Mahanta (CPI), Hafiz Rashid Choudhury (UMF).

Earlier the Assam state committee of the CPI(M) had appealed to all sections of the people including the Karbis and Dimness to maintain peace and tranquility in the district of Karbi Anglong. The party also had called upon all democratic and secular parties of the state to work unitedly for restoring peace and normalcy in the strife-torn district.