No To NC Hills Renaming – Ethnic Tribes Organize Protest

Non-Dimasa tribal students from the north-eastern Indian state of Assam hold placards as they stage a protest in New Delhi on March 25, 2010, against a recent report tabled by a group of ministers or GOM of recommending that a new district called Dima Hasao district be carved out of North Cachar Hills district. The North Cachar Hills District has seen inter-tribal conflicts in recent years resulting in many cases of alleged human rights violations by armed groups of all sides.

Sinlung Says: The Tarun Gogoi government has not learnt its lessons from recent ethnic fury in North Cachar Hills district, first the Dimasa-Hmar ethnic conflict, then the Naga-Dimasa conflict. The central question in all this conflict is this, who does NC Hills belong to? Does Assam belong to Assamese alone, or Bodos or Karbi? Everyone calls Assam their home. If this policy is to quell the Dimasa militants. Then, Assam government is wrong. The Tarun Gogoi will be responsible for more innocent blood which will be spilled.

It is either divide NC Hills into Dimasa and Non Dimasa or don’t rename it.

Nagas, Hmars, Kukis and Others demand bifurcation of District

New Delhi, Mar 25 : The Delhi Joint Action Committee on North Cachar Hills (JAC), comprising Hmar Students’ Association, Kuki Students’ Organisation, Zillai and Zeliangrong Students’ Union, will stage a protest rally against the Assam Cabinet decision to change NC Hills Autonomous District nomenclature to Dima Hasao District, here at Parliament Street today at 11.00 AM, according to a press release.
The rally will start from Jantar Mantar and large number of people are expected to take part in the event.
“We cannot afford to be silent observer in this crucial time. Make an obligation to participate in the interest of our suffering people who must also have a humane future. The attempt to create a Dimasa homeland in Assam’s NC Hills has resulted in ethnic cleansing campaign by the Dimasa armed groups – DHD (N) and DHD (J) – since 2003. This led to three major ethnic conflicts: Dimasa-Hmar conflict (2003), Dimasa-Karbi conflict (2005) and Dimasa-Zeme Naga conflict (2009) respectively,” the JAC statement said.
The three conflict has tolled many innocent lives, displaced hundreds of families and threatened the prospect of the democratic and citizenship rights of the Biete, Hrangkhawl, Hmar, Kuki, Karbi, Vaiphei, Zeme Naga, etc., who constitutes 57% of the population. After sowing the seed of fear and threat, the Dimasa armed groups, in collusion with their politicians, have been doggedly pushing our people out of NC Hills.
On September 9, 2009, the Government of Assam constituted a Group of Minister’s (GoM) Committee to look into the issue of renaming NC Hills district and to make appropriate recommendation. On February 5, 2010, the GoM Committee submitted its recommendation. The recommendation has raised serious concern for the non- Dimasa indigenous peoples.
“The Committee’s attempt to carve “Dima Hasao District” out of the present NC Hills is a communal design by giving in to the narrow demands of the Dimasa militants who have been terrorizing and paralyzing the hill district,” said the organizing members.
The non-Dimasa communities in NC Hills have been pressing the Tarun Gogoi government to scrapped the GoM decision and their recommendations ought to be made null and void. “The GoM Committee totally ignores the democratic and multi-ethnic character of NC Hills and is far from understanding the complexities of the hill district,” the JAC statement said.
The JAC and Indigenous Peoples Forum are also demanding the bifurcation of NC Hills if the name of the district is changed. “Our people in NC Hills have collectively resolved to stand united in upholding their rights and dignity. The collective leadership has been petitioning the concerned authorities in Assam and New Delhi several times for a just political solution: bifurcation of NC Hills into two districts, one for the Dimasa and another for all the indigenous tribes.”