Protests rage across Arunachal ‘CENTRE TO URGE SC TO AMEND CHAKMA ORDER’
REFUGEE CRISIS Tribal organisations and NGOS up in arms against government’s move to provide citizenship to Chakmas, Hajongs
GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh shut down on Tuesday to protest the Centre’s move to grant citizenship to Chakma and Hajong refugees settled in the state after their displacement from presentday Bangladesh in the 1960s.
Almost all tribal organisations and NGOS backed the 12-hour dawn-to-dusk shutdown that the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) had called against the move to grant limited citizenship to the refugees.
“The support for our agitation has sent out a loud and clear message that the indigenous people will not tolerate arbitrary decisions of the Centre that could change the state’s demography,” AAPSU general secretary Tobom Dai said.
“The response from the tribes of Arunachal, under threat of being outnumbered by refugees in certain areas, should make Delhi realise we are ready to fight for the rights of the indigenous peoples,” Dai added.
There have been reports of violence, particularly in southern Arunachal Pradesh where the Chakma-hajongs are concentrated. Officials said supporters set at least four vehicles, including a state transport corporation bus, ablaze.
The Centre decided to grant ‘limited citizenship’ to the Chakmas and Hajongs a few days ago. This, according to Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, means the two communities will not get land rights or be recognised as a Scheduled Tribe in Arunachal Pradesh so that the rights of the indigenous people are not diluted.
The Chakmas and Hajongs fit into the Bharatiya Janata Party’s plan to grant citizenship to nonmuslim minorities fleeing persecution in neighbouring countries. The provision was made in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill of 2016.
The predominantly Buddhist Chakmas and the Hindu Hajongs are among the earliest persecuted groups to have sought refuge in India. They were settled in Arunachal Pradesh between 1964 and 1969 . The first wave of refugees came after the Kaptai dam – built by the erstwhile East Pakistan government in the Chittagong Hill Tracts – washed away their homes. Later, they fled religious persecution.
The plight of the Chakma-hajongs was similar to what the Rohingya Muslims are going through in Myanmar.
From the initial 14,888 settled in Arunachal Pradesh, the population of Chakmas and Hajongs are said to have increased to 64,000. Chakma organisations claim their population is 55,000 and the fear that they will outnumber the local tribes such as Tangsa, Singpho, Khampti, Nocte, and Mishmi is unfounded.
“Delhi sent the Chakma-hajongs to Arunachal Pradesh on a temporary basis, now it is their duty to shift them back to any other state in India and give them citizenship but not in Arunachal Pradesh,” Nabam Jollow, former AAPSU president and the union’s legal advisor now, said.
Chief minister Pema Khandu too warned Singh of the repercussions. “The state is not ready to accept any infringement of the constitutional protection bestowed on the tribal people of the state,” he said. NEW DELHI: Amid concerns in his home state over the granting of citizenship to Chakma and Hajong refugees, Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said the Centre would approach Supreme Court to seek an “amendment” to its 2015 order directing the Centre t to grant citizenship to some 54,000 refugees.
The minister of state for home affairs, who is also an MP from Arunachal Pradesh, on Tuesday said the SC order was not “implementable”. The ministry had last week said it would comply with the order directing the Centre to grant citizenship to Chakma and Hajong, who settled in India after facing persecution from erstwhile East Pakistan.
However, on Tuesday, Rijiju said the “ground realities” in the state must be impressed upon the apex court adding that he will stand up for the rights of “his people”. “The Chakmas and Hajongs have entered India illegally. If the Chakmas are given citizenship as Arunachal tribals or as indigenous Arunachali, it will disturb the social and demographic structure of the state. We have to impress upon the court to understand this reality,” Rijiju said.
“Some families were settled by the Congress government between 1964 and 1969. That itself was a violation,” Rijiju said. The same “violation” was raised by the chief minister Pema Khandu in a letter to home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday.
The Chakmas and Hajongs cannot be put with the same footing with the people of AP, Rijiju said. The statement comes after the state observed a shut down on Tuesday to protest the Centre’s move to grant citizenship to the refugees. “Once Chakma and Hajong become legal citizens of India they are entitled to live anywhere in the country, but AP is a protected territory. Even for genuine Indian you need Inner Line Permit to visit the state since it is a constitutionally protected territory,” Rijiju added.