Ethnic Conflict in Assam

Jerei Hagramaya Gawo which literally means “the way forest weeps” is a noteworthy novel by Ratna Bharali Talukdar whose central theme is based on the ethnic conflicts prevailing in North East India. Though the novel is published in October 2012, the basis of the story was the conflict between the Bodos and the ‘Aadivasis’ in the nineties. The co-existence of the Bodos and other tribes is not a new chapter in the history of Assam. But as time has passed these indigenous sons of the land are agitated. The age long repression of the central, the insurgencies, and the difference of thought between the different generations etc have created an environment of restlessness in the region.

We can name the conflicts that have taken place from time to time during the nineties in the North Eastern region of India e.g. the 1996 riots in lower Assam Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri between the Bodo’s and the Aadivasis, the 1998 riot between the Bodo’s and the minorities Muslims, the 2003 riot between the Maar and the Dimasa’s in North Kachar, the 2005 riot in Karbi Anglong between the Karbi’s and the Dimasa’s, the Muslim and the Bodo riot in Udalgudi and Darang in 2008, the 2009 riot in North Kachar ( now Dima-Hasao) between the Dimasa’s and the Jemi Naga’s and the 2010’s bloody riot between the Bodo’s and the minorities in BTAD are still imprinted in our minds. In the selected novel “Jerei Hagramaya Gawo” though the focus is chiefly on the ethnic conflict amongst the Aadivasis and the Bodo’s, the novelist has kept in mind the rising feeling of nationalism and the sense of alienation experienced.

It has been half a century since India got its independence but the attitude of the government towards the Bodo’s was not enthusiastic enough to rule out the feeling of alienation and deprivation. This feeling of alienation and deprivation has marked a deep cut in the minds of the new generation of this ethnic tribe of Assam that they were convinced well enough to take the armed path. This has led to apparent differences of mentalities between the new and the old generations.

The novel starts with the narration of a journalist Tripti. She traverses in the conflict affected areas Kokrajhar and Sirang along with two other journalists’ Ferenga Choudhury and Derhargra Bodo. They meet different people who are involved in the clash, either as victims or as the starters. One of the central characters, if we can say so, in the novel is Bilaishree, a young married woman who faced extreme trauma getting raped by some nymphomaniacs and was taking shelter in a refugee camp. She was expecting—an unexpected, illicit motherhood. Other central characters in the novel are Margaret Marjo, a middle aged Aadivaasi lady who lost five of her relatives in the riot, Mako Lakra, a young and educated reformist aadivaasi man who was ready to welcome Bilaishree into his life, Sivaram Murmu, a pimp who tries to gain political mileage out of the Aadivaasis, he was also a suspect of human trafficking.

Another character in the novel is of Alfolsa Kujur, who was sold by the human traffickers to a sex racket in Siliguri. These scattered pieces of different incidents add up to one dynamic story underneath which lies the heart breaking truth of the lost brotherhood of our mankind. The central theme of the novel is the ethnic conflict of 1996. The dead bodies of three Bodo girls were found under a culvert in Satyapur, an Aadivaasi village on 9th of May 1996. Those girls were the victims of gang rape and their faces were made deformed beyond identification. After police investigation the report that came was, “ It was revealed during the investigation that some activist raped and killed these girls and threw their bodies near the Satyapur village with the evil motif’s to invite sentiments among the Bodo’s against the Santhals, which ultimately led to breakout of ethnic violence between Bodos and the Santhals”.

This was no doubt an evil motif to create the ethnic conflict, but the question of whom being the culprit was aroused by the novelist through her character Tripti in which the novelist is able to pictorially depict the inhuman incident of the gang rape and cruel murder of the three ladies.

Two days after this evil incident took place, nothing really happened as if the whole of the area was frozen to death. But it started on 13th May the devastation. Starting from the Aadivaasi Saraibeel village, houses, cow sheds, godowns, crops all were set ablaze. Soon the village turned to ashes. The inferno took its toll from village after village turning everything to ashes. Since 15th May 1996 till 17th May, this devastation has finished 119 Santhal villages and 23 Bodo villages and 53 villages of various other castes. Below are the government figures of the people who lost their lives during this riot.

The death as seen by the people is painted through the words of Margaret Madro when she says she has seen people dying when trying to get out from their burnt houses. People shot dead when trying to escape. The decayed bodies lied unattended in the paddy fields. These blood stained bodies turned rotten flesh lumps were in the missing list of people. As usual the total number of casualties was too high from the government list. In total, death from bullets, the death from the ethnic conflict, death from cholera and malaria in the relief camps, the cries of the women who were forced to take the path of prostitution etc. is a story where everyone’s heart weeps and the novelist was successful in her story telling.

The novel also tells another story older than the present one about the Bhumka village, which is considered to be the foundation stone of the Bodo Nationalist Activities. It is the inhuman story of 15th and 16th January 1988, when the people in charge of the securities of the state had gang raped a Bodo woman, which created sensation in the whole country. This incident though took a great step in the empowerment of the women strategy, sadly faded away without giving justice to the victim. This barbaric act of the law keepers went away unpunished unveiling the hollow identity of our system. Another ethnic riot that has been mentioned in this novel is about the riot between the Bodo’s and the minority Muslim community in 1993.

The damages and casualties that has been found recorded in the government report is as such, “ It may be pointed out that in the Bodo-Muslim ethnic violence that occurred in October 1993 as many as 3568 families consisted of about 18,000 persons who were forest encroachers, had been displaced…. Again a series of major incidents took place throughout the districts in May 1996 when 42,214 families consisting of about 2,02,684 persons had been rendered homeless who took shelter in 61 relief camps….. violent incident flared up again in May 98. The sporadic incidents of killing, threatening and tension prevailed. As a result 48,556 families consisting of 3, 14,342 inmates have been displaced from their native places. Going through this novel one can realise the unstable condition of our society.

The so called backward communities of our society have been deprived since ages by our system. Being the largest populated tribe of Assam, the Bodos had a greater scope to excel. To strengthen their economy they had no dearth of human or natural resources. To dignify their own rights of land and shelter they started their agitation in 1913 under the leadership of Kalicharan Brahma in Parbatjhora and in 1921 the Bodo and Kachari residents of Kachugaon Reserve Forestry showed agitation under the leadership of Pratapchandra Brahma, but in turn they got evacuation notice only. The non existence of a definite and transparent Land rule has made these people in deep existentialist dilemma, especially the tribal people. On the other hand Bodoland has the Asia’s largest Forest Division. The novelist has mentioned in the novel that she got an opportunity to travel through this Holtugaon Forest Division in 1989.

She noticed that the road through the forest was quite deserted and it was dark even in the broad daylight. Such dense was the forest. But after 1998 the ancient, mysterious and deep dense forest turned into a barren house of tree stumps. In her words which means this green has turned out to be a desert and can be compared to the carcasses in a solitary graveyard. These valuable trees were turned to woods and had been sold to far off regions like Delhi, Haryana and Bihar with the help of the law keepers. This syndicate raaj helped the outsiders to pocket the treasures of the rightful owners. And the pitiable conditions of these people worsened with each coming day.

CONCLUSION:- We must say that the novelist is successful in portraying the life like images touching the readers. She vividly explored the ethnic clash between the Bodos and the Aadivasis and with her master technique of narration she offered her readers an authentic and well documented narration. Like glimpses of sunrays amongst a dark cloudy sky we encounter messengers of peace like few NGO’s, few dedicated reporters and other organizations. These are the rays of hope for Bodoland.