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Karbi Anglong is the largest of all districts in Assam, and it is one of the two (the other being West Karbi Anglong) districts governed by the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). The autonomous council of Karbi Anglong is the oldest governance and power-sharing mechanism of the Indian constitution under the Sixth Schedule to protect indigenous customs, land and resources. The main consideration for this was a need to allow Indigenous communities the freedom to retain their customary laws and traditions without falling prey to the vagaries of accelerated developmental changes.(Barbora,2008).
Karbi Anglong witnessed series of ethnic violence and insurgency for prolonged period, resulting in the deaths of several hundreds, belonging to Indigenous people and settlers. Several contests over territory and resources between different Indigenous tribes, between Indigenous populations and settlers, and also between insurgents and the government’s police and paramilitary forces – are at the root of these violent confrontations. In 2021, the Central government signed a tripartite agreement with five insurgent groups of Karbi Anglong and the Assam government. The agreement was signed with the vision of insurgency free prosperous North East, that envisages all-round development of the region, peace and prosperity.
This article is based on our observation and experiences during a visit to one of the remote villages of Karbi Anglong district-Dipluso, located in Duarbagori Constituency of KAAC. We travelled to Dipluso to take break from the hectic daily work schedules and rejuvenate ourselves. The stay in the village and conversation with the residents helped us understand the different dynamics of development which this article discusses, portrays in the context of North East India particularly Assam.
Scenic beauty of the Dipluso Village
The Karbis are the largest indigenous group in the district. Other indigenous groups like the Dimasa, Kuki, Hmar, Bodo, Khasi, Man-Tai, Naga, Tiwa and Garo are also residents of the district. Other than Indigenous groups, the district has a fairly large number of relatively new settlers from Nepal and the Gangetic plains of India. Dipluso village of Duarbagori constituency constitutes of 45 households. All the residents of this village belong to the Karbi community. The visit to the village prompted us to seek answer to the question of development deficit that the region still faces despite experiencing the oldest form post-independence self-rule mechanism in the form of autonomous council. This particular village of Karbi Anglong is only a glimpse of the development rhetoric that is highlighted in the promises during election campaigning irrespective of any political parties in their election manifestos.
While referring to the development discourse, infrastructure is one of the significant elements of development. Infrastructure which smoothes relationships, connects people, enables trade and dilutes boundaries between varied ethnic groups, infrastructure also rigidifies boundaries, ruptures relationships, hinders trade and commerce and disconnects peoples. (Ziipao,2020) Moreover infrastructure development has always been an act of power, which at different times has been leveraged for and against communities. (Ibid) In this context development in Karbi Anglong can be resonate with the act of power of the political parties which tries to maintain or control through infrastructure. Karbi Anglong (or the colonial Mikir Hills) underwent a kind of frontier experience. The hills that were difficult to administer were designated as ‘excluded areas’. Much of Karbi Anglong (as it is called today) fell under such a hazy administrative category. With the transfer of power in 1947, it did not seem that things would change much, except for the fact that the post-colonial state raised the colonial policy of the British Empire into the constitutional provisions of the new republic.
Most of the north eastern states made accessible to the mainland India for the development of the British Empire for extracting the resources and controlling the vast tract of abundant land available in North East Region (NER). This trend began under colonial rule and has been reinforced by the independent Indian state. However, the NER, as a whole has gained a visibility for the Indian state because of the security threat perceived through international border tensions and mushroom growth of insurgent activities in the region, which reflects the dilemma of postcolonial nation building development in the context of northeast region. Engagement of the Indian state to Northeast India shifted from cultural, security and political paradigms to development paradigms in the 1990s. The questions about the infrastructural disparity within the region largely remain unaddressed, with the government prioritizing punitive militarization to suppress the different insurgent operations, secessionists and other nationalist movements emerging from various ethnic communities. It was evident that the region required political representation of the diverse communities.
A boy carrying bamboos to Dolamara town for sell. Due to unavailability of any other transport facilities they usually carry bamboos through diphlu river.
The Indian state, on the one hand, fails to comprehend the intricate social reality of Northeast India stemming from various ethnic communities. Adopting the economic reform since 1990s perception of Indian government towards the whole north eastern region has changed furthermore. Development became the core thrust of state policy given the region’s underdevelopment, the threat of external interfaces and insurgency and the prospects of linking India’s economy with Southeast Asia, amongst other considerations. Development is perceived as a panacea to all problems in the region. But this notion of development is concentrated in urban areas ( such as Guwahati, Imphal, Shillong, Kohima etc.) covering only a small proportion to the total geographical areas.
The waves of the neo-liberal state agenda penetrating into north east regions in the forms of megaprojects and layers of power imposed, further escalates the conflict over resources in the region.(Ibid). It is similar in the context of Karbi Anglong also. Diphu (district headquarter of Karbi Anglong) oriented development never speaks about the decades old negligence suffered by the remote villages located in the district.
As mentioned by Railey Rockey Ziipaoin his book, ‘Infrastructure of Injustice, State, Politics in Manipur and North East India’, economists and urban planners distinguished two types of infrastructure: economic and social infrastructure. Economic infrastructure is defined as those infrastructures that promote economic activities, such as roads, railroads, airports, seaports, electricity, telecommunication, water supply and sanitation. Social infrastructures are those that promote the health, education and cultural standards of the people. These include schools, libraries, universities, clinics, hospitals, courts, museums, theatres, playground, parks, fountains and statues. While relating with these two frameworks of infrastructure in case of Dipluso village it has been found that village lacks basic infrastructure facilities such as road, electricity and water facility.
People crossing over the bamboo bridge in Dipluso village. They have been using this bridge to visit forest for collecting firewood and other wild vegetables available in forest
Distance between Dipluso village to Malasi (Dolamara) is around 20km and people have to cross Diphlu river six times that too without having any bridge to reach the dipluso village. Dipluso has only one Lower Primary School and children have to visit every day to Malasi to access their Middle English and High school education. During monsoons, the roads are not motorable, and it is more dangerous to cross the river due to strong current. Moreover, even after 75 years of India’s independence village does not have electricity facility and Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council has provided solar facilities only ten years back. People must climb to the top of the hills to get network for cell service. People have to walk for miles to get medical facilities which are only available in Malasi.(Only a Primary Health Care unit is available in Malasi)
Differential access to material resources or physical infrastructure (roads, electricity, telecommunication, hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, amongst others) based on social location and power dynamics is the hallmark of power hierarchy that exists among the different states and it germinates social exclusion. Inadequate basic infrastructure limits the movement of goods, people and ideas, especially in the hill areas. Even basic needs, such as all-weather roads connecting all villages, minimum electricity supply, health-care centers, primary schools and portable water, remain inaccessible for the villagers of Dipluso.
A bamboo bridge constructed by the villagers of the Dipluso to cross the river Diphlo
“Because of inadequate infrastructure basically road and bridge facilities our surplus product are left to rot, as during monsoon time we are unable to transport them to the market due to lack of road access”, said Amrong Teron a villager of the Dipluso village. People in Dipluso are cultivating different crops, vegetables and fruits mainly oranges and pineapple. They also cultivate broom grass in their Jhum field. Karbi Anglong is the largest producer of brooms in India, but the price received by villagers from the brooms is too little. Due to poor connectivity to the towns and major cities, the farmers have hardly managed to sell their brooms at remunerative prices and be happy with the meager prices offered by the traders who purchase brooms from them.
Dipluso residents have marked this place with two bamboo poles as the only location in the village where they can access mobile network
“We can’t think of crossing the Diphlu river during flood, sometimes we are unable to reach school for two to three months and it badly impact our education, Our village don’t have a single person who have government job, most of us are school and college dropouts”, said Kangthier Singnar a student from Dipluso village. Villagers informed that they are facing biggest trouble when they have medical emergencies. Locals expressed their deep dismay over the continued neglect by successive government (including Congress, ASDC and BJP) at the state and local level. “Several promises are made during election campaign, but people are left with disappointments and lied to by the government”, said a villager.
The village lack the basic infrastructure amenities but enroute to the village we observed large scale extraction and transportation of sand, stones, pebbles, bamboo and timber using excavators, dumpers and trucks. Absence of state for the common villagers makes their life deplorable while the presence of private players for extracting unlimited resources from the Karbi Anglong have rendered the simple villagers and their problems invisible for state or government entities. This is not just applicable in case of Karbi Anglong, most of the North Eastern tribes are progressively being dispossessed of control over land, forests, water, minerals and other resources in their own territories and are increasingly subjected to inhuman misery, injustice and exploitation. It shows how the combinations of forces of the state, the market, and corporate organizations have systematically exploited the indigenous people and deprives them from their right to have development.
Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council is taking initiatives to boost its tourism sector and its natural potential. In this context Dipluso village can be a good place of attraction for tourist. Dipluso village has enchanting hills with its diverse rare flora and fauna including the beautiful river which can become a place for nature tourism. The forest is full of many species of large trees, climbers, orchids and bamboos. The main tourist attraction can be the two waterfalls (Diplupi and Dipluso) which are located near about two hours of walking distance from the village. These two waterfalls can easily become the source of adventure(Tracking and Hiking) tourism for both domestic and international tourist and nature lovers as it is surrounded by high woods, bamboos, rocky hills with enchanting sight and sound. The expeditions will have additional thrill while evaluating with varieties of birds of unspecified and specified varieties and animals. Moreover, the ethnic karbi food and traditional attire made by the women of the Dipluso village can be a source of attraction for the people visit to the village.
Most importantly development of Dipluso village as tourist attraction can help the local villagers to earn their incomes from the tourist and can make the place a destination for the nature lovers. During our conversation with the locals about the potentiality of the tourist spot in Dipluso village they have showed a positive interest in developing their village as tourist destination. “But it should be kept in mind that development of Dipluso village without including the local villagers and their skill would be meaningless. If it only leverages the interest of the giant corporate and capitalist, then Dipluso better remain untapped and unexplored”, said Sarbong Singanar a resident of Dipluso village. Here discussing with the villagers and experiencing their concern towards the tourist making the village tourist destination also manifest how does the development rhetoric fail to include the interest and voices of the locals and directly and indirectly fulfill the need of the capitalist and rendered the slogans ‘vocals for locals’ worthless. Development approach must be in tune with the needs and aspiration of the locals, giant infrastructural projects without addressing the local’s needs can never be encouraged nor be acknowledged.
The long wait of Diplusu for infrastructure injustice should end because infrastructural injustice corresponds with the deprivation of the people and their identity. Poor connectivity has a high correlation with high levels of illiteracy, unemployment and poverty of a place. Low levels of accessibility have deprived a large number of villagers of equality of opportunity as compared to the urban areas of the district.
Recognizing the rights of indigenous Karbis over their land, resources and culture is the only approach to mitigate the historic injustices done towards them.
References
Barbora Sanjay (2008) ‘Autonomous Districts and/or Ethnic Homelands: An Ethnographic Account of the Genesis of Political Violence in Assam (North-East India) Against the Normative Frame of the Indian Constitution’ International Journal on Minority and Group Rights Vol 15, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden. DOI - 10.1163/157181108X332640 http://www.brill.nl/ijgr
Ziipao Rockey Raile (2020) ‘ Infrastructure of Injustice, State, Politics in Manipur and North East India’, Rutledge, New York.
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