Barely has the uproar on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2016 died down in the seven states when a proposal to grant permanent residential status to six non-Arunachalee tribes has now singed the state of Arunachal Pradesh. It all started when several organisations in the state called for a 48-hour bandh on Thursday and Friday last seeking changes in the proposals made by the government-appointed panel for granting Permanent Residential Certificates (PRC) to six non –indigenous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. The Joint High Power Committee (JHPC), after holding several rounds of discussions with stakeholders, had recommended granting PRC to six communities, who through not natives of Arunachal Pradesh but have been living in Namsai and Changlang districts for decades.
The proposals evoked strong resentment among several community-based groups and students’ organisations. Their contention was that the rights and interests of indigenous people would be compromised if the state government accepts them.
The recommendations of the JHPC were to be tabled in the Assembly on Saturday but the matter was shelved as the House was adjourned sine die.
The tragedy about the violence was that it disrupted the first ever film festival – the Itanagar International Film Festival (IIFF) scheduled to be held over the weekend. The venue of the film fest at IG Park Itanagar was vandalized and the artists bundled off into their hotels while a Mumbai based actor-director Satish Kaushik and his team took refuge in the auditorium until they were evacuated. Over 50 artists, filmmakers, musicians from Mumbai, Goa and other North-eastern states were later evacuated safely but at great cost to their equipments. Vehicles of some of them were also set ablaze. Nagaland-based musician Alobo Naga whose vehicle and musical instruments were torched by the agitators has now asked the Government to compensate the loss. It will be a long time before people gather confidence to venture into Arunachal Pradesh again for another event.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that the issue of granting citizenship to some communities not indigenous to Arunachal Pradesh was no longer a live issue and the matter stands closed. Somewhere there was a communication gap but the damage done to the image of the state is phenomenal. The loss of three young lives to police firing is regrettable. That the residence of the Deputy Chief Minister was burnt down and police lathi-charged women protestors also shows breakdown of law and order. Meanwhile the Union Government has dispatched 1,000 paramilitary personnel to the state to help the administration maintain law and order and for the state to limp back to normalcy.