Editor,
The letter, ‘Boundary Dispute’ by FB Lyngdoh (ST Feb 22, 2019), quoting the speech of late EK Mawlong in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in 1978 regarding the two villages Jatalong and Sabuda in Ri Bhoi district where Assam police harassed and arrested the people of these villages. There was a primary school in Sabuda run by the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council since 1952-53 when the United Khasi & Jaintia Hills District Council was established. When Govt took over the administration of primary education from the District Council in 1983 the undersigned was appointed the Administrator. At that point of time there was a lot of confusion in order to segregate the DCLP schools, the Faith based schools, the Govt. Schools inherited from Assam and other private/village schools as salary had to be paid to the concerned teachers. There were also a number of so called ‘ghost schools’ which existed only in name. I clearly remember one gentleman who came to my office with a simple request, ‘Please Sir, do not abandon the DCLP school at Sabuda. there is one teacher in that school.’ I was curious and asked him why? His answer was, ‘If there is no school there, the people will shift as there will be no schooling for their children; the Assam Govt will then encroach and take away our land.’ I took him at his word and made sure the teacher got his salary and stayed there. I don’t remember the name of this gentleman but I appreciate his concern and vision.
Over the years (1983-2018) primary education in the districts had gone through many changes. Sabuda came into the limelight again when I read the news that the Assam Govt had constructed a building for the Bank in the village and claimed it as their own. We talk of documentary evidence. Sabuda is one of the many villages which is clearly within the United Khasi & Jaintia Hills District Council since 1952-53. I read in the papers that Ms Fennela Lyngdoh is filing a boundary case in the Supreme Court and naturally would require many documentary evident to support that case. Records such as that of the Sabuda case will be one. We wish we had more gentlemen then like the one I mentioned above who had the vision and took the trouble to see that our boundaries are secured. Unfortunately the powers that have ruled the state over the years do not seem to share his vision.
We have an international boundary policy which we call Border Area Development perhaps because of the central funding but there is no tangible policy on inter-state boundaries. The villages which should guard our boundaries are deprived of the basic livelihood facilities like roads, health, schools, electricity, drinking water etc. It’s only natural that people would abandon their villages and it is also natural that the vacuum gets filled up by people from the other side of the fence.
Yours etc
Torist Mark,
Via email
Recognize the real protectors of forests
Editor,
The International Day of Forests (IDF) is celebrated worldwide every year on March 21. The theme of this year is ~ Forests and Education. A report by “Forests trends and Eco-agriculture partners” recognized community forest management as “an essential means to sustainably manage forest resources while supporting local livelihoods and cultural values.” It is a shame that instead of rewarding the forest dwellers for their outstanding contribution towards protecting the forests of our country, there is an effort to jeopardize their symbiotic relationship with the forests. Forest dwellers preserve forests not just as their habitation but as God. They worship the ecosystem as a spiritual being.
Now, let us focus on the Bishnoi tribe of Rajasthan. They derive their name from the set of 29 (bish = 20 + noi = 9) rules which they are supposed to honour. Some of these rules showcase the spiritual relationship between them and the forest like don’t cut green trees (runkh lila nahi ghave) and provide a common shelter for all abandoned animals so that they are not slaughtered (amar rakhve that). Felling trees and killing animals are treated as crimes in Bishnoi society.
The Bishnois are rightly called the first environmentalists of India. They build water storage tanks that can store rain water for humans and animals. They bury the deceased instead of following their religious tradition to cremate the dead body. They do it to avoid wastage of firewood and air pollution. To minimize the use of green trees, they use cow dung cakes as fuels for cooking. They only collect dead wood. Even a carpenter waits patiently for a tree to fall. Bishnois have been fighting court cases and poachers no matter how big the suspect may be ~ even if he is as famous as Mansur Ali Khan of Pataudi or Salman Khan of Bollywood.
Indeed, the environment and the lives of the forest dwellers got improved in less than three per cent of the forest cover of India where traditional inhabitants became managers of their forest land. Undoubtedly, we need to immediately implement the 2006 Forest Rights Act in the remaining 97 per cent of the forest area.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata