Mukhim flags rise of tribal land elites, alleges marginalisation of poor in state

NEW DELHI, April 17: Patricia Mukhim, a renowned journalist and Editor of The Shillong Times, on Friday laid bare the dangerous trend of the emergence of tribal land elites in Meghalaya who have gobbled up land, leading to the severe marginalisation of poor tribals.
Addressing the second edition of the Commonwealth-supported Omega Resilience Awards Ideas function here, Mukhim, who is also an eminent social activist of the Northeastern region, said that this has resulted in poor, uneducated tribals becoming penniless.
“In the state, politicians and ministers are not only usurping land from the poor but also buying high-value property in metropolises, including in Delhi and even abroad. It is strange that the Centre is claiming ‘investment’ of lakhs of crores of rupees in the Northeast, but no visible impact has been made in the region,” she said.
“Maybe most of such public funds are going to the pockets of such rich politicians and only trickle to the poor,” Mukhim added.
Traditionally, tribal society was egalitarian, but over the years it has sharply slipped into the divide between the haves and the have-nots, she said.
Now there is a tribal elite society in Meghalaya, especially in urban areas, Mukhim added.
Mukhim also expressed her displeasure over the lack of national media coverage of the longest-ever ethnic violence in Manipur.
“So many people have been killed and thousands are taking shelter in relief camps even today in a pitiable condition  with scanty media attention,” she said.
“There are babies born in the makeshift relief camps and grown-up children deprived of basic amenities of life in camps,” she added.
It may be mentioned that the event showcased the work of the third cohort of ORA India Fellows, focusing on “groundbreaking models of change” related to climate, ecology and community resilience, where exceptional leaders were awarded.