Chakma refugees still virtualy stateless

Sukham Nanda
Source from:- http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=41069&typeid=1

DHARAMPUR, Feb 7: Ever increasing population of Chakmas refugees settled in Arunachal Pradesh is becoming a major concern in the adminstration of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Chakmas who had migrated from Bangladesh and Tripura during the early 80`s predominantly occupied Dharamnagar village in Miao district of Arunachal Pradesh at present.

The populations of Chakma refugees which are concentrated mainly in the Miao district have crossed more than 90,000 against the population of about 1.3 million Arunachali`s. The population of Chakma refugees in Miao district is at least double the population of original sub-tribes of Arunachal Pradesh now.

The refugees, though they now dominate demographically in Miao district of the state, have not yet been able to claimed their fundamental rights as the government of Arunachal Pradesh still does not recognise them as citizens.

Some 5000 of them have however been given the voting rights at present by the Arunachal Pradesh Government, though they are not given candidature rights.

As a matter of fact the status of the Chakma refugees there remain unchanged as they still practice nomadic and primitive lifestyle.

The settlement villages of the Chakma refugees being located in extreme isolated from the Miao district headquarter, there was no proper approach road from the rest of the state to reach their camps - Dharampur part-I,II and III, - and no electricity, no water supply, no health care facilities and no schools in all three refugee camps.

And the people there have been tought the lesson of Budha Gaya by the Budhis Monks, as all Chakmas refugees there follow the Budhism as their religion since they settle there.

Being spent rest of their life in primitive ways their livelyhood depends maily on cultivation and hunting in nearby jungles.

It seems, like a dreams for the people of Chakmas seeing the sophisticated video cameras and laptop carried by a team of researchers from German and young Journalists from all over the states went there for study tour organised by the Panos Asia.

In the meantime, while intereacting with elders of Chakmas refugees who spoke in Assamese language expressed their desireness to be a recorgnised as citizen of the Arunachal state so that they can enjoy every fundamental rights and will improve their social, political and economic status.

They said they are not blaming to the Arunachal Pradesh government for the status which they have been living with and they knew they are refugees but the struggle to achieve their goals constitutionally to get the status of rightfull citizens is only their soul objective the Chakmas claimed.