Though not visible in any parts of Dima Hasao district, the Bandh made visible impacts on business establishments, educational institutions and most of the government offices in Karbi Anglong

For five continuous days, the JACAS Bandh hit the Karbi Anglong district affecting partially the normal life and the vehicular movement between Assam and Nagaland (also Manipur). Though not visible in any parts of Dima Hasao district, the Bandh made visible impacts on business establishments, educational institutions and most of the government offices in Karbi Anglong. Karbi Anglong, covered with green layers of forest and a number of rivers & streams namely Kopili, Nambor, Dhansiri, Borpani, Deopani, Longnit, Doigrung, Amreng, Jamuna, Kolioni, Patradisha, Dikharu etc, has a mixed population of various tribes like Karbi, Dimasa, Kuki, Garo, Rengma Naga, Bodo,Tiwa, Man(Tai Speaking), Khasi-Pnar, Hmar alongwith a few non-tribal races. The district with a population of around 9,70,000 is governed by an autonomous council head-quartered in Diphu. Among 30 executive members of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, 26 members are elected by the voters and four members are nominated by the Assam Governor. The present council has 17 elected members belonging to the Congress party, which include the chief executive member (Tuliram Ronghang) post. The term of the autonomous council is five years unless it is dissolved earlier by the State Governor on some specific grounds. Karbi Anglong district police chief Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta informed that the Bandh went on peacefully and his police force escorted the vehicles plying on National Highway 39 which connects Assam with its neighbouring States of Nagaland and Manipur. Moreover the northeast frontier railway, which passes through some areas of Karbi Anglong (including its head quarter Diphu), continued rail communication during the Bandh with some disruptions on the first day. The Karbi Anglong council, the district administration and also various civil society groups had earlier appealed to JACAS to withdraw the Bandh. Representatives from different political parties including the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party strongly opposed the strike culture growing in the region and urged the district administration to adopt appropriate measures to break the stalemate. Accordingly the district magistrate Prasanta Buragohain served a legal notice banning the Bandh citing the order of the Supreme Court of India, wherein it stated that ‘any person(s) resorting to bandhs, which may infringe the fundamental right of the citizens including government employees who are made to abstain from duty, is liable to face legal consequence for contempt of order passed by the highest Court of the nation’. Reacting to the Bandh, Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) expressed serious concern claiming that it would adversely affect the people of Nagaland. The NSF in a statement questioned ‘why should Nagas suffer over the demand of the Karbi people’, as Naga people have nothing to do with the JACAS demand. Even the Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang urged the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to look into the matter as it was apprehended to affect the supply of essential commodities to Nagaland including the life saving drugs. Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh also echoed similar concerns while intimating the Centre on the Bandh culture growing in the trouble-torn region. The media reports from Imphal narrated that most of the fuel pumps in Manipur went closing as some panicked purchasers created unwanted situation on the second day of the Bandh in order to collect petrol and diesel for reserving at home. The authority, chamber of commerce & industries in both the States made official declarations that there was nothing to worry about regarding the probable shortfall of fuel and essential commodities because of the Bandh in Assam. They unanimously asked the people not to get panicky as there were sufficient items and the goods-carrying vehicles were still plying from Guwahati with police escorts. The Sangai Express, a Manipur daily, made an editorial comment over the Bandh that it was ‘unfortunate and unacceptable’. It asserted that the JACAS leaders may have genuine angst and frustration but the same cannot be said about the 1000-hour Bandh imposed in Karbi Anglong. “JACAS may have all the reason to feel disillusioned with New Delhi and Dispur for there is no way in which a talk can be kept under suspension for nearly a year,” said the editorial adding, “However a rethink is needed on the strategy they have adopted to put the pressure on the Government.” Finally amidst the right-wing Bajrang Dal sponsored dawn–to–dusk Assam Bandh on October 31, demanding stern actions against the anti-national Islamic elements in the country which had significant impacts on both Brahmaputra and Barak valleys of the State, JACAS convener Stalin Engty declared the lifting of their strike that might have otherwise continued till the first week of December. Speaking to media persons in Diphu, the JACAS convener claimed that they had received ‘a verbal assurance from the Union government for continuing the talks’ on their demand to pave way for a separate autonomous State comprising both the hill-districts in middle Assam. Engty however did not forget to criticize the authority for arresting a senior JACAS leader (Bijoy Teron) on October 30 from Diphu terming it as a conspiracy to destroy the moral of agitators. Mentioning that the last round of discussions took place on November 6, 2013 under the initiative of the Congress-led UPA government, Engty also disclosed that the government had proposed for another round of talks by the first half of December 2014.

Nava Thakuria