Thannganing Hungyo
Merapani/Geleky | May 7
The Assam-Nagaland border dispute is not an argument between the people but one between governments. A large section of people living in border areas, both Nagas and Assamese alike, reverberatingly echo this statement. The larger Merapani area comprising both Nagaland and Assam is situated in what is called the Disputed Area Belt (DAB), which falls under the D Sector and the Doyang Reserve. People settled here by clearing forestland. All occupants are living minus heir pattas.
‘Old man’ Rokhemo Ngully, 88, is the oldest surviving member of the Merapani Foothills Village, a Lotha Naga village that falls under the DAB.
The aged contours of his face crease to show visible pride as he displays a certificate dated December 1 1963, asking him to receive an inauguration medal during the Nagaland Statehood inauguration ceremony. People, whether Ahoms or Nagas, do not have any animosity among them and are part of a family where disagreements from time to time occur, which is but natural, he says. Rokhemo takes the name of an old friend, Kulai Saikia, who resides on the “Assam side” across the Sibang nullah, barely a five-minute walk from the Naga village. “There are no tensions between the people because of Kulai,” the octogenarian informs.
Kulai, from Sibangpar village, two years junior to Rokhemo, has handed down the legacy of holding the title of gaonbura to his son Muninder. Whenever an argument between the two peoples erupts, Kulai intervenes to sort out the problem. The Nagas were not in fault when they cleared forests to grow food, he says. His skin wizened by the sun, Kulai points out that the Assam Government had not taken care of its resources and had not established a proper border. He laments for the incident in 1985 where a big clash had taken place between the people.
“To solve the border dispute, the people should arrive at a mandate through understanding,” he advocates. The governments of Assam and Nagaland have to take into account the desires of the people, who are living reality on the land, he implies.
RD Meena, the commandant of the CRPF Company stationed at Merapani says there are no conflicts as such between the people. Whenever a disagreement arises, members of peace committees of both identities arrive at the Central Police camp to resolve their differences. Security forces in the area bring peace, he says. Conflict resolution researchers are however of the view that militarising borders creates confusion in the minds of the people, as highlighted recently during a programme in Dimapur.
One cannot define the ‘technical’ border. Families of different communities intersperse and intermingle freely, devoid of a hostile scenario. Trade is carried out and ‘understandings’ for economic benefits are prevalent. Porters on bicycles transport bamboo from the “Nagaland side”. Stone and other resources also figure in the business list. Naga villagers on the other hand come down to the plains to purchase meat, vegetables and other household items.
Morung Express News
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