A visit to CADC Mizoram by Kulottam Chakma
31 March 2010
Aizawl houses in Mizoram, India
Recently I have been to Mizoram for 5 days. Mizoram is home to 100,000 Chakmas. Bodhi Australia has been sponsoring mobile medical clinic in cooperation with the Chakma Mohila Samiti (CMS) for two years. I went to Mizoram on a friendly visit as a representative of Bodhi.
For this article, pictures and videos please visit the following links
- A visit to Mizoram
- Images of CADC Mizoram
- Aizawl to Chawngte highway
- Border fencing in Barapansury, Mizoram
- Interview with a resident of Kamalanagar
- Interview with an MDC
Mizoram is a restricted area. Indians from other states are required to have Inner Line Pass (ILP) and foreigners need Protected Area Permit (PAP) to enter Mizoram. Anyone entering without a pass is considered a serious offence and often sent to jail for not having one.
On 26 March I flew from Kolkata to Aizawl by Kingfisher Airlines on a propeller driven aircraft. It took about 1 and 1/2 hours. Compared to Indian standard, Aizawl airport is clean and tidy. The airport is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The airstrip was built by flattening a mountain. While I was waiting for my luggage, the Police men were asking the Indian looking people for ILP. After collecting my luggage as I was heading for the exit, a Police officer stopped me at the gate and asked me if I was a foreigner.
Aizawl
The person who received me at the airport was Mr. S. Chakma. Airport to Aizawl city is about 30 kilometers. The road is winding but well built. After about half an hour drive we arrived at Aizawl. The city is built on the mountains. The roads are narrow and steep. Compared to Aizawl, Rangamati is a flat city. Almost all the Mizos wear western dress. Mizo women are very enterprising. Most of the grocery and fashion stores were run by the Mizo women. There were also many Bengali businesses. They mainly own transport, construction, steel and furniture business. I was told the businesses were technically owned by the Mizos, but effectively run by the Bengalis. The Mizos are rent collectors for the premises and licenses. Mizoram being a Christian majority state, Aizawl has many well built churches. Mizos are highly urbanized. Almost half of the state’s 800,000 people live in Aizawl.
In the evening I met Mr. Nirupam Chakma, MLA from the CADC. There are two Chakma MLAs in Mizoram’s Legislative Assembly. The other MLA is Mr. Nihar Kanti Chakma from Demagiri. He is also the Minister for Animal Husbandry & Veterinary.
Road to Chawngte
Next day at 6 am I started my journey to Chawngte in a convoy of 2 vehicles. The Chief Executive Member of CADC Mr. Kalikumar Tongchongya happened to be going to Chawngte on that day and he kindly agreed to give me a ride. The road from Aizawl to Chawngte is about 400 KM. The road is winding, narrow, and at time very dangerous. The road was built by hewing mountains. There are deep ravines almost all along the road. There are very few safety barriers. If a vehicle veers off the road and plunges into the ravine, there is no hope of survival. I was told the authorities do not even try to retrieve the vehicles, probably they do not have the means to do so.
At every 3 hours interval we stopped to rest and revive. The land was very scenic and sparsely populated. The land being wild, it should have been teeming with wildlife. To my surprise I had seen no wildlife and very few birds. I suspect Mizos excessively hunt wildlife.
Around mid day we stopped at a road side restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was owned and operated by a Mizo lady. During the lunch I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Kalikumar Tonchongya. According to him CADC lacks basic facilities like health, education and jobs. By Indian standard even electricity, telephone and water supply are un-reliable in CADC.
Around 2 pm, we arrived at Lunglei, a city built atop a mountain. Lunglei is a big city by Mizoram standard. In fact it might be 2nd biggest after Aizawl. We did not spend much time in Lunglei. I will know more about Lunglei on my way back from Chawngte.
The road from Lunglei to Chawngte was even rougher. I had seen many repair works in the road. The repair works were mainly carried out by the Bihari workers. The work is tough. I did not see any Mizo in the road works.
Finally we arrived at Chawngte around 5:30 or 6 pm. It was already getting dark. I just stumbled upon a wedding party. I also met the representatives of the CMS. We agreed on a plan, on 28th February we would visit Udalthana & Bajeichara villages and on 1st March Barapanchari. I & II.
Chawngte aka Kamalanagar
Chawngte is the capital city of the Chakma Autonomous District Council. Though the city is known as Kamalanagar to the Chakmas, the state government does not recognize the name. The Chakmas named the city in respect of Indira Gandhi’s mother Kamala Nehru. Compared to Indian standard, Chawngte is exceptionally clean. Residents regularly burn garbage to keep the city clean.
CADC covers an area approximately 1,500 square kilometers. It’s shaped like a neck tie, north-south it’s 100 kilometers and east-west average 15 kilometers. Only 1/3rd of the Mizoram’s total Chakma population live in CADC. CADC did not come into being by a systematic campaign by the Chakmas, it came into being almost by chance. In 1954 the central & Assam governments granted regional council to the Lakhers (aka Mara) and the Pawis (aka Lai) in the name of Pawi Lakher Regional Council. Large number of Chakmas also fell into the PLRC’s geographic boundary. After living together for more than a decade, the Lakhers again demanded a separate regional council for the Lakhers only. The Pawis did not want to live with the Chakmas either. Thus in 1972, the PLRC was divided into three regional councils and upgraded to district councils.
Chawngte is on the bank on Tuichong River and the city is separated from the LADC (Lai Autonomous District Council) by a bridge over the Tuichong. Because of its close proximity to LADC, many Lai people come to Chawngte bazaar for shopping & selling. Chawngte has a Taxi service of its own.
There is a large number of Chakmas in LADC. They mainly live on the eastern bank of the Tuichong. So much so they can elect one or two Chakma MDCs (Member of District Council) in LADC.
Chakmas of Mizoram take tremendous pride in their identity. Most of the signs in Chawngte are in Chakma. Chakma women almost always wear traditional pinon khadi, which is exceptional since no other tribe in Mizoram wear traditional costume as every day functional dress. They speak the Chakma language with purity, without corrupting with Bengali words. CADC administration had worked very hard to introduce Chakma script to schools and among the general populace.
28th February was Sunday. I met the president of CMS who was on a meditation retreat. Most of the shops and offices were closed except some grocery stores. I had the opportunity to chat with a grocery store owner. According to him, though Inner Line Pass prevents the Bengalis from buying and owning business, they still dominate the commerce and trade in Mizoram. Most of the processed and manufactured goods in Mizoram come from Silchar. Bengalis control both transport and wholesale business in Silchar. Whenever some goods are in high demand in Mizoram, they supply the goods to Bengali run shops and delay supply to Mizo or Chakma run shops.
In the afternoon I went to Udalthana and Bajeichara, courtesy of CMS. Udalthana is hardly 3 kilometers from the perimeter of Chawngte. Yet it looks very impoverished. It seemed further the villages are from Chawngte the more impoverished they are. Most of the houses have thatched roof. Bajeichara is better off than Udalthana. Both villages are clean and tidy like any other Chakma village. CMS conducted mobile clinics in these 2 villages.
Before sunset, I visited the bazaar. There were some hawkers selling vegetables. Some Bengalis were just lazing around. There were some construction works going on. Construction work in Mizoram is monopolized by the Bengalis from Karimganj district of Assam. There were fires on some garbage dumps. That’s how the residents of Chawngte control their garbage. I crossed the bridge over Tuichong and went to LADC. I met two drunken Lai boys. They insisted me to take a photograph of them, so I did. I showed their picture on the camcorder screen. They were excited. I visited the Buddhist temple of Chawngte. Many young men and women were lighting candles.
1st March 2010 was Monday. In the morning I went to the bazaar. It was crowded with people. Chakma women in traditional dress were selling and buying goods. The bazaar had a vegetable section, dry fish section, meat section and clothes section. I saw 2 men were selling Chinese made electronics goods. I was told they were from Chin state of Burma.
Barapansury
Courtesy of CMS I visited Barapansury. It’s located about 30 kilometers north-west of Chawngte and at the border with Bangladesh. The road to Barapansury is mountainous and un-paved. It took more than an hour to arrive in Barapansury. Along the way I saw some Chakma hamlets. One hamlet I came across was located in a valley. There were about 10 to 15 households, all built with thatched roof. However there was a well built house with corrugated metal. It was a church built by the Christian missionaries.
Barapansury is a big village or town, probably even bigger than Chawngte. It’s also relatively flat. Unlike Chawngte, the population is exclusively Chakma. I had the opportunity to chat with many residents of Barapansury.
I visited the border with Bangladesh. Indian government is building a barbed wire fence about 100 meters from the international boundary. Many Chakma houses fell between the fence and the boundary. The river Thega acts as a natural boundary between India & Bangladesh. I met a Chakma lady who just crossed the border from Bangladesh. She told me she was originally from India. She married a man from Bangladesh. Until now she can easily walk to and from India, but she was worried once the fence is complete her movement would be difficult if not impossible. She invited me to have a cup of tea in her home across the border in Bangladesh. I politely refused.
Then I crossed the fence and went to the bank of Thega. Members of the Indian BSF (Border Security Force) were nowhere to be seen. It was Holi or spring festival day. Probably they were busy celebrating the festival. About 100 meters from where I stood, I saw a Chakma woman on the other side of the river and international border. She was in front of her thatched roofed house holding a baby on her right arm observing at the Indian side. Probably she was nostalgic about how at ease she could visit her neighbors on the other side of the border. Probably she was filled with trepidation she can no longer flee to the India when violence erupts on her side of the border.
Again I saw a missionary church atop of a hill in Barapansury. I was told missionaries funded by western money were trying every trick in the book to convert the Chakmas in Mizoram.
Road to Aizawl
On 2nd March 2010, we started our journey around 4:30 am from Chawngte. This time I am traveling with an MDC. His father was ill in an Aizawl hospital. He was going to Aizawl to see his father. About an hour and half drive we joined the NH54. NH54 is the main highway that will join Aizawl with Akyab of Burma. NH54 runs north south right in the middle of Mizoram. The highway bisects Mizoram right in the middle. The highway will be the main trade route for Mizoram, she will no longer depend on Silchar for trade.
The driver was much measured and cautious. I felt safer and could give attention to people and scenery on the road. After about an hour on the NH54, I saw a group of 7 Chakma farmers wearing pinon-khadi relaxing in commuter shelter. Probably they were looking forward to a hard day ahead. Probably there was a Chakma village nearby. NH54 is deep inside the Mizo territory. I was surprised to see the Chakmas so far from the CHT border and deep inside the Mizo territory. The scene repeated few more times. Few kilometers later I saw a group of 5 elderly Chakma men & women basking on a fire lit near the highway. Again I saw 2 Chakma women and a man hauling firewood on their backs. I asked the driver to stop and took a photograph. From a brief chat I came to know that they live near the highway.
Lunglei
Around 10:30 am we arrived at Lunglei. Lunglei city is built atop a mountain. The MDC, the driver and other travel companions went to a restaurant for lunch. I thought it was too early for lunch. I decided to wander around the city. Because of high altitude, the thin air easily becomes polluted from the vehicle emissions. As I was wandering, I met a Chakma girl wearing pinon-khadi in her 15. She told me she lived in a suburb west of Lunglei. Then I went to the restaurant where my companions had gone for lunch. To my surprise, the restaurant owner was a Chakma lady. Lunglei is very alien from CHT. It looks more like a city in the Andes or Tibetan plateau. Yet Chakmas are living and trading here with a trade mark pride in their dress and identity.
Chakma House in Aizawl
We arrived in Aizawl before sunset. We went to the Chakma House. Chakma House in Aizawl is funded and maintained by CADC administration. It’s a two storey building. At the time of my visit construction work was going on to add 2 more stories. The guest house has a kitchen and dining room at the ground floor and sleeping rooms at the 1st floor. There are 5 permanent staffs. They do all the chores of the guest house and they are all from the Lai community. I was amazed to see how well they could cook Chakma dishes.
Next day on 3rd March 2010, I flew out of Aizawl to Kolkata.
Conclusion
The Chakma community in Mizoram suffers from multitude of problems. In CADC I had seen chronic poverty. There is no hospital for 40,000 people. The electricity, water supply and telecommunication are unreliable even by Indian standard. Nearest hospital is at Lunglei, which is at least 5 hours drive from Chawngte. I was told, Chakmas in Lunglei and Mamit district live even in worse condition. There is lack of health care, lack of jobs, lack of education and lack of commerce.
The relationship between the Chakmas & Mizos had never been easy. For historical reason, there is a deep mistrust between the Chakmas & Mizos. It’s not surprising, since Mizos and Chakmas had very different backgrounds. For centuries Mizos had been hunter gatherers and Chakmas had been nomadic farmers.
According to Mr. Nirupam Chakma MLA, “Mizoram has an acute un-employment problem”. Mizoram has the 2nd highest literacy rate after Kerala. Government was unable to create white collar jobs that could match the high literacy rate. There is a large number of educated Mizo youths who are unable to find jobs and unwilling to work with hands.
Combination of mistrust and lack of white collar jobs create a step motherly mentality among the Mizos. For example, Chakmas are 10% of the state’s population. Yet there is virtually no Chakma in the Mizoram police. There is no Chakma in Mizoram civil service. There is virtually no Chakma in the Mizoram University. Mizos are unwilling to share with the minorities whatever few jobs the government can create. Needless to say there are no health care facilities in Chakma inhabited areas.
The Chakmas in Mizoram are hard working and proud of their heritage. They live in a difficult environment. There is a systematic discrimination against them. Chakma communities specially, those who live in remote areas are vulnerable and need help in health care and education. They need investments and loans to create jobs. Else they become prey to hunger, disease, loan sharks and the missionaries.
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