[Assam] Asom Adivasis, beware of Jharkhand leaders!

[Pradip Kumar Datta]

          Asom Adivasis, beware of Jharkhand leaders!
In the struggle of the Adivasis of Asom for ST rights, did the Jharkhand leaders ever raise the issue with the Centre or come to Asom to show solidarity with the Adivasi cause? Did they ever talk to the Centre about the problems faced by the Adivasis of Asom? Even yesterday when some of the Jharkhand leaders met the Prime Minister, they raised the issue of mining in their own State without saying a word on the Asom situation in relation to the Adivasis here. So why are the Jharkhand leaders landing up in Asom now? Either to make political gains for themselves or to distance the Adivasis from the greater Asomiya society, of which the Adivasis are a part. Such leaders should mind their own business and desist from aggravating the situation here. They should also remember that the Adivasis of Asom have not invited them to the State. And on no occasion in the past did the Asom Adivasis ever seek support from the Jharkhand leaders, whether in the matter of bonus or healthcare
 problems or any other issue in the tea gardens. Therefore, at the moment, the Jharkhand leaders should not be welcomed here. (See Editorial 1)
   
   
  No More Divide Please  (Sentinel Assam)
In the wake of the retaliatory attack on Adivasi protesters by an enraged Beltola mob last Saturday in Guwahati, some Adivasi political heavyweights from Jharkhand landed up in the city to show solidarity with the affected community. While we have already condemned the violence unleashed in the streets of Beltola last weekend and weighed the pros and cons of the ugly mob mayhem, we in equally strong terms decry the attempt by forces from outside the State to wedge further and deeper divides in the greater Asomiya society. First thing first. Leaders like Sibu Soren, Arjun Munda or Babulal Marandi who came all the way from Jharkhand to Asom to advocate the Adivasi cause in the State, are not aware of the meaning and implications of the ‘‘greater Asomiya society’’ — a mosaic of diverse ethnic groups and migrant communities, except for the illegal Bangladeshis. These Jharkhand leaders do not know of the thread that binds the greater Asomiya society into one harmonious unit. And
 the wounded Adivasis who the Jharkhand leaders have visited in Asom to remind them of their roots and thus ‘sympathize’ with their cause, are essentially a component of the greater Asomiya society. The Jharkhand leaders are perhaps not introduced to the age of assimilation that started way back in British India when the Adivasis were brought to Asom from the mainland by the British to work as labourers, especially in the tea gardens of the region, and when they gradually got assimilated in the Asomiya society to form a composite demographic mix — sustaining on the basis of trust and goodwill towards each other. An isolated incident as Beltola’s cannot be allowed to destabilize the greater Asomiya society; it cannot be allowed to create, promote and deepen new divides. However, the rush of leaders from outside the State as though to provide a soothing balm to the Adivasis affected by last week’s Beltola violence, would rather dilute the age-old coexistence of the Adivasis
 and the rest of their brethren in the State. And by ‘‘Adivasis’’ in this column, we obviously mean the Adivasis who have already become Asomiya in every sense of the term. This, the Jharkhand leaders ought to realize as and when they appeal to ‘their brethren’ in Asom. 
It is an Asomiya problem then — the Beltola incident and the chain of events triggered by it. Therefore, the Jharkhand leaders have no business in Asom to show anyone the way, for it is the greater Asomiya society and its characteristics that will counter the problem plaguing it and work out a solution of the problem in its own right. Since, as we have already said, the Adivasis are essentially a part of the greater Asomiya framework, the need of the hour is a concerted endeavour to regain the lost space of trust and goodwill, and ultimately of peace and progress. And yet, if any politicians are out to exploit the situation and draw mileage out of the hurt feelings, distrust and animosity among the communities of the State, they will never be welcomed in our midst. This is the message that The Sentinel would send across to the Jharkhand leaders visiting Asom and trying to be one with the Adivasis of the State. Where were these leaders when the Asomiya Adivasis had faced
 other problems in the past? Let it be said here that it is the dynamics of the greater Asomiya society that will, in due course, be the best leveller and healer of all wounds. But no more divide please, and no more lecture from outside the State too.

       
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