Carte Blanche - Arup Kumar Dutta
‘For instance, though Tura in Garo hills is hardly a few hours drive from Guwahati, how many of us know who Gamseng is?’
The seven states of the Northeast call themselves the seven sisters, but we rarely see genuine sisterly affection between them. It is only when two citizens from two different communities of this region confront the harsh realities of discrimination in a place like Delhi that they acknowledge their common identity as individuals from the broader entity called India’s Northeast. But within the region itself it is all fangs and claws, with sectarian and community considerations providing grist to mills of politicians.
Take Assam for example. It has border problems with Nagaland, Arunachal and Meghalaya, something politicians from each of the states do not hesitate to exploit. As Assam is the biggest and most strategically positioned “sister” of them all, many communities from the smaller states harbour aversion towards the Assamese, sometimes rightly because the display of arrogance on the part of the latter in the past. Often intense dislike exists between communities within the same state, as in Manipur where the rivalry between two ethnic groups threatens not only to rip apart the social fabric of the State, but also to destroy its economy. In Arunachal, the wondrous diversity of tribal communities has been a bane rather than a boon as far as forging a regional identity is concerned, with each ethnic group choosing to assert their differences rather than commonalities, thereby bringing about societal disharmony.
There are two negative aspects to such un-sisterly behaviour. First, it enables outsiders, especially the astute politicians of the nation’s capital, to pursue the divide-and-rule policy which the British had so effectively used to administer this difficult region. I am sure many non-political but enlightened individuals in every state of this region feel a sense of humiliation when they see political “leaders” from Delhi fly down to their respective capitals to decide who will become the chief minister. It is as if a new brand of imperialists have replaced the British and continued with the latter’s colonial policy. This also explains the decades of indifference and neglect faced by the Northeast till mounting public anger — especially when it assumed the insidious guise of insurgency — as also events such as the Sino-Indian war coerced Delhi to sit up.
At the same time, it has prevented the political leadership of the region from erecting a common platform upon which to voice their grievances at the national level. It is well known that individually the states of the Northeast are under-represented in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, but if they were to unite under a common banner irrespective of their political or community affiliations, they would constitute a formidable bloc. There have been numerous attempts by progressive MPs to form such a common platform but, if actions speak louder than words, not much has been achieved in attaining the objective. A recent report of only one MP from the Northeast being present in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on and passage of a crucial bill relating to the region is a stark reminder of the role being played by our representatives at the national level. In fact, an organisation like Northeast Students’ Union is doing a far better job at voicing aloud the all-too-many common problems besetting the area.
This brings me to the heart of the problem — one of the primary reasons behind our inability to present a common front, as well as the prevalent internecine discord, is that even six decades after Independence and the expansion of communication technology and infrastructure, we know very little about each other’s history, culture and way of life. While some books in English have been written about the divergent communities peopling the hills and valleys of the area, these are mostly targeted towards outside readers. Sad to say, there are very few books in the regional languages of the Northeast about the historical and cultural background of different communities which can inform the people about other ethnic groups apart from their own.
For instance, though Tura in the Garo hills is hardly a few hours drive from Guwahati, how many of us know who Gamseng is? Or why the name Balpakram is so important to the Garos? Gamseng, of course, is the mythical hero of the Achiks as the Garos like to call themselves, while Balpakram is a place of spiritual significance to them. How many individuals in Assam have read the Adventures of U Don Putit written in Khasi, or heard of Khasi icon Saso Tham despite Shillong being just a stone’s throw away?
Or, for that matter, does anyone in Garo or Khasi hills know about the Manipuri hero Lamabam Kamal, or read their classic Khambaton? Not many in other parts of the Northeast know about the Mizo folk hero Chhurbura or read their book titled Lalawmpll. It indeed is surprising that neither state governments nor private enterprise have taken any initiative in the six decades since Independence to acquaint the diverse components of the Northeast about each other’s societies and cultures. Ignorance is the mother of bigotry, while knowledge is the cornerstone of amity. Much of the conflict and strife besetting this region might perhaps have been avoided had we known more about each other!
This is precisely why I congratulate a well-known local NGO, Anwesha, for undertaking a project for inter-regional translation of books in association with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA). The target-reader at the initial stage will logically be the new generation, but even adult readers will benefit from the project. For the time being Anwesha has started work of selecting six books each from Assamese, Bodo, Garo, Khasi, Manipuri and Mizo and translating them into the above-mentioned languages. It might be a small step for this reputed organisation, but it is indeed a giant step for Northeast!
Though it might sound like a simple project, given the communication constraint in the area, the logistical difficulties were stupendous. Anwesha constituted a nodal committee comprising expert representatives from all the six languages, which, in turn, formed individual language advisory committees in their respective state headquarters. The advisory committees not only selected six suitable manuscripts, but also had these translated into English so that they could then be translated into the other languages. With the completion of the preliminary process, a three-day workshop of various language advisory committee members along with translators and illustrators was held in December to thrash out problems of comprehension in translation and illustration. The final output would be a fantastic 180 books in six different languages of the region retelling folk-literature, depicting adventures of beloved local heroes, humorous short stories for young adult et al. One important component would be six biographical books telling about the lives of important personalities of a particular region. For instance, the biographical book from Manipur has sketches of five famous Manipuri personalities — Lamabam Kamal, Hijam Anganghai Singh, M.K. Binodini, Bir Tyikendrajit and Khwairakpam Chaoba — individuals who should surely have by now become familiar to the other six “sisters” of this region.
With Anwesha leading the way, one can only hope that other organisations would take up similar projects so that we can learn more about each other through the medium of translated books. Government-sponsored publishing institutions of different states can be involved by their respective governments in the exercise so that more books in more languages are covered. As observed by Robert Frost, good fences make good neighbours. But it is my sincere belief that knowing your neighbours makes for even better ones.
