In news
Part of North have witnessed violent protests recently over the proposed resettlement of Bru tribals
About the Bru tribe
- Reang (Bru) are one of the 21 scheduled tribes of the Indian state of Tripura.
- They also live in Mizoram and Assam.
- They speak the Reang dialect of Kokborok language which is of Tibeto-Burmese origin and is locally referred to as Kau Bru.
- The Bru are the second most populous tribe in Tripura.
- In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
- They are primarily an agrarian tribe. In the past, they mostly practised the Huk or Jhum cultivation like most other Tripuri tribes.
- They were targeted by the Young Mizo Association (YMA), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) and a few ethnic social organisations of Mizoram. They had demanded that the Bru be excluded from electoral rolls in the state.
- In October 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Bru fled Mizoram’s Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts to Tripura where they were sheltered in relief camps.
- Since then, over 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in nine phases of repatriation, while 32,000 people from 5,400 families still live in six relief camps in North Tripura.
Their Culture
- Like other Tripuri people, the Reang are polytheists and believe in multiple Gods and Goddesses.
- Their important festivals are Buisi, Ker, Gonga Mtai, Goria, Chitragupra, Hojagiri, Katangi Puja, Lampra Uóhthoh.
Source: The Indian Express
