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Recently, NSCN(IM) stated that the agreement(related to Karbi Anglong district) with government is not acceptable if it is against Rengma Naga tribe
Key updates
- The Chief Minister of Assan had announced that the Karbi Anglong peace accord is expected to be signed anytime in the current week.
- NSCN (IM) in a statement said that the government of India and the Assam government were finalizing the proposal to create Karbi-Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC) in Karbi Anglong, which it called “an agreement to appease the six rebel outfits like
- Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF).
- People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCKL).
- United People’s Liberation Army (UPLA) and
- Three factions of the Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT).
Demands of Rengma Nagas
- The Rengma Nagas in Assam have written to the Union Home Minister demanding an autonomous district council amid a decision by the Central and the State governments to upgrade the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) into a territorial council.
- The Rengma Naga Peoples’ Council (RNPC), a registered body, said in the memorandum that the Rengmas were the first tribal people in Assam to have encountered the British in 1839, but the existing Rengma Hills was eliminated from the political map of the State and replaced with that of Mikir Hills (now Karbi Anglong) in 1951.
- Narrating its history, the council said that during the Burmese invasions of Assam in 1816 and 1819, it was the Rengmas who gave shelter to the Ahom refugees.
- The petition said that the Rengma Hills was partitioned in 1963 between Assam and Nagaland at the time of creation of Nagaland State and the Karbis, who were known as Mikirs till 1976, were the indigeneous tribal people of Mikir Hills.
- “Thus, the Rengma Hills and Mikir Hills were two separate entities till 1951. Karbis have no history in the Rengma Hills.People who are presently living in Rengma Hills are from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya
- Even the National Socialist Council of Nagaland or NSCN said that the Rengma issue was one of the important agendas of the “Indo-Naga political talks” and no authority should go far enough to override their interests.
Sixth schedule of the Constitution
- It provides for autonomy in the administration of these areas through Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) and the Regional Councils empowered to make laws in respect of areas under their jurisdiction, which cover land, forest, cultivation, inheritance, indigenous customs and traditions of tribals, etc. and also to collect land revenues and certain other taxes.
- As of now, 10 autonomous councils exist in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
- The specified tribal areas are the North Cachar Hills, Karbi Anglong and the Bodoland Territorial Area in Assam.
About Rengma tribe
- Rengma is a Naga tribe found in Nagaland and Assam states of India. According to the 2011 Population Census of India, Rengma population stands at 62,951.
- In Assam, the Rengma tribals are found in the Karbi-Anglong, the then Mikir Hills.
- The Rengma Nagas are divided into two groups: the Eastern Rengmas and the Western Rengmas.
- The harvest festival of the Rengmas is called Ngada. It is an eight-day Ngada festival that marks the end of the agricultural season.
- Ngadah is celebrated just after the harvest, towards the end of November.
Source: The Hindu
