Itanagar: On July 29, the Mon Autonomous Region Demand Committee (MARDC) revived its old call for the creation of a Mon autonomous region within Arunachal Pradesh – and urged chief minister Pema Khandu to invite the committee to initiate a talk with the state and Central governments at the earliest.
It’s been nearly 17 years since the MARDC’s issue was first raised in the frontier state in December 2003; it is, therefore, natural that many young Arunachalees are unaware of the context that had led to such a demand.
In 2004, the state assembly, during the chief ministership of Gegong Apang, had passed a resolution in support of the demand for the autonomous region. The region was to include Tawang (with three legislators), West Kameng district (with four legislators) and Longding, Tirap and Changlang (with 12 legislators to be part of a proposed Patkai Autonomous Council). Apang’s detractors along with 18 legislators from these five (then four) districts would have toppled the government, had he not conceded to their demands for these two autonomous district councils (ADCs). The request was thereafter forwarded to the Centre.
Let’s be upfront here. Although the demand by the MARDC was veiled as an equaliser for socio-political and economic development of the Monyul or Mon areas with the rest of the frontier region, it was born out of a political tussle to exert control over the region between two powerful contemporaries of the time – the late Dorjee Khandu and former state minister late T.G. Rimpoche.
In short, this later led to the creation of the Department of Karmik and Adhyatmik Affairs (DoKAA) in the state as a special purpose vehicle and funds have been granted without a question raised or asked by the other tribes of the state. Keeping aside the technicalities related to Schedule V and VI of the constitution, no region of the state was starkly different from the other then. Today, however, the Monyul region and most parts of the eastern belt of Arunachal have leapfrogged ahead in terms of infrastructure. Then and now, the Tirap and Changlang districts are still lagging behind, alongside the carved-out district of Longding. They have themselves to blame as much as the rest of the regions in the state for misusing meagre resources.
Subsequently, the issue of ADCs was intermittently raised to keep the serving chief ministers of the day on tenterhooks by various political forces.
Thus, the “July 29 event” took many by surprise, when BJP chief minister Khandu was petitioned by his older cousin and party legislator Jambey Tashi and the chief minister’s own coterie. Never in the brief history of Arunachal politics have loyalist MLAs used the ADC as a political tool against its own patron chief minister. This act belies the recorded history of ADCs, and thus the July 29 event has to be more than what meets the eye.
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Absence of community leaders of the Monyul region (comprising Monpa, Aka, Miji, Sherdukpen, Sartang and Bugun) in the meeting held in Tawang to revive the demand was intriguing. Except for a group of Monpa community leaders, other group members were neither informed nor invited to be a part of the petitioning exercise. Thus, the July 29 event was more to marginalise opposition voices and thus, reflects a lack of seriousness in pursuing the creation of an ADC.
On the eve of Khandu’s departure, after spending a fortnight in his hometown, attending a political event with larger ramifications on the state’s politics cannot be without an ulterior design, especially when the state is reeling under stress from the COVID-19 crisis coupled with allegations of financial mismanagement during the pandemic.
The questions are: Was it a diversionary tactic to wean attention from the listless performance over the years of the Khandu government? Was it an attempt to project Khandu as the undisputed leader of the Monyul region? Or, was it both?
The July 29 event was necessitated by the prevailing political environment, where Khandu’s leadership has come under the scanner for the government’s listless performance since a massive mandate in the 2019 assembly polls; more so since March 2020 wherein several of his ministers have been eclipsed by bureaucrats, leaving them crippled and disgruntled. Party MLAs are rendered jobless, with no funding for their developmental agendas, and are suffering in silence. There seems to be a fissure beneath the surface.
A district map of Arunachal Pradesh.
With a non-existent opposition in the legislature, there is no imminent threat to Khandu’s government. But in the mid or long term, there could be threat to his chief ministership from within the BJP, which is a foregone conclusion. It is unlikely, though, that a challenger could emerge from amongst the BJP legislators or even Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao, who received generous support from Khandu to be elected.
The most potent threat is from thrice-elected Lok Sabha MP and twice Union minister of state Kiren Rijiju, who is relatively more seasoned and more popular. Rijiju happens to be from the Miji tribe, the third largest community in the Monyul region.
As of today, there are two stalwarts in the BJP from the state, and both are from the Monyul region. Hence, the July 29 event wasn’t surprising to discerning observers – it can be looked at as a political ploy to project Khandu as the undisputed leader of the Monyul region, pre-empting any possible challenge.
The political quagmire doesn’t end here. The MARDC has few takers today within the Monyul region. The Aka tribe (the second largest tribe in the Mon region after Monpa) is willing to support the MARDC in exchange for a separate Lower Kameng district. The Miji tribe (the third largest tribe) is demanding a Bichom district and Rijiju has been its main proponent since its conception. The Sherdukpen (the fourth largest tribe in Mon region) are a disgruntled lot after their lone legislative assembly seat of Kalaktang was wrested away by a Monpa candidate.
Also, the August 5 meeting at Bomdila, of the Mon region’s community leaders belonging to Aka, Miji, Sherdukpen, Sartang and Bugun tribes, can be seen as a counter to the July 29 event. Even their decision to do away with quota for the monks, offering just one seat to Tawang and appointment of chairmanship on rotational basis in the proposed ADC reflects their deep-rooted suspicion.
The rest of the community in the state too has raised red flags on the issue, compelling the government to call for a consultative meeting of community-based organisations and civil society leaders for day-long deliberations on August 19, wherein powerful bodies like the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU), Galo Welfare Society, Adi Baane Kebang and several others voiced their opinion against any move to resurrect the generation-old issue during the meeting chaired by deputy chief minister Chowna Mein, along with seven other cabinet ministers.
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In anticipation of any favourable move in support of the ADC demand in the ensuing three-day assembly session from August 27, another influential youth organisation, the All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) has called for a 36-hour bandh in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) during the same period. In response to that, the state police has mobilised additional paramilitary forces from the Ministry of Home Affairs, besides requisitioning forces from other districts.
Wary from a not-so-long-ago gory chapter, top cops aren’t taking any chances. The last such bandh calls against the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) issue during February 2019 saw anarchy on the streets over several days – crores worth of goods were looted and properties destroyed in arson, and four people killed in police firing. After that, Khandu’s resignation was demanded.
Without consensus amongst the 26 major tribes in the state, the July 29 event is a storm in a tea cup, albeit laced with an ulterior motive. On a brighter note to end with, it has sparked off the much needed debate on The State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986.
The article with the heading “July 29 Event: Political optics gone wrong?” was first published in The Eastern Sentinel on August 14, 2020. It has been updated to include the latest developments and edited to suit the national readership.