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Bru community pins hopes on Tripura assembly polls
In January 2020, the Union government and the Brus signed an agreement for the resettlement of the displaced families in Tripura
Sompomoia was 30 when his village in Tuipuibari in Mizoram’s Mamit district was burnt during ethnic violence, which forced his family to flee to neighbouring Tripura in October 1997. They hoped to return but the hopes faded quickly. The family settled in Naisingpara, 190 kilometres from the state capital of Agartala in North Tripura district.
Quarter of a century later, Sompomoia still lives in what began as a camp in a bamboo and tin shelter. Hundreds of other displaced people from the Bru community chased away from their home also live there. Their only hope that rises once in five years is that the February 16 assembly elections will bring some upliftment.
“We did not have a lot of land but my family had some teak trees. But when the violence broke out, we had to flee, leaving everything behind. All of that is gone,” said Sompomoia, who is now 55.
Like many Brus in the camp, Sompomoia’s family depends on the cash dole and ration the Tripura government provides. He hopes for better days ahead.
In January 2020, the Union government and the Brus signed an agreement for the resettlement of the displaced families in another Tripura district. The Brus would receive plots of land measuring 30 by 40 square feet, ₹1.5 lakh to build houses, a fixed deposit of ₹4 lakh and free ration for two years.
“The place which has been identified is 10 kilometres from Naisingpara. There are no facilities there at the moment but we are hopeful the assembly elections will mean things get done, and when that happens, we will shift there,” said Sompomoia.
UPROOTED FROM HOME
Brus, also called Reangs, are indigenous to parts of Tripura, Mizoram and Assam. In the 1990s, majority Mizo groups in Mizoram demanded the removal of Brus from the electoral rolls as they were considered outsiders.
There was resistance. The Brus demanded the creation of an autonomous council. This led to violent clashes in Mizoram forcing nearly 5,000 Bru families (nearly 40,000 people) to flee their homes between October and November 1997 and seek safety in Tripura.
They were then settled in six relief camps in North Tripura, the first of which was in Naisingpara. Makeshift homes were constructed of bamboo, wood and tin sheets at the camps. “Twenty five years since, the place has not changed a great deal. There are hundreds of small huts, improper electricity supply, and families have to fetch water from nearly 500 metres away. There is no hospital or government school nearby either,” said R Laldongliana, the in charge of the Naisingpara camp.
There have been efforts to repatriate the Brus to Mizoram. In 2010 and 2014, 1622 families (8573 persons) returned to Mizoram in six batches. The Union government, the governments of Mizoram and Tripura and the Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples Forum signed an agreement in July 2018 for repatriation of 5407 Bru families (32876 persons) to Mizoram.
As a result of the 2018 agreement, 328 families comprising 1369 people returned to Mizoram by November 2019. But the rest stayed and have asked for a permanent settlement in Tripura, afraid of a recurrence of violence in Mizoram.
In January 2020, the Centre, Mizoram and Tripura governments and representatives of Bru settlers signed another agreement for the settlement of 6959 Bru families in Tripura with a financial package of ₹661 crore.
But three years after the agreement was signed, the resettlement process is far from complete. Some families have moved to 16 new settlements, but many continue to live in the old shelters.
“Most of the places selected for resettlement are not suitable for living as they are located on slopes of hillock and not connected to main roads. They do not have proper water supply and the soil is loose and not fit for house construction,” said Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples Forum general secretary Bruno Msha.
At the Naisingpur camp, Brus alleged that they have stopped getting the cash and food support that they received from the government since 1997. The package that they used to receive stipulated 600 grams of rice daily for adults, 300 grams for children, ₹5 every day for adults and ₹2.5 for children. The cash dole stopped in January 2022. They have not been supplied rice since December 2022, residents said.
“People in the camp have a shortage of food, and children who study in nearby private schools have not had their fees paid and have been barred from attending classes or taking exams,” said Laldongliana, the in charge of Naisingpara camp.
Some members of the Bru community alleged that this was a pressure tactic to force them to move to the new resettlement camps.
Officials said this was not the case, and there was a lack of clarity. “The cash dole is provided by the Centre to Tripura and the state distributes among the Brus. There is no clarity on why it has stopped since January 2022. Rice ration has not been supplied since December due to issues related to payment between food and revenue departments,” said Kanchanpur sub-divisional magistrate Rajat Pant.
There have been other niggling issues. While 6959 families were part of the 2020 resettlement agreement, 428 others were left out apparently due to technical reasons such as mismatch in names, split in families, or non-inclusion in population surveys Mizoram and Tripura governments conducted.
“Several Brus have two names; one Mizo and another Bru or Reang. When the surveys were conducted some mentioned their Mizo names in some documents and in others the Bru/Reang name got recorded. This led to confusion and exclusion of names,” said a resident.
Zohmingliana Molshoy, 40, who lives in the Naisingpara camp with his wife and two children, said he fails to understand how their families got left out despite staying in Tripura for over two decades and providing all documentation to government agencies several times. “I have written several times to the Centre and Tripura government to conduct a fresh population survey and include the remaining 428 families in the resettlement package, but to no avail,” said Molshoy, who works as an education volunteer and is also the president of the Bru Displaced Split Family Demand Committee.
Officials blamed the Brus. “The surveys conducted were verified and re-verified by the Brus and their leadership. These families will be included in the resettlement package at a later stage, but first the focus is on the 6959 families included in the 2020 deal,” said Pant.
ALL EYES ON THE ELECTION
With a plethora of grievances, Bru community members said they hoped the Tripura assembly election will bring solutions to their problems related to cash doles, rations and resettlement
Laldongliana said politicians keep in touch with them as they believe they can influence how people in Naisingpara will vote. “They make promises over the phone as well. But no one has come to our camp seeking vote or made any public announcement regarding our issues. We want written commitment from parties on addressing our problems.”
On Tuesday, Tipra Motha president Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, who is fighting the polls with the upliftment of indigenous people as his primary plank, was scheduled to visit the camp. But he did not eventually visit.
Tipra Motha is contesting 42 seats including Kanchanpur that encompassed Naisingpara. Debbarma has backed the resettlement of Brus in Tripura.
Until October 2022, 7165 Brus were enrolled as voters in Tripura. In a special summary revision of the electoral roll in November and December, a similar number was added. These votes could prove crucial.
“The Khasnampara camp is located around 28 km from Naisingpara and we have 3172 registered voters there. But the polling station meant for them is located around 7 kilometres away. How can one expect these people to travel and vote that far? There should have been a separate polling station for them,” said Vipin Kumar Reang, the in-charge of Khasnampara camp.
Kanchanpur sub divisional magistrate Panthowever said the decision regarding polling stations was taken in October 2022. Panthowever said the number of Bru voters at Khasnampara increased during special summary revision in subsequent months and that it was impossible to have a separate polling station.
“Travelling to the polling station would be an issue for the voters in Khasnampara. But to ensure that they vote, we will arrange vehicles for them.”
