Bijhu Nijeni 2011 - MAADI

studied outside the state of Mizoram – in
Hindu missionary, Christian missionary or
Buddhist missionary schools or wherever
they got a chance to continue their education.
As a result, almost very Chakma village
has at least a graduate now. But these
educated, modern day Chakma youths are
facing the next biggest hurdle: getting employment.
Knowing well that the educated
Chakmas will one day fill the state departments,
the Mizoram government had legislated
a few hundred “Recruitment Rules”
(RRs) to bar candidates without knowledge
of Mizo language from getting state employment.
In fact the RRs say that the candidates
must have studied Mizo language
up to Middle School level. The RRs clearly
violate Article 16(1) of the Indian Constitution
which pro¬vides that “there shall be
equality of opportunity for all citizens in
matters re¬lating to employment or appointment
to any office under the State”.
Yet, these RRs are now being aggressively
applied to deny jobs to the educated
Chakmas. In the examination held on
6 December 2010 for the primary and
middle school English subject teachers, 50%
of the questions were in Mizo language.
This means that a day has come into reality
when even a graduate from Delhi University
or JNU, for example, will be potentially
denied a teaching post in a primary school
if the candidate is not well verse in Mizo.
This makes the minorities more vulnerable
to repression and less empowered to deal
with it.
Third: Grab the land
The final blow is: grab the land of
the Chakmas. Better uproot them. Therefore,
conservation of forests and environment
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has become a sexy policy for the state government
of Mizoram to evict the Chakmas
and grab their land. Earn laurels, fill your
purse and displace the Chakmas in the name
of tiger reserve or forest & wildlife conservation.
On 20 January 1976, the Development
Commissioner, Ex-Officio Secretary
to the Government of Mizoram issued a notification
declaring a vast area in the western
belt of Mizoram, inhabited by Chakmas
and Brus, as Dampa Wildlife Sanctuary under
Section 18 of the Wildlife Sanctuary
(Protection) Act 1972. Later on 13 October
1980, the Administrative Officer,
Tuipuibari Group Centre in then Aizawl district
served eviction notice to 17 villages
(Chakma,Bru, Mizo), including Chakma
concentrated Silsury village on the ground
that these villages fall within the Dampa
Wildlife Sanctuary area (now Dampa Tiger
Reserve). However, in a historic order in the
case of Jalandhar Chakma v. Deputy Commissioner
of Aizawl (AIR 1983 Gau. 18) the
Gauhati High Court struck down the notification.
The High Court held that the said orders
were “without jurisdiction” and hence
must be set aside. The Chakmas won the case
but still Chakmas from Avapui and Keisalam
etc were evicted. Entire Silsury village was
saved but unfortunately, today, no one remembers
who Jalandhar Chakma is!
Today, a total of 227 families of
Andermanik who had been evicted from
Dampa Tiger Reserve area are once again
being evicted to extend the area of Dampa
Tiger Reserve where not a single tiger has
been sighted for many years. Notably, the
entire cost of rehabilitation running into Rs
22.7 crores will be borne from the Central
exchequer and not a single paisa is coming
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