Tipaimukh Dam and the question of our survival.

Tipaimukh Dam and the question of our survival.

By Lal Dena

Flow forever and live forever,

Thou Barak, our mother,

We shall cling to thee,

As we cling to Supuinu.

            The forefathers of Hmars used to chant the above song as they immersed into the deep blue waters of Barak by invoking the blessings of Supuinu who was believed to be the mother-waitress of the Barak River.  In the pre-Christian era, Supuinu was believed to have a controlling power over the current and all living beings in and around the river. If she was pleased, the people enjoyed bountiful harvest and longevity; if she was not pleased, she stretched out her ugly arms thereby causing untold suffering and destruction in the form of earthquake.

            For the Hmars and other tribes who have been living on the bank of Barak river for the last three hundred years or so, the river has been from generation to generation the only means of transport and communication. The perennial flow of water carried uncountable source of income and wealth to the people. As the Nile serves Egypt, the Barak serves this area and it can be rightly called “the Gift of the Hmar area”. In view of its economic potential and navigability throughout the year for transportation of goods from Tipaimukh to Silchar, the Barak is the pride of the people. The fact that the river gives us all our domestic needs is clearly reflected in our folksong which runs thus:

            Flow slowly, thou famous Barak,

            To west where businessmen swim;

            Flow slowly, carrying the sweet scent of Hmar hills,

            Thou carry the boat loaded with gingers and chilies,

            Til-seeds(sifung) and cotton thou carry to Silchar,

            A big bellied mahajon is happy, saying,

            ‘Ami loibo, dibar mon ni;

            Dor bhalo, oile dibai;

            The economic activities of the people entirely depend on this river. The people sell their agriculture products in Silchar and carry back their domestic needs through this river. The alluvial and sediment soils deposited on both sides of its bank are, indeed suitable for the cultivation of different cash crops, and as such, the river is really a boon to the people living there.

            Against this background and context, we are looking forward to the construction of the proposed Tipaimukh High Dam (THD) with anxiety and fear. We are closely associated with all the survey works conducted on the moveable and immovable properties to be affected by the dam right from 1982. Detailed survey program was served to all villages of the area and public meetings were held where free and frank public discussion on the proposed dam took place. Survey of all gardens, paddy fields, lands, houses, etc. was done carefully with the help of concerned village authority members of the area. Enquiry reports were submitted to the EE (CWC) batch by batch in proper forms and the first survey work was completed on 23 November 1982.

            After the completion of the survey work, most of the farmers began to lose interest to look after their gardens and left them uncultivated ; after 21 years, these  lands and gardens are covered with bushy plants and trees. Some villages, namely, Bejol, Rapvadung, Dampui, etc. were shifted to safer places. Some houses including shops particularly at the Tipaimukh village were also shifted to other places. Even before the start of the construction of the dam, a good number of people have already been displaced. Who is responsible for this sorry state of affairs? Fear and anxiety are now looming large in our minds. We, the poor farmers, collected donations and sent our representatives to contact the concerned authorities at Shillong in 1983. Accordingly, we met CWC high officials, planning advisor, ministry of home affairs; including Shri. S.C. Nath, the then EE (CWC) NE investigation and other concerned officials and had several round of discussions on the issue of rehabilitation, compensation and other related issues. We returned home, of course, with tall promises that our grievances would definitely be given due consideration. When we talked about compensation and rehabilitation for displaced persons, we are clear in our mind that there are two categories of displaced persons: physically displaced persons and those persons whose agricultural land are to be submerged. Job reservation and special concessions are also to be made on this criteria.

            We know that an MOU was signed recently between the Government of Manipur and the NEEPCO, Shilllong on 9 January,2003. We cannot block government’s decision for the construction of the dam as we cannot stand against the strong current of the Barak river. But we make it clear that what concerns us most above everything is our treasured land. Our society, in contrast to the industrialized or advanced societies, is a communitarian social system which does not recognize individual permanent ownership of land from time   immemorial. History is our witness. Rochunga Pudaite, in his “The Education of the Hmar People, 1963:51 rightly comments on land ownership among the Hmars thus,” Significant among the Hmar system of village government is the fact that the land belongs to the people. It is the common property of the people and the chief and ministers (councilors) are trustees with the power to see to the rightful use and distribution to each homestead for cultivation. No one can claim full ownership of land. It belongs to him as long as he uses the land, and ceases to be his when he moves or abandons the land.” There was no patta system in the hill areas. John Shakespeare, after his transfer from Mizoram (Lushai Hills) to Manipur as political agent in 1905 during the British rule, traveled throughout the length and breath of the hill areas and started demarcating lands under different tribal chiefs and this is called in local term ram lekha (boundary paper). It does not covey any private ownership of land. As a matter of fact, land management in our areas has been solely in the hands of the democratically constituted village authority members. The MOU has talked about land acquisition and transfer or sale of land. So long as land right is within the community, we prefer to lease or rent our land for specific and for purpose on definite conditions.

            Lastly, the MOU has also envisaged elaborate security arrangement for the dam site. We endorse the view expressed by the leaders of the Hmar Student’s Association (HSA) Joint Hqrs, Imphal in their memorandum to the chairman, NEEPCO, Shillong, dated 17 March, 2003 which says: “The heavy militarization in the dam site will not augur peace and development; instead, it will definitely have a serious impact on their culture and custom and also leads to massive human rights violation.” For any project or scheme, people’s support is the best guarantee of security. There is no substitute for it.