OUR CORRESPONDENT
BORDUMSA: In a heartfelt appeal for greater understanding and peaceful coexistence, an ordinary Chakma resident of Arunachal Pradesh has urged civil society organisations, student bodies, political parties, and indigenous communities to look beyond prevailing perceptions and listen to the lived experiences of a community that has called the state home for generations.
The open letter, which was also shared with The Sentinel, carries a deeply personal appeal from its author, who said that he was writing neither as a political leader nor as an activist, but simply as an ordinary Chakma born and raised in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh.
"I am writing to you as an ordinary Chakma - someone who was born in these hills, who has never known any other home," the writer said, seeking to open a conversation with the people of the state rather than speak about them from a distance.
At the heart of the letter is a plea for the community to be understood through its history and everyday lives rather than through social media discussions, rumours or assumptions about its identity, culture, and origins.
Recalling the rehabilitation of Chakmas and Hajongs in the region during the 1960s, the writer said that the communities were provided land and various facilities at the time. He claimed that over the subsequent decades, however, sections of the community experienced difficulties relating to land, residency documentation, and access to government benefits.
For many families, he said, the uncertainty has extended across generations. Children are born in Arunachal Pradesh, grow up in its villages and towns, build their lives and families there, yet some continue to face questions over documentation and their place in the society they regard as home.
The letter also speaks of economically vulnerable families working as tenants or agricultural labourers without owning the land on which they depend.
The appeal does not ask Arunachal's indigenous communities to surrender their concerns or their right to protect their homeland. Rather, it seeks a more inclusive conversation in which those concerns can coexist with the aspirations of Chakma families who have spent generations in the state.
The writer, meanwhile, acknowledges that years of mistrust cannot be overcome through a single letter. Yet he expresses hope that honest conversations could gradually replace assumptions with understanding and allow communities to see one another beyond political debates and statistics.
Also Read; Rare Himalayan fish recorded for first time in Arunachal’s Tawang