HT Digital
GUWAHATI, Feb 21: Demonstrations and protests broke out at the border checkpoint of Assam-Arunachal Pradesh on the National Highway in Namsai district this morning, as Arunachal Pradesh is celebrating its 39th Statehood Day.
The demonstration, where effigies were torched, was carried out by the Lekang unit of the All Moran Students’ Union (AMSU) and supported by locals. The protesters put forward their age-old demand for Permanent Resident Certificates (PRC) for the inhabitants of Moran who are residing in the Namsai district.
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The protests took a wide range into day-to-day life since there was a shutdown in Mahadevpur Town, Mahadevpur Chariali, and Dirak Gate.
The protesters also expressed their growing discontentment regarding what they believe is an unwillingness to accept their rights as residents. A majority of residents in the area argue that having been residents of the region prior to Arunachal Pradesh’s statehood, they are still not afforded the basic right to permanent residency.
Such continued denial, they say, has bred an overwhelming sense of injustice and alienation. A member of AMSU Lekang said that the community was left with no option but to boycott celebrations of Statehood Day as a way of voice-lifting their demands.
The demonstrations featured slogans against Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and Chief Minister Pema Khandu, with protesters alleging that the Moran community has been intentionally denied basic rights and privileges that have been extended to other communities within the state.
Despite having historical and cultural relations with the state, their demand for PRC status has not been fulfilled even after years of peaceful and violent demonstrations.
In 2019, the BJP state government under Chief Minister Pema Khandu attempted to resolve the matter by granting PRCs to six non-Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (Non-APST) communities in Namsai and Changlang districts, including the Morans. The move, however, reignited large-scale violent protests by indigenous groups.
The 2019 unrest left three dead and mass property damage. Protesters lit vehicles, shops, businesses, a minister’s residence, government offices, and even the grounds of the very first Itanagar International Film Festival. The disturbances further brought about transport service suspension, a shutdown of internet and social media, and suspension of newspaper publishing for three days.
The ongoing protests are proof of the increasing frustration among the Moran community who continue to demand rights and recognition in a state they have been part of for centuries. While the government has tried to resolve the issue in the past, not doing so has only added to resentment and hence become a perennial contentious issue in the socio-political landscape of Arunachal Pradesh.
