Recently, All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), in anticipation of the imminent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Arunachal Pradesh on February 9, 2019 to lay the foundation stone for Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, has made a slew of claims and allegations concerning the Chakma and Hajong people of Arunachal Pradesh.
Incidentally, altogether 156 Chakma families will be affected due to construction of Hollongi Greenfield Airport whom the state government is supposed to rehabilitate under “Land for Land” scheme as per the provisions of LARR Act 2013. However, there is widespread anxiety and apprehension about their future as they will be uprooted and relocated.
AAPSU stated, “the continued influx of illegal Chakma and Hajong migrants has outnumbered the legally brought Chakmas and Hajongs in the state.” AAPSU further alleged, “their exceptional population growth as compared to the local indigenous tribes is posing a major threat.”
Meanwhile, Chakma Rights and Development Organisation (CRDO) based out of Diyun, in the district of Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh, terming AAPSU’s sweeping allegations and claims “shooting in the dark” expressed grave concern. In a statement, CRDO said that AAPSU often confuses Tibetans and Chakma-Hajong people and makes such baseless claims, which in turn stigmatise the Chakma-Hajong people of Arunachal Pradesh as refugees and also criminalises them.
Refuting these AAPSU claims and setting the record straight vis-à-vis falsely clubbing together of Chakma and Tibetan people, CRDO stated, “As per official records, 2748 Chakma and Hajong families were finally rehabilitated in erstwhile NEFA, now Arunachal Pradesh by the Government of India under a definite plan of rehabilitation during the period 1964 to 1969. Since their settlement, the Chakmas have made Arunachal Pradesh their home and they have been living in Changlang, Namsai and Papumpare districts. Refugee benefits have been stopped to Chakmas after their rehabilitation unlike the Tibetans who chose to continue to get benefits governed by Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy (TRP) 2014.”
Further, busting the population explosion myth of the Chakma people in the state, often propagated by AAPSU, CRDO shed light on the true state of affairs.
Based on the census survey data and the Chakma and Hajong population figures as recorded in the state government’s published white paper, for the period from 1964 to 2011, CRDO found that the population has grown from 14,888 to 49,784 which is a net addition of 34,896 people during the said period. This translates to a growth of 234% in 47 years or 4.98% per year. Similarly, the first census done for NEFA was in 1961 and the population figures are available. For the 50-year period from 1961 to 2011 for Arunachal Pradesh, the population increased from 3.37 lakh to 13.84 lakh respectively. This translates to 311% growth for 50 years or 6.22% per year which is higher than that of Arunachal Chakma-Hajong rate of growth.
Population growth is non-linear and therefore using the same (1961-2011) data, CRDO found the Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for overall state population to be 2.87% while for Chakma Hajong population from 1964 to 2011 during the 47-year period it is 2.60% which is lower than the overall state population growth rate.
Now, in terms of the decadal growth rate for the most recent decade 2001 to 2011, CRDO calculated it for the overall state of Arunachal Pradesh and found it to be 26% while increase for Chakma and Hajong population, during the same decade stands at 17% which is significantly lower.
Finally, CRDO found the Chakma Hajong population as a percentage of the overall Arunachal Pradesh population to have declined from 4.3% in 1971 to 3.6% in 2011 which irrefutably allays the alleged fear of indigenous people being swamped by Chakmas-Hajong population.