For any democracy to grow, there need to be healthy debates among its citizens on the issues that concern them. Over the years, since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the democratic ethos in India is gradually declining. But to the surprise of many, Arunachal has, slowly but surely, witnessed a culture of debate and discussion emerge in recent years.
It is a known fact that Arunachal Pradesh, which is largely inhabited by tribes, became part of India only in 1947 and before that, the concepts of governance, democracy and the like were unfamiliar to us. However, there have been instances that show that Arunachal is finally maturing.
First is the heated debate witnessed over the defacement of the civil secretariat’s ‘wall of harmony’ in Itanagar. While one section strongly supported the activists for defacing the wall, claiming that it is a democratic right of citizens to dissent, another section heavily criticised the anti-dam activists for their actions and claimed that they had disrespected the work of fellow artists.
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Both sides engaged in a feisty debate on social media, however, the debate was mostly carried out in an intellectual manner, without making personal attacks as are usually witnessed in Arunachal. The government initially went a bit overboard by arresting the two activists. But it seems that it immediately realised its mistake and, therefore, did not press the case further, paving the way for the release of the duo from jail.
The second was the debate over a banner installed by the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) declaring Itanagar the ‘Hindi capital’ of Northeast India.
The majority of the citizens took offence to the banner and suggested that, instead of Hindi, the IMC should promote local languages. After much criticism, IMC mayor Tame Phassang conducted a press conference and tried to explain the reason behind installing the banner. To his credit, despite the heavy criticism the IMC faced, the mayor graciously invited people for more debates on the issue and declared that he is open to all kinds of debate and discussion.
One more example of the growing maturity exhibited by the tribes of Arunachal is how tribal Christians have responded to provocations and insults hurled at them by the right wing. Despite extreme provocation by Hindutva supporters seeking the cancellation of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) afforded to tribal Christians, there has been no adverse reaction. The tribal people are proud of their ST status and earlier, such a demand would have been met with much anger. However, people now seem to believe that debate and discussion are better options, which is a good sign.
For a tribal society in which clan and tribe bodies play a critical role in deciding many aspects of life, this new culture of debate and discussion shows that we are finally moving towards democratic norms in a true sense.
Coming back to the issue of Itanagar being declared the Hindi capital of the Northeast, there is no doubt that the majority of people in Arunachal speak Hindi, but this is not something to be proud of. We should, instead, be proud to be speaking our own tribal languages.
Tamilians are proud Indians, but for them, the Tamil identity and language come first. Today, our tribal languages are on the verge of extinction. Efforts should be made to preserve these tribal languages.
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I belong to the Nyishi tribe and I often joke that today, there are different categories of Nyishi based on the languages they speak at home. There are North Indian Nyishi (those who speak Hindi at home), Assamese Nyishi (those who converse in Assamese), Hindmese Nyishi (those who speak a mixture of Hindi and Assamese), and lastly, Nyishi (who speak in Nyishi language at home).
I am pretty sure that the situation must be the same for almost all tribes. Today, people no longer feel proud of their own tribal languages.
Simply carrying placards that say ‘Loss of culture is loss of identity’ during various rallies, or wearing a traditional dress during tribal festivals will not save the tribal identity. Language is the most vital part of any identity.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) always propagate the Hindu-Hindi movement. We cannot allow our tribal languages to be consumed by Hindi nationalism.
This article was first published on the Arunachal Times.
