Monday Musing
[ Amar Sangno ]
They say that every child deserves a life of dignity, education, and hope. Unfortunately, for scores of children from Tirap, Changlang, and Longding (TCL) districts, the pursuit of better life and happiness has become like chasing a mirage. Unverified data suggest that a staggering number of children from the TCL areas, particularly Tirap and Longding, are engaged in menial labour across the state.
Sadly, many children and youths are working as housemaids and helpers in fellow tribals’ houses, especially in non-TCL areas, for survival and livelihood. The number is reportedly increasing at an alarming rate year after year, which is rare among other indigenous tribes of the state.
“Most of them are engaged in menial work as they’re school dropouts. They couldn’t continue their studies due to poverty and left home for greener pastures. Drugs, insurgency, and unemployment drove them away. They’re artistic, hardworking, and disciplined,” said a man in Itanagar, who once was an employed youth from the TCL region.
Isn’t this a collective shame for our state, especially our political and social representatives, including student leaders?
Taking care of one another is ingrained in tribal custom and culture, so it’s extremely rare for a tribal boy to work as a maid or a helper in another tribal’s house, except in the case of the marginalised Puroik tribe, who were subjected to bonded labour.
Among the children from the TCL region, many fell victim to allurement, exploitation and child-trafficking, though some are consensually allowed by their parents to work as maid and helper, with the condition that their children be given proper education and care in return for household chores (legally termed child labour).
Many of these children are subjected to exploitation, trafficking, physical abuse, sexual exploitation, mental trauma, and sometimes even death, which often go unreported to the authorities.
Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson Ratan Anya informed that there have been seven child labour- and abuse-related cases reported to the commission so far.
What is the factor behind the exodus of underaged youths from TCL area?
Persistent poverty, the curse of pernicious opium addiction, economic backwardness, decades-long insurgency (extortion and parallel taxation), low per capita income, severe infrastructure deficit, geographical isolation, modernity needs, lack of familyplanning and the chieftain system are said to be the factors leading to the alarming number of youths from TCL choosing menial work.
From an economic perspective, heavy dependence on low-productivity subsistence agriculture (jhum cultivation) is also blamed for poverty. A substantial number of people in Tirap and Longding districts reportedly depend on shifting cultivation, resulting in limited yields and slow economic growth.
It’s obvious that poverty has wrecked them apart, leaving them struggling to keep up with fast-growing modernity. The curse of pernicious opium addiction has gripped the region for decades, having a rippling effect on their socioeconomic growth. Keener eyes would also see minimal opportunities in industry, micro, small and medium enterprises, or private sector jobs, combined with skill and education gaps, and restricted economic diversification. The continued activities of insurgent groups, involving extortion and parallel taxation, create insecurity and discourage investment.
Why this chasm of disparity?
The TCL region has a dedicated department called the department of Tirap, Changlang and Longding affairs(DoTCL), established in 2003. Longding was added in 2017 after its bifurcation from Tirap district. The objective of creating a dedicated department for insurgency-affected districts was to bridge socioeconomic gaps and address developmental and security-related challenges pertaining to these three districts.
The department manages targeted funds and schemes for development activities, infrastructure, stipends, grants, and peace-building efforts in the region.
The DoTCL has been getting assured allocation of Rs 62 crore every financial year for the last three years. Since 2017, it has been getting Rs 50 crore fund annually till the 2023-24 financial year. It is learnt that the fund has to be divided among 12 Legislative Assembly constituencies, meaning that each constituency gets Rs 4.50 crore, excluding administrative expenses.
Other than students’ stipends, TCL funds are largely focused on infrastructure development, including approach roads, retaining walls, and protection walls. In 2024, only a meagre amount was spent on livelihood, sustainable, and student-oriented projects, such as tea plantation/cultivation and free coaching for Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission aspirants. No funds were spent on long-term poverty alleviation projects.
On being asked why the funds are not spent on youths and people-oriented projects like poverty alleviation, one of the legislators from the TCL region responded that fund received through the DoTCL is “peanuts,” which they have to spend to fill critical gaps in the respective constituencies.
“It is not enough for poverty alleviation. We demanded Rs 10 crore for each constituency. You cannot build even a good community hall with Rs 5 crore these days,” he added.
Some social activists from the region have raised concerns that DoTCL funds are heavily misused and diverted to non-people and benefit-oriented sectors. They allege that funds allocated under the DoTCL are largely pocketed by the respective legislators, depriving genuine beneficiaries, and thus widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
To suture the gap, the policymakers need to invest substantial funds in children’s and youths’ futures today to secure a better tomorrow for all. Every child deserves a life of dignity, equal opportunities, better education, and hope.
