The bias of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) towards the Chakma-Hajong refugees in Arunachal Pradesh is becoming very obvious with each passing year. The NHRC turns a blind eye to the concerns raised by the indigenous people of the state. In yet another instance of its bias towards the refugee settlers, the NHRC recently directed the deputy commissioner of Changlang district to submit its action taken report (ATR) on the complaint filed by the Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) over alleged “harassment and false prosecution of the Chakmas’ human rights defenders of Dharmapur village by the Miao ADC” by 8 August.
The NHRC went to the extent of threatening action if report is not submitted. In Changlang district, day by day, indigenous tribes like Singpho and Tangsa are becoming minorities in their own land. There are several allegations of human rights violation by refugee settlers. The land belonging to indigenous people are being grabbed by the settlers. But the NHRC will never take cognisance of these issues. It seems that for them only Chakma-Hajong are victims and indigenous Arunachali tribes are oppressors. The ground situation is not like that. Although the Chakma-Hajong refugees have suffered a lot and deserve to be treated with humanity, the NHRC should also look into the case of how the indigenous tribes are becoming minorities in their own land. Who will take care of the rights of these indigenous tribes? It is time the NHRC started acting neutral. If it continues to act in a biased manner, the people of Arunachal will not trust it.