Editor,
Through your esteemed newspaper, we, the Adi students studying at Rajiv Gandhi University, Doimukh, would like to share a very unfortunate incident that occurred during the recent Solung festival that was celebrated on the campus on 14 September, and which saw the participation of students from the NERIST too.
This is a very serious matter, concerning a very basic right of all the indigenous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, and also various communities all over the country.
Every year, all the different tribes at RGU have been celebrating their respective festivals harmoniously at a designated venue within the campus. This year too, we had sought permission from the authorities prior to the occasion, but the request was vehemently turned down by the vice chancellor. We were denied access to said venue without any specific reason, and when some of our Adi faculty members went to seek permission on behalf of the students, the VC verbally abused them and threatened them of dire consequences.
They were verbally threatened with a fine of Rs 50,000 each, and a month’s pay was also supposedly to be held up if they didn’t comply with the VC’s diktat – all the humiliation and embarrassment only because we requested for a festival venue.
It was only after the intervention of the registrar that the celebration was allowed eventually. The venue was cleaned pitch perfect the very night of the celebration.
The event sadly serves as a clarion call for all the indigenous communities across Arunachal and around the country, and should act as a precedent that their basic fundamental right to celebrate their own festivals, in their own state, may be questioned and curtailed by a bunch of official power-mongers using their power in their divisive and selfish ways.
Aggrieved Adi students of RGU and NERIST