Monday Musing
[ Tongam Rina ]
The warmth near the fireplace in a traditional home is not only soothing during cold winter evenings but also very reassuring. There is always something happening. As the old and young sit around the fireplace, sharing food, stories, and thoughts about the future, the atmosphere feels comforting. In Siang Valley, after covering yet another protest rally against the deployment of armed police and the Siang upper multipurpose project itself – a mega hydropower project – we sat down near the fireplace on that cold winter night.
I had a deadline to meet to send my reports, which I worked on with my colleague, Indu. We managed to send them on time and had the plans for the next day’s assignment and travel to two more villages sorted. Finally, we were able to relax after an emotionally and physically draining day of meeting people and following the protests under the scorching winter sun. By this time, our host had already gone to bed. It was around 11 pm when our host, looking seriously panicked, rushed to where we were sitting.
“Is there an outsider? The police are on their way. Someone warned me,” he said. I wasn’t surprised, as I have seen similar situations multiple times in my reporting career, where the police barged into people’s homes uninvited, as if they were criminals. The police arrived, checking the registration numbers of the all three cars to see if any matched ours. The police also had car details of human rights and anti-mega dam activist Ebo Mili and Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum legal adviser Bhanu Tatak, both passionate advocates of consent.
Apparently, there had been no complaint, but the police had taken pictures after arriving at the scene and pretended that someone had made a complaint. Sometimes, the police think we are as naïve as they are, not realising that we can easily put two and two together. It was almost laughable, but if you’re not used to the workings of the police and their intimidating tactics, it can be quite unpleasant and unsettling.
Our host, despite his anxiety, invited the officer in. The officer came in alone, didn’t bother to take off his boots, which I found disrespectful, as everyone in the household – like in most homes in our state – keeps their footwear near the entrance. He asked some questions about the owners of the cars and explained that some “outsiders” were there. Someone had already started making tea, and his colleagues – armed policemen – were invited in.
I know that state-sponsored guns are as violent as any other gun, but there we were, each finding comfort in the warmth of the kitchen and the presence of the elderly, even though they looked worried.
I am always amazed by the graciousness of tribal elders. It’s a traditional thing to welcome both invited and uninvited guests and make them feel comfortable.
Who is an outsider and who is an insider in your own home? This is the conundrum and narrative being set by the state in Siang Valley. While the state has not explicitly defined who qualifies as an outsider in their own home, the tone is clear: they want to frame anyone vocal against the government’s decisions as such.
While the protests continue against militarisation, Chief Minister Pema Khandu visited Boleng, a town in Siang district where nearby villages are still protesting against militarisa-tion. His speech was filled with contradictions. Instead of trying to convince the people during his speech – incidentally, a victory party celebration for his fellow cabinet minister – he squandered the opportunity by blaming outsiders for the protests.
“Do you own land here?” the chief minister asked, directing his question at the imaginary activists from outside, who apparently have loads of money.
Yours truly has a question for him: Does the NHPC own land in Siang Valley, chief minister? Does the state own land there? Are they exempted because the state is to profit at the cost of an indigenous community that is already marginalised by the state?
If you listened to the chief minister’s speech, at times it seemed that he was trying to convince himself rather than the people. His rhetoric, often accompanied by a smirk, was devoid of facts or empathy. He said the government isn’t yet sure how many megawatts the project will generate, but it’s a multipurpose project. He described the project as a national effort to counter China, while simultaneously claiming that the dam would only proceed with the people’s consent. He also spoke passionately about the need to counter China’s dam-building activities upstream.
If it’s a national project, everyone should be concerned. It’s not the chief minister’s business alone. The environment, as well as national security, is something everyone should be worried about. However, the chief minister, by using coercion and showing no patience for logical discussion, seems to have forgotten that some issues are both local and international, like the case of Siang. Therefore, caution and objectivity are necessary in order to avoid escalating the fragile situation.
The chief minister did not address how he intended to pacify the villagers opposing militarisation and the project itself. Instead, he dismissed their concerns, labelling them an instigated group of people incapable of making informed decisions about their land.
As someone associated with the anti-mega dam movement, I know this is a tried and tested tactic to discredit activists and communities who genuinely care about their land and rivers. The chief minister need not waste his time insinuating that activists are responsible and that thousands of villagers are being misled by them. Better still, he could ask his Prime Minister, Modi, who opposed the Siang dam in 2014 in Pasighat, won the election, and then came back to announce that dam-building is important for the nation.
The current minister from Boleng, Ojing Tasing, was one of the most well-known anti-mega dam activists before he became an advocate of the project. Assam businessman and politician Ashok Singhal, now the BJP boss in Arunachal, in fact headed an organisation – Jana Jagriti – opposing dams. Many MLAs from Siang have opposed dams. For that matter, even the BJP itself opposed the dam. Tarun Vijay, Rajya Sabha member and National Spokesperson of the BJP, spoke in the Rajya Sabha on 9th May 2012 about the need for dialogue on the protests in Tawang. The BJP, then in opposition, also issued a press statement stating that the government should engage in dialogue.
The opposition was not heeded, leading to the police murder of three people in Tawang years later during a protest against the arrest of Lobsang Gyatso, a monk leading the opposition against the dam.
During his speech, he could have at least acknowledged the mistake of attempting to force armed police on his fellow citizens and assured the people that the government would not repeat such actions and would only proceed with the project after obtaining consent.
Khandu said that people in Siang are being misled. Was he referring to himself and his colleagues, who have become puppets of the Indian state, focusing on a so-called national project while forgetting that the nation should be about the people and their aspirations, not the destruction of a river that will displace thousands of villagers while leaving the area vulnerable to environmental devastation?
Will the government care to explain whether those who have made careers in business, politics, and other government offices after being prominent voices against the mega hydro projects – and who have now become spokespersons for these dams – made money from their activism, received foreign funding, or were rehabilitated into silence with enticements? It sure looks very covetous.
