JTICI Vol.2,Issue 2, No.1, October 2014, pp.1 to 29
The Philosphers for NEFA:Understanding the Construct of Consent in Arunachal Pradesh through the Experiences of the Apatani
Abstract
The State assimilates non-state autonomous people in order to own their resources- their bodies, spirit and other physical (natural) resources. This is done through legitimizing its authority by creating consent among the people to whom all resources actually belong to. Louise Althusser argues, to do this the state uses both myth and illusions. Myth, that people still has the control over those resources. Illusion, that it is for people’s own welfare. Such facades are needed to hide the fact that the people have actually lost all its control to the nation-state. At present Northeast Arunachal Pradesh stands crowned, where the national and historical socialization is almost complete. This paper looks at the process of state-assimilation of the non-state autonomous communities and historical experiences of consent creation in Arunachal Pradesh through the lived experiences of the Apatani community. It critically look at the national integration policy and the use of education as its instrument. The philosophical foundations laid by Verrier Elwin and Jawaharlal Nehru for erstwhile NEFA (present Arunachal) and their actual implementations runs paradoxically at present Arunachal Pradesh.
The paper was presented in an International Seminar “Indian State and Indigenous/Tribal Peoples: Revisiting Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Guarantees”, organized by Bodoland University & Centre for Social Justice and Governance, Tata Institute of Social Sciences at Kokrajhar on 28-29th March 2014. The seminar was supported by the Tribal Intellectual Collective India. I am immensely indebted to Dr. Walter Fernandez (he is very polite and kind), Ms. Rubu Mamung and the reviewers for their most needed comments on my writing. I extend my humble apologies to readers for any mistakes left in my writing despite so many proof readings. Also, I take responsibility for all the ideas expressed in the paper.
Ms.Rimi Tadu worked with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati and is currently pursuing further Research on issues of women, tribes and the North East.
Introduction
In the recent spurts of news reports and social media rhetoric on Chinese trespasses into Indian territories of Arunachal Pradesh, the local juntas were braving the central government to give a fitting reply to the “aggressors”. People proclaim and re-asserted their loyalties to the Indian nation state in unison. It became a pet election theme for political leaders during their election campaign in the state. Such patriotism and show of allegiance towards the Indian State is in drastic contrast to the recent past of this entire region. Half a century back, if the local histories were written it would have told the story of bitter annexation, subjugation and manoeuvring of this entire region by the Indian state; and about the futile resistance put by the local people against the new ruler. A century prior to that, the same set of tribal groups in this highland never even existed in the consciousness of India or British India. They were outside any State system of the plains of Brahmaputra in the south or the Tibetan kingdom of the north. Despite the fluid socio-economic interaction in few bordering stretches at the foothills, the hill people and the plain States were strangers to each other and by nature of their interests they were even averse to each other. Yet, there is this complete transformation in the attitude of people towards the State system. Given its own course of political evolution, a civilization would take centuries to arrive at the modern democratic political State system; unless an alien catalyst is introduced to brings a tangential turn in order to eliminate the churnings of political revolutions and reformations, which, anyways, still gives an impression of evolution. In Arunachal, the process of ‘state-assimilation’ involved a complex political development where an entire State system was superimposed on stateless people. The socialization that was followed is so perplexing that the State assumed and received the highest esteem and loyalty from its people. This paper will illustrate and discuss on the State policies and activities in Arunachal Pradesh that was instrumental in the consent creation process during the early period of the state formation.
The policy makers were faced with unique challenges during the early formative period of this territorial entity as part of the Indian nation-state. The total incognito status of the territory in terms of its terrain, population inhabiting it, their political temperament and above all their allegiance to neighbouring countries. However, the most definitive challenge (rather fear) that dominated the entire thinking behind the policy formulation was the alleged threats faced from China who shares a much contested international boundary plus the various nationalist movements within and across the northeastern region with overlapping national boundaries. Losing this ‘buffer region’ to any of these contestants would be as if to have its enemy in its courtyard. It is important to note that the ‘enemy’ here is the enemy of a particular State, the ‘contest’ of claims and counter claims for this territory begun only after the territorialisation of this fluid and borderless hill region. However, what seems to be a borderless and nonsensical land mass to State’s imagination was already marked, named, exploited, cultivated, hunted-on, owned, fought out for and exchanged by the people. The rivers, the landscapes and the flora and faunas are already culturally and historically earmarked in indigenous knowledges and memories. If the state has its written history, documents and constitutionalized laws to define and claim its rights, the tribal communities have their lived realities and cultural memories that establish them as the indigenous owner of the land. In their autonomous communities they were oblivious of territorial competitions of States. It was after the establishment of the national government that for the first time the indigenous tribal communities were losing control over their resources- both physical and social, to the State in a one way transaction (or overtaking). The growing State control and claims on resources is correspondingly proportional to the loss of control by the people. While the people’s articulation of such loss tends to be vague (because it ‘sounds’ illegal to question the State) and regressive (because there is no remedy to it); the State’s narratives are laid as ‘constitutional’.
For the purpose of this article, empirical data related to the education policy within the identified context is analysed drawing from a study that the author herself conducted. However due to very limited secondary sources on the subject, primary sources such as official documents and communications and field interviews are used. However, at the very outset it must be noted that the paper is not about policy analysis of the education system per se in the state but rather an unravelling of the varied socio political processes behind the policy papers that are presented before the public. There were several challenges in doing such kind of study which tries to look beyond and look critically at what is obvious in the official documents and axiomatic in general understanding. The sources are scant as many the official documents which goes into Personal or Confidential files, which is very common for this state, are often inaccessible. While many were subjected to incidental damages like misplacement or not properly maintained, many are destroyed during periodical dismantling of documents. Even while one get hold of some important document, the challenge is that these documents are the record of official narratives and represent only official perspectives. It is only on a closer look at these records that the individual, their subjectivity and varied nuances behind those papers comes into life. Such critical readings brings out another set of story/ies which are usually shielded by bureaucratic filtrations; and it is these hidden stories that sometimes reveal the complex background and processes behind decisions, stories and descriptions. Equally essential is the narratives and voices collected through field interviews to represent the field realities. For this purpose field work was conducted among the Apatani communit to gain their perspective. The juxtaposition of these field data with the State documents reveals the inconsistency between, what State present as a coherent, unified and compelling narrative, the policy designs that is put in front and the policy objectives that are set behind.
Understanding consent creation
Several thinkers have delineated the apparatuses that the State uses to manufacture consent. Using a Marxist theoretical framework, Louis Althusser identifies two kinds of State apparatuses used in consent creation; they are the Repressive State Apparatus (which includes the government, administration, army, police, courts, prison, etc..) and the Ideological State Apparatuses [which includes religion, education, family, political, trade-union, communication (media, author’s own insertion) and culture]. Based on how consent is created Antonio Gramsci explains that the State uses three apparatuses to create consent- an education that plays positive educative role to create consent, the law that plays a negative educative role by limiting and punishing the defaulters, and other more private forms and initiatives that brings agreement. All these apparatuses of the State are used in disciplining, civilizing and socializing people to agreeing and consent giving.
The implicit intentionality of the State in consent creation becomes more prominent when one sees the State as a Class State which regulates to protect class interest. Class in this context refers to dominant interest group that manifests itself through State activities. In this manner the State represents an ideology, a coherent system, a coercive force (which is generally hidden behind the facade of law) – that “educates”, upgrades and turns its subjects into submissive State resources in order to serve the interests of the (class) interest group(s). Since the services of State resources should flow continually and efficiently without obstructions like revolt, resistance or internal coup, the State creates the illusions of a regulatory State. This regulatory State uses the myths, which can be roughly represented as constitution, laws, electoral mechanisms etc., that Antonio Gramsci argues the State uses to merely ‘satisfy the elementary popular demand’ to keep people satisfied.
A State whose boundaries are vulnerable from the outside cannot afford dissents from within. Therefore, it has to have people’s consent either willingly or through consent that is manufactured. forced consent creation. These processes do not remain mere political rhetoric of a moral and ethical State but have far and wide ranging practical implications. Though, it would be erroneous to understand ‘consent’ in terms of tangible ‘contract’ or intangible ‘covenant’ between the State and the people, where both the parties are aware of terms, context and moment of occurrence. It also needs to be noted that in the absence of people’s own history, it is easier for the state to create its myth of sovereignty, nationalism and legitimacy. In this context with reference to Arunachal and more specifically the Apatani, who were the main source of the study, one could go as far as to argue that the State system was imposed on the stateless people. On the other hand, the silences observed during field interviews giving away the repressed thoughts and sometimes the implicit and explicit unvoiced ideas against the State. In the light of all these tensions the State had to socialize and nationalize its people towards the manufacturing of their consent. As a result, unlike the other states in the region, Arunachal Pradesh is considered as the most peaceful state where so far there has been no separatist demand within the state and sense of patriotism towards India is high.
The disjunction of Arunachal in the Northeast
The northeast of India, often termed as ‘disturbed’ area for various nationalist and resistance movements, has its unique socio-ethnic identity and political history based on this uniqueness. The numerous and distinct autonomous tribal communities across the region strongly resisted against any colonial annexation of the hills, their homeland. Post independence when the transfer of power from British to India took place, India inherited and imposed its claim on this territory or frontier (which was by then already been ‘territorially imagined’ and divided across early forms of administrative units of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura); hence, the resistance against colonial Britishers got carried over to resistance against India as well. In the past six decades of this continuing struggle, some groups have resorted to arms against the forcefull domination of India while others have taken the constitutional route to negotiate their autonomy in the form of autonomous councils. The rest are trying to gather themselves in-between in the unsettled political space and trying to move on.
Arunachal Pradesh makes a striking disjuncture in the Northeast India. Here, the national media and the state media never fail asserting its loyalty towards India. The recent entry of Democratic Alliance of Nagaland political party in Arunachal was met with strong opposition in social media and newspapers and found student unions demanding apologies from the party representative for introducing the party in the state. They found it as ‘outrageous’ and ‘insulting’ and termed it as an attempt to malign patriotic and nationalist image of the state. For such nationalist loyalty, Arunachal Pradesh is often touted by central government as a ‘model state’ for its successful integration policy peaceful and progressive strides towards development and integration with Indian nation-state and economy ,while other states in the region are pulled for their ‘backwardness’ owing to not following the ‘Arunachal model’.
Such stories are useful for two educative purposes for the nation-state. First, positive educative purpose i t helps in gaining co-operation, disciplining and training its subject population by defining and setting the role models. It has to be mentioned here that setting up a nationalist role model and their acceptance by local population is actually part of a complex socialization process than how it appears at face value (later sections will discuss on the subject in some detail). Second, negative educative purpose, by defining who are the defaulters, anti-nationals, ‘terrorist’ and criminals; the characteristics that are to be discouraged or eliminated. Thus, this state presents a very interesting site for understanding the nature and formation of a nation-state identity.
The constituent assembly formed a sub-committee under the chairmanship of Gopinath Bordoloi to formulate the constitutional framework for the governance of northeast frontier territories after India achieved its formal independence. This territory which was under the province of Assam during the British period was divided into several regions and tract including the North East Frontier Tract (NEFT), which later became the present state of Arunachal Pradesh minus the Tuensang district. While the Bordoloi committee recommended inclusion of the territory under the Provincial Government of Assam. However, the centre decided to deflect the recommendation and constituted the territorial entity called Part B for this frontier tract, and brought it under the direct control of central government under the Ministry of External Affairs with the Governor of Assam as its local agent. When hue and cry was raised in Assam against the Indian government for creating division between hills and plains, it was stated that this provision is because to the special situation of the region and that ultimately it will be merged with the Province of Assam in due course of time. As it turned out, this was never to happen. NEFT became the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) in 1954, under Indian State as an agency looked after by the Governor of Assam, who in return is the agent of the centre in Delhi. In 1965 it was transferred from subject of the Ministry of External Affairs to the Ministry of Home Affairs. When NEFA was constituted as a Union Territory in 1973, its identity, with proper physical boundaries, complete census data and the new nomenclature as Arunachal Pradesh, was concretised. The name Arunachal Pradesh which is derived from Sanskrit, has a strong nationalizing claim, a nation of a particular class. By 1987, when Arunachal Pradesh attained its statehood, the people who populated the state belonged to a new generation, a new lifestyle, new economy and environment. Geographically, the network of roads penetrating deep into the hills and air-force facilities brought every part into direct access of the State and through military bases to anchor its control, its grip were well established. This way the territorial imagination of this state by the State was complete. In words of Ranabir Samddar: “Territoriality means besides enforcing control over access to the territory and reifying power or “containing” events but also mapping out “political regions,” disciplining memory and realizing the “space-time” union in the career of a nation-state.” Now it was viable to give them the constitution, laws and electoral mechanisms and few rights to govern themselves because till then the State conveniently believed that people were not fit to govern themselves. However, unlike other states and regions with dominant tribal population where fifth and sixth schedule of constitution, which legally recognize the historical rights and the customary laws of the indigenous communities, Arunachal Pradesh was not given such constitutional status. Instead the legislative setup and Panchayati Raj Institution in the line of other states where tribal groups form the minority.
The credit for this official success is given to series of policy makers, advisors, governors and administrators- the most illuminated of them are the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself, Verrier Elwin, the Advisor to Tribal Affairs, Nari Rustamji, K. L. Mehta, P. N. Luthra, etc.. However, it was the Jawaharlal Nehru and Verrier Elwin who are adjudged as the architect of the NEFA policy philosophy that paved the way for national integration. Nonetheless, Virgnius Xaxa finds such assumption little ‘far-fetched’. According to him this model succeeded due to certain pre-conditions that were peculiar to Arunachal at that time, they are, lack of modern education, absence of a critical mass of middle class who could have politicized the situation, and the demographic situation, which was widely dispersed, coupled with low percentage of tribal population in the state. He concludes that it is these factors that actually helped in the success of the policy and that now there is more integration of the state with the rest of India than with the rest of the region, both emotionally and intellectually. This formulation requires little bit more problematization by going deeper and ask a different set of question in order to understand the intentionality of the State. Without such problematization one would not be able to see the State’s ability in influencing and affecting those factors. As a result one would fall into the trap of false and petty arguments based of the perceptions created by the State, which in return further feeds the myth of legitimacy.
In past 70 years since the introduction of the first school, a critical number of literacy has been attained in the state (66.95 percent literacy in 2011 from mere 7.1 in 1961). If modern education was supposed to bring such enlightenment and critical consciousness among the people as Prof. Xaxa argued then modern education should have been the priority threat to the State. Whereas it was observed that introduction of modern education and universalizing education was one of the earliest and priority State program since the colonial British government period. This was because school education is one of the important apparatuses of the State in socializing and conditioning its subjects. To demonstrate how education conditions its pupil James W. Loewen conducted an experiment with his live audience. He asked his audience to predict how people from different educational background must have responded towards America’s invasion on Vietnam. Contrary to audience’s view that the more educated people must have condemned the invasion, it was found that people who are less or not educated were more critical towards American action. He explains that it is general tendency to think that education brings more rationality and informed knowledge. Whereas the fact is that education actually induces a false consciousness about the intrinsic righteousness and goodness of one’s country and its authority.
With regards to the absence of a critical mass of the middle class in Arunachal Pradesh, it may be noted that the class system in political sense in traditional tribal societies of Arunachal was introduced by the ‘outsiders’ who created power centres and delegated authorities. The administrators introduced armies of local positions like Political Interpreters, Political Jamadars, Porter Sirdars, Gaon Buras and in today’s contexts Panchayat members, political leaders and government servants from among locals. By their role they were merely representatives and mouthpieces of the administrators through various bureaucratic rituals inadvertently ascribed with few authorities. This inspired new aspirants among the locals to become part of the system and get some share in power. The recent protests and resistance against the mega dams staged by affected members are immediately termed by the educated middle class population, mostly government servants or government beneficiaries, as anti-development activities instigated by anarchists groups.Thus, despite the presence of critical mass of educated middle class in the state they are far from being politicized and be critical. In fact they became the agent of the State in policing the conflicts and perform reformatory, progressive and modernizing roles in the state.
Finally about tribal and non-tribal population ratio in the state as an important factor in determining political dominance and opinion formation, field data corroborates this argument in many ways. However, this has not been the case before the colonization of this state. Following instance would show that there was a deliberate design and interest behind such demography. In the year 1944, when still under British regime, the political officer Capt. Davy of Balipara Frontier Tract proposes the settling of Gurkha families in the area. He explains its benefits as:
“…if my suggestions were put up, not only would we establish, well within the hills, a colony of loyal, hardy and comparatively civilized Gurkhas who, with the intimate knowledge of the country which they would obtain, would form the nucleus of a valuable forward screen and corps of guides in any future emergency, but would also have great civilizing effect upon the surrounding Daflas.” .
The post-independence period saw huge slanting of demography between tribal and non-tribal population. Once a cent percent tribal dominated area now has only 68.8 percent tribal population in the state according to 2011 Census. The Inner Line Permit system under the Inner Line Regulation Act 1883, was supposed to monitor and restrict the influx of outsiders into the state to protect interests of the local tribal population. However at the same time thousands of Tibetan and Chakma-Hajong refugees were settled in Arunachal, large number of government servants and military personals were brought plus one could see large number of non-tribal population living in the state in search of their livelihood.
In an ideal situation, the history of Arunachal Pradesh should have had rich and diverse narratives and contestations of political appropriation, legitimacy, shifting loyalties and dislocation of indigenous people’s history. Instead what we have is a linear official narrative of history that talks about civilizing and modernizing acts by the benevolent state for its ‘wretched savages’. These official narratives are constantly being reproduced and fed to its people. The national integration policies in Arunachal was so minutely orchestrated by the State that one of the principal struggle while writing a local history for a community like Apatanis is in articulating the State as the historical aggressor, and in identifying the intrusive and pervasive role of the State apparatuses in suppressing this consciousness among the locals. Thus, the so-called disjunction of Arunachal Pradesh from the rest of northeast is a construct not a historical truth.
The Philosopher for NEFA.
Early this year during a hiking organized at the bank of Pange river in Pange valley, some 15 kms away from Ziro, the Apatani homeland, I met an Apatani man from Siiro village who was constructing a watchtower near the river bridge. A major part of the Pange valley falls under his community’s land area. Every third year in March during the Myoko festival of the Apatanis, they perform a ceremony called More Eha, meaning offerings made for spirits and spirits of ancestors in the ancestral forest. It involves visitation to their particular ancestral clan forest. Each village household is carefully represented and each spirit is meticulously remembered for the offering during the chant performed by the village priest. The social purpose of More Eha ceremony is to initiate young male members to the traditions and responsibilities of adulthood. The young boys join the elders and the village priest in this ceremony and visit their jungle. While the priest performs his rituals at appointed site, the elder show around the young ones their ancestral land and during the course, narrates innumerable tales and histories. If the forest is far away, they spend their night in the jungle. At night around the fire, amid gossiping, teasing or clearing the bad air, traditional knowledge and wisdoms are passed on from elders to younger ones.
Pointing towards the river Pange this man told me, “Just on this side of the river where you all have organized your picnic, there will be a boundary wall for the wildlife sanctuary that is coming up here…. they have already started the wall construction from the downstream and soon it will reach up here. This watchtower is for the gate here. In future, even for a simple visit to this place, you will have to take permission from the forest ranger. They have already put up all kinds of restrictions here. We can’t even carry a small Gitish (catapult) when the ranger is around. They say it is for wildlife protection, but we know better of it. They themselves bring their guns and takes away animals from our jungle.” Slicing his machete through the bamboo knobs, he added with a long drawn breath, “So much of land…doesn’t feel like giving it away to surkar (government) just like that.”
In last few decades every Apatanis have learned the monetary value of their land. However, the loss mentioned here is not just material loss but social and psychological. It would mean alienation from their ancestral land and from so many memories of generations attached to it. It was also a moment when one could experience the hegemony of the State as a real and tangible force represented through its different institutions, not a mere abstract idea represented by officials with local faces. This is the price that every tribal community are paying for the ‘consent’.
I
The entire principle and philosophy for tribal development in India which was laid down in the tribal Panchsheel as envisioned by Jawaharlal Nehru, first appeared in foreword written by him in Verrier Elwin’s book “A Philosophy for NEFA’ in 1957. In his generous foreword Nehru testifies of Elwin’s influences in shaping his views on tribal affairs. It almost sanctified the authority of the book and of Elwin himself on all matters relating to the subject area. This book, which went through two editions and got reprinted six times, was widely circulated among the officials engaged with tribes in general and NEFA in particular. It was considered nothing less than a gospel for tribal development programs in NEFA. It was written by Elwin from a vantage point where he had direct access to core policy makers and highest authorities, including the Prime Minister himself and , to field level officials who could be instructed to provide information on matters related to NEFA.
Studying various official documents and files of officials, both at the highest policy level and at very field level, one cannot ignore but begin to see the different individuals and their personalities rather than seeing them as merely an instrument and understand the administration in vacuum. Fromthose papers one unravels the individuals, who they are, their family, what they are dealing with, their mental state and where they come from-both intellectually and culturally. In small pleasantries , stern remarks, thoughtful reminders or just blunt let-out of emotions, one could discern the intangible relations between the individuals representing positions and responsibilities. Without considering the human element and their subjective backgrounds, these documents becomes a mysterious puzzle of a giant organic machinery. There were several disjuncts between what the policy makers like Verrier Elwin, Jawaharlal Nehru, K L Mehta and others were envisioning, who were at the steering of 1950s and 60s policy making of tribal welfare, especially in NEFA and the staffs who were implementing them at the field level and several legislators. Their documents makes compelling arguments for protection of tribal people’s interests and to deal with them with all sensitivities. However by 1960s it seemed that they all got caught into too many personal and political matrices and gradually gave in to popular or jingoist demand coming from all corners for more and more intrusive integration of the area to India, especially post 1962 Sino-India war.
Elwin is known as a ‘friend of tribals’ in India, as he himself believed and struggled through-out his life to conform to it. The philosophical base of his works was based on his idea of the moral world of tribals which is now being criticized as ‘ecological romanticism’. He saw any system that was diluting this world as a threat. Thus, though he started his career in India as a Christian missionary, in due course of time he became critical of Christian missionaries working among the tribal communities in central India. During his apprenticeship under Gandhi he saw the connection between colonial rule and exploitation of tribals. As a result he became critical of Britishers as well and supported nationalist movement. He believed that the future and security of tribal rights lay in assimilation into Hinduism. To this young anthropologist’s eyes (who was also an outsider), there seemed not much difference between the tribal world and Hinduism and failed to see the historical contestations and conflicts between the two. It was this image of being a tribal sympathizer and an ‘expert’, plus a nationalist and a hindu sympathizer, that he was invited to join the new administrative set-up for the NEFA. Elwin, who was now inclined towards more sedentary life with his family, took the opportunity. However this time he had to work with true bureaucrats and politicians, under some defined objectives and restricted domains. Such elevation in position with the hope of engaging and affecting large number of people through his ‘expertise’ was most exciting. However, towards the end of his career he seemed to have become disillusioned and became highly frustrated by the general mood that prevailed towards the tribal area. His position during these latter phases became very complex. On the one hand he was constantly defending himself against people, from within and without the system, who criticized him for his ‘museum specimen’ policy while on the other hand he was constantly advocating for more ‘breathing space’ for tribes within the system and all this while having to constantly prove his loyalty towards his employer. However, in 1958, in his letter to K L Mehta, in a radical diversion, he opposed exactly every policy and schemes he had suggested and was being introduced for the tribal area development. In another letter to then Governor of Assam, Nari Rustofam, he expressed his resentment against his gradual exclusion from developments taking place in NEFA under the ‘new set-up’, and he questioned the ‘nervousness’ among people in bringing him in the picture. In his autobiography he writes about being misunderstood and tries to explain his position, however, not to the tribals but to the policy makers and administrators.
An academicians have an advantage of taking back their words or re-working on their works according to their comprehension of the field reality or by studying closely the academic trends. Elwin was also apolicymaker. He changed titles and his ideas in his books based on what his employers or publishers asks, irrespective of what consequences it might have on the people he was talking about and thus, what implications it might have on his credibility. For instance, Elwin’s stand on land ownership by the tribal community for their cultural, economic, political and psychological well-being is well known and was reflected on several of his publications before his full-fledged engagement with the tribal communities of Northeast India.
In ‘A Philosophy for NEFA’, Elwin once again begins by urging for the absolute rights of the community over the land and praises the Jhum Land Regulation Act 1947. Ironically in Arunachal Pradesh the land regulations and incorporation of certain changes in policies, like the absence of res nullius to drive for identification of terra nullius and their accession under reserved forest area, follows an interesting parallel with stages of Elwin’s book revisions. In the words of Roy Burman: Elwin’s role in this episode comes into question- in the first edition of his book ‘A Philosophy for NEFA’ (1957) he mentions that all lands in NEFA belongs to one or the other village community, but in the second edition (1959), this ‘all’ has been replaced by ‘most’ (1960:68). Roy Burman further notes that curiously the concept of terra nullius discarded from in all ex-colonial countries is introduced in NEFA vide D.O. No. 24/58 of 26 April 1958 with Elwin’s acquiescence if not active collaboration. After this, the formal adoption of the concept of res nullius was only a matter of time. Maybe this is not what Elwin must have envisaged as he did not survive to see the outcome of this regulation but it had set precedence for alterations. By 1990s, two-third of Arunachal was claimed as state-owned forest, and under the new Arunachal Forest Act 2000, the creation of tenancy has been legitimized. Today, a railway route reaching straight inside the Arunachal border few kilometres away from the state capital Itanagar is almost ready, six airports are under construct, 154 Mega Hydro dams are coming up in the state and land acquisition process for the construction of national highway is carrying on. Land reclamations by the government requires the government survey officers to mark out land area where such constructions are to be done and publish a notice in newspaper summoning landowners to meetings where they are told that their land is going to be taken away and that they may make claims on compensations. (Such audits were brought in as normal practice of government after few NGOs and student activist groups demanded for it, but not before labelling these NGOs, student groups and villagers as working under Maoist influences and inflicting some State atrocities for dissent).
II
The overused and clichéd expression of anthropological museum or ‘specimen’ labelled on the policies of tribal development adopted for this state, often merely to criticise Elwin’s policies is another trap of false arguments. It would begin and end with Elwin’s policy as if he was working in a vacuum. In order to make a meaningful analysis and critique, the actual expression to describe the situation could be ‘policy laboratory’. This expression is more dynamic yet underlines the sense of a controlled environment; it brings out the critical role of intentionality in the forefront in comparison to static and the apolitical ‘museum specimen’ analogy. In the laboratory setting, the intentionality of the experiment is pursued by an interest party (the State) to achieve a specific result (integration/nationalization/consent creation/allegiance). To do this they employ ‘experts’ (policy makers and administrators) with experiences and ‘right kind of attitude’ or just with mere grit to see through the experiments. The experiments are conducted in a completely controlled environment where different elements or factors are either introduced or removed to achieve specific outcomes. The ‘specimen’ upon whom the experiment is being carried out is completely powerless and has no say over the experiments or even negotiate. The myths and illusions, created by the State as a benevolent and constitutional State works as the sedatives that camouflage or buffers the perception of reality. In order to understand the magnitude, the affects and the madness of this experiment, one has to go beyond the official or officially approved narratives. Calling such philosophical base of policy making as cultural hegemony of the powerful, Jagdish Lal Dawar, discusses the case of architectural designs suggested by ATA (Advisor for Tribal Affairs, Verrier Elwin) for school buildings. Elwin suggests that in order to make these institutions ‘attractive’ and ‘in-line’ to tribal way of living, various tribal elements and their architecture should be incorporated to it, for example the construction of fire hearts, he says these are the part of tribal aesthetics to which the tribal mind is tuned to. This was rejected with a counter suggestion that the tribal houses are unsuitable for dwelling, hence, their house itself should be improved under the guidance of NEFA officers. It proposes the removal of designs or structures that are unsuitable and unhygienic for dwelling while keeping all those tribal articles and elements that are really aesthetic. Thus, another series of exchange that followed was on the replacement of the fire heart itself with more modern designs that comes with chimney and consume less firewood and how to educate tribal communities on its benefits. As Jagdish Lal Dawar puts, there was a gradual policy shift according to the aesthetic whims and wishes of the policy makers who decided on what is tribal aesthetics, what should be preserved and what to be processed.
Schooling the consent
Commenting on the controversy around school textbook syllabus of history, Vinay Lal argues that the subject of history is different from other subjects like chemistry or maths, which can be delivered objectively. It is often a subjective interpretation and explanations of the past which is discussed and debated differently in different times and by different interests groups; and yet in India history textbooks (in schools) are taught and treated like sacrosanct texts. It follows a natural-law like nationalist narratives which progresses through chronological events led by few individuals, the villains (the colonizers) and heroes (freedom fighters), and climaxing towards the creation of a grand nation by a united mass called India. History written with such authority becomes intolerant to divergence or debates. The question that should be asked is, then whose history is being presented? And whose are not? why? and what happens to those whose histories which are not represented?
In the case of Apatanis, and to that matter any other tribal community in the state with no recorded history, their collective socio-cultural memory are their history. However, in the past few decades this traditional community went through such tremendous changes due to several developments that was taking place in their valley. With every passing generation, a set of memory is being lost which is filtered and replaced by newer sets of memories which is being created and internalized through new sets of experiences. Ranajit Guha (1997) writes, ‘A generation, conceptualized thus, acts not only as a force for continuity but also as one that promotes diversity and change, hence what it inherit is always less than the whole of its ancestral culture.’ In other words a newer generation is created- a set of population who are different from the traditional population in terms of their intellect, experience, exposure, socialization to nation-state and in attitude. In this creation, the education system (especially at the school level) plays a very crucial role in creating allegiance and socialization. The allegiance is created by presenting a certain narratives of history which glorifies the State and a nation, and socialization by inculcating certain attitude and ideology over the other. This process of allegiance and socialization sets in motion two ancillary process- the process of consent creation as discussed earlier and the process of defining what is anti-State, illegal and criminal.
Introduction and extension of school education among the hill tribes had been one of the priority project among the colonial rulers in the region. As early as 1946, a make shift school in the Duta village of Apatani valley was started, though, this school was later burned down by villagers during their resistance against the ‘outsider’ in 1949. After the permanent establishment of Indian government in the valley the school construction drive took new impetus and several other schools were opened in every village where schooling was force-fed on the villagers. The oral stories tell that village Gaonburas and Kotokis were asked to enlist children from each village and bring them to schools. Failing to do so would bring harassment and even cause for arrest of the villagers. Even the Gaonburas had to face harassments from the administrators for not being able to produce children for school.An old lady narrated how women folk used to cry and follow when their children were taken to schools by force. There were incidences where young children were tied by rope and taken to the schools.
There were several reasons for not sending their children to schools. In tribal economy even young children was part of labour force in the household. Right from collecting firewood, working in agricultural fields, fetching water to cooking and looking after the younger siblings, they cannot be spared away. Secondly, the fear, mostly because of the way Indian government aggressed in their valley which created bitterness and distrust among the people, then the way schools were introduced and children were ‘demanded’ to be sent to schools, and also that traditionally Apatanis used to look down upon the plain and non-tribal people, they were worried what those Halyangs (non-tribals) were doing with their children. Third, they were also concerned after seeing young boys getting attracted to Halyang’s ways and that the children were taken away from their daily traditional social and economic life and activities. The rich men in a bid to rescue their children, paid their dependent families to send their children to school in exchange of their own. While the poor men had no other way but to ‘give away’ their children. An old man in Hari village said with a smirk:
‘Well, this is what happened with poor and rich men of Apatani valley. People did not want their children to learn the Halyang’s ways and serve them. So when Surkar ordered for children to be sent to school, the rich men who needed their children to look after their property, paid their dependent families to send their children to school. The poor men with no means and choice had to send their children to Halyang’s schools. Those who went to school learnt reading and writings and Halyang’s ways. Those rich people who did not go to school could not manage their wealth when time and economy changed and became poor. Thus the rich men of today were actually the poor in old days and today’s poor men were actually the rich people.’
It is important for the State to create its own symbols and attribute meanings to it, in a way that it makes sense for the sustenance of the system it creates, and then impose them on its subject through indoctrination so that it constructs legitimacy. The modern education produces new skills, value systems, needs, necessities and rewards that complement the new settings and uproot what was old, the traditional economy.
Creation of base for modern education among the Apatani
The Apatani valley was self-sustaining and relatively a prosperous one. They were settled agriculturists of the highland valley system for centuries. Through their ingenuity, conscientious and industriousness they developed agricultural practice that yielded rich production. It allowed them to remain settled in one place and trade the surplus with their neighbouring tribes in surrounding hills. As a result they could afford to not depend or visit the plains or mix with other hills. The richness of their prosperous and densely populated valley became fable among the other tribes and roused fascination among the British colonisers when they came to Assam. The Britishers named the valley as ‘the hidden land’ and feared making any attempt to visit the valley in order to avoid any embarrassment caused by their miscalculation of Apatani strength. It was only in 1889 when a tea estate manager made a first quiet trip to the valley, which was later followed by several others. The distinct beauty of the valley, the advanced and peaceful existence of Apatanis left deep impressions on its early visitors. However, it was only in 1944 when an anthropologist Cristopher von Furer Haimendorf, made a detailed ethnographic study of the tribe and remarked that Apatani society was almost like a ‘civilization in making’.
After the independence of India, the annexation of Apatani valley was complete and it was opened to the world outside. An airfield right within the valley and a motorable road connecting the valley straight to Assam was constructed. A flourishing town with a market and various other administrative infrastructure and a military base were established. As the nature of economy shifted from agricultural to monetary economy introduced by government service system and small businesses; the self-sustaining valley slided to complete dependence on outside economy upon which they have no control. While the sense of inadequacy and helplessness is growing, psychologically people tend to believe education is becoming the only course of future security. The old man being interviewed above, was laughing when he said,
“Why else do you think parents are queuing up in front of big schools to enrol their children? While earlier they were paying off to avoid sending their children to school now they are spending all their earnings on children’s education and if that is not enough they send them for tuition as well… so that they can earn enough to send their children to betterschools.” The micro-level effects which is intended to alter and socialize the entire fabric of social population at insignificant margins can be understood only when one zoom-out to get a bigger picture for policy analysis.
Education as a ground for combative nationalism
Education in Arunachal was introduced for two main purposes- one to create a cadre of human resource who can serve at government offices and, two, creation of a loyal population who would appreciate what government is doing. Both serve to meet one end – to create allegiance and consent. In a note dated 20 Feb 1954, responding back to the proposal of establishment of Publicity Department to fulfil the ‘Delhi Plans’ for NEFA, which is suppose to “the sell NEFA to India and sell India to NEFA”, Verrier Elwin writes:
In regard to the scheme for making NEFA conscious of its part in the life of India, for countering separatist propaganda, for integrating the tribes in the great national family- which is, of course of paramount importance- I wonder whether a separate department is necessary for this purpose… (it) could surely be dealt with by our Education Department.
The education department was using array of methods and tools for the purpose for which the budget was earmarked annually. To attract people they were using Mobile Cinema Units, Magic Laltern shows, sports, entertainments, Community Radio sets, Tribal Tours and so on. The more critical activities for attaining national integrity- such as introduction of Hindi replacing Assamese (despite protests in Assam- who saw this as design of Government of India to destroy the traditional friendship between hills and plains) in schools, singing of national anthem, saying morning pledges of unity and loyalty to country, celebration of Independence and Republic day, series of birth and death anniversaries of Indian freedom fighters that immortalized and glorified them in tribal mind, portraits of national leaders adorning school walls, cultural exposure tours, histories textbooks telling about India and Hindu mythologies and tales, literary and cultural activities that are carefully observed by teachers, etc.. In another note sent to T N Kaul by Verrier Elwin on 19 January 1955, the aspects of lab experiment becomes more prominent:
One is selection of few girls and boys and develop them in every possible way, even (if) some detribalization happen and just hope that they do not start despising their own history and culture. Second is (for) the mass people-give them policies on law, order, medicine, agriculture- but educate them at most elementary level to avoid detribalization by every mean.
Thus holding tribal people to their tradition so as to make them a static museum piece was not the intention. The intention is to create a cadre or class of educated tribal who would rule or administer the tribal mass on the behalf of the government. This stands in irony when, Elwin warns against the kind of detribalization that was taking place in his The Philosophy for NEFA, where he argues that the tribal communities are becoming self-conscious about how outsiders are looking at them and feel inferior about themselves. As a result they tend to hate and do away with their traditional way of life. He was critical of officials, who were supposed to be the ‘ambassador of India among the tribes’, themselves were causing such damages by introducing the classist and casteist attitude from outside among the classless tribal communities. However, Elwin seemed to have turned a blinf eye to the fact that the cultural end and political end of his policy are doing exactly to the same effect. Where he seemed to be critical of kinds of cultural changes that was taking place in the area due to influences from outside, he failed to see the policies he designed and proposed for the political gains of India with that were having the same implication. The way of life in this hill area was already constantly being moulded for the State and national interest in this policy lab.
In several of official notes there were zealous reporting and constant discussions on the Chinese intrusion or possible intrusion from across the border. The administration was psyched by China and the desperation to compete with her in winning over the locals. In order to prevent the locals from getting attracted to development activities taking place across the border more development activities were planned under the second Five Year Plan. The focus was to introduce projects that was more ‘spectacular’ and appealing to people such as airstrips at Mechuka nd Tuting, landing of jeep, etc..
“Certain useful and spectacular projects such as the speedy introduction of electric light generator at places like Tawang, Mechuka, Tuting and Walong will also pay dividends”.
The language used in these documents reflects on their perception of the local communities as illiterate and even illogical people who could be won over by such demonstrations of advancement. And their loyalties are measured as dividends. There was complete lack of sentimental connection and understanding of the local culture and social history. For instance, Buddhist monasteries were looked with suspicion for the possible residual control of Tibet. Nari Rustomji writes to Commissioner NEFA:
Cannot they all be tactfully won over to study in our schools? They could be given stipends and other special inducements. Please confirm, as we must stop this tendency before it spread further in this and other areas.
He further orders to find seats and provide financial assistances to colleges to take students from NEFA and asks to increase the number of students sent out for higher studies from 4 to 20 from each of three divisions. All measures were taken to restrict any cross-border interactions like opening of military outposts across the Chinese borders and instructions to lure children to study in Indian schools rather than studying in Chinese schools (Buddhist monastries) were carried out. What State administrators seemed to have missed that these communities have their relations across the border since time immemorial and many of them ethnically belonged to same community. It is the State which is imposing such boundaries and are straining their traditional relation.
In another instance, another dreaded fear that occupied the policy makers for very long was from the home front, the separatist movement within the Northeast. However, it was constructed around the influences of Christian missionary active in the Northeast. Thus, the competition that existed elsewhere in India between Hindu nationalist and Christian missionaries found its ground in this far flung frontier as well. After losing other states in Northeast to Christianity, the Hindu nationalists found themselves in an advantageous position in NEFA mostly due to early Indian occupation of the state. Countering Christian missionaries became a nationalist program in NEFA as the State itself was funding the entire policy. The understanding was that the Christian missions worked hand in hand with colonial rulers during British period. Thus their education imparted western and modern thinking that are infusing political consciousness among the tribal Christians in the region. Such thinking is making them averse to rest of India, they look down upon their Hindus brethren as backward and also starts disassociating themselves from their traditional way of life . Elwin, in his note to K N Mehta, dated 5 May 1955, raises his fears that there might be a demand of “Christian state” if steps are not taken on time. Therefore, he suggests intensification of what he calls as ‘psychological warfare’ against the Christianization and for the control of press who were representing the separatist demands.
On the other hand, the field level officials, devoid of sophistications of their superiors, tend to spill the beans. For instance, a tour diary submitted by a Political Officer, dated 19 March 1956 from Lohit district under the subject- ‘Reasons for denunciation of our Administration in general’, says:
Padams and Idus lives in close contacts with plains for generations, thus though their cloths are same their ideas are transformed (because of) the work of American Baptists Missionaries who provide free education to tribal children (they) also has strong influences. The educated ones considers themselves superior, not willing to work in field neither to work in govt jobs, they live in their own world and look at administration with suspicion and spread wrong propaganda against government .
He continues explaining what these ‘propagandas’ are doing:
“Expressions such as ‘privileges’ ‘sanctions’ ‘TA’ ‘audit’ are now frequently heard from the tribals as a result of such propagandas. They want to send their children to schools only if employment (is) assured. They expect payment for every little work they do, even though it may be for their own benefit, eg. They take contracts but (are) not willing to re-construct or repair a school building or teacher’s quarter or any such institutions in their villages without receiving payment, even though their own children are studying there. Thus, our works to persuade them for co-operation is really difficult.
Kelkar, who criticised Elwin’s policy of keeping the borders closed and for not doing enough for ‘national-integration’, raises his concerns about Christian influences in the NEFA and proposes bringing more Hindu missionary workers and opening Gandhi Ashrams in NEFA. Elwin dismissing his concerns wrote in response:
We are doing a very great deal (considering what we feel the people can assimilate at the present time) in the way of integrating their culture with Indian culture as a whole. A large network of Schools,in which the education is essentially an Indian education with certain adaptation to tribal needs… The ideas of Mahatma Gandhi are taught..explained by Political Officers.. translated in tribal languages… Missionaries have been checked by our policy- treating local religion with respect and tightening and linking bonds of people’s culture to India ..Cultural shows are presented on all important occasions in which half the items are of an all-Indian characters. The radio and gramophone are introducing Indian music. Objects of Indian arts in each divisions are placed. Everyone officers as an ambassador of a greater India. (emphasis added).
Policy orders officially restricting any Christian missionaries from entering NEFA and promoting Hindu missionaries like Ramakrishna Missions, Vivekananda Kendriya Vidhyalaya, Sharda Missions, etc.; and Gandhi Ashrams and Kasturba Ashrams where ‘Social Workers’ can substitute for works of Christian mission elsewhere were carried out. However, by 1960s, Elwin himself, who initially supported the working of Hindu missionaries in Naga hills and even in NEFA had become vary of them for the tendency of their puritan attitude that looked down upon tribal customs and ways of life.
Three propositions of the paper
In conclusion, three main interconnected propositions were discussed in the paper. First, to understand the complex processes of hard, concrete and well calculated development policies by the State, one should study the subtle background of socio-cultural and political nuances that intersects in a person called the policy maker. Their philosophical and ideological background and the socio-political environment under which they are negotiating their idea. As seen in this paper, very often they are not mere cold calculation but an outcome of a failed debate, personal temperament, state of mind, family situation, etc.. The impacts of such policies are equally diverse and multidimensional. To understand these nuances one first needs to get hold of the data, and this is where the second proposition of the paper lies in i.e., one should diversify its data sources and break away from traditional mode of analysing those materials. One simple reason is because the sources and data are limited (because either they are not archived or was simply dismantled) and very often inaccessible for scholars. Therefore, one has to multiply the sources of information and data. Instead of only looking at the reports, statistics, memorandums and notices; one should go to the primary documents- the personal files, diaries, personal communication, notes, letters, etc. (if one can get catch hold of them). One should not miss the small remarks put in the corners, the cross reference, the dates, list of people to whom the copies are sent, and so on. These documents need to be read critically which means, one should go beyond the official narratives. While one should exercise their own discretion on reading too much in between the lines, however, the other crucial source of information can be gathered through the ethnographic researches which involves going to the people itself, the people who are impacted, in other words the policy lab specimens. At least at present, the secondary sources on the subject are highly limited hence, one should go to the primary sources. And it is only by juxtaposing these data and sources that one is likely to get a true and more complete picture and this in return can be used as the metadata for understanding the true nature of the State.
Thus, comes the third proposition of the paper which covered most of the discussion in the paper i.e. the nature of the State. Antonio Gramschi’s proposition that ‘the regulated state and class state cannot exist together or unless the class state is part of the regulated state itself’, does not seem to have validation in the case of NEFA, now Arunachal Pradesh, of India. The socialist State of India has always been represented by a class in power- who defined nationalism and national culture in the country, and tried to determine it for the entire India. The Arunachal Pradesh, due to its unique history, location and its inhabitants, presented unique challenges before the State.There were too many uncertainties. Neither it could afford losing it not it could afford to have another situation like Nagaland or Manipur or Mizoram by using its military force to occupy it (though they have not restrained from using it whenever situation arose). Thus, creating allegiance, legitimacy and consent was the only way. An image of ethical and moral State was created through the entire official narrative of philosophical, benevolent and sympathetic administration that was working and protecting the interests of ‘noble savages’. Without such frame of understanding it becomes futile and frustrating to comprehend how possibly the policy makers saw the consistency between the philosophy of protecting tribal life and their rights in one hand, and on the other hand pushing changes that was creeping through every aspects of tribal community life. Their strong sense of responsibility and affection towards tribes seemed to have qualified them to be their spokesperson and to protect them. The policy makers and administrators backed by their military and monetary power became the decision makers who decides to allow the tribes to decide for themselves. Any constitutional guarantees for tribal rights without addressing this inconsistency are illogical, illegal and amount to violence.
To establish one’s dominion, the powerful one creates a set of its own vocabulary and concepts which is used for furthering its dominion in such a way that it creates an illusion of empowerment and agency for the dominated so that they remain satisfied with petty politics. Such language are being taught through various State apparatuses, such as the education and judiciary system which ‘educates’ and reproduces citizens that can communicate with State in its language. Thus, the ones who do not speak in this language or depart from them would be termed as unscientific-irrational, unciviliged, undemocratic deranged andrebellious ; and their activities immediately get interpreted as anti-state and anti-social. Thus the real challenge for us lies in framing this entire argument without getting into the vocabulary of ‘rights’, ‘justice’, ‘legality’, ‘constitutional’, ‘autonomy’ or ‘sovereignty’ that the state claims to be the custodian of. (Or is it possible to take away, reclaim and redefined these terms from the Statist dictionary? To be able to appreciate the myth and illusion of justice, rights, equality and democracy of a constitutional state like India and its legitimacy claimed over a tribal state like that of Arunachal, one has to have a dynamic and even anarchic approach to begin with.
Conclusion
The ‘consent’ was created by edging and tracing nationalism in this frontier state. This nationalism was first imagined by the policy makers for the people in this land. Imagined, because there was no socio-historical base for such nationalism to begin with but merely colonial inheritance of around a century of territorial claims. Post independence, these claims were then imprinted on the people using array of tailor-made policies which were presented under the garb of patronizing ‘philosophy’. The impression of coherence, in the state documents such as – the constitutions, laws, policies and programs in relation to tribal communities, presented before us are to hide the primal fear of self-preservation and the preservation of its class interest. In one hand, we see a philosophical foundation that is laid down by the first Prime Minister of India Nehru himself, who very emphatically calls for protection and non-interference to tribal communities and their way of life. On the other hand, the national integration program was being robustly carried out under which there was continuous and systematic infiltration of the state. Arunachal is kept out of purview of Fifth or Sixth schedule entitled to other Northeastern states. The Panchayati Raj Institution thus introduced has reduced the traditional council to irrelevancy where the customary laws are constantly being breached through various judicial and constitutional institutions. The token representation of only two MPs in the parliament hardly invokes any real participation in the decision-making in the country. The entire assimilation and integration of Arunachal was designed in such a way that it creates false consciousness of free and democratic citizenship. The education system is functioning only in sustaining and masking such myths and illusions in the name of rational and scientific enlightenment. Such imposed constitutional integration brings only superficial unification. The integration thus achieved is to create consent without legitimacy. It is at such juncture that one gets the rare chance to peek into the real-self of the State. Such moments, as rare as it is, should be chanced upon to make an intimate evaluation of the nature of the State and the myths and illusions of consent and legitimacies it creates.
Notes and References
Have you like this article?
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...