Churamoni Soren, an Adivasi (Santhal), and Sangita Basumatary, a Bodo, delivered their babies on Christmas in Assam’s Chirang district. But while their families had planned celebrations for the new arrivals, the women were forced to move with their newborns into makeshift relief camps — one for Bodos and one for Adivasis — among locals of eight villages who fled their houses after militants of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit) attacked members of the Adivasi community on the night of December 23.
Sangita and her husband Rabi Basumatary, followers of the Bodos’ “Bathou” religion, decided to name their baby boy ‘Christmas.’ Churamoni’s family is planning to observe the ‘Neem Dak Mandi,’ the Santhal community naming ritual, in the Adivasi camp at the Champaboti Mini Public Health Centre.
“The ‘Dargin’, the woman, who helps the mother deliver the child, will serve each camp inmate a cup of Neem Dak Mandi — neem leaf cooked with rice gruel — and convey the name given to the newborn,” explained David Murmu, secretary of the Joint Committee formed to maintain peace in the camps. He said Churamoni’s family had got the confidence to observe the ritual at the camp itself as the inmates of the two shelters had vowed to maintain peace at any cost.
“Representatives of the two camps held a meeting at Champaboti market on December 25 and decided to maintain unity and amity among ourselves at any cost. We also formed a joint committee to share the relief materials among us,” said Phulen Chandra Basumatary, president of the joint committee at the Bodo camp located at Champaboti market which is named after the river that flows in the area.
The committee officials told The Hindu that the representatives of the two camps maintained calm even after a Bodo, Niren Chandra Basumatary, from nearby Nayabasti was killed on December 25 by miscreants.
The Bodo camp has 1,593 inmates belonging to 203 displaced families from four villages of Chirang district — Ghoppara, Amlaiguri, Khaspur and Dipantor.
The Adivasi camp has 1,407 inmates belonging to 253 families from three villages — Dolhapara, Amlaiguri, and No. 2 Garubasha in Chirang district and Pub Basan Gaon in adjacent Kokrajhar district.
They maintained that the villagers had fled out of panic and no incident of any attack or arson had taken place. “The male members of both the communities guard their respective villages during the night to prevent miscreants from causing any harm to their abandoned houses and belongings,” Mr. Basumatary said.
A camp of the Sasashtra Seema Bal set up near the two camps on December 28 has added to the mutual confidence-building exercise by the two community leaders. But they want adequate security in their villages in order to be able to return home. In 1996, residents had to take shelter in relief camps for two months. However, during the 1998 clashes, none of these villages were affected.
