When the Rats Came Calling
- Part 1 -

By Dilip Kanti Chakma *

INTRODUCTION:

The Year of the Rats brings a famine-like situation in India's tiny, hilly state of Mizoram. Caught in between a mad-made tragedy in the form of the Indo-Bangladesh border fencing (an exercise carried our by the government of India) that displaced thousands from the border areas, and a natural disaster in the form of "Mautam" (as the 'flowering of bamboo' is locally known as) are the Chakmas and other minority tribes who are living through trying circumstances in the face of the state's apathy and inaction. Dilip Kanti Chakma analyzes the situation in one of India's remotest north-east corner.

The bamboo flowers once every 50 years in Mizoram. When it last did so, in the 1950s, the abundance of seeds led to a plague of rats - which in turn led to widespread famine and thousands of deaths in the region.

The resultant famine was because of the rapid increase in the rodent population which was in turn was a fallout of the nutritious bamboo fruits which acts as a feed for the rodent population to multiply.

And, in the absence of any emergency relief mechanism, widespread famine was the result. The rodent population attacked agricultural fields and attacked food supplies and they attacked human beings as well. The resultant famine was quite disastrous in ways more than one.

Most importantly, the political repercussions it had in the state in particular and the region as a whole is for everyone to see. It gave rise to militancy in the region as the people increasingly started to feel left out and uncared for by the government machineries as a 'bamboo-flowering' induced famine wrecked havoc in the hills.

As a child I grew up with grandma's stories of how people survived the great famine as they called it and how even wild yam and wild roots were scarce (rodents eat up everything except wild yam and wild roots!).

If wild yam and wild roots or for that matter rat meats are a delicacy in Mizoram today thanks to the great famine of the late 1950s when hungry people in search of food were left without any choice but to try on the wild things that came their way.

As the bamboos started to flower again after fifty years, there has been reports of famine-like situations in Mizoram and with reports of starvation deaths pouring in from some parts of the state, the 'bamboo flowers' have not only put the state government in an embarrassing situation but also proved how inadequately prepared the state administration was to handle such a situation.

Firstly, it is not as if the administration has been caught unaware since the flowering of bamboos occurs over a cycle of 50 years with severe consequences.

Secondly, no lessons seem to have been learnt from the last 'Mautam' that ravaged the Mizo hills in the late 1950s even though those who are ruling the state today are those who were at the forefront of the fight against the then Assam government's step-motherly treatment of the people of famine-ravaged Mizo hills in the late 50s.

As history tells us, an ill-conceived state response or the lack of it thereof to such natural calamities could result in social and political turmoil as was the case in Mizoram in 1959.

Unfortunately, this time too the responses of the government machinery have not been adequate and sympathetic and the results are there for everyone to see. Despite early warnings of the impending disaster, no serious efforts have been made to satisfactorily address the crisis.

Villagers are struggling to feed themselves after rats pillaged crops across the state. Estimates indicate almost 95% destruction of rice crop in many parts of the state

Government efforts including cash-for-work programmes and additional subsidised food through the public distribution system are falling short of needs. Though the State declared emergency in December 2007, efforts to act in emergency like situations have been sluggish so far and such emergency measures have by and large proved inadequate in the face of the crisis.

People are living on one meal a day as they do not have enough money to buy subsidized rice. Many more are foraging in forests for food.

All the eight districts of Mizoram consisting of 824 villages are facing food crisis. The worst affected districts are Lawngtlai with 118 villages, Saiha with 76 villages, Mamit with 96 villages and Lunglei with 186 villages.

An analysis of the affected areas shows that minority tribes such as the Chakmas, the Reangs, the Lhais, Maras are the most affected ones as they are still dependent on 'slash and burn' method of agriculture for their sustenance.

Most of the affected areas are not easily accessible and often can be reached only by foot along jungle trails. With the onset of monsoon many villages will be totally cut off and in the absence of health care facilities in these regions the killer malaria will play havoc among the already affected families.

Nutrition deficiency and related diseases are sure to bring about fatal consequences among the children many of who would have already dropped out from schools. And, in the absence of medical facilities in these areas the already grim situation will further deteriorate in the coming months.

May be this time the prevailing situation is no match compared to the last one in terms of magnitude and scale of population affected. However, that was then. Today an independent Indian marched through sixty years or so and is being counted among one on the world arena. Mizoram itself has marched ahead on its own in myriad ways.



Related Articles:

• Of famine, starvation and apathy :: Ringo Pebam
• Bamboo fest shuns fear of gregarious flowering :: BAMFEST 2006
• Bamboo light - Driving force of energy :: Irabanta Oinam
• Rediscovering Bamboo :: Aiyushman Dutta

To be continued ....

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* Dilip Kanti Chakma is a student of law at National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. He contributes for the first time to e-pao.net and can be contacted at chakmadilip(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)in . This article was webcasted on 23rd April 2008 .

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