Justice Shri M N Venkatachaliah
Chairman, national Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhawan
Parliament Street
New Delhi – 110 00 1

Dear Justice Venkatachaliah ,

This pertains to my letter of 6 November 1998 pertaining to the right of the 50,000 internally displaced Reangs from Mizoram to participate in the November 25, 1998 Assembly Elections of Mizoram. A complaint of the Asian Indigenous and Tribal People 's Network of 1 December 1997 (No. 40/16/97-98) on the plight of the Reangs internally displaced people has already been pending before the NHRC.

Please find enclosed a copy of the press statement in The Tribune of 9 November 1998 as Annexure – I which quotes the Chief Secretary of the State Government of Tripura Stating that “No efforts were made by the neighbouring Mizoram Government to enable Reangs, sheltered in Tripura, to vote in the ensuing Mizoram elections ”. The Tripura Government rightly says that “there is no chance of repatriation of the refugees before the assembly elections ” .

The AITPN is also concerned about the accusations of Mizoram Chief Minister Mr. Lalthanhawla against Tripura Government for “airing propaganda about Reangs ”. The Chief Minister termed the Reangs as “refugees”. Please find enclosed a copy of The Statesman of 9 November 1998 as Annexure – II .

The terming of the Reangs as “foreigners” by the Chief Minister of Mizoram exposes that the State Government has no intention to accord them the right to participate in the Assembly Elections. Even if the Reangs had migrated from Tripura State of India , they can no way be termed as “foreigners” under any law of the land. The Chief Minster is aware of it but in view of the Assembly Elections he is communalizing the problem by terming the Reangs as “foreigners”. This does not help to resolve the problem in an amicable way.

The NHRC needs to take into account that 50,000 internally displaced Reangs constitute a substantial percentage of the total population in Mizoram, which is little over 800,000. The denial of the right to participate in the Assembly Elections to the Reangs would be a travesty of justice and mockery of democratic systems.

The denial of the right to participate in the Government to the Reangs would a set a bad precedence where a large number of populations could be driven away by interested parties to ensure that they are not allowed to take part in the elections. The NHRC needs to take into consideration the inhuman suffering of the innocent people because of the ethnic conflicts in the North East between the Bodos and Santhals in Assam , Kukis and Nagas in Manipur and Kukis and Peities in Manipur. Many of these conflicts are over lands and hence constituencies. Especially, in Bodo inhabited areas, the conflict between the Bodos and Santhals partly started because the Bodos feel that they are being outnumbered by the Santhals and hence the Santhals need to driven away. The NHRC must intervene to not only ensure that the Reangs could participate in the Government but also to ensure that denial of the right to participate in the Government does not set a bad precedence and similar ethnic conflicts starts in many parts of North East India.

Kindly allow me to reiterate once again that a right to vote automatically implies the right to be elected. If the Reangs are to be given the right to vote, they must have the right to be elected. As citizen of India, they have equal rights. It would only be appropriate if the Election Commission of India is directed to postpone the Assembly Elections in Mizoram to ensure that the Reangs can enjoy their right to be elected and right to vote.

I shall be grateful if NHRC could take appropriate steps as stated in our complaint of 6 November 1998 including approaching the Supreme Court of India to ensure the Reangs could exercise the right to participate in the Government like the Kashmiri Pandits of Jammu and Kashmir.

With respectful regards,

Yours sincerely

Suhas Chakma
Director  

Encl.: a. a.