On 7 and 8 September 2008, a team of the National Commission for Children visited the Bru IDP camps following the complaint of AITPN. The team held a public hearing and discussion with the officials of the State government of Tripura. The Tripura government reportedly assured to take measures to implement the recommendations of the NCPCR within one month.
During January - February 2008, conducted a survey of the Bru, also known as Reang1, relief camps in Kanchanpur Sub-Division under North District of Tripura. AITPN conducted the survey following complaints that Bru tribal IDP children have not been included in the relief ration cards and are therefore not provided any assistance/facilities which are provided to the adult Brus and registered children by the authorities.
After the survey, it was found that a staggering 7,204 Bru tribal children have not been included in the relief ration cards. Consequently, these 7,204 children are not entitled to basic supplies like 225 gram rice, dal, and cashdole of Rs 1.45 per day, clothes and other facilities given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India through the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, State Government of Tripura. This implies that adult Bru IDPs have to share the meager quantity of food with their children who have not been registered.
The Bru tribal IDP children are extremely vulnerable to diseases due to poor camp conditions. Deprivation of relief items have caused severe malnutrition among the IDP children. Further, on 15 October 2007, the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, Government of Tripura reduced the monthly rice allocation being provided to the relief camps, inter alia, on the ground that there is no separate allocation of rice from the Government of India for the Bru IDPs.
The denial and non-inclusion constituted an act of discrimination against the Bru IDP children as they belong to Scheduled Tribes. On 17 June 2008, AITPN filed a complaint to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe and NCPCR against the State Government of Tripura for its failure to include these 7,204 Bru children in the ration cards of their respective families. On 24 June 2008, acting on AITPN’s complaint and findings, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes initiated actions to provide basic assistance to the 7,204 Bru tribal IDP children.
As a result of the AITPN’s finding and subsequent complaint to the NCST and the NCPCR it has been learnt that a meeting was called by the Sub- Divisional Officer of Kanchanpur, Tripura who promised to issue new ration cards from August 2008.
However, at the time of printing of this issue of IRQ, no measures had been taken by the State government to improve the camp conditions.
Endnotes:
1. Bru/ Reang indigenous peoples fled from Mizoram to neighboring Tripura state following ethnic conflicts with the majority Mizo indigenous peoples in 1997. About 30,000 Brus are presently taking shelter in six relief camps in Tripura. The Mizoram government has so far refused to take them back despite orders from the NHRC of India to do so.
