the north and the Kukis in the south, make up the rest of the population.
A bout one third of the people of Tripura are indigenous hill The Land and History
B y 1826 the region part of British India, Northeast is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse regions in the world. Comprising of seven sister states, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh were created from land within Assam after independence. Manipur and Tripura were distinct entities ruled by Hindu rulers for centuries.
A ncient Assam, known as Kamrupa, included roughly the Brahmaputra valley, Bhutan, the Rangpur region (now in Bangladesh) and Koch Bihar (now in West Bengal). King Narakasura and his son Bhagadatta were famous rulers of Kamarupa in the Mahabharata period (at least as early as 1000 BC). Ahom, a Chinese tribe who migrated into Indochina and Myanmar in the 1st centuries AD, established a strong kingdom in Assam in the 13th century. The Ahom rule reached its peak during the reign of King Rudra Singh (1696–1714). In 1816 Myanmar invaded Assam and ruled an oppressive rule. Assam was taken over by the British rule in 1826.
M anipur’s earliest recorded history goes back to AD 900. The Raja Jai Singh concluded a treaty with the British in 1762 to repel an invasion from Myanmar. The British administered the area in the 1890s, but in 1907 a local government briefly ruled.
T ripura was a Hindu kingdom ruled by Tribal kings for more than 1,000 years before it became part of the Mughal Empire (17th century). After 1808 it was under the influence of the British. The People
T he population of Assam consists of Indo-Iranian and Asian peoples. The tribal hill people of Meghalaya trace their origin to pre-Aryan times.
T he Nagas, the Indo-Asiatic people of Nagaland, form more than 20 tribes, and numerous sub-tribes, each having a specific geographic distribution.
tribes belonging to at least 19 tribes of Mongoloid origin; rest are mainly Bengalis, most coming as refugees from Bangladesh after independence.
Mission
O ur aim is to improve the opportunities for the Community to W hy is Northeast India so restive?
D ue to its strategic geo-political location Northeast is a highly sensitive region sharing over 2,000 km of border with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh and connected to the rest of India by a narrow 20-km wide corridor of land. potential has caused much frustration among the people, particularly the youths. Today, the lack of development has become a highly emotive issue vis-à-vis Indian democracy. The region has become a fertile recruiting ground for separatist groups fighting for causes ranging from autonomy to independence.
R ecent years have also seen the growth of conflicting demands for independent homelands between various ethnic groups, which have resulted in ethnic clashes and much bloodshed.
T he separatists find easy shelter in across the borders in Burma, Bangladesh and Bhutan, particularly in the remote hill regions.
T he peaceful people of the region do not condone violence in any form. They know violence has no role to play in pursuing political demands. It is not surprising that most separatist groups have failed to win over people they are allegedly fighting for demonstrating people’s revulsion to violence. After years of bloody campaigns, people are tired and desperate for peace.
T oday, encouragingly, civil society groups in the region are
the Mizo (Lushai), speak a variety of Tibeto-Burman dialects. These tribes migrated (1750-1850) from the nearby Chin Hills and subjugated (later assimilated) the indigenous population.
T he Asiatic population of Arunachal Pradesh consists of many
Addressing today's Challenges
ethnic groups, each with a specific geographic distribution, who speak dialects of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic family.
M ajority of the people of Manipur are the Meithei, who occupy the Manipur valley. Indigenous hill tribes, such as the Nagas in
ensure that the people enjoy the benefits of globalization and economic growth while preserving its culture and traditions. Our strategy is simple - invest in the people, stimulate creativity, confidence and self expression using knowledge and information as a medium. We will establish projects that have powerful multiplier effect.
I solation coupled with economic backwardness despite great
more active than ever before. They are playing a leading role in initiating dialogues and sustaining the peace process. The government has taken initiatives to accelerate economic development and opened dialogues with many of these groups to politically resolve causes of grievances and conflicts.
T he various ethnic groups of Mizoram, known collectively as
processes having bearing on their future. The society needs to keep vigil against corruption to ensure that funds allotted for development are used appropriately. The businesses need to be efficient generating employment and providing much needed critical services to the people. Only a vibrant civic society could rise up to difficult challenges like these.
I t is vital that effort is made to strengthen civil society and promote rational values helping community to build capacity and participate fully and effectively in all spheres of democratic life. People need to be able to influence decision making
Open Learning: Our Dream Project
A bility to exchange ideas, knowledge and information is the lifeblood of citizenship and participation in a shared public sphere. Provided adequate economic resources and effective legal and institutional environment, access to knowledge and learning in all its forms is possibly the single most important factor in determining the success or failure of civil society. While traditional media remain essential, new digital technologies hold potential for enhancing civic life that is still untapped in this region. Open Learning project aims to promote the equitable deployment of knowledge and communications resources providing access to content, tools, and networks for civic empowerment and effective democratic governance. We believe, as a secondary effect, the program will enhance the effectiveness of our other capacity building activities.
T he Program focuses on internet connectivity, technology support for civil society organizations and networks, open access to scholarly literature and citizen-government communication. To achieve the programme objectives we intend to build an Open Learning Academy, a learning centre with start of the art IT and media facilities, at Guwahati, Assam to serve as a nerve centre for all our activities. The centre will have short stay accommodation facility for the participants. In due course, the centre will support satellite centres, our own and affiliated, throughout the region. The Centre will -
1. help civic actors to take advantage of ICT to influence
Northeast India
decision making so as to encourage investment, protect basic liberties and create a terror free environment
2. run
seminars/workshops to develop skills and entrepreneurship helping youths to take advantage of the global market place via new technology
3. provide students, teachers and civic players affordable access to services and scholarly content such as research literature, database and utilities
4. develop low-cost ICT toolsets for enterprises, civil society governance and learning applications
5. encourage networking to empower civil society 6. provide ICT support for the non-profit sector, enabling to take full advantage of new technologies
7. support and facilitate research seeking solution to local problems Current Initiatives
O ur initiatives are carried out by our local partner Prag Foundation, a public charitable trust controlled by us (www.pragfoundation.net) since 2006. Visit www.accb.org.uk, our official website, to make online donation or shop from some of the leading online retailers; every time you shop clicking a link from our site we earn a small commission. Visit these sites to see some our specific initiatives: www.ngo.net.in: a support portal for non-profit sector|www.assam chronicle.com : a regional news portal helping budding journalists to hone their skills| www.necef .in: promoting clinical excellence in the region.
Addressing today’s challenges in Northeast India
How you can help us
O ur main income is a modest but regular donation from one of our trustees. To sustain and extend our activities, particularly to build a state of the art IT and media centre in Guwahati, we desperately need your support. Help us by,
• • •
Making a large or small, regular or one-off donation. Shopping online by clicking links to online shops featured on www.accb.org.uk which earns us a small commission. Becoming a virtual volunteer (completing tasks, in whole or in part, via the Internet and a home or work computer) e.g., to develop workshop/course material, build and maintain websites for our non-profit clients, identify funding opportunities and make grant application, basically any activity relevant to our mission. Please contact us (admin@accb.org.uk) if you are able to help.
Do not let these colours fade, help build a vibrant civil society in the Northeast India
Donate tax effectively - Gift Aid allows us to reclaim the basic rate tax on the donation and Payroll Giving gives you tax relief at source 57 Newington Drive, North Shields, NE29 9JA www.accb.org.uk email: admin@accb.org.uk Registered Charity No.1106666 Version 2009, UK
Alliance for Community Capacity Building in Northeast India R e g i s t e r e d C h a r i t y N o . 11 0 6 6 6 6