Himalayan Issues: Farewell to Arms for a Noble Cause
With the air gun surrender phenomenon gaining traction in the coming months people have started noticing the change in the environment and its surroundings and its profound effect as a whole
Post by COL SATISH SINGH LALOTRA
What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? The North eastern Part of our country has always been the cynosure of all eyes, be it the natives or the foreigners who came here in search of things ranging from travel, tourism, livelihood to exploration of the deepest of jungles for their research or doctoral work. The area though always in seclusion from mainland India has off late been bridged in terms of thinking, action and inclusive participation by the dispensations both at the centre and the state. Known by the acronym NEFA (North East frontier agency) during the British times, the present Day Arunachal Pradesh is a far cry from the thinking patterns a few decades before. Off late a silent revolution has been sweeping through this NE sentinel of our country which has the seeds to sow for emulation by rest of the country.
Led personally by the industrious chief minister Pema Khandu and the quintessential home minister Mama Natu the wave of ‘Air gun surrender ceremony’ by the locals including the Adi and Mishmi tribes has no parallel anywhere in the world leave alone India. For the last many years the locals of Arunachal Pradesh had taken to the air guns to hunt down all varieties of birds including the migratory ones flying high above the Himalayan passes both as a means of livelihood as well as game hunting. In Arunachal Pradesh these tribal people used to kill wild animals and birds for their survival which is also part of their age-old tradition. This unfolding of “conservation success story’ of flora and fauna in the interiors of Arunachal with active participation of the majority of Adi& Mishmi tribes is something worth emulating the world over.
In far off Arunachal Pradesh, hunting has been a community practice steeped in history and culture, thus the giving away of their hunting rifles by the locals speak of a resurgent action laced with hope and optimism for the fate of conservation of flora and fauna in the land of rising sun. For centuries the dominant ‘Adi tribe’ in Arunachal Pradesh, had been subsisting on the community practice of hunting which was a way of life for them. As per few anthropologists having a lot of experience of working in the NE of India, these Adi tribes right from their birth take to hunting as a fish takes to water. This activity has been ingrained in their psyche right from inception stage as a means to survive in the unforgiving jungles of Arunachal Pradesh. Hunting activity in fact doubles up as a means of supplementing their protein requirements, gender roles and asserting control over their lands intertwined alongside with belief and spirituality.
The dominant tribe of this state, the Adifor whom hunting was their raison de etre in their homeland the traditional way of hunting involved putting the ‘bamboo traps’ for the birds which ensured their catch but didn’t exterminate them altogether from the face of their land. But with the proliferation of air guns in even remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh like Mechuka, Tuting, Limeking , etc a virtual mayhem has been unleashed against the various bird species which is a big cause of worry for environmentalists as also the local tribals. But with the active intervention of the home minister Mama Natung things have started looking up. For the last few months Mama Natung’s team of environmentalists has teamed up with the district administration, other NGOs and community-based organizations on the ground to hold awareness drives.
The novel initiative was first launched at Lumdung village in east Kameng district in 2021, where 46 air guns belonging to the local population were surrendered in a grand ceremony. In return the owners of these air guns were presented with a certificate of appreciation. In a similar vein about 370 air guns were surrendered at Pasighat in a much bigger event attended by the Chief Minister, Pema Khandu, union sports minister KirenRijju and off course the quintessential Mama Natung to loud cheers from the populace. Till now many more airguns and traps have been surrendered saving thousands of fauna.
But this journey has been far from easy. In fact the Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh has an influential civil society group called Adi Bane Kebang . This Adi Bane Kebang society has been promoting the initiative among the community with a new found gusto. The popular sentiment against this noble cause led in fact to many social upheavals in Arunachal Pradesh with death threats too thrown in as an extreme measure played by these villagers. The nearest place Pasighat, from where most of these air guns have been procured after paying sums ranging from Rs 5000/ to 7000/ is a usual hub of hustle and bustle. Over the years it acquired the dubious distinction of supplying these air guns to the Adi tribe people at a very competitive price in the market which now only has revealed its deadly tentacles by way of ruining the environment balance in this sensitive border state of India.
As a by-product of the above actions three banded Rosefinch, a bird which is a resident of southern China and a vagrant in Bhutan was sighted and photographed by a team of scientists from Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in Arunachal Pradesh. The new species of bird was found during an intensive survey of finches across the eastern Himalayas as part of an ongoing study which coincidentally has its survival attributed to air gun surrender ceremony. The very fact that these seed eating Chinese birds have started appearing back goes to prove the efficacy of the air gun surrender ceremony which is in vogue nowadays in Arunachal Pradesh. With areas like Mechuka, Tuting Limeking etc well within the coniferous zone of forests of this state, it shows how well the initiative taken by Mama Natung has started showing its results even to an agency like BNHS (Bombay natural history society) which has given its stamp of approval by saying in so many words in its research paper that this bird has been spotted at an altitude higher than its recorded perch in China. The unique conservation efforts seem to have started yielding results.
More importantly, with the air gun surrender phenomenon gaining traction in the coming months people have started noticing the change in the environment and its surroundings and its profound effect as a whole. Delayed rains, longer summers, which affect their crops have been the bane of tinkering of nature.
Like the rest of India, the wildlife protection act applies to Arunachal Pradesh too, but many times it does not translate on ground. But then the air gun surrender initiative being a more local driven one, its chances of success are more as compared to enforced by outsiders. In a country as diverse as India, it is steps taken at the local levels with the zeal of Mama Natung that have turned the tide in people’s mentality in nature conservation.
(The writer is a Retired Army Officer and can be approached on his email …slalotra4729@gamil.com)
