Digboi: An open letter by a member of the Chakma community in Arunachal Pradesh has called on civil society organisations, student bodies, political parties and indigenous communities to move beyond decades of mistrust and engage in dialogue over the community’s concerns about identity, land, documentation and belonging.
This journalist has received a copy of the letter, whose author identifies themselves only as “an ordinary Chakma of Arunachal Pradesh”. The writer says they are not a leader or activist but an ordinary Chakma born in the state, and makes a personal appeal for greater understanding and reconciliation.
The letter acknowledges concerns among Arunachal Pradesh’s indigenous communities over protecting their identity, land, culture and demographic interests, but argues that these concerns should not lead to the collective portrayal of the Chakma community as outsiders.
The writer describes uncertainty over documentation, land ownership and access to opportunities as a burden carried by generations of Chakma families who have grown up in the state.
“Do you know what it feels like to fill out a form and pause at the box that asks for your state of domicile, because the only place you have ever known as home is itself being questioned?” the writer asks.
The letter says the issue becomes more acute when children face discrimination or are labelled “refugees” or “outsiders”, arguing that such experiences can have a lasting psychological impact on young people born and raised in Arunachal Pradesh.
The writer also points to the economic vulnerability of sections of the Chakma population, claiming that some families remain dependent on tenancy and agricultural labour without secure ownership of the land they cultivate.
The letter further claims that documentation-related difficulties have prevented sections of the community from fully accessing welfare and development schemes intended for vulnerable and tribal populations.
At the centre of the appeal is the question of belonging.
Referring to the historical circumstances surrounding the rehabilitation of Chakma and Hajong families in the region during the 1960s, the writer says generations of the community have since been born and raised in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Most of us were born in these very hills. This is the only homeland we know,” the writer says.
The letter also seeks to address what it describes as misconceptions about the Chakma community, including perceptions that Chakmas are outsiders, pose a demographic threat or seek to alter the indigenous character of Arunachal Pradesh.
The writer says concerns over illegal migration and demographic change are understandable, but urges people to distinguish those issues from the lived reality of communities that have been settled in the region for generations.
“We are not a political movement seeking to overwhelm anyone. We are families — farmers, students, shopkeepers, daily-wage workers and tenants — trying to live with dignity in the place we call home,” the letter states.
The writer also highlights aspects of Chakma culture, including traditional weaving, jhum cultivation, customary village institutions and festivals such as Biju and Al Paloni. These practices, the letter says, share similarities with wider tribal traditions of the Northeast.
“We are not so different from you as the rumours suggest,” the writer says, arguing that Chakma cultural identity has developed within the broader landscape of indigenous traditions and hill societies.
The letter acknowledges that mistrust may have multiple causes, including ignorance, rumours, political interests and internal divisions within the Chakma community itself. It calls instead for an open conversation between communities.
“I ask — what fault has an ordinary man like me done to deserve such hate and collective vilification?” the writer asks.
The appeal calls for a middle path that recognises the concerns and rights of Arunachal Pradesh’s indigenous communities while allowing Chakmas to preserve their distinct tribal identity and pursue meaningful integration.
“I am not asking you to give up your identity, your concerns, or your right to protect your homeland. I respect those rights completely,” the writer says.
“What I ask is that you see us as we are — not as a threat, but as a small tribal community that has lived here for generations.”
The writer argues that integration, rather than permanent exclusion or separation, could provide a way forward, particularly for children born in Arunachal Pradesh who continue to face questions over their belonging.
“I hope there can be a future where no child has to wonder whether they belong, and where they belong,” the writer says.
“We have lived under the same sky for a very long time now. I hope, in time, we can call it the same home — together.”
When contacted about the author and the validity of the letter, Mahendra Chakma, president of the Chakma Rights Development Organisation (CRDO), said he too had received the letter through social media.
He said the issues raised in the letter and its reconciliatory tone appear to reflect genuine sentiments among sections of the Chakma community in Arunachal Pradesh.
The identity of the letter’s author could not be independently established.