A day ahead of his scheduled visit to Mizoram, the All India Chakma Students’ Union (AICSU) has urged the Union home minister Amit Shah to address the issue of torture of Chakma students in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in Mizoram.
According to reports, at least 34 Chakma students including nine girls, who were studying at JNV at Serchhip in Mizoram, had to flee to their homes recently due to torture by Mizo students.
The AICSU said that the Chakmna students fled the school due to lack of security, intimidation and threat by the Mizo students particularly after the brutal torture of one Nolin Bikash Chakma by group a of Mizo students on September 26.
“Of these 34 Chakma students, 17 belonged to Lawngtlai district and 17 are from Mamit district,” vice president of the AICSU, Tejang Chakma said on Friday.
He said that the torture of Chakma students in the JNVs is regular and in 1997, the JNV authorities had to shift all the Chakma students (43 students) to JNV at Mou Gate in Senapati district of Manipur after brutal incidents of torture and harassment of Chakma students at JNV hostel at Hrangchalkawn in Lunglei district in Mizoram.
“There is an immediate need to end such torture in the educational institutions and create conducive atmosphere for return of all the 34 Chakma students studying at JNV, Serchhip.
“Unless the Union home minister ensures safe and secure environment inside the school premises run by the Central government, it shall be a failure of the Government of India to secure the future of its children,” he said.
The AICSU demanded establishment of two new JNVs respectively at Marpara in Lunglei District and Kamalanagar in Chakma Autonomous District Council at the earliest so that minority students can study without fear.
