Ready to give blood: 100-year-old Assamese granny joins protest against alleged Naga incursions

MARIANI: Sarumai Bharali, a 100-year-old grandmother, was recently spotted at a protest against alleged Naga incursions on Assamese soil. The protest was organized at Mariani amid the hue-and-cry over a camp erected within the Dissoi Valley Reserve Forest under Mariani range of Jorhat Forest Division where armed Naga personnel have been posted. Several indigenous bodies and student organizations have once again started a road blockade against Nagaland and Bharali joined the protesters in the morning of Saturday, November 28.

"I have come out to protest because Nagas wish to encroach our land. Assamese land should not go to land," Bharali, who hails from the tiny Kalyanpur village, told reporters, before attesting that she is ready to give her blood in order to protect the land from the alleged incursions by the Mokokchung district administration.

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It needs mention here that the economic blockade imposed by several organizations at Mariani in Jorhat against alleged Naga incursions which was temporarily suspended for 36 hours in view of the peace talks has been re-imposed following the failure of the talks on Wednesday.

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However, the Dhodar Ali blockade against Nagaland by ATASU has been temporarily withdrawn following a request by the district administration.

According to a Mokokchung police source, civil organizations in Mariani misconstrued the construction of a temporary COVID-related shelter by the Mokokchung district administration in the border village of Aosenden bordering Nagachari on the Assam side. It happened some 2-3 weeks back. Nagaland and Assam share a 512 km boundary and a land dispute that’s going on for over five decades.

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