Alipurduar, April 9: Elections in Bengal have always thrown up surprises. This year isn’t different.
For the first time in the history of elections in Bengal, a Garo candidate is taking on the might of the BJP and Trinamool from the Alipurduar Lok Sabha seat in North Bengal- a region that has a huge tribal presence whose source of livelihood is farming.
Meet 34 year old Rahul Mrong Marak from the Garo village of Uttar Panialguri in Alipurduar. He is the first Garo candidate to be seeking an entry into the Lok Sabha from the state of West Bengal.
Alipurduar is also NorthEast region’s gateway to West Bengal and the Himalayan region of Sikkim.
Rahul is contesting on a ticket from the farmer based Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Party that came into existence to take on Modi and the BJP after the protests against the farmers bill in Delhi. The farmers’ party is contesting 42 of the parliamentary seats in West Bengal.
Replacing the formal dress and tie for a white kurta and leaving behind the soothing sound of children’s laughter for the shrill sounds of political sloganeering has not come easy.
“Having witnessed the plight of my tribe in the state where we are deprived of our rights, I decided to come into politics to be a voice for my Garo community and the tribals of Alipurduar. The matrilineal system that we A’chiks or Garos follow is fast disappearing primarily because there is no one to stand up and fight for its protection,” says Rahul Marak in a conversation with this scribe on Monday.
He belongs to the largest Garo clan of Alipurduar- the Mrongs, and his entry into the contest has been well received by other Garo clans from the area, namely Chisim, Rechil, Tojo, Nekola Sangma, Agitok-Awe, Adima, Mankim, Raksam and the Chambugongs.
He is one among 11 candidates contesting the 02-Alipurduar (ST) parliamentary seat where two powerful rivals- BJP and TMC have fielded tribal candidates Manoj Tigga and Prakash Chikbaraik.
Sitting BJP MP and Union minister of state for Minority Affairs John Barla was denied a ticket by the BJP, this time.
Alipurduar is a tribal dominated seat where there is considerable population of Adivasis but the decision by both the TMC and the BJP to field candidates from the same community has created a split that Rahul Marak hopes to take advantage of.
“We Garos take our title from our mothers as we follow the matrilineal system. But entire generations of Garos are losing out on our tribal identity because the state of West Bengal does not recognize the mother’s surname when applying for tribal certificates. Our mother’s title is rejected outright and we are compelled to take our father’s surname which is erasing our unique tribal culture. I want to raise this problem in Parliament,” says Rahul Marak.
He adds that 90 percent of the population of Alipurduar depends on farming for their livelihood. “We want a special package for the farming community that includes reservation in education for our children and removal of the current power charges because farmers are being charged a similar price for each power unit as those paid by the wealthy.
Optimistic of the outcome given the warm welcome he has been receiving wherever he goes for campaigning, Rahul says “Besides my A’chik tribe and the Adivasis, other tribes in Alipurduar, including the Rabhas,Bodos, the Gorkhas (Nepalis) and the Toto tribe have also endorsed my candidature because we all share a similar bonding and cultural identity.”
But the ground situation has been volatile given Bengal’s history of poll violence and candidates from smaller parties like Rahul’s haven’t found it easy when it comes to campaigning.
Even to move out of one’s house for campaigning one has to seek permission from authorities due to the possibility of conflict.
That hasn’t shaken the lone Garo contestant in this campaign who confidently strides into basti’s or villages seeking votes in the name of tribal identity. “I strongly believe the time has arrived for the voice of the tribal community to be heard in the corridors of power in New Delhi,” says Rahul Marak as he prepares for the voting slated to take place on April 19th in the first phase of polls.
A victory on June 4th would be a dream come true for the Garos of West Bengal, not just because it could make him the first Garo to make it from the state, but more importantly paving the way for protection of the unique and rare matrilineal system that only a handful of tribes across the world follow.
