Tawang: On Monday, two people,
including a Buddhist monk, were killed and ten were injured in police firing in
Tawang, a town perched at 3,000 metres above sea level in Arunachal Pradesh in
the Eastern Himalayas, right on the China border.
Prima facie, it was alleged
mishandling of a law and order situation by the police — apparently there were
hardly 200 people protesting outside the Tawang police station when the firing
happened. The issue that had triggered the protest was an emotive one — Lama
Lobsang Gyatso, who also heads a group called the Save Mon Region Federation
(SMRF) had allegedly questioned the nationality status of Guru Tulku Rinpoche,
the spiritual head or abbot of the Tawang Monastery. Gyatso had been arrested
on April 28, and his supporters were demanding his release outside the police
station when they were fired upon, leading to the two deaths.
The SMRF has also been spearheading
protests against a number of hydroelectric dam projects that are coming up in
the area. The Arunachal Pradesh government has over the past several years
signed MoUs with various companies for over 100 big and small hydel projects in
the state, and 13 of these — with a total installed capacity of 2791.90 MW —
are in Tawang district.
The anti-dam protesters include
various student bodies, environmental groups and civil society organizations in
the state — in Tawang, the Buddhist lamas too have jumped in. In January,
hundreds of lamas joined protests in Tawang saying “No”, particularly to large
dams in the “ecologically, culturally and strategically” sensitive district.
Tawang, which was occupied by Chinese troops in 1962, continues to be on
Beijing’s mind — which, in fact, stakes claim to the entire state of Arunachal
Pradesh.
Activists complain environmental
clearances to several projects were issued despite protests, after allegedly
hurried or hush-hush public hearings that allowed very little time or scope to
listen to genuine grievances.
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