Northeast India’s “critically endangered” tribe tries to reinvent

By Matters India Reporter

Sobri, Assam, Jan 16, 2022: A three-day convention was organized to help Ranglong, one of the critically endangered tribal communities of northeastern India, to reinvent, rejuvenate and become relevant in modern society.

Some 1,000 people attended the January 14-16 convention held at Sobri village near St. Thomas Church in Manikbond parish in Assam’s Karimganji district.

The 32nd annual program was organized under the aegis of Ranglong Catholic Community after obtaining permission from the Deputy Magistrate of Karimnagar and under strict Covid protocol.

The first convention of the Ranglong Catholics was held in 1990. One of the founders of the convention was Lokhanring Halam, a retired Assam Rifles solder, who along with Sumnengman Halam and late Simlalbut Halam realized the need to unite all Catholics of their community in the states of Assam, Mizoram and Tripura, to celebrate their faith and worship in Ranglong their mother tongue.

Lokhanring Halam told Matters India that he is happy to have the third edition of the prayer book in Ranglong titled, “Katholic Bor Zongna bu”. He proudly said, ‘This is the first ever attempt to have written documents in Ranglong.”

Romeo Halam, forest official and president of Ranglong Catholic Community said the main purpose of the convention is to unite the Ranglong community with the motto, “Be a channel of Christ light.”

With concern he continued, “The fear of losing identity, culture, language, is certainly worrisome and hence, many ways of protecting and promoting the Language is attempted.”

The president expressed that an initial purpose was to strengthen the faith while reaching out to the needy in society, The community takes care of the needs of the Ranglong villages.

Assoication secretary Bumlal Ring Halam is worried about many inter denominational marriages taking place these days. “The Catholic faith and practices are at times scarified and so such conventions help us to root us in catholic faith and the Holy Sacraments,” he explained.

Manai Ranglong, one of the women organizers, said, “I am connected with the Almighty when speak in Ranglong but not in Bengali, such convention helps me to reinvent myself in my mother tongue.” She is a revenue officer for the Tripura government and currently the association’s treasurer.

Jesuit Father Irudhaya Jothi, the resource person for the convention this year, elaborated the sublime aspect of the Catholic faith and addressed the Synod and Synodality and the role of Ranglong community in owning the Church.

He challenged hundreds of Ranglong youth in the convention to come out of their safety zones to understand the present state of the country where the toxic mixture of politics with corporates using the religion to their advantage and to divide and divert people’s attention from pressing national issues.

“There is growing unemployment rate at one hand and unbridled inflation on the other while the youth in rural areas are mostly addicted to mobiles,” the priest bemoaned.

He warned the participants that the mechanization in India is heavily replacing the human resources and the trend indicates a bleak future of the country’s youth the largest in the world.

Besides the input sessions, the convention also had singing, dancing competitions, Bible quiz and other engagements.

The daily routine started with Rosaries in the morning and ended with concelebrated Mass with the lively choir in Ranglong.

Ranglong has become the minority of the minorities among India’s tribal communities.

According to India’s Press Information Bureau, the Ranglong language has also been declared by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a critically endangered among 42 languages and 197 endangered languages in India.

According to latest date available, only 12,000 people in the world speak Ranglong.

The community is also a victim of amalgamation and delimitation of Indian Territory after Independence. However, it the Ranglongs have been identified as a separate community having separate identity by various renowned scholars.

The Ranglongs in Tripura has been merged with Halam and Tripuri community, whereas in Assam with the Kuki, Rangkhol/Hrangkhawl and Tripuri community.

In Mizoram they were merged with Rangkhol/Hrangkhawl and any other Mizo tribes (as per the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Orders ‘Amendment’ Act 1976).

The name Halam was coined by the Tipra Maharaja. As per their oral tradition they called themselves “Riam,” which literally means “Human being.”

The Halam is a community of 12 independent tribal groups, most of them not connected to each other in many ways, namely Chorei, Molsom, Hrangkhol, Kaipeng, Kalai, Langlong, Sakachep, Thangachep, Marachepang/ Morsephang Saimar, Bongcher, Korbwng, Bad and Rupini.

Ranglong language is am member of the Sino-Tibetan or Kuki-Chin family. The language is spoken in 22 villages and most of them are Christians. The people live in a small and densely populated area in three Indian states.

Considering their merger with different communities in three federated states in India, the Ranglong community is passing through serious identity crisis. They are officially compelled to identify themselves to a community with which the state government had merged them.

However, young and learned generations of the Ranglongs have been slowly and steadily recuperating its past identity in the recent years. It is found that they have been very vocal on their distinct identity as ‘Ranglong’ and acknowledged their common identity through diverse socio-cultural activities.

At present, the Ranglongs are aware about their distinct identity as a separated tribe. They have been acknowledging their identity as Ranglong in different socio-cultural activities. They have their own distinct and organized customary law called ‘Halamasa.’