from terrorism to tourism

The challenging transition from „Terrorism“ to Tourism - The case of the Bodo community around Manas Nationalpark, Assam, India (Marcus Bauer, 2007)

Background

The Northeast of India comprises

the states of Assam, Arunachal-

Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizo-

ram, Nagaland and Tripura.[1] They are

connected to the rest of the country only

through a narrow funnel, nicknamed the

‚chicken neck‘.[2] Here the borders of

India‘s adjoining countries Bangladesh,

Bhutan, and Nepal converge to a few

kilometers. The corridor is the major

gateway to the Brahmaputra valley with

Guwahati, the capital of Assam, being

the nodal point for trade and communi-

cation for the entire Northeast.

On the one hand, politically, the re-

gion „has earned the dubious distinc-

tion for persistent underdevelopment

and growing insurgency“.[3] After the

independence of India and the restruc-

turing of the Subcontinent, the various

ethnic groups of the Northeast are still

in a self-fi nding process. Demands for

independent states or territories still

are uttered politically, and in some ca-

ses these movements have resulted in

the creation of extremist groups. Those

take advantage of the situation that „any

disturbance in the Brahmaputra Valley

and/or its adjoining hills brings the ac-

tivities in the whole of the N.E. Region

to a stand-still position.“[4]

On the other hand, in terms of tou-

rism, the region is promoted as a „pa-

radise unexplored“.[5] The area is cha-

racterized by a diverse landscape with

the Brahmaputra valley plains and the

surrounding mountain plateaus. This di-

versity refl ects in the abundant fl ora and

fauna and in the presence of more than

150 distinct tribal groups with their rich

cultural heritage. The „polite and hospi-

table people“ are classifi ed as a „virtue

of the NE-region“.[6]

The Bodos

Bodo people have settled all over

Northeast India and parts of Nepal.

They represent one of the largest ethnic

and linguistic groups of the Brahmapu-

tra valley.[7] According to the 2001

census, they „were the largest recog-

nized plain tribe in Assam comprising

1.2 million people or 5.3% of the total

population of Assam.“[8]

„Due to perception of negligence of

the Bodo areas by successive Govern-

ments in Assam since independence,

infl ux of migrants from other parts of

Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Bang-

ladesh, which led to alienation of tribal

land, though prohibited by the Assam

Land Revenue (Rules and Regulations)

1886“ the Bodo started searching a se-

parate Bodo identity.[9]

From March 1987 to February 1993

the All Bodo Student Union (ABSU)

led an agitation for a separate home-

land for the Bodos within the Indian

Union.“[10] This movement led to the

installation of the Bodoland Autono-

mous Council (BAC) in 1993. Accor-

ding to the Bodos, the „BAC failed to

fully meet the aspirations of Bodos and

ABSU again lunched an agitation de-

nouncing the accord and demanding

creation of a separate state.“[11] In

December 2003, the Bodo Liberation

Tigers (BLT), a militant movement, es-

tablished in June 1996, „renounced vi-

olence and surrendered along with arms

and ammunition at Kokrajhar, marking

an end to seven years of insurgency. On

the following day, an interim 12-mem-

ber executive council of the Bodoland

Territorial Council (BTC) was formed

in Kokrajhar.“[12] The underlying Me-

morandum of Settlement was to secure

„to assure all ethnic groups of deve-

lopment, equality, security and growth

with stability“.[13]

The challenging transition from “Terrorism” to Tourism

The case of the Bodo Community around Manas Nationalpark, Bodoland, Assam, India

Once a war dance, today a cultural programme performed for tourists by the

Bodo women and thus conserved as a cultural asset.

© R

. Loose


The latest Bodo accord brings the

promise of a lasting peace in the

Bodo areas and to a larger ex-

tent across the Assam Valley. Its

impact in other sites should also

not be ruled out for a major group

has shown that power fl ows from

political wisdom and realism, not

just from the barrel of a gun or

through angry rhetoric.

BO D O L A N D TE R R I T O R Y

CO U N C I L

But the time of insurgency had left

scars in the region. During the move-

ment the Bodo community depended

a lot on forest resources and the rather

impenetrable areas served as a hide-out

for militants. Moreover, the established

national and international poaching net-

work took advantage of the unstable si-

tuation. Manas Nationalpark with its

dense forestation, grasslands and rich

wildlife, was badly affected.

Manas Nationalpark

In 1985, UNESCO honored the „great

physical beauty“ and the „great natu-

ral diversity“[14] by adding the Manas

Sanctuary to the World Heritage. The

Protected Area supports „22 scheduled

species, and it is the richest in species

of all Indian wildlife areas“.[15] Parts

of it had been a forest reserve since

1907, and in the 1970s it was declared

a Sanctuary for the Rhino and a Pro-

ject Tiger Site. In 1990 the Sanctuary

was upgraded to a 52,000 ha large Na-

tionalpark [16], only two years before

the UNESCO took the dramatic step to

add it to the „List of World Heritage in

Danger“.

On a gentle slope in the foothills

of the Himalayas, where wooded

hills give way to alluvial grass-

lands and tropical forests, the Ma-

nas sanctuary is home to a great

variety of wildlife, including many

endangered species, such as the

tiger, pygmy hog, Indian rhinoce-

ros and Indian elephant.

UNESCO WO R L D

HE R I T A G E CE N T E R

Today efforts are undertaken to en-

large the Protected Area by „promoting

the nomination of the Royal Manas Na-

tional Park in Bhutan as a future World

Heritage site and part of a transbounda-

ry park to improve the protection of the

whole Manas ecosystem on both sides

of the border.“[17]

The Manas Maozigendri model – a Blueprint for Com-munity Conservation

The importance of Manas started

being discussed [18] as soon as the

peace process started and in December

2003 a few ABSU youths from the Cha-

paguri Kokilabari Anchalik Committee

decided to form a society to create a

Bird Conservation area in their part of

Manas, namely the eastern part of the

core area of Manas Tiger Reserve under

Bhuiyanpara range. The Tiger Project

management supported the idea and the

fi rst action was to stop the sale of meat

of wild animals in the nearby market

known as Lakhi Bazar and the procu-

ring of timber from the forest. The peo-

ple had faith in the ABSU youths and

this was the start of a new movement.

The youths had managed to initiate sur-

render of local hunting arms (country

guns known as gazimara, spears, traps,

catapults etc.) by the poachers from the

adjoining villages and patrol their area

of Manas to keep away poachers and

timber extractors.

In 2005, the movement took a larger

shape with the involvement of NGOs

and people from the travel trade, princi-

pally Help Tourism. A strong platform,

the „Manas Maozigendri Ecotourism

Society“ (MMES) was established.

The main motivation was to free Ma-

nas from the UNESCO list of „World

Heritage Site in Danger“ and bring back

its past glory. Several departments we-

re formed, with volunteers undertaking

the different jobs to make the communi-

ty conservation a success in the eastern

core area of the Manas Tiger Reserve

and create a ‘Bodo Buffer’. Help Tou-

rism after extensive discussions with

the volunteers and several departments

set up goals for MMES:

• Free Manas from UNESCO List of

„The World Heritage in Danger“

• Confi rm Conservation of Manas in

Totality as a World Heritage Site.

• Address to people‘s livelihood in vil-

The Bengal Florican is a ‚critically endangered‘ species with habitat in Manas

and a major benefi ciaries of the Bodos‘ community conservation efforts..

© S

uja

n C

hatt

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ee


lages around the protected areas &

non reserves of the area

• Organize developmental works in the

villages concerning the conservati-

on, social, cultural, medical & agri-

cultural aspects.

• Revive the traditional conservation

cultures of the Bodos

• Develop better trans-border relation

with Bhutan

The area that the youths patrolled

and could control was named the Ma-

nas Maozigendri Conservation Area,

following the name of the local stream

Maozigendri taken from the Bodo le-

gend. The youths along with villagers

developed patrolling roads, protection

camps etc with the participation of the

villagers. The surrendered poachers ha-

ve been engaged in patrolling and some

of the educated youths have been vo-

lunteering for important species moni-

toring program, which includes Bengal

Florican, Great Hornbill, Python, Ele-

phant, Tiger and Capped Langur.

To get the confi dence of the fringe

villagers, the volunteers run awareness

programs, medical camps, garment

banks etc. and have taken to ecotourism

development for a better livelihood pro-

cess and global recognization. Hospi-

tality, handicrafts, cultural demonstra-

tion, wildlife experience etc. are being

developed gradually. The development

of ecotourism was not only considered

to be a major livelihood process but

also as a support of the conservation

initiative.

Recognization has started coming

but there is long way to go and support

is needed to develop this as a model for

‘community participation in conser-

vation’. The Tiger Project authorities

and the BTC are paying remuneration

for the ex-poachers on patrol duty and

have provided radio wireless sets to be

in touch with the park authorities from

the fi eld. The responsibility of the cen-

tenary closing ceremony for the Manas

Reserve had been given to MMES,

and in 2006 the MMES initiative was

awarded with the INTACH environ-

mental award.

The process has not been very

smooth, the poaching and illicit tree

felling lobby has every now and then

attacked the volunteers, the protec-

tion camps and even instigated adjoi-

ning villagers to destroy the protection

camps. The BTC being a newly formed

council, and being much dependent on

the state has often discontinued to pay

the patrolling volunteers due to fi nan-

cial crisis. The Tiger Reserve authori-

ties having no resolution or policy to

give the volunteers a full fl edged legal

status to protect their own backyard fo-

rests, which happens to be the core of

the Tiger Reserve, it is diffi cult for them

to support them with arms and radio

wireless systems that were needed for

a fully professional park management

.

Ecotourism aspects

Near Koklabari a small resort with

fi ve cottages, and kitchen cum di-

ning, the Manas Maozigendri Jungle

Camp, was built with maximum usage

of local material and manpower. People

from the near-by village has been trai-

ned up as staff to cater for the tourists

and to provide guiding. Moreover, two

existing buildings were designated as

guest houses, providing basic accom-

modation facilities for 20 guests. Addi-

tionally, 20 families have been trained

up to offer homestays.

During their stay in the area, visitors

are registered as temporary members

of MMES and they participate in the

conservation activities undertaken by

MMES volunteers. In addition to the

excursions to the Park, educational

programmes have been worked out to

introduce the guests to the Bodo cul-

ture and tradition, including music and

dance, local bamboo and silk weaving

craftsmanship, or processing of the lo-

cal rice beer ‚Zu mai‘. The stay in close

contact with the Bodo community mo-

reover introduces the visitors to the re-

ligion of Biodivinity, the Bodos‘ rituals

of worshipping nature.

The successful model implemented

by MMES led to the establishment of

several more initiatives of the same pat-

tern around the Protected Areas of Ma-

nas, like in Zumduar, Ultapani, Kala-

mati, Bansbari. Till date approximately

1000 volunteers are engaged in nature

protection and ecotourism activities.

Conservation Camps safeguard the entry points to Manas Nationalpark and

serve as a coordination point for local and visiting volunteers.

© M

. Bauer


Conclusions

Tourism currently gets prominent

attention as an important factor for

the sustainable development of the East

Himalaya, e.g. by Asian Development

Bank (ADB). The MMES initiative

and the Bodos′ path towards peace and

stability – both major requirements for

tourism – can be cutting-edge prototy-

pes for the whole Northeast of India.

Nevertheless, successful tourism deve-

lopment is still hampered. Bad commu-

nication, especially the lack of impor-

tant link roads, poor telecommunication

facilities, shortages in electricity supply

and power cuts are obstacles that deri-

ve from overall weaknesses regarding

regional development. Lack of training

and qualifi ed staff is a factor that can

be infl uenced from within the commu-

nities with basic external support. But

the most challenging infl uence is the

bad reputation the region still suffers

from. Efforts are undertaken towards

improving the image. But as long as

external information on the region, es-

pecially by the Foreign Offi ces of the

major tourism source countries, is ne-

gative, broad spill-over effects of the

promising role model is unachievable.

The situation is paradox: The same go-

vernments support the development of

the region and initiate biodiversity con-

servation programmes on the one hand.

And on the other hand they are advising

their tourists to consider their need to

travel thus condemning their own de-

velopment projects. A closer look at the

ground reality in the different parts of

the region and more detailed informa-

tion was advisable and is technically

feasible.

References:

[1] Sikkim is the eight state of Northeast India, but is not

refl ected in this text due to differing geographical lo-

cation.

[2] The origin of the corridor dates back to the year of

India‘s independence in1947 when after the division of

Bengal the area was separated into the Indian state of

West-Bengal and East Pakistan, which in 1971 became

the independent state of Bangladesh. The purpose of the

establishment was to allow India access to the state of

Assam with the Brahmaputra valley.

[3] P.R. Bhattacharjee and P. Nayak: Vicious circle of insur-

gency and underdevelopment in North East India, p.1

http://www.freewebs.com/nehu_economics-a/vcircle_ner.pdf

[4] ibid, p.3

[5] India tourism campaign launched in 2006

http://www.fi nancialexpress.com/old/latest_full_story.php?content_

id=135292

[6] Mrinmoy K Sarma: A ‚paradise unexplored‘

http://www.tezu.ernet.in/dba/Faculty/mrinmoy/Vision.pdf

[7] See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodo_people

[8] Parliament of India Rajya Sabha, 102nd Report on the

Sixth Schedule to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill,

2003 & The Constitution (99th amendment) Bill, 2003

http://rajyasabha.nic.in/book2/reports/home_aff/102ndreport.htm

[9] ibid.

[10] Sudhir Jacob George: The Bodo movement in Assam

– Unrest to Accord, Asian Survey, Vol. 34, No. 10 (Oct.,

1994), pp. 878-892

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-4687%28199410%2934%3A10

%3C878%3ATBMIAU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-5&size=LARGE&ori

gin=JSTOR-enlargePage

[11] Bodoland Territory Council website

http://www.bodolandcouncil.org/aboutus.htm

[12] South Asia Terrorism Council

http://satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/terrorist_

outfi ts/bltf.htm

[13] Bodoland Territory Council website

http://www.bodolandcouncil.org/aboutus.htm

[14] United Nations Environmental Programme, World

Conservation and Monitoring Center

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/manas.html

[15] ibid.

[16] ibid.

[17] ibid.

[18] All information about the MMES project derives from

a personal site visit in October 2005, regular mail up-

dates on the project progress (mostly documented on

www.manasnp.wordpress.com), and a personal discus-

sion about the project with Mr. Raj Basu, MD and foun-

der of Help Tourism, Siliguri in October 2007

Marcus Bauer is a freelance con-

sultant and journalist with focus on

tourism and South Asia. He holds a

master‘s degree in Sustainable Tou-

rism Management and a Diploma in

Travel and Tourism Management.

[email protected]

October 2007

Today visitors can actively join hands with the Bodo in their effort to remove

Manas Nationalpark from the list of World Heritage in Danger.

© R

. Loose

from terrorism to tourism

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