First Steps towards a More Liveable Future

On November 30, 2010, 20-years old Chukhu Mary went to the Government Primary School, Rubdi. It was her first day in the school as a student. A dream she had nourished for years together had come true that day.

Mary had always wanted to go to school like her friends in the neighborhood, but she did not have a childhood. In 1998, when she was 10 years old, she was forced to live with her husband as his second wife. Her husband, Chukhu Kaya, whose youngest son was Mary’s age, had five children from his first wife. Mary’s father, Nabam Saha, had received eight Mithuns from Chukhu Kaya as Mary’s bride price, when she was still too young to remember. Her father had expired some 12 years back.

Mary learned to live with the Chukhu family, initially helping with the household chores. As she grew up, she spent most of the time working in the fields and jungles. She dreaded growing up, because her husband started making advances towards her. Mary, somehow, managed to stay away from him.

Since 2006, Mary had been approaching her mother and brothers requesting them not to let her stay with the Chukhu family. “I want to go to school”, she would say. She even implored her husband to let her go to school but he dismisses her, saying, “I paid your price to your father. You are my wife now and I will keep you as I wish.” Her brothers were helpless since this has been the tradition. The only way out was to pay back the mithuns to Chukhu family, but her brothers had no capacity to do that. Mary was contemplating suicide.

In 2009, Mary joined the Women Action Group (WAG) formed by Future Generations Arunachal (FGA) and came into contact with Punyo Rina who is working as the Project Supervisor. Mary shared her agony with her and got much needed encouragement for the first time from anybody. In one of the workshops, some women from Palin, who too were victims of child marriage, had shared their story. The story of their successful struggle encouraged Mary not to lose hope. She started participating in every meeting and training, but her husband did not like this. He started harassing Mary more than ever and started talking ill of other members of the women’s groups as well as of the FGA staff. Paradoxically, these defensive behaviors of her husband emboldened Mary to fight on with more determination. She made sure not to miss any program and managed to leave the house even clandestinely. During an exposure trip to Ziro, she shared her story and got sympathy and encouragement from everybody.

As Mary’s protests grew stronger, a compromise was made: Kaya will let go of Mary, but she had to accept Peter, his youngest son, as her husband. In return, Mary’s brothers agreed to bear the expenses for Peter’s education. As a token, they gave a cow, some chicken and traditional beads to Kaya. Chukhu Kaya, however, did not keep the agreement. He started making advances towards Mary again.

In the night of July 22, 2010 Mary had a fight with her husband when he forcefully tried to sleep with her. “I will complain against you to the women’s group and Miss Rina if you try to force anything,” Mary told him. This angered him and he snatched away her mobile phone. Mary somehow managed to escape from the house and spent the night in the house of Kaya’s eldest daughter, who was married and stayed nearby. Next morning, when she came back to her husband’s house, they had an argument again. Mary then went to Yazali to discuss about the issue with Joseph, Kaya’s eldest son. Joshep lives with his family at Yazali. Joseph could not give any concrete suggestion. “Do whatever you think is right,” was all he said. Mary then went to Yachuli to meet the local women’s leader. She allowed Mary to stay with her for sometime so that she could observe her true intention. Mary stayed at Yachuli for a month and convinced everbody that she was determined to fight against the system. It was then that they lodged a formal complaint in the court of the Additional Deputy Commissioner.


The first hearing of the case was on September 29, 2010. In the second hearing on October 16, 2010 the final verdict was given by the court. It was decided that Mary will be allowed to go to school. It was also decided that Mary will accept Peter, the youngest son of Kaya, as her husband. However, if Peter happens to marry any other girl, Mary will be free to choose her course of life. At the same time, if Mary happens to develop a relationship with any other man, her brothers will have to return the 8 eight mithuns, which was initially paid as the bride price.

Mary has got herself admitted to third standard in the village school. She attends her classes regularly, sitting with 9-year old children. She has won the first battle against the system that has oppressed women of her tribe for generations. The struggle continues.

Eco-Camp for Children

It was a welcome break from the monotonous routine of studying within the confines of the classrooms. And it was a gift on the occasion of the Children's Day!



Twenty seven students from ten government schools in Ziro packed their bags and trekked 15 kilometers east of Hapoli to the Pange forest. They were participating in the Environment Awareness Camp organized by Future Generations Arunachal (FGA) and Ngunu Ziro, supported by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) and Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) as a part of the project "Community-based Conservation in Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh".



The ten participating schools included Tajang Secondary School, Dutta Middle School, TPD Middle School, Gandhi Middle School, Hapoli Secondary School, Hill Top Primary School, Siiro Primary School, Hong Middle School and Old Ziro Middle School. They carried out various activities designed to educate and entertain them in the forest under the guidance of the Local Coordinating Committee (LCC) members who were the resource persons.



The highlight of the program was demonstration of much misunderstood snake as a friendly creature. When the resource person caught a snake and started playing with it, the children's fear gave way to curiosity and then to pleasure when they were convinced that snakes are lovely creatures.



The three-day camp was full of explorations and adventures. Their findings in the day were presented in the evenings.




To mark the Children's Day in a special way, the students planted trees in the camp of the Forest Range Officer at Pange.



It was not all works, though. The evening camp-fires were the event the children as well the resource persons looked forward to after days activities. They danced and sang in the stillness of the forest.



When it was time to get back to the town, the children wanted more. They had to go back now, but more they will have in the coming days!

More details are here.

Community Protection of Wildlife

The Apatanis who inhabit the Ziro valley adjacent to Talle Wildlife Sanctuary are known for their expertise in management of their forests and other natural resources. Because their life is inextricably interwoven with forests and wildlife, they traditionally had sustainable way of harvesting the forest resources as well as hunting practices. With the introduction of firearms in recent years, however, wildlife in the area is being increasingly threatened.

A willife survey is being carried out in the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary by FGA with support from CEPF and ATREE. The survey utilizes the indigenous knowledge of the tribal hunters and scientific methods using GPS and infra-red motion sensor cameras. As a part of this project, an awareness workshop on community participation in wildlife protection was organized on October 23, 2010 by FGA, Ngunu Ziro, Apatani Cultural and Literary Society and the Department of Forests & Environment, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.




The participants included village elders, leaders of the village council (Panchayats) and senior local officers, Preliminary findings of the Talle Wildlife survey was presented. The participants were concerned about the dwindling wildlife and passed several resolutions to control hunting activities.

More details are covered here.

The Beginning

It is increasingly being recognized that sustainable development can be brought about with more active participation of the community, which effectively means by use of human energy. Having used to being passive onlookers and looked upon as ‘beneficiaries’ of various government developmental schemes, however, the communities in Arunachal Pradesh is in a state of dormancy at present. A massive exercise of community mobilization is necessary to initiate the process of sparking the human energy off. Therefore, a large-scale mobilization of human energy is the key to bringing about a sustainable development in the state.

In the 19th century, while the world was witnessing the industrial revolution, Arunachal Pradesh was complacently basking in a self-contained subsistent agricultural economy. However, the sense of community participation was alive and kicking. Be it the building of a bridge across the mighty Siang river by the Adis, construction of traditional platforms called lapangs by the Apatanis or construction of community fencings by the Nyishis, every individual made their contribution for the common good. After the 1962 Chinese aggression, the nation was jolted to the realization that the strategically located border area needs to be brought to the national mainstream. Developmental packages started coming in slowly and Arunachal Pradesh became a full-pledged state in 1987 in the backdrop of protests from many quarters on the ground that the state will not be economically viable. Various government developmental schemes came with their share of side effects too, of which making the people dependant has been the most serious one.

Future Generations Arunachal (FGA) took upon the task of demonstrating an alternate way of bringing about development in 1997 when it was registered as a society with the government of Arunachal Pradesh. It started with rural women as the change agents. The underlying principle is to mobilize the community to actively work for their future using available local resources – both human as well as natural.

Future Generations Arunachal (FGA) started working with the communities in the three sites – Sille, Ziro and Palin. These sites were selected on the basis of their differences – culturally as well as topographically. Sille in the foothills of the state by the Siang river, Ziro in the beautiful Apatani plateau and Palin in the rugged hills in Kurung Kumey district, were together seen to represent the whole diversity of the state while still strongly bounded by cultural and spiritual common links.

After multiple sessions of self-evaluation exercises in the three sites, health and education were selected as the entry points. Education could not be sustained due to examination-oriented education system in India. Health being a neutral subject and universal necessity became the entry point in all the sites. The principles of SEED SCALE were applied from the beginning, though it had not taken a concrete shape as yet. FGA is playing significant roles in perfecting the process.

This blog will trace the history of an unusual organization in an unusual corner of the globe. It will also be a forum to document how a handful of young people are struggling to beat a way for the rising sun - unknown and unsung. A sense of fulfillment of an achievement as well as exasperation of a job not well done may be expressed.