SILCHAR: BJP has called a 10-hour bandh in NC Hills district beginning 5 am on Monday seeking peace talks with both factions of DHD and revival
of NC Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) which is under suspended animation. The party's other demands are resumption of work on the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge section and East-West corridor project be-sides payment of salaries to NCHAC employees.

On the other hand, the political atmosphere in the district is getting vexed after surrender of DHD(J) militants. While one of the core demands of the outfit (surrendered) is creation of an autonomous state comprising NC Hills district within Assam, the Dilip Nunisa-led faction has started spear-heading its demand for a separate state called Dima Raji (Dimasa King-dom) comprising NC Hills and Dimasa-inhabited areas of Nagaland (Dimapur) and Assam's Cachar and Nagaon districts.

The DHD(J) had submitted a long list of demands to chief minister Tarun Gogoi and joint secretary (home) Navin Verma on October 2 on the occasion of the ceremonial surrender of the outfit. The demands include granting of autonomous state status to NC Hills within Assam under Article 244 of the Constitution and change of nomenclature of NC Hills as Dima Hasao Raji.

"We are for a separate state (Dima Raji) covering Dimasa-inhabited areas of the North-East. We want revival of the glorious history of Dimasas who ruled this part of the North-East during the 17th and 18th century. DHD will not agree with anything short of Dima Raji during peace talks with the government," said Dilip Nunisa in his address before a large gathering at Kalachand near Maibang in NC Hills recently.

The gathering, attended by a good number of Dimasa intellectuals and NGOs, was intended to create mass support and put pressure on the authorities at a time when the Jewel faction has jumped into the arena with their list of demands.

Union home minister P Chidambaram has already made it clear that peace talks will be held with both factions of the DHD and there will be no pro-vision for separate sittings with each of the surrendered outfits.

Observers feel solving the Dimasa conflict through peace talks will not be an easy task with the demand of both factions being in sharp contrast to each other. "The main challenge for a permanent solution to the NC Hills problem is to negotiate the unmatched demands of the Nunisa and Jewel groups. The leaders of the surrendered groups should take the initiative," said a teacher of Haflong Government College.