TODAYS REALITY IN DARLONG SOCIETY

The Darlong society, obviously, is one of the fastest growing societies in Tripura in this century. However, due to the limitation of its socio-economic development and imbalanced growth, there are certain societal perils that are dangerous to its own gradual and healthy growth. The Darlong society’s access to the outside world is limited by its geographical setting and limited transpiration means which is important to broaden the general mindsets of the people and the progress of civilization. As a result, there is lack of essential social adventure among the Darlong  people. Just like the product of a concentrated society, instead of promoting a democratic social principles and creating an opened society for its own people and the friendly neighborhoods, it becomes a racially protective and defensive society. Fearing self-annihilation while there is no such substantial social threat. Economically, its dependency on the State government of Tripura and lack of its self-reliance long-term economic policy, there is an obvious psychological inconveniency and future uncertainty. At the worst, many people live in fear, fear of sins, crime, and economic insufficiency.

As the Darlong society is going to celebrate its Christian centenary in the coming  year 2019, the primitive traditional practices have been already transformed into a modern Christian culture mostly adopted from the western life styles and social norms. Not only Christianity had helped the progress of social cultural evolution in the Darlong society, but also the fast growing literacy rate has broadened the Darlong perspective and fastens the progress of the Darlong civilization. Moreover, the struggle for its national survival brought the people together under one socio-political psycho, moving toward the goal of one people-one nation even under the rule of the central government of India. It can be also assumed that the grassroots level structure of theDarlong society is one of the best among the people groups around the Indo-Burma border, that every single individual in the society has chance and opportunity to get involve in the community based social activity to promote the cause of the common good. Some participate in church activities as most of the citizens are Christians, while other may get involve in any of the community based organizations, such as the  Darlong Hnam Inzawm, (DHI), Young Darlong Association(YDA), Darlong Nupang Inzawm (Darlong Women Association), Darlong Thoktu Nih Lekha Thiam Inzawmkhawm (DTLI)etc. etc. Therefore, the societal structure allows a systematic social development for its citizens. However, the other side of the societal scenario is that the society has a nature of group behaving instead of a common social force contributed by individualized participation which result is unregulated mod-rule that usually goes beyond social necessity when reacting to any common conflicts in the society. That is also dangerous to a systematic and rationalized social cultural evolution of the society. Such kind of mod activities has been often seen in different parts of India too.

The Darlongs are very much-socialized people that wherever four or five Darlongs live together outside Tripura, they could, may be always, reach a common ground where they can socially do something together. They are more communitarian than individualistic. One of the negative aspects of the Darlong society is that due to lack of access to the outside world, especially who have been born and brought up within the state of Tripura, there is lack of understanding about the multiculturalism and fortune sharing with other fellow human societies. However, there is the top class of people in the society those who have intellectually and rationally comprehended well all the said social cultural issues and inter-personal relation with the outsiders. Secondly, there is also a class of people in the bottom of the society. They have a very limited access to the benefit of the Tripura statehood and they are pretty much still living in the primitive life style, except a few socially superficial transformation. For example, those people in the rural areas finding their way of life from a traditional sifting cultivation, they still are abode by the Darlong traditional philosophy of life. Thirdly, there is a middle social class. Those people in the middle class are the most unsatisfied people with unhealthy psychological curiosity. They learned what their neighbors enjoy from the current social and political system but not able to access it’s fat. These are the people that the Darlong society should take care of by upgrading the current system.

As a young society, there is imbalanced growth in several areas. The time of the first priority of the society-quantitative education-is now past and the system should be upgraded to produce a qualitative education and a healthy social learning environment.   The time has come to move the people’s political attitude from a defensive and protective to an altruistic political behavior, removing all psychological fears in the minds of the people to create a healthy and peaceful environment for the birth of a peaceful social phenomenon. Unless otherwise the Darlong society takes this step, the people’s current psychological inconveniency will grow up to reach a chaotic social political environment.