New Delhi/Diyun, Sept 18: A new youth-led organisation, the Arunachal Pradesh Chakma Youth Association (APCYA), was formed during an online meeting held on September 12 to address the grave challenges facing the Chakma community in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Association was formed in response to a growing sentiment that the leadership of existing organisations, barring a few, has lost focus on the primary goal of protecting the rights of the Chakmas; has become instruments of electoral politics in the absence of citizenship rights for elders and non-inclusion of eligible Chakmas into the voter list; and the absence of a credible youth organisation.
The APCYA will focus on safeguarding the rights of the Chakmas as guaranteed under the Constitution of India, laws and affirmed by various court judgments. In addition, the Association is committed to the all-round development of the community by tackling pressing issues such as corruption, drug menace and other social evils that threaten the youth and society at large.
Rup Singh Chakma will be the president of APCYA and Bipin Roshan Chakma the general secretary.
As the idea for APCYA was conceptualised by Tejang Chakma and Krishan Chakma, they were unanimously recognised as the founders of the organisation.
“The youth are the present and future of our communities. The Chakmas of Arunachal Pradesh are facing dire challenges to protect their rights. Unfortunately, it appears that the existing leadership structures have drifted from their core focus of safeguarding the rights of the Chakma community. The Chakmas have not reached the stage when they can become pawns of electoral politics, when we are still fighting for the very basic and uncompromising issues, whether citizenship for elders, inclusion in the voter list, land rights or residence proof documents to access employment. APCYA was born from a desire to actively secure our rights. We will work tirelessly to ensure the voices of our people are heard and their rights are protected,” said Rup.
