Militants and a woman ...

They came - armed and ruthless. They kidnapped her. Abused and tortured -she had to spend 11 horrible days in their captivity. They wanted to terrorize people of a picturesque valley. They demanded to her to support their heinous acts of violence. 

She was humiliated yet determined not to buckle under pressure exerted by militants. Finally, militants gave up and a triumphant woman - Smt Vrinda Mohini Tripura (47) - resurfaced.

Who Vrinda is …

Smt Vrinda, hails from a poor jhumiya (Shifting cultivators) family of Deo Valley, an picturesque and obscure tribal village of Tripura,India. She, later on, elected as Chairperson of Deo Valley Village Committee under Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). Once, a hotbed of militancy, intriguing Deo Valley is now hub of developmental activities. Thanks to prolonged struggle by Vrinda and her fellow villagers. That’s why to people of Deo Valley, Vrinda - more a social worker than a politician is.

Deo Valley …

Area under Deo Valley village committee, of which Vrinda is the incumbent Chairperson, is 15 sq.km. It comprises of 12 hamlets. Total population under her village committee stands at 3307. Tribal communities like Tripuri, Reang, Chakma and Darlong constitute the populace of Deo Valley TTAADC village. Most of these tribes are illiterate and poor jhumiyas.

Her struggle:

A cohesive action plan is necessary to break the prevailing social dogmas, said Vrinda. She is working to set up women's self-help groups, involve women in the rural development process, and build up Deo village as model village.

“Developmental policies, neglecting the culture and tradition of communities, will not yield desired result. Community participation is important for perfect blending of modernity with age-old tradition,” she asserted. For community participation, awareness among the people, especially women-folk, is necessary, she said. Vrinda emphasizes women education and proper care of girl children for true development. 

A yet to win fight …

Most of the tribal people, despite repeated attempts, are not interested to avail medical treatment facilities. One Ranati Tripura stated, we depend more on traditional and experience based Ayurvedic treatment. Tribal people form a strong bond with the nature.

Removing the dogma, she wants people to avail ayurvedic or modern treatment as situation demands. She is struggling to make the tribal rational. However, constant interactions with individual families and admirable works by ‘ASHA’ workers are slowly changing the situation.

On her abduction ….

She squirmed, quivered, as she was trying to recount her days in militants’ hideouts. She said, Ultras created anarchy all around the State during more than two decades starting in 1980s. Rampant looting, brutal killing of innocent people cast an atmosphere of utter distrust and insecurity. “It was a horrible experience”, she uttered meekly. Narrating her experience she stated hardnosed mental ordeal, physical torture and starvation in those 11 days took its toll on my physical and mental health. She is now suffering from incurable stomach disorder. Memories of those days still haunt me, paused Vrinda and added that it was people’s love and recognition of her good works among a section of militants that ultimately helped to break away from the clutches of dreaded militants.