GUWAHATI: Quota in jobs, education and even elections (seats reserved for ST/SC candidates) are heard of. But a beauty pageant?
Incentives are in store for women of three tribes in Arunachal Pradesh living along the state’s mountainous border with China.
The organizers of the 10th Miss Arunachal beauty pageant will offer a direct entry to the contestants belonging to Lisu, Nah and Puroik tribes, that are considered underprivileged.
The audition for the same will be held from September 10 to October 15.
“Contestants belonging to the three tribes will be given a direct entry,” Tai Roket, in-charge of the pageant, said. However, each contestant must have a minimum height of 5.2 ft and should have passed class XII.
The minimum age for participation is 18 years, he said.
“Lisu, Nah and Puroik are minority tribes and underprivileged. We thought we must give their women a platform, on the lines of quota, so that they can showcase their beauty and talent,” said Kipa Niba, the pageant’s organising secretary.
He added that their basic objective was to help the women of the remote and landlocked state to grow in confidence and face the world confidently.
The Lisus are believed to be among the earliest settlers of Tibet. In the due course, they migrated to China’s Yunnan province, Momeik in Myanmar and northern Thailand. In Arunachal, they are called Yobin. They live in 11 villages of Vijayanagar circle. They are also found in Miao town and Injan village of the Kharsang circle in Changlang district. There are about 5,000 Lisus settled in the state.
Once considered foreigners, the Lisus were evicted from Vijayanagar circle by the Assam Rifles in 1964 and derecognised as Indians in 1980. However, they regained citizenship in 1994.
The Puroiks are officially counted as part of the Lhoba nationality in China. They are known as Sulungs in Arunachal. They have a population of around 10,000, found in over 50 villages of Kurung Kumey, Papum Pare and East Kameng districts. They also have a small population in Longzi in Tibet.
People belonging to the Nah tribe live in villages close to the border in Taksing circle of Upper Subansiri district.