ASSAM: Dr Birphung Narzary (45) is a born leader. From organising monthly “mazlis” (a small gathering) with a group of friends to share their poetry, short stories, and experiences of life, he became a dedicated social worker.
The joint registrar of the Bodoland University is a household name in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), thanks to his continuous efforts to help those in need.
He took the lead in forming BRANSTHU, named with the initials of friends – Birphung, Bipul, Raju, Ranen, Argeng, Naithao, Nakul, Swmdwn, Sajit, Tarun, Hriday and Uttam.
They grew up in an environment of protracted conflict, witnessing mass internal displacement of their neighbours, friends turning rebels to wage an armed struggle, deaths and destruction. It was a time when many Bodo youngsters had taken up the gun to secure the rights of the community, driven by an insurgency movement.
In 2004, Narzary and his friends – by then, all of them educated young men – converted BRANSTHU to an NGO called Northeast Research and
Social Work
Networking (NRSWN). A post-graduate in health administration from the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai, Narzary took the lead in founding it. The idea, initially, was to help malaria-affected people living in the far-flung areas bordering Bhutan. As time rolled by, they began working in the fields of education and women empowerment, among others.
The first opportunity for them to work on a large scale came in 2004, a year after the creation of the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which now administers five districts of western and northern Assam.
“With little knowledge of governance, having been suddenly entrusted with constitutional responsibilities, the former rebel leaders called upon educated and qualified youth to join them in the reconstruction of the region following decades of devastation due to conflict,” Narzary says.
Led by him, the members of his NGO conducted a quick survey alongside mobilising people for development purposes. They came up with shocking findings of hundreds of deaths due to malaria every year.
The BTC signed an agreement with the NGO, which Narzary heads as chairman, to control the disease and the deaths caused by it. Within a span of four years (2004-2008), the NGO members collected over 7 lakh blood smears – 2.16 lakh of them found to be positive. The patients were treated successfully.
Recognising the NGO’s efforts, the state government conferred it the “Best Community Action Award 2009”.
“The northern part of BTR along the foothill areas of Bhutan were malaria-prone with a high mortality rate, so we had launched a door-to-door campaign,” says Narzary.
As people are still dying of malaria, the NGO recently formed a 20-member team and sent it to the affected areas to create awareness among people and provide treatment.
“Our volunteers were trained by the malaria department. It provides kits. Sometimes, we buy them. We get funding from the government as well as non-government organisations such as Tata Trust, National Foundation of India, and others. Initially, we all contributed. The BTC also provided funds,” Narzary says.
In the past two decades, he and his team helped people affected by conflicts, floods, and internal displacement, and inadequate healthcare services and education.
They inspired farmers to embrace organic farming for commercial purposes, promoted the livelihoods of women street vendors by providing financial assistance, provided relief and rehabilitation to the victims of ethnic conflicts, ensured formal education to the out-of-school children, including supporting a school for internally-displaced “Adivasi” (tea tribe) children with the name of Suluk-Gwjwn Vidyalaya (peace academy).
“Witch hunting and child marriages were prevalent in BTR. We carried out door-to-door awareness campaigns. I myself rescued many people. There were instances when I was alerted about villagers being ostracised on the suspicion that they practised witchcraft. I rescued them and brought them to our office. Then, I visited the villages concerned multiple times and tried to educate people. It was only after they were convinced that I had sent the victims back to their villages,” Narzary says.
Regular awareness campaigns led to a drastic fall in the number of these incidents. The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act, 2015 also helped prevent the incidents. There was a time when the state recorded several witch-hunting deaths every year. The lack of education and superstitious beliefs are the primary reasons behind this social malaise.
Child marriage was also common, not just in BTR but in various other parts of the state. The cases have dropped significantly in recent years.
“Child marriage was common among various communities. We thwarted a number of child marriages and rescued children,” Narzary says. He says it was at TISS, Mumbai, that he had developed the knack of doing social services ardently.
“You feel great when you do such works without expecting anything for yourself. Our acceptance among people is very high. I can’t put it in words how much the beneficiaries acknowledge such services,” he says.
Today, the NGO has more than 100 employees. It functions in BTC and parts of Meghalaya.