01/02/2024
Village : Chandrapur, P.O. Bajareecherra Block : Patherkandi, Dist. : Karimganj, State : Assam.
The small hamlet was started and and now inhabited by around 100 Khasi/Pnar families in a non-descript place close to the border of North Tripura. The last time i was in the hamlet was around 58 years ago when my parents took me there to escaped and fled from the sudden outbreak of 1966 insurgency in the then Mizo District of Assam. Those days it was not uncommon for the community members to migrated from Khasi/Jaintia Hills and started a new beginning in different parts of Assam Barak Valley, Tripura, Manipur and even into Mizoram in search of greener pasture as their livelihood and economic activities was severely hampered by division of British India into India and Pakistan. The lady after whom the school is named was a very close relative of my father. My parents fondly recalled and narrate the love and care showered by the family during those trying times. So, it was always my cherished dream to visit the place once again and reconnect with the family members where it all begun. The day to fulfil my desire arrived on 31/01/2024.Though members of the younger generation of the family have moved and settled down in places like Shillong, Guwahati and many other places I was fortunate to meet with one of the children of Grandma Rupon Suchiang. The school itself is named after the matriarch of the family in recognition of her service to the communities not only of her own tribe but also to bengalis, muslims, tea tribes, etc., etc.
