If you think all flowers
are beautiful and are meant to bring smiles on everyone’s
face, think once again. There is this flower which does
just the opposite. That flower belongs to the bamboo.
Scientifically called bambusa, the appearance of its flower
is a sign of impending famine to the tribals in the northeastern
state of Mizoram and southwestern parts of Manipur; where
there is a large track of bamboo forests. As per the Forest
Survey of India (FSI, 1988-89), bamboo forests cover 12,54,400
hectares out of the total area of 21,090 sq km. The total
land area covered by bamboo in Manipur is 3691.77 sq.km
(FSI, 1991), making up 14 per cent of the total geographical
area of Manipur.
This tropical moist deciduous forest is the most common
type of vegetation in Mizoram and Manipur, and over 23 species
of bamboo have been identified. Poor farmers in both the
States are reading hard times ahead of this year’s
monsoon season even as they are reminded of the famine that
had occurred in 1959 which claimed over a thousand lives.
In 1959-60, a severe famine had followed bamboo flowering.
There was severe starvation and the common man in Mizoram
and adjoining tribal belts in Manipur, felt a general feeling
of neglect by the Central government. This led to a 20-year-long
rebellion against the Government of India by the then Mizo
National Front, making the famine an issue for demanding
‘independence’ from India. |
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