Shillong, April 6: Umrangsho in the North Cachar Hills has had little to do with the ethnic feud between Dimasas and Hmars so far, but after the March 31 incident at Chekarcham and Meghnathal in Cachar, things are not the same any more.
Forty-five-year-old Dingi, who fled the village with her family of eight members including a month-old baby, fears a violent backlash by militants of the Dima Halam Daoga in Umrangsho, which is flanked by Dimasa and Karbi villages in the north.
?We fled our homes as some of us have heard of a conspiracy by the DHD to torch our villages in retaliation against the attack which was carried out on March 31,? she said.
While securitymen and army jawans are currently guarding the affected areas in and around Cachar, a strike on Umrangsho by the DHD with help from other splinter groups is not being ruled out.
Forced to leave ?the most peaceful place so far?, Dingi has taken shelter in Shillong along with a large number of residents of Umrangsho.
Running into well over a hundred families, they are being looked after by the Hmar in pui or the Hmar supreme house, Meghalaya chapter, at Madanriting.
Meghalaya has a sizeable population of Hmar tribes living along the Assam-Meghalaya border in the Jaintia Hills district surrounding the North Cachar Hills and the adjoining Mikir Hills. A good number of Hmars also reside in urban areas like Madanriting in Shillong.
The Meghalaya government had announced last year that Hmars would be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes of the state. However, the case of Dingi and others who have fled Umrangsho is different. They would be accorded the status of refugees in Shillong.