In 1997, following ethnic clashes with the majority Mizo tribe, 37,000 Brus found themselves fleeing for their lives from Mizoram to the neighbouring state of Tripura (two small states in the Northeastern part of India). After 23 years of being internally displaced, the Brus were eventually allowed a domicile status in Tripura-- the ancestral home of the tribe from where they migrated owing to their practice of shifting cultivation.
Despite the fact they’ve been provided rehabilitation the reality for the Brus remains grim—inaccessible land and water resources along with absence of proper health facilities, especially in the post-Covid world, is a matter of grave concern. I made two trips to the proposed re-settlement locations in North Tripura within a period of six months. Through this selection of photographs I want to offer a sensorial experience of the space and its people—where the mundane conceals both beauty and tragedy—to the viewer.
Brishbhanu Baruah is a transmedia artist who integrates film/video, photographs and text. His thematic concerns expand over the landscape of memory and the individual experience; his work often juxtaposes a play between the mundane and the magical. He specialised in Film Direction from Film and Television Institute of India. He currently works as a freelancer, and accepts commissions worldwide.
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