Machal Lalung

Machal Lalung
Born	Colonial Assam, British India
Died	25 December 2007 Morigaon, Assam, India

Machal Lalung was from Tiwa (Lalung) tribe of Assam from the village of Khalagaon (now Silchang) in Morigaon, Assam, who spent 54 years in an Indian jail without facing trial. He was arrested on the charges of "causing grievous harm" in 1951, and transferred to a psychiatric institution in Tezpur, where he was forgotten. In 1967, the doctors certified him as fit, and he was moved to a jail in Guwahati, where he spent nearly four decades. He was released in 2005, after the local human rights groups brought his case to the attention of the National Human Rights Commission of India. The Supreme Court of India ordered the Government of Assam to compensate him and provide him a monthly assistance amount. Lalung died in 2007.

Lalung was the youngest child of Lodor and Bihumoti Lalung. The family belonged to the Mathanlai clan of the Tiwa tribe, and had come from the hills to settle in the Khalagaon area. His parents died when he was young, forcing him to live with his older sister’s family.

Lalung was arrested in 1951, at the age of 23, in his home village. He knew only Tiwa language, and could not speak Assamese, Hindi or English - this might have prevented him from communicating with the authorities.

Lalung was booked under section 326 of the Indian Penal Code for "causing grievous harm", a charge which normally results in a sentence of no more than 10 years’ imprisonment. The civil rights organisations who investigated the case later found "no substantive evidence" to support the charge.

Less than a year after his arrest, Lalung was transferred to a psychiatric institution in Tezpur, and apparently forgotten. In 1967, doctors certified Lalung as "fully fit", but instead of being released, he was transferred to a jail in Guwahati, where he remained until his release.

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