I can bet on the fact that 3 out of 4 indians will not be able to tell the capital of Mizoram... I can also bet on the fact that 1 out of 2 indians, when asked as to what people inhabit Nagaland, would reply with the word Chinese... I think, for most Indians, Assam is as far as India goes in the East... Anything beyond that is simply a tribal area inhabited by Chinky looking Chinese people... And without doubt, this is one of the gravest tragedies to befall the Indian State...Even after 60 years of Independence, we are yet to acknowledge the North Eastern States as equal Indians as perhaps a Bengali, or a Punjabi or a Tamil...
Who cares if governments come and go in the North East as fast as the discount offers on newly launched products? Who cares if the secessionists rule the roost in most parts? Who cares if Indians require Special Permits to visit a part of their own country? Who cares if curfews are clamped in Capital cities of these states at 5 PM and life comes to a grinding halt? Lets not even talk about water & electricity. The Indian state has proven less discriminatory on this count. It has failed all peoples and all states equally as far as impoverishment is concerned...
Little doubt that there are hundreds of tiny insurgencies going on in the North East... People are disgruntled with the Indian State... After all, what has the Indian state done for them? If their daughters and sisters migrate to Delhi for education, they are leered at and referred to as being 'loose'...If the boys want to study, they have to leave their parents and families behind... And even after a worthwhile education, Can they ever dream of returning to their 'homeland' and earning a decent living?... No ways...
Its been 60 days, since the Naga insurgents/activists blockaded the highway leading to Manipur... Fuel costs as much as Rs. 150-170 a litre, hospitals are shutting down for the want of medicines... people are in distress... But does the Indian State care?.. Imagine, secessionists/anti-national elements blockading entry route into Mumbai... What would happen then?
Irom Sharmila has been on a fast unto death for more than 10 years now... All she demands is that people be allowed to live a dignified life... And the oppressive AFSPA be repealed... What has the Indian state done? It has force fed Sharmila for the last 10 years, since it is illegal to commit suicide... Where is the national media?... Why the silence on the misery of 23 lakh people, when there is a flurry on activity to get justice to 1 Ruchika Girhotra??
When people are disappointed, they express their disgruntlement in a variety of measures... In the North East, people have taken to arms to vent their frustration...The Politicians will never care, since the entire North East sends merely 25 MPs to a 543 member Lok Sabha... It is the civil society that must raise its voice against the evident oppression of its brethren in the North East!
It is only if we treat all Indians as equals can we realize the dreams of our forefathers who fought long and hard to win us our freedom... As long as we stay apathetic, we are only sowing the seeds for a bleak future, which is best avoided!
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