Did it require an exodus of 10,000 plus from Bangalore to highlight the problems of the North East? Did it require the beating up of a group of N.E. students in Poona to merit a discussion on TV? Did it require the escape of 6,000 from Hyderabad to tell us that there is a region in the north east that is part of India, and that its citizens are Indians too? And did it require an orgy of violence on Sunday in Bombay to drive home the point just how badly we have consistently neglected our north eastern states? Were we bothered about the north east when the region was reeling under a 100-day blockade that drove the price of petrol to Rs. 200/- a litre, and the price of a gas cylinder to Rs. 2,000/-. And this was just last year! Are these citizens discriminated against? Yes, hopelessly so. The answer indeed is a sad YES.
Those from the North East who live and work in ‘mainstream’ India have to bear the taunts of Chinky Chinky Chinese. None occupies a pride of place in industry; none is a prominent lawyer; none, a prominent CA. And with the sole exception of Panjor on CNN-IBN there is none from N.E. India on national TV. (By contrast, the BBC has newsreaders from almost every ethnic group). India Tourism has almost completely ignored this beautiful region from its adverts. Even our dear ManMohan Singh seems to have forgotten that he became PM from Assam!
The only Indians who know just how gentle, and how talented, these people are, are those in government – either in the civil services or the armed forces. Truly deplorable that it needed violence, and Mary Kom, to tell us ‘mainstream’ Indians that there is a very beautiful region with very beautiful people in the North East – and that they are Indians.
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