Are we strangers in our country ?

Deepa Khomdram *

Map of Capitals of North East India

"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."
- John F. Kennedy

While the other parts of India were celebrating the glory of Independent India, the North-Easterners were threatened to leave the metros for their homeland in the wake of the violence in Assam. Many claimed that the threatening call was simply a hoax triggered by some good for nothing local goons. But the irony is if that was just a hoax then why did it lead to the exodus of innumerable students and professionals from major cities like Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad?

If that was just a couple of SMS based on rumours and hearsay, why did the Karnataka Government arrange special trains for the North-Easterners to leave the city? Why were some students/professionals warned by their Landlords to either move out to find a safe place or head back home? Whether it was a hoax or a rumour, we were engulfed with a miasma of fear, doubt and anxiety.

Unlike other cities, Delhi was like a safe haven for us during the mayhem. Though we felt we were secured but an unknown fear with the question, "what if?" did haunt and torment us. A sense of alienation, a feeling of being a stranger in our country overshadowed our thoughts and feeling. No doubt the chaos has been diffused to a certain extent but, half the truth or say the whole truth remains buried.

As it is said Truth is stranger than fiction, the influx might have been a rumour or a grand conspiracy (as many people assume) or may be a political stratagem. It, still, is too early to draw any conclusion of what actually led to the upheaval. But doesn't it sound weird that just a mere rumour could trigger an exodus of a large number of people?

Despite the efforts of the politicians and the media, they failed to instill a sense of belongingness among the North Easterners. They failed to live up to the lip service of hosting 'the hospitable spirit' they bestowed upon themselves.

The recent upheaval sets a perfect example of the large problem of integration that India has been facing throughout and its incapability of dealing with it besides being the world's largest democratic country. No doubt, impressive efforts from different sections of the society including representatives of the Muslim community, the northeast groups and other civil organizations to pacify the fears of the people were made.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to their efforts to build trust and confidence. But rumours and riots are always interlinked to each other and we are often left with no choice but to deal with the situation with utmost care and responsibility.

Incidents of aggression or intimidation might have forced the people to return to their native but had the things gone spiral beyond control then those who left the cities out of fear might resort to committing violence against the minorities in their own states. This could have turned the fiction of violence that was rumoured into reality.

But thankfully, for the time being, the spill over effect is under control but is there any guarantee that such instances will never occur again? Blocking websites, reducing the number of SMS a person can send is not the solution to the problem.

Neither blaming the Pakistan Government will help in solving the issue as it is deep-rooted to the issue of National Integration. So blaming it to the social networking sites, media and other form of communication for the chaos and trying to suppress and hush up the things would be the biggest mistake of those in power.

Also opening a separate hostel for the North East people, in itself, is condemnable. On one hand they declare that we are as much Indians as they are and on the other hand, they are differentiating us from them. This attitude of the Government in itself clearly depicts the fact that we are being treated as foreigners in our own country. Is it because the North East India is connected to the country by a 'chicken-neck'? Is it the reason why the Indian government's policies regarding the North East India have always failed so far?

The need of the hour is to check the illegal infiltration of people from the neighbouring country. The national and local politicians should stop shielding illegal migration just for the sake of a couple of votes. It is the prime duty of the nation and the policy makers to take care of the interest of its citizens.

One of the most effective ways to check the infiltration and settlement of the illegal migrants would be to follow the practice of issuing a permanent Voter ID card that is valid for lifetime, a system that is followed in other parts of the country except the North-East. It is a pity that the Central Government continues to toy with the polity of the North Eastern States, meting out the step-motherly treatment every now and then.

Every successive government of the country till date has made things worse for the North Eastern States both physiologically and geographically. It is high time for the country to attempt to integrate the North Eastern States with the rest of the country.

Or should we make a self declaration that "We Are Strangers in Our Own Country"?