Chapter on the North East by CBSE : Efforts to bridge the gap
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 29 2015 -

Bridging the gap.

This is obviously the agenda in the decision of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to include a chapter on the North East for Class IX students in the English curriculum for the Open Text Book Assessment (OTBA).

The effort is acknowledged but how far will it help in familiarising the people of other parts of India with the North East region is still an open question.

That there is a deep mental and psychological divide between the North East region and the people in other parts of India is a given.

That there is still the need to familiarise the people with certain parts of the country such as the North East after India gained her independence in 1947 should say something profound.

And there is nothing to be proud of this fact. The chicken neck syndrome is indeed real.

Just as a thin strip of land just to the north of Bangladesh connects the North East with the rest of the country, the awareness of majority of the people of India about the region is nothing to crow about.

The series of hate crimes and racial profiling of the North East people in cities like Delhi and other metros of the country should drive home the point that is sought to be made here.

Momo, Chinky etc are not merely some terms used to describe the people of North East in other parts of the country, for this explains a mentality, a mentality that refuses to look east of the Brahmaputra and this is what is disturbing.

The measures taken up by the CBSE to make the North East familiar to the young students is welcome, but it says something significant that most of the history text books in different State Boards hardly say anything about the region.

Is it a case of not enough research being done in the region or is it a case of the North East not being important enough ?

Whatever the case may be, it is the continued omission of the region in something as fundamental as school text books which makes the people ignorant.

This is where the step taken up by the CBSE gains prominence.

How far it will go in familiarising the young students with the North East region remains to be seen, but this is a step in the right direction.

Education can certainly go a long way in removing the lop sided views of the region.

And education is what is needed to make the recommendations of the Bezbaruah Committee all that more effective.

On the other hand the young people of the region too should dispel their ghetto mindset, especially when they to other cities to pursue their higher studies.

Their education will be all that more fruitful if they learn to open up and mix with young people, other than with people from only their own States or region.