I am a firm believer in Humanism not Religion; a supporter of Human Rights, Good Human Qualities and Freedom, which I rather term as spirituality than the Rituals & Dogmas of, so called religions of the world.
What we need now are not religious people in traditional sense but good human beings with the spiritual qualities of Love, Understanding, Helpfulness, Respectfulness, Peacefulness, Happiness, and Kindness etc.
If somebody doesn't want to stay with you, give him freedom to go where he wants, why confine him or force him to stay with you? If Nagas don't want to be with India, let them separate from India why bother? It is true with Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh or any state from the North-East? If the people from these areas want to secede from India, let them do so because that will make them happy. India will be better off with happy neighboring countries rather that troublesome home states.
Because India is already full of problems in terms of poverty, corruption, superstition, unemployment, over-population, terrorism, insurgents, financial deficits etc. Separating NE from India will give some relief to India out of many problems facing at the moment. Above all, people in this region will be grateful to India for giving them freedom because, in the NE, especially in Manipur, people will choose Human Rights and Freedom to the crores of Rupees!
Now or never is the situation in the north east at present. Years of neglect, suppression alienation and torture have awakened the people of this region. Now Delhi can no more befool them keeping them to slumber again. If India wants to retain NE states, it has to undo many things like revoking of Arms Forces Special Powers Act [AFSPA], removing of Corrupted Government Officers, lifting of Inner Line Permit System which restricts Foreign Tourists visiting the area etc. and at the same time doing many progressive and innovative works in terms of establishing Industries/Factories/Infrastructure mostly Forest/Agro/Horticulture based industries to absorb the unemployed youths to engage them purposefully than joining the Insurgent groups.
There is a general feeling of losing identity among the people of the North East especially when they travel outside India that whether NE people belong to India or not! People from other countries just don't believe that we do. This is a fact if I am to tell my own personal experience in Europe. While in Moscow, they ask me whether I am from Oriental or CIS country? While in Czech Republic, they ask me whether I am from China or Japan? Not a single word about India. I also feel happier at least in the human sense that they give me good respect and warm welcome thinking me either closer to them or from a respectable country! But, where am I now? If I say I am Indian they will not believe me or should I tell lie for sake of appeasing my human ego? Both are wrong. See, this is the dilemma with a person from the North East when we travel abroad!
* Naorem Gajendra Singh is based in New Delhi and writes for the first time for e-pao.net.
You can email him at [email protected]
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