How North East People can help each others in Cities

IGP Robin Hibu *

I am sure, sometime, somewhere in strange cities all alone, either your relatives, yourselves, or your dear ones were in trouble....you needed someone from back home to support you.....

JUST PONDER ....

I am getting hundreds of requests from different cities from all over the country for emergency assistance i.e. crimes, non payment of salary discriminations, exploitation, apathy of the authorities, emergency assistance – stranded, accidents, alchoholism, drug addicts, loneliness in different cities.

This regular seeking of assistance from me made me to ponder seriously how do we address these anomic situations, though I am trying to intervene through my IAS and IPS batchmates for assistance in very serious cases. These emergency assistance calls are coming from Chandigarh, Agra, Dehradun, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Bhuwaneshwar, Bhopal, Noida, Gurgaon, Calcutta, Lucknow, Patna, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Panaji etc.

I strongly urge to all the North East people living in the cities to organise themselves for helping each other during emergency in the following ways:-

1. Form a North East social media WhatsApp group by including all the officials, student leaders, NGOs from all 8 North East for emergency assistance for their respective cities. For example ‘North East people Chandigarh’ WhatsApp group for Chandigarh.

2. All the North East officials/employees working in Government and private sectors to be in the WhatsApp groups - to help each other in case of any assistance needed from particular departments or company. For example North East Employees at Railways can be of great help for North East railway travelers/sending luggages etc.

3. Senior most officials/employees in private sector or rich North East businessmen can take initiative by inviting North East people for interactions especially with students and employees, thereby knowing each other through interactive sessions and can discuss the problem faced by the North East people in their respective cities and can approach to the authorities like police, civil administration etc. by highlighting the problems faced by the North East people through representatives to the HOD (Head of Department) by seeking an appointment to appraise the problems by the delegation consisting of employees, students and ladies.

4. Such North East groups in any cities may contact me for guidance and training for forming effective self help North East forums in their respective cities and I would love to give them training through Skype or video conference on the pattern of Delhi’s North East people initiatives of self help through social media and by forming (24 X 7) volunteers in the form of Delhi Police Representatives for North East and also by roping in all the student leaders and active NGOs through social media and focus approach of any issues relating to North East at Delhi.

5. The proposed self help groups in the cities may also form specialised WhatsApp groups on the pattern of North East people initiatives at Delhi under my direct supervision. For example the North East people at Delhi have a WhatsApp groups for North East lawyers, North East Media, North East Medical Staff, North East NGOs, North East Officers etc.

Once the problem is brought to the notice of the undersigned we share it immediately to the concerned group, for example, if it is related to police complaints/FIR, we seek advice of North East Advocate WhatsApp group. Anyone who is online can seek professional legal advice, so also in medical emergency from the Doctors or Nurses of various hospitals.

6. North East self help group in cities can also explore for bringing out telephone directory giving details of emergency service of that particular city which can be shared at the social media.

7. North East self help groups can also share the initiatives taken by them to me at email – [email protected] and WhatsApp Number 9810083486, so that I can bring it to the notice of the appropriate forums, like North East MP’s Forum, MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) or DoNER (Development of North East Regions) Ministry etc.

8. If any of the North East leader visit in their cities, they may meet him and appraise about their problems and initiatives and also seek the visiting leader’s patronage in the form of bringing the issues to the concerned authorities and their patronages as per their capabilities.

9. The existence of such self help groups in the cities should be widely circulated to all the States Education Department and Information and Broadcasting Department for wide circulations, so that, any North East employees and students visiting in these States can avail the help in case of any emergency and they should be invariably requested to register their name and mobile number in these North East self help groups.

10. Many of the officials from different cities in India both in private and in Government contacted me and volunteered to do something for their fellow distress North East people.

Therefore, I would request you all to give SERIOUS THOUGHT on my suggestions and start self help groups initially with few like-minded people from North East in their respective cities. There is nothing more reassuring than to have fellow brothers and sisters when you are in distress in strange places.

Please share this above message with all your friends, relatives at various forums through social media organizations, Tribal Unions, NGOs, student unions for wider dissemination and discussions at all places wherever North East people are there either as employees, students, businessmen or even as tourists.

IGP Robin Hibu, IPS
Nodal Officer of North East Region, Delhi.

You can reach me at the following:-
WhatsApp only:- 9810083486
Email:- robinhibu(AT)gmail(doT)com
Facebook page:- ‘Delhi Police for North East folks’