For the people of Manipur and the rest of the North Eastern states, "November 2003" needs to be reckoned for it had brought about a statewide mourning, untold sorrows and grieves. It had not turned out as it always expected, that in this particular month the ugly tentacles of violence in varied degrees have had spread around and thereby sent shock waves across the region.

The gruesome murder of baby Elizabeth first marked the ominous beginning that had engulfed the entire land by the cloud of agonies and shocks. People are yet to recover from the shocks and relentlessly demanding the Government to produce the culprits in the public. Close to the heel of the baby Elizabeth murder case, unknown rivals shot down 11 Manipuri underground ultras belonged to one of the groups in an ambush near Kumbi in Manipur on 17th November 2003. The factional clashes, as was seen in the past, have been extinct from Manipur for quiet long time now. This was presumably "Paying Heed to the Call of the Masses" by the different groups that made them draw closer and adopting the road of peace, unity and love as their ultimate weapons. But this is being proved wrong when the history repeats itself in the same old arena recently.

Unfortunately this was happened at a time when the people of Manipur almost forgotten that ‘factional clash’ were ever occurred in Manipur. This has become another catastrophe in the history of Manipur. Across Manipur there had been a spate of violence in Assam and Bihar in the same month. In a brief assessment and events of violence that have so far taken place outside Manipur: On 9th November Assamese youth denied the candidates of Bihar to sit for the Group D post of the NF Railway examination under RRB Gauhati. This has triggered the Biharis resorting to revenge that vandalizing at Kisanganj Railway Station on 11th November and subsequently a large number of Bihari hoodlums attacked several train passengers hailing from the North Eastern States at different parts of Bihar on 12th November. Many were admitted to the hospital and there were cases of alleged molestation and rape inside the train.

On 14th November the powerful United Liberation Front Assom (ULFA) declared that it would act against the Hindi-speaking people. In less then a week time there had been a toll of 47 lives and many houses and properties have had been reduced to ashes. The underground ultras have gunned down truck driver at Golukgunj in Dhubri districts and there were cases of attacking Hindi speaking people at different parts of Assam.

The situation had gone from bad to worse. The Bihar Chief Minister, Ms Rabri Devi, showed a rare determination by punishing two of her senior officials for failing to prevent the violence in Bihar at the first place. But the main accuse for the violence in Bihar are the police officer in charge and other rank and files who were not paying any heed to the complaints of the train passengers when the matter was first brought to them for FIR. It is reported that they have straight away refused to take the complaints. Higher official are no doubt, responsible for what had happened in Bihar but the people working under them, who misused the law knowingly are no less brute.

The doctors in the hospital were reportedly obnoxious and treated the injured patients in a very cold manner, which was never against there medical ethics. These are most unpardonable acts on the part of the Doctors and Police team in Bihar. They should learn some lessons of the inter-state relationships and make them to understand a little sense of humanities. As it were, many of the educated Biharis youth are really unruly and it is always nightmarish when we come to traveling with them as fellow passengers in the train while passing through the portions of Bihar. These people boarded the train in reserve compartments without even the traveling ticket and often congested the gangway and occupy the passenger’s berths in rude manner. Such rowdyism is really bad and serves a wrong signal while maintaining inter-state relation.

Whatever be the reasons behind fury of the mob is now becoming of less concern - what concerns everyone is the loss of many innocent lives including children in the ghastly violence. While the crime was perpetuated by a handful of criminals, the innocent people who live on the daily wages in Assam have made to pay the prices at the cost of their lives. This is unimaginable. In fact both the incidents were straightforward matter of crimes and whosoever indulged in the acts are equally brute and thereby calls condemnation from all quarters. True that North Eastern States have been neglected for too long in the past. There are not adequate industrial set-ups to absorb the frustrated educated youths and job opportunities from the Government side had long been deprived. But it doesn’t mean that we should go on war against the working class Biharis. We the North Easterners have not been that barbaric in the past. We are always proud of our hospitality and kind-heartedness to the rest of the Indians.

The Government in Assam on the contrary could have prevented the ghastly scene, had it been little active and prompt. If it was clear that the people of the North East have been attacked in Bihar, the Assam Government should have the common sense what reprisal would follow in Assam. Yes, public mob could be difficult to deal with but "a stitch in time" could have saved many innocent lives. I think Mr. Gogoi had not come from Rajasthan to become the Chief Minster of Assam that the parochial slant reminiscent of "anti foreigners" movements of the Eighties offers him and his government an ample chance to switch on the precautionary measures well ahead of time.

This is high time for AASU, the powerful student organization to rethink their stand otherwise it may go out of their hand very soon. They may give signals to their respective cadres to come back to peace and ensure peace and tranquility in the land. The parochial card they play may have an ugly end for killing the helpless labour class, perhaps; sends a wrong signal of Assam and Asamese to other states. The premier students’ body shouldn’t let the miscreants and anti social elements take undue advantage using its name. AASU launched the agitation to protect their right and job reservation for the locals only and at the same time they are bound to have a moral responsibility to ensure the protection of life and properties of Biharis in Assam. The violence had gone too far and the time calls for toning down the emotion and unrest in the state with conscious efforts so that the already affected North Eastern States’ stride to prosperity and progress do not thwart.