Richard Loitam: An alien in his own country?

CNN-IBN | Arijit Sen | May 05, 2012 at 22 : 27

On the afternoon of July 15, 2004, 12 women disrobed themselves and stood naked in front of the Indian paramilitary headquarters in Imphal. Together they held a single length of white cloth that had "Indian Army Rape Us" emblazoned on it in red paint. No corner of India had witnessed such a display of anger, ever. The Manipuri women were protesting the gangrape and murder of a 32-year old woman, by paramilitary forces. It was only after this protest by the 'Imas' or mothers of Manipur and the publication of photographs of their protest in some newspapers that the rest of the mainstream media woke up. Reporters were sent to Imphal. Stories were carried and awards won. Unfortunately, the principal demand of the protest, the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, fell on deaf ears.

It is not without reason that Indians from the North East corner of the country often feel neglected and ignored. The apathy displayed towards the region by the so-called mainstream Indians is perverse, if not criminal. Currently, the death of 19-year old Richard Loitam and 21-year old Dana Sangma has hit the national headlines. There are protests, debates and efforts to bridge divides. Even then a large number of educated Indians display surprising ignorance. Some believe that the entire debate of ignorance of the North East is a myth. Some, still, do not think twice before cracking a joke on the region. In metropolitan India, the dominant image of the region still remains that of a wild frontier.

After the death of Richard Loitam and Dana Sangma and a campaign for justice for them, Indian Parliament discussed North East last week. Arun Jaitley and P Chidambaram spoke with much passion. They spoke of helpline numbers for the students. They spoke about sensitizing the rest of India about the region. I am told most of Manipur could not catch them on TV. The region just gets one hour of electricity in a 24-hour day.