Where we stand?
I was preparing to hit the sack after a busy weekday when I thought of switching on the TV to have a look at the headlines of the day. I was flabbergasted to see the mass exodus of students as well as service holders of the north eastern st
ate from Bangalore, Pune, etc. to their hometowns. Just yesterday, a friend of mine who is also from the north east, forwarded me an SMS which stated that all of us from the north east who resided outside the geographical demarcations of the north eastern states were at the risk of losing their lives and hence should return to our home states immediately. I called up my brother who stays in Bangalore to inquire about the situation and he told me that these SMSes and a lot of such MMS and videos as well as pictures were doing the rounds but he was not aware of any actual act of violence against the north-eastern people. The purpose of posting this write –up is not to accuse or defend anyone; I am just allowing my thoughts and feelings to run free tonight.
While the north-eastern parts of the country is embroiled in the illegal immigrants issue, I was aghast when a senior doctor, who hails from north India asked me today, “Do not you feel guilty ?” I asked bewildered, “Why should I?” To this he replied, “All the Indian Muslims are being killed by your people. Are you trying to be Hindu fundamentalists?”
You see, it’s not very easy to be the butt of every joke that refers you as an outsider, or rather, a “chinky”. Trust me, I have heard what people say behind my back. And at times, it hurts. Beyond a point, one learns to take these jibes sportingly. The common Indian who is not from the north east is so handicapped about the knowledge of the seven sisters! They say, “your people” to refer to the people of a certain region, just because they do not know about us. What do they know about illegal immigration? What do they know about the rapport the Assamese Hindus have with their Indian Muslim friends? What do they know about amassing vote banks by sheltering foreigners, about the bleeding of our economy and resources by people who are not our own? And at this hour of unrest too, they are more concerned about ‘our people’ and ‘your people’. As if we all came from Mars to inhabit the north-east!
For the benefit of those who are not very sure whether Arunachal Pradesh is either a zoo or an Indian state, and also the knowledgeable ones who think that Assam is a river, I would like to point out a few facts about the north eastern people.
1. We DO NOT drink the milk of rhinos. The rhinoceros is an endangered wild animal found in jungles. As far as I can remember, no one keeps the animal in question at their homes.
2. All the human beings of the north east bearing the XX sex chromosome pair are NOT prostitutes. Nor do they believe in flaunting their cleavage or butt to attract male attention.
3. Students of the north east do not peddle drugs or sell home-made liquor to pay for the ‘expensive’ clothes that they wear.
4. Though we may not quite resemble the Aryans and the Dravidians, we belong to India.
5. The north eastern states, namely, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya, are all integral parts of India inhabited by Hindus, Muslims, Christians and also by people of many other religions.
Do I sound too crass? Too blunt? But I have heard these remarks being floated and much speculated about by our fellow countrymen who do not belong to the north-east. The national capital which boasts of a multi-cultural society that accommodates anyone from anywhere still frowns at the straight haired, fair and ‘chinky’ girl who stays alone in a rented accommodation and wears nice clothes. Why? Because, according to the 'moral-upholders' who are scared and spotless, her ‘society’ has no ‘rules’. She is like a wild animal which comes to urban territories to escape her ‘barbarian’ society and to mingle with the ‘normal’ Indian people. Yes, I know it’s not easy to believe this, but you have to take my word when I say that many people with whom I have interacted over the years believe that ours is an ‘abnormal’ society.
These things hurt, and hurt real bad.
But another fact also cannot be ignored that at times we too are at fault.
* Why do we let ourselves be ridiculed upon?
* Why do we cower down to the endless jibes aimed at our origin and ethnicity?
* Why do we mingle only with people belonging to our nearby states?
* Why we still judge the present scenario by reminiscing about remarks like “ The part of Arunachal, which is taken by China is of no use and not a single grass can survive at that place” made by an erstwhile Prime Minister who is long since dead and who committed many other mistakes too?
* Why do we take pleasure in cocooning ourselves to a comfort zone instead of trying out some amount of adjustment without losing our individuality and identity?
I firmly believe that the only people who stands to gain from the purported rumours (and in some cases, real incidents too) are none other than our elected leaders. We will only lose if we buckle down to the situation and run away. Assam is burning, and we all should stand united and behave and think like grown-up individuals with a liberal outlook. And rather than shying away from the issue at hand, we must all face it with courage. Who wants outsiders in one’s own home? But it does not mean that we forget to differentiate between the ‘insiders’ and the ‘outsiders’.
I do not feel guilty for being an Indian from the north-east. I do not have any fear of living in the country’s capital. Neither do I feel ashamed of my origin and ethnicity. I am proud to say that I belong to a place where history stand witness to the fact that inspite of repeated unrest and ages of turmoil our people have bounced back to normalcy with unparalleled courage. Yes, at times, we have let our emotions get the better of us. But till now the fire has been manageable; but for how long?.
I sincerely hope that the situation in the north-east stabilizes very soon, and let’s use our intelligence instead of only our emotions before believing in these much circulated SMSes and photographs.
While the north-eastern parts of the country is embroiled in the illegal immigrants issue, I was aghast when a senior doctor, who hails from north India asked me today, “Do not you feel guilty ?” I asked bewildered, “Why should I?” To this he replied, “All the Indian Muslims are being killed by your people. Are you trying to be Hindu fundamentalists?”
You see, it’s not very easy to be the butt of every joke that refers you as an outsider, or rather, a “chinky”. Trust me, I have heard what people say behind my back. And at times, it hurts. Beyond a point, one learns to take these jibes sportingly. The common Indian who is not from the north east is so handicapped about the knowledge of the seven sisters! They say, “your people” to refer to the people of a certain region, just because they do not know about us. What do they know about illegal immigration? What do they know about the rapport the Assamese Hindus have with their Indian Muslim friends? What do they know about amassing vote banks by sheltering foreigners, about the bleeding of our economy and resources by people who are not our own? And at this hour of unrest too, they are more concerned about ‘our people’ and ‘your people’. As if we all came from Mars to inhabit the north-east!
For the benefit of those who are not very sure whether Arunachal Pradesh is either a zoo or an Indian state, and also the knowledgeable ones who think that Assam is a river, I would like to point out a few facts about the north eastern people.
1. We DO NOT drink the milk of rhinos. The rhinoceros is an endangered wild animal found in jungles. As far as I can remember, no one keeps the animal in question at their homes.
2. All the human beings of the north east bearing the XX sex chromosome pair are NOT prostitutes. Nor do they believe in flaunting their cleavage or butt to attract male attention.
3. Students of the north east do not peddle drugs or sell home-made liquor to pay for the ‘expensive’ clothes that they wear.
4. Though we may not quite resemble the Aryans and the Dravidians, we belong to India.
5. The north eastern states, namely, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya, are all integral parts of India inhabited by Hindus, Muslims, Christians and also by people of many other religions.
Do I sound too crass? Too blunt? But I have heard these remarks being floated and much speculated about by our fellow countrymen who do not belong to the north-east. The national capital which boasts of a multi-cultural society that accommodates anyone from anywhere still frowns at the straight haired, fair and ‘chinky’ girl who stays alone in a rented accommodation and wears nice clothes. Why? Because, according to the 'moral-upholders' who are scared and spotless, her ‘society’ has no ‘rules’. She is like a wild animal which comes to urban territories to escape her ‘barbarian’ society and to mingle with the ‘normal’ Indian people. Yes, I know it’s not easy to believe this, but you have to take my word when I say that many people with whom I have interacted over the years believe that ours is an ‘abnormal’ society.
These things hurt, and hurt real bad.
But another fact also cannot be ignored that at times we too are at fault.
* Why do we let ourselves be ridiculed upon?
* Why do we cower down to the endless jibes aimed at our origin and ethnicity?
* Why do we mingle only with people belonging to our nearby states?
* Why we still judge the present scenario by reminiscing about remarks like “ The part of Arunachal, which is taken by China is of no use and not a single grass can survive at that place” made by an erstwhile Prime Minister who is long since dead and who committed many other mistakes too?
* Why do we take pleasure in cocooning ourselves to a comfort zone instead of trying out some amount of adjustment without losing our individuality and identity?
I firmly believe that the only people who stands to gain from the purported rumours (and in some cases, real incidents too) are none other than our elected leaders. We will only lose if we buckle down to the situation and run away. Assam is burning, and we all should stand united and behave and think like grown-up individuals with a liberal outlook. And rather than shying away from the issue at hand, we must all face it with courage. Who wants outsiders in one’s own home? But it does not mean that we forget to differentiate between the ‘insiders’ and the ‘outsiders’.
I do not feel guilty for being an Indian from the north-east. I do not have any fear of living in the country’s capital. Neither do I feel ashamed of my origin and ethnicity. I am proud to say that I belong to a place where history stand witness to the fact that inspite of repeated unrest and ages of turmoil our people have bounced back to normalcy with unparalleled courage. Yes, at times, we have let our emotions get the better of us. But till now the fire has been manageable; but for how long?.
I sincerely hope that the situation in the north-east stabilizes very soon, and let’s use our intelligence instead of only our emotions before believing in these much circulated SMSes and photographs.
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