This is not a photograph with friends visiting from South East Asia or China for my wedding These are my friends from Nagaland, a state in India’s North East. They are lawyers, change makers, musicians, entrepreneurs, MLAs and politicians. Educated and well travelled. and I have some news for you “MAINLAND INDIA”: They are not violent or terrorists. They are common folk like you and me, “we” people. wanting peaceful respectful happy life for themselves and their families. Nothing new right? so whats the issue?
There is the unresolved issue about the Naga people going on now for over 50 years. what have we done about getting ourselves educated about it? aren’t these our people? don’t they belong to our nation? or thats not important?
I am not saying violence is the answer but sometimes to solve a problem and eradicate it from the roots we also have to go beyond symptoms and see the cause. Last 10 days have been about a lot of bravado shown for the martyrs of the Indian army and rightfully so, why should our jawaans die for a fight that needs completely different solution?
I would have only wished that this kind of bravado would have been shown every time someone from the North East of the country was racially abused, harassed and even injured badly in one of our “mainland” cities. Why are we quiet that time? Innocent life is innocent life. Is the jawaan more of an Indian than the naga student who got beaten up to almost death in Gurgaon just a few months ago?
Apart from the LET, LTTE and Al Quida that the news channels and movies have made very famous, now of course everyone has the new antagonist to talk about NSCN-K. thats all fine but does anyone even know what it stands for? Do you know why that “K” is there in the name in the first place? if you don’t know that and don’t want to know that, then i think you need to also keep quiet about the ambush and the counter offensive.
I am not saying the counter offensive should not have been launched, but did the ambush permit harassment of innocent youngsters in the evening at Kohima Bazaar. how many of you even know that Kohima is the capital of Nagaland. So before passing endless judgements about what is going on in India’s north east, I suggest you first educate yourself about it a bit. Here is an article in the MINT that you can start with if you are genuinely interested and believe that the people of the north east are our people and not outsiders.
As for me, I have been going to Nagaland and the north east of India since 10 years and i am going there again next week, nothing changes because for me they are our people, they are family. and you don’t bash up or give up on family.
What about YOU?
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/9dWp8UcFtGZ0unojCnDgtI/Healing-or-hell-in-the-northeast.html