BananiVista: Are We United

ARE WE UNITED?

The land was flooded; huts, boats, carts and stalls were washed away. The cattle ran out of their shattered sheds in a frenzy to save their lives. The air was pregnant with pain. When I heard about the floods over the phone, I switched on the television to watch the havoc spread in Assam. Irritation mounted in me as the Sheena Bora case took prime space in each and every news channel. Sheena Bora hailed from Assam; and the media saw that as a reason to discredit the state. However, Assam, on the other hand, was screaming for the helping hand. Was Sheena Bora more important than the Assam floods or did the media just wanted to paint a negative picture of Assam? There were many scenarios prior to this case; where Assam was presented in the wrong light. Why Assam, being one of the 29 states in India, treated as a foreign country? Can anyone explain why a lady from The Northeast has to prove her identity as an Indian? Our mongoloid features are not reason enough to treat us as foreigners. By the end of the day, we, the educated idiots raise a cry about Unity.

The Northeast comprises of seven states. Like other states, these Northeastern states also get ground in the whims of politics and politicians. These states have different tribes and the politicians use the divide and rule policy to separate them from one another. This affects the inhabitants of Northeast adversely like the native people of other states. The people from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland also strive for better education. However, they are not lucky enough to have education on their cards. Hence, the excessive brain drain.

The artists in India do not see any future in India. It is not because people do not understand art or the importance of the crafts but the lack of support from the government for the swadeshi products; our in-house products are getting depleted. The Northeast, being rich in handlooms should be promoted in such a way that it can represent India in any international forums. These above said scenarios are particular not only to Northeast, but the whole nation is burning in the same flame. Then why should one separate Northeast from rest of India or behave as a foreign land when the same is whirling in the miseries of an unsatisfactory administration.

It won’t be worth to describe the beauty of Northeast through words. To make this a serene place; it’s not only the natural phenomena linked with this land but also the inhabitants that play a vital role. One has to visit the place to understand the culture and the people. Below are some of the reasons why we should join hands with Northeast:

As I said earlier, Northeast is a land of beauty. Mother Nature has bestowed it with beautiful orchids, the one horned Rhino and the golden Langur. This can attract tourists and in turn, increase the country’s economy too. Hence, enough promotion has to be done to spread this beauty.

Proper education should be provided which lessens the chances of brain drain. This not only helps in upbringing the northeast folks but also help India to be a better nation.

The combination of Terrorism and Northeast is as old as our history. However, no one has ever tried to uproot it in a true sense. Every leader has come up, taken the advantage of their position, speaks a lot in favour of making Northeast a better land but ends up leaving the land a barren one. Uprooting terrorism is not a one man’s job; it will happen only when the other parts of the country provides support and strength to this beautiful land.

Northeast is highly known for its fashion and handlooms. The unique clothing, jewellery, bamboo crafts differ this land from the rest. By focussing on the strong points of this unique land, this can be made further a better place to dwell in. For this, not only State Government but the support of other states is equally important.

Northeast has a huge number of football players. Not only football, cricket and hockey players are also seen in the grounds with full enthusiasm. Don’t you think, these players should get a larger platform to show their performances?

In addition to the above features, I would like to pass the message onto the Northeastern people that they should be proactive and promote their talent in every possible way. It will be foolish of us to remove or neglect any state out of our twenty-nine. To help India grow, let each and every state should grow in an equal manner. By the end of the day, we have to stand as a nation, not as a peculiar state.