This news item from the BBC shows the latest problem faced by one section of people from India’s North East.
Mumbai and Pune also had problems with people from the North East of India being targeted by trouble makers.
These assaults are on people who like Bodo tribals of our North East who are battling immigrant Bangladeshis. Some Muslims in India have decided that their co-religionists, despite being illegal immigrants into India, are being assaulted and have gone berserk.
My friend and frequent commentator Nandu has this to say about it.
Shameful & dangerous ! The earlier this rot is stemmed the better before it snowballs into a more ugly situation which could easily spiral out of control . The people from the NE States have felt neglected/excluded/discriminated against for years now and a process of integration had just begun . When I was in Gauhati in 1977/78 and used to visit the other NE States ( Mizoram , Meghalaya , Manipur , Nagaland , Arunachal Pradesh , Tripura – “The Seven Sisters ” ) some of the local people there used to ask ” Have you come from India ? ” . They are simple law abiding folk in search of gainful employment in other parts of India and this ugly development is tragic . They were earlier exploited by traders from the other states in India and secretly resented them . This unrest has spread from the Bodo-Muslim ( illegal immigrant ) clashes in Assam to Mumbai , Pune and Karnataka !
It is all very well to celebrate Mary Kom’s success ( some solace in an otherwise drought of medals – very creditable considering the fraction these folk represent of our huge population ) but the “aam NE admi” needs to be at least protected if not actively encouraged !
The massive illegal immigrant influx ( pre & post 1971 war with Pakistan , which saw the creation of Bangladesh ) into the NE states is a huge problem which has been allowed to fester for far too long and unfortunately the Govt has been dragging its heels ( in some cases deliberately for political mileage ) and political will and co-ordination is woefully lacking ( as usual you might say ! ) ; the usual blame games have started . The favourite bogey of “foreign hand” has been raised ; even if that were true what prevents us from dealing with it : terrorism is also due to “foreign hand” who are now working hand-in-hand with local hands !
Why does India have to make headlines for all the wrong reasons with monotonous regularity ? The so called “India story” is taking a huge bashing of late !