Misery in the north east

When one heard of the news of mass exodus of North East Indian natives from the metropolitan cities such as Chennai, Bangalore, Pune etc in the wake of violence in Assam , it was hard to believe that it was happening right here, in secular India. People were literally fleeing from these places as if a natural calamity had befallen them and that such a situation arose in India for its own citizens is a matter of great shame. Saying the trains were overcrowded would be a understatement. Thousands of people flocked the stations and there was not an inch of space left on the platform. The most disheartening part of all this was that it was all merely hearsay and rumors which led to such a large scale panic resulting in the exodus. SMS'es and messages posted on social networking sites are said to be the key drivers of fear in the minds of the migrants. The impact of social networking has been tremendous and growing exponentially in recent times, but if misused, can lead to even deadlier consequences, such as this one. Bringing in strong regulations may rein in some of the impact of these sites but government must take equally strong steps to educate the masses on the evils of social networking. Students and workers formed a major chunk of the migrants and they didnt think twice about staying back and securing their jobs and future. The north eastern part of India has been the most under developed and neglected part of India and maybe this was the reason why people fled the cities without any trust or faith in the local law and order. The ethnic community of the north east has long been ignored by successive governments and they feel they are not safe anywhere except at home.

Back home, the employment opportunities are bleak and this might force them to come back soon. Coming back is a better option and in hindsight, the best option. It will reinforce a sense of unity in the country and will show the world that India stands united no matter what. There is  suspicion of a foreign hand in instigating this hate propaganda, but the government must first try to understand and find out why this exodus reached such epic proportions. Of course, foreign hands are always there to pull us down and vigil must be maintained  at all times to arrest it.  But whatever happens outside the border is not in our hands, and we must look at how secure and stable we are from the inside. The government, as a first step, has decided to ban bulk sms for a certain period of time, but this is certainly not enough. Tougher regulations needs to come up and ethnic/communal violence must be prevented at all costs. India has been a nation of strong sentiments and the mischief mongers always to look to stoke this flame to bring unrest in this country. Economic development and job creation in the north east must become a priority for the government. Law and order must take good shape in these areas, especially in the international border, where illegal immigration has been rampant and given rise to many violent conflicts and clashes with the locals, such as the one between the Bodos and the Muslims in Assam. The concept of national unity and integration will only remain a myth as long as the government sleeps on these issues.