A forbidden land?

“When you are deprived of something, you tend to understand its value”. I had felt the same way, when I chose to study far away from my hometown. The constant alienation, when exposed to new faces, culture and places evokes this intense feeling of missing home. I was quite new to experience such a feeling which grew intense with time. The worth of parents, the culture of my state, its people and its richness could be understood by me when I went far away from it. Bangalore, where I study now drew me closer as it had abundance of things I always wanted to do and learn in life. Though I am being able to fulfil all my dreams on one side of my heart, the other side still longs for the comfort of my home, Assam.

Time is an aid to any wound but in my case it was an eye opener. I have grown up hearing stories about how Northeasterns are alienated from rest of India but I thought those were days gone by and now it is a new beginning. It is indeed sad that my notion was proved wrong when I myself had to undergo a lot. I had invited a friend from Iran to spend the vacation in my hometown Assam. I never knew this whole-hearted invitation would take me aback in a state of shock. To my surprise she refused to come because people were giving her negative hints that the growing terrorism in Assam might be a hindrance in her journey. They also said that it might be difficult to get out of our houses as militants throw bombs on pedestrians. Sigh! My effort to make them understand the reality went in vein when they gave me examples of how media portrayed North East most of the time. This incident took me to an unusual aspect of life where my vision towards the world had a different approach. I had undergone intense introspection before judging others because I feared to be wrong. It has been three years now but things are still the same here. To my utter surprise people fail to figure out where Assam is located in India. They do not know why this state is famous for, be it the Tea found here, the Muga silk, the Bihu dance . I was astounded by the fact that they did not know that Assam is the only place in the world where you find the One-horned Rhino. I mean, it is sad that people fail to answer basic general knowledge. This pride being the sole owner of the One-horned Rhino in the world is not only Assam’s pride but also a National pride. But why have people undermined such a fact?!

Education in North-East  I agree is limited which has compelled students like us to venture outside our own place but if one sees this matter in depth, I feel our education system is rich and unique in its own way. It does not provoke regionalism or hatred. We have grown up knowing the culture of other states, enjoying its richness but why has the rest of India not considered us? Keeping in mind that North-East has been under intense tensions of various terrorist groups but if we take a wider perspective about this matter, which state or country in today’s scenario does not face the fear of terrorism? Be it West Bengal or Sri Lanka both the places have a long history of such tensions. Are these places still the victims of stigma and prejudice? Even the recent hype about the ethnic clash at Kokrajhar(rural place in Assam) was portrayed as a communal riot in Media, which affected the whole of India for no reason. No one even tried to understand the true facts! When we were in school, while drawing the map of India, have we all not considered the north, south, east and west equally? I cannot digest the fact of how Regionalism can be so hard core in minds of people? Gone are the days when North-East was unknown to the world. Globalization and Media revolution has taken steps to promote this region of our nation in many ways but why has the so-called stigma still alive in the minds of people? Outsiders look down upon us as we are under developed and think that we are only surrounded by jungles and we live in tree houses (which is not the reality!) but they are forgetting that we are upcoming like any other developing place. They have forgotten that they also were underdeveloped at one point of time when their Metro cities were undergoing construction. I feel our voices are unheard because the negative notions terrorism, under-development has over powered any other positive statement about this region of India. Being a student of media I found refuge in taking small initiatives to erase the false image of North-East. Showcasing Assamese folktale “ Tejimola” in a National level Conference was a new experience altogether. Other projects like writing about “Majuli Island” in my blog or even making Dj-scripts on North-Eastern music and throwing light on Bhupendra Sangeet and Bihugeet gave me immense satisfaction. I believe such initiatives have at least made a small section of the people aware about my place. I have literally grown as a person to know my state and its richness in this course.

To conclude I truly believe that North-East needs to be known to the world. Media no doubt has most of the time only focused on the negative sides of North-east which has undermined the positive initiatives taken by projects like “Incredible India”. Altogether I feel the root of such regionalism lie in our minds. If outsiders have an open approach towards us, leaving behind the brutal prejudices and the so-called stigma subjected upon us, it will enable everyone to remain in brotherhood. Indirectly, it would help us to be complete and fulfil the dreams of our gone by heroes to be the Shining India.