THE SUNDAY STORY Sociologists as well as political and cultural commentators are struggling to analyse the immediate trigger for the exodus of northeasterners from cities such as Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Sociologists as well as political and cultural commentators are struggling to analyse the immediate trigger for the exodus of northeasterners from cities such as Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.
“To be honest, I am stupefied by such a phenomenon on such a large scale and at such short notice,” says Yogendra Yadav, a social and political scientist with the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. “We must acknowledge the wider background issue of people from northeastern States facing a sense of alienation and exclusion…of not being welcome, and looked at as a stranger in their own country.”
However, he says, it is harder to identify specific incidents which would justify such an exodus. “In almost all previous cases — Kashmiri Pandits leaving the Valley, Muslims leaving Gujarat — there have been acts of violence, a massacre that provoked people to flee in large numbers. Here, I cannot see any such clear relationship between cause and effect.”
Sociologist Amita Baviskar feels that, to a certain extent, the current situation echoes the scenario after the Bombay riots of 1992, when many Muslim migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar fled the city. “It is not just about a community being stigmatised and targeted, but also this idea of a homeland, and people being outsiders, not belonging, that is at play here,” she says.
Historian Ramachandra Guha wondered why his cosmopolitan city is at the heart of this exodus. “It is distressing, but also very puzzling. It seems to be a case of hysteria, fed by rumours. It is utterly mysterious,” he said. “One can’t even look at it in the communal terms of the Assam conflict — most people from the northeast in Bangalore are Christians, neither Hindus nor Muslims.”
He felt that the lack of institutional credibility has stoked the flames of fear. “In the India of today, no one trusts the police or the state in general to protect an innocent person. If there is a stray incident of violence, people don’t have the certainty that the police will take care of it, that it will not spread.”
The building sense of insecurity and a lack of confidence in authority have contributed to the panic, says Parismita Singh, a graphic novelist and writer from Assam, now based in New Delhi. “There’s this whole section of people without faith in the police. If you have found that your complaints in daily life — whether sexual harassment or racist attacks, or simply a conflict with your landlord — are not taken seriously by the police, if you have found it difficult to register an FIR in normal times, then what will you feel in such a threatening situation?”
Keywords: northeasterners exodus
Where are the Citizens and the Elite who takes candle vigil for even
one person affected due to a crime or assault, during this time? The
glitterati and the page 3 people who wield so much voice have turned
dumb, because it is not fashionable to voice when the brethrens from
the North East are fleeing for their safety. The communal and divisive
politicians who hark on language, religion, region,caste,wealth and
health need not only to be blamed for this time, the common people
also who got insensitive to the happenings in the Cities due to crass
commercialisation. For politicians the fleeing population is not their
vote bank but for the citizens they are the resources for the Cities
growth and image. If the image of the city and growth is broken by
this kind of incidents, the fabric of Indian unity and diveristy would
be torn apart very soon. We require a strong sense of Civic action
flowing from the people and the city leaders to assure all residents
of the City to live peacefully
inappropriate as termed as "alien" in news(the hindu). indian may be
alien to western countries, as we see african as another angle.
BIG MISTAKE!
As long as illiterate persons [preferably with criminal background]are allowed to become MLA or MP etc, the IAS,IPS,IFS cadres can not discharge their legitimate duties. Even USA is not a real Democracy and how can India expect stability,predictability with secularism and the oxymoron Democratic union?
If India finds conclusive/confirmed evidence of any foreigners hands in internal strife,take immediate action.
I am amazed at the lack of actual truth not being easily perceived by the experts interviewed here. It's known since long long time that Bangalore is not a place for outsiders, even south Indians from TN were being stoned, attacked at many circumstances. Only few months back, a North Eastern was killed in his hostel and the police and govt did not take adequate steps to resolve that issue or bring faith into other outsiders. It has never been a safe place, as an outsider who stayed 5 years in Bangalore recently, I could say confidently that many of the local people frankly criticize other state people about "occupying" their place. That's a place where you would see more often hostility than hospitality. If these experts could not understand why, they have to come out of their biased perspective. This kind of ignorance only causes all these serious issues closed unnoticed and this is the reason outsiders never feel safe to be in Bangalore. Hope it sheds some clear light on this issue.
There is a panic,that is the reason.
How that panic emerged is a question to be answered.
It's true there was rumours.
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