Whither Arunachal?

There is a famous story of an American who visited India and had full of appreciation for the ancient country, but lamented that he did not meet a single Indian. All he met was a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh, a Bengali, a Malayalee, a Punjabi and so on. This, sadly, is happening in Arunachal Pradesh.

There is nobody in Arunachal Pradesh who can be called an Arunachali. There are Adis, Apatanis, Nyishis, Monpas, Noctes and so on. Everything being done is on communal lines. There has to be representatives from all the tribes in the state cabinet. Districts have to be created on the basis of tribes. Representatives are elected on tribal considerations.

It is time now for the people here to pause awhile and ponder over where we are taking the state to. Why can't a district be created on the basis of administrative convenience? Koyu can so much more conveniently administered from Pasighat; why try to bring it under Basar? Dollungmukh is so nearer Papum Pare; why make it a circle under Raga?

PRC to Non-Arunachalees

The revocation of the government's decision to grant PRC to people from outside the state has once again demonstrated the power of common man's voice. It is good that the government too realized their blunder in time and decided to take corrective action before the matter went out of the hand.

On the other hand,  no such blunder can be condoned. It is being reported that all the participants in the all-party meeting called by the government appreciated the decision. This is meaningless. Nothing good has been done that deserves appreciation. Revocation only retracts a wrong step. It is therefore, the people of Arunachal Pradesh, who need appreciation. Organizations across the state stood up in unison to oppose the government's decision.

It is expected that the spirit will be kept up. It is time the people of Arunachal Pradesh forget, for once, that they belong to different tribes and fight for common causes, instead.

Beginning a Journey

A journey - oh yes. I will look at it a journey with no destination. However, I plan to look left, look right, look back and of course, look ahead too. I don't expect I will be collecting anything on the way, though.

Follow me if you have time.