In the aftermath of India turning into a senior citizen, we witness a terrorism of a new kind – the chasing of the North East clan away from Bengaluru. And the mass exodus proves just this point – that we, the people from North East India don’t really feel either safe or secure in our homeland aka the non-Chinky part of India. Its bad enough that we don’t look like regular Indians so much so that the remaining North Easterners (whoever are left back in Bengaluru) are easily walking bulls-eye target for such kind of threats to be executed.
And the worst part is, no one really knows or cares about the difference between an Assamese or a Manipuri or between a Sikkimese or say, a Naga. Just like to the rest of us, there is really no difference between say, a Malayali and a Tamilian. Call it racism, thats just how it is in a typical 28-state third world country like ours.
I love Bengaluru, I have been there umpteen times. My best friends live there and I go there to visit them every couple of years. I find it hard to imagine the fear and terror invoked in just a couple of days when people just like me are fleeing back to their respective states in a state of mental panic. Who would blame them when we continue to live in such a world where terror attacks have become a common enough thing.
The fact that the TV is full of images of people thronging away in the railway platform is borderline ridiculous. I cannot imagine their plight as they look forward to make the three to four day journey back home in what could perhaps be described best as (Shashi Tharoor’s) cattle class situation.
So as my North Eastern clan return like flocking migratory birds to their respective states, I can only imagine that an eye for an eye would make our country finally immigration-free. Imagine a world where Sikkim is full of only Sikkimese people – we would have to forget how to speak Hindi and probably English too. Of course, the travel industry would have to commit mass suicide rather than face a lifetime of unemployment. Considering that most of us are lazy buggers who only want cushy government jobs, all work involving menial jobs would pile up while on the flip side, the infinite construction work converting Sikkim into a concrete jungle state would finally and no doubt, thankfully see its end.
Safe journey to all the people traveling home. And good luck to those who stayed behind. Hope you all stay safe.
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