Train ride for Nation building : Opening up the North East
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 24, 2014 -

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems intent on giving a totally new meaning to the understanding of a train ride.

Not just an exercise to go from one place to another but an attempt to foster closer ties between the people.

Setting the process of Nation building on track. This is what can be seen from the idea of Darohar : The Glory of North East.

An attempt to develop mutual understanding and respect between students of the North East and other parts of the country and strategically it has started from Delhi University this year.

Delhi or rather Delhi University or any other university located in Delhi is the preferred choice of further studies for thousands of students from the North East and it is in line with this thought that numerous students make a beeline for the National capital every year.

Only right that students from other parts of the country and studying at Delhi University should take the journey to the North East region under the initiative started by the Prime Minister.

Difficult to say whether such an exercise will be able to bridge the communication gap between students of the region and the rest of the country, but the intent is clear.

Familiarise students of other parts of the country with the North East region under the hope and aspiration that this will go some distance in clearing the misconception about the North East.

The effort no doubt is laudable yet at the same time it is disturbing to note that even after more than 65 years of India becoming independent, the idea of India as a Nation is yet to fully seep into the consciousness of every Indian.

This is the primary reason why people from the North East are viewed to be from other countries, particularly from countries like China, Japan, Nepal and South East Asia.

It is to dispel misconceptions that the Prime Minister kick started the initiative to expose students from other parts of the country to the North East.

This is noted and while questions can be asked on whether this would help or not, it is at the same time also right that people from the North East ask themselves certain questions, however unpleasant they may be.

That thousands of students from the North East pursue their higher studies outside the region is not a recent development.

It has been there from three or four generations earlier, again underlining the point that the North East pathetically lags behind in education and other spheres of life.

Yet the people of the North East continue to be discriminated against once they cross the proverbial chicken neck.

A clear example that in as much as the people of mainland India are not ready to accept the people from the region as equals, the people from the North East too have been keeping among themselves and not really opening up to the others.

This is a point which can be easily seen and experienced in any city which has a sizeable population of students from the North East, such as Delhi University, JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh etc. Make the train ride meaningful.