[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he party said it was a typing error. To the rest of country, it is a national shame and outright antinational—calling residents from the Northeast India in the national capital ‘immigrants’. Well, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India’s major political party heading the country today, just did the dumbest thing today. After having won the last Lok Sabha elections with a historic majority, it repeatedly performed in the past recent polls across the country. Obviously, it is a widely favored party across the nation, with Narendra Modi, a popular figure, who is now the country’s Prime Minister, at the helm of it. Yet, the party had to pop up its ugly head just before the Delhi Assembly elections. Sadly and unfortunately, it lifted its mask and spoke its mind—labelling names and calling people from Northeast India living in the national capital ‘immigrants’ , in a section of its vision document for the Delhi Assembly elections headlined ‘North Eastern Immigrants to be Protected.’ It had to spell it out. It only goes to prove its small and narrow mindset.Only recently, the party pompously boasted of having invited US President Obama and had him grace the country’s Republic Day celebration. Few days before it, it announced observing Good Governance Day, and now the party blew its head off. What is the party saying? What are its leaders doing to the country and its people? Do they know what they are saying, what they are doing? Where is the party headed? What protection are they talking about? There is protection in unification not in division. Of course, they could not hide their real mindset anymore. And, of course, it is not that they do not know the difference between migrants and immigrants.
Already the city, for the past years, has been in chaos for ill reasons that persist to this day—communal and racial discrimination issues. People from Northeast India living in the national capital and other metros have been struggling to fight it off and have been fiercely campaigning against any form of racial discrimination and attacks on them. They have been trying to give voice to the long suppressed resentment at being treated not only as second citizens but for the countless mistreatment and verbal as well as physical attacks on them. The unheeded feeling of alienation of Northeast Indian region and its people has long been a serious social, political and geographical issue. I am not too sure if any government did any serious work to assuage this feeling and try to resolve the issue in any manner. But people themselves have been trying to deal with it and have been building a bridge with the mainland either at a personal or at the public level.
In recent years, there has been an increasing movement of people from NE India across the country. With the increasing exodus and exposure to the culture and region beyond theirs, most people are beginning to slowly embrace the Indian identity better. Yet, they still face some sort of alienation at all places, may be at a lesser degree in recent years. But, now, this divisive bombshell of the BJP could snap the thin link between the mainland and Northeast India.
From the beginning, the party’s ideology did not appear to favor an integrated national interest. Many may disagree, but today it has raised its ugly head again and made its parochial, communal and anti-national stance loud and clear to the nation. It is, indeed, sad, unfortunate and frightening. Sad and unfortunate, for the party has failed to grow out of its parochial, communal and divisive mindset. Frightening, as it appears, the party spells danger and doom for the country and itself.
After the media pointed it out and in the wake of the outcry in the social media, the party may say it was a mistake or try a clarification, but it cannot hide its real mindset behind a see-through mask anymore. The deed is done. It’s a big shame. It’s alarming.
Lungsanliu Gonmei
