When increase in literacy rate and easy accessibility to technology should make the public more aware of scams, news reports suggest otherwise for the people of Northeast India. People from the region continue to fall prey to the tricks of fraudsters and human traffickers, and some are even said to be involved in such illegal activities knowingly or unknowingly. The most recent case is the Indore-based call centre scam where 80 employees were reportedly apprehended. The Superintendent of Police (SP) Cyber Cell Indore, Jitendra Singh, revealed that youths hailing from Northeast were among the arrested while refusing to divulge more details as the case is under investigation. The police officer however claimed that the arrested employees were aware of the racket but still duped victims -- US citizens – by claiming to be from law enforcement agencies. This happened a few months after 45 youths from the Northeast were arrested in a similar incident from Noida, though it is claimed that the accused youths were innocent and unaware of the employer’s intentions. Whatever may be the circumstance that makes the educated youths to work in dubious fake companies, the fact remains that such firms are illegal and punishable under the law. This calls for the need to verify the authenticity of a company before taking up any job- not just in business process outsourcing (BPO) and hospitality industries but across all private sector companies. The educated youth too should keep themselves updated on the happenings around them and be responsible citizens, or else education serves no purpose.
While talking about youths being trapped in fake companies, mostly based in metropolitan cities, it is also pertinent to study the underlying problems that the students in the region face after completing their studies. And the single biggest problem is unemployment. This issue exists in other parts of the country too, and even in developed countries but it is more severe in the Northeast for several reasons. The region may be rich in biodiversity but most states do not have even a single factory, which means there is little scope to get job in the private sector. On top of that, with employment opportunities in the government sector getting saturated in almost all the states, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the educated youths to find jobs to live a descent life. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by both the central and state governments. If not, the growing divide in wealth distribution among the citizens, both in the rural and urban areas, could lead to more complications and unrest. It’s also time the young minds in the region to transform from job seekers to job creators by taking up entrepreneurship seriously because this sector can strengthen the economy of the country as well as the society. This is why most countries are focusing on consolidating start-ups ecosystem today. Meanwhile, the government should create a conducive environment for entrepreneurs and encourage the educated youths to start their own enterprises by providing financial support and ensuring essential infrastructure, especially good road connectivity.
