The ghastly story of a young student from Arunachal Pradesh who was assaulted by his house owner apparently because he was using up more water and the usual allegation of partying late into the night, should make the state governments of the north eastern states to take a call. Obviously there will never be enough space to house all the students of the north east even if each state were to set up hostels in the metros. The number of students migrating to the big cities has risen phenomenally in the last ten years. Ironically, some of these students are admitted in institutions that are not recognized by the relevant authorities. Most parents succumb to their children’s pleas of wanting to study outside their own states, perhaps because they want to break out of parental control. The problem is that most students do not have an idea of what to expect when they take residence in these big bad cities. A student from distant district in Arunachal Pradesh or Nagaland or Manipur who steps out of his/her comfort zone and parental care into an unknown world for the first time is bound to encounter a rude culture shock. The north eastern societies tend to protect their youth from the harsh realities of the world outside. It is in this context that an institution needs to be created in each state for conditioning young people on what to expect when they step out of the region. The youth need to be taught the art of communication and articulation so that there is no scope for miscommunication.
Three years ago a similar incident involving another student from Arunachal Pradesh, Nido Tania had made headlines. Tania was badly assaulted in Delhi and died as a result of his injuries. A Committee was set up by the UPA Government under the Chairmanship of a retired bureaucrat MP Bezbaruah to undertake a study of what needs to be done to prevent such sad incidents from recurring. Last heard, Bezbaruah had submitted his report but the Modi Government does not seem to have acted on it. It is time for the MPs of the North East and the state chief ministers to take up this issue with the Central Government and more particularly with the Ministry of DoNER.