By: Concern Citizen*

The 'Seven Rainbow States' that makes up the North Easten part of India can best be described as 'Asia in miniature'. India's North East is a part of a great tropical rainforest that stretches from the foot-hills of the Himalayas to the tip of the Malaysian Peninsulas and the mouth of the Mekong river as it flows into the Gulf of Tonkin.

The North East Region is a place where the Brown and the Yellow people (races) meet and mingle. And the people inhabiting the Seven states of this region are all of Mongoloid descent, and are completely different from the Conventional Indian in physical appearance and outlook. Culturally and linguistically, the affinity of the people of this region is more with their brothers and sisters of the South East Asian Region and the rest of Asia. There is nothing Indian about this region and its people except of the fact that is a part of the Repbulic of India.

History has been a mute witness to the fact that New Delhi doesn't give much heed and importance to the region, as long as it remains a part of the Indian Union – A Buffer state just good enough to keep China – The Dragon at bay. This Step Motherly treatment meted out to 'Our beloved North East' can be ascertained from the fact that even if a dozens are killed in the North East Region, New Delhi is silent, doesn't a damned and is least bothered. While on the other hand, a single loss of life in Jammu and Kashmir and it makes it to the headlines of the major Newspapers across the Country, and often led to a hue and cry in the Parliament. A truly forgotten and uncared for is our beloved North East!

When other States are making rapid strides toward progress and development in all spheres of life. The North East Region is still what it was a few decades ago – A Stagnant Pool. The Central Government is not doing enough to develop the region and to bring it on par with the other states of the Indian mainland. Time and again, New Delhi has often cited the presence of 'Many Revolutionary Groups' in the region as one of the main reason for not releasing adequate funds to the region. For instace, The Manipur State Budget is less than the annual budget of one single department under the Andhra Pradesh Government. This glaring fact only goes to show that the Central Government is not at all interested in the development of the region, but it is no doubt interested in the 'genuine exploitation of the Region's Natural Resources. Where is the 'Right to Equality' enshrined in the Constitution of India???

The Central Government- irrespective of the Political Pary in power, have always looked down upon the people of region and is not at all interested in their welfare. The Goverenment at Delhi is more concernced about the "Oil-Fields' of Assam than the all around development of the North East and its people. The Indian Govt should try and overcome the Insurgent Groups operating in the region through good will and development of the region and genuine concern for its people. And not through the use of brutal and excessive force, ill-conceived adhoc policies mean only to opress and itimidate the people of this region. The imposition of the Draconian Law – The Armed Forces Special Act in few states of the North East Region is a testimony enough to this fact.

Only when the People Republic of China makes an 'unlawful intrusion' into the North East Region, and claims a part of it as its own -Will the Babus and aging politicians, and the Mandarins in New Delhi's corridor of power sit up and take notice and starts showing 'a genuine interest' in the North East Region. The Root cause for Insurgency in this region lies in New Delhi Step Motherly Treatment and apparent lack of concern for the North East and its people.

Having taken a clue from their old Colonial Master – The Britishers. New Delhi is effectively putting in practice the policy of "Divide and Rule" among the various communities of the Region through its Research and Analysis Wing ( R.A.W). No wonder – the North Easternes have always been give a 'R.A.W' Deal by the Central Govt. This only goes to show that 'A North Easterner's Life' doesn't mean a thing to the Central Government.

The Ignorant attitude of the Mainland India towards the region as a whole can be gauged from the fact that there are still some Indians who think that Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur are Independent Countries. Ignorance is indeed a Crime! And many High Headed North Indians fins it hard to accept us as Indias with all its privilages and facilities. No wonder, we are often referred to on the basis of our physical appearances – CHINKIS, mainly in the Northern Part of India.

Fifty Years we have been under the Indian Union, and there is still not much development that we could boast of. It might have been better had we been a part of CHINA, Who Knows?? We might have been able to reap the benefits of the 'Shangai Boom' and China's growing economy!

The arrogant North Indians takes pride in calling us CHINKIS, which I believe is a word meant to refer people with small eyes or people of any mongoloid descent. The word CHINKIS, seems to have been taken off from 'C-H-I-N-A". Maybe its time, we North Easterners shed our Indianess and replace the Indian Constitution with 'Chairman Mao's Red Book'.

In a region where Jacky Chan is more famous than Hrithik Roshan, and where Ahn Jung Hwan is more idolized than Tendulkar. And where Rock Music is more popular than Bhajans or Ghazals. The North East India is truely a region different from the mainland Indian and its most valued asset is:- Its Uniqueness.

No wonder as the Crow flies, the Region is closer to Hanoi than New Delhi and it won't be an exagerration to add here that even Beijing is not really far away.