•-The Governor the head of State and head of Government and the Chief Minister have yet again played their ‘ceremonial’ broken tapes on the occasion of 62nd Republic Day. This annually staged and reiterated ceremonial speech has started stinking of demented ‘think-tank’ to the heads. When the commoners expect sincerity and honesty from their speeches of relevant schemes and interventions, parroting away about the same old ‘trans-Arunachal highway’, PM Package, PMGSY is a sad affair. Fair to say that progress and prosperity is a reality today but how many sections of our society are actually benefitted and can this progress be sustained without peace?
Is it not apparent that the Government is acting deaf as well as dumb when it comes to problems of the neglected and weaker sections of the society like in Tirap and Changlang? Just a passing reference about the problems in Tirap-Changlang with specifics on number of dramatized surrenders, mostly of dubious nature, won’t serve any purpose, lest events leading to such ‘ceremonial’ surrenders and follow up of such surrendered cadres are made public and laid bare for scrutiny by independent observers such as quasi-judicial bodies, community-based organizations and human rights organizations.
As published in The Sentinel Arunachal, it is an open secret that a bunch of army officials are involved in setting up the ANLF against the NSCN (IM) and these same officials are involved in carrying out ceremonial ‘surrenders’ for which an official has been rewarded with a rare honour, that is, an extension to his deputation period which is rare in the Army. Why it is that the State Government is afraid to confront the Union Home Ministry on the issues related to Tirap-Changlang?
It is an open secret and has been widely publicized in the media that the Army has played one against the other in Tirap-Changlang. As commoners, we have no say on such policy matters but why should village folks in Patkai Hills be made the human shield and scapegoats for their benefit. For instance, the recent factional fight between NSCN (IM) and ANLF-NSCN (K) resulted in a couple of deaths. Would the Chief Minister or his cabinet colleague, the Home Minister or for that matter, the Government spokesperson bother to make an official statement regarding the causes of the recent violence and measures taken to secure the lives and properties of people in Patkai Hills?
That was the other side of Patkai Hills. What is happening on the other side of the hills in Changlang? Discerning Arunachalees would like to know the whereabouts of Sanjay Kumar, an employee of Namchik Colliery, who was kidnapped in the penultimate week of November 2010. It’s been almost a quarter of a year since, yet the Government in general and the home ministry in particular, is yet to make an official statement on the case. But the larger question is why it isn’t an open secret that the top officials of the State home ministry visited the Colliery yet maintained muted silence all through these months? Isn’t it a fact that one of the officials spent a week and another spent three days in a guest house at Kharsang to ‘monitor’ the incident? Law-abiding citizens expect that lawful activities were carried out during those periods.
The last official statement in this particular case blamed it on unorganized miscreants. If that’s the fact then the current situation raises more questions than answers. Why did the family members and his business associates arrange for the ‘ransom money’ to the tune of about half a crore rupees? Isn’t it a fact that the money was handed over to one highly-placed personality? However, till date there is no trace of Sanjay Kumar. Whom did he pay that kind of money? Why is the Government not making an official statement whether he is alive or dead? Agreed that Sanjay Kumar is a non-Arunachalee but isn’t it the responsibility of the Government to ensure safety and security of the people residing in the State? Isn’t the Government and its machineries duty bound to ensure his safety?
As on today, one’s reading about the attitude of the Government is that governance is just about progress and prosperity. It goes without saying that progress and prosperity cannot be sustained without peace as its foundation. Today, our State needs a road-map for peace along with prosperity and progress. One hopes that people working as ‘think-tanks’ to the heads of the State and the Government would play a new tape next time. Can we hear that on February 20 which will mark the silver jubilee year of statehood, not just another statehood day?
Jarpum Gamlin
Arunachal Citizens Rights
Is it not apparent that the Government is acting deaf as well as dumb when it comes to problems of the neglected and weaker sections of the society like in Tirap and Changlang? Just a passing reference about the problems in Tirap-Changlang with specifics on number of dramatized surrenders, mostly of dubious nature, won’t serve any purpose, lest events leading to such ‘ceremonial’ surrenders and follow up of such surrendered cadres are made public and laid bare for scrutiny by independent observers such as quasi-judicial bodies, community-based organizations and human rights organizations.
As published in The Sentinel Arunachal, it is an open secret that a bunch of army officials are involved in setting up the ANLF against the NSCN (IM) and these same officials are involved in carrying out ceremonial ‘surrenders’ for which an official has been rewarded with a rare honour, that is, an extension to his deputation period which is rare in the Army. Why it is that the State Government is afraid to confront the Union Home Ministry on the issues related to Tirap-Changlang?
It is an open secret and has been widely publicized in the media that the Army has played one against the other in Tirap-Changlang. As commoners, we have no say on such policy matters but why should village folks in Patkai Hills be made the human shield and scapegoats for their benefit. For instance, the recent factional fight between NSCN (IM) and ANLF-NSCN (K) resulted in a couple of deaths. Would the Chief Minister or his cabinet colleague, the Home Minister or for that matter, the Government spokesperson bother to make an official statement regarding the causes of the recent violence and measures taken to secure the lives and properties of people in Patkai Hills?
That was the other side of Patkai Hills. What is happening on the other side of the hills in Changlang? Discerning Arunachalees would like to know the whereabouts of Sanjay Kumar, an employee of Namchik Colliery, who was kidnapped in the penultimate week of November 2010. It’s been almost a quarter of a year since, yet the Government in general and the home ministry in particular, is yet to make an official statement on the case. But the larger question is why it isn’t an open secret that the top officials of the State home ministry visited the Colliery yet maintained muted silence all through these months? Isn’t it a fact that one of the officials spent a week and another spent three days in a guest house at Kharsang to ‘monitor’ the incident? Law-abiding citizens expect that lawful activities were carried out during those periods.
The last official statement in this particular case blamed it on unorganized miscreants. If that’s the fact then the current situation raises more questions than answers. Why did the family members and his business associates arrange for the ‘ransom money’ to the tune of about half a crore rupees? Isn’t it a fact that the money was handed over to one highly-placed personality? However, till date there is no trace of Sanjay Kumar. Whom did he pay that kind of money? Why is the Government not making an official statement whether he is alive or dead? Agreed that Sanjay Kumar is a non-Arunachalee but isn’t it the responsibility of the Government to ensure safety and security of the people residing in the State? Isn’t the Government and its machineries duty bound to ensure his safety?
As on today, one’s reading about the attitude of the Government is that governance is just about progress and prosperity. It goes without saying that progress and prosperity cannot be sustained without peace as its foundation. Today, our State needs a road-map for peace along with prosperity and progress. One hopes that people working as ‘think-tanks’ to the heads of the State and the Government would play a new tape next time. Can we hear that on February 20 which will mark the silver jubilee year of statehood, not just another statehood day?
Jarpum Gamlin
Arunachal Citizens Rights
