Hito Zhimo
Tourism in Nagaland is dead. The RAP killed it. Getting a permit is too difficult. It’s not worth the hassle and wait. Worse than that, those individuals who try to come here without a permit are treated with contempt by the authorities.
For example, not too long ago a young man from Russia decided to visit India. He wanted to travel across Asia. Eventually he reached Dimapur. At the bus station in Dimapur he said he would like to go to Burma. Someone advised him to take a bus to Tuensang. When he reached Tuensang he was promptly arrested for not having an RAP. (He knew nothing about needing a permit to enter Nagaland and all along the way no one ever mentioned to him anything about it.)
He spent the next several months in the Central Jail. The authorities could have informed him of his error and kindly escorted him out of Nagaland. Instead, the incompetent morons decided to lock him up!
I personally had the opportunity to meet with this young man and speak with him. He wasn’t even sure why he had been arrested and obviously he was frightened. Even the jail authorities felt pity on him. They knew he was an innocent person. Russian diplomats from Delhi were flown in to talk with him, as if he had committed some notorious crime.
Finally, he was deported. I’m sure that when that young man arrived home in Russia he told everyone he met, “You ought to visit Nagaland. I had a great time!!”
Another example: Earlier this year, an American fellow, married to a Naga girl decided to visit Nagaland. The American had a PIO card, which gives him all the legal rights as an Indian citizen, except voting. When he and his Naga wife arrived in the Dimapur airport he was taken into police custody for not having an RAP. He was sent to the police station and then to the court. He was sent here and there and finally several hours later, he was told he must leave.
When I spoke with this man he said in essence, “Look! I came here to meet my wife’s family, to see if I can help them since they are poor, and to meet some of the people here. But if this is the way I’m going to be treated, then forget it!” He was upset and who wouldn’t feel that way?
A few years ago an elderly man from Australia was invite to speak at a meeting in Nagaland. His hosts were unable to get an RAP for him. When the Australian arrived he was surrounded by the police–as if he was Osama bin Laden—and escorted out of Nagaland. The meeting was cancelled. I personally spoke to this man on the phone. He wondered why he spent all the money to reach here only to be ejected so unceremoniously.
The things I am writing here are facts, not theories or empty political promises. The message couldn’t be clearer. To all would-be travelers to Nagaland: “You are NOT welcome here.”
Can anyone please explain to me, what is the benefit of having an RAP? I can’t think of one good reason. We were told several years ago that the government was phasing out the RAP. We were told that for married couples and groups of ten, the permit would be granted in Kohima without any problem. Today, instead of loosening the restrictions, the Central Government is getting stricter.
No permit is required to visit Assam or Meghalaya, and yet these states are as volatile as Nagaland is. Getting a permit to visit Mizoram is comparatively easy.
The Central Government complains that too many people visit Nagaland only for preaching. Excuse me! A good portion of India’s tourists visit for religious reasons. The Centre doesn’t mind if foreigners stay in Ashrams, work with Sai Baba, or take Hindu pilgrimages to Varanasi. And it’s okay for them to meet the Dali Lama. But they don’t want Christians to come to Nagaland! This is unfair and unconstitutional.
Unemployment is rampant in Nagaland. Tourism could be a source of revenue. But not as long as there is a “RESTRICTED AREA PERMIT” required. The RAP must go.
Perhaps some Nagas feel a sense of pride in being able to eject visitors who arrive without a permit. Maybe it makes them feel a little bit like an independent country. But nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, bureaucrats in Delhi are deciding who can and who cannot visit Nagaland. Government officials in Delhi are calling all the shots.
The RAP is not to be confused with the Interline Permit system. The ILP is designed to keep Indian citizens, non-locals, from moving to and living in Nagaland. The RAP keeps foreigners from visiting Nagaland. We may continue to keep the interline permit system or something similar.
If the State Government is going to strictly enforce the RAP, then why not take a look at Dimapur—it’s completely swamped with Bangladeshis. (Last time I checked Bangladesh is a foreign country.) Many Tibetans, Bhutanese, and Nepalis also live here and no one seems to mind that.
Please don’t write a rejoinder saying, “We’re trying to remove the RAP.” You’re not trying at all! Heaven knows, you’re bluffing.
So I appeal to the sensible people of Nagaland: If the Nagas don’t want tourists to visit their state, then the status quo should remain. (And go ahead and close down the State Tourism Department. And please don’t mock us with your hypocritical articles about tourism.)
But if there is any benefit to tourism, if the Nagas want visitors to see the sights, meet the people, and hopefully, spend some of their cash, then the RAP must go now!
