The energetic and frenetic Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has finally resigned after being in a roller-coaster political ride for 49 days. Ever since taking up the reins of power in Delhi in the last week of December 2013, Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP party-men had been the apple’s eye of the media and were at the centre of all news cameras, TV channels and journalists. They apparently tried their best to deliver on all their promises made during their election campaign. However, Kejriwal’s tryst with destiny came to an abrupt end over the Lokpal bill. And now it remains to be seen whether Arvind Kejriwal will ever make a comeback in Delhi politics or more interestingly at the national level.
The tactics and euphoria exhibited by Arvind Kejriwal and his party during their 49 days rule in Delhi do not appeal much to me in any manner. However, I probably will remember Kejriwal for one comment / statement which he made during his short tenure as Chief Minister of Delhi.
In the last week of January 2014, one boy from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten to death by some local Delhi boys in an altercation that erupted over a comment made on the hairstyle of the victim. As a result, the whole North-East community of Delhi took to the streets to protest against this apparently racial attack. The North-East community even went to the extent of demanding an anti-racial law to check the occurrence of any such mishaps. As per the news report, both Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal joined in the protests to show their solidarity with the north-east people. It was during this solidarity-showing encounter that Mr. Arvind Kejriwal made this most important statement which I consider to be of epic proportion.
In his solidarity speech, Arvind Kejriwal said that the history of the northeast people would be included in the syllabus of the Delhi schools so that it would bring about better understanding and appreciation of the history and culture of the people coming from the North Eastern regions of India. Sadly enough, the government of Arvind Kejriwal is no more and therefore it remains to be seen whether this utterance will ever have any bearing in the times ahead.
However, as I ponder over this utterance of Kejriwal, I am made to wonder whether the present syllabus of the Delhi schools contain any information at all about north-east India. And if it contains some information about the region, are the information honest, accurate and authentic? Or do they reveal only the fabricated Indian side of the story?
As mentioned above, it is unclear whether Arvind Kejriwal will ever make a comeback in Delhi politics or at the national level. And even if he makes a comeback, it has to be seen whether he will remain true to his words and really do something about the inclusion of the right and authentic history of the north-east in the syllabus of the Delhi schools. However, whether Arvind Kejriwal returns or not, I believe that the many student bodies of the north-east can take this matter forward by appealing to the concerned authorities for the inclusion of the correct, authentic and uncorrupted histories of the northeast not only in the syllabus of the Delhi schools but also in the syllabus of schools all over India. I believe that such an inclusion will go a long way in fostering better understanding amongst the north-east people and the people from mainland India and thereby bring about national integration in the country as well which is also an enshrined principle of the constitution of India. It will also definitely bring about greater respect amongst the northeast people and the mainland Indians towards each other’s race, history, culture, religion and way of life.
Some of the topics which can be included in such a syllabus (should it materialize) are:
1) The geography, topography and climate of the region.
2) The accounts of how the northeast people came to occupy their respective regions.
3) How Christianity got implanted in places like Nagaland and Mizoram.
4) How these regions were administered and controlled during the British Raj and what were the areas that did not fall under the purview of the British administration.
5) What were the roles (if any) played by the people of this region in India’s national movement?
6) The attitude and mentality of the national freedom fighters towards these regions and people during India’s struggle for Independence.
7) The political aspirations and struggles of the people in the region past and present.
8) How the lands of the Nagas came to be divided between India and Burma after India’s independence and how many Nagas still live beyond the international border in Myanmar.
9) How the Mizos rose in rebellion against the Indian government and how a settlement was brought about.
10) The political stand of the Nagas past and present.
11) The extraordinary circumstances under which the state of Nagaland became the 16th state of the Indian union in 1963.
12) How the creation of Nagaland necessitated the creation of other northeastern states like Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
13) Special status that are accorded to some people of this region by the Indian constitution like the special status accorded to the Naga people by Article 371.
14) A brief account of all the underground militant groups in operation in the northeast.
15) Why autocratic laws like the AFSPA are still in force in parts of the northeast like Manipur and Nagaland and what this kind of laws has done to the people over the years.
Indeed, if an honest and authentic information about all these can find a place in the school syllabus of the children of India, I believe it can go a long way in fostering in a new era of peace, understanding and mutual respect between the people of mainland India and the so-called hill people of northeast India. Here, it is worth remembering that even during the Naga movement for total independence, news of what was happening in the Naga hills never reached the outside world or even the Indians living in mainland India because of an Indian imposed news-embargo. And the Indian government has always tried to brainwash its citizens with its own distorted and fabricated side of the Naga story. The result being that many in India still believe that the Naga political movement was a total nuisance and stupidity. Thus, we are not foreign to what fabricated and distorted versions and accounts can create in the hearts and minds of people.
Therefore, as mentioned by Arvind Kejriwal himself during his solidarity speech about the need to include the history of the northeast people in the syllabus of mainland schools to foster in better understanding and mutual respect amongst the hill people and the mainland people, I believe it is now up to us (the so-called northeasterners) to carry this message and proposal forward for a better and promising future for all of us……….
