The Indian PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh: A Review

Samudra Gupta Kasyap writes the visit in The Indian Express as "Arunachal Pradesh probably is one state that does not always find space in the national media. Politicians, including Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, say the state does not get enough coverage because it is 'neither here nor there'. Neither is Arunachal Pradesh politically important — it has only two members in the Lok Sabha — nor does it have insurgent groups (like Assam, Nagaland or Manipur) which would generate news of violence and killings and grab some media headlines.But it has been in the news for the past few days, especially after China renewed its claim over the state . This was followed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s historic trip to Beijing. And as MPs from the state raked up the issue of Chinese claims over its territory, the Prime Minister also came on a two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which incidentally was also a visit by a Prime Minister to the state after a gap of nine years. H D Deve Gowda was the last Prime Minister to have come to Itanagar".

He further observes that "The Prime Minister’s two-day visit, however, has come as a big boost to the morale of the state, especially after a huge sense of insecurity, triggered off by repeated claims by China, had spread across Arunachal".

A Review: The author's view regarding the cirumstances (the chinese claim of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of it's territory) that had led to the Indian PM's visit is acceptable to me. Further, his views regarding Northeast's experiences with Central packages sounds good enough. He observes, "Singh announced a massive developmental package for the state, running into over Rs 8,000 crore. But it is also equally important that Delhi ensures proper implementation of this package. Northeast’s experience with Central packages announced in the past has not been very pleasant". Corruption has played as a great deterrent in it's implementation but most of these packages also remains only as "an announced package".

The problem lies regarding his views to the "sense of insecurity, triggered off by repeated claims by China, had spread across Arunachal". There's a big question regarding it. Personally for me, I don't feel threatened by the Chinese claim. The 1962 Sino-India War bears proff for it. It was the Indian's who brought about this threat perception propaganda where the indigeneous people were evacuated to the plains of Assam such as Dibrugarh and Guwahati. People who remained back were well-off. Lego in his book,The Modern History of Arunachal Pradesh observes that "When the indigeneous people took up the rifles left by the Indian Army to fight against the chinese, they didn't fire even a single shot. Rather the indigeneous people were proclaimed as brother's". Therefore, the sense of threat perception for the indigeneous people needs to be questioned.

What threatens the indigeneous people of Arunachal Pradesh? The threat comes from the refugees like the Chakma and Hajong who are from Bangladesh. How is it a threat for us? It becomes a threat for us because the Indian Government is trying to settle them in our land. These refugees will bring down all the indigeneous tribe's to minority. The Chinese threat perception is secondary because the Chinese won't drive us out from our land. The 1962 Sino-India war bears the testimony. The Chinese claim of the state is an issue for the politicians not the public. Therefore, if the Indian Government is really concern about the indigeneous people, the refugee issue needs to be solved. As rational human beings, we have sheltered them for around four decades when they were thrown out from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar instead of sheltering them.We cannot allow foreigners to get settlement rights in our land. It's protection is my birth right. We have shed blood for it and we will fight till death...

Reference
Kashyap, Samudra Gupta(2008), "A PM's visit after 9 yrs boost morale of a 'neglected' state," The Indian Express, 4 Febuary 2008,[Online:Web] Accessed 4 Febuary 2008, URL: http://www.indiaexpress.com/story/268627.html
Lego, N(2007), Modern History of Arunachal Pradesh