Attack on Arunachalis

A road accident in the heart of Dibrugarh on Thursday evening in which two persons lost their lives triggered off unnecessary trouble, with a section of people targeting people of the neighbouring districts of Arunachal Pradesh who were in the upper Assam city on that day. The plain simple incident was that a vehicle bearing a registration number of Arunachal Pradesh had allegedly knocked down a two-wheeler on the Assam Medical College Road, leading to the death of two persons. Some miscreants who were present on the spot almost immediately turned it into a clash between Assamese and Arunachalis and began attacking almost every vehicle bearing Arunachal Pradesh registration number that were either in or were passing through Dibrugarh. Reports said that some hooligans even went to the Arunachal Charity Home where poor people from the neighbouring state stay when they come to Dibrugarh for treatment, beat up some people there and also ransacked the place. The Dibrugarh Police however must be congratulated for having brought the situation under control pretty fast, and also for having arrested two main culprits. What is a matter of concern is that attack on Arunachali people has become common especially in the north-bank districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath and Sonitpur, as also in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia just because a vehicle bearing Arunachal Pradesh registration number happen to get involved in an accident. It is common sense that no Arunachali person comes down to Assam with a vehicle to just knock down a resident of Assam. Accidents are accidents. But then, a section of people on both sides have become habituated to indulge in violence whenever a road accident occurs. It was only last week that a few motorcycles bearing Assam registration numbers were burnt down on the Kimin-Yazalo-Yachuli-Ziro road inside Arunachal Pradesh simply because one of the Assam motorcycles had hit a pedestrian who happened be a local tribal. Such incidents have been also reported in towns of Charaideo, Sivasagar and Jorhat districts that share border with Nagaland, often also prompting some groups and organizations to block roads and highways to the neighbouring state. With unemployment rates soaring, the number of young idle persons has naturally increased. While there is an old saying that ‘an idle brain is a devil’s workshop’, these idle persons who are engaged neither in any productive work nor in any positive thinking naturally indulge in hooliganism at the drop of a hat. Such hooliganism become intense whenever they see an accident happening, and instead of helping the victims they get into the act of attacking the vehicle involved in the accident. There have been reports that innocent people travelling in such vehicles, including people accompanying a patient in an ambulance have not been spared. Here comes the crucial role of the district administration and police, and also of the civil society. DCs, SPs and citizens' groups should play a proactive role whenever such incidents occur. Student bodies, including local units of the All Assam Students’ Union, should set up inter-state coordination committees and sensitize people on both sides against taking the law into the hands. People on either side should realize the mutual socio-economic benefits of inter-state movement of people. Opening of several bridges on the Brahmaputra has increased the volume of trade and business in the upper Assam districts. Educational institutions, hospitals, hotels and the tourist spots have also started getting more people from Arunachal Pradesh.