NEW DELHI, May 3 (AT) – At a time when a sense of discrimination against the students hailing from the North-East is running high, comes a report that most people have negative perception about the region.
The survey claimed to be first of its kind and conducted by North East India Image Managers (NEIIM), a voluntary group of communication professionals, found that as high as 52 per cent of the respondents have a negative perception about North-East. Their immediate recall of ‘North East India’ is that of “a region riddled with insurgency and most unsafe place in the country” or “people with mongoloid features and weird food habit and an alien culture”.
Some of the high-lights of the survey released to the media say that 76 per cent have no idea about any peace talks going on between govt. and any militant group of North-east, while 91 per cent have no knowledge about North East Industrial Policy
At least 30 per cent of professionals said they will never go and work in North-East even if that best suits their career interest. At least 42.7 per cent though advocated changes in the educational curriculum to
provide more information about the region.
A sensational revelation of the study was that 87 per cent of the respondents could not name all the states of North-East India.
The Centre may be doling out packages to develop tourism in the region, but 71 per cent of the respondents despite agreeing that the place is full of natural beauty, as many as 30 per cent of them may not go on a vacation to North-East. “This testifies the fact that the picture has not really changed over the years. The stories of progress and peace from Northeast have not reached the people in the rest of the country yet.” said NEIIM.
“This speaks about the failure of the governments – both at the Centre as well as in the states to actually create awareness in the country. There is definite need to create communication programmes which break the myths about the region create a positive mindset among common people,” NEIIM said.
Source: Spl Correspondent, The Assam Tribune
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What mainstream people think about North East?
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, May 04 2012: 87% working professionals can't name all the states of North East India and 93% of the respondents wish to know more about NE India.
In a first of its kind survey about the perception of North East India amongst the people in rest of the country conducted by the North East India Image Managers (NEIim), a voluntary group of communication professionals, it was found that as high as 52% of the respondents have a negative perception about this region of India.
Their immediate recall of 'North East India' is that of "a region riddled with insurgency and most unsafe place in the country" or "most underdeveloped region with hardly any modern infrastructure and poor connectivity with the rest of the country" or "people with mongoloid features and weird food habit and an alien culture" .
Another shocking revelation of the study is that 87% of the respondents could not name all the states of North East India.
As many as 76% of the respondents had no idea about any peace talks that may be going on between any insurgent groups of North East India and Union Government of India.
The findings of the survey indicate that due to the negative imagery that people have about the region even if they are given the best of the job offer and it suits their career interests best 30% of them will never go and work in Northeast while 52% are not sure if it's a good idea to go and work there.
Even if 71% of the respondents agree that the place is full of natural beauty, as many as 30% of them may not go on a vacation to Northeast.
"This testifies the fact that the picture has not really changed over the years.
The stories of progress and peace from Northeast have not reached the people in the rest of the country yet." said NEIIM.
While 70% of the respondents can't believe the fact that three North East Indian states have per capita income more than India's national per capita income, as high as 91% did not know anything about Central Government's Northeast Industrial Policy which gives special incentives for investments made in the region.
75% of the respondents don't know whether the current UPA government has any minister representing any constituency of North East India.
56% of the respondents don't know that there is an IIT, are Central Universities and a IIM in Northeast.
NEIIM said, "This speaks about the failure of the governments - both at centre as well as in the states to actually create awareness in the country.
There is definite need to create communication programmes which break the myths about the region create a positive mindset among common people" .
The study, interim findings of which were released by NEIiM on May 3, goes on to probe as how such a hiatus of knowledge was created and how to bridge it, 56.3% respondents said that the government should run special awareness campaigns using various media tools at national level to educate people about North East India.
A sizeable 42.7% also advocated for changes in the curriculum in schools and colleges so that the children may know more about north east India.
Releasing the interim findings of the survey, NEIiM said about the methodology of the survey, "We identified the target audience very selectively and we specifically targeted people who are from media, communication, advertising, public relations, human resources, finance and marketing and whose media consumption is considerably higher than any average person.
We did an online survey using special online survey tools for most of our respondents and while for the rest traditional offline medium was used.
In total, data from over 400 working professionals based in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and not hailing from Northeastern part of the country were captured during the course of the survey.
These people work in the communication and service industry and keep a close tab on daily updates in the country.
Now, post the results, we were astonished by the fact that if the majority of our respondents did not know about North East region of India, how any common can man of India would know about them" .
When the study further probed as to why they failed to have much information on North East India, a startling 61% said that they do not see much of north east India on national media.
The perceived notion that people from north east India don't mingle with others stand challenged as 51.6% of the respondents said that they started knowing whatever little about the culture and people of north east from their interaction with colleagues or friends from North East India.
Almost 61% also believed that North East India provides a good platform for multinational and national corporations to invest.
A whopping 89.7 % confirmed that the Union government should give special attention to North East India than what is being given now.
What is heartwarming and interesting is that 93% of the respondents expressed that their desire to know more about Northeast India.
56% of the respondents feel that Government should run special awareness campaigns using various media vehicles at national level to educate people about Northeast while 43% suggest that school/college curriculum should include more information pertaining to history, geography, culture and economy of Northeast India.
The North East India Image Managers (NEIim) is working on the final draft of the report based on the findings which will also incorporate suggestions on facing the current situation which will be submitted to Ministry of Development of North Eastern region (DONER) as well as other important and concerned authorities for further action.
PERCEPTION STUDY ABOUT NE
: 52% respondents have a highly negative perception about North East India
: 76% have no idea about any peace talks going on between govt.
and any militant group of NE
: 91% have no knowledge about Northeast Industrial Policy
: 70% respondents won't believe it if one states the fact that 3 of NE states have higher PCI than national average
: 30% of professionals will never go and work in NE even if that best suits their career interest
: 75% respondents don't know that the current UPA govt.
has ministers hailing from Northeast
: 42.7% advocates changes in the educational curriculum to provide more information about Northeast .
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arun Jaitley speaks for North East
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 04 2012: Taking serious note of the mysterious deaths of loitam Richard at Bangalore and Meghalaya's Dana Sangma in Gurgaon recently, BJP MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley prevailed upon the Union Home Minister to ensure safety and security of people from the North East.
specifically mentioning the two cases and acknowledging grievances of North East students studying in Delhi as well as those working in the national capital when they were allegedly profiled and picked up by the police in the run up to the BRICS Summit, during his speech on the issue of racial profiling faced by the students from the North East in Rajya Sabha today, Arun Jaitley informed the House that people of region feel alienated due to distant location of the North Eastern States.
Because of the carving out of East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh, the North East moved away almost a thousand kilometres in terms of distance, consequently impacting developmental activities in the North-East, stated the BJP MP, who also asserted that despite efforts of various Governments, North-East has not grown in the same manner in which the rest of the country has.
North-East also has a genuine complaint that certain Central Schemes and projects are endeavoured to assist them and various things have not really lived up to the mark, he maintained and grimly noted absence train service, with the exception of Assam, where too, the big issue is conversion of meter gauge into broad gauge, particularly to the Barak Valley.
"We have a highway project going on successfully in the rest of the country, but the Mahasadak Yojana which was to really extend beyond West Bengal into the North-East, is progressing in a lethargic pace," he said.
The educational infrastructure in the North-East has also suffered subsequently leading to students from North East scattering at different cities to pursue studies, Jaitley conveyed.
while students from the region leaving their home States due to absence of basic educational infrastructure is unfortunate there is a sliver lining in this, said the former Union Minister by referring that interaction of the north East students with the rest of the country is contributing to national integration and helping others in understanding what their problems are.
one recent study indicated that between 2005 and 2010, the number of people migrating for jobs from the North-East went up about 12 times, he informed and describing the North East people, particularly the students as extremely charming personalities, polite, humble, very eager to Interact with the rest of the people, strongly advocated that they have to be made to feel wanted in the rest of the society.
"They have left a great impact in educational institutions to which they belong.
But, at the same time, most of them want to have the benefit of higher education institutions of quality in other parts of the country" .
"They want their educational profile and personalities to evolve and then they want to be a part of this great growth story which we talk about in the rest of the country" .
We have to admit and it is a genuine admission which everybody has to make that the growth in those regions has not been at the pace at which we would have expected it to be" .
"Therefore, in search of education, in search of better quality employment, they have moved to different parts of the country" .
Quoting the Union Home Minister's comment, "l wish to categorically state that any citizen belonging to the North-Eastern States is free to travel and reside in any part of the country.
They have a right to security and peace," he affirmed that people of north East also have a right to live free from any form of discrimination from any form of racial profiling.
"They have the rights to enjoy the fruits of development which in several other parts of the country people have now begun to enjoy, though to a limited extent" .
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Justice for Dana, Richard Loitam : Parliament discusses NE issues
PC negates racial profiling of NE students
Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies
New Delhi, May 04 2012: Rejecting the contention that students from the north eastern states are subjected to discrimination and racial profiling, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said that the Government will take every step to ensure their security and asked states to do the same.
"The Government of India will take every step to ensure their security and I am confident that all state governments will discharge their constitutional responsibilities to ensure the safety and security of all people residing within that state," Chidambaram said in Rajya Sabha.
He was responding to a calling attention notice by Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley in the wake of deaths of two students from north-east in Gurgaon, Haryana and Bengaluru.
Chidambaram said the state governments were primarily responsible for the prevention of crimes arising out of discrimination, adding, the Centre accorded "highest importance to development of north-eastern region as well as prevention of atrocities against Schedule Tribe and will not countenance discrimination in any form" .
Referring to the recent death of Dana Sangma in Gurgaon near Delhi and of Richard Loitam in Bengaluru besides allegations of racial profiling against Tibetans during the recent BRICS summit, he said these have caused disquiet and agitation among the community, specially students from the region.
He said the police are investigating the deaths of both Dana Sangma and Richard Loitam after registering cases and conducting post-mortems.
Dana Sangma, a student from Meghalaya committed suicide due to alleged "discrimination" by the Amity University authorities in Gurgaon.
Her body was found in her hostel room on April 24 .
She had been allegedly humiliated by an invigilator, who reportedly tore her answer sheet, after claiming to have caught her cheating in the exams.
Students and friends alleged that she was racially targeted and couldn't handle the humiliation.
Today Amity's Vice-Chancellor and Co-Vice Chancellor said the rules of the college were applicable to all students and there was no discrimination towards her.
"When caught with a mobile phone in the exam hall, exact same process was applied which is applied to other students in case of mobile phones being caught with students," Padmakali Banerjee, the Co Vice Chancellor of Amity University, said at press conference.
The college also said that her answer sheet wasn't torn and no abusive language was used as was alleged by some students to the media.
The college authorities maintain that they are cooperating with investigators but the issue had turned into a needless political controversy.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Girl watches lover die as suicide stunt goes wrong
TNN | May 5, 2012,
BANGALORE: A mere threat turned into tragedy. Haisnam Jakoi, a 22-year-old engineering student, died while trying to stage a suicide drama in front of his girlfriend, Seraphina (19). The plastic chair he was standing on gave way, leaving him dangling from the ceiling fan at his Bannerghatta Road flat here on Thursday.
Haisnam and Seraphina, both from Imphal, had been dating for three years and planned to marry after finishing their education. But their relationship had strained recently. A possessive Haisnam thought his girlfriend was ignoring him. For over a week Seraphina would neither take his calls nor reply to his messages.
On Thursday, the couple fought after they returned to Haisnam's house around 11pm. They went into his room while his three flat-mates stayed outside.
Haisnam continued arguing with Seraphina and warned her that he would kill himself if she ditched him. She was busy sorting out the purchases and did not respond. She later said that he would often hold out such threats and was very possessive.
Haisnam then took out a nylon rope and threatened to hang himself with it if she did not "mend" her ways. To make it clear to Seraphina that he meant what he was saying, Haisnam stood on a chair, tied one end of the rope to the ceiling fan and lowered the other, making a noose out of it and tying it around his neck.
Suddenly, the chair Haisnam was standing on gave way, leaving him dangling in the air. As the noose dug in, he began gasping for breath. "I saw him writhing in pain. I yelled to our friends outside, rushed into the kitchen, took a knife and cut the rope. By then Haisnam was barely breathing," police quoted the girl as saying.
Hearing Seraphina scream, Haisnam's friends rushed in. "We found him gasping for breath. We alerted the neighbours and the police. We took him to St John's hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival," Tony Logjam, Haisnam's local guardian, told TOI.
Haisnam was the second son of Haisna Choa, an RTO officer. He stayed with three other Manipuri students in the rented flat.
DCP (south-east) P S Harsha said it appeared that Haisnam threatened Seraphina that he would commit suicide and tried to stage a drama, but things spun out of control. Prima facie it is a case of suicide, he added.
