Revisiting a page from diary [June 22, 2014]

Revisiting a page from diary

In October of 2009 when the elections to the state assembly were held in Arunachal Pradesh, it was just about a month for my first daily newspaper –“Sentinel Arunachal”, a brainchild of my passion for improving the system specially health and education sectors. I was new to the state and knew very few people who were mostly introduced by colleagues and family members. One evening, as we were settling to start our work for the day, the then editor, Rup J Pater introduced me to a particular unassuming, soft spoken yet passionate gentleman as “Felix”. "Bamang Felix".

Over next couple of days, we met several times in my small, dingy office discussing socio-economic and law-order problems.  Also, he shared that he shall be contesting the ensuing election against the then sitting legislator from 19-Nyapin Assembly Constituency who happened to be the education minister then.  The fact or not, there was definitely a negative media perception created against this particular Congress minister. In the true spirit of improving the system, our meeting clicked and we developed a rapport.  Felix contested as Nationalist Congress Party candidate against a Congress candidate.  Felix had won the contest and in his first 2 years as legislators, Felix and I continued our meetings on and off. And to every journalist’s delight, he along with Laeta Umbrey and Ralom Borang became a strong voice--vocal and eloquent-- in the floor of the house and raised many issues concerning socio-economic-political situation in the state.

Whilst campaigning was at its height, national leaders were flying in-and-out of Arunachal Pradesh despite inclement weather. However, one such “high-flying” leader who got stuck due to “packed-weather” was the NCP’s National General Secretary, Purno A Sangma, once the toast of the NE region very much like today’s Kiren Rijiju.

Through Felix, I got to meet him in his hotel room at Arun Subansiri where he was camping, with the then Union Minister of State and his daughter, Agatha Sangma. One evening, I was invited for a drink. Over drinks, served by his dutiful daughter, we got talking about various issues concerning the region and Arunachal Pradesh, in particular.

Like I always did and still do, I asked PA Sangma, who has been a top-notch national political leaders, about the never-ending Naga Peace Talk/Process and shared with him, how frustrating it is for us--the Arunachalees in Tirap and Changlang-- to suffer at the hands of both the Ultras and Security forces despite no faults of us.

Sangma said that he was equally curious and he almost got to know about it when he was made the Union MoS (Home) in 1984, When Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister but he lamented that before he could see the file, he was assigned another ministry.

Whether he told the “whole truth” or “partial truth”, I would not know but the way he spoke with passionate agitation and indignation even after decades, clearly showed that he didn’t have access to many files or were denied deliberately. I didn’t probe further.

He didn’t say a word for atleast half a minute till he spoke philosophically. ‘After I left Home Ministry, no leaders from the NE region has ever been in that ministry ever.’ I remember him telling.

Was there a deep rooted mistrust of the NE people? We don’t know and won’t know. May be at that point in time, the Union government have had genuine reason to be wary of NE leaders since it was around this time that Assam Accord (Signed in 1985) was  being hammered out; Mizo Accord was in the offing (Signed in 1986). Situations were fragile.

Nevertheless within the MHA establishment, whatever PA Sangma stood for the NE region then, Kiren Rijiju stands for the region now.   Rijiju’s fate must not be sealed like Sangma’s; Rijiju must be trusted with facts, files and future concerning the nation and nation building process.