“A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them.” – Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbard’s quote stands true, but what about the fact that there are people dying as a result of using their hand and heads? Seems mystifying, doesn’t it? Well, this is what is happening in the north-eastern states of India and what’s worse is that we don’t have time to understand the problem or create any kind of awareness about it.
On 13 December 2018, in a coal mine in Ksan (a district in Meghalaya) 15 mine workers were trapped, out of whom, 5 somehow managed to escape. You will be surprised to know that the release and rescue missions launched by the Indian navy, Indian army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as well as other agencies continued till 2nd March 2019.
In yet another incident, 4 mine workers died in an illegal mine in Nagaland on Sunday, 3 March 2019. The tragic incident occurred in the mine that is located in an isolated village called Yonglok (located in Longleng district) at the border of Nagaland and Assam. They died as a result of inhaling toxic gases. Did you know that? I am sure most of you didn’t have any idea!
Well, mining started in the year 1774 by the British East India Company. States like Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, Bihar, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh have the estimated coal reserves. However, there are new changes and modifications going on.
The irony is that even though the National Green Tribunal (formed by an Act of the Parliament of India) had banned all the unchecked or illegal mining in 2014, these shocking incidents are still quite common. Even Nagaland has banned illegal mining as per the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, keeping in mind the coal mining accidents in Meghalaya. Local people believe that mining is a threat to their natural environment, despite the fact that such a resource can boost up their economy, along with the state’s economy. They say mining should be done in a proper scientific and sustainable way, without harming the environment in any way.
Reasons Behind Such Tragedies
- The first and foremost reason is that North East India is the forgotten part of the country for many. Starting from the government, to national media and Indian citizens in general, they do not have any idea or any awareness for that matter, about what is happening there.
- Why was there no proper research or fact-checking before the mining operation? What is the indifference for? Why has the government been silence after though people have lost their lives. Will the scenario remain the same if these incidents took place in other parts of India? Surely not!
- Lack of infrastructure, communication, and growth have been the unsolved concerns faced by the seven sister-states always. The government, irrespective of the political party in power, doesn’t give much attention and importance to the region, while other parts of India are moving scurrying towards expansion.
- The inequity is clear by the fact that Manipur state budget is lower than the yearly financial plan of one single department of the Andhra Pradesh administration. ‘Right to Equality’ is preserved in the Constitution of India…is that even true???
- The People’s Republic of China stating an illegitimate imposition on the north-east province, and claiming it to be a part of its own. Why has there not been a single bold step by the leading party in this matter?
These are the 5 major reasons which I believe are to a large extent responsible for such tragic incidents. The national media is quite ignorant in terms of writing or broadcasting the news from North-East India.
The never-ending question is, when will the government take some responsibility towards this region? When will the media give emphasis on creating awareness about north-east India? How long will people there suffer and die so tragically, on regular basis.