The day after I was writing about Indian Independence Day
and how fab the New India is, everyone in the country was limited to sending 5
texts per day. The government restricted
bulk text messaging for national security purposes.
Up in Assam, there is strife. The reports and urgency from recent conflicts
quickly spread to the many Northeastern Indians who live throughout the
country. Terms like “mass exodus,”
“panic,” and “hysteria” have been used to describe the ensuing
events.
I first heard about the news from my Assamese colleague who
was fiercely reading news online the Friday before the text restrictions. He assured me that the threats being spread
about certain ethnic groups being targeted throughout the country were rumors,
but he seemed concerned still. His
parents were urging him to return home for his safety.
Assamese were flocking back to their home state in response
to the threats that were spread via texts and social media. In Hyderabad, it
was quiet. I didn’t feel unsafe. I had to seek out (through an inquiry to
other H’bad fellows via facebook) why my phone wasn’t working properly. Only the disruption of communication echoed
the dreadfulness of what Assam saw.
The reality is that conflict remains. Clashes of ethnic hostilities, land
ownership, immigration – of power – led to tragedy.
The information, along with false information, reached the
nation rapidly and people reacted swiftly.
And the government responded in the name of security.
The enduring influences and tensions of the past mingle with
new technology and ways of life. It
creates a complex and unsettling present.
Interestingly, the news focused on the text messaging rather than the
ultra complex conflict situation…
We now have the freedom of as many texts as we want
again. I haven’t read anything more
about events in Assam.
P.S. America, with three tragically violent and highly
publicized episodes involving gun slaughter since I left, we’re not
looking so simple or settled ourselves.
Come on world, get it together.
P.P.S. Sugarland can cover any song and I will love it. (Sorry music enthusiasts.)
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