08-19-2012, 01:32 AM
dailypioneer
Fled to save life, now despair haunts
SUNDAY, 19 AUGUST 2012 00:40 ANUP SHARMA | GUWAHATI HITS: 7
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Uncertainty and despair were visible on the faces of thousands of people from N-E who landed at Guwahati Railway Station on Saturday after threats to their lives by alleged Muslim organisations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and other southern States of India.
If some are hopeful of returning soon, some others have decided to wait and watch before taking a decision. Among the hopefuls is 27-year-old Swgwmdaw Bodo. After working and living for more than 10 years in Tamil Nadu, Swgwmdaw considers the southern State more than his second home.
He had been working in a packaging company as an HR Consultant, and had been transferred to the Bangalore office just two months ago. A native of Rowta in Assamââ¬â¢s Udalguri district, he had earned a pet name, SB Raju, in Hosur, a small town in Tamil Naduââ¬â¢s Krishnagiri district, as his colleagues found it extremely tough to pronounce his Assamese name.
ââ¬ÅYou go to any place in Hosur and ask anyone about SB Raju. Almost everyone knows me. They used to call me SB Raju as that is almost like a Tamil name,ââ¬Â he said.
ââ¬ÅI was coming to my official quarter on August 13 night when some people stopped us and asked us to leave Bangalore immediately. They identified themselves as members of a Muslim organisation. We were scared as they were armed.
ââ¬ÅThe next day some other colleagues of us, who were also from Assam, were threatened by the same group. They set a deadline of August 20 for us to leave Karnataka. We decided not to take risk and boarded trains on August 15,ââ¬Â recalled Swgwmdaw while talking to The Pioneer outside Guwahati Railway Station on Saturday.
He had never faced such a situation before. ââ¬ÅThey were scary people. I am the only bread earner in my family. We do not have lands for agriculture. I am not sure what to do next,ââ¬Â said Swgwmdaw who desperately wants to go back and resume his duty as soon as the situation improves.
Manoj Pegu of Dhemaji has a similar story to share. Manoj and 20 others, who had been working as security guards for Sai Kripa security agency, decided to return home without a second thought after receiving SMSs from an unknown number.
ââ¬ÅThe SMS told us that bad days were awaiting us if we did not leave Bangalore before August 20. All of us received the same SMS repeatedly. Friends in Hyderabad also informed us that 11 youth of the North-Eastern region had gone missing in one week. Four were murdered in Bangalore itself, we were told. It was really a difficult situation there. It is important to remain alive first,ââ¬Â Manoj said.
Like Swgwmdaw and Manoj, thousands others, mostly youth, arrived in Guwahati in the three special trains that were arranged by the Karnataka Government.
A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesman said two more trains were scheduled to arrive on Sunday.
Dhiman Das of Tezpur, who had been living in Bangalore for the past five years, also recounted how some of his friends were threatened by local Muslims. Das worked as a security supervisor in Sai Kripa security agency and was posted at a packaging firm, Adarsh Packaging.
ââ¬ÅI do not know what to do next. I think Iââ¬â¢ll wait for some time till the situation improves in Bangalore,ââ¬Â Das said. About 40 other young men of the same locality in Tezpur also returned along with him in the same train. All of them have been working either as security guards or in some hotels and restaurants and small companies.
Most of these boys are from remote parts of Assam-Udalguri, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Majuli and other places where there is hardly any scope for employment and agriculture is not an option to earn a livelihood due to the perennial problems like floods and erosion. If the Governments are able to instil the confidence among the Northeasterners to return remains to be seen, nevertheless, one thing is sure that Assam is heading for another crisis. Those who have returned are going to multiply the existing force of unemployed youths in the State, something which surely is giving sleepless nights to the Tarun Gogoi Government that is already on the backfoot.
Fled to save life, now despair haunts
SUNDAY, 19 AUGUST 2012 00:40 ANUP SHARMA | GUWAHATI HITS: 7
inShare
Uncertainty and despair were visible on the faces of thousands of people from N-E who landed at Guwahati Railway Station on Saturday after threats to their lives by alleged Muslim organisations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and other southern States of India.
If some are hopeful of returning soon, some others have decided to wait and watch before taking a decision. Among the hopefuls is 27-year-old Swgwmdaw Bodo. After working and living for more than 10 years in Tamil Nadu, Swgwmdaw considers the southern State more than his second home.
He had been working in a packaging company as an HR Consultant, and had been transferred to the Bangalore office just two months ago. A native of Rowta in Assamââ¬â¢s Udalguri district, he had earned a pet name, SB Raju, in Hosur, a small town in Tamil Naduââ¬â¢s Krishnagiri district, as his colleagues found it extremely tough to pronounce his Assamese name.
ââ¬ÅYou go to any place in Hosur and ask anyone about SB Raju. Almost everyone knows me. They used to call me SB Raju as that is almost like a Tamil name,ââ¬Â he said.
ââ¬ÅI was coming to my official quarter on August 13 night when some people stopped us and asked us to leave Bangalore immediately. They identified themselves as members of a Muslim organisation. We were scared as they were armed.
ââ¬ÅThe next day some other colleagues of us, who were also from Assam, were threatened by the same group. They set a deadline of August 20 for us to leave Karnataka. We decided not to take risk and boarded trains on August 15,ââ¬Â recalled Swgwmdaw while talking to The Pioneer outside Guwahati Railway Station on Saturday.
He had never faced such a situation before. ââ¬ÅThey were scary people. I am the only bread earner in my family. We do not have lands for agriculture. I am not sure what to do next,ââ¬Â said Swgwmdaw who desperately wants to go back and resume his duty as soon as the situation improves.
Manoj Pegu of Dhemaji has a similar story to share. Manoj and 20 others, who had been working as security guards for Sai Kripa security agency, decided to return home without a second thought after receiving SMSs from an unknown number.
ââ¬ÅThe SMS told us that bad days were awaiting us if we did not leave Bangalore before August 20. All of us received the same SMS repeatedly. Friends in Hyderabad also informed us that 11 youth of the North-Eastern region had gone missing in one week. Four were murdered in Bangalore itself, we were told. It was really a difficult situation there. It is important to remain alive first,ââ¬Â Manoj said.
Like Swgwmdaw and Manoj, thousands others, mostly youth, arrived in Guwahati in the three special trains that were arranged by the Karnataka Government.
A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesman said two more trains were scheduled to arrive on Sunday.
Dhiman Das of Tezpur, who had been living in Bangalore for the past five years, also recounted how some of his friends were threatened by local Muslims. Das worked as a security supervisor in Sai Kripa security agency and was posted at a packaging firm, Adarsh Packaging.
ââ¬ÅI do not know what to do next. I think Iââ¬â¢ll wait for some time till the situation improves in Bangalore,ââ¬Â Das said. About 40 other young men of the same locality in Tezpur also returned along with him in the same train. All of them have been working either as security guards or in some hotels and restaurants and small companies.
Most of these boys are from remote parts of Assam-Udalguri, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Majuli and other places where there is hardly any scope for employment and agriculture is not an option to earn a livelihood due to the perennial problems like floods and erosion. If the Governments are able to instil the confidence among the Northeasterners to return remains to be seen, nevertheless, one thing is sure that Assam is heading for another crisis. Those who have returned are going to multiply the existing force of unemployed youths in the State, something which surely is giving sleepless nights to the Tarun Gogoi Government that is already on the backfoot.