To The President of India
cc: Prime Minister of India; Chief Minister of Assam;
Governor of Assam,
Chief Minister of Bihar; Governor of Bihar
Respected President,
On behalf of the Assamese community in North America,
I am writing to express my profound sorrow and deep
concern at the unprovoked mistreatment of train
travelers from Assam and North East India during their
utterly necessary journey through the State of Bihar.
For most ordinary citizens who cannot afford
exorbitant air travel, trains are the only mode of
communication and transport if they want to maintain
any substantial connection with the heartland of
India. Travel by train, road and air between North
East India and the rest of India is of vital interest
to the integrity of India and must be secured at any
cost.
At the same time, on behalf of the Assamese community
in North America, I deeply regret and mourn the lives
of innocent Bihari people shed in the tragic aftermath
being played out in Assam and Northeast India. There
is no justification for the extreme violence visited
upon them and it must be stopped at any cost. This
loss of lives is absolutely untenable and I extend my
deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and
friends of those who have perished.
However, I would like to remind you that according to
recent estimates 1.5 million Bihari people make their
livelihood in Assam. These expatriates send a huge
amount of money back to their motherland from their
hard-earned incomes in Assam. Thus, Bihar benefits
handsomely by exporting its people to toil in Assam.
These people mostly work in the private sector and a
large number of them in menial work, but also a good
percentage as traders at various levels. Thus, Bihar
and Assam are dependent on each other, Bihar more so
on Assam than the other way.
For most of the 56 years of Independence of India,
even highly qualified natives from Assam and Northeast
India have been shut out, almost completely, from
Central Government jobs. Therefore, we feel that it is
a very justifiable demand that all low-level and a
large percentage of high-level Central jobs in Assam
and Northeast India be given to the natives and
long-term residents of the area. Since unemployment is
the root cause of the current unfortunate happenings,
providing employment to educated youths of the region
will benefit those who otherwise are likely to join
groups seeking independence from India for the region.
The people of India are blessed to have you as the
President of the great land of ours. I trust you will
use all the resources available at your disposal to
stop the recurrence of such episodes in future. I also
implore you to punish the culprits as well as the
Government Officials who failed to discharge their
duties in Bihar and Assam. However, I want to impress
upon you that human rights and dignities of innocent
civilians must be respected when you employ Government
resources to find the culprits and bring them to
justice.
Respectfully,
Mantu Baishya, PhD
President
Assam Society of America
Omaha, Nebraska
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