The decision of the All Nyishi Students’ Union (ANSU) to defer its proposed 36-hour bandh in the Itanagar Capital Region, which was supposed to start on Monday, is a wise one. While announcing the decision to defer the bandh, ANSU president Nabam Dodum informed the media that there was a meeting between the ANSU and the Nyishi Elite Society (NES) on Sunday, wherein the NES gave assurance that all the 10 demands of the ANSU would be “taken care of.” The decision to call off bandh brought a sigh of relief. There was fear of law and order breakdown if the ANSU had gone ahead with the bandh.
The ANSU leadership has taken a mature decision and needs to be lauded for it. Also, the pressure groups in Arunachal, in particular student unions, should stop using bandh calls as a method to press their demands. This is an outdated method and should be avoided. During the bandh call, only the poor suffer and it also hurts the image of Itanagar and that of the state. Now that the NES has taken over the 10 demands of the ANSU, the people of the state will be hoping that a peaceful resolution is arrived at with the government. Some of the demands of the ANSU have deeply divided the opinion of the people of Arunachal and have the potential to cause communal tension. A peaceful conversation should be held among stakeholders. Further, community-based organisations should stop issuing provocative statements in the media which can hurt communal harmony.