[ Tom Simai ]
As of now, I’m heartbroken. The incredible land I’ve loved, the picturesque land that has stood resilient through time, now quivers under the weight of division. My spirit, once soaring like the winds over our ancient hills, has been lacerated. My heart, once whole, now lies in pieces. Never did I imagine that Arunachal Pradesh, an incredible land shaped by the harmony of its various tribes, would be fractured in the name of religion.
I do not wish to engage in endless debates over whether the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religious Act, 1978 is right or wrong, or whether it should be implemented or abandoned. I leave that to the scholars, the lawmakers, the ones who claim to know better. But my deepest sorrow lies in the undeniable truth – religion has finally seeped into the fabric of our fragile tribal society, not as a unifying force, but as a blade, cutting through generations of shared history and kinship.
The state government assures us that it is not against any religion, yet its actions speak otherwise. How can it claim neutrality when its decisions have provoked a particular faith? How can it stand above the storm when it has been the very hand to stir the winds? The once-unbreakable unity of our indigenous people now trembles, weakened by invisible lines drawn between communities that once lived as one. The damage has been done, and the wounds may never heal.
Religion is not merely a matter of faith; it is fire – sacred, yet perilous. Those who sit in power, believing they can summon its force and control its flames, have been proven wrong. Instead of dousing the sparks of discord, they have fanned them into an inferno. And now they stand helpless as the fire spreads, consuming not just policies and politics, but the very essence of our togetherness.
I’ve imagined every disaster that could befall our land – political turmoil, economic downfall, even nature’s fury. But never did I foresee this. Never did I think that religion, which was once a private path to the divine, would become a battlefield in our tribal homeland. And yet, here we are, watching history take a painful turn, our unity slipping through our fingers like sand in the wind.
What lies ahead for Arunachal? I do not know. But I do know this – once a society is divided, the road to healing is long and uncertain. The spirit of our land is wounded, and only time will tell if it can ever be whole again.
