[ Bengia Ajum ]
In the last 15 days three major incidents have rocked the state which is a matter of deep concern for every one of us. The first instance was the report of members of popular student’s organizations like AAPSU and ANSU attending 75th foundation celebration of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). As the pictures of AAPSU and ANSU joining the celebration started making rounds on social media it ignited a massive debate. Some section thought it is acceptable to attend such events as invitees and others saw it as an attempt to politicize the non-political students groups.
Since its formation students organizations in the state have played the role of pressure group and have been the voice of the voiceless. In the absence of strong opposition parties the people have always looked up to these pressure groups and therefore everyone was worried to see them hobnobbing with members of ABVP which is the student wing of BJP and RSS. This also shows that RSS is making every effort to make further inroads into every sphere of life in Arunachal. Today, whether it is in bureaucracy, university, college, media, or even in the tribe based organizations one will find people with RSS background. The tribals have always been known to live fiercely independent. This attempt to fine tune us into one ideology is fraught with danger and should be resisted.
The second issue which should concern people is the way the government handled the swearing in of the new members of Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). First of all, they made a mockery of themselves by sending out invitations to select VIPs informing that new members and new chairman will be sworn in. Social media was flooded with messages informing that chairman designate prof. Pradip Lingfa along with member prof. Ashan Riddi, colonel (retired) Koj Tari and Rosy Taba will take oath. Later it turned out that prof. Lingfa and prof. Riddi could not take oath as they are yet to get proper clearance to join the commission from the institutions where they are currently employed. This has exposed the bureaucracy and its inefficiency. Despite such a major goof-up no action was initiated against anyone. Further, the decision not to allow media inside Raj Bhavan to cover swearing in shows the arrogance of the government. The job of the media is to relay information to the public and by trying to keep the media away, the government acted against the interest of the people.
The babus sitting in the AC room of the civil secretariat should shun this arrogance and understand the pulse of the ordinary people. APPSC matter is a deeply emotional issue and people have the right to know every little information about it.
The horrific killing of former MLA Yumsen Matey on Saturday is very disturbing news. After Wangcha Rajkumar in 2007 and Tirong Aboh in 2019, Matey has become the third high profile politician to be killed in Tirap district. Still it is not clear who are the people behind his killing but everyone is aware that Naga insurgency groups are very active in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts. It is possible that the group killed Matey with a motive of spreading fear and also sending out messages that they are still a formidable threat. The successive governments have failed to bring peace in TCL districts. How far will people continue to live in constant fear? It is time a decisive action is taken against the Naga insurgents. The people of the TCL region deserve much better.
