The Unheard Voices

I am very sure all of you must remember the Peshawar attack of 16^th December 2014 and the Charlie Hebdo incident of 7^th January, thanks to the media who covered every bit of these two brutal incidents, the two most heinous acts in the history of humanity. But did you people even hear about another disturbing, heart breaking Bodoland carnage of 23^rd December? Unfortunately the answer is a big “No”, because this dark incident was devoid of the so called “Media Coverage”, because nobody gave it equal importance, because this is the sad reality! Somehow some voices are heard loud and clear while other remains unheard, some wishes remains unfulfilled and the importance of some lives is much more than others.

Two days stretched heinous incident, covering four districts of Assam – Sonitapur, Kolkrajhar, Udalguri and Chirang resulted in death of over 80 people, there were roadblocks, high alert for almost a week. Adivasis ( an umbrella term used for tribes like Munda, Santhal, Orang, Etal etc.)  Were the victims of this unfortunate open fire by NDFB ( Songbjit), a breakaway of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland lead by I K Songbijit. There was a retaliation, Bodos were killed by mobs, three Adivasis died in police firing. According to the Asian Human Rights Report, about 300,000 people were displaced in this traumatic incident.

Despite the fact that all this happened in our very own nation, most of you had no idea about it. Somehow this news slipped from our media’s news centres, no national daily could see a prospect of a breaking news headline in this incident. Leave the global attention that it should get, even the national attention on this matter was minimal or negligible. If we try to trace the origin of this kind of behavior, the reason isn't just that it occurred in a Northeast State, an already marginalized group but also that most of the sufferers of this incident belonged to the lower strata of the economic group, they are the poorest among the poor’s, hence doubly oppressed. There are no schools, roads or health centres in the affected areas.

The reality is very disturbing. There is discrimination, even the black days of humanity are prioritized and selected to make “Selling Headlines”. While on one side on the massive death of schools student’s in Peshawar the whole nation was overwhelmed by grief and pity, all the newspapers, news channels and social networking sites were flooded by reports, there was no one to mourn on this loss, no one to shed tears, no one to give shoulders, because unfortunately, some voices remained Unheard!