At least two Indian States were recently at the receiving end of Mother Nature’s fury, and around the same time. While one made global headlines, the other barely managed to find any mention in “national” media. Also, while help poured in from virtually all quarters for one, the other is still left coping with the challenge with its own meagre resources, having been virtually shunned by citizens of this country, the Centre and, of course, aid agencies.
“God’s own country” Kerala and Nagaland (unfortunately, still without a tagline) witnessed unprecedented rainfall this monsoon, leaving a trail of destruction in terms of human lives lost and damage to property and infrastructure.
Over 400 perished and millions were affected in the floods that ravaged Kerala. And no sooner had the word spread about the devastation in the southern Indian State, help poured in from virtually all quarters in terms of rescue, relief and financial aid. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh rushed to the State and announced Rs 100 crore, even as foreign countries, national and international aid agencies made a dash to offer generous help.
There were numerous stories in both “national” and international media about the havoc caused by the century’s worst deluge in Kerala. There were reports galore on the plight of people. Social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, etc, were flooded with posts highlighting the deluge, with many appealing for contribution.
Meanwhile, almost around the same time, a similar tale of death and destruction was reported from another part of the country (if not to the north-eastern corner of national consciousness) – Nagaland. The tiny hilly State on the country’s eastern fringe was pounded by one of the heaviest rains in recent human memory.
At least 12 persons died, while several thousands were severely impacted and displaced across the State. Torrents of water gushing in from turbulent mountainous streams and rivers washed away houses, damaged roads and bridges, while landslides at many places led to disruption in transport and communication. Many areas in Eastern Nagaland are still cut off from rest of the country and reportedly facing severe shortage of essential commodities. Even the national highway that connects State Capital Kohima with rest of the country is yet to be fully restored.
But unfortunately, barely a soul moved in other parts of the country as public attention was mostly concentrated on Kerala floods. Forget humanitarian agencies, all that New Delhi has done so far is to send a junior Minister – Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju – to assess the damage in the State. But even he could not tour the affected areas as inclement weather prevented his chopper from making an aerial survey. He left the State within hours after holding a meeting with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, his Cabinet colleagues and State government officials.
And all that Rijiju offered to Nagaland was an assurance to send a Central team to assess the damage.
Further, while in down south armed forces and disaster response forces chipped in with their men and materials for rescue and relief, Nagaland was largely left to fend for itself. Only two Indian Air Force choppers were available to airdrop relief materials to the hill State’s far-flung areas even as National and State disaster response forces carried out rescue and relief. It’s, therefore, not without reason that Rio had to sound an SOS to New Delhi even as lately as on 29th August seeking Central assistance immediately.
No doubt, compared to Nagaland, the scale of devastation in Kerala was overwhelming. But, when the damage is taken into account in the context of the North-eastern State’s population of 2 million approximately, then it’s huge (Kerala has a population of 33 million approximately). The destruction has now pushed Nagaland behind by a century.
Actually, a calamity is a calamity (human-induced or otherwise) anywhere and yours truly ain’t comparing the two or trying to undermine human tragedies in either State. The idea behind holding up facts is to point out the obvious difference in reactions to both the catastrophes identical in nature.
Of course, this is not the first time that people of a North-eastern State felt “ignored” once again. The North-eastern States, particularly Assam, are affected by floods every year. But they always feel let down by the kind of response they get from their compatriots elsewhere in the country. And, of course, the reason is not too difficult to decipher – the Northeast, due to its location and the size of its population, is not a priority politically, and hence nationally. So, even the so-called national media too bother to care less.
Nonetheless, with its unlimited scope, the digital space now offers a world of infinite possibilities for people of the region to reach out to global audience, especially in times of distress. Among a host of others, one particular reason why Kerala deluge caught the world’s attention was the quantum of coverage in digital world, where the Northeast hardly has any footprint.
So while expatriates from Kerala utilised the digital space to amplify the human tragedy (social media platforms were splattered with posts), people of the region were clearly found lagging in this vital aspect. Forget the Nagas, even those from other North-eastern States barely bothered to effectively magnify the tragedy visited on their brethrens in Nagaland, forget carrying out any online campaign.
Though floodgates of the digital space have opened for quite some time now, the region sadly is yet to capitalise on it properly. There’s barely a news website in the region that’s run professionally and with proper content, nor user-friendly. Many are just an extension of print or electronic medium and with no instant updates. Even the State governments of the region are yet to realise its full potential and harness it with policy initiatives. No wonder, search engines like Google or Yahoo throw up endless links to Kerala flood, as opposed to only a handful on Assam or Nagaland deluge.
Digital space has made the world flat. Unlike traditional media, it’s truly democratic, knows no physical barriers and can connect people across the globe instantaneously. Lacking any credible or effective footprint on this medium is a serious drawback. Time Nor’easters realise and tap its full potential to their advantage.