Rajon Das is a last year student in electrical engineering at NIT. He felt most people living outside of the Northeastern Region, which includes eight states, did not understand the traditions, lifestyle, food habits, culture, history, and customs of northeast. This created many problems, including violence in various parts of the country, particularly in the capital.
“In August and September last year, I cycled up to Ladakh via several states including Delhi to inform the public about the northeastern area.
Das, a Tawang resident in Arunachal, stated that “I began my second mission in Udaipur (southern Tripura), and had already visited five states (Tripura (southern Tripura), Meghalaya), Nagaland (Nagaland), Arunachal Pradesh) and now I’ll return to Karimganj (in southern Assam).” According to him, the NIT would send him on a similar mission to Sikkim, Nagaland, and Manipur during his next vacation.
Officially, NCERT officials (National Council of Educational Research and Training), told me it was possible to add chapters into the curriculum. However, it requires a government policy decision. “I will meet the NCERT officials and the higher-ups,” said the engineering student at 25 years old. According to him, during this current trip, he has stayed sometimes at local homes and other times in the tent he is carrying with him during his journey.
“People believed in my cause and were sad that so many people don’t understand the history or people of the beautiful northeastern region, even 75 years after independence.”
He pointed out that including a chapter about the northeast into the NCERT curriculum would help students from other states to be more familiar with the area and facilitate its growth and development, as well as ethnic and communal harmony.