It is true that several identities reside as one in India. It is also true that when it came to printing the picture of the Chief Minister of Nagaland Shurhozelie Liezietsu, one of the largest newspapers in India once published the picture of the Chinese premier Xi Jinping. And then followed it up a few days later by printing the picture of former Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio. 

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At a time when there’s an attempt to embrace the entire country in one tight beefy hug, it is apparent that all eyes are on the eight states of the Northeast. We love our beef, yes. And our pork. But now that there’s some unusual attention resting on the region, perhaps this is as good a time as any to say that there are a lot of other problems the Northeast is battling with. 

With four states going to the polls, this conversation is significant. When Manipur went to the polls, the conversation was limited to Irom Sharmila. In a state where there has been a lot of strife between the several hill tribes and the valley-based Meiteis for months, only Irom mattered. This is also a state where eight bodies were not buried for more than 600 days as a mark of protest, unprecedented in this country. Not many batted an eyelid when they were finally buried late last month. 

A lot of pride and fanfare was attached to the Dhola-Sadiya bridge. It is the longest bridge at 15 km, and it will shave off the travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh by over four hours. But, I’m sure that not many know (or care) about the need for a bridge connecting Majuli to the mainland. On good days, when the Brahmaputra is not eroding away swathes of land from Majuli, it is considered the largest river island in the world. But, without a bridge it is always a trudge for the Majuli residents to access basic amenities and health care. Crossing the Brahmaputra during the monsoon is not a cakewalk. Or, for that matter, living next to the Brahmaputra. The lives of over 15 lakh people are uprooted year after year. Yet, there are neither flood packages or Twitter campaigns. 

We care about the beef, yes. But in Ukhrul, where one will find some seriously delicious beef, it is difficult to find an ATM that operates after office hours. This is also a place where the local government college does not teach science, and the local dispensary does not have any specialist doctors. 

There are several such problems in the Northeast hinterland. There are several demographics that one barely cares about. And in a post-beef world, when you have some more time to listen, we’ll perhaps have a longer conversation. 

The author is the gender correspondent with DNA and was born and raised in Assam