Suffer to Prove Patriotism

Three men from Arunachal Pradesh were arrested for ‘anti-national’ activities last month. Their crime: a letter to the state’s food and civil supplies director complaining about the irregular supply of essential commodities to the district.

Three men from Arunachal Pradesh’s Kurung Kumey district bordering Tibet were arrested for ‘anti-national’ activities last month. Their crime: a letter to the state’s food and civil supplies director complaining about the irregular supply of essential commodities to the district. Heavy rains had caused landslides and disruption of road links to Kurung Kumey, and the state had been slow to airdrop food. The three men, members of the NGO Kumey Valley Federation, said in the letter that if the authorities failed to address the food shortage, they would cross over to China, which, they contended, took better care of its citizens. This was seen as ‘anti-national’ activity. The trio spent two weeks in jail till a local MP intervened.

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Jaideep Mazumdar