People belonging to the North-Eastern states, especially Assamese, are safe in Bangalore, and there is absolutely no reason why anyone should flee the City, Assam Society of Bangalore has said.
General secretary Pranjal Medhi said the Society, which has been the voice of Assamese migrants to Bangalore since 1998, has nearly 7,000 members. Medhi believes there are about 40,000 Assamese in Bangalore.
In an interaction with Deccan Herald, Medhi said although his home state was facing some serious problems, there should be no reason to doubt any particular community, or run away from Bangalore.
A majority of the Assamese are said to be working in malls, hotels, or as security guards. A sizeable number of them are students and employees in IT firms, he said.
Asked whether the Society foresaw such problems emerging in Bangalore, he said: “Definitely not this kind of situation. We had organised a football match in Koramangala about a week ago and teams from various states had participated.”
He said he had interacted with the crowd and there was no tension at all. “But after the Pune incidents on Tuesday, where some North-Eastern students were beaten up, tension built up among the Assamese in Bangalore for no valid reason.”
He said had not seen major incidents of violence in Bangalore except when cine star Rajkumar died in 2006, adding that there was no provocation for people to get agitated.
The State government has already held talks with the members of Assamese Society and religious leaders. “People should trust what the government is saying and work with the system.
They should take whatever help they want from the government. For our own good, we should take the help of the government. But we should not run away, going by rumours. If anyone is facing any problem, they should approach police or our society for help.”
Medhi said social networking sites have also contributed to the spread of rumour that Assamese would come under attack after Ramzan.
He says the recent riots in Assam have disturbed his state’s people. “Violence against the locals in Assam had been going on for many years.
But this time, many incidents including the molestation, caught the attention of the entire country because of the presence of the TV channels,” he said.
Medhi, 30, has lived in Bangalore since 2001. He studied in Indian Academy Degree College and later did MCA at CMR Institute. He currently works with an IT company, but he preferred not to say which one.
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