I come from #Nagaland.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of living,traveling across India,almost every state,and of meeting people along the way. I stayed in their homes, worked alongside them, shared meals, disagreements, laughter, and long conversations.
And honestly, when I look back, I struggle to recall a single unpleasant incident rooted in the fact that I am from the North East.
This personal truth does not deny that discrimination exists. It does. Nor does it dismiss the pain of those who have faced hostility. Their experiences are real and deserve acknowledgement, justice, and empathy.
But alongside those truths, another question quietly demands attention,one we rarely pause to ask.
What happens when an entire nation is painted as unsafe for a particular community?
Narratives are powerful. They shape perception, emotion, and behavior. When we repeatedly frame India as broadly hostile to people from the North East, we may unintentionally create something dangerous: a simplified story that erases nuance, overwhelms lived reality, and reduces complex societies into a single threatening image.
Most Indians are not walking stereotypes. They are not waiting with malice. They are busy with work, family, survival, aspirations-often as unaware of our fears as we are of theirs. To portray the whole country as unsafe risks replacing vigilance with paranoia, and awareness with alienation.
There is another, more uncomfortable concern.
Does amplifying fear create space for hideous minds to act?
When a narrative of universal danger dominates public discourse, it can do two harmful things at once. First, it isolates communities emotionally, making them feel perpetually under siege. Second, it provides perverse incentives to those who thrive on outrage,individuals or groups who may exploit tension, provoke incidents, and then weaponize the resulting anger to serve political, ideological, or personal agendas.
In such cases, outrage becomes currency. Pain becomes content. And communities become pawns.
This is not an argument for silence. Silence protects perpetrators. Nor is it a plea to “move on” or “adjust.” It is an argument for precision. For responsibility. For resisting the temptation to flatten a diverse country into a single hostile narrative because it fits easily into headlines and hashtags.
India is not one experience. Neither is the North East.
Both are plural, layered, contradictory, and unfinished.
We need language that condemns violence without criminalizing coexistence. We need activism that demands accountability without manufacturing fear. And we need the courage to say that our country, like our people, cannot be understood through extremes alone.
Painting all of India as unsafe for the North East may feel protective. But if it deepens divisions, feeds opportunism, or distorts reality, it may end up doing the opposite.
Perhaps the harder, braver task is this:
to fight injustice fiercely, while refusing to surrender our faith in everyday human decency.
Because once fear becomes the loudest story we tell, everyone loses.
The 8.2% GDP growth in Q2 of 2025-26 is very encouraging. It reflects the impact of our pro-growth policies and reforms. It also reflects the hard work and enterprise of our people. Our government will continue to advance reforms and strengthen Ease of Living for every citizen.
Had a very good meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The India-Italy Strategic Partnership is growing from strength to strength, greatly benefitting the people of our nations.
@GiorgiaMeloni
Colloquio bilaterale con il Primo Ministro indiano, @narendramodi, a margine del G20.
Un confronto amichevole e positivo, con l’impegno condiviso a rafforzare ulteriormente il partenariato tra Italia e India nei prossimi anni 🇮🇹🇮🇳
#Melodi