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N-E folks flee Bangalore, make e-plea to Muslims

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CIOL Bureau
New Update

BANGALORE, INDIA: Late on Wednesday, more than 5,000 people from the North-East who live in Bangalore, most of them students, left the city on two trains for Assam, following rumors that there might be attacks on them.

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Although Karnataka Home Minister R. Ashok and Bangalore police commissioner B.G. Jyothi Prakash Mirji have reassured and requested them not to flee the city, they somehow feared the situation to turn volatile and are on the run to their homes.

One reason attributed to the scare is the recent Assam violence allegedly between the indigenous Bodo tribe and Bangladeshi Muslims. After that, there was some unrest in Pune as well. So, North-Eastern people in Bangalore, like their next of kin elsewhere, dread the worst and want to be safe rather than sorry.

It is also believed that some alleged inflammatory messages on social media about the Assam riots, which showed North-Eastern natives in poor light and as if Muslims were victimized, were a major reason for the escalation of the situation.

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Mobile phones and SMSes, too, resulted in more harm than help in such a scenario, when people started believing in certain information and forwarding it, which naturally blew up the proportion of the rumours.

According to Johnson Rajkumar, an assistant professor from N-E at St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, who also is heading the North East and Tibetan Forum, most of the things started with SMSes, Facebook updates and false information spread on other social media.

As a result, he added, hundreds of their people are fleeing the city even on Thursday, with some scampering around for flight tickets as well.

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"Today, a representation of us met the Chief Minister, Home Minister and the Director General of Police, besides other top-ranking officials of the state. They have assured us that all preventive measures would be taken and security in areas populated by people from the N-E would be intensified." These sensitive pockets include Shanthi Nagar, Annasandra, Ejipura and Koramangala.

Meanwhile, there were reports of isolated incidents of violence perpetuated against N-E people. A student in Bangalore, on condition of anonymity, said that their people have been threatened and even physically abused over the past one week by a particular community in Bangalore.

But as for the social media's influence and impact here, if there is a flip side to it, there should also be a fair side, shouldn't there? Now, many North-Easterners are utilizing the power of social media to broadcast an appeal to their Muslim counterparts, requesting them not to believe in false propaganda, online or offline.

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One such poster is being widely distributed on social media, including platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+. It makes an open appeal to Muslims to not get influenced or instigated by some rumors and distorted facts being spread everywhere by people with malicious intent.

Read the poster here:

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A Facebook page, Stop Discriminating People From the North-East India, has this message for N-E brethren:

Dear Friends in Bangalore,

Please note the following points:

- Avoid late night outing or stay out from conflict with locals

- Inform your landlords not to allow unknown visitors to come in your rooms

- In case of any emergency call Ashok Nagar Police Station at 080-22942508 or contact Mr. Diwankar, PS to General secy of Karnataka BJP (state ruling party) at 09810507188.

What do you think about the power of social media in such situations? Does it aggravate sensitive issues or help build bridges between communities?

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