If you plan a holiday with murderous intentions, the Northeast is certainly not the ideal place and as has been proved, certainly not Meghalaya.
Monalisa Changkija
As you know, last month newly-married Raja Raghuvanshi from Indore was murdered in Sohra, Meghalaya. In less than a fortnight, the Meghalaya Police nabbed the accused. Raja’s wife Sonam has reportedly confessed to the crime. Unsurprisingly, the news of this heinous and premeditated crime no longer holds any appeal of the sensational type to national/mainstream news outlets. Not surprising, really, because to these news outlets, the Northeast is a dark and dangerous jungle full of wild, unknown and unknowable species ~ probably not even fully human. Probably the perfect locale to commit murder? This should explain the infinite insurgencies and militancy, as also the under-development, no?
Now, because this impression is so seemingly ingrained in these news outlets, which they have successfully passed on to a large section of the Indian citizenry, Sonam and her cohorts must have decided that the Northeast, specifically Meghalaya, would be the perfect location to bump off a newly-married unsuspecting husband and none the wiser. I mean, come on, surely murders are everyday affairs in the Northeast, right? All kinds of crimes are also committed every other second, right? And, if as reported, they planned to kill an innocent woman and pass it off as that of Sonam’s body, who would know, right? These Northeasterners are so dumb, they probably don’t have police and have never heard of crime investigations, right? In fact, these Northeasterners are probably illiterate, right? If Sonam and her cohorts thought so, they have operated on their ignorance ~ and all thanks to the bias, prejudice the ignorance and the totally unacceptable portrayal of this region by news outlets. So how do we know that the ‘news’ they write and air on other places, other events, are credible? Is it then worth wasting time on these news outlets thereby giving them credibility? Raja’s dreadful murder also underscores the quality of the Indian readership and viewership, which enables news outlets to get away with gross misrepresentation, distortions and sensationalism.
The thing is, if you are planning to bump off your new or old spouse or anybody, I hope by now you know where not to commit murder. Look, it is not as if the Northeast is heaven on earth. Each Northeastern state has its own issues ~ insurgencies, militancy or whatever the politically correct words used for such now, as also heinous crimes like murder, rape and all kind of crimes against women and children, crimes of passion, economic crimes, etc. ~ the kind of crimes that are generally committed in any human community and society anywhere in the world. You have read Agatha Christie, I hope? But still this region has some of the lowest overall crime rates in the country either state-wise or collectively as a region. And this is so not only because we have solid police forces/departments here but we have a totally different policing and justice system, which involves the community. In fact, the British incorporated a lot of our traditional administration, policing and justice system into the administrative system they introduced in the Northeast. So, when a murder or any crime is committed here, the entire community is involved. And when the reputation of our state is at stake, even criminal elements chip in. Prospective murders should really know where not to commit a murder.
Okay, we northeasterners are different from the people in the rest of the country. While the Northeast is not a dark and dangerous jungle full of wild and unknowable species, we are also not some exotic creatures or land some people, including some of our own writers, have a penchant to paint us as. We are simply different ~ take it or leave it but the fact is the rest of the country is stuck with us as much as we are stuck with the rest of the country. Diversity also means being evolved enough to know, accept and live with differences, which, by the way, makes for a vibrant democracy. If this message is not conveyed by the media then what is the point of the media, which again is integral to democracy? In the days of the British raj, some Indian communities were officially declared criminal ~ that is pure bias and violation of human rights ~ and if today some regions and peoples are still considered criminal, even if not officially declared, the prejudice and human rights violations are perpetrated. If a Northeastern state is daubed as “crime capital” with no statistics and other evidence to prove it, not only is this prejudice but also an oblique way of officially declaring a falsity unofficially and that too by sections of the media, which not only tarnishes a state/region but also exposes the ignorance hence prejudice of the media. Does India deserve such media? Who will watch over the watchdog?
Warts and all, the Northeast and Northeasterners are an experience, which only the brave, the bold and the evolved can savour. This region and its people are not for everyone but only for true seekers and adventurers, obviously with open hearts and minds ~ definitely not for murderers. Talking of which, those with murder in their hearts must chose their location well, plan even better and opt for places where the police and criminal investigations are much to be desired. In the Northeast, we have numerous lacks and lacunae but we certainly have police forces that leave no stone unturned to find murderers and other criminals. Sometimes it takes time but our police forces will and do find them. So, if you plan a holiday with murderous intentions, the Northeast is certainly not the ideal place and as has been proved, certainly not Meghalaya. If we delve into murders planned and committed in Northeastern states by ‘tourists’, probably there is hundred per cent success in nabbing the culprits, which of course don’t make headlines because the geography gets more attention than then crime besides other obvious reasons. So, really, there is really no place in the Northeast murderers can hope to get away with murder.
One more thing, those who think northeasterners, particularly our cops are dumb, are the real dumb ones. What, you haven’t seen Columbo (TV series 1971-1990)?
(The Columnist is a journalist and poet. Published in the June 28, 2025 issue of Assam Tribune)