Editor,
I wish to raise an alarm about a crisis unfolding in plain sight across our capital: Itanagar is rapidly losing its commercial identity, and local Arunachalis are being reduced to spectators in their own land just like Nagas in Dimapur.
Walk through any major market in Itanagar today, and the reality is undeniable – mainlanders, especially from UP and Bihar, have completely hijacked the business sector and are totally unappreciable. From wholesale distribution to everyday retail, prime commercial real estate and lucrative trade networks are almost entirely controlled by outsiders. Workers from our neighbouring Northeastern states share our regional roots and integrate naturally, so it is quite okay and natural for Northeast people to blend here, but the aggressive influx of mainlanders is aggressively suffocating.
Our educated local youths are constantly told to pursue self-reliance and entrepreneurship, yet they are systematically priced out and squeezed out of the market before they even begin. How can local startups compete against deeply entrenched mainland supply chains that siphon profits straight out of our state?
The inner line permit (ILP) and constitutional protections were designed to safeguard our rights, not to serve as a blanket while mainlanders take over our economy. If the administration, trade bodies, and indigenous organisations continue to turn a blind eye to this commercial occupation, our youths will face a future where they own the land in name but hold zero economic power. Tribal youths should also swallow their ego, change their mindset and take up construction jobs, carpentry jobs, plumbing jobs and every other kind of daily wage work. Why are they so ashamed to work in their own state as daily wage earners? The same cycle will keep on repeating for a 1,000 years.
It is time to enforce strict trade licencing, crack down on proxy business ownership, and fiercely prioritise local tribal entrepreneurs before Itanagar’s economy belongs entirely to outsiders just like Dimapur.
A local youth