The Irony of Diversity in India

By Keisha Kashyap

Northeastern people are so weird, Northeastern people eat stinky food all the time, The
women from the North east are of loose character, These chinks dont even know Hindi,
Northeastern people all have small and chinky eyes. Do any of these sound familiar? If yes,
then the chances are that you have just seen racism hurled against northeastern students. It is not
uncommon for students from the North Eastern states of India to hear such phrases in Delhi. Be
it a matter of getting a signature from a professor, renting a room or a flat, calling an auto or a
taxi, or just walking down the streets, racism is a daily struggle for northeastern students in
Delhi.
Ever since 2005, Delhi has become the most preferred destination for higher studies amongst
northeastern students. Universities such as Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia
Milia Islamia etc., which accommodate students from various backgrounds, have contributed to
this trend. The accessibility to quality and affordable education is what attracts students from the
Northeast the most. However, the harsh realities of racism hit students very hard indeed.Most of
the issues and struggles that we,the northeastern students face stem from racism. This, in turn, is
triggered by ignorance and the unwillingness of the masses to try to learn about the culture of the
north east. Thus, a vicious cycle is at work here. People do not have an understanding nor do
they try to understand the North East, its culture and its people. This creates a difference in
attitudes due to ignorance, which leads to building of stereotypes.
In 2007, the attacks on northeastern students became so serious that the Delhi police released a
pamphlet titled Security Tips for North Eastern Students/Visitors Visiting Delhi. Unfortunately,
it backfired and drew the ire of the northeastern community due to its heavy stereotyping. Some
of the pointers included, Do not cook stinky food in your rooms and Women should not be
dressed scantily and Women should not leave their rooms after 10 P.M. Such insensitivity by
the police is indeed condemnable. But it also shows how deeply ingrained stereotypes about
northeastern students can harm us. Not only is the blame for any racist and sexist incident placed

on the northeastern students but it is taken for granted that we eat only stinky food and should
try to avoid it for the sake of others.
The year 2014 started the movement for awareness about racism against northeastern students
with a long list of racially motivated attacks. It started with the horrific incident on 29 th January,
2014 when Nido Taniam, a boy of nineteen from Arunachal Pradesh, was beaten to death at
Lajpat Nagar. Three men, who were shop owners, threw racial slurs about his blonde hair and
dressing style. Nido resisted them, at which point, he was attacked brutally. By the time the
police arrived, the three men had already fled the scene. However, instead of taking him to a
hospital and filing an FIR, the police mercilessly dropped Nido back to Lajpat Nagar, where the
men came back and beat him brutally to his death.
This incident raised the hue and cry of the northeastern community. In the same year, several
other attacks occurred as well. On 27th May, 2014, a Naga girl was molested and her defenders
sexually assaulted in front of the Delhi metro. She and her friends had gone to the Tees Hazari
court to give evidence in a case. The accused, a 30 year old lawyer, not only groped her but also
slapped her when she resisted and called for help. He was caught by locals after she cried for
help and handed over to the police. They were, however, threatened with death if they filed an
FIR or took the matter to the court. Souloni Akha, a student from Manipur was brutally
murdered. On New Years eve, 2015, a young student from Manipur was gangraped by three
African men.
Not only have attacks on northeastern students increased over the years, but the number of
reported cases has remained stable at a dismal four per cent. This can be attributed to a number
of causes, such as financial issues, death threats, harassment by the police and involved parties,
lack of support etc. Students usually do not have the means to take the perpetrators to court
unless they have the support of NGOs, politicians or other support groups. Another important
issue is that of red tapism. Due to the lengthy procedures and the delays, most students are
unwilling to get involved in any kind of altercation that would lead to legal procedures.
These instances of racism, be it brutal, like that of Nido, or subtle micro aggressions, like
refusing to give change or making jokes about the chinky eyes or facial features of ones
northeastern friend, are deep-rooted in ignorance and about a certain image of India as a whole.

There exists a binary at the heart of it all, the Us against Them, the latter being the
northeastern people. North east as a whole is not included in our education syllabus. Most people
do not know the states or the diversity of the north east. It is seen either as an exotic place or an
undeveloped place where people eat anything and everything, like dogs and cats. This binary
gives the perception that northeastern people are foreign in many ways, be it the racial features,
the language, food habits, cultures etc.
The exoticisation of the northeast does not help either. In Delhi, often there are events and fest
organised to make the people understand the northeast. Such fests are often filled with lousy
attempts at trying to educate the masses, which is mainly frequently exclusively by the upper
middle and upper classes. These include a few dishes such as momos, a few chicken stews and
dishes, or some sweets, which are acceptable to the targeted audience, in this case, the
bourgeois, while leaving out the real items that are eaten on a daily basis. For example,
fermented food is a staple in these states. Fermented soy beans are a delicacy in the northeast.
Most states have their own versions. In Manipur, it is called hawaijah. In Nagaland, it is called
akhuni. In Meghalaya, it is called turungbai. However, the northeastern cultural fests do not
include these types of food which are essential to the people. These events have to cater to the
tastes and standards of the people in Delhi in such a way that the various cultures of the northeast
are compromised and the identities of so many tribes and communities are reduced to a few
items of food, art and craft and a few dances.
The dissolving of the various identities has harmful effects in general. The entire north east is
homogenised under a single garb. The people and the various cultures are seen as being the
same.Many people, however, complain that northeastern students do not try to interact with
others and tend to stick to their own community. This can be said to be a result of the racism that
we face regularly. It is only reasonable that we stick to one another for safety and also to have a
sense of belonging. However, northeastern students face another rather peculiar issue. The issue
of what I would call aggressive assimilation. In this case, the non-northeastern person accepts
northeast to be a part of India. They praise the region and the culture and will defend their
northeastern friends and companions. However, they refuse to accept the fact that racism exists.
They accept the north east, its people and its culture only according to their perceived notions of
what it should be like and how northeastern students should do and behave. This kind of racism

stems from a much skewed perception of nationalism. People from different parts of the country
are free to do what they like but only if they conform to a certain protocol. This is a highly
problematic attitude that many people in Delhi seem to have and are unwilling to let go.
Jawaharlal Nehru University has been a safe space for northeastern students in general, as
compared to the rest of Delhi. The various northeastern communities are well represented in the
cultural, political and academic life in the campus. Cultural events, here, are organized by the
students from the communities themselves. This gives an authentic flavour to them. The political
parties However, even in the JNU campus, students still have to face racism in the form of
micro-aggressions rather than violent forms. For example, cultural events are restricted by the
administration. The fests have to refrain from serving beef, a staple in most northeastern states.
The serving of fermented foods is also frowned upon. Northeastern students are mocked by some
due to the different facial features. It is not uncommon for people to demand northeastern
students about their identity, culture and race. They are also expected to engage with racially and
culturally ignorant remarks, such as Assam is the capital of the North East, Where is such and
such state?, You do not look like northeastern at all!and so on. These are things that are taught
to us in schools and can be searched on the internet at the click of a button. Yet most people
choose to remain ignorant.
There have been many attempts to curb racism against northeastern students in Delhi. Groups
like the Manipur Gun Survivors Network, founded by Binalakshmi Nepram, work tirelessly to
bring justice to victims of racism. When, in 2014, a fourteen year old Manipuri girl was raped by
her landlords son in Munirka, the panchayat passes a diktat saying that they wanted to get rid of
gandey log (dirty people), implying that northeastern people were the cause behind all the
trouble in the area, Nepram was the first one to tweet about it. With the help of her group and
students from nearby Jawaharlal Nehru University, the police finally arrested the rapist.Other
attempts, such as the Bezbaruah Review Committee of the Delhi Police Cell, aim to assimilate
northeastern students into the Delhi society. However, the attempts by the government have been
futile and half-hearted. Perhaps the most serious drawback is that there are no specific antiracism laws in the Indian Constitution. The closest that one can get to justice being delivered on
racism is the Prevention of Atrocities Act against SCs and STs, 1989. This leads to a lot of

loopholes. While a person from a Scheduled Tribe from the northeast can file a case on grounds
of racism, the same cannot be done by a tribal from Central India, for example the Gond tribe.
The need of the hour is change, not just in laws but also in education and perception of people
regarding the north east. Along with ignorance, there is also a lack of respect and interest in the
cultures of the northeast. Such issues will not end with mere laws and acts nor will the public be
enlightened by fests and events highlighting the northeastern culture. It remains to be seen how
the government will handle the issue, given its lackadaisical attitude towards the Northeast.
Bio: Keisha is a research scholar in Japanese Studies at the Centre for East Asian Studies in JNU.
She is from the North East and takes an active interest in learning about the various cultures of
the North East and the rest of India. Her hobbies include reading books and mangas, listening to
music especially Japanese and Korean music, watching videos on YouTube and Anime, taking
care of stray animals and trying out funky hairstyles.