The much talked about and the publicised Delhi Police IPS officer, Robin Hibu's booklet could not gain any appreciation from the already discriminated north east students and travellers who come to Delhi.
A Delhi Police booklet suggesting a code of conduct for students and visitors from the northeast has sparked outrage among people from the region, with an MP planning to take up the issue with the Union Home Ministry.
The booklet advises girls from the region to avoid wearing any "revealing dress" and has suggestions about cooking "smelly" food without creating a "ruckus" in the neighbourhood.
Perhaps he should try getting himself involved in helping the student community in other ways than to give diktats on how we should be dressed and what we should eat.
Our student organisations for that matter would welcome him with open arms if he could also help us give brotherly advice to those people in Delhi who label us as 'chinks'. Everybody has the right to be dressed the way they like to be dressed as far as it is not considered obscene in the public.
It is the dirty minds of those with prying eyes we should be correcting and not the way we are dressed. We wear what is comfortable for us to wear. Why shouldn't there be some dress codes too for page three parties?
It would be better for one to leave this topic untouched if we could avoid commenting on it. It is now evident that the booklet gained cheap publicity despite being poorly written.
Food is a matter of one's choice and among the north eastern people too, there are many who do not like fermented fish and akhuni (Nagamese) or hawaichar (Manipuri).
Likewise, achar (pickles) and ghee rich foods are not my favourites.
Sushi is served with raw fish but it is still a favourite for many. I find no justification for someone writing on how we should live our lives whether it is a brotherly or fatherly advice.
I also do not understand how one could spread ruckus while cooking as he mentioned in his booklet. Isn't "ruckus" supposed to be associated with disturbance created by noise or a state of confusion?
As for me, I would still continue to live in Delhi and have my own choice of food and clothing no matter how many Hibu publish such books giving us diktats again.
We do not certainly spread "ruckus" by eating. He could have thus done better with a few more drafting of his booklet before getting it published. Moreover, I would also like to request him to keep such irresponsible comments safe in his personal diary.
I would also like to make a sincere request to him to get his booklet edited again so that the next publication would be free from any such comments which would hurt the feelings of anyone in the north east India.
It would also be wise if people from amongst our north eastern community do not come up with such publications again so that we could escape being called a hypocrite by our own people.
It sounds stereo-typical too and it would be wrong to compare a community with another.
India is a country known for its diversity and when we are in a metro city like Delhi, we represent a very small section
of the diversified population of Delhi.
Lastly if it were an elder brotherly advice as he was quoted in the Delhi Times, I would also like to request him not to say anything if he does not have anything good to say about us and alienate us from the Delhi populace.
Related Article on NE Dress & Behaviour
Bidyananda Hanjabam contributes for the first time to e-pao.net .
The writer can be contacted at bidyanand(at)gmail(dot)com .
This article was webcasted on July 24th, 2007
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