Heartland racism and the North East
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 12, 2014 -
It seems racism has been ingrained in the worldview and thought process of majority of the Indians, particularly those belonging to Aryan stock. Delhi, the national capital, has been already given the shameful epithet ‘rape capital of the country’.
People from the Northeastern region who are distinctively different from mainland Indians in terms of food habits, culture, appearance, customs, et al are more often than not subjected to racial discrimination and sexual abuse, taking advantage of their vulnerability in the capital city.
There have been many instances where Northeastern people were booed, called names, assaulted and sometimes killed when they retaliated. The case of Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh is just one example.
The latest news coming from the national capital as far as victimization of people from North East is concerned is the shooting of a Manipuri youth at Nizammuddin area of Delhi by two bike-borne assailants this morning.
With the accused still unidentified, it would be too early to jump to any conclusion and paint a picture of racial attack. But there is another disturbing incident where a Manipuri woman entrepreneur living at DLF Phase III was harassed and intimidated by a senior officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
Though the incident took place on June 30, the matter came to light only yesterday after the victim filed a police complaint. The motive behind the intrusion and harassment of the Manipuri woman is still not clear.
At the moment we are not sure whether it was driven by racism or something else. Yet, Delhi has a long history of being the centre of racial attacks and racial discrimination of people from the North East region.
In all these cases of sexual violence and racial discrimination targeting people from the North East region, Delhi Police’s response is lukewarm at the best.
One of the theories that suggests existence of racism in India or that India is a racist regime points out appropriation of Brahminical values as well as colonial character both in terms of skills as well as the craft of making the Indian nation, which dates back right to the days of the freedom struggle.
In such a project, how Hindustan as an idea of India or Hindustani as a national language became victims of the national project is a familiar story.
Such rejections and appropriations of national symbols from largely Brahminical myths and texts continue to have a tolling effect in India’s nationality policy.
The ‘Indian dilemma’, a contradictory and conflicting nation-self, in which, the nation state had to be at once itself and the other than itself is an example.
This dilemma leads the Indian state appropriating the colonial character, questioned and rejected during the freedom struggle, as well the Brahminical values under the garb of secularism, thus resulting into a situation of state-linked internal colonialism and a racist regime.
The state uses legitimizing core concepts like national security, development, modern science and technology as justificatory ideologies for domination. Violence is used to sustain these ideologies.
In the face of recent onslaughts (against people from the North East) in Delhi, there is demand for passing an Anti-Racism Law. This demand, by implication, can be assumed as acknowledgement from India that racism indeed exists in India.
It is akin to anti-rape law. In spite of the prevalence of similar law, rape continues to occur. But the enactment of the law proves that there is rape in India.
Racism in the 21st century independent India is the biggest structural flaw in the socio-political set up of the country, and people from the North East are the worst victims.
Only laws would not be enough to deal with the scourge of racism. Education and information for cultivating a progressive mentality should be given the central role if the issue must be addressed effectively.
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