New Delhi, old mindset

Samarjit Kambam *

Rally at Shillong against Killing of Nido Tania on 02 February 2014 :: Pix - Shillong Manipuri Students' Union (SMSU)

There are many people with leadership qualities. Likewise there are many leaders. Again there are many categories of leadership and subsequently many categories of leaders. Say, a leader of an infantry division of the military will have a different approach with a leader of a management team. There are leaders with ignorant followers and there are leaders that have followers of great wisdom and intellect.

Ignorant followers are at the helm to do whatever their leader tell or say. They are ready to jump at the bandwagon of violence at the slightest pretext of a sign, a gesture or a word from their leader making their leaders more prone to hazards and vulnerable to great risks. The followers of such leaders do not possess a rational mindset and are always at the whims of their leader to go to any extent regardless of the consequences by downgrading themselves to lower levels, from human to sub-human to animal.

On the flip side, leaders with followers of same intellect can't sway their followers easily. He just can't dictate terms with his followers as many criticisms will arise be it constructive or destructive. In Delhi there are many such leaders at the national level, state level, local level with ignorant followers. The incident at Lajpat Nagar where Nido Taniam, a student of Lovely Professional University's death was the deed of a gang simply following their anonymous leader without giving a second thought.

The result, a horrifying incident that erupted from a silly grudge of hair colour and breaking of a piece of glass of a nearby hotel had caused the death of an individual as the gang were in a state of mental darkness arising out of sheer lack of intellect, which gave a mental block to listen to their inner conscience that they were carrying out a ghastly act. It is a natural feeling to get angry when we are being mocked, but the incident could have been ignored as the student had already paid more than the amount for the glass belonging to the hotel which he broke out of anger but the gang at the vicinity of the hotel drew first blood resulting into a gory incident where doctors declared that death of the unfortunate student was a result of multiple injury after brutal assault. Again, it was followed by a gang rape of a minor girl hailing from Churachandpur district of Manipur residing in New Delhi.

Subsequently, two women of the State were also brutally assaulted. As if it were not enough a gang of bikers beat up a north-easterner black and blue near a marketplace. There were many untoward incidents which the readers already know. Such unwanted series of incidents cannot be taken as co-incidence. It was racism in its truest colour. Such are the mindset of many groups in New Delhi be it in the political arena, in the level of locals, gangs, goons or thuds.

Whenever we the north easterners go to other part of India we are seen as objects of mockery, taunting and harassment. I also had some unpleasant ordeal in New Delhi where I was taken for a Nepali or a foreigner from Thailand. Being asked from where I hailed, I replied "Manipur" but I could see from their faces that their mind had caught a blank. They sneered and further asked where my country is located.

At this juncture I think it is fair to mention the main reason why we the north easterners often use the term 'Mainland India' even though we are citizens of India. There were other numerous instances where I had to keep my cool even though their mocking questions were unbearably hot. I began to doubt whether the subject called "Geography" was not included in their high school curriculum or were they being purely deliberate. Taking a U-turn inside my mind I really felt pity for them for their myopic view, for their sheer ignorance, for their lack of knowhow and awareness. Such incidents make us think whether we the north easterners really belong to India or India belong to us, whether we are brand India or India brand.

The various states of north eastern part of India were unwillingly or forcibly merged with Indian mainland through various accords signed between the Indian government and princes and rulers of various independent states or nations during that time. Manipur was also an independent country until the Oct 15 Shillong Accord. It was a grave mistake from the leaders of our independent state of Manipur whereby the people are bearing the repercussion or Domino's effect of subjugation, step motherly attitude by the centre and harassment, rape, molestation of women and children, racism, mobocracy to north eastern people by the Capital City of Rape i.e. New Delhi as well as various other metro and big cities and other parts of mainland India.

It cannot be co-incidence, there is pent up racism among the New Delhites or other cities. Just when the Delhi Police announced the initiation of imparting martial arts to north eastern women on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays as a part of defending themselves from assaults and rapes in New Delhi soil, the mercury level of racism has deliberately reached its peak. To mainland India, the northeastern states connected by a chicken neck stretching a few kms at Siliguri is a non entity. The Delhites and those born and brought up in other metro cities view and judge us the northeasterners by our mongoloid 'chinkeese appearance'.

Firstly, that is from personal appearance point of view. Secondly, it has been deeply inculcated in their mindset that they are descendents of Aryans and Dravidians and that they are of far better origin than us. Thirdly, they believe that they were born in places which bring forth to the world great epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana thereby comparing themselves to sons of soil that belonged to Ved Vyas and Valmiki over and above their ego that they were raised in the capital of India which they consider as far superior compared to north eastern part of India.

Fourthly, they think that the northeasterners are a non-entity, that we want to merge with them which usually is the opposite or the last thing in the list for us northeasterners . Last of all they think that we are 'junglees' depending on forest products, thriving like germs without any factories, industries and the likes. They may be thinking towards us as 'jungless' but in one way we pity them because the north east brings up India and save the face of India in many fields most particularly in sports.

If not for Manipur, India will be a non-entity in sports except highly commercialised and corporatised game of cricket. They still think they are the superior race whereas we the chinkeese are the inferior ones. They have this established custom of British Colonial Raj and bureaucratism, racism which is hard to erase. It a wonder that in this stage where technology has advanced to exponential level with the world shrinking virtually, the old mindset of Delhites don't seem to budge. Then what is the use of Delhite youngsters going to schools and colleges? To build up more racism? The proposal for inclusion of northeast India in history syllabus by the central government is a part of changing the mindset of the Delhites, albeit a little late. Still then, its a very welcome development.

Our nation heaved a sigh of relief when justice was meted and culprits brought to book for the brave soul Nirbhaya who was brutally raped and killed in a moving bus in the very heart of New Delhi. People had hoped that the tainted mindsets of the Delhites have been erased to a certain extent, but the recent racial spur in New Delhi against the north easterners have revealed that their mindset hasn't changed an inch towards the better side. Such is the harsh reality prevailing in New Delhi - of hypocrisy, idiosyncrasy and prejudice.

Just as the Delhi Police was about to initiate a project of imparting martial arts to women hailing from north eastern part of India residing in New Delhi during Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, the unwanted series of shocking incidents against north easterners came to the limelight in New Delhi and when it comes down to north eastern women residing in New Delhi no amount of imported anti-rape pairs of jeans or trousers, chastity belt, groin helmet, shark-jawed shaped self inserting condoms and wearing high-necks in summer will not do any good until and unless the tainted mindset of Delhite men is erased before it gets indelible for the males of the species of New Delhi will be ready for a hacksaw, welding machine, cutter or whatever mechanical instruments or machines or anything they find handy to bring down the chastity or prestige of a woman.

Another unwanted development in New Delhi is that whenever an incident of crime happens to a north-easterner as victim, the Delhi police remain in animated suspension for many days, for the issue to be forgotten. FIRs are lodged after an unbearable amount of time. Taking into account the passive action of Delhi police, Arvind Kejriwal took up a very right step to reform the Delhi Police however anarchic his way of protest was.

Every problem has a solution. But in New Delhi whenever any crime, assault or racist attack happens to a north-easterner, the solution becomes dissolution.