TRENDING #racism | By: Kamlalmuan Ngaihte
Have we finally reached the boiling point? Such is the situation today the nation (read Northeast & Delhi) is ablaze with calls to end hate crimes and discrimination based on race, creed and religion. Now even a toddler seems to chant anti racist slogans when he or she is crying. We get so incensed when someone calls us 'CHINKY' or 'BAHADUR' that we swear in our hearts to slap at least one 'mainlander' when we go back home!
However, what very few of us are willing to acknowledge is the fact that racism is a deep rooted trait that we all have picked up at a very young age, in a place called home. Case in point, my two and a half year old daughter can easily differentiate between 'vaipa' (usually the dark skinned hindi speaking person) and 'us'. It is obvious where she learned the phrase from. All over Northeast the locals have given him colourful monikers, degradingly – KOL/VAI (Manipur/Mizoram), MAYANG (Manipur), CHAMAR (Nagaland), DAKHAR (Meghalaya) are a few examples which we pass on to the next generation till it latches itself on to our consciousness. The same would be true for those outside the Northeast.
We get pushed and shoved, and we suffer quietly. The harassment comes in all forms and sizes and we suffer them as well, but not so quietly anymore, thanks – unfortunately – largely due to Nido Tania’s death. Then a sister (minor) gets raped by her landlord’s son, two brothers get assaulted by bikers, a girl gets mugged on her way back from home - the victims all from Northeast. These crimes may not all be racist in nature, but the frequency of such incidents plainly demonstrates that people from this region are seen as easy preys. Countless atrocities committed against minorities go unreported for fear of repercussion or getting stigmatized, or those that do reach the authorities again get hushed up by the system itself. Today, however, the devil’s ugly head refuses to stay buried now that this string of events has caught the media's attention, and the politicians' involvement also deserves applaud (?). Not surprisingly, they'll again do what they do best - give explosive speeches and make promises, but there is no harm in hoping it won't be just lip service this time.
Side by side, we, the public, ought to take advantage of this situation and keep the wave going till we accomplish some positive change. Each one of us can do our bit to uproot racism. We can start from home by giving up name calling and schools, in my opinion, are the best place to spread the message of tolerance and harmony. Illiteracy and lack of awareness may be among the major cause of communal discord and other social evil. We can, and must all raise our voice against racial bias and stereotyping. Poking fun at someone's appearance, accent, food habit or lifestyle may seem like a harmless joke, but if we can perceive things from the victims' point of view perhaps we will realize that it is not always funny.
Clearly nobody likes racism specially when one is at the receiving end.
“When actor Shahrukh Khan is frisked by American immigration authorities, it is racial profiling at its worst, and causes a diplomatic crisis. Four years ago when Indian students — mainly of Punjabi origin — were the target of racist attacks in Australia, incensed and outraged protests were staged against Australians, both in India and abroad. Calls were made for diplomatic ostracism and a boycott of Australian universities.Had those students been of Northeastern origin, would the protest have been as muscular and vehement? Why is the Indian outraged at racism directed at him abroad, and not at home?“
(“The great Indian racist” by Gautam Bhatia, The Hindu. Published on February 13, 2014)