There have been many instances of racial slur against the people of northeast that refuses to end. The latest victim of racial slurs is a girl from Meghalaya, who was reportedly abused twice in a single day, in the national capital Delhi. She was allegedly abused while shopping in a nearby locality, before a similar incident happened while boarding the metro. Taking to social media to express her feelings, she wrote: “I’ve been to different countries, but they never made me feel like I don’t belong there. But today, in my own country, fellow Indians made me feel like I don’t belong here.” She continued: “My only mistake is that I’m born in India and I look like this. They make fun of me just because I don’t look like the rest.” These words clearly exhibit the pain and suffering the girl has endured after being harassed publicly.
The pandemic might have gone but these racist slurs continue to make a victim feel alienated in a country. The sting of careless remarks in a country that prides itself of unity in diversity and integrity is shameful. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people from Northeast faced a significant surge in racist abuse, including being called racial slurs like “corona,” “Chinese,” and “chinki”. Their appearance, which is often East Asian-like, made them targets for misinformed prejudice linking them to the virus’s origin in China.
While a general view is that these hurtful comments stem from ignorance, physical differences, and cultural misunderstandings, the question is for how long loudmouths and their destructive comments are dismissed. When Covid was at its peak, the Central government had assured that steps were taken to ensure safety of people from the northeast and that all the state and Union territory governments were requested to sensitise the law enforcement agencies to take appropriate action as per law in any case of harassment. Earlier, the Supreme Court issued guidelines to curb discriminatory acts. However, a lack of awareness and stringent anti-racial laws hinders effective justice. In 2014, the MP Bezbaruah Committee was formed to examine the concerns of the people of Northeast living in other parts of India. The committee was formed following the widespread outrage over the death of Nido Taniam, a student from Arunachal Pradesh in capital New Delhi. It recommended legislative measures, law enforcement, institutional support, and public awareness. However, not much has been reported about the implementation of the measures suggested by the committee.
Hurtful words wound deeply especially when it is used as a weapon to make someone feel small in a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multicultural nation like India. For a country that takes pride in its Constitution, it can zip loudmouths who spew unnecessary hurtful and damaging words that will alienate the people of the region further. Words have the power to poison societies and cripple nations and the government of the day should and cannot let it happen.
