My experience of racism started when I was a child studying in Darjeeling. My school had the ICSE course. Our geography textbook listed various states in the country. When it came to Nagaland, it had one line – NAGAS ARE TROUBLEMAKERS. Generations of students grew up convinced that Nagas were trouble makers.
While doing my MBBS at Allahabad in the 1st and 2nd years, we were told that it was mandatory that external students were made to fail as a tradition. I passed my first professional exams just scraping the pass mark. My late Physiology professor, a Brahmin was rabidly against the Dalits. I was labeled with the untouchables and harassed everyday with choice words which I did not fully and thankfully did not understand. I fumed and cursed until I realized that Christians are supposed to behave differently. I started praying for him and slowly hate evaporated. God healed my heart. When I left the class later, I could visit him in his home when he was injured and talk to him without any spite. We actually smiled at each other.
While doing my MBBS at Allahabad in the 1st and 2nd years, we were told that it was mandatory that external students were made to fail as a tradition. I passed my first professional exams just scraping the pass mark. My late Physiology professor, a Brahmin was rabidly against the Dalits. I was labeled with the untouchables and harassed everyday with choice words which I did not fully and thankfully did not understand. I fumed and cursed until I realized that Christians are supposed to behave differently. I started praying for him and slowly hate evaporated. God healed my heart. When I left the class later, I could visit him in his home when he was injured and talk to him without any spite. We actually smiled at each other.
In the 3rd year, our Forensics professor picked me and my Naga classmate out in front of the entire class, made us stand up and said – people with your facial features carry a question mark on their face. The whole class was stunned since this professor had never interacted with any of us before. They slowly realized that when I said discrimination existed, it was true. By then, I was relaxed because I knew that pass or fail, it was in God’s hands and not this man. I could smile through this experience.
To be called chinky, ching chong ching chong, pahari or just chut chut was normal and an everyday exercise.
I was once beaten in a train from Lucknow by a gang of boys. They didn’t like my face. I fought back but always felt bad later that I turned violent.
In Vellore, I was ordered out of a bus since I did not present the exact change to the bus conductor.
In Delhi, people threw dirty water on us along with some swear words when we were passing below their house in Safdarjung enclave.
I am grateful for my experiences of being discriminated against, as it made me strong.
Many people look blank when you say that you are from Nagaland.
Most people from the northeast have experienced similar experiences and mine is not an exception.
Is India racist? Yes it is. But isn’t the whole world racist to some extent? French look down on the English and the English on the French. Many North Indians call the South Indians Madrasi. Many Tamilians hate Hindi. Nagas and tribals are called Howmacha by the Meeteis. Some Nagas treat Mias and mainlanders quite badly In Nagaland. We have intertribal conflicts off and on which are ugly affairs. Everyone loses, nobody wins.
The whites suppressed the blacks in South Africa during apartheid. Today there is reverse discrimination where whites, Indians and colored people are not given jobs or university seats and blacks are preferred.
On the other hand, there are glowing reports of people who have tried to bridge this gap. Many of us are fiercely anti tribalism. Some of our churches are multicultural and intertribal. These give us an excellent opportunity to work and live together. There are a lot of mainland Indian people who have excellent relationships with people of the northeast and are trying their bit to bring about better understanding. Is there a way out of racism?
Yes, there is. But it will have to be multipronged. No single method will work alone. It will not be a short cut quick fix solution and we must be willing to work on it for a prolonged period of time. They say it takes 3 generations to change a culture. Hopefully we will not need to wait that long. Some areas that could be worked on are
1. The Antiracial discrimination bill and law. This is very important and it is what the present Delhi northeasterners are fighting for. There is an elaborate law against sexual discrimination and ragging. This law will be vital to fight racism. It must be implemented throughout the country and not only in the mainland. We in the northeast must also learn not to discriminate people because of their skin color and features just as we do not want to be discriminated.
The Chief minister could go to Delhi with all the northeastern chief ministers across the political spectrum and press for this law to be passed. Campaign sincerely for 1 month and it will be passed. It requires statesmanship. Nido was from Arunachal Pradesh. He represents us all. His cause is our responsibility.
2. The country needs to be educated and informed about the northeast. The curriculum of each state or CBSE/ICSE needs to be examined by a central audit to see that fair and adequate representation is made of each people of the country in their textbooks. The Government will have to pass a law to this effect.
3. The media needs to give better coverage to the northeast and portray positive events and people and not just bad news. People in the mainland should not get the impression that our main pastime is fighting, killing and extortion. The Hornbill festival is useful but it is not enough. The media needs to focus on people who are doing good in their own society. Our exquisite organic vegetables and innovative ways of farming, agricultural produce, community activities needs to be mentioned more.
4. Shillong chamber choir and the Mizo choir have championed the northeast. Our musicians will need to go the mainland and perform more to larger audiences. We are already quite good. We must be extraordinarily good. Musicians will need to work harder and not just depend on raw talent.
5. More excursions and student exchanges need to be planned. Nagaland govt could arrange for mainland schools to come in groups to see our land and interact with our people and students. If they see a huge number of chinkys in the northeast, they will not find them so strange when they go back to their homes in the mainland. They will also find that we are actually normal.
6. Today, many northeasterners are doing exceptionally well in the metro cities – from fashion to IT to finance. I think Nagas do better when they are outside Nagaland. They have to work for their survival outside. They give to the mainlanders a picture of efficiency and a worthy people. If people respect us for our abilities and worth, they will discriminate less.
7. There is no substitute to development in the region. When people from the mainland come to Nagaland and see our roads, they will invariably despise us as an inferior people not fit to govern themselves.
8. Northeasterners and especially Nagas are the most hospitable people on earth. People get overwhelmed by our hospitality when they come from the mainland. Work ethics, etiquette and civics must be taught in schools and needs to be included in the NBSE curriculum in a very dynamic way. There must be compulsory practicals on these. Only a highly cultured people will generate respect. It has to start from the schools where minds and habits can be moulded.
Today work ethics in Nagaland is at a very low point.
People in India do not discriminate against the Japanese and Chinese despite their skin color (To be fair – they are fairer than us). This is partially because they know they are dealing with a race that is more hardworking, cultured and industrious than themselves.
Until our image as a truly worthy people emerges I do not think discrimination will end.
9. In Nagaland, we will need to develop more intertribal projects, activities, groups, churches that develop confidence building measures and understanding between the tribes. This must extend to Marwaris, Mias, Assamese, Bengalis, Biharis and South Indians. We must stop beating up non locals on the streets just because they do not fight back. When innocent Bihari laborers get killed for no reason in Assam and Manipur, we are asking for a repercussion in the mainland against us.
To eliminate racism as a goal and mission, it will take more than protesting and Dharnas outside Jantar mantar in Delhi. The fight will be long but it is worthwhile since it affects us all and is an evil under the sun.
Will racism disappear from the surface of the earth? No.
Should we continue the fight against racism? Most definitely.
Dr Sedevi Angami,
Dimapur.
