By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
India the country of diversity is anything but what it claims to be. The latest doing the round is the unverified but widely circulated report about North Eastern staff working at Hyatt hotel in Ahmedabad being coerced to stay away from its premises which played host to the visiting Chinese president Xi Jingping. The news article allegedly originated from a city based newspaper. The news item became a sensation in social media such as Facebook and people from across the board started to comment and condemned the move allegedly at the behest of the Gujarat government. It took the Ministry of Home Affairs a few days (after the Chinese Premier left India) before it started to take the news items seriously and order a probe not only on the hotel but also on a Mall in Ahmedabad which supposedly asked its north eastern employees to stay away from duty on the day Xi visited the city. Now I am going to vent my frustration as a citizen of this great democratic country whose (fundamental) rights as enshrined in the Indian constitution is unequivocal at many levels such as identity, security, rights etc.
Taking a cue from the Assam Chief Minister who reacted strongly against the diktat I asked my fellow readers to ponder on the same question(s) raised by the CM- albeit in different forms. 1) Why do I have to prove my loyalty as an Indian citizen just because my looks are oriental? 2) Why should I fret flaunting my culture, taste and preference if I choose to live in the metros? Is it not my right to carry my identity wherever I go? 3) Why should I be stereotypically typecast as a drug addicts (or a pimp) and our Girls as cheap commodities to be used and thrown? These questions are highly personal as this writer has to perennially answer and be accountable on all these queries even after more than a decade in the national capital (be it at home, educational area and work place). Discrimination against the North Eastern community is not only practiced it is encouraged. In 2007 the Delhi Police released a pamphlet titled “Security Tips for North East Students/Visitors to Delhi” which suggest how smelly food should be cooked, avoid revealing clothes for the north east girls etc. The Pamphlet was slammed by the media and North East Community which forced the Delhi Police to officially disassociate itself from it.
Discrimination against the community has accelerated with increasing opportunities made available in the metros for our brethren. The migratory pattern from the North East has increased dramatically owing to the soft skills that we naturally possess which enable us to get quick jobs in the service industry. A quick visit to any of the big Malls in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi feels just like home as one can see droves from the community finding work in such places, no matter how trivial (and at a less than average salary). However we are still looked down upon and not given the respect we deserve. The worst sufferers are the girls (despite their gender disadvantage and language barriers in an inhospitable world) and constantly under siege from the prowling medieval minded Indian men (no pun intended).
While rape and molestation are daily occurrences in India those on the North Eastern women has spiraled because of what many call the clash of culture. On one hand we have the Indian culture where the women assumed subsidiary and submissive roles to the men and the North Eastern culture where the women enjoy more or less the same social standing as men. In this clash the North Eastern women bear the maximum brunt from the medieval and uninformed Indian Male psyche. Some have argued that rape and molestation cases on North Eastern women are committed to remind her where she belongs in the social order (lesser than the men).
Racism and stereotypes are no longer a social malaise and have assumed serious political tones in recent times. Soon after the fatal accident involving Arunachali student Nido Tanian in Delhi, the UPA Government notified the Bezbaruah Committee in February which has submitted its report to the new dispensation. Shockingly the Committee denied that racial discrimination exists in India (on account of its narrow definition of racial discrimination). While the Committee has proposed many valuable suggestions it has sadly failed to address the issue of increasing molestation/rape on North Eastern women which I feel requires a different study altogether. (with comprehensive terms of reference)
Recently the debate of identity and cultural heterogeneity has reached a crescendo with the release of the North East icon Mary Kom’s (MK) biopic portrayed by popular Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra (PC). My mainstream friends raved about the movie and felt that it is a tribute to the North East. While the movie is being deconstructed at many levels on the one hand and supported on the other by some of the intellectuals back home for being progressive, I like to know if such a maneuver would not subordinate us further into assuming the stereotypical and social profiling of being “the other” where our competence and hard work counts for nothing. PC was chosen because she is a known Indian face, the North East face is not recognized as an Indian face. This is nothing but downright discrimination. Moreover there is a deep seated mindset that we from the north east are not contributing anything to nation building and that we are a burden on the Indian nation (point being that we do not pay taxes). So for this very reason we are supposed to lap up whatever is thrown at us.
I personally take umbrage to PC donning MK’s role. Surely any of our North Eastern actresses deserved to be at least called for role auditioning which was not the case since as the movie Director declared he needed a saleable product which none of the our girls possess. (ironic). Then what is the tribute for? If the Director could have summoned courage this would have been the perfect opportunity to bridge the widening gap and bring mainland and north eastern region closer. It may not bring in the moolah (Rs 100 crore club) which Bollywood constantly pangs for (even if the story makes no sense) but forging such a friendship is definitely priceless. So where do we go or run? We do neither but it is imperative for the Indian state to initiate confidence building measures to mitigate increasing trust deficit. Prof Tiplut Nongbri in her new book “Development, Masculinity and Christianity: Essays and Verses from India’s North East” suggested that development of the region is imperative to minimize confrontation based on identity etc., however she cautioned that development agenda should be driven by the people of the region rather than forced on us as per the requirement of the Indian State. We need to find our own way in the great Indian heterogeneous society. Forcing us to assimilate is going to increase alienation and regional divide.