By Barnes Mawrie
Today the whole world today is gripped by the events that are currently taking place in the US. The anti-racism protests which is set in motion by the murder of George Floyd, an Afro-American by the racist policemen, has given rise to arson and violence and massive protests in major cities of the US and in other countries as well. The pleading words of the dying man, “I can’t breathe,” have become the loud slogan of the protesters. The murder of George Floyd actually became the trigger for a long-lying ticking bomb of anti-racism sentiments. The one-sided impact of the Corona pandemic clearly proves that it is the poorer class especially the Afro-American community that suffers most from the pandemic. This is due to the poor health infrastructure and poorer lifestyle that this community can afford. The slogan signifies the suffocation that this particular community suffers due to racist policies and attitudes of the white people. We are familiar with well known movies like Mississippi Burning or Twelve Years a Slave, portraying the appalling conditions of the black people and the inhuman treatment they received at the hands of their white masters. Racism although officially criminalized in the US, yet remains entrenched and is still operational as we have witnessed from time to time.
The “I can’t breathe” protest can provide inspiration for our tribal communities in India who are also facing discrimination and injustice. The tribal people in India have been victims of discrimination by the mainstream population. First of all they are referred to as Adivasis meaning “people of the land.” But in reality, this has been turned into a derogatory term meaning a “less civilized” or a “third class” people. This is the reason, why the tribals of Northeast India would never agree to this term being applied to them. We prefer to be called by our community names, Khasis, Mizos, Nagas, Bodos etc. Hostile attitude towards the tribal people of Northeast in other parts of India is nothing new. How often have our tribal students been harassed and discriminated in different universities and educational institutions all over the country? Some of them have lost their lives or have had traumatic experiences. We still remember the murder of Nido Tania in January 2014 which has revealed the ugly reality of racism in India. According to a report by Al Jazeera (2014), the people of Northeast India suffer from racist slurs in different cities of India. They are called “chinkies,” “Chinese,” etc and are harassed by landlords and employers. Tribal girls are branded as “loose” and sexual assaults on them are frequent.
Politically, tribal states have been constitutionally discriminated. The representation according to population which our Constitution provides, is a deliberate policy to suppress tribal voices. The number of Lok Sabha MPs from all six tribal states of Northeast India (Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura) is merely 10. In a parliament of 543 members, what impact can 10 MPs make on government policies? Their faint voices are drowned by the vast majority. It is alarming that Assam which has 14 MPs has not even one Adivasi MP considering that the Tea Garden community constitutes a big percentage of the state population. This is the reason why issues related to the tribal people of Northeast India are rarely in the limelight. As long as this system of representation continues, the tribal people of Northeast India have a bleak future. The list of 14 MPs of Jharkhand which is the home state of Adivasis, shockingly shows only 3 tribal MPs. It is evident that national policies are not benevolent towards the tribal people. The step-motherly attitude towards the tribal states. The tribal states are far behind others when it comes to development. Infrastructure is minimal in most tribal states and this does not attract investors and consequently, no industrialization takes place which leads to absence of employment opportunities. This in turn causes brain drain from the region which further worsens the socio-economic condition of tribal people.
The tribal communities especially those of Northeast India, also face a discrimination by the national media. It is a fact that the national media rarely gives news coverage of the Northeast states perhaps except that of Assam. National news coverage is mainly concentrated on other states of India. A road accident that happens in UP or in Delhi is reported but a massive protest in Northeast India does not attract the national media. It is apparent that most national news channels do not even have in loco journalists in many Northeast cities.
The tribal communities be it in Northeast or in mainland India, continue to suffer discrimination, isolation and racist treatment. Governments have come and gone, be it the Congress or the present BJP, but the plight of the tribal people has not improved much. It is true that with the establishment of a separate ministry – DONER, there is much more needed attention given to Northeast India, yet the functionality of it is still wanting. It is strange that the BJP Government has appointed Dr. Jitendra Singh from Kashmir and not a person from Northeast as the DONER minister. How can a person who is not from the region know anything much about the aspirations and problems of the Northeast people? This does not speak well of the government’s policy on Northeast India.
The tribal peoples of Northeast India, who have voluntarily sacrificed their independence to accede to the Republic of India since 1948 onwards, feel betrayed and let down. The racist attitude towards them by the rest of the country and the policy of discrimination has extinguished their hopes for a better future in this country. Perhaps a national movement of tribal people is the need of the hour to compel the government to address itself to their grievances.