Racial Discrimination in India

Racism in North India

As an undergraduate student at Delhi University in the early 1990s, Dr Renu (Gupta) Naidu took little notice when her friends routinely referred to students from the Northeast as 'Chinkies' or hurled obscenities or racial insults at them.

"Any Northeastern student entering a college campus earns the epithet 'Chinky' on day one, and has to live with being looked at as, at the very least, an oddity, for the rest of her or his stay," says Naidu. "Students told me about being asked questions like whether they eat rats." This racial hostility comes unbidden from the non-Northeastern student community.

Naidu had herself faced discrimination as a "non-Marathi" student during her post-graduation at Nagpur, and it dawned on her that Northeastern students, with their distinctive 'non-plainspeople' epicanthic features, behavior and dress habits, were in all likelihood confronting far more discrimination than she had. In June 2006, Naidu was awarded a PhD for her work on the lives of Northeastern tribal girl students in Delhi, with her research based on interviews with 200 students from 10 colleges in Delhi University's North Campus.

The first disturbing fact - statistics compiled from official records of various colleges in the city - that Naidu's study has uncovered is that the dropout rates of Northeastern students touches 50 per cent, with more girls dropping out than boys. The reasons for this trend, according to Naidu, lie in the intense socio-cultural conflict, and the resultant stress, that impact all aspects of the lives of students from the Northeast.

"For a student from the Northeast, irrespective of whether she or he is from an urban or tribal background, Delhi is like an alien land," says Naidu. "The language is unfamiliar, the cultural and social terrain is unknown. Even getting a letter of introduction to open a bank account is a mammoth task. What is more, their distinctive physical features immediately mark them out as outsiders among the local populace."

Being cheated as a matter of course is one direct fallout of this situation. Angom*, a Manipuri student at Miranda House told Naidu, "Even rickshaw-pullers, auto-drivers, vegetable vendors and bus conductors cheat us because they know that we are not aware of the price of things here, and are not in a position to drive hard bargains."



India No Stranger to Racism

As a person from the North East of India, bearing Mongoloid stature, feature and colour I cannot help but say that my personal experiences in Delhi, the capital city of India, have witnessed numerous slurs of racist fork. They were not soft ones. I am not alone to be subjected to such indignities.

Everyone from the region has his or her own stories and experiences, which have been rather silently buried. I know such vocal attacks have, on many occasions, resulted in violent anger, arguments and fights between the so-called “mainstream” people and the people from the North East. Mother, they are racist lot. Unfortunately, I have actually accepted the inhumane practice as a part of the culture of the “mainstream” people. A culture cultivated by the “sink of localism and den of ignorance”. But that doesn’t mean I accept racism.

The outrage explosion over the “racist attacks” on one Bollywood actress, Shilpa Shetty by her white housemates on British reality TV show are an exaggerated one, even when racism ought to be condemned everywhere. The drama that has been unfolding for about two weeks made it obvious that Indians are ready to talk about Indians being racially discriminated outside India. But what about the equally serious condemnable racial discrimination within India?

Did we ever care to raise the issue and put a question to ourselves? Are we blind to it because we practise it indignantly? If Shilpa Shetty was called a “Paki” by her white’s housemates, the Indian citizens from the North East states are still called “Chinese”, “Chinky”, “Japanese”, “Koreans” or “Nepalese.” If Shilpa Shetty was poked for her poor chicken cooking style, the North Easterners are poked for their “dirty”, “foul smell”, “stinking”, and “junglee” food habits. There were times when North East students living in the Capital city of India had to actually ask their landlords or hostel warden, “What smell is allowed to cook and what is not?”

Through all these years, it was not an easy ride. I realised that it resulted out of the much-celebrated diversity of India, which is quenched by ignorance and chauvinism. As culture clash, the ride demanded tolerance and understanding, which was not an easy one. I have accepted the discrimination that is, otherwise, getting negatively popular in the ancient city. Day in and day out, friends, acquaintances or people who are new to the city would narrate their experiences, which are more than enough to put the nation to shame. I was lately wishing there was some sort of reactive internal ministry, like the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that reacted immediately for Shilpa Shetty, to look into the disturbing situation of racial discrimination in India.

I wonder if the media, general public who overflow with sympathy and empathy for Shilpa Shetty, or the authorities in the government are aware about the pubs, restaurants and discotheques in Delhi showing no entry to people from the North East of India? The grim situation does not care even if you have money. They care about your colour. That’s how they made the judgement and decision. You bear the Mongoloid look and the door is closed before you. So don’t be surprised when those bouncers did not let you in. India’s democracy has too big a space that it grows racism too.

When I was first told about these public places and their sick practise in Delhi some four years back, I was taken aback. Shocked actually. But I said to myself who cares when I will never be seeking comfort or chilling out at these places even if I have money for the purpose. On the other hand, my second thought resulted in anger, desperation and helplessness over such harsh inhumane practice. It is still alive and going strong. For me it is not about these places, but the racial discrimination practised in these places, which is getting more popular than before. It affects me as I also bear the same colour, feature and stature, which are used to judge a person. If you don’t fit into their scheme of colour, you cannot be a customer. In the growing urban Indian market the password is defined by the colour of your skin. I thought it would be colourblind. I thought it would be race-blind.

So I asked how they made their options. They told me that they have to find a place that accept and admit them despite the colour of their skin. Even then, how can we enter, eat, sit, and dance away as if we never care? As if it is nothing. Is this a surrender to racial discrimination? When we learn to accept that one cannot enter that place, eat there, dance there, or sit there because the colour of one’s skin is different, we realized that the other Indian is much alive. The others in the village.

The situation is grimmer for the girls and women from the North East. Due to the colour of their skin, they were popularly believed and supposed to be an “easy” and “cheap” sex prey. They were victimized lot. Delhi is a living witness to that. Asked them? Everyone has a story. A story untold. A story filled with shame and anger. They represent the silent untold stories. My cousin’s white husband was shocked and surprised when he found that his wife and her friends, all from the North East of India, were not allowed to enter to eat and dance in one of the city’s public places during one of their visit to Delhi recently. The reason was out of a judgement where the colour of their skin was already used to decide them to be a customer or not. Delhi never seems to care as places like these multiply with inhumane norms and rules defined by race and colour.

I am not talking about stray or isolated incident. This is about everyday life and struggle in Delhi. Shilpa Shetty’s experiences and the feelings and sympathy that we have, as concerned citizens, exported to England should be immediately imported back to Delhi to understand and redress the racial bruises of the other Indians. They are being discriminated more than what Shilpa Shetty could imagine. Worst, they are not paid for it. It is beyond the MEA’s jurisdiction to talk about the racial discrimination that is seriously taking place in India. But on moral and humanitarian ground, it could if it is so concerned about racial discrimination and not just Shilpa Shetty. If not, authorities of the several internal ministries, media, NGO’s and concerned activists should immediately step in to kill the colourful game that has already become shamelessly popular and dirty. The celebration of diversity has no meaning if the nation remains silent to the domestic realities of racial abuse and discrimination. India is no stranger to racism.


Battles with racism in India's own backyard

It has long been known that India has its own brand of racism, manifested in a number of ways. Largely out of sight from the rest of the world, the malaise needed the gutsy chief minister of India's northeastern state of Mizoram, Pu Lalthanhawla, to get dramatic exposure.

"I am a victim of racism," he told an international forum on water recently in Singapore, leaving his fellow delegates red-faced. "In India, people ask me if I am an Indian. When I go south (India), people ask me such questions. They ask me if I am from Nepal or elsewhere. They forget that the northeast is part of India."
The chief minister's remarks come at a time when New Delhi is protesting racist attacks on Indian students in Australia. His observations, though embarrassing, have a strong basis. For a long time, men and women from the northeastern states have found themselves alienated because of their facial features, which are very different from the rest of Indians.

Students, for instance, have found it harder to get college or university seats or to find living accommodations. They have also been victimized by fraud.
Prejudice against color and caste is a serious issue in a nation that essentially consists of three races — the Aryans of generally fair complexions from northern States, the usually dark-skinned Dravidians from the south and the light-colored people with Mongoloid features from the northeast.

It may sound ridiculous that Indians who fight against color bias are themselves practitioners of it. To this day, most matrimonial advertisements in the media ask for fair brides. Dark girls are often discriminated against, and it is not rare to find their families being forced to part with a huge dowry to find a groom. Wheatish-looking actress and social activist Nandita Das felt harassed for a long time because of the way her makeup men tried to paint her face a deathly white.

Of late, Indian men appear increasingly conscious of their skin color. A range of cosmetic products promise to make them fairer and "more handsome," clearly indicating an unhealthy link between complexion and the image of beauty. The dangers of such advertising cannot be underestimated in a nation where various forms of racism create havoc that threaten the very fabric of a peaceful society. Caste is one form, a horribly dividing force.


RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

we are hearing about it every now and then. Every second news is related to racial discrimination in any way whether we take an example of any foreign country or India itself. But, what do we know about it?

Recently, Amitabh Bachchan has refused to take PhD degree from an Australian university because of the recent attacks on Indian students. But, I want to ask one question here, who is actually bothered about India? Nobody. We have witnessed a lot of instances of racial discrimination within India. Lets take the recent example of Marathi and North Indians. But, nobody is serious about it. Has anybody said or took any action just like Amitabh Bachchan. No. It’s still going on. Political parties want it to be going on for their personal benefits. Everybody is saying Australia is bad... Canada is bad... they don’t respect Indians, but the actual truth is the other way round. The situation of other countries is far better than India.

In India, people from one state can't go to another state for their own betterment. For example, the people from Bihar can not visit West Bengal. North Indians can not work in Mumbai. Their children are forced to study Marathi. Why? It is just because they are residing in Maharashtra. Now, is this not a racial discrimination? We have seen a lot of attacks on North and East Indians. Who is accountable and responsible for this?
When girl students from East India go to North India or South India for higher studies, people don’t treat them as Indian. Why? They look at the girl with an obscene aspect…why? Is this not a racial discrimination? Has anybody took any action against this. No. Don’t you think we should take care of our own issues first.

Everybody is questioning India about these issues. United States government has just given instructions to its people to avoid visiting India. They have refused to visit India not because of terrorist attacks, but because of the increasing number of attacks on foreign tourists.

Rape, racial attacks, eve teasing, all are present in our own homeland- India and we are blaming Australians to be racist against the Indians. Are we not doing the same thing with our foreign guests? We don’t have any rights to blame others until and unless we have a clean past record. Australians are also pointing out to our people, just because of past incidents in India.

Why can't we change ourselves and make ourselves united to fight against the wrong. If only we reform our outlook then only we can bring changes in the mentality of others. The time has come when we all need to come together and pull up our socks, raise our hands against racial discrimination.