Richard Loitham, the latest victim of hate in Bangalore
By Nitin A. GokhaleYears
ago, Mizoram CM Lalthanhawla, in the course of a convivial evening, got
to describing how a Mumbai five-star asked him for his passport before
checking him in. Part angry, part amused, he had to patiently explain
who he was and where he came from.
I was reminded of this conversation this week after witnessing a
spate of write-ups and discussions emanating from metro-based media
outlets about why and how India discriminates against its citizens from
the Northeast.
The coverage was triggered by two tragic deaths, one in
Bangalore and the other in Gurgaon.
By themselves, these incidents need to be condemned in the strongest
terms and the culprits punished. The question is: could this not have
happened to any teenager studying away from home?
Some years ago, a
Delhi boy was ragged to death in Himachal Pradesh. Was he killed because
he was a city-slicker in a semi-urban hostel set-up? Or was he just an
easy target for bullies?
The fact is, across India, we are all labelled and discriminated
against one way or the other based on our surnames. A Bong, a Mallu, a
Tant (a typical army term for a Marathi), a Punju, a Bihari.... the
pejoratives are many; their usage commonplace.
Even within the Northeast, suspicions about each other abound. Clan
and ethnic loyalties often take precedence over regional identities. A
larger community often discriminates against a smaller ethnic group. A
surfeit of student groups and associations formed on tribal lines in
most big cities bears testimony to this reality. All of them prefer to
keep to themselves, trying to find protection in numbers.
Inter-ethnic tensions from back home are carried to far-off places
too. So, for instance, Naga students will keep away from a Meitei group
or a Bodo students association will remain aloof from their Assamese
counterparts. The smaller the numbers, the greater the xenophobia. Even
in a large city like Delhi, ethnic loyalties lead to ghettoisation.
But for every act of hostility, there is a Sudhir Phadke. Decades
ago, the legendary Marathi singer and composer took a couple of boys
from Arunachal Pradesh under his wing in Pune, educated them and—without
fuss—assimilated them into Marathi culture, its music and language.
There are several similar stories that I can cite.
A conservative estimate suggests that over 50,000 students leave the
Northeast every year to study and eventually work all across India—even
in smaller towns like Sangli and Hubli, to name just a couple. Scores
happily settle down in bigger cities in search of a career and are
unlikely to ever return home because there aren’t enough jobs in the
still-underdeveloped region. They are as much part of the big city
melting pot as a Mallu, or a Bong, or a Bihari.
As cities like Delhi struggle to shed their provincial character and
turn ever more cosmopolitan, there will be a lot of churning that
happens and newcomers—whether from the ‘deep south’ or from the ‘far
east’—will face tough times.
That should, however, not deter the pioneering. And people from the
eight states are nothing if not brave. All they need to watch out for is
the danger of succumbing to the notion of victimhood. As I often say to
my friends from the region, they have been repeatedly indoctrinated by
their leaders to view themselves as victims of conspiracies hatched by
the central government and people from the rest of India. The truth is,
no one has either the time or the inclination to do so. But the old
mindsets are changing both in Delhi and the Northeast. The neglect meted
out in the past has given way to more focused attention to the region
and its people. Even in mega cities, as more and more northeasterners
work and mix with others, a gradual acceptance of their different looks
and languages will happen. And as a Mary Kom or a Lou Majaw become icons
for sports and music fans from even outside the Northeast, the region
will gain larger focus than before.
A Lalthanhawla could laugh off an unintended insult at a five-star.
The families of those who get maimed or killed because they look and
dress different and speak a language not of the majority won’t as easily
get over their trauma.
And yet, as the two-way flow of people, goods and services between
other parts of the country and the Northeast grows, the rest of India
will begin treating it not as an exotic entity, but an integral part of
the idea that is India.
(
The writer, NDTV’s security and strategic affairs editor, lived and worked in the Northeast between 1983-2006, including for Outlook.
Follow him @nitingokhale.)
