Recently,
The Ministry of Home affairs came up with a law to curb racism against North
East Indians. It has sent a directive to all the states and union territories
ordering imprisonment for five years who commit the crime of addressing North
East Indian people as "chinkies" (an abusive racial remark).
Many
people have found this law too harsh. I don't intend to
discuss this law and whether it is appropriate or not. I am not sure how
can one legally prove subtle ways of discrimination that people are
subjected to everyday. This law would at least, create awareness about racism that has thrived in our country since
decades and despite being very much part of it, we have either been blissfully
ignorant about it or too callous to negate it completely.
North
East Indian states have always faced great neglect even after more than six
decades since we got our freedom. Lack of political will for inclusive
governance has been root cause of the discrimination and the result is
reflected in the manner people from these states
are generally perceived and treated. Despite being part of this
democratic nation, they are often looked upon as "outsiders" and
taunted for their physical appearance.
One
of the most important factors for such discrimination has also been our
mindsets. The slogan which we harp about "vividhta me ekta" (unity in
diversity) is instantly forgotten once we switch off our televisions after
watching the parade of 15th August or 26th January! We are born and brought up
amidst compatible contempt towards every caste/community/ethnicity. It is so
common to be subjected to derogatory terms like "pindi" for Sardars,
"bong" for Bengali, "gujju" for Gujarati,
"ghati" for Maharashtrian, "punju" for Punjabi,
"bhaisa" for Haryanvi, "miya' or "musanda"
for Muslim, "lungi" for South Indians etc that we don't
realize that these words are racist! Sadly, these terms are subconsciously used
even by the most educated of us.
So
often we encounter casual remarks that reflect prejudice, ignorance and
insensitivity. Sadly, the offender is never held accountable as it would look
socially boorish. Whenever I witness such incident, it touches some raw
nerve inside me and at such times I question personal politics of those who
casually dismiss the identities of others without any understanding of how
ignorant they appear in doing so. We are so deeply entrenched by divides within
society and often choose to perceive others through rigid labeling that we
create for them consisting stereotypes, mainly as result of superiority we feel
for our own comfort zones that we place ourselves in.
How
often we deride others and their differences within a blink of an eye, produce
blanket dismissal! A casual, insidious remark can chip away self-confidence and create a permanent wound
that is forever concealed in one's heart and its pain is difficult to
express in words.
Racism
or discrimination against any human being is inhuman and it should never be
accepted. Every citizen of India has right to live and be treated with equal dignity.
Introducing a law is a welcome step but we need to get our basics right. It is
shame that even after these many years of independence we need to have such
laws! It is time for some deep contemplation.
