Discriminating against anyone on the grounds of ... well, just about anything, is not cool, not justifiable! C’mon Delhiites, it’s high time we all came together to treat our fellow residents well. You’ll know others’ pain and anger if you, too, get yelled at by a fellow passenger on the Delhi Metro; if you are told: ‘Get out of India. Go to China’. All this for just talking among friends in one’s native language from the a North-Eastern region of India!
Off and On Campus
This one was an off-campus incident, but the concern is as valid on campus. Especially, around this time of the year when youngsters from all over the country are aiming to head to Delhi University for higher education. Unfortunately, the existing students from the region at the varsity say it’s not easy for ‘outsiders’ to be accepted in the city.
“Every year you come across news about a Northeast tenant caught having meat or killed on the road or mocked for using native language,” says Raginee Sarmah, a second-year student of English (Hons) at St. Stephen’s College. She agrees that landlords are now a “little less hard” on people from her region, but for selfish reasons. “[It’s] mostly to cater to the requirement of capital that comes mainly from the Northeast students.” She adds, “The truth is that if you walk on the streets of North Campus in wee hours, you will be teased. And, if you are a Northeast girl dressed up in a certain way and walking the same street, then the degree of assault will be heightened. People call us names… The exoticism of the Northeast girls is at another level. Often, all this is hidden under the garb of humour, which is most appalling.”
{{/usCountry}}“Every year you come across news about a Northeast tenant caught having meat or killed on the road or mocked for using native language,” says Raginee Sarmah, a second-year student of English (Hons) at St. Stephen’s College. She agrees that landlords are now a “little less hard” on people from her region, but for selfish reasons. “[It’s] mostly to cater to the requirement of capital that comes mainly from the Northeast students.” She adds, “The truth is that if you walk on the streets of North Campus in wee hours, you will be teased. And, if you are a Northeast girl dressed up in a certain way and walking the same street, then the degree of assault will be heightened. People call us names… The exoticism of the Northeast girls is at another level. Often, all this is hidden under the garb of humour, which is most appalling.”
{{/usCountry}}One would assume that the classrooms are where they feel shielded from the negativity. You’re wrong! “Our teacher is partial towards others. Initially I thought she is unintentionally doing this, but I realised that’s not true. She once asked who is the topper and my friend, who is from Sikkim, stood up. But, the teacher said: ‘No, I am looking for the other person’,” alleges Ruth Chawngthu, a student of BA Political Science from Kamala Nehru College. She adds, “There are many incidents. Some teachers teach in Hindi, without realising that it’s difficult [for some of us] to understand. When I graduate, I think I’ll write to the teachers, requesting them to translate in English, so that everyone in the class can feel included.”
There are some, for whom the environment within college is safe, but not outside. “Just the other day, I was walking in North Campus with a senior and some boys screamed to us: ‘Go back to China’,” recollects Sange Thungon, a final year student of BA Political Science (Hons) at Lady Shri Ram College for Women.
She says that beyond North Campus, the situation is even worse. “I went to a tailor near my college, who while taking measurements started feeling me up. I didn’t know then what to do, and how to react. He is such an old man; what could have I said? But, when I came back to my college and told my friends about the incident, they accompanied me, and we together ensured that the man touched my feet and apologised to me in front of a hundred people,” recalls Thungon, still shaken by the incident.
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