It's been nearly five days since 19-year-old Nido Taniam, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, died after being beaten up in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar. And his death has once again brought up the issue of racism, one that is often sidelined in India.
Perhaps it is the timing of Nido's case or maybe a case of one too many, but the North East community is in no mood to let the issue die down. Nido's death has sparked protests at Jantar Mantar and more importantly the community has managed to get support from two of India's biggest politicians.
Arvind Kejriwal at the protest. PTI
Rahul Gandhi joined them on Monday evening, promising justice and today it was the turn of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal, however, admitted that he was late at the protests. "I should have come on day one. Fight for Nido is our fight as well. However it should be noted that we had called for magisterial inquiry on day one. I even said that Delhi police can't do an independent inquiry in Nido's case, as they are a party in the case," he told the crowd.
"Magisterial inquiry will be over in three to four weeks. We will know the truth about how Nido died and what exactly happened," he assured the protesters. He also suggested that history of northeast people should be included in the syllabus for students in Delhi so as to increase social harmony.
But for the protesters, the agenda is much more than justice for Nido. The biggest demand is for a stronger anti-racism law in India. Yeshi Wangchuk, Vice-President of the Arunachal Students Union says, the protest is about getting a change where social outlook towards North Eastern people is concerned.
"We want change at the judicial and constitutional level. India doesn't have a law to deal with racial discrimination. We want a strict law to deal with such instances. We are hoping that such a law will be introduced in the upcoming session of Parliament on 5th February. We are protesting for this law," he points out.
"It's good that we are getting political support. Students from Northeast including myself met Kejriwal to get more support. However social change is also needed. Finally it all boils down to racial discrimination," he says.
D Apao, from the North East Community group, who also met Kejriwal at his residence on Saturday, along with other students, points out that the racism can't be ignored any longer.
"Police personnel won't even register my complaint for a lost mobile. We are treated like second-class citizens in this country. Why should we stand for it? As part of our demand to the Delhi government, we want a fast-track court to deal with Nido's case," he says.
As far as Nido's case is concerned, Yeshi says the government has to take action against the police as well. "The SHO and the constable should be suspended. There are videos showing that they were the ones who dropped Nido back to the same place. Nido was made to sign a compromise letter saying he's medically fine. It was their duty to at least get him checked by a doctor," he points out.
"The FIR was lodged on 31 January and that also only after we put pressure on the police to register the FIR. There's a gap of days from the incidents to when the FIR was lodged," says Yeshi.
What happened to Nido is just an extreme example of how the Northeast community is discriminated against in Delhi on an everyday basis.
Naomi, a Manipuri student at Deshbandhu College, narrates one particular instance of being made to feel an outsider. "I wanted to get my prepaid SIM into postpaid. Initially they told me that it will done free of cost. Then I was told, that I will have to pay an extra fee because the option is only for Indians. Why are we not treated equally in the same country?" she asks.
Another student from Manipur, Kimrose recounts how she was teased as 'chinky'. "Where I lived, some people would keep teasing me, calling me chinky, chinky. I used to ignore but then I finally got upset and threatened to complain to the police. They weren't afraid of that either," she recalls.
Sirsa Kharay, feels that this is a particular problem for Delhi. "Delhi is the worse when it comes to this racial discrimination. My friends from North East don't face so many issues in South India. Here people have this cultural, casteist concept and they see us as outsiders and treat us badly. Landlords have problems with food, girls should not come, there's a problem with music," he points out.
"I've been here for 11 years and this has always been a big issue. We aren't here today because Nido was the son of an MLA or anything like that. We are here because we see him as our brother. Let's see, I'm hopeful that some change will come from these protests," he says.
For the protesters, the issue is clearly bigger than just Nido's death. When it comes to everyday racism, it is evident that it can't be done away with a just law.
