To think correctly, scientifically, we must know the “Truth.” As the ancient saying puts it, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” to know the truth is to be in harmony with the infinite intelligence and power of your subconscious mind. Here, the truth is that after getting independence from the Britishers our country becomes “Azad Bharat” and every citizen of our country has a right to be treated equally no matter from which caste, colour, the religion they belong, everyone has an equal right to freedom. But, due to a lot of racism in our past, many people have to face inequality in a lot of backgrounds, such as education, health etc. People had a stereotype attached with the people of a specific caste that made categorisations in humans, like rich or poor, educated or illiterate. Similarly, North East students had to face such kind of discrimination in civilised cities of India, commonly Delhi, Pune and some others also.
Some of the challenges faced by North Eastern students are followed:
- “Language Barrier”, not every North Eastern Indian knows Hindi and that results in them facing problems like hailing autos or even instructing cab drivers to reach the desired destination. Shopkeepers try to trick them into paying higher prices because they can’t bargain in a language they don’t know. So, it is the most common challenge that every North Eastern Student has to face while travelling for colleges or anywhere.
- “Calling names which relate to Racism”, this is one thing that annoys every North Eastern Indian. Small eyes do not give the right to any person to call them Chinky, Momos or Chinese. They are the citizens of India and they have a right to be called as Indians.
- “Verbal Abuse, Eve teasing and Harassment”, this problem is common for everyone in Delhi but there have been a lot of such cases faced by North Easterns in Delhi. North Eastern women are assumed to be cheap if they are wearing short clothes. Stereotyping them has made people believe that they are “easy” which makes way for further verbal comments and sexual harassment. People verbally abuse them in the form of calling with various names that are common in Delhi. Cases of harassment due to racism are not unknown. Many of the North Easterns living in Delhi face these problems every day either in their colleges or anywhere else in Delhi.
Recently there was a case, where the soul-searching on race and racism in India followed the death of Nido Taniam, a 20-year-old student from the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, after he was assaulted in New Delhi. Taniam died as the result of a brutal beating in a busy New Delhi shopping area. The fatal brawl broke out when a few men hurled racial insults at Taniam and he refused to acquiesce. Delhi has witnessed many such incidents in recent years. The fledgeling North East Support Centre and Helpline says it handles 15 to 20 distress calls from victims and witnesses of racial assaults each month. Organisations of Delhites with roots in Northeast India have long complained that the Delhi police do not take these incidents seriously.
Therefore we must be aware of these situations, because one word can make a person’s life miserable. Sometimes it leads to suicidal thoughts, Depression or other mental illness. Racism do have a psychological impact on a person!
In contrast, there are some opportunities in the metropolitan cities, like Delhi or Pune for North Eastern students:
First, they could show excellence in presenting their cultural values in these cities, so that people(youth) could learn their cultural values and associate them as a part of our country’s tradition. If they could result in a positive understanding of their culture, people will start accepting the fact and destigmatize the things that are attached with them.
Second, there are some schemes for north east students in Delhi Universities which they can take a benefit of, such as North East Student Cell or they can approach to North East Student Organisation (NESO), where they can take any kind of help from their community because people feel more comfortable in asking for help from those who are from similar backgrounds or follow similar religion or community.
In contrast, we have seen a lot of challenges that north east students had to face rather than the opportunities they have, so we have to work upon these challenges together because “Unity is strength, division is weakness”.
In a nutshell, different indian traditions are not a waste for youth but a binding force of love which keeps us connected to soil. Therefore, Cleanse your mind of all weird and superstitious beliefs about “Racism”. Do not ever regard racism as virtuous or pleasant. If you do, you cause it to take wings and fly across your whole perception of humanity. Remember!! “Big things have small beginings”.
These challenges do have a psychological impact on the victims as well, it can led to depression or any other serious mental illness, or a fear of not to be socialize more. It can also affect the well-being of the person. Sometimes situations became so worse, that they might get suicidal thoughts. WE HAVE TO KEEP THESE THINGS IN MIND!!
On the other hand, there are some opportunities for Nort Eastern students to reach out:
First, they could show excellence in presenting their cultural values in these cities, so that people(youth) could learn their cultural values and associate them as a part of our country’s tradition. If they could result in a positive understanding of their culture, people will start accepting the fact and destigmatize the things that are attached to them.
Second, there are some schemes for northeast students in Delhi Universities which they can take a benefit of, such as northeast student cell or they can approach to North East Student Organisation (NESO), where they can take any kind of help from their community because people feel more comfortable in asking for help from those who are from similar backgrounds or follow similar religion or community.
In contrast, there are a lot of challenges that northeast students had to face rather than the opportunities that they have, so we’ve to work upon these challenges together because “Unity is strength, the division is weakness”. Therefore, Cleanse your mind of all weird and superstitious beliefs about “Racism”. Do not ever regard racism as virtuous or pleasant. If you do, you cause it to take wings and fly across your whole perception of humanity. Remember!! “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room”.
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