If India thinks it has a clean slate with regard to racism, it couldn't be further from the truth. From its unexplainable obsession with fair skin to its henious acts of crime against northeasterns, India has seen numeruous acts of racism in the last decade. There could not be a more fitting time to address the treatment of North-eastern students than now, when two heartless incidents have shaken the country. The first being of Dana, the tribal student who committed suicide, as determined, because of racial discrimination and the other being of Richard Loitam, the student who was beaten to death over watching an IPL match in Bangalore.
The government needs to grasp that its not just about injecting millions into that region. It's also to do with assisting them in integrating smoothly with the rest of the country which can never be possible unless the country is educated about the northeast. Students from all over the seven sister states apply to universities in cities for a better education and 78%+ of these students feel that they are discriminated against. Nor do the discriminants know about these states nor do they know about their culture. India is a big country but that is no excuse for framing a faulty academic syllabus which doesn't adequately include an integral region of the country.
India was recently going abuzz with the treatment of Indian students in Australia. In the wake of that issue Manmohan Singh telephoned their prime minister Kevin Rudd to express his concerns. The fascination in my head is magnified when even the local authorities in Bangalore are unable to conduct a fair investigation with regard to Richard Loitam's murder. Am I wrong to call this hypocrisy ?
I have a friend who is from Arunachal Pradesh and apart from being one of the smartest people I know, she is a responsible citizen who loves her country. And it pains me to know that the rest of the country doesn't even think her Indian. This article is addressed to that part of India who is ignorant about the extended boundaries of our Indian family which reach out to and include the seven sisters. At this point of time in Indian history the northeasterns have raised their voices, they want to be heard and accepted. Is it too much to ask to be accepted by their own ? Justice for Richard Loitam doesn't plead for something out of the ordinary, it pleads for something any other citizen would get ordinarily. Pesonally, i'd feel the spark when in the crowd of silent protesters, one would watch the northeasterns being supported by rest of India pleading with the government to give Richard the justice he deserves.
