For Riba, a professional working at a high-profile firm, her daily reality included being bombarded with intrusive and stereotypical questions about her origins. "You people eat dogs, cats, pigs and all your animals, right?" was a query she faced repeatedly, simply because she hails from Northeast India. Her corporate setting offered no shield against such casual prejudice, which extended to her appearance and language. The most painful part, she recalls, was that many saw nothing wrong with such questioning.
When Casual Slurs Turn Fatal: The Dehradun Tragedy
This everyday bias often escalates into grave danger. On December 9, a routine market visit in Dehradun turned deadly for 24-year-old Anjel Chakma from Tripura. He and his brother Michael were buying groceries for a planned trek when they were allegedly targeted with racial slurs like "Chinki," "Chinese," and "Momo." One man reportedly sneered, "Oye Chinese, have you come to buy pork?"
When Anjel objected, asserting "We are not Chinese… We are Indians," a brutal assault followed. According to Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajai Singh, Anjel was struck with a knife and a metal kada, suffering critical neck and spine injuries. He later succumbed. His brother Michael was also seriously injured. The new trekking shoes for their December 22 Chandrashila trek arrived a day after the attack, never to be unpacked.
A Pattern of Prejudice: From Delhi Markets to Bengaluru Offices
Such incidents are not isolated. Arjun Rimo from Arunachal Pradesh reported a similar attack on January 8, 2026, in Delhi's Karol Bagh. While buying meat, he was called 'Chinese' and assaulted by three individuals after he objected. He stated this episode highlights the long-standing challenge faced by Northeastern citizens outside their home states.
In corporate Bengaluru, Sushma Pegu from Assam faced bullying and racial slurs from a colleague who asked, "Do you even get Maggi there? How do you survive with all the non-veg food? I also heard you people eat cats and dogs." While she took a stand and the colleague was terminated, the prejudice begins the moment she steps into a cab, with drivers asking her which country she is from.
The bias intensified during Covid-19. Roshni, a student at Lakshmibai College, recalled how a friend from the Northeast was feared by other students, with one remarking, "Mujhe toh isko dekh kar dar lag raha hai."
A Legal Vacuum and a Long History of Violence
India lacks a specific law against racial discrimination, despite being a signatory to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The issue gained national attention after the January 2014 killing of 19-year-old Nido Taniam in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar, who was beaten to death after shopkeepers mocked his hairstyle.
Following his death, the MP Bezbaruah Committee recommended criminalising racial slurs like "chinki" with jail terms of up to five years. While the Supreme Court in 2016 directed the Centre to monitor these recommendations, the proposed amendments to the Indian Penal Code remain pending. Activists note enforcement is inconsistent, with abuse often dismissed as a social issue.
Other notable incidents include:
- In November 2023, Northeastern students reported racial and misogynistic abuse near Delhi University.
- In 2016, two youths from Mizoram were beaten in Bengaluru for not speaking the local language.
- In October 2025, a 27-year-old flight attendant from Meghalaya was racially abused twice within an hour in Delhi, a video of which went viral after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju shared it.
As the flight attendant poignantly stated in her viral video, "My only mistake is that I am born in India and I look like this... You insulted every person who has ever felt 'othered' in their own country." These stories reveal that India's cosmopolitan hubs often fail at true inclusion, making multiculturalism a slogan rather than a practised reality. The fight, activists argue, must begin in schools and be carried forward by all institutions.
