The idea that India is a raceless society is a myth. India has a legal framework that assures racial equality but there is no evidence that any of these legal arrangements have been useful in preventing the incessant assaults on young North East Indians in the metropolitan cities of India. Trajectories and outcomes of racialised and dehumanised behaviours, including the âotheringâ of internal migrants, are explored in this book; a study that deepens our understanding of global patterns of racism and the variety of forms that taken by racial states today.
Racism is everywhere and its manifestations are global and local. The unleashing of power and privilege by dominant racial groups leaves the less powerful with shattered lives and this is increasing. As each day unfolds, a new target group, a new ânon-belongingâ group, seems to emerge in every nation, underprivileged, oppressed and discriminated against. Citizenship, whether by birth or naturalisation, offers no protection when the powerful decide to push these people away. A critical examination of the power, privilege and racial hierarchy operating in India, and their effects on the marginalized, is crucial for challenging racial inequalities in todayâs world.
The conversation on racism in India has already started, as evidenced in Professor Duncan McDuie-Raâs poignant anthropological narratives of urban migrants from North East India (McDuie-Ra 2012). He recorded that over 80 per cent of North East Indians have felt discrimination in the countryâs metropolitan cities. Inspired by this and other works, the first author of this book, Venkat Pulla, sought to contribute to and continue the conversation on racism.
This opening chapter utilises a structure of thematic subheadings that introduce the chapters in this book. Additional comments will help the reader to discern the way each chapter treats its theme and content.
Discrimination Beyond Caste
At present, immigrants from northeast Indian states to other parts of the country are the focus of discrimination and racism. The Constitution of India laid the foundation stone for an egalitarian society based on democratic values. The principles of liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in there, as they operate in every day society, are critiqued in Chap. 2. Venkat Pulla, Elizabeth Carter and Sanjai Bhatt, argue that the racism in India is not new or solely directed at those that have come from East African countries to work but is also directed against Indians who move within the country. As Indian citizens they have a constitutionally guaranteed freedom to move and settle anywhere in India. People come into metropolitan cities to find a job, escape from native poverty, for higher studies, in some cases to flee ongoing insurgency, or simply to find a better life. Their sustained political struggle for identity and rights, and their quest for self-determination, has tinted them as wild, unruly, violent and uninvited.
The authors have made an attempt to answer the question âHow did North East Indians become the target of discrimination and racism, where did it all start?â As a group they are doubly disadvantaged. In their familiar environment they face ethnic conflict; at their destination, they are victims of discrimination and violence ranging from discriminatory practices, derogatory and verbal abuse to physical attacks, killing and rape. The federal government has made honest efforts to improve the connectedness between the northeast and mainstream India through the âAct Eastâ policy. It was expected that improvements to infrastructure would facilitate and normalise the flow of goods, people, and the exchange of ideas.
What were they addressed as? âMomoâ, âChinkyâ, âChineseâ, âChichi Chuâ etc. Purely disparaging remarks relating to race, culture, identity or physical appearances thrown at fellow Indians. Should such remarks be made punishable, even although they may not violate a law but âmerelyâ bring down fellow human beingsâ morale? The Bezbaruah Committee made a couple of suggestions to insert section 153C into law, which deals with the imputations and assertions prejudicial to human dignity, and section 509A, which deals with words, gestures or acts intended to insult a member of a particular racial group or of any race .
Racism Through a Gendered Lens
The culture in North East India starkly contrasts with the culture that prevails in most of the country. North East Indians practice equality and the regionâs women enjoy greater mobility and visibility than in any of the states in the rest of the country. When North East Indian women migrate to the main cities in India with their broad-based egalitarian values and expectation of equal esteem, they are perceived as a threat to the mainstream conservative ethos. In addition, most North East Indians (barring the caste Hindus) do not fall within the four caste hierarchies, although mainstream Indian society has always looked upon them from a caste perspective and thereby sought to inflict discrimination and racism. In Chap. 3, Rituparna Bhattacharyya and Venkat Pulla present a concerted view of racism through a lens of gender, utilising a feminist perspective. In-depth interviews with individuals/ students from North East India and stakeholders of civil society organizations probe the nuanced forms of prejudice and discrimination faced by Northeast Indians. The narratives here are pitiable, corrosive and wretched, clearly depicting the conspicuous commonplace racism endured by the majority of Northeast Indian women in the metropolitan cities. It has been found that lack of awareness and knowledge about Northeast India in the rest of the country is extraordinary. The deeply rooted notion of sub-nationality and power intersect to produce prejudices and discrimination. A year ago, a national English-language daily newspaper published a survey with the caption â81% of North East Women Harassed in Delhiâ. The majority of the women and men from North East India maintained a clearly defined âfemininityâ and âmasculinityâ in the public spaces of the metropolitan cities. A 2016 popular Bollywood film, Pink, written by Ritesh Shah, portrays the common prejudices towards north eastern people that independent, single Indian woman living away from their home and parents suffer in the cities. The film features a character, portrayed by Andrea Tariang, representing the way in which women from Northeast India are targeted based on shallow judgements and pervasive prejudices. Their willingness to assimilate, friendly behaviour, appearance and distinctive dress codes are mistaken for signs of loose character, immorality, and being âan easy layâ.
Inter-ethnic Violence in the Northeast
The Indian
stateâs reaction to tribal disputes in the northeast can be considered to be a paternalist approach. The state has intervened with force and police action, rather than listening to the indigenous population and trying to find common ground. Military resources have been required and the press has generally highlighted violence, and this has resulted in mainstream India being given a poor picture of the northeast. This violence is one of the contributing factors to migration from the northeast to the larger cities; people are trying to find a safe place to live. The pervasiveness of violent conflict in
North East India is routinely ascribed to the regionâs backwardness and the ânaturalâ propensity for violence of its indigenous populations. According to Gen. V. P. Malik, the former chief of the Indian Armed forces:
Terrorism is neither state-specific nor an ideology. It is a method of employing violence in the pursuit of an ideology. He finds fault with the approach that is too militarist and supports those who believe that âideologuesâ must be included in fight against terrorism. (Malik 2012, 13)
Venkat Pulla, Bhairabi Nandini Kaushik, Bharath Bhushan Mamidi, and Sanjai Bhatt have examined the inter-ethnic violence in north eastern states of India that is depicted as institutionalised violence fuelled often by vested interests having stakes in spreading political violence and conflict between rival tribal communities. The region has witnessed ethnonational movements established in diverse ethnic groups to further sub-national aspirations, often triggered by the fear of losing a distinct identity. Geopolitics, multiple ethnicities, porous international borders and internal immigration have combined to cause the entire region to be gripped by tension, conflict, protest and violence. From self-rule to separate statehood, the history of ethnic violence is traced in the chapter, noting the actions of territorial councils and autonomous councils for governance legitimizing a few tribal groups over others. One cannot deny that the lack of a government proactive, constructive anticipatory developmental agenda is a reason for unrest, though it is equally true that ethnic violence erupts over resources and their allocation, provoked by some in the region, including political bosses.
The scenario in the northeastern states is not pretty. Professor Sanjoy Hazarika, who was a member of the
Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee set up to review the Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and to suggest measures for repealing it, had the following to say:
The intensity of the challenges are immense: these range from ethnic standoffs and struggles for land and space as well as political rights.
In the past half century, another major change has affected the violence: on both sides of the âbarrierâ, the lethality of weapons and their easier availability has transformed the power and quality of the fighting. RDX, AK-56s, machine guns and sniper rifles are used extensively. The immediacy of communications has also effectively changed the profile of these organizations as well of fighting: people can see, hear and even communicate with them by email!
A consequence of such long-drawn out conflicts has been the collapse of governance in a number of the states; the security of the citizens is at extreme risk, from security forces and the militants. During this period, there have been some positive gainsâawareness of human rights has increased in India and the world, the media is stronger as are non-government organizations and civil society groups. Violations of human rights by state forces and by non-state armed groups cannot, in these days of instant information, be hidden any longer. (Sanjoy Hazarika 2005, 147)
Women of the North East and Peace Processes
Peace activist Sanam Anderlini, says that âwherever war and violence exist, women exist â and they have things to tell usâ (UN Women 2016). The Iron Lady of Manipur or âMengoubiâ, the Fair One, Irom Sharmila Chanu, took to non-violent protest through voluntary abstinence from food. She is known for her fast and hunger strike against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act: the longest known non-violent social action in the world, from 5 November 2000 to 9 August 2016. No book can ever be written about contemporary Northeast India without reference to, her. Clearly conscience-driven change emanates from those who care for people and those who care for the preservation of ecologies that foster peace, and in this task there can never be a doubt that women are at the forefront, capable of creating and building lasting peace. The effects of violence and armed conflicts on women and girls are two of the twelve areas of concern which require action by all governments across the world. India is no exception to this. In Chap. 5, Rubi Devi, Kanchana Lanzet and Venkat Pulla present an account of âWomenâs Collective Action for Peace in the Northeastern Regionâ. There is a long history of womenâs movements, from reforming and welfare works to gendered rights and womenâs empowerment. India has witnessed womenâs activism in both pre- and post-independence era. Indian women have been actively involved, and often have played major roles, in social movements.
The sub-nationalism of North East India has always been its unique characteristicâbe it Nagaland, Manipur or Assam. There are many examples such as Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samithi, Tezpur, District Mahila Samiti, Naga Mothersâ Association, Meira Paibis, the Leishiyer Tangkhul Women and the All Tangkhul Womenâs Association. Women in the region enjoy a certain degree of freedom and social space and have played significant roles in social movements. They have also paid a heavy price for their active involvement in activism via humiliation, personal assault, rape, and sexual violence. It is important to note one of the significant protests about the rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama Devi on mere suspicion: twelve Meira Paibi adopted...
