Showpiece

the yellow china sets
in my mother's shelf
locked behind glass
not used. not dusted.
just there - to say:
we have this.

I too - the lone foreign face
in a strange town
paraded, trophied,
a token of kindness,
just a showpiece.

years press cracks
into porcelain skin
dust settles, smiles fade
still here, displayed,
never touched, never belonged.

#poem #minority

The Horror Of OZ

The recent spate of racial attacks on Indian Student down at Australia has grabbed more than enough media attention in India.  I’m glad it does.  It brings to focus the issue of discrimination and abuses based on racial line.  It is one subject most Indian often overlooked or chose not to acknowledge until and unless they perceived themselves as the victim.

For instances, when Indian actor, Shilpa Shetty, alleged that she was racially abused at a TV show in the UK, the media and people of India cried wolves.  Contrast that with the time when a coloured Australian cricket player, Andrew Symonds, alleged that he was being racially abused by an Indian player, Harbhajan Singh.  Most Indian, instead of condemning the Indian Player, choose to mock the Australian, or ignore the issue altogether.

Indian abroad have become quite sensitive towards the issue of race today, but back home, it doesn’t cut much ice.  Most Indian in India don’t know what constitute racism or discrimination, or for that matter, what racism is all about.  That is not so surprising considering that India is the one country where segregation based on the line of caste/ class has been accepted as a normal social order.

Racism exists all over the world in one form or the other. Even in the developed world where people are more sensitive and awareness are higher, racism and discrimination still existed, but are hidden, unspoken and unexpressed.  In India it’s different.  People still curse their birth because they can never change their social standing no matter what.  For instance, even in the richest family, inter-caste/race marriage is still a big taboo.

If you belong to any of the lower caste, people will judge you from your surname, and your surname will decide if you can enter a certain place/temple, or touch a certain thing. If you happened to be a racial minority, you don’t even get to give your surname, people take one look at you, and you are already judged.  As a minority, each and everyday one has to face some sort of discrimination –it can be mild, coated or blown-out abuses.

What happened at Australia is awful and should be condemned.  But what happened at India is also equally awful, and  should be equally condemned.  But the big difference is that, the Australian Government has acknowledged the incident (though reluctantly), while in India, such incidents will be conveniently swept under the carpet as a normal outcome of the social order.

I really do wish those people who took out to the street for the students down under will also look closer at home and stop being a perpetrator and stand-up for the minorities which they failed to notice all these years. I hope, at least, a lesson is learnt.

-for related post, please click the following;

1. India & Discrimination

2. India & Racism

My Vote: My Say?

Come May, and the world’s largest democracy and the second most populous country in the world will go to the poll for the General Parliamentary Election. It will be a chance for the billion people of India to have their say in the governance –or at least in principle.

I remember often seeing this TV commercial where it says ‘if you don’t vote on Election Day, then you are sleeping and you have no right to complain’. I want to protest that complaining is what I did best, but I definitely don’t want to be caught sleeping even though I love sleeping.

So, I got to thinking if I were given the chance to have my say be actually turned into action, what would I say? There would be many things I would want to say. As a Christian, as a Tribal, as a Minority Community, as a Student and as a Citizen, everything about me is crying out to be heard –that’s also the one reason why I blog in the first place!

But I need to be realistic and stop nursing false hope since I live in a world called reality. And that left me with very little to say. During Delhi’s Assembly election last year, a friend joked that if someone put up a donkey as a candidate, she would rather vote that donkey, and I remember saying ‘amen’ to that.

As a Christian, I am furious (what an irony) that when Hindu mobs run amok ransacking and burning churches in Karnataka; torching the houses and mercilessly killing poor dalit Christians in Orissa; not a single Christian Minister or MP said a single word! We have enough prominent political figures (I can quickly count 2 Union Minister and about 25 - 30 MPs) who chose to remains silent –how orphaned we felt! Amidst all that, all the Prime Minister can do was to come out and lambast organized religion as a whole! Misinterpreted Liberalism… what a shame!

This election too, we will not have much choice like in the past. You can chose an individual who you think might be sensible, once elected he/she will sacrifice everything for the sake of his/her party’s image or as they say. You vote for a party, and they will remain a mute spectator while your house and church are burned!

But if you are a Dalit-Christian, it’s worse. You have to choose between your religion and your identity. Once you become a Christian, you lost your dalit identity but that doesn’t mean you will enjoy social acceptance. Apart from that, no matter how poor or backward you are, you will have to fight with the general people for every field of opportunity.

If you happened to belong to any of the poor minority communities, be very threatened. Whenever those political parties or the newly launched one needed some media attention, they will come to attack you, massacre you and no one will speak-up for you. If you dared even as to raise a protest, they will throw you in jail while those mobs will go scot-free. That’s what it means to be a minority in India and I don’t think this election will change anything.

If you are a tribal, all that you can do is to look-up to the sky where the non-tribals’ built their castles –waiting for those few scraps of government’s welfare schemes to fall-off off their table. We don’t want those scraps of welfare schemes, but a share in the overall development of the much proclaimed India’s booming economy.

As a marginalize tribal, I want inclusion in the progress of the country. When India go overboard claiming itself to be the world largest democracy, the armed forces continue to have unlimited powers in the North-eastern states of India subduing its tribals inhabitants into military rules and making them a perpetual refugees in the land of their forefathers.

As a student, I want better educational infrastructure and support –at par with those private institutions’. I also want an inclusive education where we are not forced to study the history of only certain section or part of the country or some socialist propaganda. I want quality education upon which one can build a life and not an education that put emphasis on pass-fail ratio or obtaining degree/certificate alone.

As a citizen, I want a government that’s not afraid to speak up the truth and stand up for the right things without fear of losing their vote-banks. I want a government that don’t emphasize on gender alone, or class, caste or race. I want a safer country where each one of us can roam free without the fear of being attacked because of your facial feature, religion, gender, caste, class or race.

There are many more that I want or don’t want, and looking at the leading political parties and their prospective candidates, it seems that I’m only wasting my time listing my wants or don’t wants. So I come to the question ‘should I still cast my vote this coming election’.

No, I don’t believe that the single vote I hold can make a difference among a billion people, and yes, I’m a pessimist because I have enough reasons to be disappointed, so this coming election, I’m going to stay at home and enjoy the holiday. It’s just not worth voting for someone who dared not to stand-up for his/her own people/religion or for that matter, speak out against injustice.

tags: zo, zomi, zogam, lamka

India Inc wants Gujarat Monster as PM

When the leaders of India biggest business houses stood-up to support Narendra Modi as the future Prime Minister of secular India, it sent shockwaves across the minority communities living in India. It just amazes me how short-lived our memories are!

Who can ever forget the merciless massacre of Muslims in Godhra and the persecution of Christians in Dang? If the name Narendra Modi rang a bell, it is because his name is identical with the many innocent bloods shed in Gujarat. If Gujarat prospers, it got nothing to do with him but the people of Gujarat. Narendra Modi only stained the name of Gujarat and India.

But what is more shocking is that respectable people like Tata, Mittal and the Ambanis wanted him to lead the country. Does this mean those Industrialists will support and/or do anything that will only further their interest (and that interest is nothing but profit) without giving any importance to the peace and harmony of India?

The whole thing reminds me of what I once read in the net about how the German Industrialists praised Hitler and his regime before he showed his true colour. Narendra Modi had already showed his true colour, so those Industrialists knew what they were talking about and can be taken as a legitimate threat.

Looking at the present political scenario, it is very unlikely that the BJP will put him up as their Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2009 election, but it is inevitable in 2014 if the BJP happened to lose the next election.

But by proposing the Monster of Gujarat as the Prime Minister of India, India Inc is threatening the minority communities of India, and if you happened to be a minority, be very threatened for that Monster could be your Prime Minister if those peoples with vested interests have their way.

India - Cricket - Racism

The Gentlemen Sports of Cricket is at it once again. After the whole of mainland Indian vehemently defended Harbhajan Singh in the ‘that-could-never-happened’ incident in Australia, two coloured cheer-leaders hired by an IPL team’s event management group alleged that they had been told to leave the ground because they had the ‘wrong skin colour’.

If that shocking attitude was not ranked as racism, what does? Mainland Indians, who want to think themselves as pariah during the British rule, often mistake themselves to be in the forefront of war against racism. Not only that, people often think of India as a multi-religious, multi-cultural, racially tolerant country. That is not so true.

Mainland Indians’ anti-racist gestures come out of the woodwork only when they perceived themselves as the target, or if it happened in the west. Just take a look at the Shilpa Shetty’s or the Lakshmi Mittal’s issues.

They stereotyped themselves only as possible victim that they forget to look home and notice that they are ruthless perpetrator themselves. If you don’t understand what I meant, you don’t have to look further than the 10 pages of matrimonial advertisements coming with your newspaper every morning.

Mainland Indian should know that what they often ‘pass-off’ as casteism, regionalism, class-ism, etc, are prejudicial and discriminatory by nature. Around the world, people think India is coming off age, but it won’t unless it learned to take discrimination, casteism and racism as a threat and not minor issues to be conveniently swept under the carpet.

INDIAN AND RACISM

A Well-known Indian cricketer was accused of racially abusing an Australian cricketer during last Friday cricket match in Sydney. The Cricketer, of course, denied having said anything remotely racist to anyone, and the Indian team management and players gave him full support. The Indian media went even further to feign shock and disappointment at the Aussies’ accusation and accused them of playing spoilsport.

Well, no one, including me, know what exactly happened down there but one thing I do know is that one unwitting remark can sounds racist for some other. But in a caste/class divided India, those remarks are not always unwitting, for they had been so used to abusing the lower caste/class peoples for ages. In fact, it wouldn’t be too far from the truth to say that mainland Indian are one of the most racist people in the world.

Racism, in one form or the other, exists all over the world. Even in the developed world where people are more sensitive and awareness are higher, racism and discrimination still existed, but are hidden, unspoken and unexpressed. But in India, they loudly expressed it so and they think it is the right things to do or say. That is not so surprising considering it is also the country where caste and class segregation are fully accepted as a social order.

In India, more than the majority doesn’t even know what racism or discrimination means. The lower caste people are so used to the abuses they only cursed their lot instead of fighting for justice, while the upper castes are used to abusing the lower castes that who legitimatize by accepting the abuses. So you can forget about expecting anyone from knowing what little and minor things, words, expression and gestures that constitute racism and discrimination.

Indeed awareness is low in India, but that is no excuse –not especially for an international sportsperson who frequently traveled around the world. Going back to the cricket match, what is most shocking is the Indian team Management’s stand that the Aussies did not have clinching evidence. They should’ve have known better because racism may not necessarily be in the form of verbal, but also non-verbal, or just a mere gesture.

The Indian should know that racism is no game and racially abusing someone is no sport. It should be noted that the abused Aussies player has nothing to gain by dragging the Indian to the sport’s international panel. This simply means the Aussies cricketer is really hurt by the remark. In fact, the Aussies Cricketer’s decision to seek justice rather than going back to his shell like most of us is a courage that should be appreciated. If the abused Cricketer had been from the North-east of India, he would just keep quiet and silently cried his heart out.

But what disappoints me the most is the Panel’s decision to ban the accused from just 3 Test Match after finding him guilty. If he is really guilty, that punishment is just not enough; he should be banned for life, and the Indian team management should disown him. A racist like him doesn’t deserve to represent a diverse country like India.

Update:

On April 19, the Indian Spinner, Harbhajan Singh, slapped a national team mates who was playing against him in the Indian Premier League. After finding him guilty of the charge, the IPL imposed a ban of 11 matches which mean he will miss the whole season. While the BCCI, the Indian Cricket Board, also imposed, after an enquiry, a ban of 5 International One Day matches which is the maximum punishment under the regulation he was charged.

Mr. Singh is one of India’s most successful spin bowlers, but his disciplinary record has been poor. He was even ejected from the BCCI's National Cricket Academy early in his career. Hope he learnt his lesson.

This incident only justifies the charges that the ICC and BCCI defended the guilty Harbhajan Singh during the Australian Tour even though he racially abused a coloured Australian player just because of financial matter as the stake was high with around $50 million.

Tags: mizo, zomi, zogam

AIIMS: Teaching Discrimination

Chances are if you are a Schedule Caste/Tribe student studying or practicing in India’s premier medical institute, AIIMS in New Delhi, none of your fellow student or doctor will work with you and you will have to live in a ghetto, you will not be able to play a certain sport and each and every day, you will be reminded again and again that you belongs to an inferior class in the society.

The Thorat Panel set up by the Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry at the PM behest after a series of articles from the print media exposed the social discrimination practiced in the Institute was led by Mr. SK Thorat, UGC Chairperson with two other members. The report has thrown up many shocking result, which, not surprisingly, the Administration of AIIMS rejected ‘in totality’.
The Panel which interviewed 50% of the Students belonging to the reserved category accused the Director (of AIIMS) of instigating and creating a divide between the students and ghettoizing reserved category students.

The report says the AIIMS administration failed to ensure safeguards for weaker sections of society guaranteed under the Constitution like undergraduate programme and special coaching for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students. They also accused the faculty of ‘misusing’ their power during internal assessment.

As many as 69% of the reserved category students alleged that they did not receive adequate support from teachers, 72% said they faced discrimination, and 76% said their evaluation was not proper while 82% said they often got less than expected marks.

In practical examinations and viva voce, the treatment meted out to them was 'not fair'. And worse, 76% said higher caste faculty members enquired about the castes of their students while 84% said they were asked, directly or indirectly, about their caste backgrounds. An equal percentage of students alleged that their grading was adversely affected due to their background.

The reserved category students also alleged 'social isolation' at various levels, including even from faculty members, with 84% of the students saying they faced segregation in the hostel that forced them to shift to hostels No. 4 and 5 where there was a concentration of SC/ST students.

So far, the AIIMS administration has rejected the report as a bundle of lies and set up their own panel, their report is awaited. But considering that the panel was set up by the administration which is also the alleged perpetrator, one doesn’t expect much except for ‘another bundles of lies’.

It is no secret the problem between the Health Minister and the Director of AIIMS especially after the recent reservation controversy, but the question is –is these brutalities triggered by the recent reservation controversy or is it a deep-rooted tradition in the institute that was there for a long time but exposed only when this controversy cropped up?

Whatever the answer is, discrimination in any form, be it harsh or subtle, be it based on caste, creed or race, it should be condemned. Every one must note that the Quota system did not guarantee entrance to any institute; all the SC/ST students in AIIMS get there based on their merits. Their selection is not based on caste or religion, but on their performances in the extremely competitive Entrance Exam –so there really is no void of merit.

There is no denying that the quota system as practiced in India is not the best solution for what it is applied for. Still you cannot compare the effect it has on the communities. Just compare this –the general community having one more doctor and the tribal community having its first doctor.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/06/stories/2007050609700100.htm

Discrimination and India

Recently, mainland Indian cry foul of the alleged ‘racial abuses’ against an Indian actor participating in a British TV show. The alleged abuses garnered the actor a wave of sympathy across the country and she emerged the final winner. I cannot say she played the racial-card well but I hope she knew what she is going to face when she agreed to compete in the show.

I knew the kind of treatment I will be given before I decided to move to Delhi. I was not wrong. Each and everyday I faced some sort of discrimination –it can be mild, coated or blown-out abuses.

It is scary being a minority in India but it is intolerable being a racial minorities.

I really do wish those people who took out to the street for the actor will also look closer at home and stop being a perpetrator and stand-up for the minorities which they failed to notice all these years.

I remember how much the British Indian hated being called ‘Paki’ (Pakistan). In the same way I hated being called a ‘thapa’, ‘bahadur’ or a ‘nepali’. It is not that I have anything against the thapa, bahadur and nepali nor am I ashamed of my nature endowed facial feature, I hated this generalization of race. Above all, the above term refers to race and it is racist.

If someone wanted to abuse me, let him abuse me individually –not in a generalized term. At least that will let me realize some of my weaknesses. I am proud of my race, but I am very proud of my individuality.

I remember reading a column about an Indian dignitary travelling to China who failed to recognize the Indian envoy there because he is from a north-eastern state.

I remember working with a retired bureaucrat in a Japanese funded project in Himachal Pradesh who treated me well -mistaking me for one of the Japanese who worked with us. Once I told him the truth, he treated me like a servant –to the extend of waking me up at the middle of the night to buy him a cigarette. I slapped him twice and never give him the apologies he demanded.

I remember a teacher in my college who never took class but give us attendance anyway. She gave me the lowest attendance. I called her ‘Fuhrer’ and she smiled. I wished I’ve punched her face.

I remember seeing my sister squirming when labourer to men-in-car gawked at her on our way to church. I know she faced this everyday on her way to work. I remember being denied entry into a night-club because we are north-east Indian. I remember arguing with the man in the ticket counter of Red Fort who tried to charge me as a foreigner.

My friend suggested to me to pretend as a foreigner. They say in some places it always works. But pretending to be a foreigner didn’t help much when you squeeze in to a crowed bus. Neither will it help when looking for a job or your job is in the lower rank of the ladder.

Anyway, I have enough of pretending to do and I don’t like a bit. I hate trying to flow with the main stream which refuses to see me as a human being. I hate trying to conform to this strange society which doesn’t want to recognize my individuality.

I hate being racially generalized, it is racial discrimination. It undermine my individuality, it undermine my identity. I am proud of my race, I am proud of my identity, and I am even prouder of my individuality.

Tags: mizo, zomi, zogam