Racism: Why I am a reluctant Indian!

It is scary being a minority in India but it is intolerable being a racial minorities.  (A quote from one of my blog post in 2007)

Growing up in the hills of Manipur, I never have had any problem calling myself an Indian. Every once in a week, in the private school I attended, we would be asked to sing the national anthem of India and we would mumble the words through despite not having the slightest clue about its meaning. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember ever questioning my nationality while I was living in the North-east, not even a single time.

But once I left the north-east to pursue higher education in Delhi, I was constantly forced to answer the question regarding my nationality. I don’t have any problem with curious people asking my nationality –if they ask, I can always clarify.  But it is just too much to tolerate on everyday basis the ignorant masses that are too stupid to have any curiosity or the audacity to ask, yet still call you all the names that they can think of.

You can dismiss them as ignorant, but when they chose your facial features or skin colour to call you names, it’s nothing but pure racism.  What most people don’t know is that racism can be mild, coated or blown-out abuses, or that it can come in the form of silence or unspoken gesture.  One of my blog posts in 2008:

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 who legitimatize by accepting the abuses. So you can forget about expecting anyone from knowing what little and minor things, words, expression and gestures constitute racism and discrimination. (Read the full article here)

Around 2007-08, I used to blog about my ordeal (see my blog posts here) in Delhi, but what hurt me the most at that time was the ignorance and self-righteousness of the Indian masses, including the media.  The piousness and self-righteousness of the media over their own racism at that time was almost nauseating.

In 2008, I wrote:

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. (read the full article here)

Despite the fact that I have lived over a decade in mainland India now, I continue to face the question of my nationality. But now I work in the rural areas and interacted mostly with children, I used it as an opportunity to build rapport or to start a conversation, so it benefit me with my work, and they too learned something.

But I’m tired, tired of being questioned about my nationality all the time. I'm tired, tired of proving my Indianess every time.  Because the more people ask me about my nationality, the more they make me feel alienated. And forgive me if you think I am not a patriotic Indian no matter what I really feel inside, because I cannot, and they would not let me be an Indian! 

(Read all my blog posts related to racism/discrimination)

Refugees in their own country....

The images of my fellow north-east people in Bangalore railway station in my screen made me shudder, and the voice of the newscaster keep repeating that all those people clamouring for a tiny little space inside the already packed Assam bound train are running away from an ‘unknown enemy’ when she didn’t use the word ‘rumours’.

The image brought me to tears, but the words used by the newscaster made me angry.  The more appropriate words would have been unwanted, failed, discriminated, abused, exploited, prejudiced, despised, refugees in their own country!

Can 30000 people who had already left the southern cities of India for their home in the north-east be such fools to run away as soon as they heard some random stupid rumours?  Are they saying that these people are not able to assess their own situation and their own security taking in to account the attitude of the police and the people in authority?

Have their lives in mainland India has ever been secure, equal and devoid of discrimination that they would need a rumour to leave it?  The attitude and treatment of the police and the people in authorities towards the north-east has never been free of prejudice.  We have been always discriminated and every move we made, every piece of cloth we wear, every parts of our body are judged, commented, whistled, hooted, and mocked every single day.

Or maybe there is more than just a rumour, if not a direct threat?  How about a group of people, who had thrown up their hands and given up, because of the constant discrimination they faced, and are waiting for a trigger to go home, even before the rumour spread?

The congress government at the central has kept ‘assuring’ that they would trace the source of the rumours and take stern action.  Why not start with the illegal Bangladeshis immigrants who have occupied the indigenous tribal land in Assam?  What did/does the central government said about them? Not a single word!

The Lesser Indian?

What do you say, when certain section of the society, run in fear and panic despite repeated assurance from all sections of the authority not to panic?  It simply means that there absolutely is no trust in the people who give you that assurance!

Now ask why they don’t trust the people who assure them not to panic, the answer is obvious! They have learned their lesson not to trust the politicians and police from their past experience. 

The Police in Bangalore and Pune have claimed that not a single complain was registered so far regarding violence or assault of north-east people in their respective cities dismissing that the fear and panic of the north-eastern people are a result of some rumour! 

Was that so surprising when every north-east male showed up in the police station, he was seen as a substance abusing trouble maker and whenever a north-eastern female showed up in the police station, she was seen only as an immoral, characterless slut? So why would any sane person showed up in the police station to complain only to be accused of being moral-less?

When a north-eastern student was beaten to death; he was dismissed as a drug addict by the police, when a north-eastern student was raped; her character was questioned by the police!  If such grave cases that involve the north-eastern people were considered not worth registering as a valid police case, now tell me how can we trust the police?

Perhaps the panic in Pune and Bangalore is caused by rumour, which certainly is not, but why would a person in his right mind who have experienced systematic discrimination in their everyday life in mainland India take a chance of trusting the perpetrator of such discrimination???

Anyhow how can we complain about discrimination that comes in various forms?  There are the spoken and unspoken discrimination that each and every north-eastern people face in their everyday life in the mainland. Now tell me how would we register a case about a man who abruptly started singing some vulgar song with a sneer in their face as we passed them? How would we register a case against someone who suddenly looked away and started crying ‘chowmein’ as soon as we passed them?

By the way, what has the authorities (Central & State) do to ease the situation beside giving a hollow assurance? The central government gave assurance of safety to the north-east student, but why is it silent about the illegal migrants who caused the whole thing in the first place? Isn't silence about the illegal migrants being a sign of support and preference when all they gave to the north-east people is verbal assurance?

To my north-eastern friends, I want to say don’t panic or fear, but don’t take your chances either! It’s about time we consider our position in India –are we the lesser Indian as we often feel?  The answer to that question will not make you any safer, but it will at least tell you what to do next!

Some News

1. Indian Express: Thousands More Flee Bangalore/Pune Despite Govt Plea for Calm

2. Hindustan Times: NE Exodus Continues, Cops Probing Source of Rumours

3. Times of India: Northeast Migrants Flee Pune-Bangalore-Chennai

I'm Indian* but...

*condition apply

So the Honourable Chief Minister of Mizoram, Mr. Lal Thanhawla wanted all Mizos to accept their Indian nationality, or lose their ration card...humph thank God I got no ration card!!! (http://www.sinlung.com/2011/08/mizos-should-accept-they-are-indians.html)

But, you know, dear Chief Minister, that sucks because even after living almost a decade in the National capital of India, I'm still not accepted as an Indian.  And as a matter of fact, I really don't care it either.  I'm tired of being an unaccepted and unacknowledged Indian national. By the way I've long given up complaining, whining and explaining the geography of India that almost 90% of Indian are guaranteed not to know, and in trying to cope with the plain and unabashed racism and discrimination I have faced because of that ignorance. My blog is a tastemant to that fact.

Anyway, what option do we really have? We want it or not, we are Indian, and we are the new untouchable Indian who have faced all sorts of discrimination in our so called country, which made us, people like me, a disgruntled lot.  May be you didn't know how it feels to be a part of a group that doesn't want you. Perhaps you may blame us for us not willing to be called Indian. Perhaps it's time that we arrange some sort of agreement as to what we should be called. May be, a different kind of Indian, perhaps yellow Indian? But no matter what,  no one, none who should, will acknowledge our claim. 

Anyway, tell me, dear Chief Minister, how can a peacock be a crow when its feather are glittering like gems or is it the other way round - that the crow is as black as a coal.  What difference does it make, a crow will never be a peacock, nor a peacock become a crow.  It simply doesn't add up.

Perhaps you can teach the Indian govt. what and how, you and your family did to make your young wife feel comfortable and at-home just after you got married, and she entered your family home for the first time.  It's too many decades late now to be treated as a new bride, but may be, just may be, it still can make some difference, if India, for once, treated us as it's own. 

After so many years, if some sections of the Mizos, and other tribal communities in the north-east doesn't feel at home in India, and are not comfortable with the 'Indian' tag, it's hardly their fault.  After all, their claim of being a free and sovereign people before being seceded into India is not a hoax or myth, and you know as well as me, that....is for a fact!!! 

So, dear Chief Minister, what say you????

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

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.

Hemraj: Redeemed by Death?

The recent twin brutal murder in Noida once again, not only brings out the negligence of Indian Police Forces, but also its stark prejudice. The Noida Police, apart from failing in every aspect, were quick to point their finger at their missing Nepali Servant Hemraj who all the while had been decomposing in the roof-top.

It is very disturbing to think of the possible situation for the Nepali Help if circumstances had spared him with his life. With the police attitude, it is apparent that no matter what, he would spend his life in Jail if he had been alive.

It is sad to see the media failing to highlight this sort of prejudiced mind-set of the police. By highlighting this issue, the media could have done much for the minority communities living in the main land and had been victim of discrimination based on prejudice.

Reverse Racism or Xenophobia?

In one of my post last year, I wrote about my dismay at the faces I saw on my way back to Manipur. I had pointedly asked “What good do this Marwaris and Beharis bring to our land?” It was just a rhetoric question but now with the recent killing spree of ‘Non-Manipuris’ in Manipur, I feel guilty enough to make a clarification.

Firstly, I want to clarify that the Marwaris and Beharis in Manipur are mostly traders and when they came to the North-east their intention was/is profits (money) and not to kill our culture or tradition nor to bring their own. They are innocent on that regards –I mean, the tribals in the north-east had done enough to kill their culture and tradition by embracing non-indigenous religion and culture a century ago.

Secondly, the whole of the north-east is a rather backward area, and since those people come there for profits and don’t utilize their profits there, they are guilty of economically exploiting the natives.

Thirdly, every Indian had a constitutionally guaranteed freedom of movement and to reside anywhere in the country, but the north-east is different. Except for Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam (is it the large presence of non-tribals that make them lost their status as a restricted tribals area?), foreigners/NRIs and people from the mainland needed a permit, RAP/PAP (Restricted/Protected Area Permit) and ILP (Inner-Line Permit) respectively, to visit the North-eastern states. The very existence of such restriction, though it hardly serves its purpose, evidently point that those people are in the wrong place.

Fourthly, with the tribals’ experience in Tripura, it is understandable if the uncontrolled mass influx of non-natives makes them uncomfortable. In Tripura, the tribals had become a minority especially after the Bangladesh War when Bengalis Refugees came in hordes. The Bengalis demographic invasion made the Tribal state of Tripura a Bengalis state –dominating the culture and politics of the state.

Fifthly, our states already have the not so desirable images as failed states and we don’t need such recklessness to make our pathetic image any bloodier; I only hope their deaths bring some mainland media attention to the conveniently ignored states and, hopefully, some reformative actions from the government as well.

And finally I want to ask, are we guilty of reverse racism, or is it just another case of xenophobia? I don’t want to believe that we are guilty of reverse racism even though each of us living in the mainland had enough tales of discriminations and denigrations to tell for a thousand nights. But it surely is a case of xenophobia, which is present in every culture of the world thought not always in such a violent form.

So my final question is, does the presence of non-natives pose a threat for us the natives, –especially in the protected states of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. I don’t think so –for they make up just a miniscule percent of our population. And if you asked me, I’d always prefer a Marwaris/Beharis shopkeepers rather than some native girl sitting pretty inside the shop, telling you to take it or leave.

…misfortune alone can’t bring down the bridge

Sometimes, misfortune also brings about a realization that can make you feel much better or worse. Most of the times, the best of imagination, feeling and understanding are not enough to comprehend a situation, and, as always, first-hand experience is the most realistic and reliable experience i.e. if it doesn’t break you down.

It was exactly a week ago, a Monday night, on my way back home from office that I was attacked by 4 men on my way. I had always taken that route since we moved to this south-west Delhi area a few months ago. It is not a main road, but well lit and less crowded. I barely noticed them hanging around there until they started attacking me from behind. One of them caught hold of me and another keep punching and pulling my hair. The other, their leader, I suppose, keep shouting and abusing me from the side while one of them try to snatch my wallet and mobile phone from my hand.

Fortunately enough, I spotted a PCR van passing through the main road and I shouted for help. I thought the two policemen would rush, but they actually walked –walk, in its slowest version, while my attackers make their escape. But to surprise me more, I noticed six or seven men standing near the wall watching me being attacked and didn’t raise a single cry for help –forget about attempting to help me.

We have a saying that vaguely translates to –misfortune brought down the bridge. It was the last thing I expected, to be abused, assaulted and attacked. I am no tough nut nor is my slender frame made for physical fighting. Maybe all they want is my wallet and mobile phone or just to have some fun while robbing someone. I don’t know why I just don’t let go my phone and wallet, when my wallet is close to empty and my old phone will hardly fetch them much, but I just hold on to them as if my life hang on them –maybe my consciousness is not willing to be abused and robbed.

But the final blow comes with the Police. After ‘inspecting the situation’ (it’s their word), there’s no visible physical injuries and since they failed to rob me, there’s no need to register a case and I should just go home. They lectured me on sets of rules which I should observe as a minority living in Delhi and the first rules is to avoid this sort of places. I just want to tell them this is the sort of place we live, but it’s my nature to keep my mouth shut and spent some time in solitude when any sort of emotions passed me. They offered to drop me home; I just picked up my bag and pieces of eye-glass and went home.

I hardly feel anything at that moment but seething anger at the spectator who watched me like a beaten-up stray dog too frightened to even run, and at the cold advices of the policemen and their inaction. But late at night when I lay down to sleep and the day’s episode slowly passed my mind, I feel my heart beat fastening and sweat started to cover me. The thought of my attacker made me tired than the day’s work and the cold advice of the policemen made me shudder, and the whole incidents makes me nervous about the next day.

My attackers are no different from the average people whom I met in the street, or the people whom I work with. The mute spectators are not different either; they are the same faces I see when I look out of the window, when I turn left or right. How can I ever know this or that person will attack me and which one will not? I doubt I’ll ever find the answer, so I’ll have to live with the fear until time and memories sympathize with me and make me forget all about the incident.

I had always been concerned about my sisters and nieces, but it seems I hardly understand their feeling. Fearing about something that we never experience and fearing something that we had experienced is totally different. Looking back now, I’m especially angry with my self and at the policemen who advised me to quietly go back home. I had run away from seeking justice, thus failing not only myself, but my sisters and nieces and everyone else who might face the same situation in the future.

But when I asked myself –if something similar happened to someone in my presence, will I be the same mute spectator? I just don’t know how to answer that. I had been a mute spectator to many incidents unless it got anything to do with my immediate family, of course, they were much less minor, but my stand had always been –it’s better to avoid any sort of trouble as long as it can be avoided, and I still think that’s the best policy especially when living in the mainland.

Do I still think that’s the best policy? Well, I don’t know. A week has passed now, and I still dreaded taking that same route. I took only the main road, fighting for spaces with cycles, rickshaws, scooters and cars. But do I feel any safer on the main road –no, the incident still haunts me. And, something tells me that if I’m attacked here, no one would help me either but there’ll definitely be lots of spectators. After all, how can I expect anyone to get involved in a trouble that got nothing to do with him?

I think you must feel the same way I feel. This is a deep rooted problem facing not just you and me but everyone else. My case is not one of a kind, it happened every now and then, though it’s probable that my facial feature may make it easier for me to be selected out of the rest. But I still must maintain that it’s just my misfortune that the bridge would fall just as I passed.

I think such incidents would continue to happen until people get more educated and civilized enough to respect one another for what they are. And I sincerely hope our policemen learnt a little bit more about policing and instead of dissuading, they should encourage and try to earn the trust of the people. After all, misfortune alone doesn’t bring down the bridge.

No comment please, I’m recovering…

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

The Waiting Room

Ironic as it may sounds, American Hospital of Paris is one of the best hospital in Paris. Apart from that it is the only one where ‘most’ of the staffs speak English –or to put it more aptly –‘don’t hesitate to use English’! It seems the butch of Americans who started the hospital a century ago were much more desperate than me when it comes to the language barrier!

It is not the average hospital where every sick man/woman who are conscious enough to think of ‘bills and payments’ wants the ambulance to take them to. But I suppose at least a few of them are there to make maximum use of their insurance –like I do!

It was in the waiting room of the MRI Section where I met the two well-dressed ‘Frenchmen’. They were engaged in an animated talk when one of the turned toward me and asked me in English, ‘Filipinos?’ ‘Cambodian?’

I shook my head and said, ‘Indian’. They looked surprised but not as surprised as the British couple sitting across me who were visibly surprised. Then as if some sort of realization dawned on him, the younger of the Frenchmen raised his index finger and said, ‘Nepali?’

God! I wanted to cry out. With due respect to our Himalayan brethrens, I don’t usually respond to that ‘name’ very well.

I shook my head and told him that I was a tribal from the north-east of India. He barely let me finish my sentence when he started spilling-out ‘the amazing time’ he had in India when his Nepali guide ‘duped’ him and left him ‘bare’ in his hotel room.

He was speaking so furiously and rather loudly –of everything he saw or heard, from the people, the place, the food, the film –he seemed to have one thing or the other for everyone as I noticed everyone from the old American couple to the heavily accented Scandinavian to the nurses in the counter were totally mesmerized while I tried to recall if I had ever heard of anyone dying from frothing but had to conclude that whatever was his problem, his mouth definitely was not the one!

And, of course, he finished with saying that his experience was one of a kind and he wished to visit the northeast when he came round the next time. I nodded my head rapidly to look agreeable and managed a wry ghastly grimace when I actually intended it to be a beatific saintly smile!

Just then a nurse called-out for a certain ‘Monsieur el-Bashir.’ I looked around the room looking for any Arab but I saw none. The plump British couple were as surprised as me to see the young Frenchman stood-up and follow the nurse to one of the rooms.

Shortly after, another nurse called-out my name, or rather, something that vaguely sounded like my name. I noticed all eyes turned on me, as it was pretty obvious I could be the only one with a name that sounded like that. I stood-up and followed the nurse to one of the room. Just as I entered the room, I heard the Scandinavian said, ‘seems like these Chinese are everywhere!’

Tags: identity, relationship

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

The Tribal, the Job Market & the Quota System

Being a Christian, a tribal and an arts graduate doesn’t give you much edge in the present day job market. But that puts you among the minority of minorities and that’s not a disadvantage –at least not in India. If you wonder what I mean, I am talking about the adorable evil called quota or reservation system in India.

The quota system enabled me to enroll myself into a college in Delhi University which I would not be able to get into if I were in the general category. Being a Christian (or the western education system it brought along) contributed to my medium of education that helped me sail through the three years where I was deemed unfit if I were to go along with their eligibility criteria set-up for the general category.

I know many other who managed a seat in the country’s best IT and Business school through the quota system. And if you want to apply for a government job, there are seats reserved for you. And there is more to come. With the Home Minister of the Congress led UPA govt. intent on implementing the quota system in private sector, we the tribal –with our ‘not qualified for the white collar job market but over qualified for blue collar job’ qualification, are the one to benefit the most.

When it comes to education, most of us from the North-east, especially the tribals, cannot afford the financial or infrastructural backing to get good education, especially the technical or management kind, or simply don’t have access to them. And a resume without any technical background is difficult to sell in today’s job market. But our modest English medium of education gives us an edge over our counterpart in the mainland whose medium of education is in some regional language rather than English.

Even though the quota system is yet to be implemented in the private sector, a certain number of them started showing-off how much tribals, dalits or backward class employee they have with them despite their resistance to its implementation. That definitely is good news for us, but it should be noted that even if the quota system is implemented in the private sector, it will be on voluntary basis, and we cannot expect much from it.

Still, what bother me is –if the quota system is implemented, what could be the possible implication for the tribals of north-east India? In my opinion, it would surely benefit those of us living outside the north-east of India, but in the north-east itself, it would hardly make any difference since there’s no private sector functioning from there.

Rather, it will spurt another wave of migration to the mainland. That would certainly be good news to the government if they are serious about greater integration, but it definitely won’t ring a bell with the various liberation armies back home (is that good news for us as well?). It would also means lost of roots and identities for many of us.

But as I said before, the quota system is yet to be implemented and that too on a voluntary basis so we cannot expect much benefits from it. As such, what we can do is –those of us who are already in the mainland should continue working hard -seriously and sincerely, and shows them (the mainlanders?) the stuffs that we are made of, and most importantly, occasionally sent a few thousand back home.

Is my Facial Feature a Curse?

(Sometimes, the unlikeliest situation forced on you the hard reality that is also called ‘discrimination based on facial feature’ and you are given no option but to gulp it down)

I feel guilty to call myself an art-lover as I know pretty well that I know nothing about art. But whenever I do have time, I love visiting old buildings, museums and heritage sites to amuse myself with the intricate stone carving, architecture, and painting and absorb myself in what the builder, craver or painter want to convey through his/her art.

Even thought I am a Christian, I never hesitated to visit temples or mosques as long as I have someone to explain to me the painting, craving, belief and other customs and traditions associated with it. In fact, I have been to quite a number of temples like Chinpurni, Jwala Devi and Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh, Anandpur in Punjab, Akshardham and Birla mandir in Delhi, Kali Mandir in Tripura and many small and less famous temples whenever and wherever I have the pleasure of staying.

My boss knows me pretty well so she was not really surprised when I became the most excited one when she proposed one afternoon to visit the famous Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar. Lingaraj temple is over a thousand year old with a unique architecture style and intricate stone craving, so it was a ready temptation for me. Apart from that we have been in Bhubaneswar for over two months and we hardly get the time to go around sight-seeing or take time off from work, so we all saw this as a good proposition to get away from the damp work place that we have imprisoned ourselves for the whole two month.

We left the office early and went straight to the temple. The moment we landed up near the entrance, priests (panda?) started following us around hoping us to make some offering. We were told to take off all leather stuffs with us like belt, watch, wallet and mobile phone and leave them inside the vehicle.

Once we get to the entrance, my colleagues and the driver went straight but as I was to enter, two policemen and three priests come up to stop me. They surrounded me and started asking me my name, my native place, and of course, my religion. I don’t understand a single word that was rapidly fired at me in oriya. I looked around for some help from my colleague or my boss and it was then that I saw something written near the gate in English –Only Hindus Allowed.

I heard my boss’ voice coming out from among the crowd telling all those people that I was a Hindu from Manipur. My boss was someone who will always get her way no matter what, but she was helpless here as more and more policemen, priests and crowds started gathering around us and her voice was lost in the mayhem. I withdrew myself and told my boss to go inside and enjoy her time.

I stand under the tree across the gate and watched at the crowd who watched me. I feel like a stray dog that people find it not fit to be admitted inside the house. I understand that they have rules to follow, but what I don’t understand is if religion is written in the face or if that rule is based on someone facial feature since I know pretty well that the driver (an oriya) is also a Christian but was allowed to enter inside without even a single glance.

I felt hurt, I feel pained, and discriminated. At the same time, I feel elated; I feel like a martyred missionary while my ego groaned in pain. I want to stomp in, I want to stomp out, and tell them that their idols disgusted me and the place is way too low for me. All those painting and carving that I adored so much before seems disgusting and ugly now. The situation forced me to fully comprehend what a little discrimination can do to someone.

I can very much do without seeing the temple; it has no religious attraction for me like my colleague. But I cannot believe that I was not allowed inside a place where even beggars can hold their head in pride just because of my facial feature. It would had been another story had the Driver been not allowed or at least being asked the simple question, but I was selected out. My boss had given me a Hindu name, telling them that I was from Manipur, I talked to them in Hindi, but I was still not allowed.

When I returned back to the hotel, the first thing I do was fish out the crucifix that my Mom gave it to me a longtime ago. I kept that in one of the side pocket of my trolley and never bothered about it. That night, when I put the crucifix around my neck and let it hang above my shirt when we went for dinner, never in my life do I felt so proud of my religion like that before.

Update:

A week later, we went to Puri inside the famous Jaganath Temple Complex. This time round, my Boss hired a Panda (Priest) as a tour guide. No one bothered me as we walked past the long queue without a single question being asked. In fact, I even take along my Camera Phone and the Crucifix, but I did not take them out of my pocket as a mark of respect.

The place hold nothing special for me, but the simple fact that I managed to enter this temple after what happen the previous week give me a big sense of relief and satisfaction, a satisfaction that someone only in my situation know.

Tags: mizo, zomi, zogam

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