“You guys eat dogs, cats, pigs and all your other animals, right?” Riba says that this question was asked to her repeatedly because she is from the North-East. Working at a high-profile firm didn’t help save her from stereotypes. Friends, colleagues and acquaintances regularly questioned his eating habits, appearance and even language.The most sad thing, she says, was that many people did not find anything wrong in asking such questions. “It definitely made me question every day what I eat, what I look like and where I’m from,” she recalls.Civil rights activists say this casual bias often turns into a far more dangerous situation.These everyday informal abuses, which are no surprise in the lives of people in the Northeast, show that the so-called cosmopolitan “melting pots” of India too often fail to be truly inclusive. For many people in the region living outside it, these cities remain places where identity is questioned and belonging is never fully acknowledged.
‘Oye Sugar ,
On December 9, what started as a routine trip to a local market in Dehradun ended in deadly violence. Twenty-four year old Anjel Chakma from Tripura lost his life.Anjel and his younger brother Michael were planning the Chandrashila trek scheduled for December 22 and had also ordered new trekking shoes for the trip.The shoes arrived a day after the attack. They were never unpacked.According to Michael and other family members, the brothers were subjected to racial comments – “chinki,” “Chinese” and “Momo” while grocery shopping in the Selaqui area. One of the men reportedly sneered, “Oy Chinese, have you come to buy pork?”Anjal objected to the mistreatment and revealed his identity. “We are not Chinese…we are Indian. Which certificate should we show to prove this?” he reportedly said.What happened next, according to family and friends, was brutal violence.
angel dodge
“Soon after Angel responded, they abused him and attacked him and his brother,” said one of his friends, who was then hospitalized for two weeks. “Angel suffered serious injuries to his neck and spine. Michael was also injured and is in a critical condition.”Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh said the comments appeared to target the brothers’ presence. Police said Anjell was attacked with a knife and a metal crowbar, leaving him seriously injured.The case gained national attention when Anjel’s father said that his son was attacked despite clearly saying that he was Indian.
‘I am an Indian’
Similar incidents continue to occur with worrying regularity.Arjun Rimo from Arunachal Pradesh recalls a recent incident in Delhi that shocked him. “I was misbehaved while buying meat at a shop in Karol Bagh, New Delhi on January 8, 2026,” she told TOI.“As soon as I decided to go, I faced racial abuse and was called ‘Chinese’. I immediately objected and said that I was an Indian.”He told that a person associated with the shop first attacked him.“I only reacted in self-defence. I punched him, during which he sustained injuries on his face. Soon after, two more persons joined him and all three of them together attacked me.”
Rimo said that as a crowd of 30 to 35 people gathered, he became overwhelmed.He said, “I can no longer protect myself. Fearing serious harm, I sought help from the police.” He said that he personally saw the accused being taken into police custody.“This episode,” he said, “highlights a broader, long-standing challenge faced by citizens of India’s north-eastern region,” who often face prejudice and unequal treatment when living or traveling outside their home states, particularly in metropolitan cities.For many, stepping out of the Northeast means confronting suspicion, stereotyping, and casual prejudice – not as isolated incidents, but as an everyday reality.
‘Do you get Maggi there too?’
For Sushma Pegu, who works in a high-profile firm in Bengaluru, discrimination in corporate spaces stayed with her.She recalls being bullied, made racial comments and constantly questioned about her eating habits.“A colleague literally asked me, ‘Do you even get Maggi there? How do you survive with all the non-vegetarian food? I also heard that you guys eat cats and dogs.'”“I took a stand,” she said, adding that the co-worker was ultimately fired.But she said, the questioning often starts the moment she gets into the cab, with drivers routinely asking, “What country are you from?” Inspired only by her looks.
Do you even get Maggi there? How do you survive with all types of non-vegetarian food? I also heard that you guys eat cats and dogs.
A colleague asked Sushma, a resident of Assam
fear during covid
Roshni recalls how racial prejudice intensified during the COVID-19 outbreak.She said, “When I was in Lakshmibai College, a group of students commented about one of my friends, saying, ‘I feel scared looking at him’.”He said the comment, although made casually, carried a deep sense of exclusion and fear.“I was shocked, angry and felt extremely uncomfortable,” she said.“This created a lasting feeling of humiliation and helplessness.”
‘My only mistake is that I look like this’
In October 2025, a 27-year-old flight attendant from Meghalaya alleged that she was racially abused twice within an hour in Delhi; First in Kamla Nagar of North Delhi and later in the Metro.His Instagram video went viral after it was reposted by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.In the video, the woman said a group of men on a scooter laughed and made fun of her, using racial slurs. Panicked, she went to a nearby Tibetan restaurant but found herself unable to eat.“I didn’t feel like eating anything. My brain couldn’t process what had just happened,” he said.“It breaks my heart,” he said. “My only mistake is that I was born in India and I look like this and I don’t look like what people expect Indians to be.”Having traveled to many countries, he said he was never made to feel unwelcome abroad.“But today, in my own country, my fellow Indians make me feel as if I don’t belong there.”Addressing the alleged perpetrators, she said, “You didn’t just insult me. You insulted every person who has ever felt ‘other’ in their own country. India is diverse, our languages and our cultures are all valid. You can’t decide who belongs here and who doesn’t.”
nido taniyam
Such cases have been seen in India for years
Such incidents are not isolated.In November 2023, students from the North-East reported racial and misogynistic abuse near Delhi University’s North Campus. In 2016, two youths from Mizoram were beaten up in Bengaluru for not speaking the local language.One of the most hair-raising cases is the murder of Nido Taniam in January 2014. A 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten to death in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar after shopkeepers made fun of his hairstyle.A police investigation report described how Nido and his friends were visiting another friend when a shopkeeper made a derogatory comment about his appearance.An altercation ensued, during which Nido broke a glass pane. The shopkeeper and his associates allegedly attacked him by making racist comments based on his caste, race and appearance.Although the immediate dispute was resolved after Nido paid compensation, he was later attacked again by the group and died in his sleep at a friend’s residence.The incident sparked widespread outrage among North-Easterners living in Delhi who alleged that the police failed to protect them despite repeated pleas.
a legal vacuum
India is a signatory to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, yet there is no specific law addressing racial discrimination.Following the death of Nido Taniyam, the MP Bezbarua Committee recommended criminalizing racial insults such as “Chinki” and “Chinese”, proposing a prison sentence of up to five years.Although some administrative steps were taken, the proposed amendments to the IPC are pending.In 2016, the Supreme Court directed the Center to monitor the implementation of the committee’s recommendations. However, activists say enforcement remains inconsistent, with racial abuse often dismissed as a social issue rather than treated as a criminal offense.These incidents show how deeply racial prejudice is woven into everyday life. While stronger laws are necessary, activists argue that they are not enough in themselves.He says the fight must start in schools through education on diversity, history and discrimination. This should be carried forward by the police, institutions, political parties and the society at large.Multiculturalism cannot remain a slogan. This must be practiced.
