Racism against Indians living in the northeastern region has been increasing day by day and is an issue of concern. States like Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and others surrounding it are the main ones to be part of the northeast.

 Recently, a Youtuber even got arrested for allegedly “defaming” the people of Andhra Pradesh and accusing them of being Chinese. While this was a good step and start, we are all aware of how casually the people of northeast India are called slangs like “Ch*nki”, “momo” etc. and no action is taken against them because it is so very engraved in our society now, that practicing this is not an offense. We must not forget how many spectacular pieces of art the north Indian part has contributed to India and continues to do so even now.

The simple answer to this is- The mentality. It’s not a big revelation that casual racism is not faced only by the northeastern people but by all the people belonging to different and seemingly “unconventional” parts of India. It comes out that our Indian society likes to put people into boxes and parts according to their skin color and way of living.

When I look around myself, I usually have this realization that most people are not even aware of the fact that using slangs and treating them differently is, in fact, wrong, which pilots us to our first point –

1. Awareness- This is the most obvious but crucial point. People need to know that THIS is wrong in the first place. And I know that it is better said than done, but, at this point of time, even the so-called “progressive youth” of India is simply not ready to take up this topic into talks. “Black lives matter” was in the news rigorously for so long, as it should have been. But in my opinion, we should focus on making things right in our country first.
2. Better representation in the media and government- This is absolutely no diversity when it comes to people from differing communities being recruited in the mainstream media and the parliament. This will even be a catalyst in achieving a society and country where decisions are made equally in the favor of all communities.
3. Highlighting the achievements- The media plays a very big role in this one. We need to show our people that people from the northeast contribute a lot to the potency of India as a country.
4. Better job opportunities and laws for all Although it’s nice to see that small steps have started to be taken by our government now, we all know that we still have a very long way to go to attain utter equality in all the fields.
5. Speaking up -This point is valid for any kind of prejudice you witness in your life and can make the biggest change ever. Don’t be a standbyer when someone is being mistreated in this world because hashtags can’t save the world, only we can.

Ultimately, We are the change that we seek in this world.

Today, China is trying its best to gradually break India apart and snatch it’s parts little by little. And will Indians be able to survive this if they make it easier for China to tear us apart by disintegrating themselves on the basis of their race and language and whatnot? I wish I could say ‘yes’ to this question right now.