Racism in India!
Yes, Indians are racists! Though they would cry out loud when someone in a foreign country try to act racial against them! But believe me, the same people would be found to be most biased and intolerant for even other fellow Indians!
I am from the North East side of the Indian territory. And believe me none other than us must have faced more partiality from our very own counterparts in the rest on India! And when this, its no joke! Although in looks, I do not have small eyes, typical with people of the North East India. Hence I have fared well in most of the places I stayed at.
I first faced racist comment when one of my extended family member of the Punjabi clan I am married to, asked me where I am from. The expression on her face and her words "Oh! I thought so!" pierced through my heart. All this, because we belong to a land they do not understand where! We seem to be aliens to them. No matter I am much qualified than most of them literally are. No matter I look better than them. No matter I behave much better! But just because I belong to the North East is enough for them to degrade my very identity!
Yes, I'm from the North East. But let me tell you, being a guy from the Punjabi family, doesn't give the guy some extra qualities and me being from NE, doesn't make me any less! No, the people of NE are not hogging to marry a guy from the North or West or any other part of India! No, we do not have a dearth of eligible boys in our place. We are just normal human being who might have fallen in love with someone, leaving behind the caste, ethnicity, and all crap behind! So please don't raise the eyebrows the way you do!
Then I faced it again in Gurgaon. I was in a hospital for some medical emergency. The hospital staff were all talking and responding to any questions my spouse asked but would simple keep quite or ignore when I opened my mouth! Irritated at their attitude, I quickly started talking in English. Now, the expression on their faces was enough to give me a sense of victory! They didn't expect me to be literate; I showed them my expertise!
This happens day in and day out with every North East Indian residing peacefully in any other part of the country. Someone from Arunachal Pradesh was asked to lick their boots. Why so? Because she deserved it, being the dirty tribal from the North East! Really? What makes you think we are dirty? In what way are you more cleaner than us? Do you bath more? Or because you believe in God more. Whatever it is, we lag nowhere behind.
North East Indians are raped and humiliated again and again in various parts of the country, leave alone all sort of jokes being cracked and words used for them. Yesterday, a middle aged women was shown the doors in Delhi Golf Club. Reason, "maids" are not served food with the "masters"! Sick. Her fault, she was dressed in her traditional Khasi attire - one which is very much decent than many other dresses in India. We saw a similar kind of incident when a lady was barred from entering Delhi Gymkhana Club because her dress too, was like that of a "maid"!
Now all these incidents only remind me of the Maharaja of Alwar who when insulted by the Rolls Royce showroom in London, bought a few of them and used them to collect garbage in the roads of Rajasthan! North East people are no way lesser Indians or lesser humans. We frankly do not even feel the need to explain ourselves to you, fellow Indians. Beat us in style, in education, in manners, in humanity! Trying to be racist with us doesn't prove anything! In no way makes you a greater human being or more Indian! It just proves that you lack the basic knowledge about your own country and your country men! Remember, we know what are the five rivers flowing in Punjab as much as the facts of Kanyakumari, in Tamil Nadu. We know about the Marathas in Maharashtra and also about the Kashmiri Pandits. We know our geography and have the history of India in our heads! Maybe you need to take sometime to learn a few things about our country as well! After all being foolish is no fun! Knowledge is bliss!
People of North thinks everyone from the South are "Tamils"! Down south, everyone speaking Hindi is a threat! In Mumbai, people from Bihar cannot work! But visit North East India, you would realize how tolerant we are. We have citizens speaking Hindi, Gujrati, Tamil, Telgu, Bengali and every other Indian languages in the NE. But we do not force you to speak ours. We give each of you respect, not because you deserve it more than us. But because we are brought up that way at our homes! We speak in Hindi - not because our language is any lesser. But because we are educated enough to understand that language is just a medium of communication! Mind you, we knowing other languages shows our extra communication skills!
When we keep silent when you make fun of us, doesn't prove that we are defeated. You don't even know what we are thinking in our heads!! People from Punjab cry when people crack the "12 o'clock joke". Malayalis cry at the jokes cracked on them. So what makes you believe that we, enjoy your taunts? No, we do not support any jokes directed at any ethnicity! We respect all.
Having written this, I would like to emphasize that not all Indians think the same. There are many of my friends who know exactly where the North East India sits! And of course not all are racists. My spouse is an excellent example and his family too are good to me. Thank God, there is still sense in some of the human beings!
I am from the North East side of the Indian territory. And believe me none other than us must have faced more partiality from our very own counterparts in the rest on India! And when this, its no joke! Although in looks, I do not have small eyes, typical with people of the North East India. Hence I have fared well in most of the places I stayed at.
I first faced racist comment when one of my extended family member of the Punjabi clan I am married to, asked me where I am from. The expression on her face and her words "Oh! I thought so!" pierced through my heart. All this, because we belong to a land they do not understand where! We seem to be aliens to them. No matter I am much qualified than most of them literally are. No matter I look better than them. No matter I behave much better! But just because I belong to the North East is enough for them to degrade my very identity!
Yes, I'm from the North East. But let me tell you, being a guy from the Punjabi family, doesn't give the guy some extra qualities and me being from NE, doesn't make me any less! No, the people of NE are not hogging to marry a guy from the North or West or any other part of India! No, we do not have a dearth of eligible boys in our place. We are just normal human being who might have fallen in love with someone, leaving behind the caste, ethnicity, and all crap behind! So please don't raise the eyebrows the way you do!
Then I faced it again in Gurgaon. I was in a hospital for some medical emergency. The hospital staff were all talking and responding to any questions my spouse asked but would simple keep quite or ignore when I opened my mouth! Irritated at their attitude, I quickly started talking in English. Now, the expression on their faces was enough to give me a sense of victory! They didn't expect me to be literate; I showed them my expertise!
This happens day in and day out with every North East Indian residing peacefully in any other part of the country. Someone from Arunachal Pradesh was asked to lick their boots. Why so? Because she deserved it, being the dirty tribal from the North East! Really? What makes you think we are dirty? In what way are you more cleaner than us? Do you bath more? Or because you believe in God more. Whatever it is, we lag nowhere behind.
North East Indians are raped and humiliated again and again in various parts of the country, leave alone all sort of jokes being cracked and words used for them. Yesterday, a middle aged women was shown the doors in Delhi Golf Club. Reason, "maids" are not served food with the "masters"! Sick. Her fault, she was dressed in her traditional Khasi attire - one which is very much decent than many other dresses in India. We saw a similar kind of incident when a lady was barred from entering Delhi Gymkhana Club because her dress too, was like that of a "maid"!
Now all these incidents only remind me of the Maharaja of Alwar who when insulted by the Rolls Royce showroom in London, bought a few of them and used them to collect garbage in the roads of Rajasthan! North East people are no way lesser Indians or lesser humans. We frankly do not even feel the need to explain ourselves to you, fellow Indians. Beat us in style, in education, in manners, in humanity! Trying to be racist with us doesn't prove anything! In no way makes you a greater human being or more Indian! It just proves that you lack the basic knowledge about your own country and your country men! Remember, we know what are the five rivers flowing in Punjab as much as the facts of Kanyakumari, in Tamil Nadu. We know about the Marathas in Maharashtra and also about the Kashmiri Pandits. We know our geography and have the history of India in our heads! Maybe you need to take sometime to learn a few things about our country as well! After all being foolish is no fun! Knowledge is bliss!
People of North thinks everyone from the South are "Tamils"! Down south, everyone speaking Hindi is a threat! In Mumbai, people from Bihar cannot work! But visit North East India, you would realize how tolerant we are. We have citizens speaking Hindi, Gujrati, Tamil, Telgu, Bengali and every other Indian languages in the NE. But we do not force you to speak ours. We give each of you respect, not because you deserve it more than us. But because we are brought up that way at our homes! We speak in Hindi - not because our language is any lesser. But because we are educated enough to understand that language is just a medium of communication! Mind you, we knowing other languages shows our extra communication skills!
When we keep silent when you make fun of us, doesn't prove that we are defeated. You don't even know what we are thinking in our heads!! People from Punjab cry when people crack the "12 o'clock joke". Malayalis cry at the jokes cracked on them. So what makes you believe that we, enjoy your taunts? No, we do not support any jokes directed at any ethnicity! We respect all.
Having written this, I would like to emphasize that not all Indians think the same. There are many of my friends who know exactly where the North East India sits! And of course not all are racists. My spouse is an excellent example and his family too are good to me. Thank God, there is still sense in some of the human beings!
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