For a nation that endured the poison of racial discrimination during colonialism, modern India’s complicity in the racial stereotyping, exclusion, and everyday discrimination faced by people from the Northeast is a matter of shame. Strikingly, India, despite ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1965, lacks a dedicated law against racial discrimination. This gap leaves law enforcement without clear legal templates of deterrence, resulting in under-reporting of such crimes and weak accountability. Worse, the police have said that there is no evidence of racial violence and stated that the derogatory remarks — “Chinki” and “momo” — directed at the deceased were made “in jest”. The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is right to point out that racial violence thrives not only through individual prejudice but through sustained political silence and the legitimisation of hate in public discourse.

Source: The Telegraph December 31, 2025 02:33 UTC