Hundreds gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, braving the chilly weather, for a candlelight vigil to protest the murder of Tripura student Anjel Chakma and to demand justice and safety for students from the Northeast community.
Holding placards reading “Being Northeast is not a crime,” “We are not Chinese, we are Indians,” and “Justice for Anjel Chakma. Justice delayed is justice denied,” the protesters raised slogans against racism and impunity.
The protest was organised by various Northeast student organisations. A memorandum was also signed by them, which will be submitted to Home Minister Amit Shah and other ministers.
Speaking to Maktoob, Kabeer, a member of NSUI from Assam, said they were compelled to approach the authorities because, as of now, no action has been taken against the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, Dehradun Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the killing of Tripura student Anjel Chakma in Dehradun, even as they claimed that the investigation so far has found no evidence of racial abuse.
Police said the youth was assaulted after tempers flared when he objected to some “banter” among the attackers, who had come as a group to a liquor shop.
At a press conference, Dehradun SSP Ajay Singh said police are very close to apprehending the man who allegedly stabbed Anjel in Nepal.
However, students from the community said Chakma’s attack was not an isolated incident and that, as far as they can remember, such experiences have always been part of their lives.
“It is so surprising that police are saying this is not a racial attack and that no racial slurs were used. But this is nothing new. We from the Northeast community have always faced this kind of racism. They call us momo, Chinki,” said Chlelsea Gabil Momin, General Secretary of the Meghalaya Students’ Welfare Association, Delhi.
She further said that whenever they are in a group and speaking in their own language, people are more likely to racially target them. “As women, we are even more vulnerable to such attacks,” she added.
Momin, a resident of Meghalaya, said they had recently started the association because there was no proper representation to address these issues.
“We come to Delhi merely to study. No one wants to protest, but we are compelled to. We have to be aware of such incidents. Personally, my mother told me that if someone asks you your religion, do not answer,” she added.
Chakma’s killing, she said, has reopened decades-old wounds within the community, where facing racist attacks has become so normalised that people often do not even react.
“A student’s life was lost, and that was when we realised how normalised we had made this for ourselves,” another student said.
Meanwhile, Abhilasha Saikia, General Secretary of the Northeast Students’ Society, Delhi University, said the memorandum demands that the case be transferred to the CBI and that justice be delivered to the family at the earliest.
Saikia also said they have witnessed an increase in racial attacks, although it has always been a serious issue and never truly stopped.
“In terms of racial attacks, sexual harassment and catcalling are an everyday affair. People from the Northeast community face such racism daily. We receive cases from students who have been racially attacked and brutally beaten up. Most community members live in Safdarjung along with people from the mainland, and many cases come from these areas,” she said.
She added that it was unfortunate that the issue only gained wider attention after Chakma was killed.
The students have also demanded strict laws to tackle racism. “Although in Delhi we have comparatively better mechanisms to deal with such situations, what about other states? We need better safety for community members everywhere,” Momin said.
Another student said that they are Indians and that it is a shame they are treated this way in their own country.
Anjel Chakma, a final-year MBA student at a private university in Dehradun, was seriously injured when he was allegedly attacked by a group of youngsters with a knife and a bracelet on December 9. He died on December 26, after being hospitalised for 17 days.
His father, a BSF jawan currently posted in Tengnoupal district in Manipur, alleged that his son was brutally attacked when he tried to defend his brother, who was subjected to racial slurs and called “Chinese” by the attackers.
The assailants allegedly called his sons “Chinese momo” and hurled other racial abuses, the victim’s father said, according to reports.
The organisers also informed the media that police did not allow them to light candles for the vigil.
The post Called ‘Chinese’, ‘momo’ on regular basis: Northeast students say at Anjel Chakma’s candle vigil in Delhi appeared first on Maktoob media.
