After Mirabai Chanu’s Win, Racism Gets Highlighted Again. Is It True That We Only Recognise Medal Winners As Indian?

One thing that we Indians are completely indifferent about is the racism that goes on in the country. For some odd reason, we either choose to neglect the fact that racism exists or pretend to be completely oblivious to it. In fact, sometimes I believe that we intentionally choose to ignore the fact that we as a society are racists – especially when it comes to the northeast Indians. And truth be spoken, we do not speak much about this racial discrimination that the rest of the country does against the northeast Indians. But unlike most, Ankita Konwar and actor Lin Laishram open up about the prevailing racism in India

Recently, Ankita Konwar, wife of Milind Somani, spoke about how people from northeast India face racism on daily basis and are only acknowledged and celebrated when someone from the northeast achieves victory on an international podium. 

Ankita Konwar’s tweet about racism came out a few days after the entire country was celebrating Mirabai Chanu’s performance in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Mirabai Chanu, who is from Manipur, made the entire country proud when she won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in weightlifting.

Ankita Konwar who belongs to Guhwahati, Assam, wrote in her tweet that someone who is from northeast India can only become an ‘Indian’ if he/she wins a medal for the country. And until then, the rest of the northeast Indians face racism in their day-to-day life.

If you’re from Northeast India, you can become an Indian ONLY when you win a medal for the country.
Otherwise we are known as “chinky” “Chinese” “Nepali” or a new addition “corona”.
India is not just infested with casteism but racism too.
Speaking from my experience. #Hypocrites

— Ankita Konwar (@5Earthy) July 27, 2021

 

Many of Ankita Konwar’s followers on Twitter had a mixed response to her tweet. Some came out and said that this was a ‘negative way’ of looking at the win. While others, not only acknowledged the fact that racism exists in India but also felt ashamed of encouraging, supporting, or indulging in this kind of racism. 

And she’s not the only one. Even Lin Laishram spoke about how she and her fellow northeast Indians face racism. Axone actress Lin Laishram, who also is from Manipur, raised questions regarding the silence of famous celebrities on the racism that northeast Indians face.

The actress, Lin Laishram has come out and spoken about how she has personally faced racism for being from northeast India. In one of the many incidents she shared regarding her experience with racism, she revealed that a middle-aged man in her building in Mumbai called her ‘coronavirus’ and kept on repeating it until she had no other choice but to leave. 

Lin Laishram spoke about how it was disappointing that Priyanka Chopra was picked to play Mary Kom on screen and not a person from the northeast. 

Earlier today, Adil Hussain mentioned that if a biopic is made on Mirabai Chanu, that a northeastern person should be cast for play her.

And that is something that needs to be considered. The truth of the matter is that the rest of the country has always looked at northeastern Indians as outsiders and never as a part of the country. We have always racially discriminated against them and been so clueless about it – just how Lin Liashram puts it. In fact, the racism has even extended to the fact that as a society we at times have not even considered them to be Indians until one of them has made India proud on a global platform – just like Ankita Konwar stated. And I think it’s high time we stop with this behavior. They are as much Indians as any of us and they don’t need to achieve something to prove that. Being an Indian is their identity and their right.