When India is complaining about racist attacks on Indians in Australia, Mizoram's Chief Minister Pu Lalthanhala added fuel to the fire by saying that we Indians are racist too. He stressed on the fact that people from North East are referred either as Chinese or as Nepalis.
Being an Indian from North East (Assam), I completely understand his views. There has been soo many instances when the so called educated people ask me if ASSAM is in Nepal...? Is it just the lack of knowledge or just the seeds of racism embedded in our mind?
Why do we call anyone with oriental looks from North East as CHINKIES?Why Maharashtrians are called GHATIS?Why people from U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) or Bihar are called as BHAIYYAS?Why every Muslim is a MULLAH?Why people from the southern states of India referred to as MADRASIS, irrespective of whether they are Tamil, Kannad, Malayalee....etc?
The comments made by Mizoram's CM are drawing quite a bit of negative publicity. However, I don't think that his statements were baseless.
When a few questions like the one stated above, 'Is Assam a part of China/Nepal?' came to me, and answers which I am forced to give leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Either we seriously lack basic geographical knowledge or we simply are racist. The latter looks like the most probable answer.
This doesn't mean that I don't condemn the things happening in Australia. However, I feel that it is about time that we get our own acts right, to begin with...
