In a heartbreaking incident that has reignited national conversations on racial prejudice, Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura, was fatally stabbed in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, after confronting a group of men who allegedly hurled racial slurs at him and his younger brother.
The attack, which occurred on December 26, 2025, reportedly stemmed from derogatory remarks such as “Chinki” and “Chinese”—terms commonly used to demean individuals from India’s northeastern states because of their Mongoloid features.
Chakma succumbed to his injuries, including stab wounds to the neck and abdomen, while his younger brother Michael survived after sustaining a head injury.
Five suspects have been arrested, but the tragedy has sparked widespread protests across Tripura and renewed demands for a dedicated law to address racial violence.
This murder is not an isolated incident; it is a stark manifestation of the pervasive racial discrimination faced by people from northeastern India when they travel to or settle in mainland cities.
Northeasterners—comprising diverse ethnic groups from Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, and Arunachal Pradesh—are frequently treated as “outsiders” in their own country. Their distinct physical features, including epicanthic folds, fair skin, and straight hair, often lead to stereotyping and false associations with East Asian countries, resulting in exclusion, harassment, and at times, deadly violence.
Such biases are deeply embedded in India’s social fabric, where many “mainland” Indians continue to view northeastern communities as alien, perpetuating a cycle of othering that affects education, employment, housing, and everyday life.
Historical Context of Racism in Northeastern India
The social environment of northeastern India is shaped by a complex history of geographic isolation, colonial legacies, and internal conflicts. However, the racism experienced by people from the region is largely external, inflicted through mainland attitudes and institutional neglect.
Connected to the rest of India by the narrow Siliguri Corridor, the region has long remained marginalised, with inadequate infrastructure and limited economic opportunities compelling many young people to migrate to cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Dehradun for education and employment. This migration, however, often exposes them to hostility and prejudice.
Several past incidents underscore this disturbing pattern. In 2014, Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, was beaten to death in Delhi after objecting to racial taunts about his hairstyle. The incident triggered nationwide protests and led to the formation of the Bezbaruah Committee, which recommended legal and administrative measures to combat racism, including amendments to the Indian Penal Code. Yet, more than a decade later, little has meaningfully changed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people from the northeast were scapegoated as “corona carriers” due to their perceived resemblance to Chinese individuals. This led to evictions, physical assaults, verbal abuse, and even spitting incidents in several Indian cities.
Food habits have also become a flashpoint for discrimination. Northeastern cuisines—often featuring fermented foods and non-vegetarian dishes uncommon in other parts of India—are routinely branded as “dirty” or “smelly,” reinforcing deeply rooted casteist and racist prejudices.
Women from the region face an added layer of gendered racism, including sexual harassment and stereotypes that portray them as “promiscuous” or “easy,” further compounding their vulnerability.
Together, these experiences foster a profound sense of alienation, with many northeasterners feeling like second-class citizens within the Indian Union.
Impact on Northeastern Society
Back in the northeast, such incidents deepen feelings of resentment and detachment from the national mainstream. Tripura, home to indigenous communities such as the Chakmas, has its own history of ethnic tensions, displacement, and political unrest. External racism adds yet another layer of collective trauma.
Families send their children to mainland cities in search of better opportunities, only to confront the devastating possibility of losing them to prejudice and violence. Protests in Agartala following Anjel Chakma’s death reflect this anguish, with demonstrators demanding justice, accountability, and systemic reform.
Despite remarkable cultural richness—over 200 ethnic groups and numerous languages—the northeast remains underrepresented in national narratives. Mainstream media frequently frames the region through lenses of conflict or exoticism, overlooking everyday realities and contributions. This invisibility fuels ignorance, as school curricula across India rarely engage meaningfully with northeastern history, geography, or society.
Economic discrimination further obstructs integration. Northeastern migrants in urban centres routinely face higher rents, job rejections, and social isolation, pushing many to return home or live within insular communities. This reverse brain drain hampers regional development, even as initiatives such as the Act East Policy promise connectivity while failing to address entrenched cultural divides.
Calls for Change and a Path Forward
The murder of Anjel Chakma has intensified calls for a comprehensive anti-racism law, akin to protections afforded to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, to explicitly criminalise racial slurs and racially motivated violence.
Activists argue that existing legal provisions, including Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code—which addresses the promotion of enmity between groups—are inadequate and rarely result in convictions in cases of racial abuse.
Beyond legislation, there is growing emphasis on public education campaigns, police sensitisation, curriculum reform, and more inclusive media representation to challenge stereotypes and dismantle systemic bias.
Racism against northeastern communities is a national shame, but it also reflects broader prejudices within Indian society, including discrimination against southern Indians, Adivasis, and religious minorities. Addressing it requires confronting these hierarchies honestly, rather than masking diversity with tokenism.
As protests continue and Anjel Chakma is laid to rest in Tripura, his death stands as a grim reminder that true national unity can only be achieved by dismantling the ignorance, prejudice, and indifference that continue to divide us.
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*Independent writer
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