December 30, 2025 12:30 PM IST First published on: Dec 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM ISTWritten by Munish Tamang Last week, I had invigilation duty for an exam – something I have done hundreds of times over my 25-year teaching career at the University of Delhi. As I walked into the room, I heard cries of “ching-chong” from the very first desk, designed to be overheard by me and others around. As somebody from the Northeast, I have faced innumerable instances of casual racism. And yet, this was the first time it had occurred in such a situation. It happened in a room where I, as an invigilator, was the principal authority. As a grey-haired, senior, respected faculty member, it wouldn’t be remiss to assume that no student would make such remarks against me, particularly in a controlled institutional setting. I am also the nodal officer for Northeast students in my college, as well as the staff advisor to the Northeast Students Organisation of my college. And yet, how casually the student could make racist remarks against me, with no fear, clearly expecting to get away with it.AdvertisementSuch situations are very common for people who look like me. Adjectives such as “Nepali”, “chinky”, “momo”, “Chinese” are all too familiar to us. What was worrying, however, was the fact that the student was a typical urban middle-class youth studying in a premier university, sharing space with many students from the Northeast with whom he would interact on a daily basis. If he thought he could get away by doing this to a teacher, what must his daily interactions be with his peer group? The incident, in its immediacy, made me worry once again about the thousands of students and young people who face harassment on a daily basis without the luxury of a social safety net. Far away from home, they are left to fend for themselves, facing slurs, insults, and even physical assault. Racial discrimination lurks in educational institutions they study in, local neighbourhoods where they live, markets, public transport, and every other imaginable place. A Nido Tania from Arunachal Pradesh, killed in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar or an Anjel Chakma from Tripura, brutally murdered in Dehradun, act as occasional reminders of the severity of this racism. Perhaps, they even jolt the conscience of the nation. But the daily humiliation faced by every northeastern person makes them die bit-by-bit until they learn to be silent and live with it.Nido Tania’s murder and the subsequent public outcry did lead to the formation of the Bezbaruah Committee in 2014 under UPA II. The Committee made some important recommendations regarding legal, policing, and social measures to address racial discrimination against people from northeast India. This led to some concrete impact, including amending the IPC to make racial slurs and acts cognisable; creating nodal police stations and helplines; appointing special prosecutors; sensitising the police, and integrating northeastern culture in textbooks. Nodal officers were appointed in institutions, and the Special Police Unit for North East Region (SPUNER) was set up in the Delhi Police.While such initiatives have instilled some confidence in the community and made redressal more accessible, there is a lack of demonstrable institutional and political intent in fighting the menace. This is a reflection of a society where a culture of racism is normalised. What else can explain the need for a public outcry before the administrative and political machinery kicks into action? Take the instance of Anjel Chakma, who was critically injured and spent 18 days in the hospital. It is only after he succumbed to his injuries that the government made assurances on future preventive measures. What is even more disturbing is that a senior police officer commenting on the case is reported to have said that the remarks against the victim were made in jest and were not a racial attack. Such a statement is symptomatic of the increasing normalisation of racial harassment.AdvertisementThe student in the examination hall gave me a vague and unconvincing explanation and later tendered a weak apology, insisting there was no racist intent. I accepted his apology, allowing him to proceed with the exam. He was merely a symptom of a much deeper, multifaceted problem. Clearly, more needs to be done to combat the casual racism that one comes across daily in the form of offensive jokes at its mildest, to racial chants, physical and mental assault, and grievous physical violence at its worst. One way forward is for institutions to have mandatory sensitisation for their students, staff, and other members so that they understand that even “harmless” throwaway remarks and name-calling are criminal acts and have no place in our society.The writer teaches at Motilal Nehru College, Delhi University