DISCRIMINATION AGAINST NORTH EAST WOMEN IN INDIA

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1560

The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.  ~Joseph Conrad, (Heart of Darkness)

Racism can never be justified. Yet we in our own country are insulated from the reality; not aware that there is one part of our country which, in addition to being victimised through socio-economic unrest, insurgent problems and political issues has become a target to one of the earliest forms of discrimination- RACISM.

Racism has been defined by the United Nations as: ‘any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life’[1]. Recognition and Redressal being the essentials; it is in this context that the discrimination meted out to the North East people in our country needs to be recognised. Only when a problem is named can the situation be addressed.

Racism has three main elements i) a vision that society is composed of inherently different groups, ii) a delusional belief that due to the persistence and mutation of the race, people are different and should not interact and iii) this ‘difference’ is what becomes into a programme of political action[2]. There is ofcourse no theory till date (hopefully would not be in the future) which can justify Racism on people outside a country but it is hard to believe that people within India are meted with such inhuman treatment and still no one bats an eyelid.

India is home to various cultures, ethnic groups and this is not something which the people of our country are unaware of. Over centuries, India has always been looked up as to a civilisation which has borne the pressure of multi-everything. Historically the north east was never part of ‘mainland’ India[3]. There were hues and cries for self-determination which were unheard thus consequently the people (of the Mongoloid Stock) in the North East were then officially perceived as primitives or in isolation[4] and this perception has, unfortunately not changed. There is widespread discrimination against North east people (women being the soft targets) especially in Delhi but the tragic part of the story being that this ‘infection’ has spread to various parts of our country, with cities like Bangalore, Chennai also being part to the utter disgrace.

The Challenge of Equality

In India the need for an egalitarian society has been since forever which has generated many legal scholars, laws, legal institutions yet the dream of an ideal equal society is delusional and impossible in a society which is characterised by inequality. Countries have been drafting their Constitutions guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination nevertheless the scourge of inequalities continues to persist. Tolerance has been stated to be the answer to all questions concerning inequality but this tolerance has taken the form of segregation, subjugation and exploitation[5].

The construction of our constitution in this regard has been very interesting as in the last sixty years the scheme of the constitution has been to avoid caste-based and gender-based discrimination. India has had to suffer more through the hands of caste based discrimination, racism being a global phenomenon[6]. Inspite of having adopted the UN Conventions for over fifty years, incidence of racial discrimination, exploitation of marginalised groups are on a rise[7]. This just makes any right to an equal life without discrimination at a macro level, a myth[8]. The end of Apartheid is just the beginning of a surge against the various forms of racial abuse.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was the first body created by the UN to review the measures taken by the member states to eliminate racial discrimination[9]. The reports submitted by India have always been in relation to steps taken to remove discrimination against Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes. Indian government has always been pro-active in determining the rights of people against racial discrimination not only in South Africa but also of Asian races in the US but now it is time clean our home.

A VIEW OF RACISM THROUGH THE GENDER LENS

The culture in the North East is in stark contrast to the culture which is prevalent in the mainland. North East has always been advanced in the sense of providing equal freedom to the women of the region. Women here have always enjoyed greater mobility and visibility as compared to any part of the country. There have been very less number of cases reported of dowry death or of any kind of exploitation of women. The picture of equity has been prevalent in the society, infact this region has no element of social marginalization despite having small tribal groups. It would not be going overboard by saying that it is one of the few places in India which can claim to be on the path of an Egalitarian society.

The problem only comes into picture when the people migrate to the mainland due to a number of pull and push factors. The North East region has been subjected to a number of developmental problems[10]; the terrain makes it almost impossible for any infrastructural growth, there is lack of educational and employment oppurtunities, insurgency has made life a living nightmare for the locals and the most important part- there is a two-way deficit of understanding between the mainland and the North East Region[11], which is the sole reason for the discrimination faced by the north eastern women when they migrate to ‘Indian’ cities.

The mindset of people caters to various prejudices prevalent in the society. Woman has always been treated as an object of gratification, a possession, a property incapable of reason and responsibility. We have all contributed to the sex stereotyping of roles assigned to the women be it in the biological or sociological sense. These stigmas are deeply rooted especially in our society[12]. When North Eastern women are subjected to racial humiliation and exploitation, they are victims of Discrimination within Discrimination[13]. The suffering of a woman soaked in racial exploitation is the curse these women from the North East constantly face.

HOW DOES INDIA TREAT ITS NORTH EAST WOMEN

A recent gang-rape case of a Mizo girl in the country’s capital left everyone in a state of shock and embarrassment. This ofcourse is not the first or last of the incidents of racial discrimination meted out to the women from North East, infact their miserable plight is slowly becoming the bitter hidden truth which was never realised. North East women are the prime example of an ethnic minority who inspite of being in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society are the victims of marginalisation and alienation from the mainstream[14].

New Delhi, very infamously known as the ‘Rape Capital’ of India, has one more feather in its hat. Although being the leading city in the country, it also leads in discriminating the so called ‘Chinkis’. There has been a large amount of migration of people from the hills to metros like Delhi (Mumbai, Bangalore and other big cities included) in pursuit of higher education, jobs, better living standards as life back in the hills has never been a simple affair with socio-economic unrest, insurgency, lack of infrastructure[15]. These push-factors are ofcourse a result of the incompetency of the government but this problem can for the meantime wait.

Research study conducted by North East Support Centre and Helpline[16] (NESCH) reveals that seventy eight out of every hundred North East people face racial discrimination, sexual attacks against women, human trafficking and violence in Delhi[17]. India has heard of caste discrimination but the racist attacks belong to the newer generation. The root cause of such discrimination is nothing but ‘Social/Racial Profiling’[18]. North East women’s colour, facial features are very different from the people in other states (thanks to their Mongoloid origin) and they become objects to frown upon. Inspite of there being a lot of initiatives and legal intervention to curb racial discrimination, it has percolated through the society. The challenges faced by the North East women like sexual assault, racial/social profiling has been due to various causes.

Time and again such discrimination has been alleged to have been a consequence of the ‘open’ culture of the North Eastern communities, this leads to believing that women from North East due to their looks, their dressing sense, their attitude are ‘easy’[19]. This makes the girls very vulnerable in the eyes of perpetrators. This is a very psychological approach where once the opinion is formed upon ones appearances, culture and levelling the community as being inferior, now once the social profile of a community is formed ones social, economic or professional status does not matter at all and the community becomes the victim of discrimination.

Social profiling is a reflection of the caste system

The cultural difference between the North Eastern Region and the Indian mainland is not a secret; both have to be equally blamed for the failure to integrate. Women from the North East women come from a free culture where they do enjoy equal oppurtunities which is different from the mainline socio-cultural setup thus they are considered as outsiders ‘polluting’ the existing mainland culture.

The North Eastern women coming from the Mongoloid stocks do not fall within the four caste hierarchies, and as Indian society always looks upon them from the caste perspective[20], they are considered as outcaste. Being a woman has always been hard in a male dominated society, thus the North Eastern women who are never considered a part of the larger society, subjected to racial and sexual discrimination, this is nothing but a reflection of the deep-rooted caste system[21].

Challenges of Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking has been recognised as the largest organised crime worldwide, this epidemic has strong foothold even in the Indian context. Most often than not, the victims of such gross human violations have been women and children from socio-economically background. The life and challenges of social/racial profiling has manifested to a different level altogether by young North Eastern women being the new found targets[22]. Due to the unrest in the North Eastern Region, the young women who are discriminated in the society have become the victims to the false promises of the traffickers[23]. Tackling such human rights violation will be a much more daunting task in addition to racial discrimination and sexual exploitation.

Police Inactiveness

The police accountability is especially low in cases of racial discrimination; problem starts with not registering the incident itself, in case where incidents are registered the inactiveness of police to take affirmative action adds to the vulnerability of the North Eastern Women. The women are double wounded, first to deal with the humiliation, and to add to ones miseries the police intentionally ignores, denies or delays the registration of complaint. According to a report of the NGO, North East Support Centre and Helpline, almost 64% of the cases are not registered in the first place and out the ones where a FIR is filed only in 11% of the cases action was taken by the police to arrest the culprits[24].

Instead of tackling the situation with the powers conferred upon them, Delhi Police recently released a booklet, ‘Tips of Dos and Dont’s for north east communities in Delhi[25]” which basically is asking the citizens of the country to behave differently in their own country!

RESPONSE TO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

It is a well established fact that in our country racial discrimination is a pure reflection of Indian caste system[26]. Racism generates particular mistrust and alienation; within societies like ours where there are other evils, it becomes particularly difficult to react to discrimination as the effect is evident but the cause is hard to prove. The state can provide the society with a number of public education programmes, can notify sophisticated legislations but the problem can never be solved unless the perception, the mindset of a common man is addressed. Rules do exist but we might probably respect the letter of the law but never its intention. Too often, anti-discrimination legislations lack enforcement, when enforced the value of racial equality are not internalised. As a result of this cycle people do not mobilise in their defence

North Eastern women becoming soft targets is part of the larger challenges faced by the Indian society today. The discrimination to these women is a violation of their constitutional rights which needs to be addressed before it becomes too late. The solution to the crisis that we are faced with is not with any special legislation or law enforcement mechanism. There are infact a number of declarations, conferences and laws banning racism but the problem is the pervasive disrespect; the problem is social and not legal.

ARE WE OVER-REACTING

It is a debateable issue as to whether the discrimination is towards women in general or the north eastern women in particular. As we have established the problem of the discrimination is rooted in the mental element of people in the mainland face. There has always been the two-way deficit of understanding between the mainland and the north eastern region. By publishing the booklet which asks the North Eastern women to behave accordingly, the Delhi police has actually brought into the aspect of infringement of Right to freedom. The culture of the North Eastern people is questioned; the women are blamed because of their dressing sense for the exploitation that they suffer from. The feeling of colonial internalisation and alienation is well set within every North Eastern. Their behaviour also in cases adds to the problem. They at times do not mingle well with the society as such, they prefer to restrict their social lives well within their people but one cannot blame them for such indifferent behaviour as such isolation is way better than being victims of racist comments, violence and sexual exploitation

Now giving an analogy of another minority, the Parsees; they as a community were far more westernised, their culture was way different from that of the mainland. They were known for maintaining distance with the society, married within their own community. Yet the women from this community were treated no differently. Was it because the Parsees belonged to a community which was economically better off or because they adopted Gujarati ( a mainland language) as their mother tongue or because they could merge with the mainstream Indian look; and why then are the North Eastern women the target of racism, they infact are from India( as opposed to Parsees being from Iran). Why then is the culture of North Eastern women a cause for their discrimination? There are and sometime always will remain some unanswered questions.

This discrimination is because there is still a large group of people in India who are ignorant enough to say that how can so many ethnic minorities exist in one country. The North Eastern States were never part of our country until post independence, their history and development are virtually unattached to the rest of India[27]. It is just a matter of education, of bringing the problem to awareness and attention that is most instrumental in propelling social changes for the better.

DISCRIMINATION THAT MUST BE CAST AWAY

In the problem of racism, the losers are frequently members of ethnic groups whose vulnerability results from a history of oppression, discrimination and exploitation. Racism has impoverished the North Eastern women to such a level that they are deprived in terms of their capabilities. Every single North Eastern woman has been socially deprived of a free society in her own country. Such poverty and social disadvantage are the evidence to confirm and sometimes justify the racial prejudices and discriminatory practices of the ‘dominant group’[28].  Let us go into the depth of the crisis that we are faced here with.

The construction of the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ is borrowed from vague notions of race and ethnicity; it determines the culture of the dominant group as being the ‘self’, where deviance is treated as inappropriate, the deviant thus subjected to various kinds of exploitation[29]. This situation gives rise to new vectors of inequality, such settings of a society where the ‘other’ is relegated to social peripheries misperceptions are bound to grow.

Ethnicity itself is a discourse of Domination, the distinction between nation and ethnicity being tenuous. Any form of ethnic mobilisation is often the reaction to the imposition of a dominant culture or discriminatory treatment[30]. Let us for once assume that cultural differences are not problematic per se, and then the main factor which needs to be considered is how it interacts or intersects with power dynamics. The crisis we are dealing with is a classic example of Domination within domination[31]. The women are victims of subjugation by the male dominated society, exploitation being the members of a ethnic minority and are also at the receiving end of the stereotyping.

The universilisation of a dominant group’s culture becomes the norm and everything else is rubbished or is defined as being infeiror. The discrimination against North Eastern women occurs through subtle mechanisms; referring to them as ‘Chinkis’, passing lewd comments, restraint on entering social places[32]; in such cases racism is often difficult to detect, it is also difficult to ascertain in courts that the discrimination occurs, this is also compounded by the fact that in many cases there is a lack of reliable information and racial data which makes it nearly impossible to determine whether racial discrimination exists or not.

The North Eastern woman besides looking different has many other factors which mark her as being a deviant. The perceived morals of the ‘other’ as being fast or loose and the stigma attached with such perceptions triggers racist attacks, misunderstood by people as an indication of the ‘poor character’ of these women. Feminine modesty is one thing our country’s culture does not compromise upon, it also brings along itself a social distance from men[33]. When such boundaries are crossed one becomes a victim of severe social scrutiny. Thus the North Eastern woman is seen as being the most vulnerable, unprotected targets for the inhuman forms of exploitation. The problem of exploitation of women due to racial difference is social and not just biological[34]. Human Decency is what determines the fairness towards ‘other’ social groups and this decency is what a culturally conditioned attitude of mind is. Whatever differences may exist between people, however concrete these differences may be, the willingness to understand those differences and to act upon them sympathetically ought to increase; it is not something a legal intervention can provide for.

Since “race” prejudice rests on false premises, it is somehow always rationalized. People subjecting the North Eastern women to racial exploitation in various forms justify their behaviour by blaming these women for their vulnerability. The semi-awareness of the real nature of the problem, the rationalization is never regarded as the expression of prejudice but as an explanation of the discriminatory behaviour. The irony of ironies being that few of such rationalisers are aware that their reasons are simply devices for concealing their antipathies.

The very injustice of such cultural domination and prejudice is the ‘identity crisis’ which the North Eastern women face. They are faced with the dilemma of either identifying themselves, interpreting their social life in the light of experience, attitude and behaviour of the dominant group so as to be accepted or to be identified as belonging to the ‘other’ or inferior group and thus being subjected to gross human rights violations. The need of the hour is to recognize that such discrimination is the problem. In our country for any problem to be redressed, the problem needs to be named, only then can it be tackled; recognizing the identity of North Eastern women and providing them with equal oppurtunities so as to achieve what all the societies of the world have been aiming for, acceleration of de facto equality.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

BOOKS REFERRED TO:

  • Ernest Cashmore and James Jennings, Racism: Essential Readings, Sage Publications, New Dehli 2001.
  • T.K Oomen, Reconciling Competing Identities, Cambridge, Polity Press 1997
  • T.B Subba and G.C Ghosh, The Anthropology of North East India: A Text Book, Orient Longman, New Delhi 2003
  • B.Datta Ray, North East India 2000 AD: Perspective for Futurology, Deep & Deep Publications, New Delhi  1987
  • Susan Bayly, Caste and Race in the Colonial Ethnography of India: The Concept of Race In South Asia, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1997
  • Ronald Inden, Imagining India, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990
  • Thorat and Umakant, Caste, Race and Discrimination: Discourses in International Context, Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New Delhi, 2004
  • T. Raatan, History, religion and culture of North East India, Isha Books New Delhi, 2006
  • Colin Blakemore and Susan Iverson, Gender and Society (the Herbert Spencer Lectures),Oxford, 2000
  • Stephane May, Tariq Modood and Judith Squires, Ethnicity, Nationalism and Minority Rights, Cambridge 2004
  • Jayanta Sarkar, “Testimony of Cultural Interactions of the People of North-East India”  Society, Politics and Development in North East India, edited by Ashok Kumar Ray and Satyabrata Chakraborty, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 2008.

 

REPORTS:

  • “Freedom To Be” , National seminar and public consultation on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Report by National Human Rights Commission.
  • “Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective,” a report by the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its causes and consequences, Radhika Coomaraswamy  in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social  Council.
  • “Briefing: North East Migration and Challenges in National Capital Cities”, the Pilot Research Project was undertaken by a team led by Madhu Chandra, Spokesperson-NE helpline.
  • Misty Button, “Combating Human Trafficking in India: How the UN can serve as a Catalyst for Change”, Seminar in Economics, 2007.

 

  • Savita Bhakhry, “Human Rights and Trafficking in Persons,” Combat Law (2006)

ELECTRONIC SOURCES

 

·         Hueiyen Lanpao. “Social Profiling: Root cause to racial discrimination faced by North Easterners. https://www.hueiyenlanpao.com/news.php?newsid=3544 (accessed 5th March 2011).


[1]. Article 1(1), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; Adopted and opened for signature and ratification by General Assembly resolution 2106 (XX) of 21 December 1965; entered into force 4 January 1969.

[2]. These elements do not address many other predominant elements of Racism. It is the basic consequence of an analysis of the problem of Racism seen in a multicultural backdrop; De Fleur and Westie, “The Interpretation of Interracial Situations,” Social Forces (1941).

[3].Indo-Aryans and Dravidians were the two major linguistic groups. The other minor communities came from the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman linguistic families. Most of the Tibeto-Burman inhabitants form part of the North East. ‘Seven Sisters’ the name given to the states of this region is symbolic of their isolation from the mainland culture and consciousness. The region is connected to ‘India’ by the Siliguri Corridor (Chicken’s Neck)

[4]. Jayanta Sarkar, “Testimony of Cultural Interactions of the People of North-East India”  Society, Politics and Development in North East India, edited by Ashok Kumar Ray and Satyabrata Chakraborty, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 2008.

[5]. World has been a witness to discrimination against minorities, indigenous people, such segregation and conflicts give rise to violence, xenophobia against minoritites; Dr. Ranbir Singh, “Racial Discrimination and Justice”, Freedom To Be, Report by National Human Rights Commission, 2001.

[6]. Ravivarma Kumar, “Caste, Race and Constitution” Freedom To Be, National seminar and public consultation on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Report by National Human Rights Commission, 2001

[7].T.K Oomen, “Citizenship, Nationality and Ethnicity” Reconciling Competing Identities, Cambridge, Polity Press, 1997

[8]. The General Assembly dedicated three decades (between 1973 to 2003) to ensure support for people struggling with racial equality; World Conference to combat Racism (WCAR)  in 1973,1983, 2001 and 2009; World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, 1994, 1995. There have been numerous legal instruments, conferences which have tried to address the issue of racial discrimination but in vain; P.N Bhagwati, “Racial Discrimination as a Grave Violation of Human Rights” Caste, Race and Discrimination (Discourses in International Context) 2004, pg. 203-204.

[9]. i) Submission of periodic reports by the member states to CERD, ii) procedure concerning complaints against one state to another and the last iii) complaints by groups claiming to be victims of racial discrimination.

 

[10]. T.B Subba and G.C Ghosh, The Anthropology of North East India: A Text Book (New Delhi 2003) pg. 375.

[11]. Sushil Khanna, “Look East, Look South: Backward Border Regions in India and China”, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata; Indian government set up the Shukla Commission (1997) to look into the problems faced by the North Eastern Region, it identified four main deficits; a) lack of infrastructure, b) lack of maximization of resources, c) insurgence and the most important one for our discussion d) the two way deficit in understanding between the mainland and the North East.

[12]. Women across the Globe have been subjected gross human rights violation; domestic violence, sexual exploitation, racial discrimination; ‘Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective,” a report by the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its causes and consequences, Radhika Coomaraswamy  in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social  Council.

[13]. Devaki Jain, “A View of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance through the Gender, Freedom To Be, Report of National Human Rights Commission, 2001

[14]. The Times of India, “Girls from NE Soft Target,” https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Girls-fromNE-soft-target-in-city/articleshow/5166105.cms (accessed 3rd April 2011)

[15]. G.K Dutt and Nag, “Development of Infrastructure for Science and Technological Input in North-Eastern India”, North East India 2000 AD Perspective for Futurology, Deep & Deep Publications, New Delhi

[16]. Delhi based NGO, an initiative of All India Christian Council and Operation Mercy Foundation to end Racism Discrimination, sexual violence and human trafficking, has been whistle blowing the problem of discrimination against North Eastern people in India through advocacy, articles, reports; “Briefing: North East Migration and Challenges in National Capital Cities”, the Pilot Research Project was undertaken by a team led by Madhu Chandra, Spokesperson-NE helpline.

[17].Christianity Today, “85% of North-East Indians Face Racial Discrimination in Capital,”

https://in.christiantoday.com/articles/86-of-northeast-indians-face-racial-discrimination-in-capital/4202.htm

(Accessed 3rd April 2011)

[18]. Racial Profiling is the practice of targeting individuals for police or security interdiction, detention or other treatment primarily based on ones race and ethnicity, in the belief that such minority groups engage in unlawful activities; ‘Racial profiling: issues, data, and analyses’  By Steven J. Muffler; Hueiyen Lanpao. “Social Profiling: Root cause to racial discrimination faced by North Easterners. https://www.hueiyenlanpao.com/news.php?newsid=3544 (accessed 5th March 2011).

 

[20]. Susan Bayly, “Caste and Race in the Colonial Ethnography of India, in Peter Race(ed.), The Concept of Race In South Asia ,Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1997 ; Ronald Inden, Imagining India, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1990.

[21]. This perspective can be debated; if discrimination against caste can be defined as a form of racial discrimination, there is no reason why discrimination against minorities (linguistic or ethnic) cannot be phrased in exactly the same terms,- a counter argument for the same can be in terms of the UN initiative by treating race distinction as a reflection of the Indian caste system, the UN is dismissing the established scientific opinion; Andre Beteille, “Race and Caste” Caste, Race and Discrimination (Discourses in International and National Context), Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New Delhi, 2004, pg 48-49;

[22]. Multiple reports point to India as a “source, destination, and transit country.”  The huge population and location seem to be contributing factors to this statement.  It is less liking that someone would be caught trafficking among the population.  The number of borders India shares with its neighbours adds to the problem.  China, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan all have been identified as countries with a significant amount of human trafficking; Misty Button, “Combating Human Trafficking in India: How the UN can serve as a Catalyst for Change”, Seminar in Economics, 2007.

[23]. Savita Bhakhry, “Human Rights and Trafficking in Persons,” Combat Law (2006), pg-44.

[24]. The Aims and objectives of North East Support Centre and Helplines include providing proactive assistance to the North East India communities studying, working and living in Delhi and NCR; “Briefing, A Research Report, North East Migration and Challenges in National Capital Cities; Bedi, Kiran. “The Big Fight: Making Cities Safe for Women.” (Lecture Notes, NDTV, New Delhi. December, 2011; Dhaliwal, HGS. “Moqubala: Is Delhi Safe for Women.” (Lecture Notes. NDTV, New Delhi, December, 2010.

[25]. In July 2007, a booklet was published by the west district of Delhi police where they asked north-eastern women not to wear “revealing” dresses and “avoid lonely road /bylane when dressed scantily, to dress according to sensitivity of the local populace, a classic evidence of cultural imperialism.

[26]. D.L Sheth, “Caste in the Mirror of Race”  Caste, Race and Discrimination (Discourses in International and National Context), (New Delhi, 2004) pg. 85-88

[27]. T.Raatan, “Cultural Plurality and Identity Crisis; Role of British Rule in Ethnic Conflicts; Growth of Separatist Movement”, History, religion and culture of North East India, (New Delhi, 2006) pg 5-6;21

[28]. Pierre L. van den Berghe, “Race and ethnicity: A Socio-biological perspective”, Racism :Essential Readings edited by Ellis Cashmore and James Jennings (New Delhi, 2001) pg 124-125

[29]. Ackerman and Jahoda, “Towards a Dynamic Interpretation of Anti-Semitic Attitudes,” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, XVIII (1949), PG 168; Iris Marion Young, “Two Concepts of self-determination” Ethnicity, Nationalism and Minority Rights ( Cambridge, 2004) pg 177-178.

[30]. F. Barth, “Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: the Social Organisation of Cultural Differences”  Racism Essential Readings, pg 320-324;

[31]. Louis L. Synder, “The Idea of Racialism :Its Meaning and History”, Racism Essential Readings (New Delhi, 2001) pg. 94-96

[32]. Urban Pind, a high end lounge in South Delhi was issued a legal notice against the prohibition of entry of a North Eastern woman; reason given by the Manager for the restraint was that the women did not have the correct profile. Infact, her German and south Indian friend were allowed in the lounge.

[33]. Lucia Jacobs, “Sexual Differentiation and Cognitive Function” Gender and Society (the Herbert Spencer Lectures) (Oxford, 2000) pg.57-59.

[34]. This has to be interpreted to mean that race in the biological sense in a society has no existence. Much more is meant here in so far as social action is concerned, the biological facts about population differences do not constitute the social problem of “race”. It is the social attitude towards “race” that constitutes the problem; Ashley Montagu, “The Fallacy of Race”, Racism Essential Readings, pg 106-107;

1 COMMENT

  1. @seema chandra,@garima chandra Not only this happens here but also in Periyar Maniammai University in Thanjavur-Tamil Nadu where they discriminate students from Kerala and other states.The staff treat students as slave because they are from other state and want to study.They don’t teach in this university and students just sit free.No proper examination system at all.University is just minting money don’t even care about the students. Many students have left Periyar Maniammai university when it was dilisted becauz of the torture they faced for being an other state student in everything.Periyar Maniammai University is worst university.Never should a student from Kerala dare to enter this palce.they don’t speak english but tamil and if some speaks engl tey laugh.Total a village where only students from village come and study, never join PERIYAR MANIAMMAI UNIVERSITY and spoil your life as we did in two years MBA department from kerala

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