'Coronavirus' being Used as Racist Slur against Northeastern People in Metros

New Delhi, February 25, 2020:

'Coronavirus' is the new 'chinky'? Dr. Alana Golmei, prominent activist, in a letter to the Chairman of the Committee, Satyendra Garg, writes that Northeasterners staying in the mainland are being racially targeted with the word 'coronavirus' for their resemblance to the Chinese.

According to Dr Golmei, since the crisis of Coronavirus disease was reported in China, other non-northeastern Indians in metro cities have started calling the northeasterners "Coronavirus" in the same way they've called them "Chinki," "Momo," "Chinese" and "Chowmein."

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In her letter, Dr Golmei shares several incidents where "coronavirus" has been used as a racial slur against Northeast Indians.

On 24th February 2020, Golmei says, she was walking inside NCERT campus with a friend from Meghalaya, a man said to his friends “Coronavirus aagaya” (Coronavirus has come) and rest of them were giggling looking at us. "Though he apologized later after I told him I will report to the concerned authorities, this is not acceptable since he was doing it deliberately and on top of that he is a graduate working as LDC at publication division in NCERT", Golmei wrote.

In one of the colleges in DU, when a Northeastern student entered the college canteen, a group of students commented, “Coronavirus has come.”

Dr Gomei further added that lady from Ladakh sitting in one of the stalls in Dilli Haat narrated to her that some people in the streets of Delhi called her Coronavirus. She tried to explain to them that she is not Chinese but they refused to listen, and kept calling her Coronavirus.

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Horchipem Khamrang, a man from Manipur told Golmei, "This happened twice, first at Safdarjung when I was in a hurry and the second one was yesterday on 22nd February 2020."

Thuimei Kamei from Manipur, who stays in Maharashtra, says, “We are in Maharashtra, ten of us from Manipur, even here we face the same, local people call us Coronavirus whenever we move out of the school campus."

In her letter to Satyendra Garg, Golmei laments that Northeast people have always been at the receiving end of such racist remarks and discrimination in metro cities, yet concerned authorities have not taken any action to stop them and there is no exemplary action, therefore the ones on the doing end are taking this lightly.

"I request you to look into this case of repeated racism by some of our fellow Indians towards their own citizens and come out with a strong advisory to all the concerned institutions, offices and universities", Dr Golmei requested Garg.

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