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"Why are we singled out? Is it because we lookdifferent?" asks Sonam, a student from Nagaland, much likeher counterparts from the other North-Eastern States. Women are onthe receiving end, agrees Bipin, a student from Manipur at theUniversity of Hyderabad, and a participant of the event organisedat UoH as part of a nation-wide campaign for ‘Justice forRichard Loitam'. "We believed he was killed. There are cases of racialdiscrimination. I went through harassment in Delhi University.Colleges are relatively safe in Hyderabad but you cannot say thesame about other cities like Bangalore and Delhi," he says. Campuses in the various universities across the city have asizeable number of students from the North-East and an equallyimpressive number of employees from the region who have beenworking with IT, ITeS, MNC firms and Central Government officeshere. There are about 500 members registered with each of the variousregion-based communities that support families hailing fromNagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Assam. The associations often meeton weekends. "New students coming into the city get enrolled with us. Wekeep a track of their welfare. We also brief them on localculture," says a member of the Hyderabad Mizo Association.Similarly, the Hyderabad Manipuri Society (HYMS) brings togetherstudents in the city under its cover. Workplaces do offer conducive atmosphere here, which is one of themain reasons why most stay back despite issues they face in publicplaces. But finding accommodation tops the list of worries in thetwin cities. "People refuse to give us apartments on rent. You have foodrestrictions as well. There is a misconception that people from theNorth-East are into drug and alcohol abuse, which is nottrue," says a student from Dimapur. An electrical engineerfrom Assam working in the city agrees, "I was travelling in abus when the lady conductor started talking derogatorily. And thenshe and the driver went on to talk ill about my State which wasunacceptable." It is not the physical abuse but the verbal humiliation that isrife, says Vivian Lepcha from Darjeeling, associated with theF&B industry in the city. "People come up to us and askus if we can speak English or whether we hail from Japan, Burma orChina." He, however, notices fewer issues of discriminationnow when compared to more than a decade ago when he came to thecity. "Name calling used to be rampant then," herecollects. "Change in the perception about North-East won't happenovernight. One has to bring about awareness about the region. Myclassmates did not even know the name of the seven North-EasternStates, leave alone their capitals," says Sonam. The need of the hour then is to bridge the divide. "Includinghistory of these States in the text books will go a long way tobring about awareness about the place, people and culture. Thechoir group from Shillong and Indian Idol winner from Tawang haveshown that people there have talent too. Please don't treat them assecond-class citizens in other States," says Bipin. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China USB Rechargeable Cigarette Lighter , Portable Speakers With SD Card for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speakers.
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