The killing of Anjel Chakma: Are we not Indians, too?

School textbooks need to educate children that Indians are diverse, and do not all look a particular way

To think that one has to even write something in 2026 on Anjel Chakma is disturbing. It is a repeated reminder of what people from northeast India are subjected to in other parts of the country. Unfortunately, he is another name in the long list of victims of mob hatred and violence that has consumed the lives of many people. His repeated cries of “being an Indian and not a Chinese” did not help him. Neither did the fact that his father served in the Border Security Forces (BSF), supposedly the greatest test of one’s patriotism. These deaths infuriate and shock us for some days, but then slowly recede into the background.

Naga anthropologist Dolly Kikon, in her article on dirty food, argues that what is distinctive about the discrimination that people from northeast India face is that their Indianness is questioned. This is unlike other forms of discrimination, like casteism and sexism. Racism against people from the region is rooted in ideas of them being different, assessed through how we do not fit the imagination of what an Indian looks like.

Chakma’s death coincided with my trip to Hampi in Karnataka with two friends from Nagaland. As we were discussing his tragic death on our trip, an ugly reminder of his death unfolded right in front of us. At the entrance to the Lotus Mahal, a security guard stopped my friends, asking if they were Indians. Even after being repeatedly told that they are Indians, the guard kept insisting they show her their Aadhaar cards. The racial discrimination was visible — only two of us were asked to show our identification.

This was not the first time that their Indianness was questioned on the trip. School-going children wanted selfies with them, whereas the guard at the Vittala Temple Complex asked us casually if all of us were Indians. The burden of proving one’s citizenship is placed unfairly on people from the northeast. This entire trip was a dawning realisation of how racism is entrenched in the minds of common people. It is just that Chakma faced the brutal end of it. While violence makes the news headlines, subtle racism in the form of casual remarks and comments often gets sidelined. These remarks are often about food and biological features. Women from the region face the added burden of being viewed as sexually promiscuous. Racist slurs like “Chinese,” “momo,” and “corona” are also common. Such racialisation hampers their access to housing in several metropolitan cities.

The prevalence of racism requires both legal and social interventions. An anti-racial discrimination law is required in addition to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act). Reforms are also needed at the police level. Police personnel need to be better trained and sensitised to respond to such crimes. Like in sexual crimes, in caste- and race-based crimes too the police are often reluctant to file FIRs against socially powerful people. Policymakers’ attention is needed to make the legal changes a reality. Social changes in the form of curriculum revision need long-term intervention. School textbooks need to educate children that Indians are diverse, and do not all look a particular way. Popular culture and media can play a key role in this — by representing and holding space for people from the Northeast. For instance, the next time a film like Mary Kom is made, Bollywood can ensure that the lead role is played by someone from the region. For people like us, academics and practitioners, it is not enough to study and research the Northeast. There is a need to raise our voices against injustice and discrimination. Otherwise, Anjel Chakma will not be the last victim of mob violence and hatred.