The death of Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old student from Tripura, has put the spotlight on racial violence and discrimination against residents of the North East in India.
On December 9, Chakma, who was in his final year of a master’s in business administration, and his brother were out buying groceries in Dehradun when a group of allegedly intoxicated men hurled racial slurs at them and attacked them. Chakma died of his injuries on December 27. “We are not Chinese…we are Indians,” Chakma said before he was assaulted, according to The Times of India.
Chakma’s death is the result of objecting to his own dehumanisation. At the same time, Chakma’s dehumanisation went unnoticed by the law enforcement. The police arrested three men and sent two juveniles to a detention home, but Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh said that in the preliminary investigation, there had been “no evidence of racial remarks”, according to The Hindu.
This double erasure shows how racial violence in India is normalised and deliberately erased. It also reflects a broader failure of the promises of equal citizenship. India and Indians must reckon with and address everyday racism for there to be any lasting lessons from Chakma’s death.
"We are not Chinese… We are Indians. What certificate should we show…
Source: Anjel Chakma’s death and the double erasure of racism in India
