Insecuring Cultures

The security tips booklet written by Robin Hibu, West Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police, with overflowing good intentions, particularly for the North-East students and visitors from the region raised serious questions. In most compartments where the “strange tribe” are, there is strong resentment and boiling anger. One wonders if the same booklet was also made for the equally multiplying population from South India or for that matter for others from the rest of India. If not, it truly deserves a serious discourse and debate on culture, race, difference, accommodation, understanding and what not, which must have compelled the need for the booklet. In the absence of that necessary, the booklet is more a talibanisation effort than the celebrated democratic one, despite the good intentions. The history of good intentions is not a beautiful one. Jesus Christ was hanged because of his good and loving intentions to save the world. That was when the “concert for democracy” was far from coming of age. However, it ought to be different today in the context of the proud populous democracy in India’s capital city. Or is that just a farce mask? Or is the population so big that it looks democracy-like without exhibiting the true principles of democracy? A make-believe unseen glitz to please George Bush. If it is, it won’t be far from a mosque full of terrorist. Is India’s democracy housing Talibans? The booklet is far from drawing applause in the background of unhealthy prejudices and the ever-growing gap of differences and discriminations.

The tips are stressed with strong and authoritative restrictions: what to do and what not to do in the sea of unacknowledged plurality and diversity. I don’t know if we are diluting the purity of national food, if there is any, with the smell of our unique foods. I also don’t know if the dressing sense of our girls is leading the unholy mainstream Indians into that sinful fantasy. But I doubt. The deteriorating and degenerating cosmopolitan is not negotiating merely on what smell should be allowed and what should not be. It is much destructive than that.

The People from the North-East cannot be blamed for the hardened prejudices that have been attached to our existence. It is unfortunate that we are a prey to that prejudices. But it is obvious. It seems to be restrictive at times, but it is also dominantly revealing. This prejudices, if correctly understood, is unnecessarily framed by the set of issues that relates to the context of India’s diversity and plurality and the ignorance that follows. On the part of the people from the so-called “mainstream”, who bear and breeds the prejudices, there has been a big failure on their part. This failure can be translated to their failure to understand the diversity of India, its people, culture, tradition, language, dress, taste, smell, etc. In their failure to confront the reality of our continuous existence, they were cornered to adopt a hardened and fixed picture and character of the people from North East that actually digress from the reality of the population who belongs to the region. That point of digression is the point where prejudices begin.

The picture and image imagined by the mainstream and extreme Indians also never seem to include the visage, structure and colour of the North-East people. Our food, smell, flavour, dressing sense and taste, no doubt, remain a mystery or junglee, if not strange. The image which people from the North bears, then, stands out to question the picture of the “Indian” they have been imagining. The image of the people from the North East actually shifts away from that imagination by the man from the mainland. He, then, started raising too many questions, which is draped and wrapped by his ignorance, understanding, and reason. But does ignorance have to be racist or discriminating?

Our claim to be Indian is a surprise statement for their acceptance, despite the imposition through the unholy union. We still are not yet melted. They still could not smelt us too. This difference has created a big wall of indifference. And when the racial difference is followed by differences in our culture, approach, inclinations, etc, whatever we do become strange, surprising, different and many a times unacceptable to their pattern of standard they have narrowly fixed. This could be exploited by anyone who blindly talked about assimilation to please their higher ups in the rusted colonial hierarchical structure. However, such exploitation act as the breeding ground for enhancing the existing prejudices that has already brayed with racist tones. Do we necessarily need to fit into their ears, eyes, nose and senses to be counted as one or equal?

In the year, 2005, a girl from North-East was raped in Delhi. The next day, the Vice Principal of Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi boldly said that there should be a dress code for North East students, particularly girls. How do we define such prejudices today? How do we justify their categorisation? Shall we say it is a regional discrimination? Or a little harsher and say it is racial. Today many of Delhi’s pubs and discos, I was told by those who have experienced, call them ‘victims’, would not admit or allow people from the North East. They did that by judging the colour of our skin and looks. Now we cannot just call that a regional discrimination. Rather, it about this overblown prejudices that is getting uncontrollably bigger. I must say again that our space is getting clogged. It has pricked our tolerance, reason and conscience, which is not fair or acceptable. We are not to be blamed. There is no denying that from our experience as a people in the mainland India, there is always a tendency, if not to belittle, then to dehumanise us.

The inclusion of tips for not cooking our beloved food in a security tips booklet will remain an ignorance of what security is all about. For that matter I don’t know what becomes insecure with our food and smell. Changing our food habits and dressing culture would not improve our relationship with the so-called mainstream Indians. It would not change anything either. If we have to change, they will also have to change their clogged mindset and vacate their sink of traditional prejudices. That will also have to affect the curriculum and syllabus in schools and universities. Otherwise, if the ignorance persists, let us doggedly continue to educate them with our presence, colour, dressing sense, tastes and smell. The new generations should rather find ways for marketing and patenting the unique smell. Look East for that. The grass is green there. At the same time, besides the need for mentioning the neglected North East in the national anthem, the good officer(s) should immediately train and educate it’s boys (Delhi Police) about the diversity and plurality of India without forgetting the North East too. If the capital city could not appetite or tolerate the smell, sights and presence of us, the institution that published the booklet should better propose to the HRD Minister to restructure education by keeping North East also in mind. Understanding and acceptance should be accompanied by understanding and accepting our food habits, dressing sense, besides our identity and culture. Any culture or identity is defined by smell, taste and colour. There is a need to acknowledge and accept us by understanding our culture and not through their culture. Otherwise, whatever the intentions, it would remain an indifferent tips that would not bridge the inevitable gap. But a small tips to the eight sisters and the rest of Indians: dress comfortably and eat healthily, while you uphold your identity and integrity.