A viral video capturing a dehumanizing encounter at a government hospital in Patna has ignited a fresh wave of outrage across India, reopening the painful wounds of racial discrimination faced by citizens from the Northeast.
What was meant to be a cultural exchange for a professional dance troupe from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland turned into a nightmare on April 2. The group, in Bihar for a cultural festival, visited the hospital to seek treatment for a performer’s minor leg injury. Instead of medical care, they were met with hostility, slurs, and a demand to prove their nationality just to access a public washroom.
The confrontation began when a hospital attendant in a beige uniform blocked the group from the facilities, demanding identification. The situation rapidly deteriorated into verbal abuse. Captured on a 45-second cell phone clip, the staff and bystanders are heard hurling racial slurs, including “Chinki,” “Momo,” and “Chinese.”
The video captures a man, allegedly part of the hospital’s administrative staff, mocking the performers:
“Why are you here? Go back to China. We don’t have momos for you.”
As the group attempted to record the harassment, the staff member tried to snatch the phone, shouting, “Tum log yahan ke nahi ho” (You people aren’t from here). In the footage, the woman filming remains defiant despite the exhaustion in her voice, noting that while they love to travel, incidents like this make them live in fear within their own country.
The Digital Outrage: #NortheastLivesMatter
The footage has since garnered millions of views, trending under the hashtag #NortheastLivesMatter. The reaction has been swift and severe:
- Political Pressure: MLAs from Manipur and Meghalaya have contacted the Bihar government demanding an immediate FIR.
- Public Apologies: Many residents of Patna and North India took to social media to express shame, with one user noting, “As a resident of Patna, I am extremely sorry… You guys are Indians too.”
- A Call for Justice: Critics highlighted the irony of the abuse, pointing out that Northeasterners serve in the Indian Army at disproportionate rates and represent the country globally in sports and arts, yet are still treated as foreigners.
As of Wednesday, the Patna Police issued a brief statement confirming they are aware of the video. While the hospital administration has reportedly formed an internal committee to investigate the conduct of the staff involved, no official suspensions or FIRs have been confirmed.
For many, the smirks of the staff in the video remain the most haunting part—a sign of a deep-seated bias that “Unity in Diversity” has yet to erase.
Racism and Representation: The Numbers
The “disproportionate service” mentioned by supporters is backed by significant data regarding the Northeast’s contribution to India:
- Military Contribution: Despite making up only about 3.7% of India’s population, states like Manipur and Nagaland have some of the highest per-capita rates of enrollment in the Armed Forces.
- Legal Protections: Under the Bezbaruah Committee recommendations, the Ministry of Home Affairs directed states to use Section 153A of the IPC to specifically tackle racial slurs, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.
- Social Reality: A 2014 study commissioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs found that over 80% of people from the Northeast living in Delhi-NCR had faced some form of racial discrimination or verbal abuse.
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