'Are you from China?' College student, 20, killed by racist
thugs in New Delhi
Indians from a part of India near Myanmar and China say they face
discrimination in rest of the country for their 'Chinese Asian'
features
PUBLISHED : Monday, 03 February, 2014, 1:44am 
The death of Nido Tania on Thursday sparked a swift outcry across
social media in India. Tania’s supporters produced images,
including the one above. Photo: SCMP
He was a slight young man, who sported hipster eyeglasses and a
wispy moustache. He had dyed his spiky hair blond, but that was not
the only thing that made college student Nido Tania stand out in
the Indian capital.
Tania was from northeastern India, a narrow strip of territory
wedged between China and Myanmar, whose people say they face
discrimination in the rest of the country for having "Asian" facial
features. When Tania, 20, stopped in a dairy to ask for directions
on Tuesday afternoon, the shopkeeper taunted Tania for not knowing
his way around, saying, "Are you from China?" and making fun of his
hair.
The incident escalated into a violent altercation in which several
men thrashed him with sticks and steel rods, friends and officials
said. He died in his bed the next day, succumbing to severe
injuries to the chest and brain, according to preliminary medical
results provided to his family.
The incident has sparked outrage in New Delhi, which was already
reeling from a spate of high-profile rape cases, and has added to a
growing sense of insecurity in a capital that is aiming to be a
showcase for India's growing economic might.
Protesters shout slogans outside a police station in New Delhi on
Saturday. Many people have criticised the response of the Delhi
police to the young man’s beating and death.
Hundreds of protesters rallied on Saturday in Lajpat Nagar, the
market where the beating took place, calling it a hate crime and
demanding that the assailants be prosecuted.
"This was a racist hate crime," said Albina Subba, an advertising
writer originally from the northeast Himalayan town of
Darjeeling.
"Our community is often targeted like this … We look different, so
it's easy for people to see we're not from Delhi."
She added: "We have little faith in the Delhi police, but this time
we want them to take action. This happens every day in Delhi. Each
and every one of us has experienced discrimination because of our
Chinese looking physical features," said Sophy Chamroy, a
22-year-old student from the northeastern state of Manipur.
India's 1.2 billion people have many languages and customs but, as
with the rape cases, racially motivated assaults seem to occur in
New Delhi and other major cities with regularity. Many victims from
the northeast are young people who have migrated to the capital for
school or job opportunities lacking in their poorer home
areas.
Last year in New Delhi, three students from Manipur were beaten by
neighbours. In a separate case, a 21-year-old beautician from
Manipur was found dead in her apartment with injuries to her face
and toes. Police labeled it a suicide and dropped the case but many
suspected she was murdered for looking Chinese.
So widespread is the discrimination against people from
northeastern India that the federal government in 2012 passed a law
that punishes the use of a racial slur with up to five years in
prison. Still, activists say, authorities rarely enforce such laws
and police are as likely to participate in discrimination as
intervene to stop it.
"You don't know what is on the minds of people in Delhi, because
these incidents keep on recurring," said Geetartha Barua, an
official with the state government of Arunachal Pradesh, where
Tania lived.
Tania was in New Delhi on vacation and going to visit an ailing
friend in the area near Lajpat Nagar when he walked into the dairy,
friends said.
Tania smashed a glass display case in anger after being taunted,
prompting the shopkeeper and several other men from the market to
set upon him and a friend. The shopkeepers called the police, who
got Tania to pay about US$120 for the broken glass. The police did
not take any action against the assailants, Barua said.
Police officers let Tania go, but when he passed the shop a second
time the attackers beat him again, said Jotam Toko Tagam, the
former president of a New Delhi organisation for students from
Arunachal Pradesh. When he reached his sister's flat, where he was
staying, he complained of pain and was bleeding from his wrist. He
fell asleep early on Thursday morning after applying balms across
his body, Tagam said. Around 1pm the next day, friends tried to
wake him but found his body cold and limp. Brought to a nearby
hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival, Barua said.
The case sparked an outcry across Indian media and websites with
many criticising the response by the Delhi police. Three men
reportedly have been detained for questioning. Barua said police
did not open a murder investigation until 24 hours after Tania had
died, after the incident had begun to make news.
"We are being forced to go exert pressure on different quarters to
get the police to investigate this matter properly, at a time when
the situation is very sad," Barua said.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition
as 'Are you from China?' The man killed by racist thugs
