Arunachali women racially attacked in the national capital: Delhi’s many faces and the ‘others’ it is failing
There are millions of posts on the internet romanticizing Delhi; Some about the bliss that Lodhi Garden brings, some about the historical monuments built by the Mughals, some about the food, some about the markets. Even Mirza Ghalib wrote centuries ago: “I asked my soul: What is Delhi? It replied: ‘The world is the body and Delhi is its life!’ And yet, while Delhi’s boulevards gleam and its bazaars teem with commerce, Delhi risks prejudice for many of its residents.
Stereotypes often reduce human complexity to false and crude assumptions. People are categorized, their identities are transformed into shame and for us, who supposedly live in a civil society, there is no need to imagine the consequences because they are in front of us. Stereotypes normalize exclusion and discrimination and even make them acceptable. When communities are reduced to biases based on race, caste, class and gender, it normalizes a society that can dictate access to housing, education and employment and, over time, also takes the form of structural biases. Stereotypes, racism, sexism and all other forms of “-isms” also kill.
Photo credit: Kara Gania
People from the North East who move to the city in search of quality education and employment have to deal with everyday racism, sexism and cultural alienation that have unfortunately become a permanent condition. It starts in schools, colleges, universities and later in workplaces. These racist attacks also take violent forms, among other things rape, murder, attacketc. that have been reported in Delhi for years.
Arunachali women are facing racist attacks and also sexism in Malviya Nagar
In a recent incident, three young students from Arunachal Pradesh living in a rented apartment became victims of a crime violent racist abuse in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar for something as small as dust falling from an air conditioner. Phrases like “Northeast people are shit” and “500 rupees me parlor me kaam karti ho, dhandhevaliyo” and other misogynistic and stereotypical slurs were shouted in their faces. While race was the most visible axis of oppression, gender also played a role here. The word “Dhandhevaliyo” is deeply politically charged. In colloquial North Indian usage, “dhandha” can mean “business,” but when directed at women it is widely understood as an insult implying sex work.
The three women in Malviya Nagar lived in a rented apartment, which also gives us another clue about class. People in the Northeast already have a problem with rented spaces. They are often met with comments like “Your food stinks,” “You don’t speak Hindi?” confronted. and many others that are characterized by racism.
In the article linked above, the Meghalayan student talks about how a driver in Delhi indirectly linked her to prostitution, while women from the Northeast are stalked by men who try to “sleep with them”. The stereotype that Northeastern women are “morally loose” and “sexually available,” while their facial features, clothing choices and cultural differences are exoticized and then weaponized, feeds a deeply racist and sexist idea.
This “insult” only works because a woman’s perceived sexual respectability is still tied to her social value. Calling a woman “dhandhevali” means humiliating her and depriving her of her dignity, especially those who independently inhabit urban spaces.
Caste? Class? Gender? Race? Or an intersection?
One cannot also ignore the class politics inherent in the word ‘Dhandhevali’. Sex work in India is highly stigmatized and associated with poverty, caste exclusion and urban precarity. They are confronted with violence, police harassment, a lack of occupational safety and social exclusion. They are exploited and shamed at the same time. The politics of this word, therefore, rests on control over women’s bodies, over racialized identities, and over who is respectable, showing us how patriarchy, racism, and caste morality intersect.
The three women in Malviya Nagar lived in a rented apartment, which also gives us another clue about class. People in the Northeast already have a problem with rented spaces. They are often met with comments like “Your food stinks,” “You don’t speak Hindi?” confronted. and many others that are characterized by racism. In a city where it’s already difficult for people from the Northeast to get a rental apartment, it definitely doesn’t help when class privilege and class morality comes into play.
Although caste prejudice manifests itself differently in northeastern communities, it remains deeply rooted in the politics of “mainland” India. Cultural and ethnic hierarchies in India have always been intertwined with caste-based ideas of purity and pollution, and those who do not “fit” within this framework are often marginalized.
Who are the “others” in the state capital?
In 2014 Taniam Nest A student from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten to death in a brutal racist attack in Lajpat Nagar in Delhi. He was ridiculed and his ethnic origins were questioned. In another incident, this time in Dehradun, Angel Chakma a student from Tripura, was attacked with racial slurs like “Chinki”, “Chinese” and “Momo”.
Delhi simultaneously produces and sustains its “others” through intersecting hierarchies of race, class, and gender. Anyone who has smaller eyes is treated racistly. If you can’t speak with the “correct” Hindi accent, you will be ridiculed. If someone wants local food, it is considered barbaric, strange and smelly.
Delhi simultaneously produces and sustains its “others” through intersecting hierarchies of race, class, and gender. Anyone who has smaller eyes is treated racistly. If you can’t speak with the “correct” Hindi accent, you will be ridiculed.
It is also extremely important to recognize that race is not the only indicator of exclusion. Gender deepens this vulnerability. Northeastern women are hypersexualized and morally judged. It also follows them into workspaces, where their facial features become tools for “Attract customers“.
Class also reinforces this marginalization. If someone is lucky enough to own an apartment in Delhi, they can cook bamboo shoots, eat meat of their choice and enjoy stinky fermented fish beans for dinner without anyone monitoring their choices. However, for the majority of the Northeast population migrating to Delhi, this is simply not the case. They must deal with housing prejudice, rental discrimination, and everyday humiliation.
The people of the Northeast are not the only victims of this “otherness”. In many districts of Delhi, Dalits and other marginalized castes are also excluded in rented apartments, where surnames, eating habits or regional origin become grounds for discrimination. In elite institutions and corporate sectors, caste privilege is often disguised as “merit,” while structural advantages accumulated over generations are ignored. Informal labor sectors such as sanitation, domestic work and construction remain largely occupied by historically oppressed castes as these jobs are viewed as menial and dirty. It also flows into educational institutions where Dalit and Bahujan students are often isolated. Tokenismand even have to constantly “prove” their merits.
Caste is not limited to a single religion; it torments, regardless of belief. The caste hierarchies that determine representation in occupations are also thwarted by religious minorities, whose social capital amounts to the same economic fate that has been assigned to them for generations. When such incidents occur, one realizes that some are natural citizens while the “others” are at best a tolerated presence.
If Delhi is to truly be what its poets fantasized and wrote about, it must confront its contradictions. Belonging is both a political claim and a feeling. Migrants who come to Delhi for their opportunities and hopes should never face racism, sexism and alienation.
It also has larger implications for identity. Who is an Indian? Who is Indian enough? If such incidents are to be measured only by how much backlash and outrage they provoke, then no justice can be expected if they are normalized to the point that they do not provoke any reaction from people living in a civil society.
Mema is currently a master’s student at South Asian University (SAU). Being from Manipur, her experiences there have shaped her deep commitment to the feminist cause. Women and their future are very important to her, which is what she tries to convey with her texts. She enjoys reading, writing and cooking.
