Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Monday held a news conference at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi, raising concerns over the death of Tripura student Angel Chakma alleging police inaction and deep-rooted discrimination against people from the Northeast.
Gogoi said people from the Northeast are stereotyped and wrongly identified as foreigners.
“I am an Indian, not Chinese. The people of the North East are Indians, and not Chinese,” he said, asserting that such prejudice continues to put young people from the region at risk when they travel to other parts of the country for education or work.
Referring to the incident involving Angel Chakma, Gogoi said the violence was triggered after the victim objected to racial slurs.
“The same words were said by a Tripura boy. He and his brother were coming back from the market. There someone called him Chinese. He could have just left from there but that day, he decided not to tolerate this and he replied that I’m an Indian,” he said. “Instead of apologising to him, 5 people started attacking him and killed him.”
Gogoi said the family of Angel Chakma had shared disturbing details about the Dehradun police’s response. Gogoi said the family had to wait 12 days for an FIR while the main accused remains at large.
“We are raising this issue because we got some information which is very concerning. His family members have given these statements that the local police didn’t take prompt action. It took 12 days to register this FIR,” he said, adding that the FIR was registered only after students staged protests.
He demanded swift judicial action in the Angel Chakma case. “We hope that this case should be registered in the court as soon as possible and justice should be given. Proper investigation should be done. We hope that the main culprit should be caught at the earliest. It must be found out why there was a delay in registration of FIR by the local police,” he said.
He noted that while four people have been arrested, the main accused has fled.
“Some people got arrested but the main culprit has run away. Here the question arises, whether these incidents are happening in other parts of the country as well?” Gogoi asked, demanding accountability from the Uttarakhand government and a probe into the delay in filing the FIR.
Sharing a personal experience, Gogoi said he could relate to the humiliation faced by people from the region.
“I also want to accept that the same thing happened with me as well. I went to Agra, a guard asked me to show my passport. In my own country, I was asked to show my passport. I can understand this feeling. This is very painful,” he said.
The Congress leader also flagged similar concerns in Assam. “In Assam also, people are chanting slogans of ‘Karbi Chinese go back’. Why is this happening? Govt needs to think about it,” he said.
Drawing parallels with Karbi Anglong in Assam, Gogoi said prejudice against communities such as the Karbis continues to grow, partly because issues related to the Northeast are not adequately included in school curricula.
“In today’s textbooks, do we need to mention about north-eastern states as well? Do we need to understand the culture of north-eastern states?” he asked.
He also questioned the role of the central government, asking Union home minister Amit Shah to explain why members of the Karbi community have been attacked.
Taking aim at the Centre’s “One India” slogan, Gogoi said the government has ignored the country’s diversity.
“The people from the government should go to the native place of Angel Chakma, go and see how many Shiv temples are there. Today’s government talks about ‘One India’ but it doesn’t talk about the diversity in this one India,” he said.
He also referred to freedom fighter Kanaklata Barua of Assam, who sacrificed her life while waving the tricolour during the Quit India Movement, to underline the Northeast’s contribution to the nation.
Gogoi said there was a need to challenge the high-low status entrenched in society and urged the government to take steps that would encourage people from other parts of the country to visit the Northeast at government expense to understand its culture and history.
Gogoi further criticised the Modi government’s approach to the Northeast, alleging that it has failed to address ground realities in states such as Manipur and Assam, and accused the BJP of pursuing divisive politics in the region.
Chakma, 24, a resident of Nandannagar in West Tripura district, succumbed to his injuries on 26 December after spending 17 days in a Dehradun hospital.
The attack took place on 9 December in the Selakui area. Police said he suffered serious injuries to his head and back caused by sharp objects and a kadaa, or metal bracelet.
Uttarakhand police have announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information leading to the arrest of the absconding accused, who is believed to be a resident of Nepal. Officials said a police team has been sent to the neighbouring country.