'Chinki, Chinese, Momo': Arunachal Troupe's Racist Horror At Patna Station

A dance troupe from Arunachal Pradesh has faced racial harassment at Patna railway station, with a woman using slurs such as "chinki" and "momo" to target the young women from the Northeast. According to reports, the woman asked the Arunachal women to show their identity cards for using the restroom. When they protested, she hurled racist abuses at them.

Videos of their exchange, which are now viral, show the woman laughing as the Arunachal group objects to her remarks. "We are from Arunachal, we want to travel to other parts of the country, but we are scared because of such people. She called us 'chinki, chinese, momo'," the woman recording a video is heard saying.

Soon after, the woman using the racist slurs says in English, "My favourite food is momo." At this, an Arunachal woman replies, "What are you doing here? Why are you bothering us?"

The woman recording the video says, "Such people are defaming our country. They don't know India's map. They are showing off their English as if they know everything. They have zero knowledge. Uncivilised and uneducated people are like this."

Another video shows the woman saying, "I don't care", as the group from Arunachal filmed the events. A woman from the group says, "Why are people like you in India? If you studied anything, you would know."

Mrinal Kumar, Inspector in the Railway Protection Force contingent in Patna station, told NDTV that they investigated the matter and found that the woman hurling the racist slurs suffers from mental health issues. "Earlier too, she has been seen at Patna junction. RPF has informed her family members after the video went viral," he said.

Nearly eight decades after Independence, people from the Northeast continue to face racist slurs such as "chinki" and "momo" in various parts of the country. The incident in Patna comes less than two months after three women from Arunachal had a harrowing experience at their rented home in Delhi's Malviya Nagar.

A minor altercation over construction work snowballed into a full-scale racist attack as a couple used racist abuses against the three women from Arunachal, who came to the national capital to prepare for competitive exams.

A video of the verbal assault, during which the accused couple, Harsh Singh and Ruby Jain, are heard saying the Arunachal women run massage parlours and are sex workers, sparked massive outrage and drew strong reactions from the Chief Ministers of northeastern states.

Amid growing outrage, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister for Development of Northeastern Region, said he was "deeply disturbed by the racial harassment". "Any injustice against our brothers and sisters from the Northeast will not be tolerated. Their safety and dignity are paramount to us," the minister said.