Stop calling ‘Chinky’!

Apr 9
NabanitaDhar
http://facebook.com/sftimetochange

‘Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.’ They say change is the only constant in life. Everything around us reminds us of this very fact. Everywhere we look this aphorism is abundantly enunciated. Look at the day itself; how it swings from morning to noon to the placid night. Another example being our lives; from a new born to an adolescent to adults to old withered souls. It is all about change! So whether we consciously try to bring a change or not things around us will keep changing all the time. The only question would be if the change is for good or for bad? Our role would only be that of a moderator who affects or nudges the change towards a positive or a negative direction.
Now if I look around me there are so many things that I would like to affect a change on but my means are limited. I am but only a small fish in this big huge ocean of life. So what could I do that could contribute in some sort of good for the society and the world I live in.  
There are thousands of vices in this world of ours which annoy me and irritate me more so as some of these are embedded in the so called ‘educated classes’. I am sure all of us are aware of the term ‘Chinky’. Yes that’s right the word with which the so called decent citizens of our country refer to their brothers and sisters from the ‘North East’. Now perhaps the word in itself is not so derogatory but the way people from the north east are looked upon is which makes my blood boil in anger.
First of all please people just because anyone is from the north east don’t me they live in jungle and are descendants out of moogly’s tribe! It pains to see how little our countrymen know about the north eastern part of our country. I too belong to the north east and have been born and brought up there and it saddens me to see the prejudiced look on people’s faces when they meet or interact with a person from the east.
Just last week I was having lunch in the cafeteria of one of the largest companies of our nation which is supposed to employ some of the best minds out there but what I saw really made me think twice if education can actually refine a person. Some of the ‘non-northeast non chinky’ colleagues of mine were mocking some so called ‘Chinky north eastern’ colleagues just on the basis of their looks. And it didn’t stop there; every time a fellow from the north east would enter a room or a cafeteria the reaction was similar. How do you think that fellow must feel like? An alien in his own country! And all this is not because that fellow looks different ahh ahh… It is because of the narrow mindset of the rest of the people who know nothing about the northeast and can do no better than mock the people.
We all must have seen on several occasions on the television and by virtue of the print media the sort of discrimination that people from the north east have to face in the rest of the country. I would for once like to see this change! People from the North east are broad minded; they respect women and there are far lesser vices in their value system like there is no dowry or any other social bullshit that is so much more prevalent in the other corners of our country. If they want they could also mock you on the basis of your shallow belief system; but they don’t do that; do they? Perhaps the rest can take a cue from this and try to stop this menace. So yes this is what I would like to see as the change in our country; in our society! Respect your fellow human beings only then you would be worthy of respect!


54 thoughts on “Stop calling ‘Chinky’!”

  1. Reminds me of the movie 'Chak De' where they show a similar scene! Yes, its true! I guess they do feel like an alien in their own country! Nice post!

  2. And that is nothing short of Nazism! I have close friends from that part of our country and we respect each other well enough. Great writing.

  5. This is actually a very serious problem, And what about the army occupation in Mizoram…Most of the country knows so little about the North Eastern states of India. The lack of government funds to develop the area is shocking. It's become a forgotten "exotic" land. Even that map you added is alien to most…

  6. I love this post. To be honest, I have a friend I call Chinky.. But she adores it coz I call it out of love and not to offend her.. It's just a nick!

    Having said that, I think you should know I adore people from the North-East. Not only are they cute, but they're real gentle and helpful souls. To befriend people like them is a great feeling!

    Again, to all those who use the term to demean someone. I think that's pathetic. And YES, IT MUST CHANGE. Great write up. 🙂

  17. Nabanita – It's not just you .. I know so many educated fellow Indians from the North and some even married or dating southies. For those people anyone beyond Goa and Orissa is considered madrasi. They don't even know the difference between malayalam and malayalee. I wonder when this would stop but atleast this post is a start 🙂

    Cheers,
    Sangeeta

  23. We have stopped calling 'them' 'chinky'. We all agree that 'chapta' is a more appropriate word :-p
    I don't see much harm in naming people chinky/madrasi (or naming regions as chinkyland/ cow-belt/ bong-land) as long as that's in good humor; as long as we know that the bhaiyas and chinkys are as much Indians as are the Bongs, Gujjus and Madrasis

  26. Its more often than not 'Not in Good Humor'… Chauvinism based on region, based on looks is never funny or appropriate especially for the one at the receiving end :)… It is even worse when you are made to feel like an outsider in your own country…

  28. that's a great post!! even i live in the northeastern part of the country and can totally relate to your views. its more derogatory than funny.

    totally agree with u. formal education cannot refine the thought process. but i see this immature mentality everywhere e.g. how a north indian thinks about a south indian and vice versa.

    very well written.

  30. Hey Naba,
    its so true… though my roots are not in NE, this is one place i would love to die. i was born there and have lived my half of life..Most of the Indians are so alienated with 7sister-NE States, that they find people from NE as a aliens in their world.. I would encourage those Indians to discover 7sisters once in their life.. be it wonderful jungles of Assam, Vaishav culture of Manipur, Holi of Manipur, Western world of SHillong, mystic Mizoram, traditional nagaland, tripura..and so on… and not to forget my fav Arunachal where tribes of tarzan comic alikes live so hormoniously with Modern world… yea How many of us know, there is a place more beautiul than Kashmir (ZERO_Arunachal), Monastries of Bomdila, Tawang (arunachal)….and so on…

    and hey they call Mizos/Nagas/khasi as CHINKI to be more precise… did they ever care to notice that they are more western and modern than the rest of india!!!
    anyways.. they desrve more respect than being called as chinky

  31. Its the same prejudice with south Indians … I hardly ever get "sambhar" smells when I go to madras, I can vouch for it, i've lived there six years.

    … and the Madrasi thing is pissing off too… people from Bangalore are not Madrasis, and south India is more developed than many other places.

    I don't know about north east, except for the fact that hardly anyone calls you chinky or whatever in Bangalore. People probably say Assamese, but that's it.

  34. This is a fine post. I being from Assam can relate to this. However, i have great friends here and we all feel the same. As a nation we have prejudice over everything.

  36. I too lived a part of my life in North East and I totally understand what you are saying. When I tell people about my residence history, they put weird faces like I came from some other planet. I am not sure where we are today, but i hope we will soon see a change.

  44. Chinki!!!! 🙂 good post to clear the thoughts! innocent enough as well! have never experienced those eastern people… hopefully with you and debajyoti, there should be more awakening about eastern India! though this recent anthalogy (Journeys in the Night, eidted by Negar Akhavi) that I read, seems to be covering only 1% of all those East Indian Tales! 🙂 suggest me some good Anthaloges in paperback for the Eastern India's information!

  45. Thanks…
    You are write very limited is known about the beautiful culture and people of eastern India…I myself haven't come across many books on the same… One friend had suggested this;
    The Oxford Anthology of Writings from North-East India
    Poetry and Essays; to me .. I haven't myself yet had a chance to read it but you may try it out!

  48. This is not the only stereotype…
    I've seen enough people who think Guwahati is a hill station where it snows all the time & also that most people leave atop trees etc…

  50. totally agree. ppl need to be more sensitive and come out of sterotypism..

  54. You have written a wonderful post..Hope more and more people think that way ! They don't have to give the North East people any special treatment just at-least treat them as fellow Indians..!

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