Friday 17 March 2017

Calling a person of North-East ‘Chinki’ can land you in prison for 5 years!

Watch your tongue next time before you call any person of North-East India as ‘chinki’. In a hard hitting move, Ministry of Home Affairs has asked states and Union Territories to act against people who use the term for disgracing people of North-East region. The Ministry in its circular has asked the states to book such offenders under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) act.

The term ‘chinki’ is often used for a person of North-East, owing to their mongoloid features.

Though the move has been welcomed in certain sections of media, it has sparked an intense debate on the electronic media, mainly for the reason that 5 years jail term for this offence seems to be on the extreme side.


Mixed Reactions from People
People of North-East residing in New Delhi have called the move a positive start. They point out that even Mahatma Gandhi protested when he was thrown out of a train in South Africa because of his colour.

This incident happened in South Africa and people from North-East point that they are discriminated in their own country and more so in metro cities like New Delhi.

Women from North-East are the worst sufferers of this idiom that people have given them in North India.

Calling anyone with specific names as ‘chinki’ is an attack on the dignity of any person and this should not be tolerated in any democratic country.

Person of North-East too is an Indian
However, people have taken the news with a pinch of salt. Imprisoning anyone for calling people ‘chinki’ is worth it but the duration of prison term is something that has baffled the people most.

Students in Delhi University point out that a prison term of few weeks or months could be a worthy way to get rid of this menace.

People, especially youngsters, are sceptical about the implementation of this circular and point out that it could end up becoming just another government notification. However, an earnest start has been made by the government authorities to curb this practice and it needs to be welcomed.

(Source: Vagamomos)

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