An Open Letter: ‘I Have Small Eyes, Mr Prime Minister'
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An Open Letter: 'I Have Small Eyes, Mr Prime Minister'
Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty
35 minutes ago
It doesn't behove the stature of an Indian prime minister to deploy such racist language about any community, whether Indian or not. Why you could consider a course correction.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.
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Dear Mr Prime Minister,
I saw a video from a public speech delivered by you in your home state of Gujarat on Tuesday, May 27. To say the least, I, as a person from Northeast India, am still numb at your references to 'small eyes' and with 'eyes that don't even open'.
Before I come to why, let me take this opportunity to convey to you that far from Gujarat, in my family home in Assam, ever since my school days, I have seen a sizeable photo of a certain Gujarati hanging on a wall of the drawing room. Every godhuli (dusk), an incense stick is stuck on to the photo frame by my father, just after he finishes the same ritual on all the frames containing various gods and goddesses hung across the house, while reciting his evening mantras. I am proud to say here, that the Gujarati prayed in my family is none other than the Mahatma – Mahatma Gandhi.
My father, now 93, still continues the daily ritual; also never forgets to tell any first-time visitor with a tinge of pride that the Mahatma, during his maiden trip to Assam in 1921, had also paid a short visit to his now over-a-century-old family house. My grandfather was one of the first in that upper Assam town to have signed up for Congress membership at the call of the Mahatma then to fight the foreign powers; yes, to refuse the foreign goods too.
Prime Minister, I am sure you are aware of the great Naga freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu. When there was no advocate to fight the case mounted against her by the British, my grandfather had traveled a challenging path all the way to the Rangoon high court with a set of fellow Nagas to fight for her release from jail. In a country under foreign powers then, it was no surprise that the advocate was also jailed along with Gaidinliu, a young accused then who had the gumption to stand up to the colonial powers for converting fellow Nagas to Christianity from their religion, Heraka. That fight, by the way, had made our first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru bestow Gaidinliu the prefix to her name, Rani (queen), as we know her today, and call her a freedom fighter.
These references, particularly to the Father of the Nation here, are only to underline that such connections that we form with powerful leaders and change-makers who may belong to another region or community, just keeps alive the unity and solidarity of the people of this huge country that we are all part of, and so proud of. Tiny, daily rituals carried out in houses like mine also acknowledge that we may know little about a region that the leader/the change-maker comes from or their people, but, as the constitution says, we are the same people – no matter how large or small the size of our eyes are (irrespective of race and creed, remember?).
Prime Minister, like several from the Northeast, I too had lived on those lines; happen to choose a partner from outside the region. I never looked at the size of his eyes, and am sure, he didn't either. Let me tell you, what we saw in each other's eyes was the same – love and respect.
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In your May 27 speech, even if you had made an indirectly referred to the Chinese when you had referred to Ganesha with 'small eyes' and 'eyes that don't even open', the remark cannot be overlooked; cannot be not seen to apply to 'small-eyed' Indians like me; those who come from the region I call home.
Prime Minister, even in the national capital, many from the Northeast (that includes me too) face racism and discrimination on the streets almost every day. Often in central Delhi, I am stopped by random strangers while walking, to ask in English which country I belong to; whether I am looking for a currency exchange booth; a cheaper hotel room, a taxi for sightseeing.
For those who may ask, what clothes were you wearing then: Well, no 'Indian' dress has been able to help me ward off such casual street racism in Delhi yet. I am sure this must be the case in various other cities.
Also, I speak for many northeastern women living in mainstream cities if I say that I never step out of my house without using kajal on my eyes, just because we don't want to be on the streets with 'small eyes'; eyes that are seen by others as 'barely open'.
Sir, I am not sure if you are aware, it is also well documented in the report of the Bezbaruah Committee, set up by the central government after the tragic death of an Arunachali youth, Nido Tania, in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar, that the racist terms used on people from the Northeast in mainstream cities includes words like 'Chinky' and 'Chinese'.
'Small eyes' too is a term used for us. At times, no words are needed but finger tips are used to press the corners of the attacker's eyes to send us the message that we have 'small eyes'; 'eyes that barely open' – the same gesture you used in your speech. Exactly like that China-made Ganesha idol you had referred to in your speech.
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Prime Minister, it is also well documented that during the Covid-19 pandemic, many from my region were thrown out of stores and rented accommodations, some even attacked physically and spat at, just because they looked 'Chinese' and the epidemic had stemmed from China.
In such a dark reality, if you, as the prime minister, lampoon 'small eyes' publicly, in our eyes, you are seen backing those nameless people in many mainstream cities who call us 'Chinky' and Chinese'. Anyway, it doesn't behove the stature of an Indian prime minister to deploy such racist language about any community or set of people, whether Indian or not. What I understood also from your speech is that India's contest is economic and versus China, and rightly so. In such a fight, there should be no space for the size of the eyes. Like it didn't matter in diplomacy, when you set your big eyes on the 'small-eyed' Chinese premier Xi Xingping while sitting on a swing and chuckling together by the Sabarmati some years ago.
Prime Minister, let me remind you here, that even in your own cabinet, there are ministers with 'small eyes'. I am referring to Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju. In 2018, when your government, reportedly due to Chinese insistence, kept Rijiju out of an official function in New Delhi, many in my region were upset and sad that New Delhi didn't stand up to the Chinese pressure. Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju's home state, is an Indian state, and shall remain so.
Also, doesn't at least one of your important cabinet ministers, who is in the CCS, have a partner whose eyes are 'small' due to her race? Personal preferences aside, racist outbursts by the country's top leader should have no space in a public speech in today's day and time; they are bad for both domestic and international optics. Remember how US president Donald Trump was chided by the world for having questioned the attire of Ukrainian president V Zelenskyy.
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Prime Minister, here is something about Lord Ganesha having 'small eyes'. If you take into account the fact that Ganesha is also a Buddhist deity, revered across South Asia where people have 'small eyes'. Even in several Indian monasteries, say, Alchi, said to be the oldest monastery in Ladakh, Ganesha exists in miniature paintings on its walls – and yes, with small eyes! The Vinayaka or the Ganapati cult within various sects of Buddhism exists beyond India, across the South and South-East Asia's geography. Finding a Ganesha sculpture in a museum, therefore, in these countries where Buddhism has been a strong religious influence, is not a rarity. By the way, Ganesha is the only Hindu god regarded as Boddhistava.
Even in China, there have been Ganapati rituals. French Buddhism expert Robert Duquenne in his publication, 'Ganapathi Rituals in Chinese', had pointed out that 'Not less than twelve texts in the Chinese Buddhist Canon are dedicated to Vinayaka or Ganapati.' The author had noted, 'The alternative and more usual name Ganesa never occurs here.'
Here, let me also inform you that some of our goddesses may in all likelihood have 'small eyes'. Assam's revered goddess Kesaikhati is a tribal goddess. We don't often draw Ma Kamakhya, but as per new research, she too might have a tribal (Khasi) origin.
In Assam, we also celebrate the annual arrival of the monsoons, no less than that of a goddess. We call her Bordoisila. Every monsoon, we keep out a small mirror, a bottle of hair oil and a comb, for her to look at; the belief is, the rains are strong because she is rushing home to see her mother. Since the name Bordoisila has been drawn from the Bodo community, of Tibeto Burman origin, that goddess also, racially speaking, should have 'small eyes'.
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Prime Minister, I fully agree with you that a country which is aspiring to become a developed nation by 2047, must start its self-sufficiency journey on a war footing. You had implied China in your speech and I agree that we must stay away from using not just cheaper Chinese goods like Diwali lights and Holi colours and Lakshmi and Ganesha idols, but also all foreign goods that have a decent equivalent which is Made in India. This country had seen a time when people had booked their HMT watches and waited for months to be delivered; same with India-made cars and scooters. But should that journey not start with you? Like it did with Gandhi when he gave a call to quit using foreign goods? Therefore, if you still wear that Movado watch; that pair of Mayback sunglasses; that Mont Blanc pen, etc., which several media reports speak of regularly, please replace them with Made in India equivalents. Show the path.
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And that western hat you wear while visiting a wildlife park?
I have a suggestion for its replacement too. In the Northeast, each community has its own hat; you can truly promote indigenous traditions and Made in India products if you choose to replace that cowboy-like hat with one from my region. The choices are too many, I promise.
Before I end, I must also say why I took the liberty to write an open letter to you. This is in keeping with my understanding of what you often say, India is not just the world's largest democracy but the mother of all democracies. In such a democracy, a common citizen must then have the right to question her elected Prime Minister. So have I here, just as a common citizen who comes from the Northeast. I have questioned you about a sensitivity that you clearly overlooked in your May 27 public speech, and as a 'small eyed' Indian, I am offended.
I hope you ponder over it and course correct, because India's prime minister must not be seen just talking about the need for fellow Indians to treat people from the Northeast without discrimination; but must be seen doing so too, both in his words and deeds so that he becomes an example for others to emulate.
With best regards,
Yours Sincerely,
Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty
A humble citizen of India who is never allowed to forget that she has 'small eyes', but she manages to keep them open and look clearly ahead.
(Post script: Sir, looking at the times that we are in, I hope I don't get arrested for writing an open letter to you; getting trolled on social media would anyway follow, and who knows, fellow north-easterners belonging to your party may also be sent after me for taking umbrage at your comment, and I may eventually end up being called a 'China sympathiser'.)
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