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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
Vijay Nagar assault: People from Northeast continue to bear the brunt of ‘culinary differences'
We grew up in an India that celebrated unity in cultural diversity. Besides different clothing and cultural practices, each region of India has its unique culinary flavours, cooking styles, spices, ingredients and tastes. However, this diversity often becomes a means of social exclusion. The recent incident from Vijay Nagar in Northwest Delhi — a shop called the 'North East Shop' was vandalised by a mob on suspicion of selling beef — illustrates how food often becomes a tool to assert and impose cultural hegemony. The shopkeeper was beaten up, but the police, instead of taking action against the violent mob, sent a sample of the meat for testing to determine whether it was beef. Northeast Indian people have been at the receiving end of such attacks for years. The Vijay Nagar case brings back memories of the racist killing of Nido Tania in 2014. Tania, a 20-year-old from Arunachal Pradesh, was murdered in an allegedly racist attack in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar area. His only crime was his 'difference'. The otherisation of Northeast Indians begins with physical features, but it extends to their cultural practices. It is very difficult for people from the Northeast region to find accommodation in metropolitan cities like New Delhi. One of the primary deterrents is the prevailing perception of their food culture. Their foods are marked as 'impure', 'dirty' and 'smelly'. Consequently, they are often forced to live in segregated localities. Spaces like Humayunpur and Vijay Nagar are relatively safer and allow them to express and practise their culture more freely. But attacks like the latest one have the potential to make even these spaces unsafe. Films like Axone (2019) depict how cooking specific dishes like axone (a fermented soybean product that has a strong smell) can cause trouble for Northeast tenants. In 2007, the Delhi Police brought out a booklet highlighting how migrant food habits could foment civic order issues. Fermented food, especially, was treated as a law-and-order issue. Even after being otherised for their food practices, they carry the burden of being assimilated — as if it is their responsibility to soothe mainstream society's cultural anxieties. Both casteism and racism work together to make them feel like aliens. Moreover, Northeastern foods — rarely considered 'Indian' — are categorised as 'tribal' or 'ethnic' and are ignored in public functions, social ceremonies, and ritualistic celebrations. They are also often missing from the menus of hostels and canteens of central universities. They are only available in spaces that are earmarked as 'Northeast Hostel', 'Northeast Dhaba', etc. Policymakers in recent years have tried to include Northeast people in the mainstream imagination. There has been an increasing focus on the region's history and culture, including the revision of syllabi. But can we really talk about inclusivity if we keep demeaning and attacking the region's food and cultural habits? Incidents like what happened in Vijay Nagar only reinforce the existing racism in India. They instil fear in the minds of people selling and buying food items that are seen as 'different'. It ruins any and all efforts to make India inclusive. The writer teaches Sociology at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Indian Express
Row over sale of meat reveals faultlines in locality next door to Delhi University
Tucked inside Vijay Nagar colony in Model Town is a nondescript store, simply called 'North East Shop'. A neon-coloured hoarding bearing a soft drink commercial hangs outside, in sharp contrast to its two black metal doors, which are firmly shut. It is this small shop, flanked by residential houses and other small eateries, which became a flashpoint on Wednesday when a group of men stormed the premises and thrashed shopkeeper Chaman Kumar, who is from Nepal, accusing him of selling cow meat. The Delhi Police have sealed the shop and said meat samples have been sent for forensic testing. At his home in Burari, Chaman, 44, denies the allegations and says he only sells buffalo meat. 'I don't keep the meat with me. I only bring it a day after someone orders it. So, I got him the meat on Wednesday. The next moment, a few people barged in and started slapping me. They dragged me out of my shop. The neighbours saved me,' he tells The Indian Express. The 'him' Chaman referred to is a 15-year-old boy who claims that he had gone to the shop on Tuesday to buy a cold drink when he overheard two persons discussing beef. According to the boy, he asked the shopkeeper if he could also buy beef and he was told to come the next day. The teenager says he contacted an NGO 'Pahal Ek Jeevan Ki'. 'The next day, as soon as I went to the shop, the NGO people went inside and checked the fridge…' he alleges. Chaman dismisses the allegations. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), North west, Bhisham Singh says a sample of the meat from the shop has been sent for forensic examination. With no FIR lodged against those who allegedly attacked Chaman, the Delhi Police says it would take a call once the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) results are in. No FIR or complaint has been filed in the case so far. Back in Vijay Nagar, the incident has caused unease through the large community of students from the Northeast who live and study in the area, a congested maze of alleys tucked behind Delhi University's North Campus, and patronise shops likes Chaman's that serve fresh meat in one section with the other functioning as an eatery offering delicacies of their home states. 'I've been living here for three years,' says Rachel, a 21-year-old third-year student at DU's Law Centre who is from Nagaland. 'The shop also had Manipuri food,' says Rachel. Chaman's wife is a Manipuri woman called Mary. They moved to Delhi in 2013. 'We wanted to start a family,' says Chaman, who initially opened a shop in Gandhi Vihar area, as it 'used to have a lot of people from the Northeast. 'I only wanted to open a shop with Northeastern people around, as I love cooking their cuisine besides Korean food. Later, I moved to Vijay Nagar,' he adds. Vijay Nagar is a densely populated area with closely packed buildings, most of them offering PG accommodations. The walls are splashed with graffiti of student unions like AISA and SFI. On Thursday, the Students' Federation of India (SFI) attempted to protest outside the Model Town Police Station but were denied permission. In a statement, SFI said: 'SFI Delhi held a protest today… against the mob who thrashed and beat the shopkeeper of the Northeastern store mercilessly… We condemn the inaction of the police who categorically refused to register the FI,R saying they will do a fact-finding inquiry first… Students stand united against the communal and xenophobic elements that are dividing and terrorising the Northeastern community in Vijay Nagar.' AISA, too, organised a demonstration later on Thursday evening, demanding arrests and protection for students from the Northeast. Aparna Huindro, 20, from Manipur, who resides right opposite the shop, says she would visit it to buy Singju, a traditional Manipuri snack made with vegetables. 'We just called him (Chaman) John. I didn't know his real name, but I knew his wife,' she says. The incident has exposed faultlines in the region where most owners are locals, and the tenants from Northeast. 'We are always judged – for eating buff, or dry fish. Every time I cook something traditional, the neighbours complain,' says Huindro. 'We look different. We have different food. But that doesn't mean we should be looked at or treated differenty'.
