Image credits: Jonom Bru from Sakhan Serhmun in North Tripura, India/Pixabay. Newlyweds Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on May 23, went missing during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. A few days later, Raja’s body was found in a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra, East Khasi Hills district. On June 2, the police confirmed he had been murdered. The main accused turned out to be his wife, Sonam. Several suspects confessed that she was involved in the murder plan. Sonam, meanwhile, claimed that both were attacked and that Raja died trying to save her. While the investigation continues, and the courts will decide what’s true, the bigger tragedy here, beyond the brutal killing, is what happened next. The entire Northeast got blamed.
As soon as the news broke, people across India started hurling abuse online, not just at Meghalaya, but at all the Northeastern states. Trolls called the fellow Indians "man-eaters," "monsters," and urged others not to visit the region. Tourism was targeted. People generalised, labelled, and spewed racism without hesitation. This is not the first time. But it needs to be the last.
The Northeast is not separate from India. It is as much a part of our country as Maharashtra, Punjab, or Tamil Nadu. The people there are not “others.” They are us. Our fellow citizens. Our colleagues, students, neighbours, soldiers, doctors and artists. Indians in every sense.
Soon after the facts came out and the accused were identified, none of whom were from the Northeast, local people in Shillong and Sohra organised silent marches. One placard summed it up: “To all those who accused, defamed, and humiliated us, the time has come to apologise.”
Mary Victoria Marwein, a senior citizen from Lawsohtun, said what many parents were feeling:
“As mothers, we worry about how negative stories will hurt our children who work and study outside the state.”
And she is right. Because this kind of blame and hatred does damage. It hurts the image of a whole region. Worse, it undermines the dignity of millions of people who belong to the very heart of this country.
Ask yourself this: when a crime happens in Uttarakhand or Gujarat, do we blame all North Indians? Do we boycott cities or insult entire communities? Then why does this happen every single time something goes wrong in the Northeast?
This same week, a 20-year-old girl from Assam, Rasmita Hojai, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Uttarakhand. Are people from the Northeast calling all North Indians murderers? No. Because they have sense. And empathy. Something many of us lack when it comes to dealing with our fellow citizens from the Northeast.
Let’s be honest. Racism is not new. We’ve normalised slurs like “chinky,” “momo,” “Nepali,” “Chinese”, all meant to reduce someone’s identity to something alien, something “other.” They face discrimination in jobs, housing, and everyday life because of how they look or speak. All this while being Indian citizens, born and raised in this country. And yet, they treat us with respect. With love.
I’ve spent time in Assam. I’ve stayed in villages, eaten in people’s homes and walked through tea gardens. The people there welcomed me like family, even when we couldn’t speak the same language well. Their kindness and warmth are a part of India’s spirit.
So when we mock or mistrust the people of the Northeast, we’re not hurting “them.” We’re hurting ourselves. Because India cannot stand strong if some of its own are constantly treated as outsiders.
The Northeast is not just a “tourist spot” or a “remote region.” It is India’s heart and soul, with its own rich history and culture that belong to all of us.
This isn’t about politics or justice. This is about humanity. We didn’t just damage Northeast’s image; we damaged its dignity. That kind of collective defamation demands more than silence. It demands an apology.
Not just from trolls, but from all of us who’ve ever laughed at a Northeast joke or stayed silent when someone else did. From everyone who never spoke up when racism showed up in everyday conversations, classrooms, WhatsApp groups, or offices.
If you blamed Meghalaya for Raja’s murder before the facts came out, apologise. If you stayed silent when others were spreading hate, speak up now. If you’ve ever said something racist, even as a joke, own it, and do better.
So yes, Raja deserves justice. But the Northeast deserves something too.
An apology. Because the Northeast is not “them.” The Northeast is us.
0 Comments