Dehradun/New Delhi— "We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?" These were the tragic, final words of Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura, before he was brutally assaulted by a group of men in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun.
Chakma, the son of an Indian Army veteran, died on December 26 after battling for his life on a ventilator for over two weeks. He had been stabbed and beaten on December 9 while out shopping with his brother, allegedly after objecting to being called "Chinese" and "Momo" by locals. The incident has reignited a firestorm of grief and anger regarding the safety of citizens from Northeast India, prompting a plea in the Supreme Court to recognize "racial slur" as a specific category of hate crime.
The brutality of the crime has sent shockwaves through the Northeastern community, where the wounds of systemic othering run deep. Speaking on the condition of anonymity regarding her safety but wanting her voice heard, M Joute Hmar, a tribal woman from Manipur, expressed visceral anger at the hypocrisy she perceives in the national narrative.
She told The Mooknayak:
According to Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar, the incident occurred on the evening of December 9 in the Premnagar police station area. Anjel and his brother, Michael Chakma, were in Selaqui when they were accosted.
The altercation began with racial abuse targeting their physical appearance. When Anjel objected, the verbal abuse turned into physical violence. The group attacked the brothers with knives and blunt objects. While Anjel succumbed to his injuries weeks later, the trauma echoes a long-standing pattern of violence, reminiscent of the 2014 killing of Nido Taniam in Delhi.
Five accused have been arrested, while one suspect—a Nepalese national—is on the run. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced a reward for his capture.
Amid the outrage, Supreme Court advocate-on-record Anoop Prakash Awasthi has filed a petition urging the apex court to issue guidelines recognizing racial slurs as a separate category of hate crimes.
Awasthi argues that the new criminal laws, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, fail to address racial violence against citizens from frontier regions. "Despite the unmistakable hate-based and racial motivation of the crime, there is no mechanism available... which treats racial offences as an ordinary crime, thereby erasing motive," the petition states.
The plea calls for:
Immediate Intervention: Treating racial slurs as a distinct hate crime.
Institutional Framework: Creating a nodal agency or commission at Central and State levels to address racial crimes.
Special Police Units: Establishing dedicated units in metro areas to tackle racial violence.
Awasthi termed the recurring attacks on Northeastern citizens a "continuing constitutional failure," adding that acts of racial violence are "anti-civilisational."
The killing has triggered a political blame game. Manickam Tagore, a Congress MP, took to X (formerly Twitter) to blame the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for "spreading daily hate" that culminates in such street-level violence.
"This is not an isolated crime. It is the outcome of normalised hate... Such hate finds oxygen when the BJP governs a state," Tagore posted.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government is scrambling to contain the fallout. Chief Minister Dhami spoke with the victim’s father, Tarun Prasad Chakma, assuring him of strict punishment for the culprits.
"Uttarakhand has never had such an atmosphere, as students from across the country and abroad come here to study," Dhami reportedly told the victim's father. He also coordinated with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the case.
In Tripura, the Tipra Indigenous Students Federation (TISF) held a candle march in Agartala, demanding justice for Anjel. As the legal system moves slowly, the question posed by M Joute Hmar remains unanswered for many in the Northeast: How many more lives must be sacrificed?
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