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'Include Northeast History, Culture In NCERT Syllabus': Students Urge Centre After Recent Racism Case

This comes in the wake of the recent case of racism, where a YouTuber from Punjab, Paras Singh, passed remarks against Arunachal Pradesh’s Congress MLA and the people of the state, terming them as 'non-Indians', and claiming the state to be a part of China.

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Around 30 student organisations from universities across eight northeast states have come together to create a 'Twitter storm' on Friday, June 4.

The students are demanding the central government to mandatorily include a chapter on the history and culture of the region in the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) curriculum to fight racism.

Students from Guwahati University, Dibrugarh University, Nagaland University, Mizoram University, NIT- Agartala, Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh will begin the campaign. The student unions in Delhi, Manipur, etc., have come forward in support.

The social media campaign is set to begin at 6 pm and until 8 pm on Friday, with Twitter users tweeting with hashtags #AChapterForNE and #NortheastMatters, tagging Chief Ministers, Education Ministers, and others concerned authorities to bring it to their notice.


Students' Request

Speaking to The Wire, advisor to North East Student Union (NESU), Vadodara, Debonil Baruah, said the idea behind requesting a chapter on northeastern states is to end racism and identity issues that people of the northeast have been continuously facing.

"The people of other states don't know where the states like Arunachal Pradesh or Manipur are. Such things are happening because people don't read about the northeast. We believe that racism can be stopped only through education," the media quoted him as saying.

The advisor said that the storm would also help get the attention of the politicians and lawmakers.

He said that the topic has to be mandatorily included, as earlier the NCERT had published, 'North East India — People, History and Culture', as a 'supplementary reading', with the least number of students opting for it.

"No one took it seriously. What we need now is a chapter which is a compulsory part of the syllabus so that it can bridge the gap between the northeastern states and 'mainland' India," he was quoted.

The Case

This comes in the wake of the recent case of racism, where a YouTuber from Punjab, Paras Singh, passed racist remarks against Arunachal Pradesh's Congress MLA, Ninong Ering and towards the people of the state.

Singh was arrested on May 25, from Ludhiana, for inciting ill will and hatred against the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

In his video, the 21-year-old commented on Ering's appearance and other people present in the frame, saying they 'did not look Indian'. He further claimed that Arunachal Pradesh was a part of China, which sparked an uproar among people of the region and other parts of the country.

Later, the Youtuber had posted another video, where his mother could be seen apologising for his comments.

Singh was booked under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.), 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code. He was sent to six days of judicial custody by an Arunachal Pradesh court, according to The Indian Express.

Baruah said that Singh's case was what set it off, but such instances of racism are prevalent.

Politicians In Support

Politicians including K Therie; former Finance Minister of Nagaland; MLA Kuzholuzo Nienu from Nagaland and Ering also came out to support the storm.

Issue Raised By Politicians

Reportedly, in 2014, the M P Bezbaruah Committee report had listed down recommendations, including integration of Northeastern culture and history in the NCERT syllabus, following the attack and murder of 19-year-old Nido Tania in Delhi.

Later, in 2017, Ninong Ering had introduced a Private Member Bill - 'The Compulsory teaching of North-East culture in Educational Institutions', in view of the similar issue of racism, but was not taken up in the house.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir's Foundation Found Guilty Of Hoarding COVID Medicine Fabiflu, Notice Issued

Contributors Suggest Correction
Writer : Devyani Madaik
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Editor : Palak Agrawal
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Creatives : Devyani Madaik

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