“We are Indians, yet Indians are being harassed in this way.”
Tripura Police has registered a case, while the Delhi Police on Thursday arrested the content creator based on a complaint filed in the national capital. “I had no idea that they were recording a video. Originally from Ananda Bazar in Tripura’s North Tripura district, the teenager had come to Ahmedabad to look for work. “They were joking around and asking me where I was from, where my place was and where I lived. “I had asked him whether he had any jobs available. The incident has drawn a strong reaction from Tripura royal scion and TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, who has demanded action against the person accused of harassing Reang.
Tripura’s 19-year-old Lasonjit Reang, whose video of being harassed for his ethnicity in Ahmedabad has triggered outrage in the Northeast, has demanded justice. Reang estimated that around 9-10 people were present while he was being filmed.
Speaking to NDTV for the first time since the video gained attention on social media, Reang said he did not know he was being filmed until a friend sent him the clip. I did not know anything about it,” Reang said, saying he did not take the incident seriously at first. The video, filmed a month ago in the Gujarat city, shows a group of people asking him where he comes from, and things like whether he was the “Chinese president”. They also asked whether I was the president of China, among other things,” he said. Recounting the encounter, Reang told NDTV he had visited a restaurant at night for an interview and was returning the next morning when a group of people called him over and began asking questions. He knew one of them, who had shared the restaurant’s location with him, but said he was unfamiliar with the others. He told me that there was work in service and housekeeping. I went there just to see what the work would be like,” he said. Reang said he wanted the authorities to ensure that such incidents did not happen again.
That changed when the video began circulating. He also recalled people around him laughing as the remarks were made. Because he had not taken it seriously, he said he did not initially tell his family or friends about the encounter.
Reang said he did not argue with the group. Instead, he told them he had to leave and walked away. Asked whether he had been frightened during the encounter, he said he was not scared, although he was uncomfortable dealing with strangers.
“Sometimes, when I go to shops to buy things, people make fun of us a little. For Reang, the concern goes beyond what happened in Ahmedabad. “We are Indians, yet Indians are being harassed in this way. He warned that repeated incidents could leave young people from the region feeling unsafe when they move away from home to earn a living. “Not every Indian knows where the Northeast is or where Tripura is. Some people know, but not everyone does. He called for people from the region to be treated with the same dignity and respect as everyone else.
Because he was not comfortable with certain aspects of the workplace, he eventually decided against taking up the job. Because of his background, he said this was not the first time he had encountered people making fun of him. Because of where they come from, he said people from the Northeast should be able to travel to other parts of the country for education and employment without being singled out.
On earlier occasions, he had faced similar behaviour while visiting shops, although he said those incidents generally did not go further. But it does not usually go much further than that,” he said. I just want to say that we want justice,” he said. However, even if someone does not know about the region, that does not mean they should directly make fun of us,” he said. Reang said he had received numerous calls after the video spread online.
