From Hindu College, New Delhi.
> A 19 year old boy, Nido Tania, from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten to death by shopkeepers at a South Delhi market. He was earlier subjected to mockery over his hair colour, his clothing and his appearance. We all posted Facebook statuses, Twitter comments, Instagram pictures, as a protest against the society that brought about his death. Our anger was evident. What we conveniently forgot is that it is we who made this society, it is we who give some citizens of our country grief, it is we who should change, and the society will follow. Here is what we should accept, realize and change. Here is an apology to my friend from the North East.
"It is not a 'thought of the day'. It is a realization of a lifetime.
It is not just a onetime thing. It is a process of transformation.
It is not just an apology letter. It is a true feeling, bludgeoning the insides of our hearts.
I have been a bad person. I was brought up in a society where it was 'ok' to make fun of people. Some of my fun was subtle, some not so much. As I grew up amidst the same society, I made the line of subtlety hazy. My jokes no longer knew boundaries. To make matters worse, they were now armed and ready with stereotypical assumptions, preconceived notions and selfish trysts with my own petty laughter. Many of these were aimed at you, my north eastern friends. For all the selfishness, I apologize.
If I saw you on the street, I would shout out appalling words to you. Words which should have been corrected by my parents, by my friends, by my peers and by the society. Words which ruined generations, and if remained unchecked, can ruin a few more. Words which were not only offensive, but wretchedly hurtful. Words like 'chinki', 'chinese', 'chowmein', 'chilly chicken' and what not, I feel disgusted by myself just by writing them all out; wondering how you took all these in sickens me to the very core. How could I be so odious, how could I be so spiteful, how could I be so insensitive? Now I am bringing about a change in myself. For all the mortification, I apologize.
I have made incredulous remarks on your origin. I have said unkind things about your features. I am ashamed. I shoot daggers at anyone who dares to call me fat or thin or unattractive or lanky and here I am calling you something so offensive, so easily. You belong to our nation, India, and I call you names that send you across the border to China. What kind of an Indian am I? The worst kind, I suppose. Such a disgrace I am. For all the humiliation, I apologize.
I hear the leaders talk about the 'youth factor' in the 2014 elections. Narendra Modi says we can make or break this nation. Rahul Gandhi says we can take this nation forward on our shoulders. They all have expectations from us. Our minds are indeed sharp but our hearts are contaminated. The youth might be more informed and open about economics, management and politics, the youth might understand the nation in a better and healthier way, but compassion has become an alien word to the youth. We might be on the driver's seat when we see ourselves excelling as educated individuals but we have definitely hit the rock bottom when it comes to being thoughtful individuals. We call the westerners racist. They call us black. They call us browns. They look down upon us and consider us inferior to them. We sigh, we cuss and we retaliate. We call them inconsiderate for this thinking of theirs. We hold debates and criticize them. That's how we get to sleep at night. We quite easily forget that we too are indulging in the very same acts of racism back home, in our own country, to our own people. We are hypocritical racists towards certain sections of the nation. For the callous acts, I apologize.
I am not doing this because my guilt has reached its saturation point. I am not doing this to land myself in heaven once I die. I am not doing this out of a sudden epiphany. I doing this because it is the right thing to do, it is about time I do this. It should have been done ages ago. I am not blaming anyone, but myself. I am committed to change myself and all the people I meet on my way, in my journey called life. I am optimistic that there are many who want to adopt this change, many who WILL adopt this change. Together we can make this a better world where a joke does not cross any limit and the fun remains well within boundaries. You will find me by your side when you protest at Jantar Mantar, you will see me arguing with a friend who tries to call you names, you will always have me on your side, in your battle for your rights. To you my north eastern friends, I apologize for everything, from the very bottom of my heart."
Source - FB Nagas Page
> A 19 year old boy, Nido Tania, from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten to death by shopkeepers at a South Delhi market. He was earlier subjected to mockery over his hair colour, his clothing and his appearance. We all posted Facebook statuses, Twitter comments, Instagram pictures, as a protest against the society that brought about his death. Our anger was evident. What we conveniently forgot is that it is we who made this society, it is we who give some citizens of our country grief, it is we who should change, and the society will follow. Here is what we should accept, realize and change. Here is an apology to my friend from the North East.
"It is not a 'thought of the day'. It is a realization of a lifetime.
It is not just a onetime thing. It is a process of transformation.
It is not just an apology letter. It is a true feeling, bludgeoning the insides of our hearts.
I have been a bad person. I was brought up in a society where it was 'ok' to make fun of people. Some of my fun was subtle, some not so much. As I grew up amidst the same society, I made the line of subtlety hazy. My jokes no longer knew boundaries. To make matters worse, they were now armed and ready with stereotypical assumptions, preconceived notions and selfish trysts with my own petty laughter. Many of these were aimed at you, my north eastern friends. For all the selfishness, I apologize.
If I saw you on the street, I would shout out appalling words to you. Words which should have been corrected by my parents, by my friends, by my peers and by the society. Words which ruined generations, and if remained unchecked, can ruin a few more. Words which were not only offensive, but wretchedly hurtful. Words like 'chinki', 'chinese', 'chowmein', 'chilly chicken' and what not, I feel disgusted by myself just by writing them all out; wondering how you took all these in sickens me to the very core. How could I be so odious, how could I be so spiteful, how could I be so insensitive? Now I am bringing about a change in myself. For all the mortification, I apologize.
I have made incredulous remarks on your origin. I have said unkind things about your features. I am ashamed. I shoot daggers at anyone who dares to call me fat or thin or unattractive or lanky and here I am calling you something so offensive, so easily. You belong to our nation, India, and I call you names that send you across the border to China. What kind of an Indian am I? The worst kind, I suppose. Such a disgrace I am. For all the humiliation, I apologize.
I hear the leaders talk about the 'youth factor' in the 2014 elections. Narendra Modi says we can make or break this nation. Rahul Gandhi says we can take this nation forward on our shoulders. They all have expectations from us. Our minds are indeed sharp but our hearts are contaminated. The youth might be more informed and open about economics, management and politics, the youth might understand the nation in a better and healthier way, but compassion has become an alien word to the youth. We might be on the driver's seat when we see ourselves excelling as educated individuals but we have definitely hit the rock bottom when it comes to being thoughtful individuals. We call the westerners racist. They call us black. They call us browns. They look down upon us and consider us inferior to them. We sigh, we cuss and we retaliate. We call them inconsiderate for this thinking of theirs. We hold debates and criticize them. That's how we get to sleep at night. We quite easily forget that we too are indulging in the very same acts of racism back home, in our own country, to our own people. We are hypocritical racists towards certain sections of the nation. For the callous acts, I apologize.
I am not doing this because my guilt has reached its saturation point. I am not doing this to land myself in heaven once I die. I am not doing this out of a sudden epiphany. I doing this because it is the right thing to do, it is about time I do this. It should have been done ages ago. I am not blaming anyone, but myself. I am committed to change myself and all the people I meet on my way, in my journey called life. I am optimistic that there are many who want to adopt this change, many who WILL adopt this change. Together we can make this a better world where a joke does not cross any limit and the fun remains well within boundaries. You will find me by your side when you protest at Jantar Mantar, you will see me arguing with a friend who tries to call you names, you will always have me on your side, in your battle for your rights. To you my north eastern friends, I apologize for everything, from the very bottom of my heart."
Source - FB Nagas Page
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