Manipuri student beaten up in Bangalore for not speaking Kannada.

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
For those of you who don't believe that Indians are racist:

In a suspected hate crime in Bangalore a 26-year-old engineering student was beaten up by a group of men who reportedly abused and then attacked him for not speaking Kannada.

All three accused, all cab drivers, were arrested, reported Times Now.

T Michael Lamjathang Haokip, the student, said that he was approached by a group of people who told him that if he was living in Karnataka and eating Kannada food, then he needed to also speak in Kannada, but added that when he did not pay heed to their demands they pelted stones at him. He has sustained injuries on his head and back.

CNN-IBN quoted Michael as saying, "They hit me with stones because I was speaking in the Thadou language. I got five stitches. I have filed a complain. This was a racist attack."

He said that the incident took place in the Kothanur area past midnight last night.

According to CNN-IBN two others, Ngamkholen Haokip, 28, and Rocky Kipgen, 25, who were with Michael when he was attacked also sustained minor injuries.

This is the latest in a series of racist incidents involving Indian citizens from the Northeast who are living, studying and working in metros.

Bangalore already has a shameful record with respect to citizens from the north-east. In 2012, there was a mass exodus of North-eastern students from the city, after an SMS threatening them began being circulated.

The incident prompted a debate in both houses of parliament, and both the ruling UPA and then opposition BJP vowed to ensure that no incident of the sort would be allowed to take place again.

But the incidents only seem to be increasing in frequency.

In July this year there were reports that a couple from the north-east was attacked by four men in Nathupur, Gurgaon.

In May, a girl from Nagaland who was studying to be a law student in Delhi University was molested by another lawyer at a metro station. When she went to court to in connection with the case along with three friends, they had been beaten up by a gang of lawyers. The mob had threatened her not to pursue the case any further.

In February this year, two Manipuri women were assaulted by men who hurled racist abuses at them in South Delhi's Kotla Mubarak area. According to the police, the women, identified as Tharmila Jajo and Chonmila, were beaten up by a group of men, who were in their late 20s.

Before that in January, the capital had seen protests over the death of 19-year-old Nido Taniam, son of Arunachal Pradesh Congress MLA and Parliamentary Secretary in Health and Family Welfare Department Nido Pavitra.

Nido was attacked with iron rods by shopkeepers in South Delhi's Lajpat Nagar market after an altercation. The shopkeepers had allegedly mocked Nido's hairstyle and he had in turn thrown a rock at the store, shattering the display window.

Source: Racist shame in Bangalore: Manipuri boy beaten up for not speaking Kannada - Firstpost
 

sling-shot

Wise Old Owl
I do not support the beatings.

That said there may be some other reason too behind the incident as Kannadigas in general are very tolerant linguistic group so much so that Hindi has literally become the common language in Bangalore.

Please avoid labelling people idiots because they do not speak Hindi.
 

Gollum

Collector
I do not support the beatings.

That said there may be some other reason too behind the incident as Kannadigas in general are very tolerant linguistic group so much so that Hindi has literally become the common language in Bangalore.

Please avoid labelling people idiots because they do not speak Hindi.

I am also from Karnataka. I am talking about the people who beat the guy.

BTW, I speak Kannada, hindi, english, punjabi and konkani.
 

Anorion

Sith Lord
Staff member
Admin
WTF...Got 2 months to learn Kannada.... HELP

Bunch of rowdies did that. Feel free to msg me anytime tho, will translate what you want into kannada.

Everyone in my college including teachers speak Telegu, Tamil or Malayalam, but not Kannada
 

kaz

right here
Just keep the right company.
Yup..I always do :)

Don't worry bro.
These idiots need to know that they are in a country called India and not Karnataka. Ask them to speak in Hindi.
Thanks :)


Learn Spoken Kannada
woooow...this is cool :) thanks :)

Bunch of rowdies did that. Feel free to msg me anytime tho, will translate what you want into kannada.
Haaaahaa... I am gonna learn it real fast now :)
 

insaneYLN

In the zone
I am also from Karnataka. I am talking about the people who beat the guy.

BTW, I speak Kannada, hindi, english, punjabi and konkani.
@Gollum, I am surprisingly fascinated, not in the wrong or negative sense, to learn that you speak Konkani.
Ye aikun mhojea kallzak khub khuxallkai bhogli.
:thumbs: :high5:
 

Minion

Conversation Architect
I do not support the beatings.

That said there may be some other reason too behind the incident as Kannadigas in general are very tolerant linguistic group so much so that Hindi has literally become the common language in Bangalore.

Please avoid labelling people idiots because they do not speak Hindi.

I have seen locals in Bangalore misbehaving and ill treating outsiders.Even a roadside fruit salad vendor bashed my friend saying due to you outsiders we are losing jobs.
Even i faced similar situation. If you ask them address they just laugh at you saying what the hell are you doing here.
This is bitter truth.
 

Anorion

Sith Lord
Staff member
Admin
The victim's statement to Deccan Herald

"In my four years in Bangalore, I never faced such a situation. I did not expect any such thing. I was unlucky. In every society, there are people who are good and others who are bad. It depends on an individual and one cannot blame the whole society. I still do not feel any insecurity. I don't have any grudges."

And yep, cannot expect South Indians to speak in Hindi, sounds hilarious when they do anyway. 22 languages share equal status and Hindi is on equal footing with Kannada, it is not the national language of India
There's no national language in India: Gujarat High Court
 

Flash

Lost in speed
This also happened to South Indians viz Tamils.
1991 Anti-Tamil violence of Karnataka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

sling-shot

Wise Old Owl
Violence is always deplorable. It should not be the means of protest. So the people who hit those students should be properly punished.

But we should also try to look at the picture from another perspective.

If I remember correct, there were incidents of violence against Biharis in ?Punjab or Delhi. Marathi speaking people have been trying to get non-Marathis out of Bombay. This is not something 'exclusive' to Kannadigas. This may happen when and where ever there is a significant influx of non-native population into an area and that causes discomfort/job loss/troubles to native population. Land prices have skyrocketed and poor people cannot afford to own houses.

I am a Kannadiga who never knew a single alphabet of Malayalam now living in Kerala for the last 5+ years. I am fluent in conversational Malayalam which was the first thing I learned on landing here. I am aware that some of my colleagues here may think that I am denying them a job and hence I am watchful. There a lot of Kannadigas working here in Kerala with generally good standing. Each and every one of such people I have met have done the same thing - learn the local language. It is an asset not a liability. It changes the attitude of people when they see that you know their language/trying to learn it. It is enough to just make an effort even - need not be a master.

As far as the people who say that the natives should learn Hindi - "You come to my house, you have my food and water, you sleep in my bed and you command that I learn your language? Get out!."

- - - Updated - - -

Learn Spoken Kannada

Excellent link. Thank you. Hope it helps many.
 

Minion

Conversation Architect
As far as the people who say that the natives should learn Hindi - "You come to my house, you have my food and water, you sleep in my bed and you command that I learn your language? Get out!."

- - - Updated - - -

You are forgetting Hindi is our national language.I live in Hyderabad for sometime. People there are helpful even though they can't speak Hindi fluently they will try to help you and they are not as rude.
As far as i know both Tamil and Kannada hate outsiders they should understand we all live in India.
 

Anorion

Sith Lord
Staff member
Admin
^Nope. Hindi is NOT our National language
22 languages together share equal status
There's no national language in India: Gujarat High Court
 

RCuber

The Mighty Unkel!!!
Staff member
Hindi is NOT our National language.
You know the pain when people argue about this here?

On the other hand at least three people in my office have asked me if I am from North India, due to the fluency of my Hindi. I am from South. so yea, we speak it just fine.

I get very offended when people insult Kannada or Karnataka. as a matter of fact Kannada isn't even my mother tongue.
 
OP
Desmond

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
I don't know, but as long as there are more than 3 languages in a country, language based hostilities will persist.

It's mostly because people are distrustful of those who don't speak their language. Many of you might have known the feeling when someone starts talks to a third person in their own language while you are still present in that conversation. You don't know what they are talking about, they could be insulting you for all you know right under your nose.

The mentality for language based hostilities is probably similar. Couple that with excessive pride for ones state and you've got potential xenophobia for outsiders. They are lead to believe that their local culture is threatened by these outsiders who are already taking their jobs and now taking over their land. Even though we have the freedom to travel and settle any where in the country, some local people are still not so enthusiastic about it.

Similar cases have occurred in Mumbai with North Indians being on the receiving end. Only the agenda is a bit more political in nature.
 
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