The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has expressed profound grief and strongly condemned the death of Anjel Chakma, a young student from Tripura who passed away on December 26, 2025, describing the incident as a stark reminder of the persistent racism faced by people from the North Eastern region.
In a statement issued from Kohima on January 2, the NPCC said the incident exposed deep rooted prejudice within the country and raised serious concerns about the safety and dignity of citizens from the North East living outside their home states. The party took strong exception to a reported remark by a Dehradun Deputy Superintendent of Police, who allegedly described racist slurs such as “Chinky”, “Chinese” or “momo” as a “remark in jest”.
The NPCC termed the comment “deeply insensitive, irresponsible, and unacceptable”, stating that any remark targeting a person’s origin, physical features, colour or ethnicity constitutes racism. It said trivializing such language normalizes discrimination and reinforces the notion that people from the North East are treated as outsiders in their own country.
Referring to Anjel Chakma’s reported last words, “I am not Chinese… I am Indian”, the party said the statement was a “searing indictment of our collective failure.”
The NPCC asked whether citizens from the North East are still being forced to prove their Indianness.
“That a young Indian had to assert her nationality at such a moment is heartbreaking and shameful. It raises a painful question: Are citizens from the North East still forced to prove their Indianness in their own country?” the NPCC stated.
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The Nagaland state Congress unit said it stood in solidarity with the bereaved family and demanded accountability, sensitivity training for law enforcement personnel, and firm action against all forms of racial discrimination. It asserted that India’s unity cannot be selective and that dignity and equality must be guaranteed to every citizen, in every corner of the nation.