Northeast students demand chapter on region in NCERT books, to start ‘Twitter storm’ today

Many student unions and organisations have started a ‘Twitter storm’ demanding a mandatory chapter on the north-eastern states of India in the NCERT curriculum.

According to Lingdam Kame, president of All Arunachal Student Union of Chandigarh, this step has been taken to raise the issue of racial discrimination faced by people from the Northeast. Over 30 student unions and organisations across India have started this movement called ‘A chapter for NE’.

With the hashtag ‘A chapter for NE’ and ‘Northeast Matters’, students will be constantly tweeting on Friday between 6 pm to 8 pm, in order to press their demands to the Union Education Ministry.

“Because of racial discrimination, many people of the northeastern states have faced problems. We as students, who go to other states to pursue our studies, face racial discrimination at least 6-7 times a month,” Kame said.

“We cannot say that the movement will completely eradicate the racial discrimination but it will surely to help to minimise it,” he added. According to him, the history of the northeast and its people has vanished.

Speaking to ANI, Lingdam Kame said, “We will be able to share our history and demography if a chapter is included in the NCERT books.” The online campaign was triggered by a racial slur passed by YouTuber Paras Singh via his channel. The 22-year-old YouTuber from Punjab called former Lok Sabha MP and sitting Congress legislator Ninong Ering from Arunachal Pradesh a “non-Indian” and said Arunachal Pradesh was “part of China”. A case was later filed against Singh.

It sparked furore in Arunachal Pradesh and in other parts of the country. He was arrested in Ludhiana on May 25 and was brought to Arunachal Pradesh on May 26. Paras was booked under Sections 124A, 153, and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). (ANI)