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Dos and don'ts irk North East students
July 15, 2007
It appears to be a case of good intentions going awry. When a senior
IPS officer from the north-east decided to counsel students from that
region through a booklet, 'Security Tips for North-east Students/Visitors
in Delhi', all that he intended to do
was to speak from experience and with the credibility of an insider.
However, he ended up reinforcing some stereotypes about dress,
food and behaviour which have ruffled feathers in the student community
from the region.
In the booklet, deputy commissioner of police (west
Delhi) Robin Hibu, an IPS officer from Arunachal Pradesh, advised
women from Arunachal Pradesh to dress according to the "sensitivity
of the local populace" and described north-eastern food as "smelly".
"Revealing dress (should) be avoided," is the blunt
guidance. There's more: "Avoid lonely roads or bylanes
when dressed scantly."
The IPS officer, who has spent his youth in Delhi
University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, defends
his counsel: "We are not denigrating and not asking them to lose
their identity. It is only advice to adjust with the system."
"There are times when wearing revealing dresses can provoke
untoward incidents. One has to be very careful," he adds.
Calling "bamboo shoots and akhuni" smelly dishes, the
booklet says that they "should be prepared without creating
ruckus in the neighbourhood". Though Hibu recognizes that
bamboo shoots are a most popular food from item in the north-east,
and akhuni, fermented soyabean, a favourite among Nagas, he says,
"The smell that comes out of the shoots while cooking is not
tolerable at all. So, one has to be careful that the neighbourhood
shouldn't feel disturbed."
Source: The Times of India
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