Monika Khangembam from Imphal, Manipur, recently took to Facebook to share a racist experience she'd been through at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
In her facebook post, she wrote:
The bloody racist immigration desk at it again! Looks at my Passport and says, "Indian toh nahi lagti ho". I get that all the time so don't react much to it but then he goes on, "Pakka Indian ho?" with a smirk. I still don't react. What really got me was when he said, "See. You yourself need to know your Indianess. How many states are there in India?" The lady at the next counter is giggling. I tell him I am really running late. He goes, "nahi nahi bolo bolo". I helplessly answer him as he is not proceeding with the process. And then he continues, "kaha se ho". I said Manipur and he is like, "so tell me how many states Manipur shares borders with. Name them". I totally lose it and I look away and roll my eyes and don't answer. And he is still insisting me to answer. This bloody moron has all the time to ask all this. I said I was really getting late and he goes like, "aircraft aapko chodke kahi nahi jaa rahi. Aaram se jawab do". What a bully and never felt so humiliated. It was like it was his mission to make me realise my'Indianness' and he thought he was being funny. I was running late and felt I was giving in to the bully. Spoiled my night.
Is there a way to complain against these bullies?
The post went viral with several news agencies carrying the news. Certain commenters also added that it was normal for an immigration officer to ask questions. She replied in another post, "I wouldn't have minded if he asked me TRIP RELATED QUESTIONS like what's the conference about, how long are you there, where do you work currently, who is funding, what's the purpose etc. It's even perfectly fine to ask where I am from but it's not fine bossing around asking with that sarcastic smile "HOW MANY STATES ARE THERE IN INDIA?" "NAME THE STATES BORDERING MANIPUR?" This is NOT RELATED TO THE TRIP nor I am a kid. And yes I regret not raising the issue then and there as there wasn't much time left for my departure and honestly I was worried he might not stamp my visa."
