Arunachal girl speaks out against racial stereotyping of people from Northeast India

PTI, August 20, 2026, Itanagar : An emotional video clip of a young girl from Arunachal Pradesh urging people of mainland India not to call her and others from the northeast "Chinese" has drawn widespread attention on social media, putting the spotlight once again on racial stereotyping faced by people from the region.

In the 56-second video clip which has gone viral, the girl said she was asked by someone whether she is Chinese, which left her anguished. "I feel very sad and angry when people call us Chinese. We are Indians, don't call us Chinese," she said, expressing the hurt caused when a person's identity is questioned merely because of their physical appearance.

"We live in India, we live in Itanagar. Do not say such things, please," the girl said, folding her hands. The young girl's message has resonated with many people online, with social media users sharing the video and expressing support for her appeal.

Many said her words reflected the experiences of people from the northeast who have, on several occasions, faced insensitive remarks and racial slurs in different parts of the country.

One person on X commented that those who casually called northeastern Indians 'Chinese' or treated them as outsiders based on appearance were the ones creating this hurtful situation and they needed to stop. Another X user said, "We spend so much energy trying to persuade people in PoK... to embrace an Indian identity, while routinely alienating our own citizens from the northeast, who love and take pride in this nation, by calling them Chinese."