Viewing racism through gendered lenses

The total number of migrants from North East India to other regions of the country increased from 0.4 million in 1981 to 1.1 million in 2001. Between 2005 and 2010 there were nearly half a million more, and Delhi alone received 200,000 people. This chapter is based on in-depth interviews with stakeholders of civil society organisations and individuals, including students, from the northeast pursuing studies or jobs in different metropolitan cites of India, complemented by an evidence-informed approach. We will look at the trajectory of these migrants through a gendered lens. Their narratives are powerful. Some unravel the corrosive, conspicuous and commonplace racism experienced in metropolitan cities by the majority of women from North East India—racism stemming from ignorance and ethnocentric prejudice contained in mainstream repositories in cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmednagar, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Cochin and Goa. This chapter aims to probe the nuanced forms of prejudice and discrimination that North East Indians face in different parts of India.