As I write this, the last days of 2025 are here, and yet, instead of wishing you a happy new year, I am online because I am sad, angry, and rattled. Why? Because yet again, one more youth from our region was killed because some fellow Indians could not accept that he, too, is an Indian just like them.
A few weeks ago, I had recorded this editorial where I had objected to Temjen Imna Along’s views that northeast residents faced discrimination, not racism in India.
In that editorial, I reminded everyone: racism is alive in India. What others dismiss as a minor inconvenience is, in truth, a grave threat—one with life-and-death consequences, as events have now tragically proved.
The response to the video was overwhelmingly positive, and yet, as I write this, Angel Chakma, a child named Angel by his parents, is no longer with us. Why? Because he dared stand up to racism.
I take no pleasure in recording this because, as a parent, no parent should ever see the dead body of their child they raised so lovingly. But Angel Chakma’s parents are now facing the worst nightmare they can imagine: a life without their child. Yet, among all headlines, no one is ready to call it what it is: blatant racism against a fellow Indian.
Angel (also spelled Anjel) Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura, died on 26 December 2025 in a hospital in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, after suffering fatal injuries in a racially motivated assault earlier in the month.
He had been studying at a private university in Dehradun and was the son of a Border Security Force (BSF) head constable.
The incident occurred on 9 December 2025 in the Selaqui area when Angel and his younger brother Michael were buying groceries. A group of local men allegedly began hurling racial slurs at them because of their North Eastern appearance, calling them “Chinese”, “Chinki”, “momos”, and similar derogatory names. When the brothers objected, the altercation quickly turned violent.
Michael was hit on the head with a metal bracelet (kada), and Angel was stabbed multiple times in the head, back, neck, and abdomen with a sharp weapon during the attack.
Angel was rushed to Graphic Era Hospital, where he remained in critical condition for over two weeks but ultimately succumbed to his injuries on 26 December.
The severity of his trauma included deep wounds, spinal injuries, sensory deficits, and severe neurological damage, according to medical reports.
In India’s very own ‘Dev Bhoomi’, a youth was demeaned, insulted again and again, and then killed when he tried to resist. To call this anything other than racism would be an insult to the memory of Angel Chakma.
I also see reports highlighting that his father worked as security personnel, but we must be careful when writing things like this. His father’s profession does not make his death worse; had his father been, say, serving in prison for a crime, would this crime have been seen as anything less?
I am asking this with all sincerity. An Indian does not become more or less Indian by what our family members do. And in the case of Angel Chakma, too, his father’s patriotism did little to save him. So acting like ‘this is worse because his father was in the BSF’ is absolute hypocrisy.
Of course, following his death, every politician has stepped in and is trying to act responsibly. The problem is, the damage is done. No amount of PR will undo the fact that a young man was killed simply because of how he looked.
I do not wish to repeat the things I said in my earlier video about racism against the Northeasterners. Everything I said in that video, unfortunately, came true. Yet, our reactions remain the same. Feel bad, and move on.
We are stepping into a new year, and yet we live in a country that absolutely refuses to accept the modern reality. I have said this time and again, racism against northeast people has always been about reducing our experiences to mere inconvenience. The death of Angel Chakma, I assure you, will change nothing because the death of Nido Tania changed nothing. The abuse that northeast residents faced during COVID-19 changed nothing. And our ministers are ensuring that nothing changes.
Also Read: Arunachal’s edible insects emerge as rich sources of healthy fats, B vitamins
Justice must be served #JusticeForAnjelChakma #ConsciousPlanet #SaveSoil Its not right that he be killed after being corrected for calling him Chinese, Chinki, momo. Its not how our society should be. Something needs to change. Its important that the culprits be sentenced.