External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, on Sunday, regretted that a Manipuri activist recently faced subtle racist humiliation at New Delhi’s IGI Airport. “Monica Khangembam - I am sorry to know this” said Ms. Swaraj in a tweet.
The response from Ms. Swaraj came after Ms. Khangembam's Facebook post narrating the incident at the immigration counter of the airport went viral on the Internet drawing thousands of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’.
Ms. Khangembam in the post alleged that she was on her way to Seoul for a conference when she was stopped at the immigration desk at the IGI Airport, where an official looked at her passport and remarked that she didn’t look Indian. He subsequently questioned her nationality, asking her to prove it by telling him how many States make up India.
In spite of her insistence that she was Indian, and it was getting late for her flight, the official made light of the matter by telling her that the aircraft wasn’t going anywhere.
The incident drew condemnation from sections of social media, with many people voicing their support for Ms. Khangembam. At the same time, some netizens derided her for playing the victim card. After reaching Seoul, Ms. Khangembam, posted her reaction to the outpouring of support on social media, while adding that such discrimination was commonplace. However Ms. Khangembam indicated in a post that she intends to pursue the issue further on her return. “I am right now in Seoul for my programme… I can do anything only after I am back after 15 days. I couldn’t get the name of the officer but a friend working at the IGI airport told me they can find out from the CCTV footage”, she wrote on a Facebook post.
