Manipur musician killed in Indian capital, reviving racism concerns
The guitarist's killing leads to an outcry, exposing decades of racial discrimination faced by northeastern communities.
New Delhi, India — Late on Sunday night, Chongtham Vikram Singh was troubled by loud noises outside his home in the Indian capital, where he lived with his son and wife. He climbed down the stairs, but an argument ensued with nearly a dozen men, who chased him back to the third floor of his apartment.
The chase ended with 54-year-old Singh, a renowned guitarist from India’s northeastern state of Manipur, left unconscious on the stairs by the mob. Within hours, he had died from his wounds at a nearby hospital.
Singh’s killing has revived anxieties over entrenched racial discrimination and marginalisation that people from the northeastern states have long faced in the rest of India.
Singh’s killing led to a wider outcry against years of marginalisation of people from the northeast in mainland India, where casual racism has become commonplace.