CHENNAI: Even before a law is enacted to imprison people using the term ‘Chinki’, people from the northeast are feeling comfortable on just hearing such a proposal. The home minister is considering putting people in jail up to five years for calling the northeast people as ‘Chinki’ or ‘Chinese’. The minister has made the decision considering the practice as a derogatory remark.

Northeast students and professionals who have settled in Chennai say the move would relieve them from a major abuse they face on a daily basis.Nwang, an MA student of Madras Christian College, has been facing trouble in Chennai for the past five years. He comes from Lhasa, Tibet, and is pursing a degree in political science. “There are several instances when people call me ‘Chinki’. When students in my college also call me so, it hurts,” says Nwang.

“The new law, if enacted, would be a boon for us as there are several students from the northeast studying in various colleges across the city. I will use the law once it comes into force to stop this practice,” he adds. The problem also touches northeast people working in offices here. Though the law would curb practice in all forms and all areas, a sense of doubt hangs over the practical implementation of the law.

“The law may help but I am not sure whether it will translate into a change. Nevertheless, it shows that people are taking it seriously,” said Patrick De’Monte, IT professional in Chennai from Manipur.“It is a much appreciated and welcome step but I sincerely believe that there should be a sensitisation programme to address this issue rather than having laws on paper,” said Nambie Jessica Marak, a professor in the city, who hails from Shillong.

These people from the northeast have also come across other forms of difficulties in the past. In 2012, SMSes on attacking people from the northeast region led to an exodus of these people from Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. The SMSes threatened that these people will be attacked after the Eid-ul-Fitr on August 20 to avenge the ethnic violence in Assam, in which more than 74 people were killed. Thousands of students also left the southern state following the incident.