Twitter
Advertisement

Manipuri fashion designer slams 'racist' residents of Shahpur Jat

Golmei further said that the guard refused to give a reasonable explanation for his behaviour. "I could see others walking in and out of the lane. It was very humiliating but I stood my ground," he recalled.

Latest News
article-main
Jenjum Gadi’s Facebook post
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Despite countless protests and assurances by the authorities, time and again it is proven that the Capital is not friendly to outsiders. Adding to its long repository of discriminatory attacks, a 32-year-old Manipuri man, Jimmy Golmei, was hounded by residents of the Shahpur Jat area on Saturday. His friend, fashion designer Jejum Gadi, who also claimed to be a victim of regionalism in the Dada Jungi lane, then took to the social media to express his outrage over the incident.

Narrating the incident to DNA, Golmei, who has been living in the city for the last seven years, said: "I went to meet Gadi. He was not in his studio, so, I decided to have a coffee at an outlet in the Dada Jungi lane. When I came out of the cafe, I saw a guard rushing towards me. He told me that he had been searching for me for a long time."

"When I asked why, the guard blatantly told me that I was not allowed in the lane, which is manned at both entry and exit gates," he said. He added that it was very apparent that he was being targeted because of his ethnicity.

Golmei further said that the guard refused to give a reasonable explanation for his behaviour. "I could see others walking in and out of the lane. It was very humiliating but I stood my ground," he recalled.

According to Golmei, soon some elderly men, who seemed to be locals, joined the guard. "They asked me to leave the place immediately. I decided it was best to leave because from their tone and demeanour, it was clear that they might even assault me," he said.

Later, venting his anger on Facebook, Golmei's friend Gadi termed Dada Jungi lane as the "most racist place in Delhi". Sharing his own experience, the fashion designer, who has been running his studio in Shahpur Jat for the last eight years, said: "The same thing has been happening with me as well in the last one year. I was stopped by a guard manning the gate to Dada Jungi lane, who told me clearly that I was not welcome there. It is shameful that we are being discriminated against just because of our oriental looks. We, too, are Indians."

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement