Why India Must Rethink How It Teaches the North East

Racism against North East Indians has become so routine it barely shocks anymore. Slurs are brushed off as “casual,” assaults spark brief outrage, then disappear. The real crisis is the normalisation.

This is not just a failure of individual behaviour. It is structural. A nation that does not teach its children about all its people should not be surprised when prejudice feels ordinary.

Students in the Seven Sisters grow up learning the history, culture, and leaders of the rest of India. Yet across much of the country, the North East is reduced to stereotypes, insurgency headlines, or tourism clichés. That imbalance is not accidental. It is institutional.

When textbooks marginalise regions, ignorance becomes policy. And policy-level ignorance breeds social prejudice.

The Ministry of Education must ensure meaningful inclusion of North East history, indigenous cultures, political contributions, linguistic diversity, and contemporary achievements across all school boards — not as a token chapter, but as part of the national narrative.

Representation in education is not symbolic politics. It is preventive justice.

If India truly believes in its constitutional promise of plurality, it must begin where prejudice begins  in what children are not taught. History syllabi do not just record the nation. They shape it. And it is time they told the whole story.

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