Delhi airport official racially harasses activist, asks if she's 'really an Indian'

In a viral Facebook post, an activist from the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur has written about being harassed by an immigration official at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, who asked her if she was "really an Indian" and if she could list all the states in the country. 

Monika Khangembam 's post reached India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who promised to investigate the matter.

On Facebook, Khangembam  recounted that she was travelling from Delhi to Seoul for an international conference, when she was asked a series of offensive questions by an immigration official."You don't look Indian," he remarked, first asking her the number of Indian states and then to name the states surrounding her home state Manipur.

"I still don't react. What really got me was when he said, 'See... You yourself need to know your Indianness. How many states are there in India?' The lady at the next counter is giggling. I tell him I am really running late. He goes, 'nahi nahi bolo bolo' (no, no, please answer)." Khangembam recalled that when she told him that she was getting late, he told her. "The aircraft isn't going to leave without you. You can answer these." 

The Indian government has promised to investigate the matter.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In another Facebook post, Khangembam spoke of the "subtle racist jibes" she had repeatedly encountered. "What do you do when it's someone who deals with people from all over the world from different backgrounds and ethnicity daily?" she wrote. "If they cannot be sensitive then how do we expect others to be respectful?"

Here is Khangembam's original post.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.