Don't stereotype people from the northeast: BJP leader

People should not mistake the free nature of women from northeast India for "something else", BJP leader Sunil Deodhar said on Monday, while urging people not to form region-based stereotypes.

Deodhar, who was here to deliver a lecture on the BJP's electoral success in Tripura, also said that youngsters from the northeast who are working in major Indian metros and states like Goa, should adapt to local social cultures in order to avoid untoward incidents.

"If they (northeastern women) are Christians, they do not have an issue shaking hands... This should not be misunderstood. Do not mistake their free nature for something else. Don't boys from here take drugs? Are these (northeastern people) the only ones who take drugs? We should not link a particular region to all this," Deodhar said, when asked about unsavoury stereotypes about northeastern youngsters, especially women from the region.

"I think it is not (right) to think in terms of stereotypes. It is not right to make accusations like this. It is not right to create a perception like this," he said, adding that women in the northeast have a lot of freedom, citing the matriarchal system existing in Meghalaya.

Deodhar, who has been credited for chalking a historic win for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent Tripura elections, also said that youngsters who have migrated outside the northeastern region to other parts of India, should learn to adapt to the social traditions of the place they migrate to.

"If you follow the practices of the place you are in, then untoward incidents do not happen," he said, adding walking around the Aizwal market late at night was OK, but the same may not be true elsewhere, even Goa.

"We are not talking about tourists, but it is about those who have migrated here for jobs. Tourists come for two-three days, how can they be expected to follow the culture? But if foreigners come to stay here for jobs, then it is applicable for them. This is also applicable to our people who travel abroad for jobs," he said.

--IANS

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