It’s been ten years that Elizabeth had shifted from Manipur to Odisha for better career opportunities. She is a professor at Regional Institute of Education in Bhubaneswar. On the campus, she is popular as madam Elizabeth. But every time she steps out of the campus, her identity is at stake. Sometimes, she is referred to as the Chinese doll; the Korean lady; the Japanese woman or simply a foreigner. All her important document claims she is an Indian citizen. That’s not enough for the people in the streets. For them, it’s her colour and facial features which determine her identity.
“Once, a lady came rushing to me as she spotted me in the crowd at a market place. She started speaking in Korean language. I couldn’t understand a word of it. I had to interrupt her and tell: I am a part of India, I am not a foreigner. On some other day, her husband had to explain a street-side vendor about his nationality by pointing out the North Eastern States on an Indian map,” she recollected.
She is not the only one from North East who deal with unpleasant stares on the roads. Students coming from the Seven Sister states face similar situations, very often. In a bid to bridge the gap between the North East and the rest of India, a cultural exchange programme was held at the auditorium of The Regional Institute of Education (RIE) on Tuesday. The event was a combined initiative of the North East Study Centre at Utkal University and RIE.
“We have at least 100 students from North East, which is about 10 per cent of the total strength. We, therefore, conduct this programme annually to facilitate cultural exchange between the students from Odisha and North East,” said P C Agarwal, Principal of RIE.
“The significant issues of the region that calls for concerted attention are conflict and livelihood and ethnicity and identity. We are trying to make Bhubaneswar a cosmopolitan hub for national and international students,” opined VC of Utkal University, S Patnaik.
According to the faculty members of RIE, this year there has been an increase in the number of students coming to pursue higher studies in Bhubaneswar. “They states have huge potential. But, they lack the resources. So, the students are now moving out of the State only to return back to their native land and end the crisis of skilled labour and resources there,” said Prof Gowramma of RIE.
The students of RIE presented a cultural programme, showcasing various dance forms and culture of the North Eastern states. They performed traditional dances like Jagoi, Bihu, Bamboo dance and Maruna. The North East students also sashayed down the ramp donning their traditional attires.