When probing hands groped her for the first time, Angela (name changed) could hardly believe it was the same Jawaharlal Nehru University campus she thought was one of the safest in Delhi.

That a sleeveless T-shirt would pose a problem in this posh and “liberal” campus in the country’s capital, miles from her home in Nagaland, disappointed the sophomore.

For long Delhi’s residents have opined and the northeasterners have listened— about how they should dress, what they should not eat, how they should travel.

Not any more. A brave young crop of students from the region is now gearing up for campus elections in JNU, hoping to tell their fellow mates and at least some parts of Delhi that, well… keep your hands off, guys… wearing low-cut jeans is not such a crime after all.

The campus is now abuzz with pre-poll preparations with the likes of Annis Pharung Awungeshi, a sociology student from Imphal, raring to make an impression in the forthcoming elections.

Contesting as an Independent candidate for the post of secretary of the Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment of JNU, Annis feels that it’s high time the bias against Northeasterners was broken.

“An image has been created that women from the Northeast have themselves to blame for acts of sexual harassment...that the problem lies with the way we dress. That, unfortunately, extends even to JNU,” said Annis.

The group formed by students from the region — Forum for People’s Rights — contested the polls last year too, but the plight of girls from the Northeast, they say, has worsened “significantly since Delhi has become even more unsafe for us over the past years,” said Annis.

Moses Kharbitai, who is contesting for the post of vice-president of the JNU students’ union, pointed out how a recent police manual effectively accused Northeast girls of dressing indecently.

“When you say that women from the Northeast are vulnerable because they dress in a certain way, you are revealing your own mindset towards people from the region. The forum will fight against all such instances of racism, on campus and outside,” said the political science PhD student.

Telegraph india

24th oct. 2007