Ankita Konwar on racism towards Northeast: ‘Some still comment Chinki, Corona on my posts’

After Manipur-based Mirabai Chanu brought immense pride to the country after clinching a silver medal from the Olympics, fitness enthusiast and actor Milind Soman's wife, Ankita Konwar, spoke about the racist attitude of people towards the northeast citizens. Ankita opened up about the same on Twitter recently after she called out the attitude of people and demanded them to accept all the flaws. Ankita who hails from Assam quoted how people still call her ‘chinki’ on social media during her latest interaction with Hindustan Times. 

Ankita Konwar calls out the racist attitude of people 

Ankita, who feels that these kinds of things that still exist in a society needs to be addressed and solved soon. Opening up about what pushed her to give words to her thoughts, she told the leading publication that she knows people who call out individuals from the Northeast as ‘chinki.’ There have been times in the past, where Ankita revealed that she had corrected them. But, now she sees them coming out and say, ‘We’re so proud of you.' When someone hears such words, they feel a part of India. She confesses that it only happens when somebody is winning a medal and can be a part of the country. Ankita questions towards the end about the rest of the people who are not winning awards, medals for the country. 
 
Ankita’s previous tweet stems from her personal experiences, which continue to date. She mentioned some of the comments that she sees on social media under her posts. She revealed that even today, people just come on her page and post comments like ‘Corona, Chinese, or chinki.’ She rues that she feels ‘hurt’ when she hears such comments. She further goes on to share that it’s not just restricted to social media, but also out on the streets. Ankita elaborated further and shared that she has lived in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi and has been living with those comments. She revealed how people used to call her names while walking on the street even when she was with her friends. 

IMAGE: ANKITAKONWAR/Instagram