India, Feb. 24 -- Two recent incidents of racial abuse targeted at individuals from two northeastern states highlight the ugly reality of thriving racism in the country. The fact that one occurred in the Capital and the other in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, suggests racist tendencies remain the same irrespective of the milieu. And it spares no one - the target of abuse in the latter case is a medical student at AIIMS Gorakhpur.

This is just the everyday racism people from the northeastern states often face. This "garden-variety" racism can slip into more brutal territory. The killing of Anjel Chakma in Dehradun last December is the latest example of the worst form such bigotry can take. Chakma was stabbed after he protested against racial s...