Naga Youtube Star Miss Imsong Voices against Discrimination in Anti-Racism Anthem

Mumbai, March 25, 2020:

Popular Youtuber from Nagaland Merenla Imsong (popularly known as Miss Imsong) has chosen to fight racism against Northeast Indians, purportedly on the rise since the breakout of the COVID-19, through the means of music.

ALSO READ: Manipur: 1st COVID-19 Patient Recovering at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences

Imsong, whose popular channel 'Miss Imsong' has over 41,000 subscribers, has performed an anti-racism anthem, which has been viewed over 29,000 times. Before launching into song, the Youtuber says, "The global pandemic that is coronavirus, a lot of people have been panicking. A lot of people have also found a time to be racist, so I wanted to sing a sing for all those people committing random acts of racism in these dark times."

ALSO READ: India Lockdown: Govt to Provide Rice & Wheat at Rs. 3 and Rs. 2 to 80 Crore People

Then, Imsong goes on to compare the "racists" to a "useless strand of dhania", a gall bladder, a "charisma of diarrhea", among other things. After drawing several comparisons with several things that she considers oh-not-so-nice, Naga YouTuber's final words to the song, sung in apparent exasperation, are, "I'm sorry that you're a parody of the human gene pool."

Imsong is one of many who have voiced out against the discrimination towards the Northeast Indians. After an incident of a Delhi man spitting on a Manipuri girl near the Delhi University's North Campus, even the Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, was forced to issue a warning. Taking to Twitter, he said, "Am shocked to read this. Delhi Police must find the culprit and take strict action. We need to be united as a nation, especially in our fight against Covid-19."

Alana Golmei, a prominent activist has also decried the acts of racism that are seemingly on the rise. In a recent tweet, she has also alleged that she herself has been called "coronavirus" due to her mongoloid features and her niece, a DU student, has also apparently been ostracized.

Golmei, in a recent Facebook post, wrote, "I was called Coronavirus in NCERT Campus, my niece was called Coronavirus in North Campus, DU and here I’m sharing another recent incident of my niece in Delhi University campus. According to my niece who is pursuing Masters in Delhi University- “Today no one wanted to sit with me in e-rickshaw. I went to fill my exam form and was going back. People saw me and they didn't get on the e-rickshaw but instead took another one. Waited for 10-15 minutes and no one got in. One old lady was going to get in but she saw me and she hopped into the next one. It's not like I wanted to sit next to them too. But I took separate rickshaw because I was wasting time waiting and the driver wasn't moving. Funny thing was the other e-rickshaw were filling up with people except the one I was in.” - My response to my niece was, that is better for you as you are prevented from catching their virus. How I wish they continue to avoid and keep their distance from us whether Coronavirus or not, we are more safe that way."

There have been several other reports of the NE Indians being teased as "coronavirus" in the rest of India amid the outbreak of the virus, which originated in Wuhan, China.

Support Inside Northeast (InsideNE), an independent media platform that focuses on Citizen-centric stories from Northeast India that are surprising, inspiring, cinematic and emotionally relevant.