Paper short abstract:

A critical ethnographical study of the discrimination against one's food habits, culture and identity in the context of NE migrants in Delhi. It examines the popularity of ethnic restaurants amidst racism issues and argues that the eating of 'smelly' food in homes/restaurants is an act of resistance

Paper long abstract:

The last two decades have witnessed an increased number of migrants from the Northeast to the metropolitan cities of India. These different-looking people with 'small eyes' face racism in their new cities. As many of the tribes and indigenous people in the Northeast are known to have migrated from Southeast Asia at different historical points and the region is closer to the neighbouring countries than the rest of India, geographically and ethnologically, various aspects of everyday life such as food habits bear similarities to different parts of Southeast Asia. Fermented soyabean is a delicacy enjoyed across the Northeast and Southeast Asia. Racism against northeasterners have been linked with institutional violence that manifests in various ways. The fact that Delhi police issued an a booklet to advise the migrants against cooking and eating 'smelly' food items such as fermented soyabean can be seen as a move of structural violence against these ethnic minorities. The paper takes the approach of critical ethnography and qualitative research to study how discrimination against one's food habits actualizes as discrimination against ones values, culture and identity in the context of northeastern migrants in Delhi. It examines the rising popularity of Manipuri and Naga restaurants amidst racism issues. It argues that the eating and selling of 'smelly' food items in homes and the ethnic restaurants in the city become a significant act of resistance. The fight for one's culture and identity through one's kitchen and restaurants has to be a part of the larger movement against racism.