Manipuri student mercilessly beaten for not knowing Kannada

mangaloretoday.com/ yahoo

Bangalore, Oct 15: "If you outsiders know how to eat food that is produced in Karnataka, you must also know to speak Kannada. This is India not China," Michael was told by attackers in Bangalore.

26-year-old T Michael Lamjathang Haokip was attacked in Kothanur, a part of the city that has high denisty of students from outstation.
 
Michael is the president of the Thadou (Manipuri tribe) Students’ Association in Bangalore.

 

 
He is now reportedly out of danger.

The victim was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, "They kept asking me to speak in Kannada. They said, ’If you outsiders know how to eat food that is produced in Karnataka, you must also know to speak Kannada. This is India not China.’ I tried to reason with them but they were hysterical."
 
He added, "A friend from my community, Letmang Haokip, 35, was passing by on his motorbike at the same time. I jumped onto the bike and we started racing towards the police station. But mob followed us on their bikes and one of them crashed into us. We fell down and I started running for my life towards the police station. Just then a police patrol car arrived and the mob scattered."

Letmang, one of two friends of Michael who escaped with minor injuries, said he was robbed of his valuables and his bike documents.

Letmang said: "I was surrounded by the gang when Michael ran away. They snatched my valuables and my bike’s documents. They would have probably killed me but Michael returned with the police."

According to Obed Haokip, one of Michael’s friends, a local politician’s aides helped the attackers escape.
 
The local police arrested three people and will launch an investigation into the case.
 
Earlier this year, the death of a Arunachal student Nido Taniam, brought to light the rise in hate crime against students from northeast.
 
Nido Taniam, son of Arunachal Pradesh Congress legislator Nido Pavitra, was allegedly beaten up mercilessly by shopkeepers on January 29 following a quarrel over his appearance and clothing. He died in a hospital the next day.