I Am Indian the Last Words of a Tripura Student Before He Was Killed in Dehradun
The last words spoken by 24-year-old MBA student Anjel Chakma from Tripura were not angry or violent.
They were a question.
We are not Chinese… We are Indian.
What certificate do we need to prove that?
Those words were not just a response to abuse. They were a cry of pain identity and disbelief-one that countless people across India silently carry every day. Minutes later that question turned into a brutal knife attack. After fighting for his life for 14 days Anjel died in a Dehradun hospital.
Anjel Chakma is come to Dehradun with a simple dream to study for build a future to move forward. But on the evening of December 9 2026, he stepped out with his younger brother Michael for a routine grocery run. And it was ordinary evening one that should have ended like any other.
It did not.
Near the local market a group of people began hurling racial slurs at the two brothers. They mocked their appearance called them Chinese and treated their identity as a joke. Anjel tried to remain calm. He stood his ground and said they were Indians. He asked what proof was needed to establish something that should never need proof.
That question angered the wrong people.
What could have ended as a verbal argument escalated into violence within moments. Anjel was stabbed. His younger brother stood there helpless watching his world collapse in front of his eyes.
Anjel was rushed to the hospital. Doctors try and fought relentlessly to save his Life. But he spent nearly two weeks in the ICU suspended between life and death situation. And in the Last on Friday he lost that battle.
Police investigations later confirmed that the attack followed racial abuse and confrontation. Five people have been arrested so far including two juveniles. How ever the main accused is still absconding.
According to the police there is a possibility that the prime accused has fled to Nepal. A reward of ₹25 000 has been announced for information leading to his arrest. Yet for Anjel family and many others justice feels incomplete until the main perpetrator is brought to account.
After this incident has sparked widespread protests in Tripura. People have taken to the streets. Not just demanding justice but also for Anjel but raising their voices for every individual who has ever been made to feel like an outsider in their own country. Protesters are calling for a strong national anti-racism law hoping that future lives can be protected from such hatred.
Anjel family says their son went away only to study and secure a better future. And they never imagined that his appearance or ethnicity would cost him his life. Truly no parent should have to bury their child because society failed to accept who he was.
This is not just a murder case. It is a mirror held up to our society one that forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth. All the people from India Northeast are still often treated as others questioned for their identity and judged by their faces despite being just as Indian as anyone else.
Today Anjel Chakma final words echo far beyond Dehradun
You Might be Interested on this Topic :
What proof is needed to be Indian?
As long as this question is answered through skin color facial features or paper work countless others will remain vulnerable. Until we learn to see citizenship as belonging—and humanity as equal-stories like Anjel will continue to repeat themselves.
And each time we will be left asking the same question too late.