Chum Darang, an actress from Arunachal Pradesh and a contestant on ‘Bigg Boss 18’, has spoken out about facing racist comments throughout her life.
Early Days of Racism
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, people would often make fun of her by calling her “momo,” a term associated with North Eastern communities. After the pandemic hit, the nature of these comments changed. People started calling her “coronavirus.” These remarks bothered her, but she’s learned to respond quickly and confidently. Chum believes that some people make these comments out of ignorance, while others do so intentionally.
A Stand Against Racism
Chum Darang doesn’t like to portray herself as a victim. Instead, she prefers to fight back. When someone doesn’t understand that she’s Indian just like them, she feels they should be ashamed. “When I say I’m from Arunachal, it means I’m from this country,” she said. “If you don’t understand that or keep asking after I’ve told you, you should be ashamed of yourself. You’ve sung the national anthem every day, and so have I. I’m a proud Indian, and no one can take that away from me.”
Recently, Chum called out YouTuber Elvish Yadav for making racist comments about her. While she usually ignores such remarks, she decided to speak up because his comments hurt her entire community. Elvish later apologized, saying he didn’t mean to target or mock any particular community.