Banaras, February 6: An Assam woman took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to report an incident of racism that she faced during her visit to Banaras. Geet, who goes by the X handle @geet_freebird, reported that a local man stopped her from taking photos inside the Manikarnika Ghat, confusing her to be a foreigner because of her looks.
“This happened with me in Banaras, the city I love so much and on my second visit. Yes, I take photos every where I go but never inside a religious place. This applies to all places and not just Banaras. I was entering Manikarnika Ghat and a guy standing there,” Geet wrote on X.
“And a guy standing there stops me and tells in me English ‘No photos inside’. I nod my head as I understand. But the moment I turn my back and walk ahead he calls out to one of his friends and says in Hindi (thinking I won’t understand) ‘Een logo ko kaun tika laaga ke bhej rahe hai (who is putting the tilak on these people’s foreheads),” she added.
Have a look at the full thread of tweets here:
Talking about further about the incident, she wrote, “My concern here is what does he mean by ‘een logo ko’? Am I not to be considered worthy enough to visit the ghat because of my looks? And then as I walk further ahead, I find people ‘unlike’ my looks making proper videos of the burning pyres.”
She concluded her post by adding, “No, I am not going to let this incident scar my love for Banaras. But I had to let it out cause it is beyond me to see that people still get away with such racist comments.”
