'Are you from China?' College student, 20, killed by racist thugs in New Delhi
Indians from a part of nation near Myanmar and China say they face discrimination in rest of the country for their 'Asian' features
He was a slight young man, who sported hipster eyeglasses and a wispy moustache. He had dyed his spiky hair blond, but that was not the only thing that made college student Nido Tania stand out in the Indian capital.
Tania was from northeastern India, a narrow strip of territory wedged between China and Myanmar, whose people say they face discrimination in the rest of the country for having "Asian" facial features. When Tania, 20, stopped in a dairy to ask for directions on Tuesday afternoon, the shopkeeper taunted Tania for not knowing his way around, saying, "Are you from China?" and making fun of his hair.
The incident escalated into a violent altercation in which several men thrashed him with sticks and steel rods, friends and officials said.
He died in his bed the next day, succumbing to severe injuries to the chest and brain, according to preliminary medical results provided to his family.
The incident has sparked outrage in New Delhi, which was already reeling from a spate of high-profile rape cases, and has added to a growing sense of insecurity in a capital that is aiming to be a showcase for India's growing economic might.
