‘More people at railway station than…’: Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along counters racism with humour as he talks about his 1999 Delhi visit
Temjen Imna Along, Minister of Nagaland Higher Education & Tribal Affairs, rose to internet fame over night due to his sense of humour. The BJP minister is currently making headlines once more for his humorous approach to combating systemic racism.
Along said that when he visited New Delhi for the first time in 1999, he was shocked to see more people there than there were in his entire state. This left the crowd in disbelief. “Purani Dilli railway station jab uthra, toh humare Nagaland pradesh se bhi zyada abadi dekha. Hum toh wohi chokh gaya (When I got down at Old Delhi railway station I saw more people than Nagaland’s entire population. I was shocked),” he is heard saying from the podium.
He also informed the throng that he had been asked “where is Nagaland” and whether visitors needed a visa. He adds, known for his love of sarcasm and his capacity for self-deprecation: “Koi log yeh fayla diya ki Naga log aadmi khata hai, woh khata hai… aur humko dekhke toh aur zyada shak hone laga (Some people have spread the rumour that Naga people eat humans, and looking at me, people grew even more suspicious).”
He made the racist statement while maintaining a straight face, but the audience erupted in laughter. “Dikhne mein alag, khan-paan mein alag, soch bichar mein alag… ussi tarah hum log 50 se 60 saal reh ke aye hai (We look different, eat different, think differently but still have lived together for 50-60 years),” the video ends with the minister saying.The video received over a million views on Twitter, leading many to declare they were now fans.
When he discovered that others were using Google to see if he has a wife, he also attracted a lot of attention online. Anupam Mittal, the creator of Shaadi.com, and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju joined the Twitter discussion when he declared that he is single in his posts.
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