Manipur musician killed in Indian capital, reviving racism concerns

New Delhi, India — Late on Sunday night, Chongtham Vikram Singh was troubled by loud noises outside his home in the Indian capital, where he lived with his son and wife. He climbed down the stairs, but an argument ensued with nearly a dozen men, who chased him back to the third floor of his apartment.

The chase ended with 54-year-old Singh, a renowned guitarist from India’s northeastern state of Manipur, left unconscious on the stairs by the mob. Within hours, he had died from his wounds at a nearby hospital.

Singh’s killing has revived anxieties over entrenched racial discrimination and marginalisation that people from the northeastern states have long faced in the rest of India.

For his friends and fans, the tragedy comes as Manipur enters a fourth year of a deadly civil war that has displaced tens of thousands in the state.

“Vikram is an icon and legendary guitar player for us,” said Akhu Chingangbam, a popular Manipuri lyricist and singer. “That’s his heritage. He inspired generations to pick up guitar in the land where the arms and lives are so cheap.”

Singh’s tragic end, after teaching music for 20 years in the capital, is a reminder, Chingangbam said, that racism is a stark reality for thousands of domestic migrants from India’s northeast.

In New Delhi, Singh gave private music classes and helped young musicians to gain a foothold. Back in Manipur, he was a rock star, the guitarist of a popular, socially conscious rock band – Eastern Dark.

The 54-year-old was among the region’s rock pioneers in the early 1980s.