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A four-year-old girl from Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh went viral after she replied to a comment trying to label her as "Chinese", saying that it makes her angry to hear these words, and that she is an Indian and should be identified as one.
"Don't call us Chinese. Call us Indians. It makes me angry..." said Tinkle Karga Gongo, speaking to ANI after that video went viral online. Tinkle's mother, Aiyum Karde, said the incident began when her daughter asked for money to buy ice cream. She said, "It all started when my daughter came to me asking for money to buy ice cream. I took her out to buy the ice cream, and we spoke in Hindi there; Tinkle spoke Hindi too." She added that, "After we bought it, Tinkle told all her friends about the ice cream. That's when someone left a comment asking, "Why is this Chinese child speaking Hindi? Do Chinese children know how to speak Hindi?" Recalling her daughter's reaction, she said, "I told Tinkle, 'Look, someone is calling you Chinese. They are asking if you are Chinese or Indian.' She replied, 'No, I am Indian. I am Indian. My dad is Indian too, and so am I.'" Karde said Tinkle insisted that she wanted to make a video expressing her feelings. "She insisted that I make and post a video about it immediately. So, I made the video. She expressed her emotions so clearly... I posted the video, and it went viral. We had no idea it would go so viral," she said. "It felt good, though; going viral really helped bring positive attention to the Northeast," Karde said. Speaking about the response received after the video went viral, Tinkle's mother said, "We are overjoyed. There are so many phone calls coming in, and our daughter has given numerous interviews. People are calling just to express their happiness and say thank you." Tinkle's father said the family came to know about the video's reach through social media. "We learned about the video from social media after a few days it was made. Calls are pouring in from everywhere. People are calling to request interviews with my daughter," he said. He also condemned such remarks against people from the Northeast, saying, "Whether it involves a child or an adult, no one should make such remarks. It is a good thing that my daughter raised her voice." "We hope that people across mainstream India will understand this issue and the pain my daughter has felt," he added. Expressing his feelings about the country's borders and identity, he added, "If an incursion is taking place, it is deeply saddening, because we certainly don't want to go to China; we want to remain right here in India." (ANI)
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