A ride for India, through India: Elizabeth and Rakhe's 7,000km fight against racism

August 15, 2022 marks 75 years of our independence. We have achieved a lot in these 75 years, but there are gaps that still need to be filled. One such big gap that still exists is the one between the northeast and the rest of India.

The difference has caused a lot of racism that people of the northeast have to face everyday. Here is a story of Elizabeth and Rakhe who in their fight against racism rode 7000km to spread the message of One India.

 "When we were traveling to Himachal Pradesh, the police officers stopped us for inspection. Looking at our black leather boots, jackets and bullet bikes bigger than us, they assumed us to be some vloggers. But they were flabbergasted when we removed our helmets," said Rakhe Agam Dui, a journalist and member of the Arunachal Bullet Club. Rakhe was recalling the time when she and her biker partner, Rinu Elizabeth Riba, were traveling to eight states in 33 days and were stopped by the police. 

"He wasn't sure if we were Indians, even after we showed our Aadhaar cards, and told them that we were from Arunachal Pradesh," said Elizabeth. The police officers were still uncertain about which part of India they were talking about. So, they had to resort to their last option: they pulled out a rolled-up map of India from their carry-on bag and showed them where Arunachal Pradesh is, something they thought they would only had to do in the latter part of the day.  

Elizabeth and Rakhe are the only female members of their Arunachal Pradesh Bullet Club, and their club decided that they should take this trip to spread awareness about the northeast and their fight against racism. Tanung Jamoh, the chief of the bullet club said the need for this started during Covid when they were hearing stories about their family members who were living in big cities and facing constant racism and name calling to the extent that many of them decided to come back to the northeast. 

The main objective of the riders according to him was "to visit as many schools in these 8 states as possible, as the children are the most unaware about northeast India. These children are the future of our country, and educating them would be like educating thousands more people, including their immediate family members." For educating the children they would use maps and books of the northeast and talk about the culture of the region and explain to them where the it lies on the map, bitterly something they had to do with the police as well. 

Here, take a ride with them:

For Rakhe and Elizabeth, the journey was not easy and was filled with difficulties. "Being a woman and riding for more than a month means I have to ride a bike even when I am on my periods," said Elizabeth. They also had difficulties becoming acquainted with north Indian food because it was their first journey of this magnitude. They couldn't eat in various areas, which made them sick, and completing the journey was getting more difficult every day. 

The most challenging circumstance, according to them, was keeping their cool when people were astonished by their appearance or when they were speaking in Hindi. 

Did they make any changes? After the trip was completed, Rakhe and Elizabeth both received applause from various government organisations and NGOs and were called to several high-profile events. However, both of them wanted more than just that. For them, the real win would be when they could see actual ground-level changes and Indians calling them as one of their own. 

Childhood Dreams: Even though both Elizabeth and Rakhe love biking, the reason why they got into bike riding are completely different. For Rakhe, it symbolises women empowerment and getting the independence she wants. She recalls, when she was young, the first taste she got of riding a bike was when she sneaked around and attempted to ride a bike of her brother's friend and injured herself. However, she soon grew a passion for riding bikes and learned it on her own. 

For Elizabeth, it was her way of escaping reality and getting into the clasp of mother nature.

Future Aspirations: When asked about their future plans, Elizabeth and Rakhe told DailyO that they will ride their bikes till they die. Both of them are very optimistic about their future and dreams of seeing more female riders joining their club.