'I was unlucky, but don't have a grudge'

Michael Lamjathang Haokip, the Manipuri student who was attacked by three men “for not knowing Kannada”, said that despite the “unfortunate incident”, he held no grudge against anyone.

“In my four years in Bangalore, I never faced such a situation. I did not expect any such thing. I was unlucky. In every society, there are (people) who are good and others who are bad. It depends on an individual and one cannot blame the whole society. I still do not feel any insecurity. I don’t have any grudges,” he told Deccan Herald on Wednesday.

Haokip, who is also the president of Thadou Students’ Association, said he had heard such incidents happening to many people but never imagined he would be a victim. “In August, the joint secretary of the association, Ngamkholen Haokip, was attacked. I know of many cases where people from my association have been the victims. This association itself was formed soon after the mass exodus (of northeastern people in 2012),” he said.

On what he would do now, he said: “I don’t have any power to do anything, I will follow up on the case as much as I can. But it depends on the police. I hope justice is done.”