Mongoloid facial features, including narrower eyes, have often been used to stereotype people from India’s Northeast. Nagaland Tourism and Higher Education Minister Temjen Imna Along once again used humour to challenge such racial stereotypes while drawing attention to the limitations of certain technologies.
The BJP MLA shared a video on X with the caption “Struggle is real”, highlighting the difficulties some people face while undergoing biometric verification.
In the video, a person outside the frame repeatedly attempts to scan the eyes of a Naga man through a KYC biometric application. When the system fails to detect his iris, several people are seen trying to hold his eyes open so that the scanner can complete the process.
The people around him can be heard laughing as the attempts continue.
Behind the humour, however, the video highlights a genuine concern: the lack of inclusivity in technological design.
Biometric systems are increasingly used for KYC, authentication and access to digital services. However, technologies developed around standardised facial and biometric characteristics can sometimes create difficulties for people whose physical features do not fit the assumptions built into those systems.
Temjen’s post highlighted the issue without turning it into a technical or political argument. Instead, he relied on humour, a style that has become closely associated with his social media presence. Although he did not explicitly explain the intention behind sharing the video, the post drew attention to the broader issue.
One user responding to the post said alternative methods should be developed so that people do not face difficulties because of their natural biological characteristics.
Another user questioned whether technology itself could reproduce racial biases and asked why India was not adopting solutions reportedly developed in countries such as China and Japan.
The Nagaland minister has repeatedly used humour to address stereotypes aimed at people from the Northeast, particularly the widespread perception that they have “small eyes”.
This aspect of Temjen’s public persona gained widespread attention in 2022 when he spoke humorously about the supposed benefits of having smaller eyes during a public event.
Addressing the stereotype directly, he joked that people from the Northeast may have smaller eyes but also have sharp vision.
“Because of smaller eyes we don't get much dirt inside the eyes. And we can easily sleep when some long programme is going on,” he said, drawing laughter and applause from the audience.
The clip went viral on social media and was also shared by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who wrote on X, “My brother Temjen is in full form.”
Temjen responded in his characteristic playful style, saying, “My eyes may be small, but I can see the camera from a mile. Always pose ready. Also I can see you smile as you reading it! Good Morning.”
His latest post about the KYC scanner follows a similar approach: taking a familiar experience or stereotype, turning it into humour and using that humour to draw attention to a larger issue.
The biometric video, however, highlights another dimension. What initially appears to be a humorous struggle with an eye scanner also raises questions about how technology accommodates India’s vast physical and cultural diversity.
For people in the Northeast, where certain facial and physical characteristics may differ from the assumptions incorporated into some biometric technologies, an otherwise routine authentication process can become an unexpected challenge.
Temjen has developed a distinctive political communication style around such subjects, often addressing sensitive issues through humour rather than conventional political messaging.
This time, the joke is quite literally in the eye of the scanner. While the video may be amusing, the issue it highlights is far more serious.
