India has never had a comfortable relationship with its citizens from the North East. That part of the country is frequently neglected, has to deal with several insurgencies and barely has any reliable connectivity with the 'mainland.' And even if its people travel to the rest of India, they're not exactly given a rousing welcome.

Among questions often post to them are whether they are “really from India” or statements like “people from the North East don’t speak and eat humans”. Women from the North East have it particularly hard when objectification is added to the mix.

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A new slam poem by a student at the National University of Juridicial Sciences in Kolkata engages with these issues. Performed during the National Youth Poetry Slam at the university, Vinatoli Yeptho’s Five Rules for whomever it may concern has gone viral on Facebook with close to 2,000 shares since it was uploaded last week.

Four of the rules are directed at people who make snap judgements based on the kinds of clothing women wear. “If I wear red cherry blossom lipstick and smile at you, do not take it otherwise. Trust me, it’s just courtesy, not curiosity.”

It’s the anger of the delivery and what comes after the rules that seems to have resonated with viewers. “And if you still do not obey these rules, my forefathers were headhunters. I was born out of a clan of warriors. Remember the world’s hottest chilli is growing in my grandmother’s garden.”