|
New
Delhi, June 27, 2009 North East Support Centre &
Helpline lauded Chief Minister of Mizoram Pu
Lalthanhawla for his bold statement on racial
discrimination meted out to himself and north east
Indian communities. More political bureaucratic and
civil societies must come openly on the reality of
racist discrimination meted out to North East Indians.
The statement on racial discrimination faced by North
Eastern communities in different parts of India is long
overdue. North East Support Centre & Helpline is
extremely glad that Chief Minister of Mizoram has openly
expressed the issue in his press conference in
Singapore. Pu Lalthanhawla would have conducted his
press conference else where in India, the wide coverage
and the issue would have been suppressed or ignored.
North East Support Centre & Helpline has appealed to
North Eastern elected members of Parliament many a times
to take up the issues of racial discrimination faced by
their communities in Delhi and NCR with Delhi and
Central Government. Most of them kept quiet.
The racial discrimination faced by the North East Indian
communities all over the country has their different
forms.
Definitely, Delhi and National Capital Region go beyond
just lewd and vulgar racial remarks. Young girls are
easily targeted in Delhi and NCR who have been
physically and sexually assaulted while young boys are
physically attacked and many are suspended from jobs
without any prior notice or reasons. Non-payment of
salary by employers are also reported.
The mindset of people is the root cause of the racial
discrimination. The racist public of Delhi and NCR
always counted North Easterners are strangers in their
own country.
What surprises all the more is the racial discrimination
from police officers when the victims and their
colleagues who are discriminated go to them for
registering First Information Reports. In most of the
cases, police refuse to accept the complaint until there
is pressure from the media.
Discrimination does not end there. After the complaints
are registered, there comes the delay and manipulation
by the public prosecutor of the cases taken up in the
concerned courts. In spite of this, some of the cases
booked under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocity Act 1995 are
disposed of speedily.
In reality, Indians cannot survive racial discrimination
outside India, but back at home, they keep racism alive.
It is rooted in caste apartheid of Indian society that
is 3000 years old. The United Nations’ Campaign against
Racism at Durban in 2002, casteism was described as
worse than racism.
Thankfully, the issues of racist discrimination faced by
the people of north east India in Delhi and NCR is taken
up nicely by the Indian media. Without their help,
efforts of North East Support Centre & Helpline would
have gone in vain.
North East Support Centre & Helpline
(www.nehelpline.net) is combined initiative of various
human rights activists, social workers, students,
journalists and lawyers seeking to prevent harassment
and abuses meted out to women, North East People and
tribal communities of different states.
|
