Unprecedented Mindset against North Easterners (A Plan, Policy and Law Needed to End the Racial Discrimination)

Unprecedented Mindset against North Easterners

(A Plan, Policy and Law Needed to End the Racial Discrimination)

Unprecedented Mindset against North Easterners

(A Plan, Policy and Law Needed to End the Racial Discrimination)

By Madhu Chandra

The death of 19 years old Nido from Arunachal Pradesh at Delhi on 31^st January after shopkeepers have beaten and two girls from Manipur attacked at Kotla Mubarak following day, are the realities of ongoing discrimination to the people from North East at India’s national capital. The ruling government at Delhi changed and so the police heads, but the mindsets of the people and the law enforcing agents remain unchanged. The cry and the protest continue that the plight faced by the people of North Easterners will be heard and brought to the end once for all.

The research report of racial discrimination conducted by the Jamia University and published recently in the national news papers has revealed the unprecedented plights faced by the community in national capital. 81% of the North East communities living in Delhi and NCR confessed the discrimination from their fellow county men and women in colleges, universities, work and market places. This report synchronises with two other research reports done by North East Support Centre & Helpline in 2009, where 86% of North East people are discriminated and faced the sexual harassment. The second research on North East Migration and Challenges in Mega Cities reveals another reality of changing trend from sexual harassment to racial discrimination, which means, if you have mongoloid face, you will be discriminated and treated unequal with other fellow country men and women. Nido’s death is one of the realities of the new trend.

These research findings have also proved that nothing has changed the plight of racial discrimination and sexual attack on North East men and women, even after many assurances given by the Delhi and Union Government.

In most of the crimes like such as this, the role played by Delhi police is matter of worried and concern. To be very honest, the mindset of Delhi police, particularly those on the ground reality has not changed. They are racist in their mindset and performance of their duty. This is the most worrisome while dealing the plight faced by the North East people at Delhi. In most of the cases, the perpetrators get out of reach because such mindset police personnel.

The women from North East India continues to face the sexual harassment, most suffer and beared silently in fear of social stigma and loosing of their carries. They face from their fellow colleagues at their work places, colleges and institutions, only a few dares to face the social stigma and the carrier challenges to come out openly and report to the police. Bearing the pain silently will encourage the perpetrators to commit more crimes, which can also be to any women irrespective of which region they belong to.

New trend of the plights faced by the people from North East India is slightly changing from sexual attack to racial attack. One having the Mongoloid feature could cost your life in India’s national capital. This has been going on for years and the government kept promising to ensure safety to the community, which will be forgotten in a day when a nation issue arises and they will come up with new promises when the crime like Nido’s repeats.

Sheila Dikshit, then the Chief Minister of Delhi has been heavily blamed for the sexual crime and racial attack on women and North East communities in Delhi. Now the ball is in the court of the staring Chief Minister Kajeriwal. The entire North East communities wait and watch, whether the Kajeriwal will give the lip service and put the promises into the reality to end the unprecedented plight of racial discrimination and sexual harassment to the men and women from North East India.

The peak of Migration from the North East region to national capital and other mega cities in search of better education and job opportunities in recently years continues and it is predicted the number will increase, which means that 200,000 North Easterners in Delhi will increase their number in near future. As the population increases, the plight of racial discrimination and sexual crimes against the men and women from North East India will likely continue.

North East Support Centre & Helpline was setup with a group of people voluntarily and they continue to render voluntary service to the victims and to the communities without any financial support from any end. To be very honest as a founding member and former Spokesperson of Helpline, it is very difficult and demanding task. Now, the student bodies from different states of North East India and tribes have come forward to fight together. All sections of the society must come together to end the plight faced by the people from North East India.

How do we handle and attempt to bring to the end?

First, the most important, there is an urgent need to bring a law and policy to tackle the problem of racial discrimination. Repeated assurance by the government without adopting any specific policy and enacting any law has been the lip service for the government and law enforcing agencies. In order to bring a suitable policy and enact a law dealing the racial attack and discrimination, the Union and Delhi government must invite social scientist, experts and social workers from North East India and others to conduct a series of consultation to help drafting the bill.

Second, the silent spectators of North Eastern state governments on the plights faced their people in national capital and other mega cities. All the states must adopt a collective policy otherwise in their state level to end the plights faced by their people. Unfortunately and in spite of repeated appealed to all North Eastern states to come up with a plan and policy dealing the crisis faced by their people in mega cities, but it has been not dumped so far.

Third, the perpetrators do not differentiate the differences between North Eastern states or communities or tribes, when they plan to attack men and assault women. But the response is to encounter the attack and assault depend on the tribe or community or the state the victims belong. This has been the struggle for North East Support Centre & Helpline. One can turn off from one and turn on to other. A collective effort is the need of the hour.

Four, silent suffers must break out. Keeping silent when one is attacked or taken sexual advantage, it must be reported to the Grievance Cell at the work places, which is a mandatory as per the directive from Supreme Court of India. The offender will only take advantage of you when you keep silent and they will take advantage from others as well.

Madhu Chandra is one of the founding member and former Spokesperson of North East Support Centre & Helpline. He is currently based at Kakching, Manipur.

AFSPA the draconian law

AFSPA Failed! Mizoram Way an Alternative? By Madhu Chandra www.madhuchandra.org The Arm Forces Special Power Act, 1958 (AFSPA) is termed as a draconian and xenophobia law. It is draconian law because section 4 (a) of the AFSPA gives power to armed forces personnel to shoot at anyone suspicious, section 4 (b) to destroy the shelter of the armed rebels and section 4 (c) to search and arrest without warrant. These mean that any army personnel can shoot at any one suspected that she/he would have a gun and fire at him. The section 6 of the AFSPA protects armed force personnel, who are operating under the act from prosecution, suit or legal proceeding except previous sanction by Central Government. To get permission from the Central Government of India to prosecute any armed forces personnel, who involved in blunder like Thangjam Manoram case in 2004. Over 100 Manipuri women protested naked in front of Kangla Fort Assam Rifle camp. Thereafter, the Central Government of India granted permission to prosecute the army personnel involved in raping her and killed brutally. There is not even a single case where prosecution granted against any armed forces personnel under AFSPA without public outcry. Secondly, AFSPA is xenophobia law because it is selectively imposed for first forty years upon seven North East India states - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura and extended to Jammu and Kashmir, whose features, ethnicities and religious backgrounds are different from the rest of the country. Need not to repeat the debate that AFSPA has failed to solve insurgency challenges rather it has caused increasing. Not much debated ideologically on why the youngsters take up arms. How can solve the problem without using arm forces power? It will be worth to focus on other alternative to solve the five decades old socio-political crisis of North East India region. The nation observed the 27th death anniversary of India’s first lady Prime Minister - Indira Gandhi’s assassination on October 31. The Ministry of Development for North East Region (DoNER) had an advertisement on Times of India, conveyed a message of development initiated by Indira Gandhi in North East India! First woman Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi initiated the table negotiation between Government of India with Mizoram’s separatist insurgents in 1971. Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 before she could bring the solution. Thereafter, Rajiv Gandhi, who became Prime Minister carried on the negotiation and achieved the solution in 1986. The chapter of insurgency in Mizoram finally came to an end with the signing of the Mizoram Peace Accord on June 30, 1986 between the underground government of the Mizo National Front and the Government of India. Under the terms of the peace accord, Mizoram was granted statehood in February 1987. The continuous negotiation and honest initiative from the Central Government of India brought solution to the insurgencies in Mizoram, which operated for 25 years from 1961 to 1986. Dealing the challenges of insurgency in North East India, perhaps, adopting the way Government of India initiated with the insurgents of Mizoram, could it be a means of solution to insurgency problems in North East India? Mizoram’s Problem Solved, AFSPA NOT Lifted The problem of insurgency in Mizoram came to the end after singing the Mizoram Peace Accord in 1986. Since then Mizoram is most peaceful state, not only in the region but also for whole of India. Mizoram has highest literacy rate in whole of India today and it would have never been possible without solving the insurgency problem. It was not by guns but by table negotiation that too was of honest initiative and intervention from the Central Government of India. Interesting or not sure, whether there was any attempt from Government of India to remove AFSPA from Mizoram after the state has become an insurgency-freed state! Then, why the Central Government has not removed the AFSPA from the state? Having removing the act from the state, it might have conveyed a message to whole region that AFSPA is not a permanent law and it will move away once the states become normal. Winning people confident is the need of hour. Perhaps, the best to begin could be by removing AFSPA from those states, which have returned to normal life. My Personal Observation What does it matter for the people of Mizoram, who live in peace and normal life, yet they still have this draconian law? I have recently travelled from Aizwal, the state capital, to Champhai a small town at Indo-Burma boarder. Truly and honestly, I did not see single armed force personnel except one or two police officers in their uniform at check gates. Peace and normal life has returned to Mizoram yet AFSPA still covers entire state. Why has not the AFSPA removed from Mizoram then? The Mizoram State Assembly must pass a resolution to recommend the Union Government of India to lift up the AFSPA from entire territory of Mizoram. Once, remove AFSPA from Mizoram, it will send out a message to whole region that table negotiation by following the footpath of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, could be a step to begin in bringing permanent and long lasting solution. Lastly, not the least, after the fake encounter killing at Imphal on July 23, 2009, Tehelka exposed the diktat nature of Manipur police commandos in the state of Manipur. The state kept burning for months and the Central Government got attention and gave strict order to law enforcing agencies to refrain from any forms of human rights violence. Since then, the killing has reduced in Manipur and removed AFSPA partially from Great Imphal areas. Union Home ministry must monitor the changes of the situation and consider listening to the aspiration of people. Madhu Chandra is research scholar and social activist base based at New Delhi. He works as Spokesperson of North East Support Centre & Helpline (www.nehelpline.net).