Except for the anthropological and linguistic differences, and a bit of cultural ones, how does it make such a great difference between a citizen of Manipur and Madhya Pradesh or Arunachal Pradesh and that of Andhra Pradesh (now bifurcated)? Do the people of different states in India have state-based blood groups, or do they have more than 206 major bones in their skeletal frame. Or, is it the case that the inhabitants of a particular state are bestowed with super-human powers?
If the answer is ‘yes’, I don’t have anything to plead further. But, if it is a ‘no’, may I ask the residents of Delhi – the capital of India, what prompts them or who gives them the authority to mercilessly attack and kill our fellow brothers and sisters of North Eastern(NE) states on the streets of our national capital.
Everyday news and data of the National Crime Records Bureau have made us aware that Delhi has gradually emerged as the crime capital of this country. But simultaneously it has also earned the notoriety of a city of hate crime – by unleashing brutal assaults on the people from NE irrespective of their age, sex or socio-economic background.
How many more innocent lives from the land of Seven Sisters – the seven NE states, who come to Delhi either to undergo higher studies or earn their livelihood like million others from different states and union territories, need to die for the government to sit up and take action to stop this barbarity?
The recent killing of a 29-year old Manipuri youth on July 21 in South Delhi has added to the list of heinous attacks against the inhabitants of the NE. In 2014 itself Delhi has witnessed a series of hate crime incidents. On February 1, Arunachal Pradesh minister’s son Nido Tania was beaten to death in Lajpat Nagar, followed by stabbing of another student from Manipur at Neb Sarai on February 11. In the month of May, a Manipur girl and her brother were attacked near Delhi University, and the worst case we all witnessed was the attack on three people from NE including a lawyer in the premises of Tis Hazari Court. And if this recall was not enough, on July 7, body of a Manipur youth was found in a drain in Chirag Delhi.
We are not even considering the regular harassment, discrimination and racial slurs people from NE face on the streets of Delhi. No amount of protests by activists against hate crimes, workshops to sensitise Delhiites on this issue or assurances from police and administration has helped in curbing the growing intolerance and hate crime in Delhi.
Keeping with his pre-poll promise to NE states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured a better treatment to states on the north eastern part of India by making a slew of announcements in the Budget. No doubt the proposals and provisioning made in the Budget would bring development in NE states in years to come, but what about those who are living under constant threat in Delhi, where both our country’s president and the prime minister reside.
As a nameless, faceless Indian I fail to understand, why the people of Delhi have so much hatred against their own countrymen? It is not India versus Pakistan, but Delhi versus the rest of India.
When would the government rise from its slumber and take a note? Like in the case of rape, a stern action is needed through exemplary punishment against the offenders who perpetuate crime on the citizens of NE states and other outsiders.
Honourable PM Sir, we have faith in you and expect justice be given to the ninnocent victims of hate crime.
(The opinion expressed in this column is solely that of the writer – A Nameless Indian)
Beyond Racial Attack Akha Salouni (29) who hails from Manipur died on July 21 in Arjun Nagar market in Kotla Mubarakpur in south Delhi. It was reported in the First Information Report (FIR) that he was attacked less than a kilometer away from the area police station by six men while going to his friend's place. The victim, were under the influence of alcohol when the incident took place, police claimed. |
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