Modi slams attacks on northeasterners in Delhi
MEERUT: Reacting to the dominant news in the media over the last couple of days, BJP's prime ministerial nominee on Sunday made a passionate pitch for integrating the people of the north-eastern states into the mainstream. He slammed the Centre for the fatal attack on the Arunachal Pradesh student and the harassment of Manipuri girls in Delhi last week and described these as shameful incidents that fly in the face of Delhi's aspirational tag of a global city.
Saying these attacks took place under Congress president Sonia Gandhi's watch who is the real force behind the government, Modi, extolling the Indianness of the people of Arunachal Pradesh, said, "While we greet each other with namaste and Ram Ram, the people of Arunachal Pradesh greet each other with Jai Hind. If a youth from such a state is killed in Delhi, it's a matter of shame."
Tharmila Jajo and Chonmila, two Manipur women, were subjected to racial abuses in Delhi on January 25. Chonmila, who works in a mall, had gone to a shop managed by Tharmila to buy some Manipuri herbs. On seeing them, one of the goons who abused them tied his dog's leash to Chonmila's shoes and laughed when she panicked.
"Whenever I hear that people from Manipur and North-east don't get houses on rent, I feel sad... Like all others, they're also our children and related to us through blood. It's our duty to protect them," Modi said.
Without naming the Aam Aadmi Party, Modi said the language used by some of the leaders in Delhi these days is deplorable. "My head bows down in shame when I hear some of the comments," he said.
Interestingly, Modi chose not to describe Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi as "shehzade", instead, he referred to him as "man-niye Rahul". Earlier, Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi had dared Modi to repeat this epithet for Rahul, saying the Youth Congress won't allow him to carry out his political rallies if he didn't stop name-calling. But Modi continued calling Rahul "shehzade" until his Meerut rally.
~ Times of India, New Delhi, Feb 3, 2014
Racism in Delhi: Their pride hurt daily by prejudice
NEW DELHI: Nido Tania died because of a "racist attack", protesters at Lajpat Nagar insisted on Saturday. And virtually, every northeasterner at the agitation had a story to illustrate how racial discrimination had become a daily thing in their lives here. The homogeneity of the gathering bore out much of what they were claiming, for hardly any local face showed up barring a few students' union members.
On Saturday, as hundreds of boys and girls from the eight northeastern states marched down the lanes where Nido had gone looking for his friend's home on Wednesday, locals peered out of their windows or lounged around on their balconies gazing at the protesters go by. None bothered to join or express solidarity.
Among those marching was Leyi, a lawyer who is from Arunachal Pradesh. She practices in Delhi and claims she feels discriminated against even in the courts. "I am invariably asked to get my senior, even though I'm an independent advocate. It's evident they think a northeast woman cannot practice on her own. I try to ignore it, but it's very obvious."
Retaliation hardly helps, Manipur's Caroline Maninee and Holong Ngomamai from Nagaland say. "Only the other day, someone taunted my friend for her slit eyes calling her makkhi ki aankh (fly's eye). She hit back and called her tormentors bhains ki aankh (buffalo eyes)," Caroline recalls. "Having said that, we realize it's so pointless and petty. We belong to the same country. How do we fight our own like this," she asks. Caroline and Holong have on numerous occasions been called Nepalese and asked where their home states are?
John Tehi, a law intern from Arunachal, was bitter because AAP had given the protest a miss. "Not long back, we saw CM Arvind Kejriwal hold a dharna at Rail Bhavan to save his minister, Somnath Bharti, from being punished for racial discrimination. Why didn't the CM join our protest," he wondered.
Lenmem Dai of Arunachal is in town to train at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. "Schoolchildren call us names - chinki, chowmein, what not...Such impressionable minds are taught to see us as different. They are taught that it's fine to poke fun at us. How can we even expect their parents to join the agitation? The only consolation is that all the northeastern states are one in this protest. We're holding hands. We are united."
Her classmate Ampee Tasung says that the jibes and barbs are invariably about the way northeast people look and the way they dress. "I wonder why they don't make fun of Bollywood stars who wear western clothes. Back home, we are brought up in a liberal, progressive atmosphere. Here, sexism and racism seem to dominate."
Dinesh, a Dayal Singh College teacher was among the few "mainland" faces at the protest. He was born and brought up in Arunachal. Some bitter memories made him join the march. "My family has lived in Arunachal since 1940. When I came to Delhi I too faced similar discrimination despite my north Indian looks. I was at Nehru Boys hostel at Dilshad Garden in 1999. A friend, Tolkham Maring, a Naga student from Manipur, was brutalized by locals as he protested against racial taunts. We reported the incident to police but nothing happened. After 15 years it's the same apathy," he said.
IT professional Mayuri Saikia (name changed) doesn't believe in sloganeering anymore. "I've been in Delhi for eight years and have faced racial slurs. I studied at a south Delhi college. Once while returning alone from Lajpat Nagar market around 9pm, someone grabbed me from behind. After college, I once went out to Lajpat Nagar Market with friends. While returning I was alone and it was about 9 pm when someone grabbed me from behind.
As I tried to turn around he covered my mouth with one hand and said 'chinki' what's your price? I managed to flee. free myself and fled.
I narrated my experience to my landlady and got to know the man was her nephew. The next day, I was asked to vacate the house."
~ Times of India, New Delhi, Feb 3, 2014
Justice for Nido Tania, social media’s latest war cry
NEW DELHI: As offline demonstrations raged against the alleged assault that killed Nido Tania, the cries for justice grew loud online too.
On Facebook, where the 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh was among the trending topics, at least three pages called "Justice for Nido Tania" have come up in the past 24 hours. The number of likes range from 900 to 21,000 (till 6 pm). These pages shared messages condemning racism against those from the Northeast and also gave out details of offline protests and candlelight vigils in the city.
One internet group circulated a picture with " Stop Racism Unite Together" written on it and exhorted people to put it up as a mark of protest.
One of the most widely shared messages across several groups was addressed to "fellow citizens of India". "If we dress like a Rock star because we are born with Music and are talented. Is there any wrong? (sic)," reads one of the many questions in the post. It later adds, "Come to our region... we will take you around our neighbours and will try to be your best companions instead of giving you names."
In an alleged remark that appears to have racist undertones, Tania was teased about the colour of his hair outside a shop in Lajpat Nagar on Thursday. An altercation between a shopkeeper and the student turned into an alleged assault. Tania succumbed to injuries on Friday.
Another 'Justice for Nido Tania' page hosted an open letter to CM Arvind Kejriwal from a Sikkimese student of Satyawati College, asking him to look into the case and hear the voices of those from the Northeast.
A petition addressed to home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on saddahaq.com asks him to expedite the investigation and to "institute a cell that shall look after the needs, safety of people from the Northeast living in Delhi." On the official TOI Facebook page, an article about the Northeast community feeling alienated got several comments, one of which was, "Its a request to all Delhiites to save our brothers and sisters from discrimination..I am sure not all people of Delhi are like those criminals."
~ Times of India, New Delhi, Feb 2, 2014
Anger at Centre, Kejriwal govt
- People hit streets in Shillong and Guwahati against discrimination
Shillong, Feb. 2: Hundreds took to the streets of Shillong and Guwahati today to protest the racial discrimination people from the Northeast face in mainland India and to demand justice for Nido Tania, who died after an alleged racial attack in New Delhi on Thursday.
Tania’s last rites were performed today at Raga in Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
According to CMO sources, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki, AICC general secretary Jay Kumar and MP Takam Sanjoy attended the funeral.
In Shillong, students shouted slogans against the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government. They were protesting the racial bias northeasterners face in New Delhi, where they are often branded Chinese nationals. The Assam unit of the Aam Aadmi Party also submitted a memorandum to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking action to ensure the safety of students from the Northeast. “There is a strong feeling in the Northeast that Delhi is not safe and free of discrimination for students coming from the region. This concern has been there for a long time and needs to be addressed urgently,” the memorandum said.
A delegation of students from the Northeast met Kejriwal last evening seeking immediate steps while a Facebook page, Justice for Nido Tania, has evoked large online support not only from people from the region but from other parts of the country. “Really ashamed of being part of a nation where people are judged by their appearances and worse are beaten to death if they raise their voice against the discrimination,” Munisha Chauhan, a sociology student of Delhi University, wrote on the page.
“All those culprits should be hanged, not imprisoned so that they get bail later. Stop racial discrimination, think of what the British did to you,” Palijore Tshering Bhutia, a student from Gangtok who lives in Calcutta, posted on the Facebook page. The page has already received over 25,200 likes so far.
The rally in Shillong began in front of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police office near Anjalee petrol pump from where it wound its way through Mawlong hat and Khyndai Lad before crossing Raj Bhavan, Barik point, St Edmund’s School and culminated at Arunachal Bhavan in Cleave Colony.
Students from other northeastern states studying in Shillong also took part in the procession, which was led by the Arunachal Students’ Union Shillong, Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and student organisations from Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram.
“This is not the first time that this sort of incident has happened against our people from the Northeast,” KSU education secretary Donald Thabah said.
The KSU leader alleged that the Centre was not concerned about people from this part of the country and treated them as “second-class citizens” because of differences in culture and looks. He also demanded punitive action against the culprits.
Tania’s cousin Nido Nangam said he died because of negligence by Delhi police.
“The police instead of taking care of my cousin, who had been assaulted, dropped him back at the place of the incident,” she said.
Another student, Sunaina, said people from mainland India call “us Northeast, but treat us like we are from other country and every time call us Chinese”.
At the end of the rally, Kakyar Dulom, president of the Arunachal Students’ Union Shillong, addressed the gathering and a two-minute silence was also observed.
In Guwahati, students and young professionals from different parts of the region who reside in the city staged a protest in front of Dighalipukhuri. “Over the years we have seen that Delhi is not a safe place, we want a safe capital as many people from the Northeast go there for higher studies and to work,” said Debangini Ray, one of the organisers.
Social activist and National Youth Award recipient Ranjan Kumar Baruah said: “Delhi police need to be more proactive and they must become friendly towards people from the Northeast.”
~ The Telegraph, Kolkata, Feb 3, 2014
Narendra Modi targets AAP for Arunachal Pradesh youth’s death, ‘ill-treatment’ of Ugandan women
While continuing to target the Congress, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday also hit out at the AAP government in Delhi, raising the twin issues of the death of a youth from Arunachal Pradesh and alleged harassment of Ugandan women.
Addressing a rally here, he said, “We should try to make Delhi a global city. But in the last few days, the language and actions have brought disrepute, not only to the national capital but to the entire country… African women were ill-treated. Students from Manipur have been ill-treated. Now a student from Arunachal Pradesh was killed. This does not look good for the city.”
Though Modi did not name Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had declared himself an “anarchist” while staging a protest demanding action against Delhi Police officers, or his Law Minister Somnath Bharti, who led the controversial raid targeting Ugandan women in South Delhi, he criticised the Delhi government for being “careless” about governance.
Calling for hostels for Northeast students in major urban centres across the country, Modi said the government in Delhi is not bothered about these things.
“In Delhi, a student from Arunachal Pradesh was killed under the nose of Sonia Gandhi… It is shameful,” he said. Continuing his attack on Sonia, a day after she accused the BJP of sowing “seeds of poison”, he said it is the Congress which sows seeds of poison and reaps the harvest from it by its divisive politics.
“Congress party has started a new raga. You ask some question, they will answer something else. When people ask Sonia about farmers’ suicides, she says they are farming poison,” he said.
“At the Congress’s Jaipur meeting, Rahul Gandhi said his mother (Sonia) told him that power is poison. Who has been in power the longest? If power is poison, who has tasted it the most? Who is sowing poison? And who is harvesting that poison? It is the character of the Congress to play divisive politics. It is the party of divide-and-rule that indulges in vote bank politics,” said Modi.
“The Vajpayee government got a separate Uttarakhand, both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand celebrated as we had sown affection. Similarly, both Bihar and Jharkhand celebrated. It was the same story with Chhattisgarh. But those who have sown poison have brought turmoil in Telangana as well as Seemandhra,” said Modi, targeting the Centre for allegedly mishandling the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. “Enough with the politics of poison, the time has come for politics of development,” he said.
Attacking the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said, “Riots were not uncommon till over 10 years ago. But since then, the people of Gujarat have decided to live in peace, unity and harmony, shunning vote bank politics and following politics of development… Don’t you all want a riot-free Uttar Pradesh? The BJP believes in peace, unity and harmony. We will provide you a riot-free Uttar Pradesh”.
Stating that Modi had never supported the Gujarat riots, BJP president Rajnath Singh said, “They (Congress) demand an apology from Modi. There was a lone incident that happened during his 12-year regime, while there have been numerous riots during the regimes of Congress, SP and BSP. Modi never justified those riots. He termed them unfortunate. Now the per capita income of minorities in Gujarat is better than that of minorities in other parts of the country.”
He added that the BJP, if voted to power, would honour the one-rank-one-pension demand of ex-servicemen.
Modi and Singh sought to woo the farming community by invoking former Prime Minister Charan Singh and late farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, both of whom hailed from the region.
Meanwhile, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh joined the BJP at the rally on Sunday.
~ The Indian Express, New Delhi, Feb 3, 2014
Harsh Vardhan, Goel say such incidents need to be stopped.
The Delhi BJP on Sunday held a protest at Rajghat to express solidarity with people from the Northeast states and to press for immediate action against those guilty of the death of an Arunachal Pradesh student in the capital.
Nineteen-year-old Nido Taniam died on Thursday after being allegedly beaten up by a shopkeeper in Lajpat Nagar in South Delhi.
Addressing the BJP workers, Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel said, “I have already spoken to the police commissioner and I am going to meet him on Monday to demand immediate action in this case. There is an urgent need to set up helplines at the district level as students from Northeast states are often harassed. The authorities need to be sensitised to react quickly to complaints and to take preventive steps to check harassment of people (from the Northeast states), especially students.”
Goel said, “A survey by Northeast Help Centre in Delhi shows that around 60 per cent of women from the Northeast feel harassed. There have been cases of harassment of students too. This situation needs to be reversed immediately.”
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Harsh Vardhan, said, “There is an urgent need to take steps to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. Those guilty of committing this crime should be brought to book.”
~ The Indian Express, New Delhi, Feb 3, 2014
Manipuri women assaulted in South Delhi, faced racist comments
Delhi hate crime: Arunachal boy dies after shopkeepers beat him
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday wrote to the father of Nido Taniam, the 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh who became a victim of hate crime in the capital and died of injuries after he was allegedly assaulted by several persons in Lajpat Nagar.
In her letter to the victim’s father, Nido Pavitra, a Congress MLA from Arunachal Pradesh, the UPA chairperson promised that strong action would be taken against those involved in the incident. Calling such incidents a blot on society, Sonia said, “Is tarah ke ghatnayen puray samaaj ke liye kalank hai.”
Last Wednesday, Taniam, a B.Sc student at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, was assaulted by a group of men in Lajpat Nagar. He died a day later. He had come to Delhi a few days before the incident.
Following protests across the city and other parts of the country, Delhi Police has asked senior IPS officer Robin Hibu, also from Arunachal Pradesh, to deal with various students’ groups protesting in the city.
On Sunday, several students’ bodies held protests at Jantar Mantar, demanding the suspension of police officers who they alleged had mishandled the case, resulting in the death of Taniam. A candlelight vigil was also organised at Jantar Mantar. Protests were also organised at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The AISA-led students’ union at JNU held a protest march on campus against racial discrimination against people from Northeastern states.
Police said they had detained three more persons and were investigating their roles. A police team has also been sent to Uttar Pradesh, where two men, who allegedly assaulted the victim on Wednesday, are believed to have fled after the incident.
Police are yet to make any arrests and are awaiting the autopsy report, which is expected on Monday. Police officers investigating the case said the viscera and post-mortem report would give them vital leads.
Taniam was on his way to a friend’s house in Lajpat Nagar when he got into a scuffle with several men, who commented on his appearance. Police were informed but both sides were let off after a compromise. Taniam was found dead at his relative’s house in Green Park Extension the following day.
~ The Indian Express, New Delhi, Feb 3, 2014
Nido death: SC/ST Act case to be heard by special court
New Delhi, Feb 7, 2014: A city court, hearing the bail plea of two persons arrested in connection with the death of 19-year-old Arunachal student Nido Taniam, on Thursday transferred the matter to a special court. The matter was transferred after police, in their status report, said the two men had been arrested under provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The matter was posted before Metropolitan Magistrate Pawan Kumar, who transferred it to a special judge citing lack of jurisdiction. The special judge will hear the plea on Friday.
The two men, Pawan Singh and Sunder Singh, have claimed they were mere witnesses to the quarrel between shopkeepers and Taniam, and had no role in his death. “They had taken photographs of the incident… showed it to police but nobody believed them,” counsel Shalabh Gupta told the judge on February 4, while submitting the bail application.
According to Gupta, the two men live opposite the spot where the quarrel broke out between the shopkeepers and Taniam. They were mere witnesses and also called police, he claimed.
He said Pawan also signed as a witness in the settlement paper, under which Taniam paid Rs 7,700 to the shopkeepers. “It is a matter of grave concern that innocent citizens have been harassed and illegally been accused… they have never been involved in any other case and have clean antecedents,” the bail application stated.
~ The Indian Express, New Delhi, 07 Feb 2014
Delhi Police's new FB, Twitter pages for northeast people
By Alok Singh
Wed, Feb 12, 2014, 6:51 PM
New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) Faced with criticism over its perceived lack of sensitivity and outreach to the northeast community in the capital, Delhi Police is set to launch a Facebook page and a Twitter account for people from the northeast where they can post complaints and suggestions.
In another move, a 24-hour Delhi Police helpline will be publicised widely by their social media websites.
The decision was taken by Delhi Police in the wake of an alleged "racist" attack on Arunachal Pradesh student Nido Tania that led to his death and a furore among people from the northeast region.
Delhi Police already has a committee, formed in 2012 and headed by a joint commissioner of police, to tackle problems faced by students and other people from the northeastern states living in Delhi. It is currently being headed by Joint Commissioner Robin Hibu, who hails from the region.
"A Facebook and Twitter account of Delhi Police will be launched soon where students from the northeastern region can put forth their grievances and suggestions," a police officer told IANS.
He said the accounts will be monitored regularly by a police team with good knowledge of social media and computer handling. "Delhi Police will take note of the posts and act upon them."
"We will also post the action taken by Delhi Police on the complaints and suggestions," he added.
Delhi Police will also publicise its 24-hour helpline number - 1091 - on the website of the ministry of development of north east region (DoNER) as well as its Facebook and Twitter pages.
It will also encourage northeast students to pen down their thoughts and experiences on wattpad - an online community themed around writing and story-telling on which users can post articles, stories, and poems about anything.
The DoNER ministry has already launched a support centre for students from the northeast following the death of Tania.
The decision was arrived at after a joint meeting between Delhi Police and officials of DoNER Feb 5, said another police official.
The support centre has been opened at the NorthEast Council Guest House in Chanakyapuri in central Delhi.
Professional counsellors will be hired on contractual basis to deal with problems and issues raised by northeast students at the support centre.
In another step at outreach, Delhi Police is planning to conduct half-day seminars once a month that will see professional counsellors and northeast people discuss issues and problems faced by them. In this move, the DoNER ministry would also chip in.
Delhi Police holds meetings once in two months with students and people from the northeast in the seven police districts of the capital. The minutes of the meetings are forwarded to Hibu and the Delhi Police commissioner, said an official.
Compiled by:-
Bruce K. Thangkhal
Media In-charge
North East Support Center & Helpline, New Delhi
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