Zhaleo Rio warns fragmentation of India if racial, hate crimes continue
Source: Hueiyen News Service / NEPS

Kohima, October 18 2014 : Parliamentary Secretary for Urban Development Zhaleo Rio has strongly condemned the unabated racial attacks on the northeast students and youth in India's major cities and strongly warned that if the "trend continues, India will be fragmented" .

Talking to NEPS here on Saturday, the Parliamentary Secretary expressed deep dismay on the nature of racial attacks that had taken place in the last few days in the most progressive metropolitan cities of the country – Bangalore and Gurgaon.

Zhaleo Rio asked how could the northeast students and youth be attacked simply because they could not speak local dialects of that areas or be tonsured their heads after hours of brutalities.

"It is simply unbelievable that such shocking racial attacks have been going on unabated against the northeast students and youth in progressive metropolitan cities of India like Bangalore, Gurgaon," he rued.

It may be mentioned that before the dust of the hate crime atrocities meted out to three students from Manipur at Bangalore for nor speaking Kannada died down, another serious racial attacks perpetrated to another three Naga youth from Nagaland at Gurgaon.

This time, the attackers even went to the extent of chopping off hairs of one of the victims. Concerning on the rise of the racial attacks and the hate crimes against the northeast students and youth, the Parliamentary Secretary expressed wonder as to how the rate of such crimes kept increasing as and when the Government of India made any announcement to formulate certain policies to contain such crimes.

"Now it is becoming like pestilence," he said and further warned that "if the trend continues, India will be fragmented" .

Zhaleo Rio, younger brother of former Nagaland Chief Minister and MP Neiphiu Rio, said he wanted to convey to the rest of the country that there were many communities living in Nagaland but no such racial or hate crimes committed against any non-locals.

"There is no such discrimination or harassment on the basis of caste or religion here in our State," he said.

In fact, whenever any crimes committed to any of their youth in any major cities of India, they readily gave protection to the non-locals here in Nagaland.

"This is the beauty of the Nagas and generally, Nagas, who are Christians, do not commit crimes on the basis of caste or religion," he added.

Zhaleo Rio also strongly suggested that the political bosses from the Center should try to physically visit the Northeast as often as possible not only to know the realities of the region's geopolitics but also to create a sense of oneness among the minds of the northeast people.

Such move will also send a positive message to the rest of the country and in the process, racial and hate crimes will drastically reduce.

"Otherwise only giving grants to the northeast will not solve such racial and hate crimes," he added.

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