Letter to Prime Minister on Racial Attack

30th March, 2020

Dear Sir,

Youth’s Forum for Protection of Human Rights (YFPHR) is writing with deep concern to draw your kind attention with regard the continuing racial attack towards the North East people since the Covid19 Crisis began in India.

We would like to inform you that the world has been under threat due to the increase in infection by Covid19 for the last couple of months. There is a panic globally on how to fight with this virus. Covid19 does treat everyone equally regardless of our race, culture, religion, occupation, etc.

However, having bodily features being shared with China from where the virus originated and more over just because of having a distinct Mongoloid features, north-easterners are being identified as “Corona” or “Corona Carrier” and are insulted publicly by the people of Mainland India. Ill treatment and discrimination towards the North East people of having distinct Mongoloid Features has been prevailing since the last many decades.

In this situational dilemma, the myopic psyche of the people of main belt, India have without knowing the sensitivity of the circumstances have plunged into a spree of exhibiting discrimination against the north easterners of India wherein many of them have been restrained from buying or accumulating essential commodities on the sole pretext of having carrier of corona virus ignoring the those infected people who have in fact imported the virus from the western European countries and other infected countries.

Rental houses occupied by the North Easterners are asked to be vacated by the landlords at this extreme diabolical hour where even all transportation routes are in limbo as a checkmate to control the virus. North East People are further being barred from even entering groceries situated in the in and around the locality to buy the essential commodities.

Following are the facts for your kind attention:

1 On the 22 of March 2020 a Manipuri girl was spat on her face and called “Coronavirus”. The incident happened in New Delhi’s Vijay Nagar area. Delhi police registered a case under Section 509 of Indian penal code against the man and the investigation is currently under way.

2 On the 7th of March 2020 a Mizo girl, Princy (name changed) from Manipur who went to a grocery shopping at Reliance Mart , Aundh (Pune) had received a racial comments from a lady by covering her mouth and showed a gesture of annoyance of being an infected person on seeing the Mizo girl.

3. A group of northeastern girls who were working in Ahmedabad were asked to leave their rented house in Gujarat having a suspicion on them as a patients of corona virus and accused them of spreading Covid19.

4. On the 15th of March 2020 in Bandra Linking Road Opp. KFC Mumbai, some North Eastern people were going to the church and some locals sitting nearby teased them by calling the them as “corona”.

5. On 26th of March, 2020 two boys from Nagaland were out to buy some groceries from More Store located at Mysore, Karnataka wherein they were not allowed to enter due to their possession of Mongoloid Features.

Aforementioned are few facts of discrimination towards the North East People which need an urgent attention.

We would like to lay down few area of urgent attention.

To direct the Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of all the states in India to provide protection, shelter and food for the people from the North East India who are facing the discrimination and ill-treatment.

To direct all the states authority to keep strict monitoring to avoid such racial discrimination.

To direct all the states authority to book the culprits and punished according to the rule of law.

To establish 24X7 helpline service for North East People in all the states in India.

We, therefore, request you to kindly consider the aforementioned point and direct the concern states to avoid such discrimination in the best interest of the North East People.

Your kind concern and cooperation will be highly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,
(Kh Phajaton)
President
Youth’s Forum for Protection of Human Rights (YFPHR)