Issue of racist attack on North East raised in UN Council
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, March 21 2014 :
The issue racial attacks on people of North East India in other parts of the country and the lack of legal protection has been highlighted in the UN Human Rights Council, which is the highest body of the UN dealing with human rights and consisting of 43 member States including India.
Making a statement in this regard in the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Human Rights Council during the General Debate under Agenda Item no.5 dealing with the report of the Forum on Minority Issues on Friday, Babloo Loitongbam, human rights activist and Director of Human Rights Alert, Manipur drew the attention of the UN President to the increasing racist attacks on persons hailing from the North Eastern States of India in Delhi and other metropolitan cities of the country.
He recalled that on 29 January 2014, Nido Tania, a young student from Arunachal Pradesh was beaten up by some shopkeepers when he angrily responded to their mocking of his peculiar hair style.
Delhi police picked him up, forced him to pay rupees ten thousand for the damages caused during the scuffle and then dropped him back from the police station to the same area.
The beatings resumed and Nido Tania succumbed to his injuries the next day.
He observed that Nido Tania's story is not an isolated incident but a manifestation of a deep-rooted racial prejudice toward the racially and culturally distinct peoples of the North East and further recalled that in the summer of 2012, racist threats resulted in the exodus of thousands of North Eastern peoples from the Indian cities like Bangaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, etc.
But in spite of all these incidents, it is appalling that there is total absence of any protection mechanism for the "national or ethnic minority" within the legislative and constitutional framework of the country, in contrast to those enjoyed by their brethren belonging to the "religious and linguistic minorities".
And yet, it is the territories inhabited by these national or ethnic minorities that are chronically militarized under discriminatory laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 granting impunity to the armed forces to perpetuate extra-judicial killings and rapes, Babloo asserted.
While expressing happiness that the Government of India has recently (Ministry of Home Affairs, vide no.11012/110/2012-NE-IV dated 5 February 2014) constituted a committee to look into various kinds of concerns of the persons hailing from the NE States who are living in different parts of the country and to suggest suitable remedial measures which could be taken up by the Government, Babloo, nonetheless, urge Council to remind the Government of India of its obligations under the International Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, to give full effect to the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence for all its citizens, and to promptly repeal racist laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.