NE participants face alleged discrimination in the National Youth festival
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 16 2018: Participants from various States of North East India in the ongoing National Youth Festival organised by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the State Government of Uttar Pradesh, went on a protest demonstration after the organisers allegedly discriminated against them during January 12 to 16 of the youth festival.

The youth festival, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (January 12) through video conferencing, is currently under way at Gautam Buddha University, Gautam Budh nagar, Greater Noida.

Informing about the incident over the phone, Sanatomba Takhellambam, the team leader of Manipur , said that they were treated with discriminatory attitude during the course of the festival from the sides of the organisers and other fellow Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) participants from the other States of India.

The organiser is deliberately looking down on the participants of the North East States during the festival.

They were not given ample time for performing their performances and were left in lurch without any proper treatment, alleged the team leader.

Another team leader from Nagaland, Asin Tep, claimed that even one of the woman officials of the organising committee allegedly called the participants from North Eastern States as fools and having no talents.

The organiser also ridiculed the participants as foreigners for not knowing or speaking Hindi language.

Taking the issue to the higher authority, the participants also made a written complaint to the Director General of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, New Delhi, explaining their dissatisfaction, grievances and complaining against the mismanagement of the national youth festival.

In the complaint, it was mentioned that mistreatment were meted out against the participants from North East.

It detailed how the Nagaland team was made to wait upto 17 hours for accommodation and how the team was not allowed to take part in sports activities during the festival.

Around 200 participants are taking part in the festival, which aims to provide an arena by creating a "Mini-India" where the youths interact in formal and informal settings and exchange their social and cultural uniqueness.

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