Racial profiling faced by students from North East
Speech by Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha)

New Delhi, 04 May 2012

Rally against Racial Discrimination on NE at Delhi on 29th Dec 2008 :: Pix - Malem Ningthouja (MSAD)

Mr. Vice Chairman Sir, Home Minister has mentioned the three recent incidents which have recently increased the uneasiness and caused a lot of disquiet in the entire country Two young lives of students from the North-East, in Manesar near Gurgaon, and in Bengaluru, were recently lost, and at the time of the BRICS Summit, a very large number of North-Eastern students studying in Delhi, as also employed in Delhi, has a serious grievance that they were being profiled and picked up even temporarily by the Police Sir, the Partition of this country in 1947, when we discuss it, certainly brought a lot of bloodshed in the Western region. Punjab suffered, other areas suffered.

But North-East suffered virtually in perpetuity. Because of the carving out of East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh, it moved away almost a thousand kilometres in terms of distance. Now, the impact of this was that the developmental activities in the North-East have considerably suffered. Despite the efforts of various Governments, North-East has not grown in the same manner in which the rest of the country has. North-East also has a genuine complaint that certain Central Schemes and projects are endeavoured to assist them and various things have not really lived up to the mark.

My recent visit to some areas of North-East found that most of the States still do not have train service. Even in Assam where the facility is available, what we used to hear in the fifties' and sixties' in other parts of the country, the big issue is conversion of meter gauge into broad gauge, particularly to the Barak Valley. We have a highway project going on successfully in the rest of the country. The Mahasadak Yojana which was to really extend beyond West Bengal into the North-East, you can still see only built in patches and not useable.

All this has considerably suffered. The educational infrastructure in the North-East has also suffered. I have been going through certain reports of studies which have been conducted with regard to educational institutions which we have established in the North-East. Now one of the comments if I just read out, just the broad points.

In which they have said syllabus has not been updated for more than ten years, number of new courses have not been added, institute-industry interaction is not taking place, flight of faculty is taking place and adequate faculty is not available, quality and quantity of qualified faculty is declining at an alarming rate, number of PhD holders have been reduced to minority in many cases, placement of students with industry becomes a weak thing. Now, all these factors have, therefore, contributed to really a large number of North Eastern students wanting to go to other parts of the country for education. Now while the reason for this is unfortunate but there is a sliver lining in this.

Their interaction with the rest of the country contributes to national integration and it helps us really in understanding what their problems are. Sir, I remember when I was a student, the organization to which I belong used to carry on a programme in relation to North Eastern students experiences at inter-State level. Some of them used to come, their structured tours used to be organized, not many were coming here to study at that time, they used to live here with families for a few days and we got to understand them.

Now a situation is that we see it in the larger context and now we have dealt with hundreds and thousands of them. In fact, one recent study indicated that between 2005 and 2010, the number of people migrating for jobs from the North-East went up about 12 times. That was the figure. It was about 34,000 in 2005, and in 2010, it was 4,14,850. That is the pace at which it is increasing. The sliver lining in this is, and if we see these students extremely charming personalities, polite, humble, very eager to Interact with the rest of the people, they have to be made to feel wanted in the rest of the society. They have left a great impact in educational institutions to which they belong. But, at the same time, most of them want to have the benefit of higher education institutions of quality in other parts of the country.

They want their educational profile and personalities to evolve and then they want to be a part of this great growth story which we talk about in the rest of the country. We have to admit and it is a genuine admission which everybody has to make that the growth in those regions has not been at the pace at which we would have expected it to be. Therefore, in search of education, in search of better quality employment, they have moved to different parts of the country.

Therefore, I must note that I find a line in the hon. Home Minister's statement, when he says, "l wish to categorically state that any citizen belonging to the North-Eastern States is free to travel and reside in any part of the country. They have a right to security and peace.' They also have a right to live free from any form of discrimination from any form of racial profiling. They have the rights to enjoy the fruits of development which in several other parts of the country people have now begun to enjoy, though to a limited extent.

Under these circumstances, Sir, we need to assure all students and other citizens who have come from the North-East either in search of education or in search of jobs in this part of the country, that not only their safety and security is going to be maintained, even there is a lot that we have to learn from them Most of them are multi-lingual; they are multi-religious; they belong to different religious denominations. Therefore, we have a lot to learn from them.

In this context, therefore, I would like the hon. Home Minister to consider, in addition to the steps that he has already taken, whether in these areas, where larger numbers of students are available whether in the Union Territories or in the States, a specific helpline for them can be created. We have data of surveys and studies done on the students of the North-East.

One recent study says that 86 per cent of them have complaint, of some form or the other, of harassment. If the figure is as large as this, this is certainly alarming. This is an eye-opener. Therefore, must we not have a specific helpline in these major areas where these students are studying or these people are working? It is not a very costly exercise. I think, any State Government, if properly advised, will be quiet willing to do it. The Union Territories also can do it.

I also think there is a need to sensitize the rest of the Indian society. When students from Jammu & Kashmir, from the North-Eastern States come and study here, or people come and work here, I think, it is extremely important for a larger national goal that their integration with the Indian society is further strengthened by virtue of the attitude of the society has for them.

Therefore, within universities, within workplaces and within the society, and, I think, media, particularly electronic media, will have a huge role to play. We have carried out campaigns how tourists have to be treated. We have carried out campaigns how weaker sections of the society are to be treated. We have carried out campaigns how women are to be treated in the society.

Therefore, in relation to this, I think, we need to cany out a campaign in India so that we can sensitize our own people on how, in such events, people who come from the North-East to study or work in these places, are to be treated.

Finally, I would like to request the Government, through the hon. Home Minister that the areas where very obvious developmental activities, which have contributed to the neglect of the North-East, are pending — their roads, their railways, their connectivity, improvement in their educational institutions, etc. — the Government must, through the DONER, look into these matters very seriously. There are some areas which will take time, but there are some areas which are very easily doable.

I think, top priority must be given to those areas. Thank you.