NESO team meets Shinde on NE safety issue
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, February 22 2014 : In the wake of a recent spate of racial attacks on people of Northeast region, a delegation of North East Students' Organisation (NESO) met Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and proposed various measures for ensuring mental, social and physical security to the students and people of the North Eastern region studying and residing in Delhi and other parts of India.

NESO comprising Khasi Students' Union (KSU), All Assam Students' Union (AASU), Naga Students' Federation (NSF), Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Twipra Students' Federation (TSF), All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU), Garo Students' Union (GSU) and All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) representing eight major students' movements of the seven states of the North East Region.

During the meeting which took place at his office chamber on February 20, the Minister also informed the delegation about the various steps that his Ministry has taken up for the security of the students and the people of the North Eastern Region.

The delegation also submitted a memorandum to the Minister highlighting various demands, to which the Minister assured to look into.

NESO team meets Shinde on NE safety issue

The memorandum drew the attention of the Union Minister to the recent incident in Delhi on the 29th of January 2014 in which a student from Arunachal, Nido Tania was beaten to death and said that such incidents of assaults, molestations are happening on a frequent basis resulting in a feeling of insecurity especially of the women folk and this has been amplified by the assault on 2 (two) women belonging to the Tangkhul Naga community, rape of one minor girl from Manipur at Munirka on 8th February, 2014, physical assault of two Manipur boys on 10th February, 2014.All these incidents happened just a few days after the murder of this boy from Arunachal.

Although such incidents have been vehemently denounced by the government at different levels, North East communities continue to suffer shock and panic as unabated attack and assault continues against their communities.

Despite the assurance given by the Prime Minister on 15th November, 2009 that he has directed the concerned authorities to take stern action against the culprits and to take special measures for the physical security of the North East Students, crimes against the students from North East States continues, the memorandum observed, while urging the Home Minister for urgent intervention to do the needful for giving mental, social and physical security to the students and people of the North Eastern region studying and residing in Delhi and other parts of India.

In this regard, NESO demanded award of capital punishment to the perpetrators of the crimes against NE people at the earliest, taking up stringent action against the police personnel for failure to register cases in time, inclusion of North East - its geographical location, its people, its culture, its ethos, etc, in the syllabus of schools under all State Boards and Central Boards including the CBSE, establishing at least one Special Police Station for dealing with cases related to racial discrimination and atrocities on NE people, with a provision that it is manned by police officers from NE states, to make one time recruitment policy for at least 5000 Delhi Police personnel in the respective capitals of the eight NE States out of thousands of police personnel recruited from Delhi Police and enactment of a stringent law against racial discrimination as Anti-Racism Act.

The memorandum, a copy of which was also forwarded to Birendra Prasad Baishya, General Secretary of North East MP Forum, was signed jointly by NESO Chairman Samuel Jyrwa and General Secretary Sinam Prakash Singh.