IT News
Imphal, March 24
North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) has submitted a memorandum to Union Ministry of Home Affairs over the issue of racist attacks on people from the North-East India. It should be noted that in the times of Covid-19 outbreak, racist attacks on the people from the North-East have increased. There have been various incidents across the country in which specific people from the North-East have been targeted.
A recent attack happened in Delhi when a woman student from North-East studying at Delhi University had ventured out, along with a friend, to buy groceries in Vijay Nagar area of north Delhi. She alleged that a man riding a scooter spat on her and called her “corona”. The man spat all over her face, hair and T-shirt. The above mentioned incident is not just an isolated incident, but people from northeastern states of India, who are staying in Delhi, have alleged that they were being racially targeted after the outbreak of coronavirus. On March 3, two students from the northeast were attacked by six men near Delhi University’s campus and called coronavirus. There have more such incidents across the country.
There are many people from North-East who have been stranded in various cities across the country and thus are prone to such racial attacks in times of panic due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We believe that these incidents are not just any other attack, but are rather racially motivated. In the memorandum, it was demanded that culprits found racially targeting people from North-East should be dealt with strongly. It was also demanded that the district administrations should be directed to not only ensure that the people from North-East are safe, but should take measures to ensure their well-being.
