SMASH INSTITUTIONALISED RACISM!!
Condemn the Brutal Racial Violence in Gurgaon against Boys from Gorkhaland ..
In continuation of the series of racial violence against people from North Eastern states, yesterday (18/05/2015) around 11pm, Abishek Rai and his two friends Sagar Rai and Dev Kumar Subba, all hailing from Teesta valley of Gorkhaland, were brutally beaten up by their landlord's son and his
This ghastly incident has a striking resemblance with another racist attack which had occurred in the night of 30th March 2014 in Gurgaon’s Sikanderpur village, where a mob of 15-20 locals beat up six persons from the Northeast with hockey sticks and iron rods. The mob while shouting racist slogans, selectively targeted the Northeastern community after a Manipuri student, Seigoulal Kipgen had an altercation with his landlord. Their mobile phones and wallets too were snatched by the mob to stop them from calling for help. Two of the students who were assaulted lost their hearing after being brutally beaten up with lathis and iron rods. One of them Rinmaso Huishuwo, has been compelled to depend on a hearing aid. The police registered an FIR against ‘unknown persons’ only after several Northeast student’s union put pressure on them. However, NOT A SINGLE PERSON HAS BEEN ARRESTED YET. Instead, police personnel only further harassed these students by putting them under surveillance and restricting their mobility instead of doing enquiries against the dominant local communities who had perpetrated such violence.
Similarly, on 13th December 2014, five students from Sikkim studying in the Degree College of Physical Education (DCPE) Maharashtra (Amravati) were brutally attacked by 20 students of the same college from Delhi when the Sikkimese students stood up against their constant racial taunts. All the students were hospitalised for severe bodily injuries. One of them even went in a coma for some days. Nothing was done to assist these students while the culprits were being given full police protection and support from the educational institution while the Sikkim students were left to fend for themselves.
These incidents show how deeply racism is ingrained in India, which finds its reflections in deliberate lackadaisical attitude of the police, biased media reporting, delayed trials and even uncooperative behavior from medical staff. The audacity of these hate crimes can be judged from the incident where a women lawyer from North East and her friends were severely manhandled in front of a Judge in the Tis Hazari court. When two men from Nagaland working in BPO in Gurgaon were brutally beaten and their head were shaved by a gang of locals in 15 October, 2014, the Gurgaon Police Commissioner denied that the assault was racially motivated and instead termed the incident as “a drunken brawl”. Even during the recent visit of the Chinese President, Mr. Xi Jingping in India all mongloid featured hotel staff were ordered to stay away from the hotel where the Chinese President was staying put. What motivated this racially discriminatory instruction? What was the State ashamed of or afraid of?
The popular reaction from the so called mainstream society when confronted with such cases is to generalize and trivialize it as simple law and order problem. All the while mindlessly chanting the mantra of “unity in diversity”, while forgetting that there can never be unity among the oppressed and the oppressor. The mainstream society is still in a denial mode of the systemic perverse prejudices that it is afflicted with. Racism for people with mongoloid features in India is a daily living experience.
It’s not just limited to people from Northeast alone. Even non-Northeastern people like the Gorkhas, the Ladakhis, and the Tibetans face it. The proverbial “mainstream Indians” or the non mongoloid looking people is not asked to dress in a “proper” manner. The police will not bring out leaflets asking them what to eat and what not to eat and what to wear. They will not be beaten for hours and their heads won’t be shaved nor do they have to protest for 9 hours just to lodge FIR when a 14 year old girl is raped. Their ID cards would not be checked every time they visit parks, museums, monuments to 'prove' they are from India nor will they be subjected to racist slurs in public spaces. They don't have to face condescending looks and patronizing responses.
Oh, yes!! Racism does exist in India and will not disappear just because one refuses to see it. On one hand, the State has deliberately engineered to keep the North Eastern region politically suppressed and economically deprived. The draconian military rule of the AFSPA, extreme poverty, forceful extraction of resources, lack of educational and employment opportunities have exerted cumulative pressure on the people from these regions to resort to forced migration for education and jobs to different Indian cities. The State it appears carries a reluctant disposition towards the
atrocities that these people have to face when they step foot in “mainland India”. This double vulnerability has been documented by government’s own appointed Bezbaruah Committee, which states that two lakh people from the North East have migrated to Delhi between 2005 and 2013 and about 86 percent of them have reportedly faced discrimination. In New Delhi alone, this year the incidents of racial violence have gone up to 236. This is so even after the mass protest resulting out of the tragic killing of Nido Tania had forced the government to seriously look into the matter. However, such cases continue with renewed impunity.
We condemn such heinous racist attacks. We demand that the government should immediately come out of its denial mode and enact anti racial laws to punish the perpetrators of such hate crimes. Strict action should also be taken against those police officers who deny filing FIRs in such cases until they are pressurised by public outrage. These continuous racist discrimination and harassment will only strengthen our resolve to fight back the relentless injustice meted out against us. All progressive and democratic forces should actively counter and resist this deep seated racism and its various manifestations. It is also time that our representatives break their long trail of silence and raise their voice loud and clear to demand an end to this injustice! But alas! The first step would be to acknowledge that racism exists in India which is taking bolder and more violent forms day by day!!
Gorkha Students,JNU
Condemn the Brutal Racial Violence in Gurgaon against Boys from Gorkhaland ..
In continuation of the series of racial violence against people from North Eastern states, yesterday (18/05/2015) around 11pm, Abishek Rai and his two friends Sagar Rai and Dev Kumar Subba, all hailing from Teesta valley of Gorkhaland, were brutally beaten up by their landlord's son and his
friends in Gurgaon. This incident occurred near Sabji Mandi in Nathupur DLF Phase 3 Gurgaon, Haryana. According to a report in the Eastern Sky Media, apparently there was some discussion amongst the three boys and the landlord's son over an issue, which had been settled amicably. One of the victims Dev Kumar Subba said that however, "later around 25 to 30 men carrying sticks barged into the rented flat and started beating them mercilessly. Even though they tried to shield themselves, they were no match for the frenzied mob." Later, the local police even refused to file an FIR. The FIR has been lodged now but only after pressurized public outcry. Now the boys are unde constant medical observation in the AIIMS trauma centre and out of which two remain in critical condition.
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| Brutal Racial Violence in Gurgaon against Boys from Gorkhaland |
Similarly, on 13th December 2014, five students from Sikkim studying in the Degree College of Physical Education (DCPE) Maharashtra (Amravati) were brutally attacked by 20 students of the same college from Delhi when the Sikkimese students stood up against their constant racial taunts. All the students were hospitalised for severe bodily injuries. One of them even went in a coma for some days. Nothing was done to assist these students while the culprits were being given full police protection and support from the educational institution while the Sikkim students were left to fend for themselves.
These incidents show how deeply racism is ingrained in India, which finds its reflections in deliberate lackadaisical attitude of the police, biased media reporting, delayed trials and even uncooperative behavior from medical staff. The audacity of these hate crimes can be judged from the incident where a women lawyer from North East and her friends were severely manhandled in front of a Judge in the Tis Hazari court. When two men from Nagaland working in BPO in Gurgaon were brutally beaten and their head were shaved by a gang of locals in 15 October, 2014, the Gurgaon Police Commissioner denied that the assault was racially motivated and instead termed the incident as “a drunken brawl”. Even during the recent visit of the Chinese President, Mr. Xi Jingping in India all mongloid featured hotel staff were ordered to stay away from the hotel where the Chinese President was staying put. What motivated this racially discriminatory instruction? What was the State ashamed of or afraid of?
The popular reaction from the so called mainstream society when confronted with such cases is to generalize and trivialize it as simple law and order problem. All the while mindlessly chanting the mantra of “unity in diversity”, while forgetting that there can never be unity among the oppressed and the oppressor. The mainstream society is still in a denial mode of the systemic perverse prejudices that it is afflicted with. Racism for people with mongoloid features in India is a daily living experience.
It’s not just limited to people from Northeast alone. Even non-Northeastern people like the Gorkhas, the Ladakhis, and the Tibetans face it. The proverbial “mainstream Indians” or the non mongoloid looking people is not asked to dress in a “proper” manner. The police will not bring out leaflets asking them what to eat and what not to eat and what to wear. They will not be beaten for hours and their heads won’t be shaved nor do they have to protest for 9 hours just to lodge FIR when a 14 year old girl is raped. Their ID cards would not be checked every time they visit parks, museums, monuments to 'prove' they are from India nor will they be subjected to racist slurs in public spaces. They don't have to face condescending looks and patronizing responses.
Oh, yes!! Racism does exist in India and will not disappear just because one refuses to see it. On one hand, the State has deliberately engineered to keep the North Eastern region politically suppressed and economically deprived. The draconian military rule of the AFSPA, extreme poverty, forceful extraction of resources, lack of educational and employment opportunities have exerted cumulative pressure on the people from these regions to resort to forced migration for education and jobs to different Indian cities. The State it appears carries a reluctant disposition towards the
atrocities that these people have to face when they step foot in “mainland India”. This double vulnerability has been documented by government’s own appointed Bezbaruah Committee, which states that two lakh people from the North East have migrated to Delhi between 2005 and 2013 and about 86 percent of them have reportedly faced discrimination. In New Delhi alone, this year the incidents of racial violence have gone up to 236. This is so even after the mass protest resulting out of the tragic killing of Nido Tania had forced the government to seriously look into the matter. However, such cases continue with renewed impunity.
We condemn such heinous racist attacks. We demand that the government should immediately come out of its denial mode and enact anti racial laws to punish the perpetrators of such hate crimes. Strict action should also be taken against those police officers who deny filing FIRs in such cases until they are pressurised by public outrage. These continuous racist discrimination and harassment will only strengthen our resolve to fight back the relentless injustice meted out against us. All progressive and democratic forces should actively counter and resist this deep seated racism and its various manifestations. It is also time that our representatives break their long trail of silence and raise their voice loud and clear to demand an end to this injustice! But alas! The first step would be to acknowledge that racism exists in India which is taking bolder and more violent forms day by day!!
Gorkha Students,JNU
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