Bangalore University sets up separate hostel for Northeastern students

Bangalore: After the tragic death of Arunachal boy Nido Taniam in Delhi, one the largest varsities in India - the Bangalore University - has now set up a separate hostel for Northeastern students. The university said that the idea behind it is to protect students from racial discrimination.

"We will build the hostel, install CCTV cameras, make security arrangements and put security also. That's how we can protect the safety and interest of the north east," said B Thimme Gowda, Vice-Chancellor, Bangalore University.

While students from the Northeast have a mixed opinion on a special hostel for them, the larger question is, will such a move isolate them further in the name of security? Will such a hostel prevent their mingling with others, failing the very purpose of integration? A 19-year-old BA student, S Henna from Manipur, who stays as a paying guest near her college, has a mixed feelings over the proposal.

"This hostel is going to provide protection only in the hostel but they aren't going to give security throughout the places wherever we go. When we are in hostel, yea, we are secure but what happens when we are outside? We can't just stay there, live there and just stick to the hostel," said Henna.

"I don't think it is necessary because we all have our own places like flats, PGs. I think it should be open for the working class," said another girl.

But there are people who support this idea. "I think it's a good idea but personally, I think we should involve the others, with locals so that we can live together peacefully," said a boy from the Northeast.

Meanwhile, the university has defended its plan saying efforts will also be made to mainstream Northeastern students. "We may accommodate 50 per cent of people of Northeast and also from other places for interactions," said Thimme Gowda.

It has been only 2 years, since Bangalore witnessed a temporary exodus of Northeastern students after fears of racist attacks. And now, days after Taniam's death, the university has said it's only reflecting the fears of immigrant students.

Source: IBNlive

Racism, Our Dirty Secret

Prejudice based on one’s regional origins

 is deep-seated among Indians, including the police

-Indrajit Hazra

Article 14 of the Constitution deals with ‘Right to Equality’. It tells us with the straightest of faces that ‘The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.’ The very following sentence in the country’s operations manual is Article 15(1) that deals with ‘Fundamental Rights’. It says even more pithily, ‘The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.’ 

    Last Friday, Delhi high court pulled up the police and the state government for lack of progress on the case of 19-year-old Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, who died in the city following a racist attack. 

    Now, you can take your pick from all the constitutional categories mentioned above to illustrate how the real world strays from the scripture when it comes to equality before the law or when reassuring that the state is absolutely against any kind of discriminatory behaviour on its part. But with Nido’s death, the result of injuries received after a racist attack, let us stick to the statutory discrimination on grounds of race. 

    Much has been made of how ‘mainland Indians’ look upon Indians from the northeastern region bearing Mongoloid features. In Jaipur last month, a schoolteacher told a woman from a publishing house how she first thought she was Japanese and was impressed with her fluent Hindi. The teacher had no intention to offend the lady from Delhi who is originally from Manipur. Indeed, her intention was to compliment her in a strange, roundabout way. And, even as i was shocked, no offence was taken by the Manipuri lady. 

    Discrimination has two components to it: one, recognising the distinction between, say, people bearing Mongoloid features and those bearing Caucasoid features, an ability that is as helpful as that of being able to differentiate between a mosque and a temple, or an Audi and a Skoda. And two, there’s discrimination where the ability to make a distinction leads to prejudice. 

    It is this second variety of discrimination that needs to be – and can be – weeded out. This is possible not by striking at the proverbial source of the problem – ‘by changing the social mindset’ – but by addressing the problem at the spot where prejudicial discrimination comes to be redressed: before the law. 

    Almost two years before Nido’s death, 19-year-old Loitam Richard from Manipur was found dead in his hostel room in Bangalore. The local police first employed Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code to describe death ‘under mysterious circumstances’ that didn’t rule out murder, accidental death or suicide. Later, the hostel supervisor filed a fresh complaint against two fellow students who reportedly beat up Richard the night before his body was found. The police then filed the case under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC. 

    The tardy gathering of evidence, compounded by the initial suspicion that ‘the northeast boy’ was a drug-user and his death was caused by an overdose, was standard operational procedure. Richard was found dead in April 2012. The case is yet to reach the courts. And since the incident didn’t take place in, say, Australia, the media barely noticed. In any case, there is no ‘consul general of Bangalore’ to haul up and grill in television studios. 

    The law and order machinery across India is dysfunctional. But added to this is selective dysfunction – along socio-economic, caste, religious, regional and racial lines. The police, irrespective of what the Constitution says about legal recourse for ‘everyone’, behave differently when the complainant is from a slum and when he is from a highrise. A similar selective response holds true when it comes to complainants from northeast bearing physical features considered by far too many Indians, law enforcers included, as ‘un-Indian’, which in turn are hitched to stereotypes such as drug use and promiscuity. 

    This is what happened when the brutal rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama in 2004 in Manipur by some armymen led to a commission of inquiry whose report was never released and no perpetrators punished. This is what happened with investigations and subsequent (lack of) legal proceedings in the Loitam Richard case. This is what is happening with investigations in the Nido Tania case, where the Delhi high court has slammed the police for failing to even submit the victim’s autopsy report more than a week after his death. 

    As a nation, we are hardwired to see racial prejudice only where Indians are victims and where ‘white people’ are perpetrators. But racism against Indians by Indians thrives. And neither is it confined to the attitudinal behaviour of ‘mainland Indians’ towards ‘northeasterners’, the latter also capable of their very own brand of xenophobia. 

    For the ‘social mindset’ to change, the law must first treat, and be seen treating, crimes – including non-racist crimes – against northeast Indians seriously. It is how law enforcers deal with cases in which ethnic or racial minorities are victims and complainants that will determine whether India confines itself to benign discrimination. Until then, constitutional exceptions will continue to prove a shameful rule. 

 The writer is an author and journalist.
Source: Times Of India, Hyderabad 10/2/2014

Protest in Delhi: Justice for Nido Tania – Stand Against Racism

 Nido Tania, a 21-year-old student at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab, was pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree. He was assaulted by shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar on 29 January 2014, after being taunted for his hairstyle. He succumbed to his injuries the following day.

The son of a Congress MLA from Arunachal Pradesh, Tania had come to Delhi only a few days before the attack. His tragic death has sparked outrage, bringing the issue of racial discrimination against Northeasterners into sharp focus and fueling calls for stronger anti-racism laws in India.

Fighting for justice for Nido Tania is a fight against the racial discrimination faced by Northeasterners in India. His tragic death is a painful reminder of the prejudices they endure, and we must demand justice for Northeasterners to ensure their safety and equal treatment. Any form of racism against them must be firmly condemned, and concrete actions must be taken to build a more inclusive and respectful society.

No to racism!
No to discrimination based on Mongoloid features!
Justice for Northeasterners!

 

Coverage by:-

BruceK. Thangkhal
Media incharge
North East Support Centre & Helpline
Delhi

Protest: Justice 4 Nido Tania
Raising Awareness on Racial Attacks
Valentine's Day with Delhi Police: Justice 4 Nido Tania
Northeasterners unite Against Racial Slurs

Govt of India Forms COMMITTEE to Address CONCERNS of North-Eastern Residents

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA has established a committee to examine the concerns of people from North-Eastern states residing in various parts of the country, particularly in metropolitan areas. The committee will recommend appropriate solutions and has been directed to submit its report within two months.

NESCH Members Engaged in Discussion | NESCH.

The committee will assess issues related to the safety and security of North-Eastern residents. It will also investigate the reasons behind attacks, violence, and discrimination against them and propose measures for the government to address these challenges.

The committee will be chaired by Shri M.P. Bezbaruah, IAS (Retd.), with members Shri H.W.T. Syeim, IAS (Retd.), Shri Alemtemshi Jamir, IAS (Retd.), Shri Tape Bagra, IAS (Retd.), and Shri P. Bharat Singh, IAS (Retd.). Shri S. Saha, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, will serve as the member secretary. The chairman may also include additional members from Tripura, Mizoram, and Sikkim, along with a female representative. Shri Robin Hibu, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi, will be part of the Ministry of Home Affairs team assisting the committee.

~ Bruce K. Thangkhal
Media Incharge
North East Support Centre & Helpline (NE Helpline)
Delhi

 

Conjoined baby twins in Manipur

CCPUR. 5 Feb 2014: Maternity ward of Churachandpur District hospital, today,witness unnatural still born twin baby who were born less than 7 month from the time they were conceived. The doctor on duty at the hospital Dr. Zuii Hauzel says that this was one such incident in which she had been involved, She also says that it was unfortunate that the child can't be saved. Sources also say that the two are not born death but were abnormal in their breathing and died after an hour's time.

Photo by www.zogamonline.com

The unfortunate couple were from Singngat A/C of CCpur District and the child was born around 10;30 of today. The twins share a common head and other than that they had a normal physical organ, though their breathing is not satisfactory.

It may be worth recalling that survival rate of conjoint twins, who are born approximately 1 in 200,000 delivery, are very low and which was the maximum in South West Asian countries. In the 19th century the conjoint twins were called Siamese twins which was the result of two conjoint brother from Siam( now Thailand) who were made famous by circus manager who showcase them in his show.

Statistics point out that approximately half of the conjoins are still born with the survival rate less than 25% who were mostly girls. The most recent news about the conjoint twins , that shocked the world, was when two Iranian born girls Miss Laleh and Ladan Bijali who were joint at their head died after being operated by 28 top specialists from the Globe aided by more them 100 staff after a marathon 58 hrs operation at Singapore hospital. The two ladies aged 29 were highly educated and the failed operation triggered a debate on the ethic of this of operation though they said girl volunteers themselves to be separated.

Source: Phualvatimes

"Nothing Last Forever" : Kinchok Choden Bhutia

HAILING from the serene state of Sikkim, specifically Upper Samdong in Gangtok, 21-year-old Kinchok Choden Bhutia recently made her debut as a singer with her first single. Coming from a close-knit family, her father, Nakchung Bhutia, is a teacher, while her mother, Kee Lhamu Bhutia, is a homemaker. Her younger brother, Tashi Namgyal Bhutia, is currently in the 12th grade. Kinchok now resides in Bangalore, where she is pursuing a BSc in Biotechnology. “I love singing,” she shared during an exclusive interview.

Here's the conversation with Bruce K. Thangkhal from KV NEWS.

When and why did you choose singing/music?

Well I sing literally but I took interest in singing from past 5/6 months. Unfortunate thing is that I can’t manage time.

 

How do you manage yourself in in Bangalore? 

Well Bangalore is a good place but sometimes it gets difficult to cope up with people out here. It’s disgusting when it comes about being humiliated and calling out ‘Chinkies’ by few people like as if we don’t have any identity even though being an Indian. But no matter… still I’m enjoying.

 

What is the name of your single?

“Nothing Lasts Forever”

What does ‘Nothing Last Forever’ signifies?

Well!! Nothing on this earth is permanent right? Change!! It’s a law of nature. This song is all about betrayal. In this video the girl keeps on loving her BF and cares about him even knowing the fact that she is being betrayed… and finally girl she decides to leave him and his memos for forever… which means that those love of her for him will also end up one day.

 

How did you prepare for this single?

There are so many people who helped me in completing this song and also encouraging me...and because of their encouragement and support only I succeed preparing this song.

 

So do you plan to make a complete album?

Yup...looking forward but it may take time because it’s very difficult to manage time.

 

Describe your experience while shooting the music video?

Ummmm...... yup, I was halka nervous but more than that we had fun.

 

What lessons have you learnt from your debut single?

To manage all the things with plenty of time… no mistakes as such.

 

What were the challenges you faced during the preparation of this single?

Only the saddest part in making this song is that because of some problem the director who I assigned for my video could not manage to take shots and he introduced me with new director, Nandu Koirala and that too one night before our video shoot. That day I felt too pathetic over myself. The new director was too busy even though he managed his time for making my video and I’m thankful to him. We made this video without script and within a short period of time. So it was a bit tough and I’m satisfied with it. I thought to make video more understandable but due to lack to time we could not manage. 

What motivates you to compose and sing?

Firstly, lyrics and few of my friends' encouragement and all among these, my family supported me a lot. I’m blessed to have such family. Without their support I could not have done all these.

 

What are your hobbies?

Singing, watching movies, and yea... sleeping.

 

Your favourite Singer(s)/Band(s)/Composer(s)?

Celine Deon, Shreya Ghoshal, Charice Pempengco, Arijit Singh....

Which kind of music you listen to?

Pop, Jazz, Blues, Soul,etc. Music with meaningful lyrics has always been best for me!!

 

What are your plans for the future?

I wanna go further for MSc as well as singing too. What I believe is music is something through which you can express your unexpressed thoughts in a very sweeter way. Actually there was no such plan to make my own song and the weird thing is I don’t know any of the musical instruments to play but as soon as I get time I will learn that also. Thank you!

-------------------

 

NORTHEASTERNERS Unite Against RACIAL DISCRIMINATION in Delhi: A CALL for JUSTICE

New Delhi, Feb 06, 2014: In a powerful pursuit of justice for Nido Tania, hundreds of Northeasterners took to the streets of the national capital, marching from Jantar Mantar to Parliament Street in a daylong protest against racial discrimination. This marked the sixth consecutive day of protests by people from the northeastern states, who gathered in solidarity, demanding an end to the discrimination they have long faced.

The protestors, holding placards and chanting slogans like “Justice for Nido Tania,” “Delhi Police Down Down,” “Stop Discrimination,” “We Demand Justice, Equality, Liberty & Dignity,” and “Enact Anti-Racial Discrimination Law,” made their voices heard as they approached Parliament Street. However, their march was halted by barricades set up by police near the Parliament Street police station.

Binalakshmi Nepram, a prominent social activist, emphasized the resolve of the movement: “This is an indefinite protest. Until we get justice for Tania, we will continue to fight.”

“Our brother Nido was brutally beaten to death, and we will not rest until all those responsible are held accountable,” said Maivio J Woba, another protestor.

Nido Tania, a 21-year-old student at Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar, Punjab, was pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree. He was assaulted by shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar on January 29, after being taunted for his hairstyle. He succumbed to his injuries the following day.

The son of a Congress MLA from Arunachal Pradesh, Tania had come to Delhi only a few days before the attack. His tragic death has sparked outrage, bringing the issue of racial discrimination against Northeasterners into sharp focus and fueling calls for stronger anti-racism laws in India.

~ Bruce K.Thangkhal

Media In-charge

North East Support Center & Helpline, New Delhi

(Special Correspondent of The Mizoram Post | Manipur Chronicle | Zogam Today)

Racist violence and the silence of the National Integration Council

By John Dayal 

MANY YEARS AGO some of us founded the North East Centre and Helpline as we thought we should do something to challenge the ingrained racism in many areas of the national capital, and rampant racist violence against young men and women who attended the universities and educational institutions and lived in shared accommodation particularly in houses in the many urban villages of Delhi.

Pic: Bruce K. Thangkhal | NESCH

In quick time, our colleagues researched and documented the extent of the violence, and presented the findings to the national media and the authorities, including the police. The Delhi government and the central authorities were not too keen to listen to us, but the police commissioner of that time, after one horrendous violent incident, agreed to create a single window system so that victims did not have to run around to get their complaints registered.

The Centre and Helpline had, after initial hesitation, the enthusiastic support of the many community unions and organisations that exist. Every tribe, state and religious group has its own union or association, and there is a very strong community feeling among the people living in an almost hostile environment so far from home.  Volunteers manned our phones on an around-the-clock basis, offering counseling and advice. Our teams responded to distress calls from victims of violence, rushing to the scenes of the crime and then to the police station to get cases registered under law. It was in such exercises that we discovered cases of rape not only in Delhi but also in neighbouring towns of the national capital region, including Gurgaon. 

The recent cases of violence against young people from Arunachal and other states comes as no surprise. But the death of the young student from Arunachal Pradesh, is a particularly horrendous incident, and casts aspersions not just on the professional efficacy of Delhi police, but also on its character as there are indications of corruption and partisanship. In fact, the police also emerge as racist. The Delhi High Court has chastised the Delhi police for the shoddiness of its investigations and the forensic probe.  Parliament has condemned the violence, and no less that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress Party, has expressed her solidarity with the victims. 

Elsewhere, there have been incidents or racist violence or behaviour against people of African descent, many of whom are students in various colleges of Delhi and some are expatriate workers. Africans had even forty years ago invited the curiosity and then ridicule in North India, which has a fascination for people of European origin with their light complexion. But with the opening of the national economy, the number of persons coming from the African continent has increased, and with it have increased social tensions, which sometimes burst out into open violence. The most macabre was the molestation of two women by a mob in the presence of a minister of the Delhi government who thought the two were drug peddlers or sex workers, as if this allowed physical action against them. 

The government swings into emergency action every time such an incident generates a public outcry, or is taken up in a major way by an otherwise somnambulant media. The single window police procedure seems to have been given a go by [it also existed for domestic and other violence against women] and jurisdictional haggling and often sheer corruption ensure that the police do not act as they should. 

The Union and the state governments do not monitor racist and targetted violence and therefore are ail prepared to formulate any policies or practices to curb it. While there is lip service to secularism, and to gender justice, there is absolutely not a single thing in our school curricula or in the advertisements released on television, radio and newspapers by the Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity of the government against racism and racist violence. 

The Prevention of Communal and Targetted Violence Bill, which was brutally murdered in the Rajya Sabha this week – it was withdrawn under right wing pressure – had some measures against such violence.  The Bill invited the wrath of the Sangh Parivar and its front, the Bharatiya Janata party, who felt its focus on preventing violence against Muslims in some way injured the interests of the majority community. If the Bill had become law, racist crimes would certainly have come under its ambit and it could have possibly worked as a deterrent. 

The National Integration  Council – of which this writer is a member – has failed signally in its charter envisaged by its founder, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It meets every alternate year – instead of the six monthly meetings that members stressed were needed. In its last meeting held in the wake if the barbarous violence against Muslims in Muzaffarnagar, the NIC did not refer to the Communal and Targetted Violence prevention Bill at all. In its meeting two years earlier, Home Minister Chidambaram maintained silence as BJP chief ministers butchered the draft bill. The government did not defend it at all, although the National Advisory council drafted it with government concurrence. 

The silence of the NIC in the recent cases of racist violence is deafening. Not that it has a system in place to react to such indents.

And with national polity in a flux, there is little hope that the future will unfold some deterrent laws against such violence.

****

Protest: Justice 4 Nido Tania
Raising Awareness on Racial Attacks
Valentine's Day with Delhi Police: Justice 4 Nido Tania
Northeasterners unite Against Racial Slurs

Unprecedented Mindset against North Easterners

Unprecedented Mindset against North Easterners

(A Plan, Policy and Law Needed to End the Racial Discrimination)

By Madhu Chandra

The death of 19-year-old Nido from Arunachal Pradesh at Delhi on 31^st January after shopkeepers have beaten and two girls from Manipur attacked at Kotla Mubarak following day, are the realities of ongoing discrimination to the people from North East at India’s national capital. The ruling government at Delhi changed and so the police heads, but the mindsets of the people and the law enforcing agents remain unchanged. The cry and the protest continue that the plight faced by the people of North Easterners will be heard and brought to the end once for all. 

North Easterners Protest Against Racism in New Delhi. Pic: Bruce K. Thangkhal

The research report of racial discrimination conducted by the Jamia University and published recently in the national news papers has revealed the unprecedented plights faced by the community in national capital. 81% of the North East communities living in Delhi and NCR confessed the discrimination from their fellow county men and women in colleges, universities, work and market places. This report synchronises with two other research reports done by North East Support Centre & Helpline in 2009, where 86% of North East people are discriminated and faced the sexual harassment. The second research on North East Migration and Challenges in Mega Cities reveals another reality of changing trend from sexual harassment to racial discrimination, which means, if you have mongoloid face, you will be discriminated and treated unequal with other fellow country men and women. Nido’s death is one of the realities of the new trend. 

These research findings have also proved that nothing has changed the plight of racial discrimination and sexual attack on North East men and women, even after many assurances given by the Delhi and Union Government. 

In most of the crimes like such as this, the role played by Delhi police is matter of worried and concern. To be very honest, the mindset of Delhi police, particularly those on the ground reality has not changed. They are racist in their mindset and performance of their duty. This is the most worrisome while dealing the plight faced by the North East people at Delhi. In most of the cases, the perpetrators get out of reach because such mindset police personnel. 

The women from North East India continues to face the sexual harassment, most suffer and beared silently in fear of social stigma and loosing of their carries. They face from their fellow colleagues at their work places, colleges and institutions, only a few dares to face the social stigma and the carrier challenges to come out openly and report to the police. Bearing the pain silently will encourage the perpetrators to commit more crimes, which can also be to any women irrespective of which region they belong to. 

New trend of the plights faced by the people from North East India is slightly changing from sexual attack to racial attack. One having the Mongoloid feature could cost your life in India’s national capital. This has been going on for years and the government kept promising to ensure safety to the community, which will be forgotten in a day when a nation issue arises and they will come up with new promises when the crime like Nido’s repeats. 

Sheila Dikshit, then the Chief Minister of Delhi has been heavily blamed for the sexual crime and racial attack on women and North East communities in Delhi. Now the ball is in the court of the staring Chief Minister Kajeriwal. The entire North East communities wait and watch, whether the Kajeriwal will give the lip service and put the promises into the reality to end the unprecedented plight of racial discrimination and sexual harassment to the men and women from North East India. 

The peak of Migration from the North East region to national capital and other mega cities in search of better education and job opportunities in recently years continues and it is predicted the number will increase, which means that 200,000 North Easterners in Delhi will increase their number in near future. As the population increases, the plight of racial discrimination and sexual crimes against the men and women from North East India will likely continue. 

North East Support Centre & Helpline was setup with a group of people voluntarily and they continue to render voluntary service to the victims and to the communities without any financial support from any end. To be very honest as a founding member and former Spokesperson of Helpline, it is very difficult and demanding task. Now, the student bodies from different states of North East India and tribes have come forward to fight together. All sections of the society must come together to end the plight faced by the people from North East India. 

How do we handle and attempt to bring to the end?

First, the most important, there is an urgent need to bring a law and policy to tackle the problem of racial discrimination. Repeated assurance by the government without adopting any specific policy and enacting any law has been the lip service for the government and law enforcing agencies. In order to bring a suitable policy and enact a law dealing the racial attack and discrimination, the Union and Delhi government must invite social scientist, experts and social workers from North East India and others to conduct a series of consultation to help drafting the bill. 

Second, the silent spectators of North Eastern state governments on the plights faced their people in national capital and other mega cities. All the states must adopt a collective policy otherwise in their state level to end the plights faced by their people. Unfortunately and in spite of repeated appealed to all North Eastern states to come up with a plan and policy dealing the crisis faced by their people in mega cities, but it has been not dumped so far. 

Third, the perpetrators do not differentiate the differences between North Eastern states or communities or tribes, when they plan to attack men and assault women. But the response is to encounter the attack and assault depend on the tribe or community or the state the victims belong. This has been the struggle for North East Support Centre & Helpline. One can turn off from one and turn on to other. A collective effort is the need of the hour. 

Four, silent suffers must break out. Keeping silent when one is attacked or taken sexual advantage, it must be reported to the Grievance Cell at the work places, which is a mandatory as per the directive from Supreme Court of India. The offender will only take advantage of you when you keep silent and they will take advantage from others as well.

Madhu Chandra is one of the founding members and former Spokesperson of North East Support Centre & Helpline. He is currently based in Kakching, Manipur.

 Protest: Justice 4 Nido Tania
Raising Awareness on Racial Attacks
Valentine's Day with Delhi Police: Justice 4 Nido Tania
Northeasterners unite Against Racial Slurs