NE students decry racist attacks

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 23 : The North East Students' Organisation/NESO (comprising of KSU, AASU, MSF, MZP, TSF, AMSU, GSU and AAPSU), has strongly condemned the recurring incidence of violence and discrimination meted out to the people of the North East States.
Reports of violent attacks and racial discrimination against the students and public from this region have been on the rise in various parts of mainland India after the outbreak of COVID-19, said a press release issued by secretary general of NESO.
The organisation then appealed to the Central Government to look into the matter so as to ensure physical and emotional well being of the North East community in various parts of the country.
It further suggested that the respective CMs of the NE States should actively liaise with their counterparts in various States of mainland India in order to make sure that perpetrators of hate crimes are booked and that future occurrences of such unwanted incidents are prevented.
Strongly condemning the incident, the Manipur Students' Association, Delhi (MSAD) said that students from North East are routinely subjected to racist attacks and taunts particularly in Delhi.
In a statement, the student body said that Vijay Nagar incident in which a middle aged man spat on a young girl from Manipur and taunted her by calling names such as corona was not the first and will not be the last either.
Even as the people are reeling under the impact of  coronavirus, the people of North East have to endure another virus called racism, added MSAD.
Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) has also came out strongly against such racial attacks and discrimination of North East people.
A statement issued by the secretary general of DESAM  appealed to the authorities concerned to book the culprits involved in  such cases and to ensure the safety of the people from the NE region.
On the other hand, DESAM also urged all to remain cautious against COVID-19 and to refrain from brushing aside the threat posed by the virus.
It further reasoned that people of Manipur should not socially stigmatise any individual who recently returned to the State from outside, explaining that such behaviour will be one of the main reasons for the said individuals, if in case anyone is indeed infected, hesitating to come out and seek medical attention in time.
Taking strong exception of the racial attacks against students and people from the North East region in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU) has also demanded the Government and authorities concerned to catch the culprits involved and punish them according to the law.
Reminding that the people of the North East region, especially from Manipur, have been the target for racial crimes and attacks for a long time, AMSU appealed to the people of the NE to remain ever cautious and alert as well.
AMSU then assured that it will offer unconditional support and cooperation to any initiative taken up by MSAD and other student associations based in Delhi regarding the incident.