Even as the national capital is trying to grapple with bigger issues of politics and power,
the death of the 20-year old student
from Arunachal Pradesh, Nido Taniam, turns the arclights on a question
that rarely raises its head in our country - racial profiling and
discrimination of people from North-East India.
Nido Taniam, who
was brutally thrashed by locals in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar on 29 January
died in a Delhi hospital on 31 January, following an altercation with a
shopkeeper and a gang of goons over something as trivial as color of his
hair, shows how rampant the discrimination is in the state.
Taniam
was cruelly hit with sticks and rods following the spat. After the
altercation took place, the police arrived at the spot and lifted the
victim up. Strangely enough, the victim was dropped back at the same
spot where he was then beaten up by locals. He was taken to the hospital
by his friends and family and died there a day later.
Taniam was
the son of Arunachal Pradesh Nido Pavitra, parliamentary secretary for
health and family welfare, food and civil supplies.
Expressing
deep anger over the incident, Arunachal Pradesh MP Takam Sanjoy said,
"Taniam was a very cool, nice and calm guy. There was an altercation but
it soon turned racial. This is a completely racial attack on the
student because of his Mongoloid features. This is a serious phenomenon
in mainstream India."
"How can a country accommodate so much
intolerance because of how someone looks? This amounts to alienating
people from your country. There are already so many problems in the
North East already because of these differences. Why are these elements given room in the society?,” he fumed.
Also,
expressing his annoyance over unwillingness of the Delhi Police to
register an FIR against the case, the MP said, "My colleague in
Parliament, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Ninong Ering
had to go the Lajpat Nagar police station regarding the FIR. The death
of the student occurred a day after. There were not much external
injuries but there have to be internal injuries as he was hit with rods
and sticks. He passed away a day after he was brutally beaten up."
The
case of death of Taniam, a resident of Green Park area of Delhi, was
registered in Lajpat Nagar police station, but they are now trying to
push the case to Green Park. "Why is either of the police stations
having a problem in registering an FIR. This is murder and they will
have to apply the same laws that they would have in case of anyone else.
If the government, police and administration thinks that the Indian
Constitution is for a section of India, we will have to go out like
Arvind Kejriwal to the streets for our rights," Sanjoy said.
"This
is the manifestation of the flawed policies that the policy makers has
come up with for the 45 million Indians who live in the North East.
There is still a huge policy challenge in this regard. The entire
conscious of the North East is absent form the larger conscious of
India," secretary general of Control Arms Foundation of India,
Binalakshmi Nepram told CNN-IBN during a panel discussion.
Although
there are sharp reactions and massive condemnation of the incident, a
section of the country still refuses to accept it as a racial one. "This
was a freak incident. This was not racial as such. People often tend to
look differently at us because of our looks, habits and lifestyles.
There are legal provisions to stop slurs against people from North East
but the mindset of the people have to change first. We have to educate
our people," Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Ninong Ering told
CNN-IBN during the discussion.
Concluding whether Taniam's death
was a result of a racist attack or just a freak accident isn't going to
be an easy one. Nevertheless, his death only heightens apprehensions of
people from the north east about the acceptance in the country.
Meanwhile, the
Arvind Kejriwal
government has condemned the act and issued a statement chastising the
Delhi police saying it will not support any form of discrimination. In a
statement issued to the press, the Delhi government says, "The
government contemplating a magisterial inquiry into this death, which is
not only tragic but raises serious questions on the alleged beating
reportedly in public view."
It adds that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed education minister
Manish Sisodia to look into the matter and report back to him. "
Delhi government
makes it clear that it will adopt a zero tolerance policy towards such
unacceptable incidents and appeals to people to maintain calm at all
costs," the release says.
AW: Suchorita Choudhury
nido
taniam, Arunachal student's death, Delhi, delhi police, Ninong Ering,
Racial profiling, Racism, north east students, arvind kejriwal, Will
North-East Students Ever Be Treated Like Indians, top news
Latest
updates on One By Two Hindi Movie Review, One By Two Movie Review, One
By Two Movie Review and Rating, One By Two Review, Bollywood One By Two
Review, One By Two Movie Stills, One By Two Movie Wallpapers, One By Two
Movie Songs, One By Two Movie Trailers, Videos and more on wishesh.com
