Racial Attacks:

Feb 03/2014: Former prime minister Narasimha Rao stated in a famous interview after he took office in the early '90s that the best way for India to exist was to coexist. Scholarly Rao stressed this for the obvious reason that there was a long way for India to go in the matter of integration, as we are a strange mix of races, communities, religions and castes, spread far and wide. The common thread that passes through all these is the pride of being part of a large country with a great tradition and culture that, sadly, most of us are unaware of. Incidents like what the media described as "racial" attack in New Delhi, this past week, on a young boy from the North East portrayed our intrinsic hatred for each other. This is the other extreme of national integration. 

The Delhi incident, it is reported, seems to have been started by some people who teased the boy for his appearance. Serious issues crop up in this context about the role of the Delhi Police, which has always ignored complaints of racial discrimination not only perpetrated against youngsters from the North Eastern states but also against coloured people from different countries of Africa. In this particular case, the utter callousness of the police shows a horribly appalling attitude that should surprise civilised society. Unfortunately, especially in Delhi, and generally in India, this kind of an incident seems to be of little importance and is soon forgotten. After taking the boy away from the spot where the scuffle started, the police, after a gap of time spent at the police station, dropped the boy back at the same spot where he was attacked first. This logic should baffle anybody who can think. The eventual death of this boy is something that should shame the whole country. As a mark of protest against hoodlums, this nation should observe a day of mourning to remind us all to live as humans. 

Reports also speak of several cases of similar harassment that young boys and girls from the North-East are put through in the capital, and occasionally elsewhere too. The seemingly simple nature of these youths from the hills may be what makes them fall prey to anti-social elements. It is here that the role of society at large and police in particular should come into major play. Depending solely on the police cannot be the answer.

It is also true that there is a feeling of alienation that people from the North East have from the rest of India. They feel that people from other parts of the country look at them as weirdos. Interestingly, the youth from the North Eastern states are generally much more educated and definitely more hard working than youths from most other parts of the nation. To quell their feelings of alienation, people in places like Delhi and Bangalore, where there is a concentration of these youths, have to make special efforts to help and befriend these youngsters in the long term interest of India's unity.