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According to the
Delhi-based North-East Support Centre & Helpline, almost half the women
sexually harassed in the capital city and its neighbourhood are from the
North-East. It’s indeed true that cases of misbehaviour and molestation
against people from the region have become so commonplace that these
incidents don’t come as a shocker to the people anymore.
Take the recent case
of two Manipuri sisters being molested and manhandled by a group of about 25
men in North Campus. The two girls run a cyber café in the Gandhi Vihar area
of north Delhi. The girls alleged that a crowd of about 25 men came to their
shop on January 5 and started showering abuses and even physically attacked
them and their brother when he tried to intervene. The mob also reportedly
said that women from the North-East were spreading “immorality” in the city
and asked them to leave the place.
However, what was
more shocking was the fact that the police refused to lodge an FIR even when
the two girls went to the police station. It was only after the incident was
highlighted in the media that the police finally registered a complaint from
the girls two days later. The incident is only the tip of the iceberg.
Incidents of violence against people from the Northeast are showing a
disturbing upward trend. Last year in September, three girls from the
North-East who were studying in IP College were molested by some aspiring
cops who had incidentally taken the recruitment exam of the Delhi Police
minutes before the incident. When the girls went to the Mukherjee Nagar
police station, the police allegedly refused to entertain their complaint
and in turn asked them unnecessary questions.
More recently, four
men, allegedly in an inebriated state, barged into a house of a 21-year-old
woman from Manipur and molested her in south Delhi’s posh South Extension
area on February 15. Although one of them was later arrested, the incident
had left the woman in a state of trauma and shock.
The irony is that
many incidents go unreported. “These are not isolated cases. Most of the
time, the victims prefer not to complain for fear of the trauma and
harassment that they have to undergo after the incident. First of all, it
takes hours and even days to register a complaint at the police station. And
even after that, there is hardly any action that we get to see,” said
Lansinglu Rongmei, a Supreme Court lawyer and the legal secretary of the All
India Christian Council.
“North-East people in
Delhi are not safe at all. The ordeal starts the moment we step out of our
homes. We have to prepare ourselves for any kind of consequences that we may
have to face when we are moving around the city. Every day, it’s like a
challenge for us,” said Dr. Achan Mungleng, who's working with a city-based
NGO. Mungleng has been in the city for the past 10 years and hails from
Ukhrul district in Manipur. And it’s the mentality of the people in Delhi
that is to blame, felt many North-Easterners. “There is always a kind of
discrimination towards the people of the North-East. And it’s not just girls
but even boys that are at the receiving end of their attitude,” said
Rongmei.
So, the only way out
is to sensitise the people, felt Rev. Madhu Chandra, the man behind the
North-East Support Centre & Helpline. “For one, if the police perform their
duty properly and on time, a lot of these cases can be prevented. Any delay
in taking action will only encourage the offender to repeat the crime. So,
the need of the hour is to sensitise the police and the government. It’s
their duty to ensure the safety of each and every individual irrespective of
his/her regional or cultural background.”
The centre is a joint
initiative of human rights activists, social workers, students, journalists
and lawyers seeking to prevent harassment and abuses meted out to North-East
people and tribal communities of other states. Since its inception in
October last year, the centre has received uncountable number of cases. The
central helpline numbers at the centre are: 9868184939, 981831416 and
9810554901.
kunal.doley@mailtoday.in
Recent cases of
harassment
February 15, 2008:
Four drunk men allegedly barged into the house of a 21-year-old woman from
Manipur and molested her in south Delhi’s posh South Extension-I area. A
man, identified as 24-year-old Ravinder, was held.
February 15, 2008:
Eleven shopkeepers were arrested after they assaulted a group of students
from Arunachal Pradesh in Chanakyapuri. The argument reportedly broke out
after a telephone booth owner delayed returning the change after the
students paid the bill.
January 5, 2008: Two
sisters from Manipur were molested by 25 men in north Delhi, where they run
a cyber cafe. Their younger brother was also beaten up when he tried to
intervene. The police lodged an FIR only after media highlighted the matter
two days later.
November 4, 2007: A
girl from Manipur was sexually assaulted by a resident of Safdarjung
Enclave. The girl was reportedly coming out of her rented house when a drunk
man came in front of her and sexually assaulted her.
October 27, 2007: A
manager of a call centre made sexual advances to two young women from
Nagaland, and then stopped their salary and suspended them from work when
they resisted his overtures.
October 21, 2007: A
Manipuri girl, 21, was sexually assaulted by a tenant. In spite of
protecting the victim, the landlord forced the victim’s cousin and other
students from the North-East living in the rented house to vacate the rooms
without any notice.
September 16, 2007:
Four Manipuri students were dragged out of their rickshaws and molested by
some youngsters who had come for an entrance test at North campus
Success stories
ratan thiyam: Writer, director, designer, musician, painter and actor, Ratan
Thiyam is a household name in the international performance scene. A son of
Manipuri dancer parents, Thiyam published his first of six novels in 1961 at
the age of 22. Writing led him to theatre. He passed out of the National
School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi in 1974. He was also the director of NSD for
a while in 1987. Now based out of Imphal in Manipur, he runs his own
professional theatre company, Chorus Repertoire Theatre which he established
in 1976. He describes his stay in the city as a great experience, especially
working under his guru, noted theatre director Ebrahim Alkazi.
robin hibu: One of
the few IPS officers from Arunachal Pradesh. Presently posted as the deputy
commissioner of police in Delhi’s west district, Robin Hibu has also worked
as a superintendent of police in Itanagar and has been a part of the UN
peacekeeping mission in Bosnia for two years. A Kirorimal College and JNU
alumnus, Hibu feels Delhi has a lot to offer in terms of career
opportunities. |
