For Press Release

North East Support Centre & Helpline, New Delhi

info@nehelpline.net, www.nehelp= line.net

=

For Press Release
More North East Political Bureaucratic sh= ould be Open on Racism

NE Helpline Salutes Mizoram CM for Bold on Racism

New Delhi= , June 27, 2009

North East Support Centre & Helpline salutes Chief Minister= of Mizoram Pu Lalthanhawla for his bold statement on racial discrimination met= ed out to himself and north east Indian communities. More political bureaucrat= ic and civil societies must come openly on the reality of racism discrimination meted out to North East people.

The coming out openly on = racial discrimination face by North East communities in different parts of India i= s long over due. North East Support Centre & Helpline is extremely glad that Chief Minister of Mizoram has ope= nly expressed the issue in his press conference in Singapore. Pu Lalthanhawla wo= uld have conducted his press conference else where in India, the wide coverage and = the issue would have been suppressed or ignored.

North East Support Centre & Helpline has appealed to North Eastern political elected members of Parliament many a time to take up the issues of racial discrimination faced by their communities in Delhi and NCR= with Delhi and Central Government but most kept blind eyes.

The racial discrimination= faced by the North East Indian communities in all over the country has their different forms. Definitely, D= elhi and National Capital Region go beyond just lewd and bulgur racial remarks. Young girls are easily targeted in Delhi and NCR who have been physically and sexually assaulted while young boys are physically attacked and many are suspended from jobs without any prior noti= ce or reasons. Many non-payment of salary by their employers are also reported= .

The mindset of people is = the root cause of the racial discrimination. The racist public of Delhi and NCR always counted North East= erners are strangers in their own country, cheap people and do whatever one like, = none will bother.

What surprises the more i= s the racial discrimination from police duty officers when the victims and their colleagues discriminated went to register First Information Reports. In mos= t of the cases, police refused to take the complaint and had to wait the media pressure.

Discrimination does not e= nd their. After the complaints are registered, there comes the delay and manipulation by the public prosecutor of the cases taken up in the concerned courts in spit some of the cases supposed to be very speedy as booked under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocity Act 1995.

In reality, Indians can n= ot survive racial discrimination in outside world, but back at home, the racis= m is very alive and rather it is more connected with caste apartheid of Indian society which existed for 3000 years. The United Nations’ Campaign against Racism at Durban in 2002, the casteism was termed worse than racism.

Thankfully, the issues of= racism discrimination faced by the people of north east India in Delhi and NCR is taken well by the Indian media, without their help, the efforts of North East Support Centre & Helpl= ine would have gone in vain.

North East Support Cen= tre & Helpline (www.nehelpline.net) is combined initiati= ve of various human rights activists, social workers, students, journalists and lawyers seeking to prevent harassment and abuses meted out to women, North = East People and tribal communities of different states.

Release by

Mr. Madhu Cha= ndra

Spokes Person=

9868184939