People of North-East apprehensive as coronavirus-related racist incidents rise

Chennai: With several states going on partial lockdown as a part of precautionary measures against the coronavirus, isolated incidents of racism are on the rise against the people from the North-Eastern states of India. Given the large number of people from the North East who are settled in many other states and cities of the country, such cases of racial discrimination are a cause for concern. The community hopes that an advisory from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to all the states would be very helpful in allaying their fears and creating more awareness.

Two incidents of racism in Chennai have come to the notice of the North East community after March 16 when the Tamil Nadu government decided to shut the malls, cinema halls, and educational institutions across the state. The shut down until March 31 means that students would be out of their hostels and those working in the informal sector would be out of work and in some cases looking to return home. 

“We have come across incidents where men and women from our community have been shouted at in public places. Some miscreants and ill-informed people look at us and scream Corona! Our features may be similar to those in the Eastern part of the world, but our fellow Indians should know that we have different types of people in this country. Such discriminatory remarks shouldn’t be happening and we Indians should be united as this is a global crisis. Such incidents are very unfortunate given that there are over 10,000 people from the North East who are in Chennai. They are engaged in academic pursuits, professional careers, and they also work in the malls, restaurants and other informal sectors,” said Wapang Toshi, President, North East India Welfare Association Chennai. 

The availability of fewer flights, trains coupled with the higher ticket prices and apprehensions about travel has resulted in the worry of many people about their continued stay in the city.

“We are expecting the situation to come down and seriously hope and pray that it doesn’t go from bad to worse. We have requested an appointment with the Home Secretary in Tamil Nadu to personally apprise him of the situation. Also, the tweet by Minister Kiren Rijjiju has also come as a great relief for us. We are highly anticipating the advisory in this regard from the Ministry of Home Affairs," Toshi added. 

Responding to the instances of hate and racial remarks against the Northeast people, Minister for State for Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju had tweeted on Wednesday, “Some incidents of racial remarks against North-East people have emerged in some parts of India in the wake of #Coronavirus due to cultural ignorance, prejudice mindset & lack of understanding. The matter discussed with NE Division, MHA. A strict advisory is being issued to the states.”