DIMAPUR, April 10 - The Naga Hoho today expressed concern over aggressive racial profiling, slurs, attacks and discrimination against people from the North East in different cities of the country during the ongoing nationwide lockdown.
�There are cases reported from many places. There are also many cases which are not being reported. Many suffer such indignity silently,� the Hoho said in a release.
It said some bikers spitted on two women in Delhi and Mumbai, and both of them were called �Corona�, while in Ahmedabad, nine women from Nagaland were picked up for forced testing and quarantine. In Mysore and Hyderabad, some students were not allowed to enter grocery stores to buy essentials and in Kolkata, a 24-year-old from Sikkim, who was unwell, was denied entry by two hospitals, and later summoned by the police and locked up in an isolation ward with persons suspected to be infected by COVID-19.
�Though racism is not new, associating a pandemic to a race is unacceptable,� it said.
The Hoho appealed to the Chief Ministers and MPs of the North Eastern States to reach out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urge him to ensure safety and security of the North East people living in different cities of the country. It said every State should be directed to take the cases of racism seriously and sensitise the police and people on the matter.
�India is a signatory to the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. With a long history of casteism and racism, there should be an anti-racial law in place,� the Hoho said.
It sought to place on record that no one, even if they are not Indians, should face racism in the country.
