Nagaland CM Rio Condemns "Racist" Attacks against NE Indians amid Corona Outbreak

Kohima, March 27, 2020:

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, taking note of the acts of crass racism against Northeast Indians in the wake of the outbreak of the COVID-19, has appealed for "compassion, understanding and love" in the trying and testing times.

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Rio, taking to Twitter to condemn the racist acts, stated, "I condemn the racist attacks against the Northeast Indians in the wake of Coronavirus Pandemic. COVID-19 is a world public security problem. The virus has no borders neither its cure will have. Let's work together with compassion, understanding and love to turn the tide on it."

"I also take this opportunity to appeal to all sections across the country to be sensitive to all communities and refrain from ostracisation, racial profiling and discrimination. India must move forward as one nation", Rio wrote in another tweet, appealing the entire nation to be united in the battle against the coronavirus.

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It may be recalled here that in a bid to deal with the rampant racism against mongoloid-looking Northeast Indians that has erupted in the wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus or COVID-19, the Government of Nagaland has issued helpline numbers for Nagas who might be subjected to such acts of racism.

Nagaland Chief Secretary, Temjen Toy, taking to social media to inform about this initiative, wrote, “Any Naga facing any kind of racial discrimination/harassment in other States may please send me an email at temjentoy@gov.in giving details. They can also contact my team by phone at 03702291120 or 03702291122 or 1070.”

It may be mentioned here that there have been several instances where NE Indians have been subjected to racial abuse since the outbreak of the virus. On the night of 22 March 2020, a 25-year-old woman from Manipur who is pursuing her M-Phil was spat on with Paan and called a ‘corona’ by a man in North-West Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar area.

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On 20 March 2020, a 24-year-old Cathy Chakhesang and her eight colleagues from Nagaland working at a dental insurance company’s call centre had to spend the night in a government quarantine facility meant for suspected patients of the coronavirus disease allegedly because of their Mongoloid looks. They had no physical symptoms of the disease, no foreign travel history, no apparent contact with any laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 patient and none of them ticked any of the boxes that qualify people to be treated as a suspect case.

On March 16, 2020, 74 year old Rinzin Dorjee and his daughter Tsering Yangzom from Northeast India were denied entry in Shree Sainath Housing Society at Mulund (East), Mumbai on the suspicion that they hail from China.

Pallavi Ghosh, a senior editor at CNN-News 18, wrote about a horrific incident of racial discrimination she was witness to in a restaurant at the upscale Pandara Market of Delhi.

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