Nagaland Govt Issues Helpline for Victims of Racial Discrimination

Kohima, March 26, 2020:

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."

ALSO READ: Naga Students Teased as “Coronavirus” in Kolkata amid Mounting Cases of Racial Discrimination

Meanwhile, the racial discrimination against the Nagas and other Northeast Indians have been heavily condemned by several citizens of Nagaland. Merenla Imsong, a Youtube star from Nagaland, based in Mumbai, recently composed a satirical song to condemn the incidents of racism.

Before launching into song, the Youtuber says, “The global pandemic that is coronavirus, a lot of people have been panicking. A lot of people have also found a time to be racist, so I wanted to sing a sing for all those people committing random acts of racism in these dark times.” Then, Imsong goes on to compare the “racists” to a “useless strand of dhania”, a gall bladder, a “charisma of diarrhea”, among other things. After drawing several comparisons with several things that she considers oh-not-so-nice, Naga YouTuber’s final words to the song, sung in apparent exasperation, are, “I’m sorry that you’re a parody of the human gene pool.”

ALSO READ: Police Arrests Man for Spitting at Manipur Girl, Calling her ‘Corona’

Meanwhile, Onen Nenty, Nagaland tourism ambassador has also condemned the crass racism in a recent video that is being widely shared on social media. "Dear India -- is this what you call a secular country? All for one and one for all? How and when are you going to accept us? Is it because we look different or is it because of your arrogance that you did not see the human in us. Nepali, Chinky, Chinese, and now Coronavirus, here is a tip India. Corona comes for everyone. It does not see any caste or religion or skin color no rich no poor", Onen says in the video, that has received over 7,000 views.

It may be recalled a video has been circulating online which shows Naga students being discriminated against in Kolkata, West Bengal. The video was initially shared on Instagram by the username @Sushmishrez. According to the post, a group of people were chasing away the students from Nagaland who visited Kolkata for industrial training, just because they look different from other Indians. It was further alleged that they were mocked with names like ‘coronavirus’.

In Delhi, home to a vast number of Nagas, it has been learnt that "coronavirus" has entered colloquial use as a pejorative against NE Indians.

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