Delhi is Northeasterners' Favourite Job Destination

By Natalia Ningthoujam

New Delhi, Jul 28 : Abhijit K. Borah moved here from Guwahati in search of a better future. He says Delhi has a lot to offer and he has no plans to leave the capital, despite it being tagged as the country's "most racist city".

"I won't mind shifting base to another city, provided there are good opportunities. But Delhi always offers opportunities; so till now that thought has not crossed my mind," Borah told IANS.

Sagarika Dutta from Tinsukia, Assam, too calls the national capital her dream destination.

"After completing my 12th grade, I knew I would study here as the northeast isn't good for higher education. My cousins are also here, so I was excited," said the 25-year-old.

A study by the North East Support Centre & Helpline (NESCH) has revealed that 78 out of every 100 people from northeastern India living in Delhi face some sort of racial discrimination, with crimes against women, discrimination, verbal slurs and assault against people from the community emerging as major concerns.

Ever since a 30-year-old man from Manipur was thrashed to death during a brawl with a group of locals in the Kotla area of south Delhi, concerns have once again been raised about the safety of people from the region.

But there are always two sides to every story - if on one hand the capital spells fear and unease, on the other it offers hope and prosperity, northeasterners say.

Luckily for Dutta, she hasn't faced "any discrimination" so far and has no plans of turning her back on the city.

"It depends on your friends circle and the environment you are in. I am a career-oriented person and always wanted to settle down outside my hometown as there is less scope in the northeast for public relations professionals," she said.

Borah says the capital has worked as a magnet for people from the northeast as it offers a plethora of options for them.

If in the beginning BPO jobs worked as the biggest draw, now people from the northeast - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim - are getting opportunities in industries like media, hospitality and advertising, among others because of their education, ability to speak in English, smart appearances and willingness to work hard.

"Gone are the days when it was believed that the BPO industry drove northeasterners to the metros. Nowadays, in most of the creative fields like media, advertising, marketing or entertainment, you can see people from the northeast," said Borah.

Over 200,000 people, of whom around 50 percent are females, from the eight northeastern states are in the capital, another NESCH report said.

Worthing Kasar from Nagaland, a partner in a law firm, shifted to the capital to study law. The fact that part of her family was in the city made things smoother for her, but she wouldn't mind living on her own.

"I got through law college and then started working. Even if my family were not here, I would've moved to the city as it has a lot of opportunities," said Kasar.

Kasar added that the preference for people from the northeast is greater in her field.

"I've heard many lawyers saying that they prefer people from the northeast as associates because they feel we are hardworking and honest. In my profession, people run away with clients. So, these qualities are required to avoid this from happening," said the 36-year-old.

Despite disturbing news from the capital, Jenny Thingshung, now a radio jockey and a travel writer, left Manipur and joined a private media institute in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, around five years back.

"Delhi gives great exposure and my sister was already here. But even if I didn't have anyone here, I would've chosen Delhi as it is the best for media," said Thingshung, who worked with a channel as a reporter and then joined a radio station.

For the time being, she wants to earn and build a successful career; so she has no plans of returning to Manipur. But she hasn't completely shut the door.

"There will be a time when I would like to go home, but not right now. When I retire or get settled I would love to go back," she said.

(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in)

Northeast Village Buys Burari Plot To House its Own in Comfort, Safety

By Shreya Roy Chowdhury

New Delhi, Jul 28 : The village of Yaikongpao, in Senapati district, Manipur, has acquired 100 square yards at Burari. When the village chief manages to raise enough funds, a hostel-cum-guesthouse will be constructed for students and families coming to Delhi from the state.

Dzukou House too was built this way—villagers on the Manipur-Nagaland border clubbed together to invest in infrastructure here. Villages, communities and groups from the northeast are pooling resources to set up cheap accommodations for students and families coming to the city. Though an unlikely choice, this north Delhi area is perhaps the only one where they can have landlords from their region.

Rocky Angumei, a youth pastor from Yaikongpao, says, "When I learnt about this place in 2007, I convinced the villagers to invest here. The village used its own development funds. The elders are here but they've entrusted me with the project." That land was bought, he says, in 2008-09.

"All educated young people are leaving Manipur and going to other states, mainly Delhi," says Angumei. "They work wherever they can—at beauty parlours or call centres—and pay exorbitant rents. The elders create a sense of security."

A single lane with about a dozen houses owned by people from the northeast offers the comfort of familiarity. Peichun Kadimna's family—her father's a pastor too—was the first to put down roots in 2010. "We were the only ones from the northeast here then," says the Miranda House student. Around that time, Ramo Chothe, a physics teacher at SGTB Khalsa College, was building his home. Chothe is now constructing more floors. "I can accommodate 10-15 students. Two will share a room, there'll be a common room with a television, and I'll serve meals. It'll be like home," he says.

The Kadimnas are ready to open their hostel—for 15—in August. "We're asking our friends to also chip in and set up hostels or guesthouses. Four to five families can together buy a 100 square-yard plot and build on it," says Chothe.

The interiors of Burari hardly inspire the confidence Chothe shows—there are virtually no roads leading to their lane, lanes aren't paved properly, streetlights come on well after it's dark and venturing out of the colony can invite racist comments. When Chothe moved in, "it was like a jungle". But this little throng is trying to make Burari home with a few light touches.

Last year, they had a badminton tournament in an empty parking lot. Angumei started the Church of Hope and is now working on "a barbecue culture". "The dream is there'll be a properly colony here with shopping complex, gymnasium and open area," explains Chothe. He convinced homeowners on his row to contribute "one foot from their plots for a few shops". These are yet to come up.

The community has the option of staying in Dhaka village or Gandhi Vihar in accommodations sublet to them. But, despite the inconvenient location, all the rooms available in Burari are taken. "Students started coming about two years ago," says Chothe, "About 15 came last year. Another 15 joined this time." It takes Kadamlung Gonmei two hours to get from Burari to Dyal Singh College on Lodhi Road but he decided to shift.

"Local landlords charged us more and we'd never get our security deposits back," says DU graduate Joseph Phaomei, who's preparing for competitive exams.

They can eat fermented fish in peace, there's no curfew and the elders to manage the kids. Having other migrant families as immediate neighbours also helps. "It's a mixed group here," says Angumei, "There are several families from Uttarakhand. They are simple. Like us."

The Onus To Integrate

India’s capital city has been deeply disturbed by several violent attacks on young men and women from the North-East

By Dipankar De Sarkar

In most cases of violence against people from NorthEastern states, police have come up with an “anything but racism” explanation.

On Boxing Day 2011, a student from Pune was shot and killed in the suburbs of Manchester for no apparent reason. Anuj Bidve, along with a group of friends—all Indians, visible minorities—happened to be in a housing estate known for its lawlessness. A man who called himself Psycho Stapleton walked up to the group, asked the time, and then took out a gun, placed it on Bidve’s left temple and shot him dead with a single bullet.

It was a numbing act of violence that led to an outpouring of shock and outrage in both India and the UK. After complaints from the grieving family, Manchester Police dispatched an officer to Pune to try and explain and apologise for delays in informing them of the tragedy. The unrepentant killer was found, arrested, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment.

It was a blot on Britain, a nation that to my mind has grown up embracing people of other races, religions and cultures. There was the determination not to allow such things to happen. In New Delhi this week, a former call centre worker called Shaloni, like Bidve in his 20s, was beaten to death by five men.

The man was from Manipur, one of eight states that are lumped as the North-East. Ignored for years by central governments and punished for rebellious insurgencies, the people of the North-East—visible minorities in most parts of India—have long complained of racism, especially in Delhi.

“Why don’t you people learn to integrate with your host communities?” ask some residents of Delhi in sentiments that are often heard in settings of conscious and unconscious racism, almost always from majority communities. I wondered what integration meant here: would they have to stop speaking English, stop listening to and playing Western rock music, swap skirts for saris?

India’s capital city has been deeply disturbed by several violent attacks on young men and women from the North-East. A 19-year-old student named Nido Taniam from Arunachal Pradesh got into an argument with some men in a South Delhi shop last year and they beat him to death.

A young woman was raped for four hours, another man was stabbed. Years ago in Delhi University, I discovered some fine musicians among students from the North-East—Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

I never thought to ask them about their experiences of Delhi—this after all was nobody’s town and it was everybody’s. No one gave a second glance. Or maybe they did. Things have changed now. Young men and women from the North-Eastern states are a much more abundant presence in Delhi.

They are university students, as well as workers in the service industry—call centres (partly because of their better English), shopping malls, hotels and restaurants. Forced by the poverty of their homeland to try and seek a living in the city, they have contributed to the economy and diversity of Delhi.

Puzzling about this spike in violence, I turned to Tungshang Ningreichon, a human rights activist from Manipur who has been a long-time resident of Delhi, to ask for her experiences. “This has always been there,” she said.

“But the trend is changing. Earlier we had regular abuse and harassment. Now it is much more violent. The record of the past few months shows people are being randomly attacked. Every day is a struggle for us.

“The daily racism comes out in small and subtle things people say. You feel disturbed. But you don’t want to pick a fight because you don’t want to spoil your day. “A lot of boys and girls live in rented houses.

Getting a gas connection is so difficult. If you go to Munirka, or Kotla where the killing (of Shaloni) took place, you will find variations in house rents within the same building. It’s Rs.12,000-15,000 for us but a little cheaper for the others.

We let it go.” Could she have integrated more? “There’s never been the space for us to integrate. It begins with your own teacher, right? ‘Where are you from?’ ‘Nagaland, Manipur.’ ‘Where is that?’

Now people are much more aware of this place called the NorthEast. The onus to integrate is not on us, the onus is on everybody.” Teenager Nido’s killing triggered a committee to “examine the causes behind the attacks/violence and discrimination against people from North-Eastern states” and suggest measures to be taken by the government. Its report has not been made public yet but if it doesn’t tackle the national capital’s notoriously uncaring police, it would have failed in its task. In most cases of violence against people from NorthEastern states, police have come up with an “anything but racism” explanation.

• When Kawilungbou Chawang, a 28-year-old man, was found dead in a drain, police said it was an accident, although locals saw him running before jumping or falling into the drain. • When 21-year-old Reingamphy was found murdered in her flat, a non-government activist said, “We have been told by the station house officer (a police officer)… that these girls from North-East work in spas and that’s why these incidents take place.”

• The explanation for Shaloni’s murder—so far—is road rage. The worst fear: “Maybe there’s a group of people who may think we don’t deserve to be here,” said Ningreichon. “How do I describe you,” I asked. “Oh just say another chinky, someone with a snub nose.”

30 People Ill After Eating Fermented Soya Bean in Mizoram

Aizawl, Jul 25 : At least 30 people were taken ill in Aizawl after eating fermented soya bean, Mizoram health department officials today said.

Dr Lalmalsawma Pachuau, Nodal Officer for the state Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme said that 35 people had reportedly eaten the fermented soyabean out of which 30 were given medical treatment in different hospitals across the city.

"We suspected bacterial contamination rather than chemical contamination as five people who ate the soya bean after cooking were not taken ill," Lalmalsawma said.

He said that the samples of the fermented soya bean were taken and sent to the microbiological laboratory and also to the state forensic science laboratory of the police department.

Reports said that two persons were treated at ICUs of two hospitals here while the condition of the rest of the victims were described as stable.

The reports said that the fermented soya bean was purchased by officials of the SCERT department from an employee.

This Man From Mizoram Has 39 Wives. Can You Guess How Many Kids He Has?

Most men have trouble handling one wife and two kids. Not this guy - he is happily married to all of his 39 wives, fathering 86 kids and a grandpa to 35 more!

It sounds ludicrous, but it is the raw truth. Ziona is a 70-something patriarch living with his huge family in a four-storey complex in a small village of Mizoram.

When asked, the man says that his big family is a will of god - and not because he wants to keep marrying again and again. He has not applied for the Guinness World Record, because he does not want the fame! The amount of food required to feed this family in one single meal is unbelievable.

This is a story that will punch a hole in all your family-planning schemes. Take a look.

Delhi HC 'pained' by Violence Against Northeast people

New Delhi, Jul 25 : 'Pained' by continuing incidents of violence against people from Northeast despite its orders, the Delhi High Court on Thursday sought a report from the government on the steps taken by it to curb "the menace plaguing the society".

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw made the observations while referring to the recent fatal assault of a young man from Northeast which was reported to be an incident of road rage.

"We are pained to note that inspite of our being seized of the issue of violence in the city of Delhi against persons hailing from North Eastern part of the country and further inspite of issuance of detailed directions from time to time, such incidents, rather than abating, continue to occur.

"There was a news report recently of a young man of North Eastern origin being fatally assaulted in an incident which was reported to be of road rage," the court said.

"There was a news report recently of a young man of North Eastern origin being fatally assaulted in an incident which was reported to be of road rage," the court said. The bench urged Delhi police to "act with alacrity" while investigating the crime and sought a detailed status report by August 11, the next date of hearing.

The court also accepted the suggestion of Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain that a status report be sought from Station House Officers (SHOs) of certain sensitive localities in the national capital, setting out steps being taken for controlling or preventing such incidents. Kotla Mubarakpur, Lajpat Nagar, Munirka and some areas in and around Delhi University were the sensitive localities that were mentioned before the court.

The court also sought information regarding the measures taken by a Special Police Unit set up for dealing with crimes against people from Northeast and asked why the setting up of the cell "is appearing to be ineffective". It also asked the ASG to place before it the report of a committee constituted to look into the concerns of the persons hailing from the Northeast.

Manipuri Youth Murder: All 5 Suspects Arrested

New Delhi, Jul 24 : The fifth and last suspect in the case relating to the murder of a 29-year-old Manipuri youth was arrested last night from Garhi area here, police said.  Lokesh (25), also a resident of Garhi village, had been absconding after the other four suspects were arrested, a senior police official said.

The victim Akha Salouni was allegedly beaten to death by a group of five men in a suspected case of road rage in Kotla Mubarakpur in the wee hours of July 21.

He was returning to his Munirka flat after a party. The incident had triggered widespread anger among North East community here.

Three suspects in the case—Sanjay Basoya (24), his cousin Shakti Basoya and Rajiv (25) were arrested from Garhi area on July 21, while the fourth suspect Azad Choudhary (24), a driver by profession and a resident of Garhi Village, was arrested yesterday.

Amit Gupta, spokesperson in AIIMS had said Salouni’s autopsy report suggested that death was caused due to multiple internal injuries in the neck, abdomen and brain caused by blunt force.

A Delhi court had remanded Shakti, Sanjay and Rajiv in police custody till July 24 while Azad was remanded today in one-day police custody.

Police said the incident had taken place at around 3 AM when the deceased, along with two friends, Dihe Kazhiihrii (25), who is also a resident of Manipur and Nagendra Sharma (40), a resident of Bihar, were returning after attending a party at their friend’s place at Masoodpur Colony.

Following the party, they had hired an auto to drop Kazhiihrii at his home at Kotla Mubarakpur. When the auto reached near Gurudwara road, a car arrived from behind and started honking indiscriminately, police said.

The car occupants abused the auto driver, following which an argument ensued between Salouni and his friends and the five youths.

The argument soon turned ugly following which five youths, all of whom were apparently in an inebriated state, alighted from the car and attacked the three.

While Kazhiihrii and Sharma managed to flee, Salouni was caught by them, police had said.

Kazhiihrii called the police around 3:30 AM, after which a police team reached the spot and rushed Salouni, who was unconscious, to AIIMS trauma centre where doctors declared him brought dead.

Northeast MPs Want Panel Report Made Public

By Nishit Dholabhai

New Delhi, Jul 24 : Members of Parliament from the Northeast today urged Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju to make the Bezbaruah committee report public.

CPM MP from Tripura, Jitendra Chaudhury, said the MPs also discussed the demand for an anti-racism law and agreed that it would require consultations with a cross-section of people.

The North East MPs’ Forum, a group of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs from the eight northeastern states, had met in Parliament today to discuss its own “restructuring” and a plan of action in the wake of the death of another young man from the region this week.

Akha Salouni, 29, a Naga from Manipur who worked with a BPO here, was beaten to death by six youths in south Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur area around 2.15am on Monday. In January, Nido Tania, 19, a student from Arunachal Pradesh, had died after being thrashed by shopkeepers in Lajpat Nagar following a fracas triggered allegedly by their racial taunts.

The MPs, however, treaded cautiously while speaking about Salouni’s death. While some felt that raising the issue of racism in what could be a case of road rage might backfire, no one wants to take a chance politically.

In fact, minister for minority affairs in the UPA government Ninong Ering, who had borne the brunt of activists’ ire for saying Tania’s killing was not a racist attack, was among the first to take up Salouni’s case in the Lok Sabha.

The outrage following Tania’s death had forced the UPA government to form a committee, led by North Eastern Council member M.P. Bezbaruah, to recommend comprehensive anti-discrimination measures.

The committee submitted its report to Rijiju on July 11. It has wide-ranging recommendations that include “debating” proposal of an anti-racism law.

The demand for the legislation, raised after Tania’s death, has gained fresh momentum following Salouni’s death.

However, in the short term, the committee says, the government should consider an amendment to the Indian Penal Code. Sources said the government is considering change in Section 153A of the IPC, relating to the crime of promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence or language.

Rijiju is understood to have told the MPs’ forum, which was coordinated by Sikkim MP P.D. Rai, that a joint secretary ranked officer would study the committee’s recommendations after which the government will come out with “action points” to implement the recommendations.

Bezbaruah said the government should quickly go through the report and decide on how it can implement it. “It is not a very lengthy report. It is simple and straightforward, so it can be done,” he told The Telegraph.

He said the committee, which comprises former bureaucrats from the eight northeastern states as well as young people from the region, consulted a cross-section of society. Its members met as many as 800 people and tried their best to prepare a comprehensive report, he added.

There is also mounting pressure on the government from civil society groups to make the committee’s report public.

source: Telegraph India