Bangalore Racial Crime: How it All Went Down?

Michael Lamjathang Haokip of Manipur with Police Commissioner M N Reddy at his office in Bangalore on Thursday

Express met with Michael Lamjathang Haokip, one of the Manipuri students who was beaten up by three people in the city on Tuesday.

Where did the incident happen?
For an upcoming cultural function, we were practising Bamboo dancing at Kothanur. Many of my friends stay there and I went there from Shantinagar, where I stay.


What did you do after practice?
We finished practice at around 5.30 pm and since we needed the local police station’s permission to hold the function, three of us went to meet the inspector of the Kothanur police station. After going to the police station, we went to have dinner. Around 9.30 pm, we visited a local food joint and ordered food. We were sitting and chatting in our local language when we noticed three people sitting at the adjoining table. Suddenly one of them started shouting at us saying, “What you are eating is Kannada food. Where you are sitting is Karnataka, so you should speak in Kannada.”

How did you react to that?
- One of my friends knew Kannada and he tried to pacify them. Meanwhile I got up to wash my hand and my other friend continued to ignore them. When I was returning to my seat, I noticed that one of the three people was lifting a chair to throw at us. I controlled him and all of us went outside.


What happened outside?
- We were quarrelling outside and then I noticed the guy who had aimed the chair at us picking up two stones to throw at us. I acted out of instinct and grabbed him. In that process, I fell down and he fell down and at that time, he hit me with the stone.

When the fight was going down, our bikes fell down. I tried calling the Kothanur police station but there was no response. I called out to my friend and we took his bike and headed to the police station.

On our way to the police station, another guy came by on a motorbike and hit us. We fell down and at that time, I got through to the police station and spoke to the inspector. I started walking towards the station and met the police on my way.

Certain reports say that you’ve denied it to be a racist comment.
- While I have not used the word racist, it is very obvious that those comments were made because of how I look. That is indirectly racism. Would the locals have dared to make such comments if, instead of us, there were three locals who did not know Kannada?

Were you aware that the guys who beat you up were drunk?
-No, I was not. If we wanted, we could have replied with muscle power, but we chose to go to the police.

UN, Mizoram Govt Sign Deal To Initiate Livelihood Project

Aizawl, Oct 17 : The United Nations and the Mizoram government Thursday signed a USD 4 million agreement to initiate a livelihood project in the state.

According to UN representatives, the project would employ a “virtuous cycle” approach to manage and protect the state’s ecosystem and cut out “unscrupulous middlemen” by teaching business plans to farmers and others in the primary sector.

The UN entourage consists of four specialised agencies — ILO, FAO, UNIDO and UNDP — and the global body’s Resident Coordinator in India Lisa Grande said an office to oversee the project would be set up in Aizawl latest by December 15.

Grande described the four-year-project as a “unique initiative” which is the “only one of it’s kind in India”.

State Planning Board Secretary P L Thanga said the project was incubated in late 2012 by the FAO initially and other specialized UN agencies were roped in given the scale of problems faced in the state.

The project is expected to create market linkages for Mizoram’s primary products and also focus on “sustainable” use of bamboo, one of the state’s most well-developed natural resources.

A system to prevent outbreaks of diseases among domestic animals is also planned since Mizoram., bordering both Bangladesh and Myanmar, is prone to the entry of exotic ailments that devastate the animal husbandry sector.

Delhi To Host 4-Day Northeast Fest in Nov, To Focus On Attacks Issue

New Delhi, Oct 17 : A four-day festival beginning next month will showcase music, dance, fashion and food of the northeastern states with a special focus on "bridging the cultural gap" in the wake of several incidents of attacks on people from the region.

Icons from the northeast like champion boxers M C Mary Kom and Shiva Thapa, Bollywood actor Adil Hussain and Everest conqueror Anshu Jamsenpa among others and policy makers are expected to attend the event scheduled from November 7 to 10.

Other than exhibiting the cultural heritage of northeastern states, the festival organisers will also hold discussions on critical issues concerning the region.

"The theme this year is 'Insurgence to Resurgence' with focus on highlighting the positive stories of entrepreneurship and development," said chief organiser of the festival Shyamkanu Mahanta.

"The whole objective is to present to the people of Delhi North East India in one platform and also to encourage tourism," he said.

"We want to show that just because we have different racial features, we should not be neglected. The festival is an attempt to bring people together and make them aware about the northeastern culture, which will help in avoiding any such discrimination," said Joint Commissioner (Training) Robin Hibu, who is the nodal officer for northeast people in Delhi Police.

The festival will be held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and is being organised by socio-cultural trust Trend MMS in association with the northeast community of Delhi comprising student organisations and activists.

"We are going to highlight the recent attacks on people of the northeast. There is a cultural gap, especially between people from the northeast and other parts of the country. The main goal of this festival is to bridge this cultural gap," said J T Tagam, a social worker from Arunachal Pradesh.

A session will be held on ways of introducing subjects from northeast in school and college curriculum to create awareness about the region.

US Consul General, Mizoram government will continue to combat drug menace together

Aizawl, Oct 17 : Visiting US Consul General in Kolkata Helen LaFave and the Mizoram government today agreed to continue coordination in combating the drug menace, an official statement said.

LaFave and state Excise and Narcotics commissioner L Hmunsanga and other senior officials met in Aizawl and discussed the issue of checking drug trafficking across the Myanmar border from the infamous Golden Triangle and other countries of the region, the statement said.

The US government had rendered help including training of narcotics officials and financial assistance to the state excise and narcotics department officials. The US diplomat said that she visited Mizoram to pursue the issues discussed by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's visit to the US.

She also met Mizoram chief secretary L Tochhawng, leaders of the central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) and officials of the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS).

Why India is Planning A New Road Near The China Border

By Subir Bhaumik

India and China disagree over the demarcation of several Himalayan border areas

India has unveiled plans to build a mountain road along the disputed border with China in the country's remote north-east.

The $6.5bn (£4.06bn), 1,800km (1,118 miles) all-weather road will stretch from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh state to where the borders of India and China meet with Myanmar.

The road will connect sparsely populated and poorly-connected hill communities living in four large frontier districts of Arunachal Pradesh.

It will also help farmers in the mountainous region to transport their organic crops and medicinal herbs to low-lying and busy markets in neighbouring Assam state.

"This road will not boost our defences but help connect far flung communities for economic development denied to them for so long," says India's junior home minister Khiren Rijiju, himself a resident of Arunachal Pradesh.

But Indian military officials say the road will help consolidate Indian defences.

This represents a change in Indian military thinking that has so far opposed developing roads near the border, in case it is used by the Chinese during a conflict for speedy movement inside Indian territory.
The road, however, could could ignite fresh tensions between India and China.

The world's two most populous countries disagree over the demarcation of several Himalayan border areas and fought a brief war in 1962.

'Colonial legacy' Chinese foreign office spokesperson Hong Lei has said India's plan may "complicate" the boundary dispute which he described as a "colonial legacy".

"Before a final settlement is reached, we hope that India will not take any actions that may further complicate the situation. We should jointly safeguard the peace and tranquillity of the border area and create favourable conditions for the final settlement of the border issue," he told reporters in Beijing.

Chinese officials say it is not fair of India to undertake such a huge road building project in an area which is still in dispute.

"Once the dispute is resolved and the boundary is clearly demarcated, India can build such roads in its territory, but it would be unfair to build a road in a disputed territory," says Kong Can of the Yunnan Development Research Institute.

He says India should agree to develop the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) highway and economic corridor from Calcutta in India's West Bengal state to Kunming in China's Yunnan province cutting through Bangladesh, India's north-eastern states of Assam and Manipur and Myanmar's northern provinces.

"This highway and economic corridor will help integrate our economies and open huge opportunities for developing our under-developed frontier provinces and create a climate of trust that will help resolve the border dispute," Kong Can said.

India is going slow on the project, so far just agreeing to "explore" its possibilities.

Roads in Arunachal Pradesh are poor and make troop movement difficult

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded to demands from his security establishment to develop its defences against China, which has reportedly beefed up its military infrastructure in Tibet with a string of new railway lines, roads and at least five new airports.

Also, the rail route to Lhasa is likely to be extended to Nyingchu, close to the Arunachal Pradesh border, Indian military officials say.

"China has vastly beefed up its military infrastructure in Tibet and we are only catching up. Unless we do that, China will always arm-twist us on the border and try to impose a solution on its terms," says Lt Gen JR Mukherjee, former chief of staff in India's eastern army.

Last month India and China pulled back troops after a two-week stand-off near their de facto border in Ladakh. Chinese President Xi Jinping was visiting India when India accused his country of the fresh territorial incursion.

Many believe that has added to Indian apprehensions and could have influenced the decision to build the long border road that now upsets China.

Subir Bhaumik is a former BBC correspondent and author

Hate crime near Delhi, 2 Northeast Men Attacked

By Leena Dhankhar

New Delhi, Oct 16 : A day after the attack on Manipuri men in Bangalore, two young men from Nagaland were severely beaten up in Sikanderpur near Delhi by a gang of locals.

One of the two men from Nagaland who were severely beaten up in Gurgaon. (HT Photo)

The locals numbering about seven, held the men in confinement in Sikanderpur area and beat them up with cricket bats and hockey sticks, a support group for northeast students alleged. After the attack the attackers also cut their hair, and asked them to tell their friends from the northeast to leave the area.

"If you were from Manipur, we would have killed you, " the attackers allegedly told the men.


Combo image of two men from Nagaland. (HT Photo)

The victims were first rushed to a provate hospital nearby, but seeing the injuries were severe, they were taken to the Civil Hospital.

Zoramthanga Ready To Broker Peace if Any Group Wants?

Aizawl, Oct 16 : Former Mizoram chief minister and opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) chief Zoramthanga today said that he was ready to broker peace with any government and insurgent group, if they wanted so.

Addressing a press conference here, former underground leader Zoramthanga said that he had recently held discussion in Delhi with former UK Premier Tony Blair's 'Intermediate group' engaged in brokering peace deals across the globe.

He said that members of the Intermediate group, headed by Blair's right-hand man Jonathan Powell was interested in the time-tested and most successful historic Mizo Peace Accord signed between the Indian government and the erstwhile underground MNF on June 30, 1986.

Zoramthanga had been involved in the Naga peace talks and also in the peace deal with the Garo insurgent group ANVC (Achik National Volunteer Council), which recently signed an accord with the Centre in Delhi.

He was sent to Bangkok to meet NSCN (I-M) leaders Isak Swu and Th. Muivah and also ANVC top leaders including Washington.

The former chief minister said that he did not rule out mid-term poll in Mizoram as the Congress government led by Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla has been facing severe financial crisis and the state was apt for declaration of financial emergency under the constitution.

He alleged that the Thanhawla administration has miserably failed in financial management resulting in severe financial problems.

Attack on Manipuri Student Raises More Questions On The Safety of Outsiders in Bangalore

Bangalore, Oct 16 : A suspected hate crime was reported in Bangalore where a Manipuri student alleged that he was beaten up by people who demanded he speaks in Kannada. Three people have been arrested in connection with the case.

Speak in Kannada, else flee - this was the kind of threat 22-year-old Michael allegedly faced when he went to have dinner at a roadside eatery in east Bangalore on Tuesday night.

"Three men came to us. One of the miscreants told us to speak in Kannada. He said that we need to speak Kannada as we live in Karnataka and and eat Kannada food. They tried to hit us after that," Michael Lamjathang Haokip said.

Speak in Kannada, else flee - this was the kind of threat 22-year-old Michael allegedly faced.

Although out of danger now, Michael sustained injuries on his head. What is shocking is the apathy of the onlookers who did not come to the boy's rescue. The engineering student has been living in Bangalore for the past four years.

Even as the terrified student tried to make an escape and reach the Kothanur police station, the group of men followed him. But luckily a police van reached the spot and the men were taken into custody.
The police have booked the three men under the Rowdy Act for assault and intimidation. But they are refusing to call this a racial attack.

"It should not be termed as a racial attack. Even the victim has told that it is not a racial attack. The three people were drunk and were semi-literate people and in their drunken state, they did this. They don't have authority to beat up anyone. That is why we have taken up this case," said Alok Kumar, Additional CP (Law and Order).

This is not a one of a kind incident for Bangalore. In May 2012, another Manipuri student Richard Loitam was found dead under mysterious circumstances triggering protests across the country. Months after that, a mass exodus of northeastern Indians from Bangalore was triggered by a hoax SMS, threatening the community.

The latest incident only raises more questions about the safety of outsiders in Bangalore.