Devesh Khandelwal / New Delhi
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) launched 24×7 help-line numbers to support people from northeastern states that are residing in various cities including Delhi and Dehradun. These telephone lines have turned into lifeline for Northeastern people located elsewhere. Families and parents from families with Northeastern region have been seeking help for their relatives and children in other cities.
In cities like Ahmedabad, Vapi, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Coimbatore also, RSS volunteers have come forward to help students of Northeast States by supporting them through sanitisation, reaching out with food or ration, medical facilities, transportation, cleaning, screening, blood donation, supplying masks and help in quarantine centres.
Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu acknowledged this help extended by RSS through his official Twitter handle. He wrote on April 10, “In times of distress, RSS has always stood for people from Northeast across the country. Even today Northeasterners stranded in different States due to Covid 19 have received massive help. Khandu thanked the Sangh for its noble initiative and for being always there in times of trouble”.
North Eastern states have come into focus owing to reports of racial discrimination that has been heaped on people from the region after onset of the Chinese Corona virus.
Several media reports have pointed to people from the Northeastern states living in the various cities being racially targeted and labelled as ‘Corona’.
Ever since COVID-19 broke out in Wuhan, China and spread across the world, people with distinct features have come under repeated racial attacks.
Shiyu Lian Wang, a law student in Mumbai reportedly told a news portal that she was in a grocery shop where some people looked at her and started shouting, ‘Go Corona, Chinese, virus.’ Wang wrote about the incident on her Instagram account and posted a picture holding a placard saying, ‘I am not a Virus’. Not just on streets but on social media also they have been subjected to bullying.
On March 18, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju had propped up the issue with the northeast division in Home Ministry. “Some incidents of racial remarks against North-East people have emerged in some parts of India in the wake of Corona virus due to cultural ignorance, prejudice mindset and lack of understanding. Matter discussed with NE Division, MHA. Strict advisory is being issued to the States,” Mr. Rijiju had tweeted.
Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, a Parliament member from Ladakh, on March 19 had told Lok Sabha that with the onset of COVID-19, students, especially those from Laddakh studying in cities like Delhi and Bengaluru were suffering as educational institutes were closing down and they were being forcibly removed from hostels.
“Wherever our students are studying, looking at shakal surat (faces), first they used to call us ‘chinki’ and Nepali, now they say ‘corona corona.’ I am requesting all citizens of this country, please do not attack us with these racial slurs,” he said. “We are Indian. We will remain Indian,” Namgyal added.
In response, Home ministry on March 23 had directed states to take action against those who harassed people from the Northeast by linking them with the Corona. Home ministry’s directive came amid rising number of such cases against people from the North Eastern states.
“There have been cases where people from Northeast have been harassed by linking them to COVID-19. This is racially discriminatory, inconvenient and painful to them,” the advisory said.