DUTA Expresses Grave Concern over Growing Spate of Crimes Against People from the North-East
The Delhi University Teachers´ Association (DUTA) is dismayed at the growing spate of crimes in the city, against students and young professionals from the North-Eastern states. It strongly condemns the recent fatal assault on Shaloni from Manipur, an incident that has yet again underscored the sense of alienation and otherness we have forced on our own people from the North-Eastern states. After the tragic death of Nido Thaniam in January this year, many more incidents of physical and sexual violence against young men and women from Manipur and Nagaland have been reported. Such incidents reveal the cultural insulation and parochial mindset of people in our city. Despite the capital city’s demographic and cultural diversity, the failure to accept difference should be a cause for grave worry.
The DUTA strongly feels that the school and university curricula and instruction should reflect the civil society´s attempts to sensitise citizens about cultures of the North-East and that an earnest attempt should be made to intervene in this situation through a progressive educational agenda. On the other hand, the DUTA is also critical of the indifferent manner in which the city police has chosen to allow such incidents to carry on unabated. It is imperative that the Ministry of Home Affairs takes urgent cognizance of this crisis and launches an effective programme of reforming the manner in which the police deals with such incidents. The DUTA appeals to the Delhi Police to ensure that such crimes are prevented in the future. It expresses solidarity with all democratic forums that have registered their protest against the crimes and have demanded justice against the perpetrators. The DUTA will participate in any democratic movement that seeks to bring about a change in the government’s and citizen’s indifference and apathy towards people from the North-Eastern states.
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