Imagine you are walking on a road and suddenly a person comes on a bike in the opposite direction, spits paan on you, verbally abuse you and then run away. How does it feels? feels like humilating and dying right. Now Imagine this happen to a woman and add to that a racist verbal attack, this is what a 20 year old Manipuri girl who is staying in Delhi, away from home during this global health crisis of COVID-19 has to go through. Just because she has a little bit of different facial features owing to geographical conditions and evolution of people of North East India , just because the COVID-19 originated in China, she has to go through this racist attack calling her 'CORONA' and bear a spit on her. This is neither the first incident nor going to be last one, but the timing of the incident must ring alarm bells. 

 

A sizeable population of North East sister states settled in many parts of India, involved in businesses and also many students study in various institutes all over India. They had to go through all this type of discrimination for many years. While this racial discrimination and attacks takes place in most places they settled, Delhi is hotspot for this especially when cultural fests of various colleges take place. Such attacks not only prevents them from assimilating with other people but also make them feel alienated from the Indian identity. No one deserve to be ostracized that way. 

Constitution of India not only provides fundamental right against discrimination but also the preamble emphasises the objective of Social Justice. Sadly India does not have any penal law to punish racism and racist attacks in particular, not because there is no racism, but because the peole who drafted majority of our law, i.e, the British they themselves were racist, looked down up on all Indians and also no government after independence took this issue much seriously despite recommendation of various committees and commissions. This is high time that people who involve in racial discrimination and attacks be made liable criminally and punished. This petition is to demand government to make a law immediately (ordinance) to this effect to prevent further racial attacks on our people, nomatter which region they belong to.