Guwahati: In the wake of alleged incident of assault of an Arunachalee youth Higio Gungtey (22) in Bengaluru on March 6, Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has demanded urgent implementation of Bezbaruah Committee report for protection and safety of people from the Northeast living in other parts of the country especially in metropolitan areas.
On March 6, Higio Gungtey, a 22-year-old man from Arunachal Pradesh studying in Bengaluru was allegedly beaten up by his landlord and forced to lick the landlord’s shoe, in an incident of physical assault, criminal intimidation, and apparent racism.
Gungtey alleged that the landlord hurled racial slurs against him and hit him continuously, making him bleed, because of a dispute over usage of “excessive water”.
Gungtey filed a complaint on March 9 regarding the physical assault and criminal intimidation, and on March 13, he filed an additional complaint regarding the racist attack, alleging that the perpetrator made derogatory remarks regarding his tribal identity and caste.
The AHRC pointed out that it was one of the recent incidents of attack on people from the Northeast in Bengaluru.
The AHRC pointed out that the Bezbaruah Committee recommended that anyone making derogatory slurs relating to “race, culture, identity or physical appearance” be made punishable with imprisonment up to five years, by amending Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code, and therefore, calling someone “chinki”, “momos”, “Chinese” or “chichi chuchu”, all common terms related to external appearance and facial features, would come under this provision.
The Committee was set up in 2014 to “look into concerns of the persons hailing from the North-Eastern states who are living in different parts of the country, especially the Metropolitan areas, and to suggest suitable remedial measures which could be taken by the Government”.
In its report, it made various recommendations, the most important ones relating to strengthening law enforcement agencies, sensitizing the police, and creating awareness and reducing misunderstanding regarding the Northeast and its people.
It looked at the main concerns of Northeastern people, found to be a “sense of insecurity and vulnerability”, discrimination in daily life and at the workplace, apathy by law enforcement agencies, and being subject to verbal abuse, racism, and violence.
The AHRC called upon the state government in Karnataka to ensure that the case of assault and alleged racism against Higio Gungtey was investigated thoroughly and quickly, bringing perpetrators to justice.
