Social Profiling: The Root Cause of Racial Discrimination Faced by North Easterners
Crimes On Record against North East People in
Unprecedented Racial Discrimination
The
Racial Discrimination on Record
| Cases | Total | | 2009 | 2010 | 2005-08 | FIR | No FIR |
| Molestation | 29 | 36% | 8 | 6 | 15 | 14 | 15 |
| Rape | 4 | 5% | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Beating Girls | 6 | 8% | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Beating Boys | 22 | 28% | 20 | 2 | | 4 | 16 |
| Murder | 5 | 6% | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Attempt Rape | 1 | 1% | | | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Misbehaved | 3 | 4% | 1 | | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Non Payment | 6 | 8% | 2 | | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Rent Non Refund | 2 | 3% | 1 | | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Media | 1 | 1% | | | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Missing Person | 1 | 1% | | 1 | | 1 | |
| 80 | 100% | 39 | 12 | 29 | 31 | 47 | |
| Percentage | | | 48.75% | 15.00% | 36.25% | 38.75% | 58.75% |
Source: ?????
The whole nation cried when Shilpa Shetty in the celebrity show "Big Brother" faced racial abuse in 2007 or when Indians were victimised in
Several shocking incidents have happened in the last six years in
The North East Support Centre & Helpline was established in 2008 and conducted two pilot studies. The first was done in 2008, based on media reporting of sexual abuse in the national capital, and found almost 50% of cases involved girls from North East India. A second pilot study was conducted in 2009 and revealed 86% of North East people living in the area said that face racial discrimination in various forms including: sexual abuse, physical attacks, vulgar remarks, social profiling, and economic exploitation. These findings were reported in national newspapers and television from which law enforcement agencies and government offices should have understood the plight faced by the people of North East India in
The double blow of racial discrimination came when the law enforcement agencies, particularly the
After much advocacy, the Delhi Police issued a "Zero Tolerance" policy regarding crime against women including the violence faced by the people from North East India.
Nature of Racial Discrimination Faced by North East People
The main outcomes of discrimination are sexual abuse, social profiling, and economic exploitation. Whenever and wherever any attack happens to the people of North East India, it is deeply connection with gender-based discrimination and social biases which affect the economic opportunities for the people of North East India living in
A common definition that makes sense in our context is: "Racial discrimination is treating people differently through a process of social division into categories not necessarily related to races." The plight faced by people from North East India is seen in the form of social profiling. It is a crime as per Article 15 of Indian Constitution. "Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. (1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them."
Blacks suffered apartheid for years and whole world condemned it. The UN has criticised
Whenever sexual abuse or a racial attack happens, the general public often socially profiles people from North East India on the basis of a different culture, a different look, and a different geographical background. Social profiling is against the ethos of
Economic exploitation is one of the immediate effects of racial discrimination, particularly for young working boys and girls from North East India. Two sisters who were sexually abused by twenty men in Gandhi Vihar in January 2008 had to close their cyber café through which one of the girls supported her brother and sister who were pursuing further studies. She could not relocate and restart her business in
What are the Root Causes?
We have been asked about the root cause a hundred times. Indeed many people tried to blame North East girls for their lifestyle. Many civil society members and law enforcement agencies have said the girls are too liberal, free, or brought the attack on themselves by their dress. They said this instead of condemning the crime.
Socially profiling people from North East India is the root cause of sexual abuse, social discrimination, and economic exploitation. Social profiling makes North East girls appear vulnerable in the eyes of perpetrators because society will shift the blame to the victims.
The notion of social profiling is wrong and we define it as the opinion formed upon one's appearance or culture, and which treats everyone equal due to biased opinions formed upon some limited experience. Once a community is socially profiled, one's economic, social, educational, and professional status does not matter and everyone is looked down upon socially and racially.
Along with social profiling, a major problem is the mindset of people about North East communities. This mindset says that the people from North East India are strangers, too free in their culture, cheap, will do anything they like, or that you can get them to do wrong things for free. Social profiling is sadly also seen in the attitudes of local police when they insult, deceive, ignore, and deny the complaints of North East victims and even connive with perpetrators in many cases.
