IMPHAL, May 10: A Manipur delegation today met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his office in the Parliament and submitted a memorandum Justice for Richard and Other Victims from the Northeast Region of India vis-à-vis Racial Profiling and Discrimination in Other Parts of India.
The delegation led by Manipur MP Dr T Meinya included representatives of Justice for Richard, and Manipur Students’ Association Delhi. The memorandum was signed by 25,398 signatories across the world.
The memorandum demanded fast track initiatives to deliver justice to (a) Loitam Richard (19) from Manipur who was murdered on 17th April at Bangalore in Karnataka and (b) Dana Silva M Sangma (21) from Meghalaya who committed suicide on 24th April 2012 in Delhi due to the reported humiliation by exam invigilators.
The delegates demanded the Government of India to recognise multi racial composition of India and the phenomenon of institutionalised racial discrimination as it exists distinctively amidst the myriads of socio-cultural discriminations prevalent in India.
The delegation expressed their concern over targeted violence and discrimination on the students, migrant workers (employees), job seekers, and tourists from the Northeast in other parts of India.
Assuring the delegation of action the Prime Minister Dr. Singh admitted that there had been several instances of crimes against humanity and the government had been taking up measures to control it.
He also assured maximum efforts to deliver justice and measures to prevent such incidents.
He promised to recommend to the MHA to expedite the cases.
Dr. Singh however denied racism in India and instutionalised discrimination on the peoples hailing from the Northeast. He appealed the members of the Justice for Richard to have faith in the initiatives taken up by the government.
In the afternoon representatives of JFR, MSAD, and Change.org submitted copies of memorandum respectively to the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Manipur through the concerned officials attached to Karnataka Bhavan and Manipur Bhavan.
The delegates further submitted a copy of the memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs Ms. B. Bhamathi informed that the ministry has been expecting for more and speedy reports from the Karnataka Government. She instructed her office to contact the Karnataka Government to enquire about the report and to recommend for fast track proceeding towards delivering justice to the family of Richard.
Although she could not promise a time bound justice as demanded by the delegates, she called upon victims of social discrimination to come up with specific suggestions to be observed by the law enforcing agencies so that those suggestions may be considered in policy framing and strategic planning.
Meanwhile, newly elected Sagolband MLA RK Imo Singh today submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram urging for immediate arrest of the two persons against whom the Karnataka police have issued an FIR regarding the Richard case and an independent CBI inquiry into the Loitam Richard’s death.
The MLA who is in the national capital submitted the memorandum to the Union Home Minister during a meeting in his north block office at 4pm.
The Home Minister had replied that he is constant touch with the Karnataka CM and is seriously looking into the matter and said that if the state government cannot bring the investigation into a logical conclusion, he will ask the Karnataka CM to hand over the case to the CBI like in the DANA case, the MLA.
This indiscrimination has to stop now! We really need NE to be a place where people from other part of country tour, live and work for making bright careers.