Delhi Police booklet for Northeast students betrays prejudices
- Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 19:27
- India News
- 8 comments
New Delhi, July 9: A strange tribe has Delhi police worried. Their women don’t cover up enough, they mix with no one and, officers say, their food smells so awful that it is a threat to public order.
The police have now printed a booklet full of well-meaning advice that should help these men and women blend into Delhi society despite the handicap of their “foreign” features.
What has triggered outraged cries of “social profiling” is that this group is made up solely of people from India’s Northeast.
West Delhi police, who issued the booklet titled Security Tips for Northeast Students/Visitors in Delhi last month, are now accused of treating these Indians from the hill states as if they were aliens from Timbucktoo.
“Dress code: When in rooms do as Roman does,” the police’s immortal prose tells the 45,000-odd Northeasterners living in and around the capital.
“Revealing dress be avoided. Avoid lonely road/bylane when dressed scantily. Dress according to sensitivity of the local populace,” it adds.
As for food habits, “bamboo shoot, Akhuni and other smelly dishes should be prepared without creating ruckus in neighbourhood”.
Bamboo shoots feature in the cuisines of most of the northeastern states while the akhuni, made from fermented soya bean, is a Naga staple.
Grace Guite, president of the Paite Students’ Organisation in Delhi, said the booklet implied that women from the region had “loose morals”.
She added that while food habits should be a personal affair, the reference to “ruckus in the neighbourhood” only showed how unsafe the capital was for anyone.
More so for women students from the Northeast. After two of them were raped in May-June 2005, fellow students had said the city’s habit of viewing people from the region as aliens led to their being segregated and harassed, and to the girls being seen as easy prey.
The introduction to the booklet, titled “Words to Seven Sisters (the seven northeastern states)”, has been written by the deputy commissioner (West Delhi), Robin Hibu, an IPS officer who is himself from the Northeast.
It refers to one of the rapes: “A proud father sent his only daughter in Delhi to make her IAS/IPS but she returned back as drug addict, promising boy landed into police case for drunken brawl, late night parties with loud music landed six youngsters into police case, revealing dressed up parties lass was molested and thrown out from moving vehicle badly bruised after being outraged….”
According to Guite, this suggests the police think only women from the Northeast are unsafe in Delhi.
Hibu, officer in charge of co-ordinating on Northeast issues, denies the charge of social profiling. He insists that visitors from the Northeast do not interact enough with the local population and blames this on a language barrier and the visitors’ “features akin to neighbouring countries”.
JNU researcher Malem Ningthouja said, “This is called ‘othering’, identifying them as a separate group…. The police (think they) are civilising the people from the Northeast.”
Hibu has no time for such criticism. “I want emotional and patriotic integration,” he said. “It’s only because of a handful of people and NGOs back home that they feel separate.”
People from the region, who have “different sensibilities”, need to be told about Delhi, most of which “is still orthodox”, he argued. He agreed that there was also a need to educate Delhi residents about the Northeast.
The booklet also has useful tips for any visitor to Delhi, advising them on personal safety and prevention of break-ins, muggings and vehicle theft. The booklets have been sent to college principals, Church leaders, MPs and the various state houses.
Source: The Telegraph
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8 Comments on “Delhi Police booklet for Northeast students betrays prejudices”
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dear madam/sir,
This is an irresponsible piece of writing by highly qualified bureaucrats about the lifestyle of the north eastern people in the state. Its more like that of talibanis curbing others freedom to eat,wear and roam around. I think there must be an eye opener for people to know who we are, rather than letting them see the people of north east as aliens and giving them step-motherly treatment. In my opinion, the book published by Delhi police is alieniating the NE people more. It is trying to seggregate people on the basis of caste,colour and food habit of the people. Is this the biggest democracy in the world?
The issue is as follows :
When Indians are in “Utopia” do like the utopians do – make sure you do not urinate in public, make sure you bathe in perfume before making public appearances, make sure you do not cook spicy food that may disturb the nasal cavities of the other citizens, make sure you do not wear the Dhoti as it is indecent (we can see the hairy legs) nor a short blouse with the sari as we can see the “skin” and “flesh” on the waist which may be termed as sexually provocative. Indian women should not visit lonely places… for the police are not responsible for what may happen to her there, etc…
The worst part is Indians would be foreigners in “Utopia”
People from the NE are Indians, even then they are being subjected to regional and racial profiling. Their liberties are being curbed. There should be a different Constitution for them or a clause in the Chapter of fundamental rights that says – The following chapter is not applicable to indigenous people hailing from, residing in or domiciled in North East India.
Hello!!! Is this our country? Are we not safe even within the country? Can we not live in dignity? Must we fight? Why are we termed citizens then?
They are being blamed for all the racism and regionalism wantonly heaped on them.
“They raped her because she was wearing clothes that provoked them”. “They could see her ankles and calves and so they were provoked into raping her or sexually abusing her.” “They beat him up because he was cooking smelly food ( which under no circumstances smell worse than the garbage they throw outside their door, a common practice of people in Delhi. I can safely vouch for that. ) ( many people find the spices that are used to cook North Indian food not very pleasing to the nasal cavities – put a ban on it? )” To beat him/her up they forcefully entered his/her residence. The landlord kicked him out because of so and so…The examples are countless.
These are all specific crimes under the Indian Penal Code, but the booklet has legitimzed all these as normal acts arising from the fact of NE people being as they are.
And that, my friends is indigestible to me. It stinks worse than rotting flesh
And if the police refuse to lodge an FIR, the people from NE and other parts of India should know that they can file a complaint with a Magistrate under Section 190 CrPC. Empower yourselves.
The elected representatives of North Eastern India must rise to the occasion when circumstances call on them to stand and protect not only the people they represent but also the Constitution that empowers them to sit in their offices.
We must remember that New Delhi is the capital of the Indian Union. It is as much ours as it is anybody elses. We have every right to live with dignity in it; with our head held high, without fear in our mind…
Are the delhi police serious?..what has food got to do with anything?..Just because we are a northeasterner staying in delhi doesnt mean we got to eat the same food as the people overthere.I mean how many mainland indian who resides in the north east eat the same food as we do.They dont change their food habit when they come to the north east,so why should we?.And i dont like the smell of your food either,the smell of garam masala the moment you enter any house in delhi,PLEASE!!!!.If you dont like the smell of our food cover your nose,go for a walk, do anything i dont care,i aint changing my food habit just because you dont like it.As for our IPS Mr.Robin Hibu,please DO NOT come back to North East as it is pretty obvious you dont like our “food” and our girls do not wear “decent” clothes..may be it is a pain in the eye for you …and your nose of course!.My friends and I are planning to write a similiar booklet for the mainland indian staying in manipur..hope they like it.
Hello everybody, my name is Damion, and I’m glad to join your conmunity,
and wish to assit as far as possible.
Sitting and whining about it won’t change. North eastern people will NEVER be accepted as part of Indian mainstream, due to the vast cultural, racial, religious differences that exist. Indian ethnics don’t even treat their own people well, let alone your people. As said before, this entire country was designed poorly when the British left. Learn to assert your north eastern identity by emigrating to western nations, accomplishing things for your people, telling the world of your existance, you will have much more acceptance there than this nation.
It is Hinduism that drives the people in this land, not Christianity. If you want acceptance, go to the Philippines, Singapore or China, you will get more acceptance there than in India.
pls tell me about sub inspector qualification because i have pass out BBA I WANT TO JOIN THE RECRUIT IN SI SO AM I PARTICIPATE IN SI TEST
ladies/Gentlemen, it is obvious we all to have different eating or dressing habits. But when it comes to making a nation, we all must be ready to accomodate each other. We can not have a peaceful nation without it. If, akhuni or bamboo shoot is disturbing u, please talk to northeastern indians, socialize with them and teach them to eat food of your style. Otherwise ask them to explain virtues of eating their favourite food. Just because of food and dressing style we can not hate our fellow indians. They are also indians and they have right to eat or live as they like. As for revealing dresses; there are a whole lots of indian costumes which are fare more revealing. Dont forget nakedness is in your eyes otherwise so many hindu gods statues would be unfit for worship.