Panel to look into ‘discrimination’ faced by people from the Northeast

The Centre has set up a three-member committee for monitoring and redressing grievances related to cases of alleged racial discrimination faced by the people from the northeastern region residing in different parts of the country.

According to an order issued by the ministry of home affairs, the committee comprises Satyendra Garg, joint secretary (Northeast), Alana Golmei, secretary, Northeast Support Centre, New Delhi and Mizum Nyodu, assistant professor, Law Faculty, Delhi University.

Any person or group of persons or communities hailing from the Northeast who claim to be victims or have faced any act of racial abuse, racial atrocity, racial violence, racial discrimination in any part of the country, can send their complaints, suggestions or grievances at a designated e-mail.

The committee has been established following an order of the Supreme Court.

In its order, the apex court had said the panel would be given powers for ensuring strict action in such incidents and suggesting measures to curb such hate and racial crimes.

The court had also told the government that the effective monitoring mechanism suggested by the MP Bezbaruah Committee in its report should be implemented and “should not like innumerable instances of its ilk, languish in dusty shelves of long forgotten archives”.

It was also of the view that the involvement of the law enforcement machinery was not sufficient to resolve the problem and stressed that mindset has to be changed including in universities, colleges and educational institutions, places of work and in society.

The Bezbaruah panel was set up by the home ministry on February 5, 2014, to suggest “suitable remedial measures” which could be taken, in the wake of attacks on the people from the Northeast in Delhi and other parts of the country.

NEWDELHI: