[Assam] on a biased report against people of Noth East

Tue Feb 5 14:56:21 CST 2008

Hi Ankur,

This is just terrible (once again the NE being portrayed in bad light).

It seems that every time something like this happens, we all get upset and
want to set the record straight. While this is a good reaction, I am not
sure how many times and how long we can keep this up.

 IMHO, we would need to tackle (or head off) such misinformation/perception
for the long run.

A few suggestions, for what they are worth:
1. Assamese in Delhi/Mumbai or other places take active part in letting
others know what the NE is truly made up of, its culture, languages and
lastly of course its people.

2. Engage in writing positive articles in national newspapers and magazines
about the culture/language/people

3.Involve the national media every chance we get when celebrating Bihu or
other cultural events/plays in other places.

When I travel to other places in India, many people are still not very clear
about the NE. What little they read or hear is usually negative. My
suggestion is to make an all out effort in changing that perception.

The NE has much to offer to the rest of India, the likes of Vikram Kumar et
al should take it upon themselves to at the very least visit the NE and
experience its hospitality.

--Ram da

On 2/5/08, Ankur Bora <ankur_bora2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GANENDRA NARAYAN RAY
>
>
>
>
> http://mailtoday.in/showstory.aspx?queryed=9&querypage=4&boxid=275671144&parentid=2129&eddate=Jan%2028%202008%2012:00AM
>
> Dear Sir ,
>
> This is regarding the above mentined url published in Mail Today e-paper
> by Vikram Kumar. In this article , Mr. Kumar has spread misinformation on
> the people of a paricular region of India i.e North East. In fact in his
> article Mr. Kumar branded the girls of North easter region residing in and
> around Delhi as drug peddlars. This type of article is non only causing
> misinformation on a region but also endangering the lives of of students and
> professionals of North East residing in Delhi. We often come across news of
> violence against girls and women of NE region and publication of this type
> of article will cause more harm. I request your action  on the newspaper (
> Mail Today) and the reporter Vikram Kumar on this article. I would also like
> to let you know there is no contact information on the News paper website
> and as such I am mailing directly for your attenion.
>
> I also request K. Sachidananda Murthy  of Malayala Manorama , Geetartha
> Pathak of AssamBani , Abhay Chhajlani of Nai Dunia Parisar and Sanjoh
> Hazarika to raise this issue at the appropriate forum.
>
> Yours Sincerely
>
> Ankur Bora
> Austin , Texas
>
> The content of the newpaper article is attached below.
>
>
>                                  Monday, January 28,
> 2008                              Druglords prey on N-E girls to act as
> peddlers
>      By Kumar Vikram in New Delhi
>                  The next time a cocaine addict in Delhi orders for a fix,
> its unlikely that an African man will be standing at the door. Instead, itll
> probably be a young, trendy Northeast Indian girl. And for a few extra
> thousands, shell put sex on offer as well.
> This revelation about the illegal drug trade came to light last year,
> during the court hearing of a Nigerian peddler. A police officer said, "Our
> investigating officers were surprised to find that many Northeastern girls
> would attend the hearing at the Patiala Court House. We decided to probe
> further." And the skeletons came tumbling out.
> Where the girls score over the men is that they can offer customers a
> combo-pack – sex and drugs. The nexus works like this: the client calls the
> peddler (usually African) for cocaine; the peddler gives the stuff to the
> girl; she delivers it to the designated place, which is usually a farmhouse
> or five-star hotel; and if the customer is willing and has the money, the
> girl throws in sex as an added offer.
> "The clients are high-end and as a result, the girls earn much more than
> they would earlier," the officer said. Rates can vary from anything between
> Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 for a few hours of intoxication and intercourse.
> The genesis of the trend, say sources, lies in the Rahul Mahajan case. The
> arrest of two Nigerian nationals put the spotlight on their counterparts
> and, suddenly, African nationals roaming around in, say, a shopping complex
> were viewed with suspicion by even common people, let alone the police.
> There were several raids conducted across the city, at the end of which
> eight Nigerians ended up in prison. Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi
> International Airport pulled up their socks too and at the end of 2007, the
> total toll of picked-up Africans numbered 70.
> Enter the Northeastern girl, her age between 22 and 30.
> This entry, though, was quite a logical fallout of things. Most of the
> Nigerians peddlers were centred around the Munirka area in southwest Delhi,
> which has a large population of northeastern girls too. As an officer said,
> "Most of these girls are call centre employees open to the idea of earning
> extra money. And the suspected peddlers were ready to lend a help-ing hand."
> But the trend is still very new. "The association between the peddlers and
> the girls acting as middlemen is a recent one, something that we came to
> know during investigations," said DCP (narcotics) A.S. Cheema.
> Something else that has come to light is that there is an increasing
> interest in heroin among the customers. Afghanistan is home to heroine of
> superior quality, which initially reaches Pakistan. The next stop on the
> trail is usually Punjab or Rajasthan. Thereafter, its a snatch for the
> peddler to smuggle the drug into Delhi and to the addicts place of choice.
> This would earlier be pubs or lower-end hotels in the city. But post-Rahul
> Mahajan, such places have become dicey for the peddlers. So now, its usually
> a five-star hotel or a nondescript farmhouse.
> And the person ringing the bell, in all probability, will be a
> Northeastern girl.
> kumar.vikram at mailtoday.in
>
>
>
>
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