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

Tue Feb 5 21:28:14 CST 2008

You are right Uttam. It also underscores the mentality that is quite 
pervasive among many Indians, of p***ing down on those whom they 
consider racially inferior but suck-up to those whose approval they 
so seek and deem superior.

The other day I riled a bunch of desis complaining about racism in 
America ( which does exist)  when I proposed that Indians are some of 
the worst racists on the face of this earth.  There were indignant 
denials, but I held my ground .

At 3:13 AM +0000 2/6/08, uttam borthakur wrote:
>It seems the police or whatever authorities have the mindset of 
>blaming race as the root of criminality. If it is not Neo-Nazist 
>attitude, what is? The bias was clearly against Africans and now 
>against North East Indians: all lesser human beings from a nort 
>indian perspective. I tend to think that they will now try to build 
>a genetic theory for drug peddlars.
>
>Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:  Surprisingly no one 
>seems to be interested in knowing down WHO the
>CUSTOMERS of these immoral NE folks are.
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>At 2:56 PM -0600 2/5/08, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>>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 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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>Uttam Kumar Borthakur
>
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