Delhi Diary : Ugly Face of Racism in India

By Shakir Husain Shakir Husain, Bernama’s correspondent in New Delhi shares his take from the Indian sub-continent. NEW DELHI, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Racism in India was again highlighted recently after a savage mob attack on a Nigerian youth in a New Delhi locality. The victim was tied to a pole and beaten with sticks, kicked and punched by locals who accused him of burglary. The incident is an ugly reminder of the racism that exists in Indian society but rarely confronted honestly. Combined with weak law enforcement and a general lack of strong social disapproval against mob violence, racism makes African people easy targets of public animosity. There are widespread negative stereotypes against black people and it seems mobs cab be easily provoked into violence against them. Residents justified the incident in Delhi, saying thefts had increased in the area, according to media reports. Police said it would identify from the video those who attacked the Nigerian national. "Delhi police has taken cognizance of the video, verified it, and taking legal action on it," a news report quoted a police spokesperson as saying. That may not be enough to reassure African nationals in the country, many of them students, about their safety. No mob must feel bold enough to target a community over a rumour or a real crime. In March this year, four Nigerian students were attacked by mobs in Greater Noida near New Delhi after the death of an Indian teenage boy due to suspected drug overdose. The boy's parents had alleged that Africans had kidnapped him and given him drugs. It's beyond comprehension how mobs in India want to prosecute and punish people when crimes, assumed or real, take place. It seems they do not fear legitimate law enforcement authorities at all. The March racist attacks drew a sharp diplomatic rebuke from African countries. A meeting of African envoys in India described the attacks as "xenophobic and racial in nature". They said the "reprehensible events, both outstanding and unresolved cases against Africans, were not sufficiently condemned by the Indian authorities." Last year, a mob in Bangalore in south India attacked a group of Tanzanians after a Sudanese man ran a car over a woman sleeping on the roadside. The mob partially stripped a Tanzanian woman and attacked three of her friends near the accident site. Unlike other cases of mob violence in the country, those involving foreigners have the potential to affect India's relations with African countries. Indian citizens living and working in African countries, including Nigeria, greatly outnumber Africans in India. They present serious problems for India's public diplomacy and the government is keenly aware of this. The mob violence in March was strongly condemned by foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, who said the government was committed to ensuring safety and security of all foreigners in India. "People from Africa, including students and youth, remain our valued partners," she said. It's a different matter whether mobs understand either diplomacy or basic respect for law. And the problem of racism is simply not a matter or back and white in India, where a large number of people are obsessed with "fair-and-lovely" looks and cosmetics promising fair skin are high in demand. Even dark-skinned Indians and people from the northeastern region with "East Asian" looks have to face racist slurs and occasional violence. -- BERNAMA