KOHIMA: The Naga People’s Front (NPF) has raised its voice on an issue the recent “racial harassment and attack” on a Naga woman doctor at AIIMS Gorakhpur is deeply disturbing and unacceptable.
In a statement on Friday, the NPF said such incidents underscore the discrimination many from the Northeast continue to face in metropolitan centres such as New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. “Derogatory slurs, stereotyping, exclusion, and physical assault remain recurring experiences that undermine the guarantees of equality enshrined in Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution”, it stated.
The NPF advocated for the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Bezbaruah Committee, constituted to address concerns of people from the Northeast living outside their home region. The NPF then urged the concerned authorities to ensure swift justice and stronger safeguards against such discrimination.
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The NPF also affirmed that the Naga political movement is rooted in a long historical struggle for self-determination and the protection of Naga identity. “For decades, the Nagas have asserted their political and historical rights with clarity and determination,” it also said, adding, “Notably, there is no history of institutional or systemic discrimination against non-locals in Nagaland”. Individuals from other regions who come for business or livelihood have lived and worked peacefully among the Naga people, it added.
Standing for Naga rights does not imply hostility towards others, said the NPF. Mutual respect and peaceful coexistence must prevail, it further said. The Naga People’s Front then said it “remains committed to defending Naga identity and political rights while firmly opposing all forms of racial discrimination and injustice wherever they occur”.
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