This Man Got Arrested For Spitting On A Woman From Manipur And Calling Her Coronavirus. Why Are We Being Racist In These Times?

This Man Got Arrested For Spitting On A Woman From Manipur And Calling Her Coronavirus. Why Are We Being Racist In These Times?

I have never understood how you can discriminate against someone just because they belong, or they look like they belong to a different part of the world. Maybe I have never understood this phenomenon because I am not racist. And whoever says that India isn’t racist, needs to have a chat with people from the  north-east part of our country. I mean, it is no secret that they are put into boxes and not treated or even perceived very well by the rest of the country.

The seven sister states are almost considered an extension of our country, though they are as Indian as any of us. However, we do not address this pressing issue as much as we should, it always gets swept under the rug but not anymore. And it is high time we have to do away with this labelling.

The reason I am talking about it today is that a man in Delhi was arrested for misbehaving with a woman from the northeast. Now, we all know Delhi is not the safest place for women, but this case was particularly messed up. A 40-year-old man called a northeastern woman “corona” and then spat paan all over her.

Also Read: Two North Eastern Women Were Called Coronavirus While Six Men Threw Balloons At Their Privates. We’re Extremely Racist

Do you still want to say that India is not riddled with racism? But of course, she looks eastern, so she must be Chinese, right? You couldn’t be more ignorant. Also, before I give you more details, I would like to point out that yes, the coronavirus originated from China, but calling it the “Chinese virus” or calling Asian and Chinese people by its name like they are responsible for the coronavirus outbreak is seriously fucked up. It’s a racist attack and is wrong on more levels than you can count.

Now back to this unfortunate incident, the woman filed a complaint with the police on Sunday and they found the man identified as Gaurav Vohra, a resident of Model Town locality. The police scanned through CCTV footage and looked for a white scooter that Gaurav was riding at the time of this incident.

A senior police officer said “She has stated in her complaint that she was passing through a dark stretch when a man passed lewd comments on her,” He further added, “When she objected, he spat on her and managed to escape after shouting ‘corona’.”

The woman who faced this abuse hails from Manipur and she brought this story to light when a Twitter user posted pictures of her wearing that paan stained T-shirt with her face cropped out. There is no doubt that this incident has racist overtones with an underlining of sexual harassment. Needless to say, netizens were not happy about this but it also drew sharp criticisms from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Also Read: Amidst The Dark News Of Coronavirus, Italian Residents Sing Songs From Their Windows And Balconies To Cheer Themselves Up. It’s Heartening!

In a tweet, the Delhi CM said, “Am shocked to read this. Delhi Police must find the culprit and take strict action. We need to be united as a nation, especially in our fight against Covid-19.”

In the wake of this, even the Ministry of Home Affairs has advised all state governments to sensitise their law enforcement agencies to take appropriate actions against any kind of physical or verbal racism directed towards people from the northeastern states.

I really hope this is the last racism case we have because this is the time, we need to forget about all the petty shit and stand united. Although I know I am being rather optimistic.

Let’s be sensitive, please.

https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/as-coronavirus-spreads-indian-women-come-up-with-effective-remedies-like-prayers-this-needs-to-stop/

Mitali Shah

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