SARUNGBAM LUCY
Racial discrimination is where a person or a group is treated differently because of their race, colour, descent, national origin or ethnic origin and this treatment impairs, or is intended to impair, their human rights and fundamental freedoms. For example, an act is racially discriminatory if a person is denied a service or employment because of his or her race or ethnicity, or when a law or policy impacts unfairly on a particular racial or ethnic group.
Racism has been defined by the United Nations as: ‘any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life’. Recognition and Redressed being the essentials; it is in this context that the discrimination meted out to the North East people in our country needs to be recognised. Only when a problem is named can the situation be addressed.
Racism has three main elements i) a vision that society is composed of inherently different groups, ii) a delusional belief that due to the persistence and mutation of the race, people are different and should not interact and iii) this ‘difference’ is what becomes into a programme of political action. There is of course no theory till date (hopefully would not be in the future) which can justify Racism on people outside a country but it is hard to believe that people within India are meted with such inhuman treatment and still no one bats an eyelid.
India is home to various cultures, ethnic groups and this is not something which the people of our country are unaware of. Over centuries, India has always been look up as to a civilisation which has borne the pressure of multi-everything. Historically the north east was never part of ‘mainland’ India. There were hues and cries for self-determination which were unheard thus consequently the people (of the Mongoloid Stock) in the North East were then officially perceived as primitives or in isolation and this perception has, unfortunately not changed. There is widespread discrimination against North East people (women being the soft targets) especially in Delhi but the tragic part of the story being that this ‘infection’ has spread to various parts of our country, with cities like Bangalore, Chennai also being part to the utter disgrace.
Equality (A Challenge)
The need for highly egalitarian society in India being fundamentally equal and having equal rights to representation, education, employment, etc. has been since forever which has generated many legal scholars, laws, legal institutions yet the dream of an ideal equal society is delusional and impossible in a society which is characterised by inequality. Countries have been drafting their Constitutions guaranteeing equality and non-discrimination under Article 14, 15 and 16 nevertheless the scourge of inequalities continues to persist. In short, Indian society seems to have changed very little in its basic essentials.
Tolerance has been stated to be the answer to all questions concerning inequality but this tolerance has taken the form of segregation, subjugation and exploitation.
The construction of our constitution in this regard has been very interesting as in the last sixty years the scheme of the constitution has been to avoid caste-based and gender-based discrimination. India has had to suffer more through the hands of caste based discrimination, racism being a global phenomenon. In spite of having adopted the UN Conventions for over fifty years, incidence of racial discrimination, and exploitation of marginalised groups are on a rise. This just makes any right to an equal life without discrimination at a macro level, a myth. The end of Apartheid is just the beginning of a surge against the various forms of racial abuse.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was the first body created by the UN to review the measures taken by the member states to eliminate racial discrimination. The reports submitted by India have always been in relation to steps taken to remove discrimination against Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes. Indian government has always been pro-active in determining the rights of people against racial discrimination not only in South Africa but also of Asian races in the US but now it is high time to clean and ensure no racial discrimination and inferiority treatment or behaviour happened within our home.
A VIEW OF RACISM
North Eastern states (region) all share similarities and possibly an accent but clothing trends are also part of culture and music too. North East has always been advanced in the sense of providing equal freedom to the women of the region. Women here have always enjoyed greater mobility and visibility as compared to any part of the country. There have been very less number of cases reported of dowry death or of any kind of exploitation of women. The picture of equality has been prevalent in the society; in fact this region has no element of social marginalization despite having small tribal groups. It would not be going overboard by saying that it is one of the few places in India which can claim to be on the path of an Egalitarian society.
The problem only comes into picture when the people migrate to the mainland due to a number of factors like for higher studies and jobs. The North East region has been subjected to a number of developmental problems – the terrain makes it almost impossible for any infrastructural growth, there is lack of educational and employment opportunities, insurgency has made life a living nightmare for the locals and the most important part- there is a two-way deficit of understanding between the mainland and the North East Region, which is the sole reason for the discrimination faced by the North Eastern women when they migrate to ‘Indian’ cities.
The mindset of people caters to various prejudices prevalent in the society. Woman has always been treated as an object of gratification, a possession, a property incapable of reason and responsibility. We have all contributed to the sex stereotyping of roles assigned to the women be it in the biological or sociological sense. These stigmas are deeply rooted especially in our society. When North Eastern women are subjected to racial humiliation and exploitation, they are victims of Discrimination within Discrimination. The suffering of a woman soaked in racial exploitation is the curse these women from the North East constantly face.
Some of the Existing laws on Racial Discrimination
Article 15 in The Constitution of India 1949: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
(1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth or any of them
(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to
(a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment; or
(b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public
(3) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children
(4) Nothing in this article or in clause ( 2 ) of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
International convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination
Article I
1. In this Convention, the term “racial discrimination” shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.
2. This Convention shall not apply to distinctions, exclusions, restrictions or preferences made by a State Party to this Convention between citizens and non-citizens.
3. Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as affecting in any way the legal provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship or naturalization, provided that such provisions do not discriminate against any particular nationality.
4. Special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall not be deemed racial discrimination, provided, however, that such measures do not, as a consequence, lead to the maintenance of separate rights for different racial groups and that they shall not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved.
Article 5
In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:
(a) The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice;
(b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual group or institution;
(c) Political rights, in particular the right to participate in elections-to vote and to stand for election-on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct of public affairs at any level and to have equal access to public service;
(d) Other civil rights, in particular:
(i) The right to freedom of movement and residence within the border of the State;
(ii) The right to leave any country, including one’s own, and to return to one’s country;
(iii) The right to nationality;
(iv The right to marriage and choice of spouse;
(v) The right to own property alone as well as in association with others;
(vi)The right to inherit;
(vii) The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
(viii) The right to freedom of opinion and expression;
(ix) The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
(e) Economic, social and cultural rights, in particular:
(i) The rights to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, to equal pay for equal work, to just and favourable remuneration;
(ii) The right to form and join trade unions;
(iii) The right to housing;
(iv) The right to public health, medical care, social security and social services;
(v) The right to education and training;
(vi) The right to equal participation in cultural activities;(f) The right of access to any place or service intended for use by the general public, such as transport hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres and parks.
The above said laws on discrimination does not mention anything specific for women in particular and we all understand that most of the discrimination happen to the weaker sex , irrespective of whether she is from the higher caste or lower caste . For North East women, on top of the caste discrimination, they faced regional discrimination and the weaker sex syndrome. So, there is a question whether to add any specific laws for them.