Manipur Youths Denied Entry to Hyderabad Grocery Store, Police Arrests 2

Hyderabad, April 9, 2020:

In yet another sensational incident of apparent discrimination against those from the Northeast, two Manipur youths have been denied entry to a supermarket in Hyderabad. This incident that took place a the Starmarket Grocery shop at Vanastalipuram in Hyderabad on Wednesday has come to light after a video was leaked which has set social media buzzing. Later, Hyderabad police picked up the manager and the security guard of the Star Market, reports The NorthEast Today.

In the short clip, the Manipur youths demand entry into the store, presumably to buy essentials. They are asked where they are from, and after they reveal that they are Manipuris, the guard says entry shall not be permitted. They then go on to reveal that they have IDs, but the guards still refuse to let them pass. All this goes on while other customers waiting outside are permitted entry. The guard then urges them to speak in Telugu, and finally tells them to meet the Manager after he "returns from lunch".

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After this video went viral, the callous attitude of the security guards has drawn flak from the people of Northeast India.

Earlier today, the video was posted by the online page 'We the Nagas', where Instagrammers took severe affront to the apparent mistreatment towards the Manipuri lads.

It may be recalled that this incident is preceded by another similar one in Mysuru, where two Naga youths were denied entry to a grocery story, despite having all requisite documents.

If there were one or two incidents like these, it could have been overlooked, but this has been reported against a slew of racially motivated hatecrimes against those from the NE, apparently because of their resemblance to the Chinese, where the COVID-19 is said to have originated.

The incident that instantly comes to mind when one thinks of such acts of 'racism' is the utterly disgraceful incident in Delhi wherein a man had spat at a Manipuri Research scholar in New Delhi, called her "corona", then fled.

More recently, a 25-year-old girl from Manipur was reportedly spat on in Mumbai recently, leading to the lodging of an FIR. This latest incident of alleged discrimination has been reported from the Kalina Main Signal in Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. A man riding a scooty took off his mask to spit betel nut juice at the innocent Manipuri woman.

Talking to Inside Northeast, the victim described her ordeal in detail. “In the afternoon around 2:30 pm, I was about to go and collect essentials distributed by Naga student leaders in Mumbai. While I was waiting to cross the road, I saw a guy riding a blue scooter coming towards me. He was wearing a mask, and when he saw me, he pulled off his mask and spat directly at my body.”

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In the aftermath of these rather condemn-able acts, Manipuri students in Delhi are holding up placards decrying racism towards them. Yesterday, the General Secretary of the Manipur Students’ Association Delhi (MSAD) informed us that over a hundred Manipuri people from all corners of the country have voiced out against racism in the online-campaign.

It is generally believed that prejudice against those hailing from the Northeast Indian states has seen a sharp spike in the aftermath of the outbreak of the coronavirus or COVID-19. Across the nation, several such incidents of racial profiling have been reported and the term “corona” has found acceptance as a pejorative against those with mongoloid features.

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