Sj Desk
In the wake of the coronavirus scare, northeast students studying in Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have complained of racial discrimination in the campus.
The Northeast Students’ Forum of TISS wrote an open letter to the institute and fellow students alleging that some students hailing from the northeastern states have been accused of carrying the deadly virus, which has its epicentre in China, due to their facial features.
“Many students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, have recently been subjected to racial treatment due to their distinctive identities and features,” the letter read.
The letter also specified an incident where a student and her friend, both from Nagaland, were subjected to ‘outright racial discrimination’ on 10 February. The student forum said that the friend was filmed without consent and the video was circulated on social media by people around to raise an alarm about a potential carrier of coronavirus from China. When the student confronted the makers of the video, she was met with further ridicule, slurs, and threatening behaviour. The letter also said that northeast students have not only faced name-calling such as “corona” and “coronavirus” in public places, but they have also been the recipients of racism within the campus.
“This form of discrimination played out in the pretext of health concerns is a reminder of inherent racial prejudices and stereotyping of particular peoples based on their physical features and perceived cultural inferiority,” a student said.
The forum has asked the institute’s administration to intervene in the matter to ensure the safety of students from northeastern states.
“We would like to bring this matter to the notice of concerned authorities of TISS to adopt adequate measures to ensure safety of students from northeast who are vulnerable to racial discrimination. We request the general student body, faculty, and staff to deter any practices of casual and structural racism and promote a sensitive approach towards students. We also request the concerned government bodies to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of people from northeast states in Mumbai and to deter cases of harassment and racial discrimination,” read the letter.
