February last year, in a Delhi Metro station last October, attack on a Nigerian in Hyderabad recently, and a few days ago in Delhi when a Congolese was killed ... These incidents have justifiably raised fears of the prevalence of a so-called Afro-phobia in India.
Notwithstanding the promise of action by India’s External Affairs Ministry, the African envoys have expressed concern about the repeated attacks on the African community and the resultant insecurity among students and others from Africa living in India.
As it is, mainland Indians haven’t always been especially considerate about those who are “different” in their appearance or ways of life, such as the people of India’s Northeast, whose Mongoloid features make them targets of derogatory remarks such as “Chinki” (Chinese). In August, 2012, there was such an exodus from the southern Indian city of Bengaluru of panic-stricken Northeasterners, following some incidents of assaults, that special trains had to be arranged.
With more than 10,000 African students making India their temporary home, the feeling of racial animosity among Indians against those who are not like “us” appears to have unfortunately become much stronger. Much of this crudeness stems from lack of education. But not always, as was evident from the virtual campaign against Africans, which was launched by the Aam Admi Party’s then Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti in Khirki village in 2015. His unsubstantiated contention was that the Africans who lived there were guilty of prostitution and consuming and peddling drugs.
To many, this perception is not very dissimilar to what the orthodox Hindus think about Muslims, which is why Hindus are generally unwilling to let out their flats to Muslims. Among the arguments against them are that they are non-vegetarian. The Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-led diatribe against “love jihad” was based on the belief that Muslim men cannot be trusted. The long-standing Hindu-Muslim divide, as a result of these prejudices, has led to Muslims being mostly concentrated in specific areas in most Indian towns. In a way, this kind of segregation fits in with India’s age-old caste system under which, people belonging to lowly castes are made to live in ghettos, away from the upper castes who are afraid of being “polluted” by their presence.
Although Indians claim to be broad-minded, the compartmentalisation that has long characterised the lives of the Hindus and Muslims, as well as those belonging to lower castes, can give an idea of the mindset that is behind attacks on “Chinkis” and the “kaalaa” (black) citizens and residents.
Since the idea of togetherness is generally not stressed in schools and colleges — or is done so only cursorily — there is no check on the boorishness of the students who emerge from these institutions, most of which can hardly be called abodes of learning.
It is not surprising that they have no idea about what the repercussions of their mindless violence on “blacks” can be on the vast Indian diaspora that is present on the African continent. Already, the senseless killing of the young Congolese national in New Delhi has led to retaliatory attacks on innocent Indians in Congo. Indians have lived in Africa for generations and their contribution, mainly in the fields of commerce and education, have always been warmly welcomed, except for occasional aberrations as in Idi Amin’s Uganda. It will therefore be a pity if the criminal acts of a few hoodlums sour this relationship, even temporarily. How the ties can be affected was evident from the threat of a boycott of Africa Day celebrations on May 26 by the continent’s envoys present in New Delhi. It would have been a diplomatic disaster of the first order had the threat been carried out.
It will not do for India’s External Affairs Ministry to voice reassurances. Although the miscreants are almost always caught, the focus should be on prevention rather than follow-up action. There is a need for relentless campaign against attacks on African nationals, in line with what the government conducts on TV against smoking, and public education and sensitisation to the culture, diversity and opportunities in the 54-nation continent.
But the responsibility is not the government’s alone. Civil society, too, has to step in, with teachers in schools and colleges doing their bit to sensitise students about the issue. Considering how upset the Indians get if any of them is beaten up in Australia in an isolated incident, it should not be difficult to drive home the message not only of racial harmony but also of decent, humane behaviour, which is increasingly becoming an exception rather than the rule, as the thrashing of a boy in Delhi last Thursday on charges of theft showed.
That Indians are intensely colour-conscious is evident from the search for fair brides in matrimonial columns and also in advertisements for fairness creams. If the former cannot be discouraged, at least celebrities should be urged to desist from not only promoting such products, but also mocking at them.
— IANS
Amulya Ganguli is a writer on current affairs.
