north east cell Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

The following piece may be upsetting for some readers. TW// violence, racism, racial discrimination.

On September 20, 2023, a racially-motivated attack in Vijayanagara left a North-Eastern student from Hindu College critically injured on his way to a football match, leading to the team’s match forfeiture. The incident prompted condemnation and calls for unity against discrimination against Northeast students and individuals in Delhi.

On September 20, 2023, a football match was scheduled to occur at the DDA Sports Ground in Vasant Kunj, Delhi, with the combined teams of Hindu College and Ramjas College against Hansraj College. Unfortunately, en route to the match, the football captain, a North-Eastern student from Hindu College, was brutally assaulted in a racially motivated attack by a mob in New Gupta Colony, Vijayanagara.

On the way to the metro station, the student was subjected to derogatory racial slurs. Following a verbal altercation, a group of local individuals arrived on a motorcycle and escalated the situation further. The victim was physically attacked with a knife, sustaining injuries to his neck, forehead, and facial areas. The severity of the attack left him in critical condition, requiring immediate medical attention.

The authorities have identified the four perpetrators and arrested them accordingly. Due to the attack, the football team was forced to forfeit the match as well, resulting in their disqualification from further participation in the tournament. A witness who observed the incident from their balcony, remarked:

Everything unfolded in the blink of an eye… Surprisingly, very few individuals rushed to assist, and by that time, it was nearly over.

In light of the incident, the North-East Cell of Hindu College issued a statement condemning the incident and urging concerned authorities to take strict action. In a post on Instagram dated September 20, 2023, they made the following statement:

We are deeply saddened and outraged by the racially motivated attack against a North-eastern student from Hindu College. Such acts of violence and discrimination have no place in our society as a whole. In the face of hatred, we must unite as a community to fight against racism, discrimination, and violence and hatred.

Several organisations, including SFI Hindu College, WDC Hindu College, and the North East Society of Zakir Hussain Delhi College (M), have issued statements in solidarity with the victim. The North-East Cell of Hindu College has issued a statement requesting everyone to respect the privacy of the survivor.

We kindly urge everyone to refrain from sharing any images or information pertaining to this situation. We acknowledge that certain individuals are disseminating such content, so please remain vigilant in safeguarding the survivor’s privacy and preventing any disrespectful conduct. The relevant authorities are actively addressing this issue, and we are committed to ensuring that the perpetrators face the most severe penalties possible.

This incident is not an isolated one but rather sheds light on the discrimination faced by Northeastern students and individuals in Delhi. Another student from Hindu College urged,

I personally am deeply distressed and agitated by the incident happening today since I have faced the same kind of racism in Delhi. This victim is a warrior, a true hero who fights not just for himself but all NE students who have been racially abused, mocked and ridiculed. What I want to let you all know is that being students of DU, such kind of actions show a person’s lack of respect towards other humans and the intention to hurt their sentiments. I’m not asking for any special care and pampering here but let us all treat each other equally with truth, justice and peace.

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat Photo Archive

Sri Sidhvi Dindi
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Campus Central

NSUI Incorporates ABVP’s Entire North East Cell, ABVP Denies Claims

By DU Beat February 14, 2020

In a recent press release, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) revealed that they have incorporated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) entire North East Cell along with other students from the party’s Delhi Unit. Hoewever, ABVP has denied all these claims.

In a press release sent out on 13th February 2020, NSUI revealed that it has incorporated the ABVP’s entire North East Cell along with other students from ABVP’s Delhi Unit into their party. The students were incorporated via a formal incorporation event that took place at the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) office on 13th February 2020 at 1 pm. The incorporated students had protested against the ABVP’s Pro-CAA stance which violated Constitutional underpinnings of India, and were severely affected by their former party’s role in campus violence across Delhi, and spread of communal hatred during recent elections and therefore, decided to join NSUI in a large number. “NSUI welcomes them equivocally into our fraternity and would enlist more students in upcoming days who are discontented with the divisive politics of right-wing groups,” NSUI stated. The students joined NSUI at the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Office premises in presence of NSUI National Secretary and Delhi State In-charge, Nikhil Kamble, NSUI National Co-ordinator, Manish Kumar, DUSU Secretary for 2019-20, Ashish Lamba, and others. The 15 students who were present today took the decision under the leadership of the Delhi University Northeast Cell In-charge (Secretary), Sheikh Raisa Tabasssum, ex-ABVP Northeast Cell Joint Secretary, Vishnu Parna Dutta, ex-ABVP Joint Secretary, Liza Gogoi, ex ABVP Cultural Secretary, Aditya Deka and others who joined the NSUI fraternity.

At the press conference, ex-ABVP members strongly and adamantly expressed their discontent at the divisive and communal agenda of ABVP, and insisted that they could no longer support their violence streaks along with attacks on female students.

“NSUI welcomes the students equivocally into our fraternity and would enlist more students in upcoming days who are discontented with the divisive politics of right and left-wing groups. Several students from Delhi University ABVP Unit have contacted NSUI and would like to switch their political affiliation after the indiscreet spread of hatred by Sangh Organisations in recent Delhi Elections. Students of Delhi have denounced their hatred and we welcome them all to join the largest secular, democratic and constitutional abiding student organisation of India,” Nikhil Kamble further stated.

Sidharth Yadav, State Secretary, ABVP-Delhi, said, “The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the largest student organization in the country. Over time, it has emerged as the most sincere representative of students across the nation. By way of its inherently plural outlook and approach, specifically in Delhi University, ABVP has been working actively towards mainstreaming of students from the North-East. It is with this spirit of inclusivity that the organization continues to provide platforms to students from varied cultural backgrounds resulting in a diverse pool of activists in Delhi University and elsewhere.

While ABVP supports internal difference of opinions, it must be recapitulated that the decision pertinent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has received a unanimous welcome, including by our activists hailing from the North-Eastern states.

The news of resignation of some students from the North-East put up by a local digital portal is completely misleading. Out of the names mentioned therein, while only a handful were loosely associated with our organization, none of them were office-bearers. Our organizational structure is completely transparent and all declarations pertinent thereto are made during the annual state-specific conferences. All our activists and office-bearers from the North-East have declared their uniform support for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Therefore, the exaggerated claims of mass defection of disgruntled ‘ABVP’s North-East Cell’ members are completely baseless.

While ABVP is committed towards maintaining a vibrant and democratic atmosphere on campuses, the role of certain student-outfits, specifically NSUI, in attempting to vitiate the environment of peace and harmony on campuses must be foregrounded. Slanderous posts are being circulated online with the intention of dragging ABVP’s name through the mire. An outfit whose parent organization had mercilessly crushed student-dissent during the Emergency and continues to do the same till date has no right to call us communal. It would be instructive for NSUI activists and office-bearers to urge the higher-ups in their parent political outfit to mend their dictatorial mien and not suppress dissenting voices across campuses in Congress-ruled states.”

The ABVP has recently been under fire for their involvement in various violent acts across universities’ campuses which has been condemned by various student organisations, and have been open about their pro-CAA stance.

Feature Image Credits: NSUI

Shreya Juyal

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Campus Central

SRCC Cancels North-East Cell’s Anti-CAA Discussion

By Chhavi Bamba January 25, 2020

The SRCC Administration cancels North East Cell’s panel discussion on the grounds of misinformation and violence mere hours before the event.

On 23 January 2020, the North-East cell of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) was going to conduct a panel discussion on “Why the North-East is Protesting,” where the cell wanted to create awareness about the ongoing protests in the North-East against Citizenship (Amendment) Act. However, after concerns of violence, the administration canceled the event a mere few hours before.

The speakers invited were academic scholars and journalists, among which two were faculties of the University itself. Apparently, the administration convened an emergency meeting and without any prior information to the organisers of the Program and the Heads of the Cell, called off the Program.

The statement released by the North-East Cell says, “The event scheduled to take place today, organised by the North-East cell SRCC stands cancelled by the administration. In an emergency meeting held mere hours before the event, the Administration and Dr. Simrit Kaur, the Principal, informed us that the event is cancelled due to unavoidable circumstances. We were told that they received information about the possibility of violence on campus, if the event was to take place. We were also told that there was no balance in our panel and all our speakers had the ‘same bent of mind’.”

“They also suggested this event be conducted at a later time and said it was unwise to have the event in this climate. We insisted that this was not a politically motivated event and that it was conducted because there exists a complete lack of awareness about the North-East protests in the College. This discussion was the need of the hour which garnered immense support and we were expecting a large crowd of students all over the campus.” adds the statement.

In the letter by the Students’ Union to the Principal of the College, the Union cites ‘violence and misleading information’ as the main reason for the cancellation of the event.

The Letter sent by the Students’ Union said, “The North-East society of SRCC is conducting a seminar on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act today (23.1.2020) in room no:2. This seminar is based on a one-sided ideology on the CAA act which may indulge violence and misleading information among the students. Furthermore, the Government has already circulated to educational institutions regarding spreading awareness about the facts and right information about CAA. Being a responsible institution, SRCC must not accept this seminar which is against the norms of social welfare. So, the (The Students Union) considering the interest of the majority, request you to cancel the permission to host the seminar. If this request of ours is subject to cancellation, we request you to grant permission to our seminar which will include the same kind of one-sided ideologies. Taking into consideration the benefits and well-being of everyone involved, we request you to take a favourable decision.”

However, as alleged by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) in their statement, two days before the scheduled event, under the influence of threat of violence from Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Students’ Union and the Administration pressurised the organisers to call off the event.

As told by a student to The Wire, the students attending the event also received calls from the Students’ Union to discourage the students from attending the protest.

The North-East Cell expressed their disappointment in the message circulated by the Students’ Union and said it was disrespectful towards the speakers.

“Our speakers have years of experience and research to back any statement they make, and the Union didn’t have an issue blatantly attacking their credibility. We would also like to point out that the speakers were informed by the Administration that the event is cancelled due to a technical issue,” adds the statement.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Satviki Sanjay

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Events

The North East Cell of Kirori Mal College grandly concludes 8thnicia

By Niharika Dabral April 10, 2018

The North East Cell of Kirori Mal College celebrated its annual cultural fest, “8thnicia” on 31st March 2018. Unlike ever seen before the event had various assets to display with their roots embedded to their very own home states.

The morning session constituted of a seminar addressed by Dr. Moirangthem Kennedy Singh on ‘Arrested Development in the North-East’ which was a grand success. The event was followed by the evening session mainly focused on the cultural grounds. The library lawn where the evening session was conducted was lushly decorated by the members of the North East Cell with a grand stage as the cynosure and various food and game stalls on the sides. A photo exhibition by a Gurgaon based freelance photographer Mr. Lokesh Dang with the theme “Don’t Call Me Chinky” was also showcased.

The cultural event was set off with an opening speech by Dr. M Ramananda Singh, convener of the North East Cell, and followed by exotic performances from the North East Cells of various colleges of the University of Delhi. Various graceful and astonishing dances and soothing melodies from the students made a huge crowd gather. But the core idea that made the event successful was the thought of being home away from home and the dedication and labor put forward by the members of the North East Cell and the support it got from the college, teachers, and the people in general.

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