The Global Naga Forum (GNF) has strongly condemned the racially motivated assault and harassment of a Naga woman doctor in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. According to multiple media reports, the incident occurred on 22 February 2026, when the resident doctor of AIIMS Gorakhpur was reportedly harassed near Orion Mall and later followed to Gate No. 2 of the institute campus.
The victim was allegedly subjected to racial slurs, sexually derogatory remarks, stalking, and physical molestation. The GNF highlighted that such an incident near a premier national medical institution underscores the vulnerability of Northeast professionals even in public and institutional spaces.
The statement also referred to another recent incident in Gorakhpur, where a young Naga woman was racially profiled and verbally humiliated in a public area. According to GNF, these episodes are not isolated, but part of a recurring pattern of racial hostility against people from Nagaland and neighboring states.
Citing past incidents in other cities, the Forum pointed to three women from the Northeast who were racially abused in a Delhi residential locality, and the killing of Anjel Chakma, a student from Tripura, as evidence of systemic racism.
The GNF also criticized a video interview of Temjen Imna Along, Nagaland Minister of Tourism & Higher Education, who had referred to such experiences as “discrimination” rather than racism. The Forum said that public representatives, by downplaying racism, risk legitimizing racial abuse and emboldening extremist groups.
The Forum urged authorities in Uttar Pradesh to immediately arrest the perpetrators involved in the Gorakhpur incidents, publicly identify those responsible, and ensure legal punishment. “Justice must be visible and unequivocal so that confidence among Northeast citizens is not further eroded,” the statement said.
Reiterating that racism against the people of the Northeast is real and well-documented, the GNF emphasized that acknowledging it is necessary to prevent such abuses from continuing.
Meanwhile, the Naga People’s Front (NPF), in a statement issued by its Press Bureau from its Central Headquarters in Kohima, said it was raising its voice “on an issue that strikes at the heart of dignity and justice.”
The NPF stated that such incidents highlight the continued discrimination faced by people from the Northeast in metropolitan cities like New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
“Derogatory slurs, stereotyping, exclusion, and physical assault remain recurring experiences that undermine the guarantees of equality enshrined in Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution,” the party said.
Calling for institutional measures, the NPF advocated for the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Bezbaruah Committee, which was constituted to address concerns of people from the Northeast residing outside the region. It urged the concerned authorities to ensure “swift justice and stronger safeguards against such discrimination.”
The party further reiterated that the Naga political movement is rooted in “a long historical struggle for self-determination and the protection of Naga identity,” asserting that Nagas have consistently stood for their political and historical rights.
At the same time, the NPF maintained that “there is no history of institutional or systematic discrimination against non-locals in Nagaland,” adding that people from other regions who come to the state for business or livelihood “have lived and worked peacefully among the Naga people.”
“Standing for Naga rights does not imply hostility towards others. Mutual respect and peaceful coexistence must prevail,” the statement read.
The NPF affirmed its commitment to defending Naga identity and political rights while firmly opposing all forms of racial discrimination and injustice wherever they occur.
