The Government of India has highlighted various measures to safeguard people from the North-Eastern Region residing in different parts of the country. This was stated by Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Rai noted that ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. The responsibility for prevention, detection, investigation of crime, and prosecution of offenders lies with the respective State Governments. While the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) publishes crime data up to 2023 in its “Crime in India” report, centralized data on hate speech, racial slurs, harassment, and discrimination against North-Eastern people is not maintained.
The Minister said the Government has issued advisories to States and Union Territories for security of North-East residents. Steps include appointment of Nodal Officers to address grievances, sensitization of enforcement agencies to harassment complaints, creation of the Special Police Unit for North East Region (SPUNER) in Delhi Police, and launch of dedicated helpline numbers and email IDs for complaints. Chief Secretaries, Administrators, and DGPs have also been advised to train police personnel on relevant legal provisions and replicate best practices from Delhi Police.
Rai added that following a Supreme Court judgment dated 14 December 2016, a three-member Monitoring Committee has been set up under the Ministry of Home Affairs, including a special invitee from the North-East, to monitor and address issues of racial discrimination. The Committee meets regularly to review grievances.