A database and helpline for citizens of Nagaland, particularly students and youth, living in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) has been instituted in Delhi by the Resident Commissioner’s office of Delhi, government of Nagaland. Necessitated by the frequent criminal – and often racist – attacks people of the North East region face in the NCR, the assistance bureau of Nagaland is one among several steps being taken by NE state administrations to provide necessary and immediate assistance during emergencies.
The office of the Resident Commissioner, Nagaland House, in New Delhi is currently engaged in gathering details of Nagas in National Capital Region to form a database. All individuals from Nagaland are encouraged to register with the assistance bureau.
Women, particularly those from the North East region of India have become soft targets for criminal and sexual violence in India’s capital, the most recent of the long string of such offences being the gang rape of a Mizoram girl on November 23, 2010.
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India, has called for a database of all working Nagas in National Capital Region. It is learned that the Resident Commissioner of Nagaland met with the commissioner’s officials including the DRC, ARC, PRO, Resident Doctor and DSP (SB) the afternoon of December 2. The meeting is said to have discussed steps to be taken for the safety of Naga girls in Delhi.
The Nagaland Resident Commissioner’s office has instated a special bureau in Nagaland House to provide information and assistance during emergencies. A circular appended by Yetoly Verrna, Assistant Resident Commissioner, was made available here today. The bureau is headed by Resident Commissioner Wezope Kenye. He may be contacted at the number 9910952243. The contact for the office is 23014716/23013751.
For effective functioning of the assistance cell cell, the commissioner’s office said, a comprehensive database of information on each individual from Nagaland, either studying or is a working person, is required.
The commissioner’s office has sought cooperation and ‘determined effort’ to gathering the required details about all Nagas in Delhi. Nagas in Delhi are encouraged to register their details in person, by post or by email. The address of the Resident Commissioner’s office is: Resident Commissioner, Nagaland House, 29, Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi - 110011. The emails are: dbhalla27 @ yahoo.com and yetoarc @ gmail.com.
Safety campaign for NE women in Delhi
Understood that NE state governments are taking steps to protect and assist respective state citizens, there is also a campaign by north-eastern organizations to highlight the plight of north-easterners and their need for safety and protection. One such campaign is that of the North East Support Centre & Helpline (NESCH), campaigning for the safety of women of the North East living in Delhi.
The NESCH has been meeting with Home Ministry officials since the November 23 rape of a Mizo girl in Delhi. The organization is demanding fast-track courts to take cases of sexual assault for immediate and effective justice delivery; alongside it, it wants monitoring the effectives of the systems already developed by the Delhi government and police. Another demand the NESCH has mad to the Centre is for a ‘white paper’ on registered cases with their updated status and that strict punishment for dereliction of duty by responsible officers in such cases be served.
Another demand of note includes instating by the government a single unified helpline number across the country for widespread information dissemination and publicity.
Earlier, the NESCH had informed that it was working closely with various colleges, NGOs and university student groups. The NESC&H has also appealed to the student communities to join the campaign against gendered-based violence faced by girls and women in Delhi and NCR.