This refers to the editorial, “The African connect” (June 1). It may be true that a major factor for the attack on Africans is the ingrained bias that a vast majority of Indians have against people of colour, specifically blacks, but to inject partisan domestic politics into a few unfortunate incidents of violence against Africans in the national capital or elsewhere is unwarranted. After all, aren't light-skinned north Indians biased towards the generally darker south IndiansIJ Also, such conflicts often stem from a clash of behaviourial patterns and cultural values, as may have been the case with Africans in India.
Note that even as African students were planning to take out a protest march in the capital, a group of them bashed up a Delhi taxi driver for the latter's refusal to seat more than the permitted number of passengers in his car. Narrow-mindedness, when confronted with a ‘free-wheeling’ lifestyle, may result in tension and hot arguments. The need is to spread awareness, both among the locals and the Africans in India.