In an unprecedented development, leaders of 360 khaps of Delhi’s urban villages held a meeting in Munirka village and allegedly passed a diktat calling for eviction of tenants of the North-East. The alleged call stirred sharp reactions from the beleaguered people from the N-E. As per reports, some North-Easterners have already left Munirka.
Several North-Eastern activists and students alleged that a Resident Welfare Association (RWA) of South Delhi’s Munirka area in a meeting on Sunday decided to evict people from the North-East residing in the area. Fearing this, students residing in the area had packed their bags and decided to leave. It was only after intervention of the activists that the issue was resolved.
The activists from the North-Eastern States also claimed that the members of the Khaps had decided to pass the order and the family members of the youth who had raped a 14-year-old Manipuri girl in the area a few days back were also part of the panchayat. “They call us ‘cheap’ and ‘dirty’ and openly boasted that we have the money power to get things done.
“The kind of treatment meted out to us is just not acceptable. We are all children of the same country,” said one of the activists. “We have submitted a written complaint to the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Vasant Vihar police station. We reached the police station in the morning and after an hour, the police officials admitted that a meeting took place. They claim it’s not Khap panchayatsbut RWA,” said Binalakshmi Nepram, an activist working on issues related to North-Eastern community.
“After waiting for 11 hours, the members of the panchayat came and a meeting was held at the police station. Issues pertaining to North-Eastern people were discussed at length and we were assured that nothing would happen against the North-East students,” she added.
However, an RWA member said that no such decision was taken and the meeting was convened to discuss other issues. “Our main agenda was to shut down all the shops in the area by 10.30 pm as it was noticed that a few shops were open post midnight. Anti-social elements come to the area and disturb the locals,” said an RWA member. “We also held a discussion regarding installation of CCTV cameras in the area for the security and safety of the residents.”
Police officials also claimed that there was nothing like a ‘khap panchayat’ and a misunderstanding between the two parties led to this confusion, but the same was sorted out after a meeting. Police also assured them that legal action will be taken against any landlord who forcibly evicts people of the North-East. It was also decided that RWAs will issue circular to ensure non-discrimination to North-Eastern people in the area.