Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan on Monday said the Upper House was concerned about rising instances of racial discrimination against students from the Northeast.

During the Zero Hour, BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh, Nabam Rebia, raised the issue of racial slurs hurled at three female students in Malviya Nagar in Delhi last month.

“The entire House is sharing your concern. There is a lot of sympathy and concern,” Radhakrishnan said.

Rebia said in 2014, Nido Tania, a bright student from Arunachal Pradesh studying in Delhi University, was beaten to death in Lajpat Nagar. Anjel Chakma, a student from Tripura, was killed in Dehradun in December.

“In Malavya Nagar, three girls from Arunachal Pradesh were preparing for UPSC exams. They were racially discriminated against and accused of working in a beauty parlour. Even if we assume that a girl works in a beauty parlour, what is wrong? Why only a wrong motive should be attributed to it?” Rebia asked.

Rebia demanded stringent laws to curb racially motivated attacks. He also
suggested that the NCERT and CBSE textbooks should include lessons about the Northeast.

“There should be a special recruitment drive for northeastern youths. Racial discrimination cases should be tried on a time-bound basis,” he said.