JOIN USThe assault on four African nationals at Byrathi on Monday night has alarmed another minority group living in the neighbourhood—people from northeastern India.
The attack on northeastern students at Byrathi Cross four months ago is still fresh in their memory and they feel more worried.
Almost 5,000 people from northeastern India live in the neighbourhood, according to Obed Haokip, a pastor from Manipur who has been settled in this part of Bengaluru for over a decade. Haokip also runs a hostel with about 20 students and has had a few run-ins with some local people.
“There are many open spaces around here and my children go out to play football and other games. When they come back they would often complain of boys throwing their ball away and trying to provoke them. Once, 10 boys even followed them home,” he recalled.
Trying to make sense of the increasing assaults in the neighbourhood, Haokip said one reason could be the fact that the area was becoming a hub of students faster than the comfort levels of the local population.
“From 2005 to early 2012, there has been an influx of a lot of people, especially Africans and those from the Northeast. Local people still need time to adjust to the lifestyle and habits of this new population,” he noted.
In October last year, Michael Lamjathang, an engineering student from Manipur, and his friends were assaulted, apparently for not knowing Kannada. In another incident in November, a Manipuri boy was assaulted by three men when he reportedly objected to their misbehaviour with a girl.
When Deccan Herald contacted Lamjathang, he said some of his friends living in the locality were still in fear.
“After this assault on Africans, they are even more worried. I live in Shantinagar and visit this place regularly, but I am much more careful now while coming here. I try not to frequent this area at night. The same is true for my friends here. They are more cautious than before,” he said.
But some like Apong, a student from Nagaland who lives in Hennur, believes the best way is not to court trouble at all. “There is certainly a sense of anxiety among us after such incidents. I try not to go out at night and avoid trouble,” he said.