NPF, GNF flay racial, sexual assault on Naga doctor in UP

Naga People’s Front (NPF) and Global Naga Forum (GNF) have strongly condemned the recent racial harassment and attack on a Naga woman doctor at AIIMS Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh on February 22, 2026.
Describing the incident as deeply disturbing and unacceptable, NPF through its press bureau highlighted that such acts reflected the ongoing discrimination faced by many from the Northeast in metropolitan centres including New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
NPF said derogatory slurs, stereotyping, exclusion, and physical assault continued to be recurring experiences that violated the constitutional guarantees of equality under Articles 14 and 15.
The ruling NPF urged the responsible authorities to ensure swift justice for the victim and to implement stronger safeguards against racial discrimination.
NPF specifically called for the effective enforcement of the recommendations of the Bezbaruah Committee, which was constituted to address the concerns and safety of people from the Northeast living outside their home region.
The party also affirmed that the Naga political movement was rooted in a long historical struggle for self-determination and the protection of Naga identity. NPF said that the Nagas for decades have asserted their political and historical rights with clarity and determination.
It emphasised that there was no record of institutional or systematic discrimination against non-locals in Nagaland, where individuals from other regions have lived and worked peacefully for business or livelihood.
The party clarified that standing for Naga rights did not imply hostility toward others, adding that mutual respect and peaceful coexistence must prevail.
NPF reiterated its commitment to defending Naga identity and political rights while firmly opposing all forms of racial discrimination and injustice, wherever they occur.
GNF: Global Naga Forum (GNF) also condemned what it called “racially motivated assault and humiliation” of a Naga woman doctor, a third-year postgraduate resident at AIIMS Gorakhpur.
Citing reports, GNF said the doctor was harassed near Orion Mall and followed to Gate No. 2 of the institute campus, where she was allegedly subjected to racial slurs, sexually derogatory remarks, stalking, and physical molestation by three perpetrators.
GNF described the incident, which occurred in the vicinity of a premier national medical institution, as a shocking exposure of the vulnerability faced by professionals from the Northeast even in public and institutional spaces.
The forum also referenced another recent incident in Gorakhpur involving racial profiling and intimidation of a young Naga woman in a public area, as well as similar cases elsewhere, including the racial abuse of three Northeastern women in a Delhi residential locality and the fatal killing of Anjel Chakma from Tripura.
GNF stated that such incidents revealed a recurring and dangerous pattern of racial hostility against citizens from Nagaland and other Northeastern states while studying, working, or serving in mainland India.
The forum expressed serious concern over a video interview in which Nagaland’s Minister for Tourism & Higher Education, Temjen Imna Along, publicly described the experiences of Northeastern people in India as “discrimination” rather than “racism.”
The forum supported the rebuttal by EastMojo Editor-in-Chief in November 2025, which clarified the distinction between generic discrimination and structural racism.
GNF criticised the Minister’s statement as public misinformation that legitimised denial of racism against minorities.
It warned that downplaying racism—especially by those in authority—risked emboldening extremist and majoritarian elements who view Northeastern people as “outsiders,” encouraging acts of racial abuse with greater impunity.
GNF emphasised that when students were killed, women harassed, and professionals attacked because of their ethnicity, such realities cannot be dismissed as mere “discrimination.”
It cautioned against articulating wrong notions on serious public matters like racism in pursuit of political privilege or social-media popularity.
The forum appealed to the Uttar Pradesh authorities to immediately arrest all perpetrators involved in the Gorakhpur incidents; publicly identify those responsible and ensure visible and unequivocal punishment under the law.
GNF reiterated that racism against people from the Northeast was real and well-documented through victims’ experiences.