A recent and sudden spate of racial attacks against African nationals living in India, has led to diplomatic tensions between India and African countries, leading to a profound sense of embarrassment and shame among Indians. 29 year old Masonda Ketada Olivier from Congo, was beaten to death by three men on May 20, after an argument over hiring an auto-rickshaw ensued in south Delhi's Kishangarh.
Springing into action, at least five Indians accused were arrested, top Indian leaders condemned the attack, and strict action was promised on the Indian government's behalf. In a charade that has become a tad too familiar, India again guaranteed safety to its foreign residents, only to be failed by its citizens.
The death of the young Congolese man was the final straw for the African embassies in New Delhi, as they have finally retaliated. Heads of African embassies in New Delhi wrote a strongly-worded letter to the Indian government to take "concrete steps" to ensure the safety of Africans. "Given the pervading climate of fear and insecurity in Delhi," Alem Tsehage Woldemariam, ambassador of Eritrea and dean of the African Group Head of Mission, said, "the African heads of mission are left with little option than to consider recommending to their governments not to send new students to India, unless and until their safety can be guaranteed."
Once the statements were made public, Indian Ministry of External Affairs was quick on its feet, trying to make the best efforts for damage control. However, they came off as lacking in empathy and appeared more disturbed with the defacing of the country's image than the loss of life and aggressive signs of racism. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted, "I have asked my colleague General VK Singh to meet the heads of missions of African countries in Delhi and assure them of the Indian government's commitment to safety and security to African nationals in India."
She also said, "We will also launch a sensitisation program to reiterate that such incidents against foreign nationals embarrass the country. When I came to know about the unfortunate killing of a Congo national in Delhi, we directed stringent action against the culprits. I would like to assure African students in India that this was an unfortunate and painful incident involving local goons." She said she has asked Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najib Jung to take steps and ensure that the case was tried by a fast-track court. The attacks come at the worst time possible for Modi Sarkar, as the Prime Minister is in the preparations to travel to Africa in the next two months.
Doing his part, the Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma met a delegation of Africans and assured them of prompt action for their safety. They were informed of the steps taken for the safety of Africans in the city and was briefed about the meetings of police all over Delhi with members of the African community.
Boycott of Africa Day Celebrations
The statement released by the African group, had requested celebrations for Africa Day to be held on May 26, be postponed in light of recent events. "They have also decided not to participate in the celebrations, except the cultural troupe from the Kingdom of Lesotho," the statement said. "This is because the African community in India, including students, are in a state of mourning in memory of the slained African students in the last few years, including Olivier," it added.
President condemns attack
President Pranab Mukherjee voiced his concerns over the string of alleged attacks on African nationals. He said it would be most unfortunate if the people of India were to "dilute our long tradition of friendship with the people of Africa". "We shall have to create appropriate awareness in the minds of our youngsters who may not know the history, age old relations (between India and Africa)...India has had trading relations with African countries for centuries and everyone of the 54 countries of Africa has a thriving Indian community doing business, industry etc. We cannot allow these to be jeopardised in anyway and create a bad precedent which is not the ethos, which is not part of the core values of our civilisation."
The attack on Olivier isn't the first, and most certainly not the last. A French language teacher at a private institute, the victim lived in a rented accommodation for the last five years. A mere months before, in February, a 21-year-old Tanzanian woman was allegedly stripped and beaten up by a mob in Bengaluru after a Sudanese man ran over a local.
A few months before that, three African men were beaten up by a mob in New Delhi after they objected to locals taking their pictures. In January 2015, a minister of the Delhi government even raided a neighbourhood inhabited by African nationals, alleging that they were peddling drugs and ran a prostitution ring. Two women, one from Uganda and the other from South Africa, and at least two Nigerian men have alleged that they were targeted in separate attacks this month.
