‘Unacceptable’: HC raps Police for using controversial term for Africans

The High Court of Punjab & Haryana has rebuked the Punjab Police for using the term ‘nigro’ while referring to an African person in police documents. In a strongly-worded order passed on June 12, the HC said that use of derogatory terms like “Kalla” or “negro” to address black people of African-origin is highly offensive & unacceptable.

Taking strong exception to the Police force normalising everyday racism, the HC said that black people deserve dignity & respect in foreign land & police officials should be immediately sensitised about the issue.

During the hearing related to a drug case, Justice Rajiv Narain Raina ordered that “The Director-General of Police, Punjab is requested to consider the entire issue & notify instructions in this regard to the police force calling upon them never to use the offensive term ‘nigro’ or ‘negro’ while referring to “black” persons in case papers".

The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 18 when the court will consider the limited aspect of the action proposed to be taken by the police to address this issue.

The Court said that “This aspect needs to be corrected by sanction of the law by ordering strict action against the policemen who indulge in this character assassination based on physical features".

The Punjab police had used the term ‘nigro’ while referring to an African person in the challan papers presented before the trial court while filing the charge sheet in a case under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act.

Justice Raina in his order said, “I am appalled to find the term ‘Nigro’ used while referring to an African national in the challan papers…This is a highly offensive word across the globe & no one has any business to use it, & much less the police. The police appear to have assumed that every black is a drug peddler & should be treated as such. This is terrible thinking".

There have been many instances of racism against African people in India in the recent past.

Former Ex-West Indies captain Darren Sammy recently told that he faced racial comments while playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He said that he was called ‘Kalu’ by some of his teammates during the 2013 & 2014 seasons.

Sammy’s post on Instagram reads, “I just learnt what that kalu meant when I played for Sunrisers in the IPL. They called me & Perera (Sri Lankan cricketer Thisara Perera) by that name. I thought it meant strong Stallion. My previous post tells me something different & I am angry".

Many people from African countries have also been subject to racist attacks in the national capital, Delhi over the past few years.

The Punjab & Haryana HC said that despite (India) being a “sub-continent of browns in all its shades, we display a perverted & primitive mind-set of looking down on others.”

The High Court said that “We are, professedly, a tolerant sub-continent of “browns” in all its shades, but more often than not, display a perverted & primitive mind-set looking down on others without looking within ourselves. For many centuries we have been slaves. Freedom does not lend its wings to our countrymen to fly anywhere they wish & in any manner they like & abuse foreigners on the street calling them ‘kalla’".

The Court also said that black people should be referred to only by their country of origin in case papers.

The order said that “All Africans are our friends & when they come to India either as visitors or students they are our valuable guests & we should be reminded that India is rich in its traditions of ‘mehman nawazi’ & ‘attithi sanskar/satkar’ & prides itself on this".

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