HYDERABAD: An Arunachal Pradesh native residing in Hyderabad was allegedly subjected to racism by over 15 people who purportedly called her 'coronavirus' when she went to buy essentials amid the lockdown in the city.
A journalist who has lived in the city for many years, took to Twitter to voice out her horrible experience. She tweeted, "On my way to Medical shop today, at least 15 people called me coronavirus. #CoronaVillains #21daysoflockdown."
Her tweet garnered a lot of attention on social media, with many airing their support for her. "In the wake of Coronavirus what fears me the most is not the pandemic but these kind of racist people. The Northeastners are not just fighting the virus but the deadly virus in this type of people’s mind. #ChineseVirus #CoronaVillains," she said in another tweet.
She also said that it was not just her who was subjected to the same slur, but also her friend who was working as a nurse in the city. However, not everyone was supportive to her plight, with many trolling her. Responding to one such troll on her social media, she said, "I have shared my actual experience which happened to me. I didn’t know some people would go to this extent. Please stop politicising and stop making it more ugly. I repeat I am NOT here for attention! #CoronaLockdown."
Minister of State in Union Home Ministry G Kishan Reddy expressed solidarity to the woman. Retweeting her, he said, "It is disheartening to hear about instances where people make comments that are racial & discriminatory.
"I condemn this & request @TelanganaDGP & @CPHydCity to take strong action against these anti-social elements. Anyone facing such incidents may bring it to my notice."
Telangana's IT and Industry Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi's (TRS) working president KT Rama Rao said, "This is indeed repugnant, absolutely acceptable. Request @TelanganaDGP to issue clear instructions to register cases on those who indulge in slander/abuse of fellow citizens. I appeal to all citizens to be graceful, compassionate & show your best side at this hour of crisis."