The African diaspora of Bengaluru has expressed its discontent after the suspicious death of a Congolese student. Police violence and anti-black racism worry the African community in India.
At least six injured and a dozen African protesters have been arrested in Bengaluru, India. The African diaspora demonstrated on Monday August 2 against police violence. She was protesting the death of a student from the Republic of Congo while he was in detention. The demonstrators refute the explanations of the police, who assure that Joel Shindani Malu, arrested Sunday for possession of ecstasy pills, "died of cardiac arrest". The 27-year-old Congolese man was brutally arrested by the police and found dead in his cell the next day.
Joel Shindani Malu "was diagnosed with bradycardia and nurses tried to resuscitate him, but he died of cardiac arrest," police said on Monday morning. As soon as the information was relayed on social networks, African nationals organized a demonstration in front of the police station where Malu died. The demonstrators were greeted by numerous police officers who, according to witnesses, attacked the demonstrators with batons. Result: at least six injured, including two in critical condition, and a dozen arrests.
According to the Pan African Federation of India, the group that organized the protests, Joel Malu was beaten to death. A death which would be “the continuity of a long-standing police repression” on the part of the Indian authorities. The collective also accuses the state of "promoting anti-black hatred and racism".
This is serious matter, international students from Africa face so much racism in India, police force needed to be trained in this regard, and the culprit in this case should be severely punished
- Mayur (@ 911mayur) August 2
Racism on all levels
According to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, the investigation and the arrest of Joel Malu would have "respected the directives of the Commission on Human Rights in India (NHRC)". The official says the investigation began several years ago. He also accuses the young Congolese of having "lived in India illegally since 2017". The African diaspora in India denounces "detentions for fabricated charges" by the police. Africans in India claim to be "daily victims of discrimination and police violence".
African youth living in India, for work or study, have been denouncing racism in the country for several years. In addition, the murder of another Congolese national, Masonda Ketada Olivier, in 2016 in New Delhi, had caused a diplomatic crisis between India and several African countries. Ketada had been beaten to death by residents of the Indian capital. His death, like that of Malu, had caused altercations between African demonstrators and the police authorities.
More recently, the lynching of three Siddi - Indians of African descent - occurred in the state of Gujarat, a few weeks after the death of George Floyd in the United States. This had launched the Black Lives Matter movement in India.
According to Nigerian activist living in India, Zaharaddeen Muhammed, the Indian state encourages acts of racism and does nothing to stop hate crimes. “African students are not safe in India. We have to deal with the racism of the locals and the authorities every day, ”says Muhammed before continuing:“ We cannot go out at night, because if people decided to attack us, no one would intervene to defend us ”.
Being African in India: 'We are seen as demons' | Racism |
a - After a year in India, Zaharaddeen Muhammed,… "African students no longer feel safe in India; we have to deal with racism at every turn," My advice: go back. Don't destroy India like u do US. Indians won't tolerate- Naresh Chandra (@ Nchandra615) June 14, 2020