In 2007, the North East Support Centre & Helpline (NESC&H) was started as a separate wing of All India Christian Council.
[6] Many North-Eastern Indians face discrimination; are refused living accommodations when they travel to urban areas to study;[7] and are subjected to racial slurs[8] in reference to the appearance of their eyes.
They were at first hurled racial abuses but when they did not react to this, one of the accused tied the leash of his pet dog to one of the women's boots.
[20] In response, the members of Purvottar Hindustani Sammelan (PHS) staged a hunger strike in Dispur to protest against the "merciless killings of innocent and defenceless Hindi-speaking people.
[23] PHS alleged that anti-social groups in Assam were carrying out a continuous hate campaign against the Hindi speakers in the region.
[29] These African students face widespread discrimination from their Indian peers, threat of violence, workplace discrimination with them getting a lower pay and struggling to find part-time jobs despite the rules making internships mandatory, and many face difficulty finding housing and have to pay far higher for it than native residents.
[30] Incidents of violence against African students in India are widespread with some being widely covered by local, national and international media.
[31][32] These include the murder of a 29 year old Congolese national, Masonda Ketada Olivier, in May 2016, who was beaten to death by 3 men in South Delhi over a fight about hiring an auto rickshaw.
[36] Following incidents of violence, the Delhi police in 2017 created a special helpline for Africans residing in the National Capital Region as part of their outreach program to assure them of their safety and security.
In July 2016, the Banglore Police prepared a list of 1500 African students who were overstaying in the country and had no valid visas, and intended to deport them by the month's end.
The students however contended that they are forced to overstay owing to bureaucratic hurdles in extending their visas or getting bona fide certificates from their colleges.
[42] The police also further spread the stereotype of African students being drug dealers by conducting routine narcotic searches and handling their deportation through their anti-drugs departments.