India’s response to attacks on Africans ‘comprehensive’: Vice President Hamid Ansari

Team Udayavani, Feb 20, 2017, 9:16 AM IST

New Delhi: The assaults on African nationals in India last year were “sporadic” in nature, Vice President Hamid Ansari on Sunday said, underlining that the issue was raised at diplomatic level by some of the respective countries but India’s response was “comprehensive”. Mr Ansari also asserted that the issue has “not affected” the flow of Africans to India.

“Government has made its position clear…They were sporadic attacks by anti-social elements. Countries have raised the issue not at government level but at diplomatic level. And, our response has been comprehensive,” he told reporters en route to Rwanda.

“Also, the issue has not affected the flow of citizens from Africa to our country,” Mr Ansari said.

India is home to many African nationals including from Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria and Congo, and some of these attacks took place in Delhi and Bengaluru, sparking outrage among the African community in India.

The string of attacks in the national capital had prompted the Delhi High Court in June last year to observe: “Now Delhi is becoming racist”.

It had also expressed anguish over the attacks on them. The attacks on Africans had taken a diplomatic downturn following the attack on May 20 last on Congolese national Masunda Kitada Oliver who died in a brutal attack in south Delhi.

There were reports appearing regularly about alleged racist remarks and attacks on African nationals. However, the government had maintained that all such incidents cannot be termed as “racist”.