Terming the use of ‘Negro’, while referring to an African national in official documents by the Punjab police, “highly offensive”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a direction never to use the word in any police document including ‘challans’ or anywhere else in case papers including investigation reports.
High Court judge Justice Rajiv Narain Raina, during a hearing of case through video conference on June 12, observed, “I am appalled to find the term ‘Negro’ used while referring to an African national in the challan papers presented under Section 173 Cr.P.C. before the trial court in an NDPS case. This is a highly offensive word across the globe and no one has any business to use it, and much less the police.”
This brings shame to India and hatred for the country, the court said. “The police appear to have assumed that every black is a drug peddler and should be treated as such. This is terrible thinking.”
In the interim order, the court requested the DGP to instruct the force not to use the offensive term while referring to ‘black’ persons in case papers.
“They deserve the dignity and respect in a foreign land as visitors or students from Africa temporarily living in our country, which prides itself on many peoples of all colours of the skin ranging from white to black and aboriginal. This has nothing to do with investigation or crime. Therefore, the investigating officers and the police officials that record FIRs be immediately sensitised and warned on the issue by ensuring that no person should be looked down upon on the basis of the colour of his/her skin. All Africans are our friends and when they come to India either as visitors or students, they are our valuable guests...They should simply be referred to by the country of their origin in case papers,” observed Justice Raina.
Recalling Mahatama Gandhi’s contribution to the apartheid movement, Justice Raina said, “Mahatama Gandhi was politically nurtured in South Africa for two decades pioneering the apartheid movement and fighting against colour discrimination and for freedom against black laws...Let us follow that inspiring precept and pay due respect to each other and other people. We are, professedly, a tolerant sub-continent of “browns” in all its shades, but more often than not, display a perverted and 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 and in any manner they like and abuse foreigners on the street calling them ‘kalla’. To the contrary, freedom teaches love for human dignity and respect for fellow man.”
“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, investigation of crime apart, investigation which should be non-aggressive in the search for truth and commission of cognizable offences... The pernicious practice should be stopped forthwith and the police commanded on pain of disciplinary action never to address anyone by that description, forget about writing it down in official papers of permanent State record,” said the order.
