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African students have been periodically suffering violence in India which goes back to the 2010s. African students and African envoys say that these attacks are related to racism. Indian politicians, and minister of external affairs denied. Portions of media went ballistic against these denials.
What is India government actually doing right now regarding this problem? Has it been acknowledged by the government? What policies are being considered?
TL;DR: Doing nothing, but the problem has been (vaguely) acknowledged.
The Dean of the African Head of Missions in Delhi voiced "deep concern that several attacks and harassment of Africans in India have gone unresolved without diligent prosecution and conviction of perpetrators".
In response, India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted: "I have asked my colleague Gen V K Singh to meet the heads of missions of African countries in Delhi and assure them of the Indian government’s commitment to the safety and security of African nationals in India". She spoke of setting further meetings with African students, to provide a feeling of security and promised to launch "a sensitisation program to reiterate that such incidents against foreign nationals embarrass the country". The minister's official statement still says: "All criminal acts should not be construed as racial attacks". The Home Minister, Rajnath Singh "has given instructions for police patrolling to be increased in areas where a sizeable African community resides". Many of these steps are boilerplate from a template on media handling, and can be seen in previous statements too.
The last update on the investigation of the attack captured by CCTV cameras is that "two of the perpetrators of the crime have already been apprehended, while a search is on for the third person". The motives for the attack and the progress of the prosecution are still not public.
