'Apologised, Should I Hang Myself Now?': YouTuber Paras Singh Arrested For Calling Arunachal Pradesh 'Part Of China'

"Following a complaint, he removed the video & apologized saying it was an inadvertent mistake. His family also apologized. He has been arrested", said Ludhiana ACP Waryam Singh.

Paras Singh (Image Source: Twitter)

Itanagar: Punjab Police on Tuesday evening arrested Ludhiana-based YouTuber Paras Singh after a case was registered against him for allegedly making a racial slur against Arunachal Pradesh MLA Ninong Ering. The YoutTuber was also charged with inciting ill will and hatred towards the people of the northeastern state and calling Arunachal Pradesh 'part of China'.

This comes after Union minister of state for youth affairs and sports Kiren Rijiju tweeted that he talked to the Ludhiana commissioner of police to speed up the process to hand over the accused to Arunachal Pradesh Police.

Paras apologizes for his actions

"Following a complaint, he removed the video & apologized saying it was an inadvertent mistake. His family also apologized. He has been arrested", said Ludhiana ACP Waryam Singh according to ANI.

On Sunday, Paras Singh, who goes by the name Paras Official on his YouTube channel, had in a video termed Congress MLA Ninong Ering a non-Indian and apparently claimed that Arunachal Pradesh was a part of China which caused a huge outrage from Arunachalees and people from other parts of the country. 

After receiving backlash for his video, he posted an apology video title "Sorry Arunachal Pradesh - SAMSUNG,A3,A5,A6,A7,J2,J5,J7,S5,S6,S7,59,A10,A20,A30,A50,A70", looks like an ad for a series of Samsung phones, in the video, he apologized said that he had reuploaded the original video in which he made the racist remark after removing those comments.

"What more can I do? Should I hang myself?", he continued and further stated that he had no intention of offending people and he uploaded the video in anger. 

This was followed up with another apology video but this time by his mother who was seen distressed as it came after he was booked by the authorities. She said that he is just a child and pleaded people to forgive him.

Paras Singh has 461k subscribers on his YouTube channel.

Reaction from leaders

Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Chowna Mein condemning the remarks made by the Youtuber said, "I am appalled and greatly dismayed to see a recent YouTube post by one Mr Paras Singh(Bunty) where he has not only questioned the nationality of an MLA from my State of Arunachal Pradesh but also questioned the existence of our State within India. To doubt our nationality because of how we look is a problem most of us from the North East of India face regularly in the mainland. What we look like, how we dress, what we eat and how we live makes us no less Indian."

3/4. We are proud to be a State in the Union of India where even in the interior most we greet each other with a ‘Jai Hind’ and primary school children even in the border villages sing ‘Saare Jahaan se Achha, Hindustan Hamara’ with pride.

— Chowna Mein (@ChownaMeinBJP) May 24, 2021

Meanwhile, Kiren Rijiju informed that the YouTuber will be brought to Arunachal Pradesh and that all processes preceding it will be done on urgent basis. 

Punjab Police searched & taken Paras Singh under custody. Arunachal Pradesh Police team is reaching Punjab. I've spoken to Police Commissioner of Ludhiana for urgent Judicial process for transit remand as it's inter-state arrest so that he can be brought to Arunachal Pradesh. https://t.co/jm3WFAeVBL

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 25, 2021

Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu condemned Paras Singh’s actions and said that the video aimed at ‘inciting ill will and hatred’ towards the people of the state. 

“Based on the video that aims at inciting ill will and hatred towards the people of Arunachal Pradesh, @ArunachalPolice has already initiated action,” he tweeted. The YouTuber was arrested by Punjab Police after a case was filed against him under various sections of the IPC including 124A, 153A and 505(2).

History racial issues faced by north east

The All-Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) issued a statement to say that the people of the state are hurt by the remarks. “Such incidents are not isolated ones and have been happening time and again in various parts of the country. It is distressing that even after over 70 years of the country’s independence, people from the state and the northeast region in general face humiliation in other parts of the country, whenever they go there for work or study,” the joint statement by AAPSU president Hawa Bagang and general secretary Tabom Dai said according to an HT report.

AAPSU had also lodge an FIR against the YouTuber, Prem Tallong, Secretary Education of AAPSU posted a copy on Twitter. 

#AAPSU lodged FIR against the Youtuber for abusive statement and degrading racist slur on culture and ethnicity of Arunachal Pradesh. @PMOIndia @AmitShah @KirenRijiju @PemaKhanduBJP @Conard @IndiaToday @Tobomdai1 @mejetaku @SamujjalBhatta @EastMojo @Jarpum @sangnoamar pic.twitter.com/sM9VKBjHpU

— prem tallong (@PremTallong) May 24, 2021

There is long standing history of racial abuse faced by people from the North East, sometimes these would even amount to violent attacks. In 2014, Nido Tania was beaten in broad daylight by a gorup of people in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar during which they shouted racial slurs at him. Tania passed away due to brain and lung injuries he had sustained from the attack, this was one the most extreme cases that has occurred in the recent past. 

Reaction from Bollywood

Bollywood actors Rajkummar Rao and Varun Dhawan took to social media to express displeasure over the choice of words used by the YouTuber. Sharing a story, posted by direct Amar Kaushik, "Not Acceptable. I agree Amar Kaushik," Rajkumar wrote.

“Being ignorant about your own country and its region is stupidity itself, but when that ignorance is expressed offensively, it becomes toxic. We all need to call out and condemn such ignorance in one voice and make all idiots understand that it is not acceptable anymore,” Kaushik's post read which shared a screenshot a news article about the racist comment.

Varun Dhawan too posted Kaushik's story and wrote, "Having spent so much time in Arunachal Pradesh, it's time we educate ourself and others about how wrong this is."