INDIA HAS NO PLACE FOR HATE
AND NEEDS NOT A TEN-YEAR MORATORIUM BUT AN
END TO COMMUNAL AND TARGETTED VIOLENCE AGAINST RELIGIOUS MINORITIES
A report on the ground situation since the results of
the General Elections were announced on 16th May 2014
Edited by Dr. John
Dayal
NEW
DELHI, September 27th, 2014
The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, led by Bharatiya
Janata Party to a resounding victory in the general elections of 2014, riding a
wave generated by his promise of “development” and assisted by a remarkable mass mobilization in one of the most politically surcharged
electoral campaigns in the history of Independent India. When the results were announced on 16th
May 2014, the BJP had won 280 of the 542 seats, with no party getting even the
statutory 10 per cent of the seats to claim the position of Leader of the Opposition.
The
days, weeks and months since the historic victory, and his assuming office on
26th May 2014 as the 14th Prime Minister of India, have
seen the rising pitch of a crescendo of hate speech against Muslims and
Christians. Their identity derided, their patriotism scoffed at, their
citizenship questioned, their faith mocked. The environment has degenerated
into one of coercion, divisiveness, and suspicion. This has percolated to the
small towns and villages or rural India, severing bonds forged in a dialogue of
life over the centuries, shattering the harmony build around the messages of
peace and brotherhood given us by the Sufis and the men and women who led the
Freedom Struggle under Mahatma Gandhi. The hate speeches have resonated in
debates in the Chamber of the Lok Sabha – an exceptionally and aggressively
provocative and virulent one by the BJP leader
and lead speaker, Yogi Adityanath, in the debate on communal violence --
and in meetings, rallies and statements
to the Media by leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and its associate
organisations, collectively called the Sangh Parivar. Their focal points have
been to rouse their cadres and others by sowing seeds of fear, listing “Love Jihad”,
inter-community marriage, and conversions as conspiracies by religious
minorities, specially Muslims and Christians, against the existence of the
Hindu faith and Mother India. Adityanath,
now head of a religious cult in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, got away with
demonising the Muslim community and others. The Congress was ineffective in
rebutting him and his colleagues, and so were the others in pinning down the
very aggressive and very big BJP group in the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha debate,
the fielding of Adityanath as the key speaker for his party, and the applause
he received from the leaders and other members on the BJP benches, set to rest
any polite talk that the political high command distances itself from the
lunacy of the Sangh Parivar. The hate campaign has mutated to a more coercive and threatening
that has percolated to the Universities and colleges on the one hand and the villages and small
towns over much of the country. One group even set up a “Hindu
Helpline” to assist anyone from the majority community who is being harassed by
Muslims, announcing its cadres will come to the help of any Hindu parent who
suspects his or her daughter is seeing a Muslim youth.
The Prime Minister,
Mr. Narendra Modi, has not yet spoken about, much less condemned, the virulent
and poisonous hate campaign against Muslims and Christian communities in India
carried out by the cadres of the non-State actor, the “socio-cultural” Sangh
Parivar.
Mr. Modi’s two sentences in his interview with Mr. Fareed Zakaria of the US-based CNN
International on the eve of his visit to
meet President Barak Obama in Washington
in September 2014 was the first time he has referred to India’s
religious minorities since a passing reference in his Independence Day speech
calling for a “10-year moratorium’ on
violence. Mr. Zakaria asked: “Ayman
al-Zawahiri the head of al Qaeda has issued a video and an appeal trying to
create an al Qaeda really in India. In South Asia he says but the message was
really directed towards India and he says he wants to free Muslims from the
oppression they face in Gujarat, in Kashmir. Do you think, do you worry that
something like this could succeed?” Mr.
Modi said: “My understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the
Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their
tune, they are delusional. Indian Muslims will live for India. They will die
for India. They will not want anything bad for India.”
In his 15th August
address, his first, Mr. Modi said: “Communalism
and casteism are an obstacle in the country’s progress. We see violence on
the basis of religion and caste. How long? Who is benefiting? We have fought
enough, killed enough. If you look back, you will find that nobody has gained
anything…. It took us to even partition. ”I appeal that for the sake of
country’s progress, there should be a 10-year moratorium on violence, at least
for once, so that we are free from these ills. We should have peace, unity and
harmony. Please believe my word, if we give up the path of violence and adopt
the path of brotherhood, we will make progress,”
The hate campaign, the violence, the
open threats have stunned not just the religious minorities, but civil society,
jurists and academics. Many of them articulated their concern not just at the violence but at the
silence of the Government, State
organisations charged with addressing issues of communal harmony and national
integration, and the leadership of the
Bharatiya Janata Party which now rules India.
Inevitably, this has led to great violence.
Over 600 incidents of targetted religious minorities have taken place from May
to September 2014 in several parts of the country, but specially which have
seen, or will soon see, by-elections or elections to the Legislative
Assemblies. In the first few weeks of the new government, by its own admission,
A total of 113 communal incidents have taken place in various parts of the country during
May-June in which 15 people were killed and 318 others were injured, Minister
of State for Home Affairs, Mr. Kiren Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha. Many of the
incidents of violence were directed against individuals and places of worship
of the Muslim community, specially in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. These incidents of violence include at
least 36 recorded incidents against the
tiny Christian community in various parts of the country. The Christian community, its
pastors, congregations and churches, were targets of mob violence and State impunity in dozens of cases in Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, particularly, as the Sangh Parivar
declared a campaign of “Ghar Wapsi” and Shuddhikaran or conversions to Hinduism, and a war on all
evangelical activity. Target dates, one
of them coinciding with Christmas 2014, have been set to “cleanse” various
areas of Muslim and Christian presence. The state apparatus and specially the
police often became a party arresting not the aggressors but the victims to
satisfy the demands of the mob. There have attempts
at religious profiling of Christian academic instititons, and their students in the national capital.
“The
highest in the government and the Sangh Parivar are in unison in sending across
the message that Islam is un-Indian and Muslims by and large anti-national. We
must take these signs seriously because the implications of linking up religion
and nationalism are bound to be disastrous.” Prof Kancha Iliaih wrote. [http://www.sacw.net/article9562.html]
The internationally respected Economic and
Political Weekly recently noted “If communal polarisation of the electorate to
build a Hindutva vote bank was a constant presence in the general election
campaign, it has only seen a sharpening in the, supposedly important, “first
100 days” of the BJP-led government in office. An important way in which this
has been done is the strategy of the Sangh Parivar to calibrate communal
violence and hate campaigns in a way so as to keep it “under the radar”. One of
the ways of accomplishing this is to shift the locus of violence and
mobilisations from the urban centres to small towns and rural areas; another
course is to keep the “dead-count” low and use variants of everyday, “routine”
violence to spread tensions and create panic. Yet another scheme is to convert
India-Pakistan relations into a subset of the Hindu-Muslim relations within
India (and here the conveniently timed ratcheting up of tensions and cross-border
firing is proving very useful). The most prominent method deployed in recent
weeks has been the issue of “Love Jihad”.
Eminent jurist Mr. Fali Nariman, a former Member of the
Rajya Sabha and a Member of the National Integration Council traditionally
chaired by the Prime Minister of India,
expressed concern at the government’s “silence” on the hate speeches
witnessed in parts of India and rued that Hinduism was “changing its benign
face”. Traditionally Hinduism has been the most
tolerant of all Indian faiths. But -
recurrent instances of religious tension fanned by fanaticism and hate-speech
has shown that the Hindu tradition of tolerance is showing signs of
strain. And let me say this frankly – my
apprehension is that Hinduism is somehow changing its benign face
because, and only because it is believed and proudly proclaimed by a few (and
not contradicted by those at the top): that it is because of their faith and
belief that HINDUS have been now put in the driving seat of governance. Nariman praised Jawaharlal Nehru,
saying he “never looked upon the diverse and varied peoples of India from the
standpoint of Hinduism”. While dealing with minority rights, Indian courts had
once conceptualised their role as that of an Opposition political party — until
the BJP in the early 1990s characterized Congress policy as “appeasement of the
minorities”. The label stuck; “minority” became an unpopular word, he said.
“We have been hearing on television and reading in newspapers almost
daily a tirade by one or more individuals or groups against one or another
section of citizens (from) a religious minority. The criticism has been that
the majority government at the Centre has done nothing to stop this tirade. I
agree,” he said delivering the annual lecture organised by the National
Commission for Minorities at the Constitution Club. It was titled “Minorities
at crossroads: comments on judicial pronouncements”. Mr. Nariman urged the commission to move court by
invoking the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code against those making hate speeches and
publicise the action to win the confidence of the minorities. [See full text of
Mr. Nariman’s speech in the Annexure]
His words did move the National
Commission for Minorities. The
NCM, in a resolution posted on its website, said: “The Commission would
appreciate a public statement from the Government to reassure all minorities
that their constitutional rights of safety, security and equality before the
law cannot be compromised at any cost. The Government needs to send a clear
signal that it is committed to the protection and security of all citizens and
that no attempt at creating an atmosphere of fear and mistrust will be
tolerated.” Without naming hate speeches of
some politicians of the ruling BJP such as
Yogi Adityanath and Dr. Praveen Togadia against Muslims for so-called
'Love Jihad' campaign, the resolution said “The NCM also condemns the
communally charged statements attributed to prominent people in public life
which are creating this atmosphere of mistrust and heightened tension. These
happenings are violating the principles of the Indian Constitution and also the
call given by the Hon'ble Prime Minister that there should be a moratorium on
communal riots,” reads the resolution. The NCM also called to honour the words of the Prime Minister.
The rapid vanishing of tolerance
and secularism from public space in recent months has disturbed thinkers, analysts and
commentators in the country who see this as encouraging hate speech and targetted violence.
Noted
editor Mr. Bharat Bhushan wrote “What we are witnessing is not just Hindu
rituals in the public sphere but their use to create a predominantly Hindutva
public sphere that marginalises others. Rituals are mere instruments.” (http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/bharat-bhushan-pm-as-pilgrim-or-indianness-redefined-114081401189_1.html [http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/bharat-bhushan-pm-as-pilgrim-or-indianness-redefined-114081401189_1.html])
The eminent activist, Mr. Harsh
Mander wrote in the Hindustan Times, "In the three months since Narendra
Modi’s spectacular triumph, many corners of the country have begun to smoulder
in slow fires of orchestrated hate and distrust against India’s Muslims.... The
culpability for each of these clashes lies with the communal organisations bent
on fomenting animosities. But it is shared equally by the shamefully weak-kneed
(or actively prejudiced) responses of the state and district administrations in
these states.... After characterising the millennium of Indian history when the
majority of its rulers were Muslim as an era of slavery, the studied silence of
the otherwise garrulous Prime Minister about these attacks is both deafening an
The patterns are familiar. A multitude of
ever-growing Hindu nationalist organisations – some mainstream, some fringe –
deploy and refashion small local disputes to spur rage and suspicion against
the Muslim people, each time reviving and fuelling old stereotypes. The
manufactured flashpoints are also familiar: disputes over land for shrines and
graveyards, an offending loudspeaker in a place of worship, charges of young
Muslim men sexually harassing hapless Hindu women in a sinister campaign of
‘love jihad’, sometimes with the added twist of forced conversions, or cow
slaughter. It is no secret that the BJP rose to power with active support of RSS
cadres, and the adrenaline of their decisive victory has led them to feel
emboldened to pursue even more vigorously their intensely divisive agendas.
Raised on a staple diet of anti-Muslim propaganda, and encouraged further by
the open deployment of these sentiments to reap a polarised vote in states like
UP and Bihar, high-pitched communal tempers are not a genie which can be
released and then pushed back into a bottle at will. A sense of dread
slowly therefore mounts almost invisibly over the country as communal tempers
are cynically and perilously being overheated for a series of electoral
harvests.
An
editorial in the Indian Express asks, “So who is in charge in the BJP? And why
is no action being taken against those like Adityanath and Thakur who are
openly stoking communal tensions on the ground, especially in poll-bound states,
in flagrant defiance of the forward-looking and development-oriented image
courted by the Modi-led BJP at the Centre? Or is the party playing true to its
own worst stereotype — of always speaking in two voices, carefully
choreographing the interplay between them and their alternation?”
Political columnist and author
John Dayal noted: The BJP is unabashed about its links with the Sangh
Parivar. Mr. Modi is himself a former RSS leader, as are several of his Cabinet
colleagues. Some ranking RSS officials have in recent weeks been inducted as
general secretaries of the BJP, leaving absolutely no one in any doubt of the
seamless fusion of the political party and the Sangh which styles itself as a
social and cultural organisations. Mr. Seshadri Chari,
former editor of RSS mouthpiece Organiser and member of the BJP national
executive, who enjoys a deserved reputation as a sober and reflective
commentator, is quoted in the Outlook Magazine saying says that Hindus have
always been a majority in India but the manifestation of majoritarianism has
been reflected in the cultural and social field. “Now it is reflected in
the politics of the country. A large number of foot-soldiers in the RSS-BJP do
believe that the political Hindu has arrived.”
THE HATE CAMPAIGN: RSS chief Mr. Mohan
Bhagwat has repeated asserted that everyone in India is Hindu, including
Muslims and Christians, because this is the land of the Hindu people and
civilisation. This refrain was picked up by the Deputy Chief Minister of Goa,
and by big and small leaders across the country, going viral on social media and the national TV News channels
in their English and Hindi debates. The Sangh ideologue MG Vaidya said on 19th
May, three days after the election results, that they can now tackle issues
such as the building of the Ram temple on the site of the Babri mosque they
demolished in 1992 Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Mr. Ashok Singhal, said “if
[Muslims] keep opposing Hindus, how long can they survive?”. Another leader
said “Modi will restore Hindutva rule, like Prithviraj Chauhan (25th May 2014).
The focus is now on Love Jihad. [See Annexure for details and Links.]
EXAMPLES OF ATTACKS ON THE CHRISTIAN
COMMUNITY:
Christians constitute 2.3 per cent of the
national population, according to the 2011 census. They have been a focal
target of the Sangh Parivar for a long time. Recent weeks have again seen a
rash of well-planned and organized attacks on Church, Christian schools and
institutes have been regular. Desecration of religious symbols, burning of
bibles and crosses to dishonor the religion has been intentionally carried
through the country.
In August 2014, 72 Valmikis (a section of
the Dalit community) who had in the past converted to Christianity underwent a
so-called “re-conversion” to Hinduism in Aligarh in the state of Uttar Pradesh,
under the auspices of the ‘Dharam Jagran Vivad”
(Religious Awakening Forum). This was a “Ghar Vapassi” (literally, a
“return home”) ceremony through which the Sangh Parivar intervenes to claim
non-Hindu members of the Dalit and Adivasi communities as Hindus. The
Constitution of India guarantees freedom of religion, allowing for the free
exercise of individual choice over matters of faith. However, “Freedom of Religion” laws enacted in several states
presume that individuals are incapable of making their own informed decisions
regarding matters of faith, and can only be manipulated or coerced into
conversion. The language of the Gujarat anti-conversion law enacted in 2003 is
telling in this respect. Conversion is viewed as an attempt “to make one person
to renounce one religion and adopt another religion.” These laws empower
district administrations to oversee and regulate religious conversions, in
order to prevent what are referred to as conversions by “fraud” or “force.”
Effectively, these laws target Christian and Muslim
communities and provide opportunities for both local officials and Hindu
supremacist organizations to harass and intimidate them. The anti-conversion
laws, passed by a number of states, do not apply to such ‘Ghar Vapsi’
ceremonies. The Sangh Parivar has a singular focus
on curbing any conversions out of Hinduism, particularly by
Dalits and Adivasis. In April 2013 BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu, now a Cabinet
minister, had publicly announced his party’s intention to “bring an anti-
conversion law to ban religious conversions in the country if it is voted to power in 2014 General Elections.”
Highlighting the primary motivation underlying his party’s anxiety over
conversions, he went on to add: “...The country will be safe and sound only
when Hindus are in a majority.”
Inspired by the party’s rise to power,
several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have launched so-called
“re-conversion” drives targeting Christian communities. RSS Hindu activist,
Rajeshwar Singh recently declared while
converting a Christian family to Hinduism in Hasayan (140 km south of Delhi in
the state of Uttar Pradesh), “We will cleanse our
Hindu society. We will not let the conspiracy of church or mosque succeed in
Bharat (India).” Rumors continue to circulate suggesting Christians were
forcibly converted and the church has also been refashioned into a Shiva
temple. These conversion efforts are directed primarily at Adivasis and Dalits,
informed by a caste politics that drives Hindutva anxieties over conversion.
The basic claim that all Christians, like Muslims, are converts, empowers
Hindutva groups to deny the religious legitimacy of Adivasi and Dalit
Christians. Moreover the claim that conversion to Hinduism is merely
“re-conversion” rests on the fallacious notion that all Adivasis are “Hindu” by
default, denying the legitimacy of their own distinct and autonomous religious
traditions. In BJP-ruled states like Chhattisgarh, draconian laws specifically
target Christians, as in the recent case of the Bilaspur High Court banning “all non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers and
speeches in the villages” in Bastar district. The message is clearly
that the only religious identity permissible is Hinduism. The administration
has remained silent on the growing atmosphere of repression threatening
Christians in India.
On May 18, 2014 in Kundapur, Karnataka, the
properties of two churches were damaged by unidentified miscreants. An ornamental pot at the entrance of the Holy
Rosary church were broken and a signpost leading to St. Antony Church in
Koteshwar also was uprooted. On June 24, 2014 in Bhilai, Durg, suspected Hindu
extremists demolished an independent church. According to local sources, the
church was completely destroyed. Rumors were spread among the villagers
claiming that the building was destroyed by a cyclone. The area Christians,
however, maintained that it was the hands of the extremists as only the church
was damaged in the area by the so called 'cyclone'. Another incident is that of courage at one of
the Free Methodist Churches at Belar, 30 kms east of Jagadalpur,
Chhattisgarhwhich was under attack. A frenzied mob of the Vajrang Dal stormed
towards the church premises on June 3, 2014 with the intention of demolishing
the building. But the villagers took their ground and frustrated the evil plan.
Such attacks are pre planned and
pre-meditated to cause maximum damage to property, resources, vehicles, and
cause damages that are very hard to rebuild.
Social Exclusion: 52
families were denied ration for two months in the Sirisguda Village which was
an order enforced by the panchayat head. They approached the food inspector of
the district and asked for an enquiry to be conducted. On Monday, June 16,
2014, when the two representatives were sent to appease the village leaders and
the complainants, both of them were chased away from the village. Then some
assailants filed a false complaint at the Badanji Police Station, Lakandi Taluk
- District Bastar about the Christians beating the Hindus in the village. This
was simultaneously followed up by a mob of 200 perpetrators who attacked 52
Christian families. Most families were stoned and chased away with sticks,
while 8 men and 2 women were seriously injured and hospitalized. This incident
preceded the banning of non-Hindu missionaries in Bastar, as mentioned above
(Sec. II, Increasing Intolerance against Christians).
Social exclusions are the one of the primary
tactics to victimize minorities denying basic human rights that are common to
every citizen. These exclusion orders, often make Christians vulnerable to
excessive violence and denial of social privileges like access to water,
electricity and work. On July 28, 2014 a mob of over 300 persons from the Yadav
community led by Swami Krishnadavananda threatened the Pastor and 30 families
who were believers in the Church at Gallaragati, Holalkara in the ChitradurgaDistrict
to convert back to Hindusim. They along with the local Panchayat issued a one
week deadline to decide on the same, which otherwise, would lead to the
families being ostracized from the local village. Such exclusions force
families into submission or are attacked for making a choice of being as a
Christian.
Assaults on Church Leaders and
Believers: Assaults on
Church leaders and believers have augmented bizarrely. Profiling of Christians
in villages and attacking them has been the most effective way of spreading
terror among the minorities. A Christian along with his wife, mother-in-law and
mother were beaten by Hindu fanatics at Parapur Village in Bastar, Chhattisgarh
on July 26, 2014. The incident occurred when five Hindu fanatics took Shri
Raguram (name changed) outside his house and started verbally abusing him. They
alleged that that he had left their Gods and became a Christian to which he
replied saying that he had become a Christian because he wanted to and no one
had forced him to do so. On hearing this, they started slapping and kicking
him. Then when they began to strangle him with the intention of killing, his
mother and mother-in-law interfered and stopped the men from trying to kill
him. They then slapped and beat the elderly women and his wife. He was bleeding
profusely and was later admitted to the Jagdalpur hospital. When Shri Raguram's
wife went to the Lohandiguda Police Station to file a complaint, the police
refrained from doing so, citing it as a family feud.
In another incident, a mob of about 10
people came and attacked a Pastor and believers in Perur, near Coimbatore while
praying for a 8 year old who had a fractured her hand, on Sunday, August 3,
2014 at 7:00pm. Six men among the mob stormed into the house and beat up the
pastor and the family, including women and children with vessels. According to
the local police, the pastor was allegedly beaten up with sticks and dragged
outside the house. He was then stripped and publicly humiliated by the gang.
The FIR was filed in Perur Police station and the two men were arrested and
remanded to judicial custody by the magistrate of Coimbatore Court. Two
preachers from the Jehovah Witness were arrested on allegations of conversion
on August 17, 2014 at Sukhiya, Indore, which was also the day of the Hindu
festival Janmashtami. They were taken to
the Harsh Nagar Police Station where a FIR was filed and they were charged
under the MP Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 under Sec. 3 and 4. A mob of over
400 people had gathered outside the police station chanting slogans against the
pastor. They were bailed out by Christian workers next day morning. Most of
these incidents are not reported to the police due to fear and intimidation
fromthe local thugs that operate for the RSS, VHP and the Bajrang Dal. Such
attacks are unconstitutional and against the fundamental right to freedom on
religion.
Police Inaction: However, the violence in itself fails to
reveal the full picture. The impunity enjoyed by the violent mobs is a bigger
cause for concern. Many victims of violence complain about the lack of police
action, including hostility towards Christians. Police resist filing criminal
complaints and have on several instances allegedly threatened to falsely
incriminate the victims in some cases.
On September 6, 2014, twelve pastors were
beaten at a Police station in Greater Noida on the pretext of a mob of about
150 Hindu fundamentalists that had gathered outside and demanded such action.
The police obliged and thrashed the pastors. No reports were filed. It was
baffling to know that the police had thrashed the pastors. Such police
atrocities have led to increase of impunity among perpetrators.
On June 30, 2014, the police manhandled a
Pastor, filed a case against him and summoned him to appear before the court in
Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was reported that the local
Hindu extremists had opposed the ministry of the Pastor and threatened to harm
him several times in the past for conducting prayer meetings. However, the
pastor continued to conduct worship services and later started to build a
prayer hall on his land. Subsequently, the extremists filed a police complaint
against the pastor of illegal construction. Earlier, on 19 April, 2014, the
police had questioned the same Pastor at his home, slapped him and told him to
stop the construction work and had charged him Under Sections 107 and 116 of
the Indian Penal Code.
Anti Christian violence
May-September 2014
{This
is a list of some of the cases that have been documented by various Christian
groups. This by no means is exhaustive.]
|
Date
|
Location
|
Description
|
|
|
1
|
May
18, 2014
|
Kundapur,
Udupi, Karnataka, India
|
The properties of two churches was damaged by
unidentified miscreants. An ornamental
pot at the entrance of the Holy Rosary church was broken and a signpost
leading to St. Antony Church in Koteshwar also was uprooted.
|
|
2
|
May
25, 2014
|
Kishanganj,
Bihar, India
|
A mob attacked
and physically assaulted a Christian family and blocked the road.
Subsequently again the mob returned and beat up the family asking them to
leave Christianity. Even the little children and young girls were beaten-up.
A FIR was registered against both the Christians and members of the mob for
disturbing the peace of the region. The local church has been shut down till
date.
|
|
3
|
June
14, 2014
|
Katni,
Murshidabad, Madhya Pradesh, India
|
On 14
June in Gayatri Nagar, Katni, Hindu fundamentalists manhandled Christians and
tore up Bibles. About 15 fundamentalists from the Bajrang Dal attacked the
Pastor and few believers from Brethren church when they were coming out from
one believer's house after a prayer.
The fundamentalists surrounded them, started to verbally abuse them
for their faith in Christ and pushed them around. Thereafter, the
fundamentalists snatched their bags, took out the Bibles and tore it up
threatening them not to pray again in the area in the future. The Christians,
however, did not file a police complaint against the attackers.
|
|
4
|
June
16, 2014
|
Sirisguda,
Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India
|
When
52 families were denied ration for two months in the Sirisguda Village which
was a order enforced by the panchayat head, they approached the food inspector
of the district and asked for an enquiry to be conducted. When the two
representatives were sent to appease the village leaders and the
complainants, both of them were chased away from the village. Then some
assailants filed a false complaint at the Badanji Police Station, Lakandi
Taluk - District Bastar about the
Christians beating the Hindus in the village. This was simultaneously
followed up by a mob of 200 perpetrators who attacked 52 Christian families.
Most families were stoned and chased away with sticks, while 8 men and 2
women were seriously injured and hospitalized.
|
|
5
|
June
24, 2014
|
Bhilai,
Durg, Chhattisgarh, India
|
Suspected
Hindu extremists demolished an independent church of a Pastor Rakesh (name
changed). According to local sources, the thatched building of the church was
completely destroyed. Some villagers claimed that the building was destroyed
by a cyclone. The area Christians, however, maintained that it was the hands
of the extremists as only the church was damaged in the area by the so called
'cyclone'. Moreover, the local Hindu
extremists have threatened to harm the Pastor if he continues to conduct a
worship meeting in the area several times in the past.
|
|
6
|
June
30, 2014
|
Dewas,
Madhya Pradesh, India
|
A
Pastor was severely beaten by a mob of about 150 assailants during an
afternoon prayer meeting at Killoda Village at Madhya Pradesh, India on
Monday, the 30th of June, 2014. The pastor was later arrested along with a
member of his church and charged under the MP Freedom of Religion Act Sec.3,
4 and 5. The incident took place when the pastor was at his church member's
house to conduct a prayer meeting at around 2:00 pm. The local RSS leader
along with the mob came to the house and caught the pastor and started
beating him up profusely. He was verbally abused for being an adivasi and for
using people from higher castes to convert the village into Christianity.
They also got hold of the member and beat him up after which he escaped and
ran to the nearby village. Seeing how the mob was beating up the pastor, the
member's family managed to take the pastor inside their house and locked the
doors to protect him from the raging mob that was waiting to get hold of the
pastor again. Meanwhile, the police was called and the Pastor was arrested
while the church member was also arrested the next day.
|
|
7
|
June
30, 2014
|
Gandhi
Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
|
Police
manhandled a Pastor, filed a case against him and summoned him to appear
before the court on 30 June. It was reported that the local Hindu extremists
have opposed the ministry of the Pastor and threatened to harm him several
times in the past for conducting prayer meetings. However, the pastor
continued to conduct worship services and later started to build a prayer
hall on his land. Subsequently, the extremists filed a police complaint
against the pastor of illegal construction. On 19 April,2014, the police
questioned the Pastor at his home, slapped him and told him to stop the
construction work and charged him Under Sections 107 and 116 of the Indian
Penal Code for abetment of a thing and abetment of offence respectively.
|
|
8
|
July
3, 2014
|
Jagdalpur,
Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India
|
One of
the Free Methodist Churches at Belar, 30 Km. east of Jagdalpur, Chhatisgarh
was under by a frenzied mob of the Vajrang Dal that stormed towards the
church premises on June 3, 2014 with the intention of demolishing the building.
But the villagers took their ground and frustrated the evil plan. The
Christians mostly belong to Madia tribe.
|
|
9
|
July
6, 2014
|
Jaunpur,
Uttar Pradesh, India
|
An
aggressive mob of about 70 Shiv Sena activists attacked a Church during their
Sunday morning worship at 10:30 am, which was attended by 250 people,
including women and children. Even when the Police arrived, the ruthless
attack on the members of the Church did not stop until the senior police
officials arrived and intervened with additional police personnel at the
scene. 11 Christians were arrested the same day over allegations of
conversion while 5 attackers from the mob were arrested on a non-bailable
warrant the next day. The 11 Christians were bailed out on July 8, 2014.
|
|
10
|
July
7, 2014
|
Bastar,
Chhattisgarh, India
|
An
aggressive campaign by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had led to a ban on the
entry of and propaganda by non-Hindu missionaries, especially Christians, in
more than 50 villages of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region in the last six months.
According to Suresh Yadav, Bastar district president of the VHP, over 50 gram
panchayats in Bastar have passed orders banning all “non-Hindu religious
propaganda, prayers and speeches in the villages. The Sirisguda gram
panchayat in the Tokapal block of Bastar passed the order at a special Gram
Sabha organised on May 10.The order says, 'to stop the forced conversion by
some outsider religious campaigners and to prevent them from using derogatory
language against Hindu deities and customs, the Sirisguda Gram Sabha bans
religious activities such as prayers, meetings and propaganda of all
non-Hindu religions'.
|
|
11
|
July
13, 2014
|
Patholi,
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
|
Hindu
extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on July 13 disrupted a Sunday
worship meeting, verbally abused the Christians and beat them up. The
extremists wearing khaki pants barged into the worship meeting conducted in a
house church, accused the believers of being traitors and betraying their
fathers' religion and beat them up. However, the Christians replied that they
are free to worship anyone they like and that no one should simply barged
into a worship meeting and get violent. The extremists further threatened the
Christians of dire consequences if they continued to worship Jesus and gather
on Sundays.
|
|
12
|
July
16, 2014
|
Balwanazir,
Kaliyanganj, Bihar, India
|
Hindu
extremists who had locked up a church on June 5 after they beat up a
Christian family returned to threaten the family on 16 July even after Police
took action last month against the extremists. The extremists had repeatedly
beat up Kumar (name changed) and his family for their faith in Christ in May
and June and finally locked up the church of the Indian Evangelical Team.
Kumar and his family were dragged on the road and the entire family including two minor girls were beaten up mercilessly in the last incident. Singh and his family were socially boycotted ever since they decided to follow Christ in 2010. |
|
13
|
July
17, 2014
|
Bulandshahr,
Uttar Pradesh, India
|
On 17
July, Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal vadalized a Church at
Bulandshahr. They verbally abused the priest and insulted the Bible. 2 of
them were later arrested after a report was filed by the Priest.
|
|
14
|
July
25, 2014
|
Jagdalpur,
Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India
|
The
leaders of the Sirisguda village in the state of Chattisgarh have alleged
that a Christian believer grabbed land forcefully to build a prayer house.
Shri Aditya (name changed) was taken to the Collector's office on the July
24th and asked to sign on papers on which he did not know what was written.
The next day he came to know that he had signed on papers that lodged a
complaint against his own nephew for forcefully grabbing his land to build a
prayer house. Shri Aditya said that he was fully supportive of his nephew for
building the prayer house and did not oppose his decision. However, he said
that the leaders of the village had duped him to sign the papers. He has
filed a complaint about the incident at the Badanji Police Station.
|
|
15
|
July
26, 2014
|
Bastar,
Chhattisgarh, India
|
A
Christian along with his wife, mother-in-law and mother were beaten by Hindu
fanatics at Parapur Village in Bastar, Chattisgarh. The incident occurred
when five Hindu fanatics called Shri Raguram (name outside) outside his house
and started verbally abusing him. They alleged that that he had left their
Gods and became a Christian to which he replied saying that he had become a Christian
because he wanted to and no one had forced him to do so. On hearing this,
they started slapping and kicking him. Then when they began to strangle him
with the intention of killing, his mother and mother-in-law interfered and
stopped the men from trying to kill him. They then slapped and beat the
elderly women and his wife. He was bleeding profusely and was later admitted
to the Jagdalpur hospital. When Shri Raguram's wife went to the Lohandiguda
Police Station to file a complaint, the police refrained from doing so,
citing it as a family feud.
|
|
16
|
August
1, 2014
|
Gallaragati,
Holalkara, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India
|
On
28th July, 2014 (Monday), a mob of over 300 persons from the Yadav community
led by Swami Krishnadavananda threatened the Pastor and 30 families who were
believers in the Church to convert back to Hindusim. They along with the
local Panchayat have issued a one week deadline to decide on the same, which
otherwise, would lead to the families being ostracized from the local
village.
|
|
17
|
August
2, 2014
|
Jasadih
Village, Deoghar, Jharkand, India
|
A
Christian widow was beaten by local villagers for taking water from the
public well. Shrimati Diya (name changed) who had recently started coming to
Church was ostracized by the villagers for becoming a Christian along with
other believers. The villagers had issued a warning to all Christians in the
village to refrain from using the water from the common tube well. Upon
hearing about the incident, the village chief defended the Christians and
said, ' All have the right to take water from public well and no one should
be stopped'. The incident was averted and no report has been filed.
|
|
18
|
August
3, 2014
|
Perur,
near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
|
A mob
of about 10 people came and attacked a Pastor and believers while praying for
a 8 year old who had a fractured her hand. Six men among the mob stormed into
the house and beat up the pastor and the family, including women and children
with vessels. According to the local police, the pastor was allegedly beaten
up with sticks and dragged outside the house. He was then stripped and
publicly humiliated by the gang. The FIR was filed in Perur Police station
and two men were arrested and remanded to Judicial custody by the magistrate
of Coimbatore Court.
|
|
19
|
August
6, 2014
|
Rohtak,
Haryana, India
|
On
Wednesday, some unidentified men allegedly vandalized Christian school buses
parked in front of a church in Rohtak.
|
|
20
|
August
8, 2014
|
Sakti,
Chhattisgarh, India
|
On
August 8, 2014 , two women were alleged to have forcefully converted people
and were arrested under Section 4 of The Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion
Act. The women, who work as a nurse at the local PHC and a reader at the
Tehsildar's office were caught by Hindu fundamentalists during a women's
prayer meeting at the Nurse's home. 12 persons have recorded statements
against the women and have charged them of forced conversion. The reports
alleged that the nurse and the readers promised healing and prayed for sick
patients while asking them to accept Jesus.
|
|
21
|
August
10, 2014
|
Chinnatharapuram,
Karur, Tamil Nadu, India
|
On
August 10, 2014, about 9 Hindu extremists pelted stones at the Church during
their Sunday service that was being conducted by Christian missionaries.
After the Sunday service at 5:30 pm, they came and threatened the
missionaries to stop their ministry in the area.
|
|
22
|
August
10, 2014
|
Arikpal
Village, Jagdalpur, Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India
|
Hindu
extremists have alleged that local Christians broke some of their idols about
40 kms from Jagdalpur Village. A mob of 20-30 people have threatened the
local Christians who have now approached the District Collector for
protection for fear of violence that might break out against them. The
situation is very tense at press time.
|
|
23
|
August
17, 2014
|
Koranga
village, Kunkuri, Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, India
|
A
Pastor was forcefully pulled out by Hindu extremists during Sunday's service
and taken to the police station where the police arrested him and booked him
under Section 295(A). The extremists
had lodged complaints against the Pastor in three different police stations.
They alleged that he had referred to Hindu Gods as evil spirits, asked
believers to wear necklaces with crosses and converted people. About 20 local
villagers testified at the Kunkuri Police Station that the allegations were
false. The Pastor is still in jail and did not got bail till press time.
|
|
24
|
August
17, 2014
|
Medinipur,
Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India
|
A
Pastor was beaten by Hindu Extremists for not reconverting to Hinduism and
repeating the chants. The incident occurred while returning from the Church
service that he had conducted that morning. The Pastor went to Goumutha
Church in East Medinipur for the Sunday worship Service. After the Church
service, at about 4.30 pm, he went to the Chandipur Bus stop to board into a
bus to return back home and while waiting decided to have tea. Two Hindu
extremists came to him with printed handbills by local Hindu extremists and
asked the Pastor to read it aloud. They then probed him about his whereabouts
and forcefully took to them to their Ashram at Kotal Village. They then
repeatedly beat him and ask him to chant Hindu mantras while they put a Tilak
on his forehead. They then took him to four other of their centers and
tortured him for the rest of the evening. They took away his ATM card, mobile
and all his documents. The Pastor was then given three options in order to be
released - first, he had to recant his faith and re-convert into his old
faith, Hinduism, secondly, he had to worship the Gods in the temple and
thirdly, provide details of those who support him financially. They also
threatened him that they would kill him if these conditions were not
fulfilled. They also compelled him to sign some papers where they wrote that
he would not convert any one. When the Pastor did not fulfill these
conditions, they threatened him of dire consequences and released at 11.30
pm. No report was filed till press time.
|
|
25
|
August
17, 2014
|
Sukhiya,
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
|
Two
preachers from the Jehovah Witness were arrested on allegations of
conversion. Preachers on Monday, which was also the day of the Hindu festival
Janmashtami, were taken to the Harsh Nagar Police Station where a FIR was
filed and they were charged under the MP Freedom of Religion Act, 1968 under
Sec. 3 and 4. A mob of over 400 people had gathered outside the police
station chanting slogans against the pastor. They were was bailed out by
Christian workers next day morning.
|
|
26
|
August
20, 2014
|
Satna,
Madhya Pradesh, India
|
Missionaries
in Satna are being blamed for forcible conversions in the State's Jail.
Reports allege that Christian missionaries seek permission from Jail
authorities citing medical examination and meet prisoners and convert
prisoners to Christianity promising them good health and release from the
Jail.
|
|
27
|
August
24, 2014
|
Mandla,
Madhya Pradesh, India
|
On
August 22, 2014, Shri Raju (name changed) was arrested by the Mahadwani
Police Station in-charge on his way to a Friday Meeting in Mahadwani,
Mandla. The police station in-charge
took him to police station and charged him under section 295 and 298. On
August 24, he was taken to the Dindory Jail and was scheduled to be presented
before the court on August 26, 2014.
|
|
28
|
August
26, 2014
|
Asroi,
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
|
A
church with a cross in it that belonged to the 7th Day Adventists overnight
turned into a temple adorned with a portrait of Shiva after what some Hindu
groups in Aligarh termed it as 'successful gharwapasi' (reconversion) of 72
Valmikis who had become Christians in 1995. There was an elaborate shuddhi
karan (purification) ceremony on Tuesday inside the church.
|
|
29
|
August
30, 2014
|
Greater
Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
|
At
least 10 Christian pastors were brought in for questioning to the Surajpur
Police station in Greater Noida on Saturday over allegations that they were
forcefully converting Hindus to Christianity. Soon after their detention, the
police station was surrounded by protesters from various Hindu groups. Local
reports suggest that the Christians were physically assaulted by the mob.
Investigation by the police revealed that the allegations were baseless and
that people were praying with the Christian pastors on their own free will.
Christian community leaders in Greater Noida said allegations of forced
conversion had been trumped up and were aimed at creating mistrust in the
district.
|
|
30
|
August
31, 2014
|
Bhusala
Danapur, Patna, Bihar, India
|
A
pastor and his house owner were beaten by Hindu fundamentalists. Pastor
Rakesh (name changed) along with two other pastors were showing the film on
Jesus in front of their house while two Hindu fundamentalists Shri Sanjay Roi
and Shri Bumphod Roi came to the spot and stopped the film show. They shouted
at the pastors and verbally threatened them saying 'We are Hindus and we are
living in Hindustan. Why are you converting us?'. They then forced the
pastors to worship Hindu Gods. When Pastor Rakesh's house owner saw this, he
came to defend the Pastor. The men then started beating both the house owner
and the Pastor. The fundamentalists left the scene when the villagers
intervened and stopped the beating. No reports have been filed till press
time.
|
|
31
|
September
11, 2014
|
Rajepur
Village, Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
|
On
September 11, 2014, six police officers came to question a Pastor who was
conducting a prayer meeting at one of his believers. The 35 believers who had
come for the prayer responded to the queries raised by the police and no
reports were filed.
|
|
32
|
September
12, 2014
|
Barawah
Village, Khandwa, Chhattisgarh, India
|
4
Pastors were arrested for praying for a family in the village. A mob of about
100 Hindu fundamentalists who had gathered there after the incident forced
the family to file false allegations against the pastors saying that they had
asked them to throw away their idols. The pastors have not been bailed out
till press time.
|
|
33
|
September
13, 2014
|
Katte
Kalyan Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, India
|
Hindu
Fundamentalists threatened Christians attending the Indian Pentecostal Church
to convert back to Hinduism. The believers have been receiving threats very
often in the past months. When the fundamentalists had come to speak to
Christians on Saturday, they verbally abused the villagers and threatened
them for not converting back to Hinduism. The verbal attack was interrupted
when the Police saw the altercation and calmed down the mob of about 20
persons. Two years back, the Pastor was beaten by the fundamentalists for
conducting the services at the village. No report was filed till press time.
|
|
34
|
September
13, 2014
|
Bindhani
Village, Itki, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
|
Five
students of theology were held captive by villagers. They were caught with
Christian literature and New Testament Bibles by villagers who had also
gathered from the neighboring villages. Some of the villagers kicked and
punched them and also brutally attacked them with cricket stumps and bats.
They threatened them to stop preaching Christianity and asked them to never
come back to the village. When the Police was informed about the same, they
rescued the students and sent them safely back to the seminary. No report was
filed till press time.
|
|
35
|
September
15, 2014
|
Dantewada,
Chhattisgarh, India
|
About
30 Christians of the Madutha Village, Bhanpuri, Dantewada District are being
harassed for over a week by Hindu fundamentalists. The Pastor was beaten up
by the fundamentalists and was
threatened to never conduct prayer meetings at the Christian Prayer Hall in
the village. The believers have been facing continuous threats to their life
from the village members as well and are being forced to reconvert to
Hinduism. No reports were filed till press time.
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIOLENCE AGAINST MUSLIMS
Much of the violence has been against
Muslims. BJP Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath said
on Tuesday that “jihad in the name of love is unacceptable” and that only a
BJP-led government in UP can “stop forceful conversion of Hindu girls”. He also
categorised “love Jihad” as “a national and social problem”. This is one reason
for the violence. Others include objections to loud speakers in mosques,
controversies over burial grounds, and objections to the construction of
mosques. A extremely volatile situation
has emrged in the semi urban belt
around the National Capital of Delhi extending from Meerut in the east to the
Mewat region in the south-west with slogans against Love Jihad as he main
trigger.
According to an investigation by the Indian Express,
police records show that more than 600 “communal incidents” or small religious
conflicts took place in Uttar Pradesh (UP) after the Lok Sabha elections,
between 16 May and 25 July 2014. The largest number of riots, 259, took place
in western UP. In the Terai region, 29 clashes took place; in the Awadh region,
53; in Bundelkhand, six; and in eastern UP, 16 (Express Investigation Part I
2014). A further analysis of the statistics shows that the regions where most
of the communal riots took place are the constituencies where assembly by-polls
will be held very soon. For example, in western UP, polls are due in five
seats; in the Terai region, in two seats; in the Awadh region, in one seat; in
Bundelkhand, in two seats; and in eastern UP, in two seats. The roles of
political classes and parties are clearly evident in these riots. [FULL REPORT
IN ANNEXURE]
The intention here is not to list each one of the hundreds of
incidents. Some are given as illustrative of trends.
IT PROFESSIONAL LYNCHED IN PUNE
It was within a fortnight of the
swearing in of the new government that
the nation received a jolt in the lynching of a young Information
Technology professional in the
metropolitan city of Pune, in Maharasthra. As the Times of India reported on 5th
June under the headline “In
Pune, ‘Hindu zealots’ kill man over ‘offensive’ Facebook post, 13 arrested” Mohsin Mohammed Sadique Shaikh was killed randomly
after rumours spread over an objectionable post on Facebook. The 28-year-old man was beaten to death on Monday night
by people with suspected links with a Hindu fundamentalist outfit. Shaikh was
bludgeoned to death after being beaten with hockey sticks near his residence
here on Monday night. Shaikh had been living in Pune since 2006 and was working
as a manager in the IT department of a textile firm since the last four years. A
police inspector told the Times of India the 13 young men arrested were members
of the Hindu Rashtra Sena.
Shaikh's cousin Salman said that the victim
and his roommate were returning home on their motorcycle after picking up their
dinner. "A gang of youths blocked his way near the lane just behind his
house and started hitting him with sticks. While the roommate managed to
escape, they bludgeoned my cousin with stones and fled. He was lying covered in
blood for about 15 minutes. His brother rushed there and took him to a nearby
hospital where he died during treatment," he said. A little before the
murder, the same youths had beaten up two other men at the same spot.
From what started as a small unit in Vile Parle area of Mumbai,
the Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) has grown into a radical Hindu outfit in
Maharashtra. Its leader Dhananjay Desai, referred to as Bhai by
his followers, is said to have started the outfit when he was just 14.
Desai, who was arrested in connection with the murder, is a
history-sheeter. According to the police, he has been named in 23 cases of
extortion, rioting and other crimes. Desai and HRS first grabbed headlines in
April 2007 when they attacked Star News office at Mumbai for telecasting a news
item on a Hindu girl eloping with a Muslim youth. The outfit had also extended
support to Sadhvi Pragya and Colonel Srikant Purohit, accused in the Malegaon
blasts. A Financial Express report quotes Yogesh Kupekar, who
supervises the HRS office in Mumbai, as saying, “A graduate from Tilak College
in Mumbai, Desai was inclined towards Hindutva ideology since his childhood,”
said Yogesh Kupekar, who supervises the HRS office in Mumbai. “Bhai was
influenced by the Shiv Sena in the 1980s. But he wanted to form his own group
and work for the cause of Hindutva. So he started working in the name of Hindu
Rashtra Sena when he was only 14 years old,” he said. A Hindu activist close to
Desai said that the HRS chief was like “Robin Hood” who looted the wealthy and
used the money for the cause of Hinduism. However, according to police, Desai
runs the outfit with the money extorted from builders and
businessmen. Desai, who is infamous for making inflammatory
speeches, wields strong influence among the youth and moves around in a convoy
like that of a politician.
After
Ahmedabad, BJP men riot in Bijapur:
Shortly
after the swearing-in ceremony of Mr. Narendra Modi, fierce communal clashes
broke out between Hindus and Muslims in Bijapur when the victory procession of
BJP activists led by former Union
minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, approached Lal Bahaddur Shastri market. The
BJP supporters were playing provocative songs on loudspeaker which called for
the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and slogans of their success. The
sloganeering and hurling abuses at passerby Muslims led to clashes between two
groups. A police officer who did not want to be named said, “BJP workers were
applying gulaal [red colour powder] on the faces of the public and passers-by.
Around 7 pm, the rally entered the sabzi mandi adjacent to LBS market dominated
by Muslim businessmen. Violence started when hundreds of BJP workers in the
demonstration tried to forcibly smear red and saffron-colour powder on Muslims
to which some vendors objected. In turn, rallyists assaulted some boys. A
full-fledged riot broke out within five minutes. BJP hooligans removed batons
off their waving flags and went on a rampage damaging parked vehicles, stalls,
forcing all shops and businesses in and around Gandhi Chowk, Kohinoor Lodge
near Shivaji circle, Nehru Market and Basaveshwar Road to shut down. This went
on for some three hours causing heavy damages and loss to properties worth
lakhs.”
Even
as television cameras rolled live, the market was ransacked, several Muslim
shops, push-carts of poor roadside vegetable and fruit-vendors, mostly
belonging to Baghban community, were deliberately damaged and destroyed. Footage of the mayhem, aired by local
television channels, show heavily outnumbered police personnel standing as
spectators even as rioters ran amok. Dozens of people sustained injuries
including, two policemen, a woman, a child and a man who was admitted to the
civil hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. One can make out what must
have happened by watching a live video captured by a cellphone. Two boys were
beaten blue and black by 4-5 khaki men. One of the boys’ mother scared them
away shouting. The situation was brought under control after nearly three
hours. The city was placed under prohibitory order (Section 144 (CrPC) for the
next three days.
Inspector-General
of Police (Northern Range) Bhaskar Rao described Mr. Yatnal as the prime
culprit and said the police were on the lookout for him as he was facing
non-bailable cognizable offence. He said when the police went to arrest Mr.
Yatnal, he was absconding. Mr. Rao said the police had evidence, including
video footage, to prove the role of Mr. Yatnal and his supporters. “He will be
arrested if he fails to surrender,” Mr. Rao said. Yatnal was traced immediately the very next
day. The police had followed his trails and ultimately found him hiding in
Hotel Oriental in Kolhapur, about 180 kms northwest to Bijapur. Yatnal had
checked into the hotel under a fake name. A team led by DSP (Deputy Superintendent
of Police) M.Y. Baladandi tracked him down. He was caught holed up with three
of his associates — Umesh Kore, Parasuram Kenganal and Yellappa — who too were
arrested along with him. The former
minister and a few of his followers have been booked under IPC section 295
(insulting a religion or class), 153 A (promoting enmity between religions),
354 (molestation) and 353 (attacking a public servant). [The
Milli Gazette, 16-30 June 2014]
POLARISING
MEWAT AND THE MEOS: The
Economic and Poltiical weekly in a special report on 30th August
2014 said communal elements managed to polarise the Meos and
the Hindus over a road accident, leading to yet another riot-like situation in Tauru town of Mewat district
on 8 June, 2014. Meos are a Muslim community with its distinct traits radically
different from other community groups. They are found in and around Mewat that
includes Mewat district of Haryana and parts of adjoining Alwar and Bharatpur
districts of Rajasthan. They are scattered in small numbers in Uttar Pradesh
and Madhya Pradesh also. Largely converts from Rajput Hindus to Islam, the
religion they profess is a blend of Islam and Hinduism. Meos subscribe to Islam
but their caste structure is deeply influenced by their Hindu background. In the 1857 revolt against the British rule
Meos played a glorious role. Raisina, a village in Mewat was the centre of
rebels. Many Meos here laid down their lives fighting against the British. In
the last few years Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliates have made
significant inroads in Mewat and they played a highly provocative role in
injecting anti-Muslim virus in the body of Mewat. They have been emphasising
the role of Meos in spreading the concept of love-jihad .
On 8
June, 2014 at about seven in the morning a young man named Danvir, while riding
a motor cycle, was mowed down by a dumper near Pataudi-Mohammadpur road
junction in Tauru, a small town in Mewat district of Haryana. He died on the
spot. The driver ran away and two cleaners of the dumper - Raes and Mubarak,
both Meos, were caught by the mob on the spot. Both the cleaners were thrashed
by the mob with a sizeable presence of a Hindu mob, so ruthlessly, that they
died. Some elements in the mob started manhandling and beating any Meo they
spotted in the town. Ismael Meo got serious injuries. Three motor cycles of
Meos were set ablaze. The news spread in the Meo villages around Tauru
infuriated Meos. A large number of them reached the spot in different vehicles.
There was clash between them and the Hindu mob. The RSS spread a rumour that Radhswami Satsang Bhawan and and
Pagha temple were razed to the ground. It was found by the team that the
Radhaswami building was intact. The Sangh mob attacked the Jumma Masjid and
Kasai Masjid and caused extensive damage to them. Religious texts, carpets and
furniture were set ablaze. A curfew was eventually imposed and continued for
about a week.
Crime
Data Contradicts Communal Spin to Uttar Pradesh Rape Cases:
The
BJP’s new rhetoric focusing on a communal twist to crimes against women in
Uttar Pradesh is not borne out by cold facts. Data accessed by NDTV reporters Niha
Masih and Sreenivasan Jain shows that in western Uttar Pradesh, where
vociferous campaigns have highlighted the alleged abuse of Hindu women by
Muslim men, women have been assaulted by men from their own community in most
rape cases this year.
On 24
August 2014, NDTV reported in Meerut district, where the alleged gang-rape of a
woman took on a communal colour, Muslims were accused in seven of the 37 rape
cases reported this year. The accused were Hindus in the remaining 30 cases.
Detailed data for rape cases covering a wider footprint of all nine districts
of Western Uttar Pradesh prove that the reality does not match the concerns
raised by the BJP, which in a political resolution passed by its UP unit,
mentioned the increasing involvement of ‘a certain community’ in crimes against
women of a ‘certain community’.
This
year, there have been 334 rape cases in the districts of Meerut, Bulandshahr,
Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Baghpat, Hapur, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and
Shamli. In 25 cases, the accused are Muslim and the women are Hindu. This is
almost the same as the number of cases -23- in which the women are Muslim and
their attackers are Hindu. In 96 cases, the accused and victims are Muslim. And
in 190 cases - the highest number - both the accused and victims are Hindu.
ECONOMIC
ISOLATION
Muslim
businesses face heat in Gujarat: Muslims are not allowed to do meat and egg
business in Palitana which is situated at about 100 kms from Bhavnagar. 10
Gujarati Muslim traders have alleged to having been forced to close down their
businesses over the past one month. The latest complaint was filed on 4 September
24, 2014 by hotelier Mustafa Patel who claims to have shut down his Jyoti Hotel
on Viramgam highway, a 90 minute drive from Ahmedabad, after receiving threats.
His petition says that despite court orders, Police has refused to provide him
protection.
The
National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has sought a report from the Gujarat
government after receiving complaints related to preventing people from
operating their businesses. Earlier the Commission had received complaints from
nine traders of Chhota Udepur, alleging that their businesses have been ruined.
The complaint said that the sarpanch of village Baroj, Jayanti Rathwa
engineered a riot in the area to take away the luxury transport business from
his competitor Irfan Abdul Ghani. The region witnessed communal clashes following a minor altercation between
Adivasis and Muslims.
"Many
Minority industries were attacked and set on fire. Police DIG and SP went there, FIRs were lodged but till
today no one has been arrested," said the complaint. Muslims and Advisasi
have lived together in the area for centuries. Muslims smell a conspiracy to
create bad blood between the two communities with a view to force Muslims out
of business in the region. Those who have been already forced to close down their
businesses are Kasim Ahmad (scrap dealer), Ahmad Arif (minerals), Farooq Bhai
(power production unit), Yakub Mohammad (mineral production), Saifudin Ali
(power production), Ahmad Khoka (power), Shabir Bhai (mineral production),
Majid Khan (power) and Harun Abdul Malajher (mines).
Palitana
IS a sacred place for the Jain community. There is a famous temple here. Jains
come from all over the country and even from aboard to visit it. In the temple
vicinity, meat and eggs were not allowed but now even in the rest of the town
Muslims are not allowed to do the business of meat. Recently in Ahmedabad city, all slaughter
houses and meat shops were forced to close on account of a Jain festival for about
a week.
Muslim
populated areas deprived of ‘Jan Dhan’ scheme :
Under
‘Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Scheme’ whereas bank accounts of common people are
being opened on a large scale in all banks of Delhi even in case of people who
have zero balance, people living in Muslim populated areas are being deprived
of this facility because on account of Banks anti-Muslim bias they are not
opening / have not opened their branches because these (Muslim populated) areas
have been black-listed by almost all banks in consequence of which lakhs of
residents of these areas, majority of whom are Muslims, are facing great difficulties
in opening their bank accounts. When the manager of a bank was asked about this
he said on condition of anonymity that Banks Advisory Committee takes decisions
about opening the bank’s branches in different localities on the basis of
resolutions passed, surveys of localities etc but when a locality is
blacklisted, how can branches be opened there? He did not specify the reason of
blacklisting a locality or region.
After
the prime minister’s 15th August speech and ‘Jan Dhan’ scheme, bank accounts of
even people who have neither any bank account nor any bank balance are being
opened in all banks of the country on a large scale. Some commercial banks had
already started opening bank accounts of people. If some one’s bank account is
already opened but he has no debit card, there is no need for him to open a
fresh account. They can get a debit card on the basis of the account already
opened.
Whereas
great rush of account openers is being seen in banks in all areas, in Muslim
populated areas like Mustafabad, Nehru Vihar, Khajoori Khas, Ghonda,
Brahampuri, Old and New Seelampur, Jaffarabad, Welcome Colony, Kabir Nagar,
Nangloee, Prem Nagar, Mubarakpur, Nizamuddin, Seemapuri, Sunder Nagri, Jamia
Nagar, Batla House, Jogabaee, Shaheen Bagh, Abul Fazal Enclave, Okhla Vihar Muslims of these areas are facing great
difficulties in opening accounts in the absence of branches of any bank. Banks
on the whole are so biased against Muslims that almost all these Muslim
populated areas are blacklisted. There are very little ATM facilties also in
these areas. People in these areas are not given any loans nor housing loans
from whatever bank branches are opened here. [The
Milli Gazette – 16-30 September 2014]
POLICE REVEALS SANGH HAND IN RIOTS
IN SAHARANPUR: Meerut’s Police Commissioner Bhupender Singh, who was
appointed by UP government to probe Saharanpur’s (Muslim-Sikh) communal riots,
has also blamed BJP, in particular its Member of Parliament, Raghav Lakhan Pal
as well as district administration as being responsible for the Saharanpur
communal riots of July 2014. The Muslim-Sikh communal riots that started on 25
July in Saharanpur three persons were killed and hundreds of shops were looted,
destroyed or set on fire in addition to more than 40 vehicles etc. In these
riots about 35 persons were injured. At first UP government had constituted a
committee including Shiv Kant Ojha, minister for technical education; Arvind
Singh Gopay, minister for rural development; Aashoo Malik, state minister and
Haji Ikram Qureshi and headed by PWD minister, Shiv Pal Singh Yadav. In its
brief report this committee, which submitted its report to the government on 14
August in which, in addition to holding BJP MP, Raghav Lakhan Pal and Mahram
Ali Pappu as the main accused persons, also blamed the police and district
administration, some Congress as well as SP leaders for spreading tension and
abetting communal hatred. The report said that police and civilian officials at
lower levels were lax in controlling the situation and because of their laxity
they failed not only in bringing the situation under control but added to the
gravity of the situation because rioters and unsocial elements were encouraged
to provoke and fanning communal passion.
Police
Commissioner Bupender Singh submitted his 92-page report to the government on
25 August and blamed the BJP MP Lakhan Pal. This report said that in spite of
being advised by officials not to visit riot-hit areas, this MP visited many
sensitive localities in different cars and was also seen inciting the people
(Hindus and Sikhs) to violence. [The
Milli Gazette – 16-30 September 2014]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hindutva actions, Hate
statements and trends – Post General Elections 2014 – documented by Indian
Media
|
Date
|
Statements/Actions
|
Source
|
|
|
1
|
May
19, 2014
|
No
Muslim MP in BJP
|
|
|
2
|
May
20, 2014
|
BJP to
tackle Ram Mandir, Article 370
|
|
|
3
|
May
24, 2014
|
Goa:
Facebook user faces jail for anti-Modi 'holocaust' comment
|
|
|
4
|
May
27, 2014
|
Sanjeev
Baliyan: From riot accused to central minister
|
|
|
5
|
May
28, 2014
|
Muslims
are not Minorities, Parsis are: Najma
|
|
|
6
|
June
3, 2014
|
Book
on sexual violence in Ahmedabad riots is ‘set aside’ by publisher
|
|
|
7
|
June
3, 2014
|
Publisher
of Megha Kumar’s 'Communalism and Sexual Violence: Ahmedabad since 1969'
forced to censor
|
|
|
8
|
June
4, 2014
|
Pune
mob violence over 'Bal Thackeray pics' kills 1
|
|
|
9
|
June
4, 2014
|
Pune
techie killed, SMS boasts of taking 'first wicket'
|
|
|
10
|
June
9, 2014
|
Publishers
fear legal or violent reprisal
|
|
|
11
|
June
10, 2014
|
Hindu
Yuva Vahini (HYV) and the ABVP, the RSS students’ wing set a target of at
least one lakh volunteers in each district of UP.
|
|
|
12
|
June
12, 2014
|
Foreing
Fund NGOs stalling development: IB Report
|
|
|
13
|
June
14, 2014
|
CBSE
syllabus is anti-national: Shashikant Phadke
|
|
|
14
|
June
17, 2014
|
Smriti
Irani asks for details of appointments made in educational institutions
|
|
|
15
|
June
18, 2014
|
RSS
book in Vadodara schools
|
|
|
20
|
July
3, 2014
|
Sudershan
Rao from RSS will head historical research body
|
|
|
21
|
July
6, 2014
|
In
Bastar, 50 villages ban non-Hindu missionaries
|
|
|
22
|
July
6, 2014
|
Sena,
Christian evangelist’s followers clash in UP village
|
|
|
23
|
July
15, 2014
|
NDA
Government 'wants consultation' on controversial Uniform Civil Code
|
|
|
24
|
July
17, 2014
|
Bajrang
Dal members arrested for vandalising a church in Bulandshahr
|
|
|
25
|
July
17, 2014
|
BJP
win blow to Muslim politics: Singhal
|
|
|
26
|
July
17, 2014
|
If
[Muslims] keep opposing Hindus, how long can they survive?” – Singhal
|
|
|
27
|
July
19, 2014
|
After
Singhal, Togadia reminds Muslims of Muzaffarnagar riots
|
|
|
29
|
July
19, 2014
|
Subramanian
Swamy in dock over Facebook post on HIV positive students creating enmity
against Catholic Church
|
|
|
31
|
July
24, 2014
|
Pakistan's
'daughter-in-law' Sania Mirza lacks credentials to be Telangana brand
ambassador: BJP
|
|
|
32
|
July
24, 2014
|
Force
feeding a Muslim man compared to rapes during Ramzan
|
|
|
33
|
July
25, 2014
|
Modi
can make India a Hindu State with our support: Goa Minister
|
|
|
34
|
July
25, 2014
|
Tension
in Moradabad as VHP Leader Plans Puja at Temple Caught in a Dispute
|
|
|
35
|
July
26, 2014
|
Batra
claims that Smriti will change entire syllabus.
|
|
|
38
|
July
27, 2014
|
Compulsory
reading list for government primary and secondary students in Gujarat
|
|
|
39
|
July
27, 2014
|
Sangh
sets up panel to push 'saffronisation' of education
|
|
|
40
|
July
27, 2014
|
Smriti
to scan the NCERT syllabus for revision
|
|
|
41
|
July
28, 2014
|
BJP
forces will press for saffronisation of history books
|
|
|
42
|
July
28, 2014
|
Social
media used to incite violence in Saharanpur
|
|
|
43
|
July
29, 2014
|
Gujarat
school books on racism
|
|
|
44
|
July
30, 2014
|
Anti-black
magic bill not necessary in Goa: Hindu Janajagruti Samiti
|
|
|
45
|
July
30, 2014
|
Batra’s
panel to ‘Indianise’ education
|
|
|
46
|
July
30, 2014
|
Naroda
Patia massacre: Maya Kodnani granted bail by Gujarat high court
|
|
|
47
|
July
31, 2014
|
Detention
Centers for immigrants from Bangladesh
|
|
|
48
|
August
1, 2014
|
Victims
of custodial deaths in Maharashtra only from minorities
|
|
|
49
|
August
2, 2014
|
RSS
–linked Think Tank Vivekananda International Foundation infiltrates
Bureaucracy
|
|
|
50
|
August
3, 2014
|
RSS
criticizes minority status to Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists
|
|
|
51
|
August
5, 2014
|
Over
600 ‘communal incidents’ in UP since LS results, 60% near bypoll seats
|
|
|
52
|
August
6, 2014
|
120
communal incidents lie in a clash involving the use of loudspeakers in
masjids and temples.
|
|
|
53
|
August
6, 2014
|
Babu
Bajrangi granted bail in Gujarat
|
|
|
54
|
August
6, 2014
|
RSS
Idealogue Calls For Gita to Be Declared National Book
|
|
|
55
|
August
7, 2014
|
One
out of 9 communal incidents in UP involve Muslims and Dalits.
|
|
|
56
|
August
8, 2014
|
BJP,
Parivar outfits to intensify campaign against ‘love jihad’
|
|
|
57
|
August
8, 2014
|
Politics
of Konsar Nag Pilgrimage: Rahul Pandita
|
|
|
58
|
August
8, 2014
|
Show
of strength in December 2014 by converting Muslims and Christians into
Hinduism
|
|
|
59
|
August
9, 2014
|
Victoria
Statues targeted in Uttar Pradesh
|
|
|
60
|
August
10, 2014
|
BJP
and Shiv oppose bill to curb criminal activities in the name of religious
practices.
|
|
|
61
|
August
10, 2014
|
Hindutva
laced monk with feathers sells 'cure' to control women going astray
|
|
|
62
|
August
10, 2014
|
Love
Buster helpline set up in Uttar Pradesh
|
|
|
63
|
August
10, 2014
|
Monk
sells Love cure for innocent Hindu girls
|
|
|
64
|
August
12, 2014
|
Hindutvavadis
trolling Bollywood
|
|
|
65
|
August
12, 2014
|
Subramanium
Swamy suggests DNA test on Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah to prove
her Indianness
|
|
|
68
|
August
15, 2014
|
BJP
Leader Subramanian Swamy booked for “inciting religious hatred” in Karnataka
|
|
|
69
|
August
15, 2014
|
Kashmir
controversy over Kousar Nag yatra
|
|
|
70
|
August
16, 2014
|
Muslim
meat sellers beaten up, forced to flee Gurgaon village on Delhi border
|
|
|
71
|
August
16, 2014
|
RSS
presence strong in the new government
|
|
|
72
|
August
17, 2014
|
Committee
questions role of BJP Saharanpur riots in report
|
|
|
73
|
August
17, 2014
|
Modi
decides to scrap Planning Commission
|
|
|
74
|
August
17, 2014
|
RSS
rules in new BJP team
|
|
|
75
|
August
17, 2014
|
VHP
members booked for wielding swords at golden jubilee celebrations
|
|
|
77
|
August
19, 2014
|
RSS
wants Ram Temple while PM talks Unity
|
|
|
78
|
August
20, 2014
|
MP
government vision paper attempt at communalisation citing lack of knowledge
of awareness of culture and tradition
|
|
|
79
|
August
21, 2014
|
Government
bans film that 'glorifies' Indira's assassins after Home Ministry raises law
and order fears
|
|
|
80
|
August
22, 2014
|
Right
wing ideologues in textbooks
|
|
|
81
|
August
23, 2014
|
‘Love
jihad’ on official agenda of BJP’s UP unit
|
|
|
82
|
August
23, 2014
|
Hindutva
and BJP Thugs Celebrate the Death of Famed Writer UR Ananthamurthy
|
|
|
83
|
August
24, 2014
|
‘Liquor-free-Kerala’
finds support from leaders of Christian and Muslim communities alleges two
Hindu organizations
|
|
|
84
|
August
24, 2014
|
NDA to
rename UPA schemes after Hindutva icons
|
|
|
85
|
August
25, 2014
|
Activists
on house-to-house search for 'foreigners' in Manipur
|
|
|
86
|
August
27, 2014
|
If
They Kill One Hindu, We Will Kill 100 Muslims' 'Says Yogi Adityanath in a
surfaced video
|
|
|
87
|
August
28, 2014
|
Nothing
wrong in calling all Indians Hindu: Najma
|
|
|
88
|
August
28, 2014
|
Samjhauta
blast accused Swami Aseemanand granted bail by High Court
|
|
|
89
|
August
29, 2014
|
Najma
denies her statements on all Indians being Hindu
|
|
|
90
|
August
31, 2014
|
Riots
take place wherever minorities are more than 10%: Yogi Adityanath in 'Aap Ki
Adalat'
|
|
|
91
|
August
31, 2014
|
Two
cops who probed Ishrat, Sohrab cases shunted
|
|
|
92
|
August
31, 2014
|
Yogi
Adityanath blames Muslims for riots in UP
|
|
|
93
|
September
3, 2014
|
Govt
urged to provide firearm licences to Hindu outfit leaders
|
|
|
95
|
September
4, 2014
|
India
- Gujarat 2002 riots: Court acquits all 44 accused in Gomtipur case
|
|
|
96
|
September
4, 2014
|
VHP
wants Pakistani lifestyle exhibition in Delhi scrapped
|
|
|
97
|
September
5, 2014
|
Gita
back in Madhya Pradesh schools under moral science garb
|
|
|
98
|
September
5, 2014
|
Palda
Village Riots accused not being arrested by Police
|
|
|
99
|
September
5, 2014
|
Sangh
re-converts Dalit Muslim converts in Shivpuri
|
|
|
101
|
September
6, 2014
|
Right
Winger Adityanath Attributes the Origin of Term “'love jihad' to Communist
veteran and former Kerala CM V S Achuthanandan
|
|
|
102
|
September
6, 2014
|
The
Teachers’ Day celebrations in Gujarat started with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) anthem “manushya tu bada mahaan hai, bhool mat”
|
|
|
103
|
September
7, 2014
|
"We
will cleanse our Hindu society. We will not let the conspiracy of church or
mosque succeed in Bharat (India)," said Hindu activist Rajeshwar
Singh
|
|
|
104
|
September
7, 2014
|
Guaranteed
divorces and wedding for Hindu girls
|
|
|
105
|
September
7, 2014
|
Muslims
only appartments in G. Noida - Is it high-end ghettos?
|
|
|
106
|
September
7, 2014
|
RSS's
paper Panchjanya on Hateful Propaganda about Love Jihad
|
|
|
107
|
September
7, 2014
|
The
divisive agenda of RSS is now Public: Hansal Mehta
|
|
|
108
|
September
9, 2014
|
VHP
Sets chowkis (booths) and deploys “flying squads” to check the transportation
of cows
|
|
|
109
|
September
9, 2014
|
VHP
ups the ante on cow, conversion
|
|
|
110
|
September
11, 2014
|
Vishwa
Hindu Parishad claims 'love jihad' election leaflets not theirs but agree
with what is said in these leaflets
|
|
|
111
|
September
13, 2014
|
Crying
love jihad, Hindutva activists lay siege to Bhopal police station after girl
goes missing
|
|
|
112
|
September
14, 2014
|
BJP MP
claims Madrasas 'teach youths to be terrorists
|
|
|
113
|
September
15, 2014
|
Modi:
The Pradhan Sevak: Prathna Gahilote
|
|
|
114
|
September
15, 2014
|
Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal ransack the office of University Vice
Chancellor for expressing sympathies with Kashmir flood victims
|
|
|
115
|
September
15, 2014
|
BJP
Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj claims madrasas offering cash rewards for love jihad
|
ANNEXURES:
Transcript of
Mr.Fali S. Nariman’s 7th Annual Lecture of National Commission of
Minorites: “Minorities at Cross Roads: Comments on Judicial Pronouncements” delivered
on Friday, 12th September, 2014
at Speaker Hall
(Annexe), Constitution Club of India, Rafi Marg, New Delhi
Organized by The National Commission of Minorities
The elections in April-May, 2014 this
year have put a strong majoritarian Government in power at the Centre. I welcome it.
Whilst I welcome a single-party
majority government, I also fear it.
I fear it because of past experience
with a majoritarian government in the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies:
when the then all-Congress Government had unjustifiably imposed the Internal
Emergency of June 1975. And rode rough
shod over the liberties of citizens. I
cannot forget it nor can I condone it.
My wife and I have lived through it
and we know how a very large number of people suffered.
Traditionally Hinduism has been the
most tolerant of all Indian faiths. But
- recurrent instances of religious tension fanned by fanaticism and hate-speech
has shown that the Hindu tradition of tolerance is showing signs of
strain. And let me say this frankly – my
apprehension is that Hinduism is somehow changing its benign face because,
and only because it is believed and proudly proclaimed by a few (and not
contradicted by those at the top): that it is because of their faith and belief
that HINDUS have been now put in the driving seat of governance.
Jawahar Lal Nehru was a Hindu.
But he never looked upon the diverse
and varied peoples of India from the stand point of Hinduism. He wrote in that most inspiring book “The
Discovery of India” that “it was fascinating to find how the Bengalis, the
Canarese, the Malayalis, the Sindhis, the Punjabis, the Pathans, the Kashmiris,
the Rajputs, and the great central block comprising of Hindustani–speaking
people, had retained their particular characteristics for hundreds of years,
with more or less the same virtues and failings, and yet they had been
throughout these ages distinctively Indian, with the same national heritage and
the same set of moral and mental qualities.
Ancient India, like ancient China (he
wrote), was a world in itself. Their
culture and civilization gave shape to all things. Foreign influences poured in and often
influenced that culture, but they were absorbed. Disruptive tendencies gave rise immediately
to an attempt to find a synthesis.
It was some kind of a dream of unity
that occupied the mind of India, and of the Indian, since the dawn of
civilization. And that unity was not
conceived as something imposed from outside.
It was something deeper; within its fold, the widest tolerance of beliefs
and customs was practiced and every variety was acknowledged and even encouraged. This was Nehru’s great vision of the
diversity and unity of India.
When someone told Panditji that Hindi
was the predominant language of India, he agreed although he said he would have
preferred it if it was Hindustani, and then he added (and I ask you to note
what he added):
(I quote) “Quite frankly I do not
understand the way some people are afraid of the Urdu language. I just do not understand why in any State in
India people should consider Urdu a foreign language and something which
invades their own domain. Urdu is a language
mentioned in our Constitution. I object
to any narrow mindedness in regard to Urdu….” (Unquote).
And how right he was. These words were said by him in December
1955. They have proved prophetic. Almost 60 years later, just last week, a
Constitution Bench of 5 Judges of India’s Supreme Court rejected a
constitutional challenge to Urdu being made the second regional language in the
State of Uttar Pradesh, where it is widely read and spoken.
It is a step and a very important step
in the right direction.
Some day in the future – for the good
of the integration of India - Urdu deserves to be included not just in the
Eighth Schedule where it lies with 21 other recognized Indian languages, but
upfront in a trinity of National languages of India i.e. Hindi, Urdu and
English.
When speaking of minorities. Do remember that in some countries there is
no linguistic equivalent for the expression.
In an official communication to the U.N. Sub-Commission (on the
Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities), the Government
of Thailand stated that the concept of “minorities” was unknown in that
country. The communication said (and I
quote):
“Although this word has a Thai
translation from the English for the purpose of communication with the outside
world, it has no social or cultural connotation whatever”![1]
But for us in India we have a written
Constitution and there is no difficulty in knowing who are reckoned as
“minorities”. Article 29 read with
Article 30 provides that any section of citizens of India residing in India or
any part of the territory of India having a distinct religion, language, script or culture of their own are minorities
with the right – a fundamental right – to conserve their religion language
script and culture. One culture was
anathema to the Founding Fathers.
Religious and linguistic minorities
not only have a separate status under our Constitution. They have also been conferred an additional
fundamental right – a right which no ordinary law can take away – viz. to
“establish and administer educational institutions of their choice”.
The intention of the framers of the
Constitution was to use the term ‘minorities’ in the widest sense.
In the Constituent Assembly debates
you will find mention of this intent (you will find it in Vol.VII of the
Constituent Assembly Debates at pages 922-923). It is recorded there (and this is an example
given by our Founding Fathers in the debate during Constitution-making) – that
Maharashtrians settled in Bengal or Bengalis settled in Maharashtra – even
though Hindus settled amongst Hindus and hence not a religious minority in
either State – are nonetheless linguistic
minorities in each of the respective States and so have a fundamental right
to protect their own language and culture; and additionally, to establish
educational institutions “of their choice” to foster that language and culture.
By its very existence, then – and our Constitution
recognizes this - every minority group whether religious linguistic or cultural
in any part of India poses a challenge to – the predominantly majority
community - a challenge to what has been elsewhere described as:
“the dynamics of governance amidst
pluralism”.
This is the challenge for every
government including a majority government, even a majority government that has
a 2/3rd majority in Parliament.
It is – still pledged to safeguard and enhance minority rights – The
Constitution has ensured that the dynamics of Governance amidst pluralism has
to be tackled peacefully and with vision.
In every nation intolerance towards
someone who looks, talks or worships differently (or who even lives or dresses
differently) from the majority community has always been a basic human
infirmity.
Every tribal society in almost every
part of the world has chosen a word to denote “foreigner” or “outsider”.[2]
In Bhutan and Sikkim when most of the foreign visitors were from India – they
still are from India - the term GYAGAR (Tibetan for “Indian”) was adopted to
denote the “outsider” – an innocent term in itself, but the tone of voice or
accent with which it was expressed conveyed something derogatory or
contemptuous.
Whatever the source from which a
minority derives its existence, religious, ethnic or linguistic, the rest of
society has to make a conscious effort in coming to terms with it: but the
fact of life is that the larger the majority community with greater political
power the lesser the inclination to make efforts to build bridges.
Which explains – why generally
speaking minorities because they are minorities are not well-treated, or at
least do not feel well-treated, in different parts of the world – This is a
theme that has been explored more fully in a recently published book by a
Lebanese author M. Amin Maalouf (The book is titled “In the name of Identity”)[3]. He points out that those who claim a complex
identity are often marginalised because others perceive them through the lens
of only one aspect of their identity: their
religion.
Maalouf grew up in Lebanon and moved
to France in 1976, at a young age. He
sees himself as both Lebanese and French.
He celebrates the ability of humans to maintain numerous identities. He does not like the singular (what he calls)
tribal identity of fanatics who are (as he says) “easily transformed into
butchers”. About fanatics he writes that
any doctrine with which they identify can be and is perverted, including
liberalism, nationalism, atheism and communism.
He believes in (what he calls) calming
identity conflicts because as he says:
“it will mean making people,
especially minorities, feel included”
a useful guide for us in India – if we
all, majority and minority, move towards calming
identity conflicts. We need it
particularly now when we are poised for greater economic development.
History shows several ways in which
members of a society have tried to solve the problems posed by the presence of
a minority group (“section of citizens”, as our Constitution describes
them). These ways or methods are four in
number.
(1) The
first method is: forceful suppression and eradication:
-
Will Durant records in his Story of
Civilization[4] – that in India in the
middle–ages during the alien despotism of the Sultanates of Delhi, Sultan Ahmad
Shah boastfully feasted for three days whenever the number of defenceless
Hindus slain in his territories reached twenty thousand!
The same method was adopted even in modern times as witnessed in
the planned liquidation of six million Jews;
(2) The
second method is: coercive or hostile toleration:
-
Which is like the treatment of a sect of
Muslims known as Quadianis (or Ahmediyas) in Modern day Pakistan. The Ahmediyas, because they were in a
minority and because the rest of the Muslims in their Parliament were in a
majority, were declared officially and statutorily as non-Muslims in the
Islamic State of Pakistan. Today they
are hardly “tolerated” – even as non-Muslims!
(3) The
third method is: by voluntary or involuntary assimilation or absorption.
-
As witnessed by forced conversion in the
middle-ages which effectively destroyed the identity of religious minority
groups. The Ismaili Khojas and the
Cutchi Memons of today were originally Hindus – who were forcibly converted to
Islam during the invasions of Mahomed of Ghazni (AD 971 to 1030) and his successors. They are now a recognized sect of Muslims in
India, who practice the religion of the Prophet.
Our Constitution has consciously rejected these first 3 methods as
contrary to the Indian ethos:
(4) Our Constitution has consciously adopted
the fourth way – Affirmative action
for protection and preservation - as the only way – because at the time
of the framing of the Constitution and for many years after that, this was the Hindu
ethos i.e. – the true Indian ethos.
In the Indian Constitution, the provisions of Part III have been
so drafted as not only to prevent disability for, or discrimination against
minorities, but to create positive and enforceable rights on them. And then Parliament has put in place since
1992 the National Commission of Minorities Act – the role of the Commission is
to protect and preserve the minorities from attacks from outside.
It is this liberal approach to Fundamental Rights and protection
of minorities that has helped – the minorities in India to progress, so far –
as well as to conserve and protect their guaranteed rights. Then why are the minorities at the
cross-roads today?
It is because the body set up by Parliament to protect minorities
has omitted to take effective steps to protect them.
We have been hearing on television and
reading in newspapers almost on a daily basis a tirade by one or more
individuals or groups against one or another section of citizens who belong to
a religious minority and the criticism has been that the majority
government at the centre has done nothing to stop this tirade. I agree.
But do remember that every government
whether at the Centre or State – whether composed of one political party or
another – will do or not do whatever it considers expedient to advance its own
political interests. This is why in my
view Parliament has in its wisdom set up an independent Minorities Commission
to look after the interest of Minorities.
It is true that the National Commission for Minorities has functions
defined in Section 9 of the Act, but the functions would definitely not
preclude the Commission issuing Press Statements or filing criminal complaints
regarding diatribes against minorities or protesting against hate speeches
against minorities in general or against any particular minority community. The Commission is specifically empowered to
do two things:
(i)
To look into specific complaints
regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of the minorities and take up
such matter with the Authorities; and
(ii)
Suggest appropriate measures in respect
of any minority to be undertaken by the Central Government or the State
Government.
I would implore the distinguished members of the National
Commission for Minorities (and believe me they are influential and
distinguished) to read the Statement of Objects and Reasons for enacting the
National Commission for Minorities Act.
This is what the Statement of Objects and Reasons says: (I Quote)
“The
main task of the Commission – mark you – the main task of the Commission –
shall be to evaluate the progress of the development of minorities, monitor
the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution for the protection
of the interests of minorities and in laws enacted by the Central Government or
State Governments, besides looking into specific complaints regarding
deprivation of rights and safeguards of the minorities.”
So the main task of the Commission is “protecting the interests of
minorities”. And how does one protect
the interest of minorities who (or a section of which) are on a daily basis
lampooned and ridiculed or spoken against in derogatory language? The answer is by invoking the provisions of
enacted law – law enacted in the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure
Code. Otherwise the Commission is not
fulfilling its main task which is the protection of the interests of the
minorities.
I do implore the Commission and its distinguished members to take
steps as an independent Commission set up by Parliament and not controlled by
government, to actively move to safeguard the interests of the minorities. It is as important as giving educational
facilities and improving the economic condition of the minorities which the
Commission and Government are rightly pursuing.
Those who indulge in hate speech must be prevented by Court
processes initiated at the instance of the Commission because that is the body
that represents Minorities in India.
Whoever indulges in such hate speech or vilification (whatever the
community to which they belong) they must be proceeded against and the
proceeding must be widely publicized. It
is only then that the confidence of the minorities in the National Commission
for the Minorities will get restored.
I would respectfully suggest that if
we minorities (through the statutory body set up by Parliament) do not stand up
for the rights of minorities and protest against such hate speeches and
diatribes how do we expect the Government to do so -?
A majoritarian Government is elected
and exists mainly on the vote of the majority community. On the other hand the Commission is an
independent statutory body. Its Chairman
is not a Minister of Government. And
though it receives grants from the Central Government it is not expected to be
a mere mouthpiece of that Government.
I come now to the second part of my talk this evening – about
judicial pronouncements.
Before the nineteen nineties – and I emphasize this because it
means that for almost forty long years after independence – on almost every
occasion on which the minorities approached the Supreme Court of India
complaining of State or Central legislation or executive action as infringing
their fundamental rights, the challenge was upheld. It was most heartening. The Supreme Court of India functioned as a
Super Minorities Commission – as it was meant to: this was long before a
Minorities Commission got established by law made by Parliament.
For instance, way back in 1952 a small minority group known as
Anglo-Indians, who ran many reputed schools in Bombay, were adversely affected
by an order passed by the then Government of Bombay. The Order forbade state-aided schools using
English as a medium of instruction to admit pupils other than Anglo-Indians or
citizens-of-non-Asiatic descent.
Anglo-Indians could maintain and administer their schools and teach in
English but only to Anglo-Indians; if they admitted other Indians they
forfeited State aid - unless of course, they switched over to Hindi as the
medium of instruction. The effort was to
encourage the use of the National language (Hindi) – which is a constitutional
prescription.
Although the object was laudable, the order was struck down by the
Supreme Court because under the Constitution – Anglo-Indians which had a
distinct language (which was English) had a fundamental right to conserve, the
same and because the direct effect of the Order was to prevent Indians from
entering Anglo-Indian Schools on grounds of race and language[5].
Seven years later, (in 1959), the same Supreme Court of India
thwarted an attempt by the Communist-controlled Government of Kerala to take
over the management of Christian Schools contrary to Article 30. In an Advisory opinion given by a bench of
seven Judges of India’s Supreme Court – rendered in a Presidential reference -
large parts of the Kerala Education Bill were declared unconstitutional.[6] This is well-known. What is not so well-known is what Chief
Justice S.R. Das (a devout Hindu) said in his judgment when (presiding over a
Bench of 7 Judges). He gave a peroration
at the end of his judgment: which he wrote for himself and for five of his
colleagues on the Bench. This is how it read:
“There can be no manner of doubt that
our Constitution has guaranteed certain cherished rights of the minorities
concerning their language, culture and religion. These concessions must have been made to them
for good and valid reasons. Article 45,
no doubt, requires the State to provide for free and compulsory, education for
all children, but there is nothing to prevent the State from discharging that
solemn obligation through Government and Government-aided schools and Art.45
does not require that obligation to be discharged at the expense of the
minority communities. So long as the
Constitution stands as it is and is not altered, it is, we conceive, the duty
of this Court to uphold the fundamental rights and thereby honour our sacred
obligation to the minority communities who are of our own.” (Unquote).
He then ended his peroration with these words:
“The genius of India has been able to
find unity in diversity by assimilating the best of all creeds and
cultures. Our Constitution accordingly
recognises our sacred obligation to the minorities.”
Notice that the expression “our sacred obligation to the
minorities” was used not once but twice in the same judgment.
Even the Judge who did not entirely agree with the views of Chief
Justice S.R. Das and of his 5 Companion Justices – in the Kerala Education Bill
case – (he was Justice Venkatarama Aiyar (a Brahmin whose portrait hangs
in Court No.3)) had said (and I quote):
“But what is the policy behind
Art.30(1)? As I conceive it, it is that
it should not be in the power of the majority in a State to destroy or to
impair the rights of the minorities, religious or linguistic. That is a policy which permeates all Modern
Constitutions, and its purpose is to encourage individuals to preserve and develop
their own distinct culture.”
Mark the words: “their own distinct culture”.
After the Kerala Education Bill Case, some State Governments said
they found it increasingly difficult to regulate educational standards, and so
the Highest Court in 1974 was requested to constitute a larger Constitution
Bench to reconsider its previous decisions.
It did.
Certain provisions of the Gujarat University Act 1949 had laid
down statutory conditions for affiliation of colleges in Gujarat to the Gujarat
University; they applied to all educational institutions including those run by
minorities; they provided that teaching and training in all colleges affiliated
to the University would be conducted and imparted by teachers appointed only by
the University. Since the provisions
interfered with the minorities’ right to administer and run educational
institutions “of their choice” – a
fundamental right guaranteed under Article 30 – these provisions were
challenged by the Ahmadabad St. Xavier’s College (managed by Jesuits).
The Court heard the case – this time sitting in a larger Bench of
nine judges[7] - for reconsidering the decision in the
Kerala Education Bill case.
But this Bench of 9 Judges in the end re-affirmed what was said by
the Bench of 7 judges in the Kerala Education Bill case. It struck down the
offending provisions as inapplicable to minority-run colleges. One of the Judges sitting on the Bench was
Mr.Justice H.R. Khanna, one of the most famous and the most noble of India’s
Judges. He was a votary of the Bharat
Vikas Parishad which is a functioning social organization now chaired by
Mr.Justice Rama Jois – a distinguished BJP Member of Parliament.
In the St. Xavier’s College case Justice H.R. Khanna delivered a
memorable judgment giving reasons why minority interests are so zealously
protected in every society – especially in India. This is what he said:
“The safeguards of the interest of the minorities amongst sections
of the population is as important as the protection of the interest amongst
individuals or persons who are below the age of majority or are otherwise
suffering from some kind of infirmity.
The Constitution and the laws made by civilized nations, therefore,
generally contain provisions for the protection of those interests. It can, indeed, be said to be an index of
the level of civilization and catholicity of a nation as to how far their
minorities feel secure and are not subject to any discrimination or
suppression.”
Khanna knew that it was the feeling amongst minorities
about their security and about non-discrimination that mattered.
In an excellent treatise on the Role of the Supreme Court in
American Government, Prof. Archibald Cox has written that constitutional
adjudication depends upon a delicate symbiotic relation –
“The court must know us better than we know ourselves. Its opinions may sometimes be the voice of
the spirit, reminding us of our better
selves”
The judgment of the Supreme Court of India in the St. Xavier’s
College case reminded all Indians of their “better selves”.
State-aided Minority Educational Institutions (MEIs) however, did
not receive, the same favourable reception from the Supreme Court when Article
30 was invoked in the case of institutions of higher learning – in postgraduate
courses in medicine, engineering and the like.
In these groups of cases (where I had been briefed and had
appeared for some of the MEIs), different benches of the Supreme Court – at
first – wavered as to how much, or how little, autonomy should be conceded to
such minority educational institutions.
The cases shuttled from a bench of two justices, to a bench of five
justices, then from a bench of five justices to a bench of seven justices (on
19th March 1994), and were ultimately referred to a bench of 11
justices (in TMA Pai Foundation vs. State of Karnataka).
With the mandatory constitutional age of retirement of Supreme
Court judges (at 65), the composition of the bench was entirely different from
what it was in 1974! In 2002 the
difficulty the bench of 11 justices felt (in TMA Pai) – that’s what they said -
was how to reconcile the provisions of Article 30(1) with the seemingly
contrary provisions contained in Article 29(2):
Article 30(1) provided:
“(1) All minorities, whether based on
religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice.”
But Article 29(2) provided as follows:
“(2).. No citizen shall be denied
admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving
aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or
any of them.”
But in the Kerala Education Bill case (1958), an attempt had been
made at a reconciliation – this is what the Court in the Kerala case said:
“The real import of Article 29(2) and Article 30(1) seems to us to
be that they clearly contemplate a minority (educational) institution with a sprinkling
of outsiders admitted into it’;”
The expression ‘sprinkling of outsiders’ was later explained (in
bench decisions of the Supreme Court) as not restricting the number of
outsiders so long as the minority character of the institution was not
affected.
But the inarticulate major premise
underlying the ultimate decision of the justices who constituted the majority
in the 11-judge bench in TMA Pai Foundation (2002) was the strong
suspicion that many of the MEIs, in receipt of state aid, were selling seats to
the highest bidder and were thus disentitled to invoke the Fundamental Right to
‘administer’ the MEI in question. In the Kerala Education Bill case
(1958), Chief Justice S. R. Das had warned that the Fundamental Right
guaranteed by Article 30 to administer educational institutions would
not include the right to ‘maladminister’ them.
In the view of most of the judges on
the bench (in TMA Pai Foundation), state-aided MEIs, which had
established institutions for postgraduate courses in medicine, engineering and
the like, were claiming a Fundamental Right to administer them almost solely
with a view to profiteering in the matter of admissions and allotment of seats.
It was money and not merit that mattered to them. ‘Maladministration’ therefore
became a convenient stick with which to beat the MEIs – not unjustifiably, at
times – but only at times: not every time!
In my view, the ultimate majority
decision in TMA Pai Foundation was not so much the result of a textual
interpretation of the constitutional provisions as of the apprehension of the
judges that treating the right of minorities under Article 30 as ‘absolute’ (as
it had been described in the earlier cases) would totally negate the claim of
the states to regulate MEIs – especially in higher education. My plea to
the judges that not suspicion, but only concrete allegations and proof of such
allegations in individual cases could deprive MEIs of their Fundamental Right
to administer minority educational institutions established by them, was
invariably met with stony silence!
Prior to the decision in TMA
Pai Foundation (2002) Courts in India – i.e. our Judges – had shown
a special solicitude for minorities since (ordinarily) they would not be able
to find protection in the normal political process. In other countries also, there has been a
tendency for Courts, when dealing with minority rights, to conceptualize their
role to that of a political party in opposition.[8] In his foreword to a book written by Justice
K.K. Mathew titled: Democracy Equality
and Freedom published by Eastern Book Company way back in 1976, Prof.
Upendra Baxi said that the Supreme Court of India regarded minority rights
as one of the “preferred freedoms”. He
was right. But he wrote this more than 40 years ago.
Minority rights are still regarded by the Courts (as they have to be)
as fundamental rights, but (and I say this with regret) they are no
longer regarded by the Judges of today as “preferred freedoms”.
The decision in TMA Pai
was a un-mitigated disaster for the minorities.
Let me tell you why. Article 30
(the right of minorities, religious and linguistic to establish and maintain
education institutions of their choice) has now been placed by Court decision
on a much lower pedestal than it was – or was intended to be. It has been equated only with a fundamental
right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) – i.e. a mere right to an occupation
(running an educational institution the Judges said is an “occupation” like any
other):
Even though the fundamental right under Article 30 had been
expressly made – deliberately made - not subject to any reasonable restrictions
at all, the Bench of 11 Judges (by majority) relegated this right to a right to
an occupation guaranteed by Article 19(1)(g) i.e. therefore subject to
reasonable restrictions imposed by law in public interest – i.e. subject to
State regulation.
The Fundamental
Right of MEIs have got devalued, because approximating the provisions in
Article 30 to the provisions contained in Article 19(1)(g) mean, that as a
matter of perception, the ‘reasonable restrictions’ imposed by ordinary law on
this Fundamental Right – permissible under Article 19(6) – has also got
subsumed in what was an otherwise unrestricted Fundamental Right guaranteed
under Article 30!
With the result that when the Right to
Education Act 2009 – was challenged as unconstitutional before a Bench of 3
judges of the Supreme Court it was upheld – two of out of the Bench of three
judges holding that even admissions to minority education institutions governed
by Article 30 were required to conform to its provisions – however, it was only
in May 2014 that the majority view on this limited point has been over-turned
by a unanimous Bench decision of five Judges.[9]
As I said before – initially, when dealing with minority rights,
courts in India had invariably conceptualized their role as that of a political
party in opposition – until one of the political parties, the Bharatiya Janata
Party (the BJP), in the early 1990s characterized the policy of the Congress
Party (the ruling party in power at the Centre for more than 40 years) as an
“appeasement of the minorities”. The
label stuck; “minority” became and has become an unpopular word.
And after the same political party had included in its Election
Manifesto in the general election of May-June 1991 the party’s resolve if and
when it came into power to amend Article 30 to the disadvantage of minorities,
‘minority rights’ got less and less protected by Courts (including the Supreme
Court of India) than they were before.
A large number of Judges of the Supreme Court today no longer pay
much attention to what the great Chief Justice S. R. Das had said at the end of
his judgment in the Kerala Education case.
NOW – SOME CONCLUSIONS -
Way back in 1836 a lively Anglican priest and social reformer, the
Rev. Sydney Smith[10]
perceived the dangers of giving political power to the people. Preaching in St.
Paul’s Cathedral he ventured to suggest that:
“It would be an entertaining change in
human affairs to determine everything by minorities. They are almost always in the right.”
But the great democrat, Abraham Lincoln, frowned on such
heresy. In his First Inaugural Address
in March 1861 he said that “the rule of a minority as a permanent arrangement
is wholly inadmissible; so that rejecting the majority principle, anarchy and
despotism in some form is all that is left”
So you see - for as long as people aspire to govern according to
majoritarian values in terms of assumptions held by the majority, the
minorities must always suffer – anywhere and everywhere. Even Abraham Lincoln said so.
But with respect, I suggest that neither the view of the lively
Anglican priest nor of the great democrat are valid.
In my humble view there is – there has to be – a middle way.
Some years ago I read an article in the Times
of India: an interview with Sulak Sivaraksa of Thailand. He is a prominent activist and had been
persecuted by many dictatorships in Thailand.
He has been forced into exile. He
was asked whether he felt that the major world religions needed to reinvent
themselves in order to be more effective in “these troubled times”? And
Sulak Sivaraksa answered that every religion must go back to its original
teachings and make itself more relevant today.
He was then asked why there were great
disparities in the way Buddhism was being practised? And his answer was significant, and for us
all -crucial. This is what he said:
Quote. “I make a distinction between
Buddhism with a Capital ‘B’ and buddhism with a small ‘b’. Sri Lanka has the former, in which the state
uses Buddhism as an instrument of power, so there are even Buddhists monks who
say the Tamils should be eliminated.
Thai Buddhists are not perfect either.
Some Thai Buddhist monks have compromised and possess cars and other
luxuries. In many Buddhist countries,
the emphasis is on being goody-goody, which is not good enough. I am for buddhism with a small ‘b’ which
is non-violent, practical and aims to eliminate the cause of suffering..."
Unquote.
If I were to project myself into the mind of the founding fathers
and review what they thought were the rights of minorities in the context of
freedom of religion, I would lay great emphasis on the fact that whilst most of
them started the business of Constitution making, by defining minorities with a
big ‘M’, within a few years, they began to accept the fact that, in the
vast Indian Union, in the smooth working of the Constitution the minorities had
a great future if their sights were lowered – if they chose to accept “minority” with a small ‘m’.
In 1984, at a conference in New Zealand to which I was invited, I
heard its human rights commissioner (Justice John Wallace) say: ‘the
minority view is generally right, provided the minority can carry the majority
with it.’ His was the voice of mature experience, not of mere human-rights
rhetoric.
When we in India discuss the state of our nation, we should never
forget the historical context: Minority with a small ‘m’ must be the
watchword. Because minority with a small
‘m’ may help to carry the majority with it – provided always that the
majority has the humility and statesmanship also to accept “majority” as a word
with a small m. ‘Majority’ with a
small ‘m’ helps to instill a sense of confidence in the minorities. The possibility of conflict arises only when
one or other of these groups stresses the big ‘M’ factor.
Sorry for the bits of plain – speaking this evening. Ladies and Gentlemen.
But I must tell you Hon’ble Minister that when a delegation of
some members of the Commission came over some days ago to invite me to speak I
alerted them and told them that they would not like to hear my views; I told
them that I was pretty critical in my approach to minority rights. But they insisted that I come and speak. This is the reason why parts of this talk may
not have gone down well with some of you.
I am sorry but I assure you I did not mean to offend anyone.
In a book written by a distinguished advocate of old Mr. P. B.
Vachha, which is a judicial history of the Bombay High Court during the British
period, the book had been commissioned by the Judges of the Bombay High Court
but then they did not approve of certain passages in the book and asked Vachha
to remove them. He refused. So a group of us advocates got together and
financed the publication privately. In
his Preface Vachha wrote that in writing the history of the Bombay high Court
he had adopted the advice given to India’s great historian Ferishta, by Ibrahim
Adilshah, when Ferishta migrated from the Nizamshahi Court at Ahmednagar to the
Adilshahi Court at Bijapur. Famous
words:
“Write”, said the Monarch, “write without fear or flattery.”
Fear and flattery of the powers that be are the worst enemies of
historical truth, and vitiate an opinion at its very source.
I have always been impressed by these brave words. It is better to be unpopular than to be
untruthful.
*****
Minority Commission
seeks public statement from Govt. to reassure minorities
15 Sep 2014 04:09 PM,
IST
http://www.indiatomorrow.net/eng/minority-panel-seeks-public-statement-from-govt-to-reassure-minorities
By IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 15 Sep 2014: Amidst communal
tensions rising in different parts of the country due to constant hate
campaign, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has urged the Central
Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to issue a public statement
reassuring all minorities that their constitutional rights are safe. In his
speech at the 7th Annual Lecture of NCM in New Delhi on 12th Sep,
India’s distinguished jurist Fali S. Nariman had asked the commission to become
an active protector of the rights of minorities. “It is this liberal approach to
Fundamental Rights and protection of minorities that has helped the minorities
in India to progress so far as well as to conserve and protect their guaranteed
rights. Then why are the minorities at the cross-roads today? It is because the
body set up by Parliament to protect minorities has omitted to take effective
steps to protect them...” said Mr. Nariman.
The NCM said: “The Commission would appreciate
a public statement from the Government to reassure all minorities that their
constitutional rights of safety, security and equality before the law cannot be
compromised at any cost.”
“The Government needs to send a clear signal
that it is committed to the protection and security of all citizens and that no
attempt at creating an atmosphere of fear and mistrust will be tolerated,” it
said.
Though it is not clear when the resolution was
passed, the text has two references that show it was passed after 15th August
Independence Day speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and before the just
concluded by-elections (13th Sep).
While condemning the provocative and hate
speeches of some politicians of the ruling BJP (though it did not mention any
name) like Yogi Adityanath and Praveen Togadia against Muslims for so-called
'Love Jihad' campaign, the commission said these statements are violating both
the Constitution and PM Modi’s call for moratorium on communal riots.
“The NCM also condemns the communally charged
statements attributed to prominent people in public life which are creating
this atmosphere of mistrust and heightened tension. These happenings are
violating the principles of the Indian Constitution and also the call given by
the Hon'ble Prime Minister that there should be a moratorium on communal
riots,” reads the resolution. It also called for honour for the words of the
Prime Minister.
NCM Resolution
The commission demanded the government to
“verify the media reports to prevent any further deterioration of the
situation, especially in the politically sensitive regions where byelections
are due.”
It
appealed to civil society to work for inter-faith understanding and mutual
respect among the various communities.
The resolution is displayed on the official
website http://ncm.nic.in/
----------------------------
INDIAN EXPRESS
WEDNESDAY, SEP 24, 2014
Adityanath’s
party?
A BJP MP from Gorakhpur,
member of the party’s national executive who has officially been handed charge
of its campaign for the UP assembly bypolls, has been issued a notice by the
Election Commission of India for allegedly delivering an inflammatory speech
and invoking religion to garner votes. The EC has found prima facie violation
of the model code of conduct and asked him to explain why action should not be
taken against him. An MLA in Madhya Pradesh, who is also the state BJP vice
president, has asked party workers to ensure that Muslim youth are not allowed
to enter garba venues in her constituency during the upcoming Navdurga
festival, alleging that Hindu girls are lured and converted to Islam as part of
a “love jihad” conspiracy. Yogi Adityanath and Usha Thakur speak the language
of what is often called the BJP’s “fringe” — but they don’t really fit that
description. While the former is central to the BJP’s campaign for UP, the
latter is an important party office-bearer, apart from being an elected
representative. Both could be rightfully expected to be circumscribed by the
slogan put forward by their party to win the Centre — “sabka saath, sabka
vikas”. Neither would be unaware of the 10-year moratorium pledged by their
prime minister on caste and communal strife on Independence Day from the
ramparts of the Red Fort.
So who is in charge in the
BJP? And why is no action being taken against those like Adityanath and Thakur
who are openly stoking communal tensions on the ground, especially in
poll-bound states, in flagrant defiance of the forward-looking and
development-oriented image courted by the Modi-led BJP at the Centre? Or is the
party playing true to its own worst stereotype — of always speaking in two
voices, carefully choreographing the interplay between them and their
alternation?
The BJP has only recently
won a decisive majority at the Centre, and though religious polarisation played
a part, the party’s victory was made up of much more than that. It was
propelled by the hope for change, and aspirations sparked by its promise to
revive economic growth and provide an enabling environment, jobs and
opportunities in a young country. While Prime Minister Modi appears to be
largely addressing himself to the developmental challenge at hand, and is
clearly conscious of the need to be seen to be doing so too, others in the
party are straying from this script. If this dissonance — between the BJP in
the state and at the Centre, or in a poll-bound state and outside it — is
allowed to fester, the party must know that it will eventually imperil the
trust and expectation that brought it its unprecedented mandate.
---------------------------------
-
Wed,24 Sep 2014
The silence on the rising communal
tempers is deafening
August 24, 2014
In the three months since Narendra Modi’s spectacular
triumph, many corners of the country have begun to smoulder in slow fires of
orchestrated hate and distrust against India’s Muslims and this is mostly
unnoticed by the majority. Only a few violent episodes make it briefly to the
front pages of the national Press and television news. But what is unseen is
that cumulatively, many small communal skirmishes have contributed to a
sustained but decentralised campaign of sectarian hate. This and the studied
silence of the prime minister through all of this – except a welcome reference
from the Red Fort – have created mounting disquiet and fear among the country’s
largest minority.
The patterns are familiar. A multitude of
ever-growing Hindu nationalist organisations – some mainstream, some fringe –
deploy and refashion small local disputes to spur rage and suspicion against
the Muslim people, each time reviving and fuelling old stereotypes. The
manufactured flashpoints are also familiar: disputes over land for shrines and
graveyards, an offending loudspeaker in a place of worship, charges of young
Muslim men sexually harassing hapless Hindu women in a sinister campaign of
‘love jihad’, sometimes with the added twist of forced conversions, or cow
slaughter.
In Muzaffarnagar, a murderous hot-headed clash
following a motorcycle accident is converted into a story of stalking for love
jihad. In Moradabad, Dalits in a Muslim majority town are instigated to install
a loudspeaker on their shrine. In Saharanpur, an old and almost settled land
dispute over the site of a gurudwara acquires a communal colour. In Meerut, an
unfortunate young Hindu woman teacher in a madrassa who undergoes a late and
unsafe abortion becomes the centre of murky charges of gang-rape and forced
conversion. Allegations of cow slaughter lead to clashes in Udipi, Kathua and
Loni. Even in Delhi, trucks are set ablaze alleging that they were transporting
cows for slaughter.
In Mewat in Haryana, clashes break out after a truck
driven by a Muslim runs over a motor-cycle killing two Hindu men. In Pithampur,
Madhya Pradesh, a communal clash erupts from a dispute over a children’s
cricket match. It is as though activists are hunting for any dispute which can
be twisted and morphed to heighten communal tempers.
The internet becomes a handy tool for communal
mobilisation. All across Maharashtra, from Pune to Nagpur, Aurangabad to Dhule,
violence between communities breaks out after pictures insulting religious and
political icons are posted on social networks, and rarely do enraged street
warriors know or bother to know who actually posted the offending pictures. The
attacks in Pune during the last week of May are particularly tragic. Activists
of the Hindu Rashtra Sena armed with cricket bats, iron rods and daggers, run
amok, damaging 250 buses, two madrassas (where children are studying at that
time), two mosques, a graveyard, and a string of bakeries, hotels and shops
owned by Muslims. Their rampage climaxes in the bludgeoning to death of a young
man returning from his evening prayers, marked out as a Muslim by his beard and
skull cap.
The culpability for each of these clashes lies with
the communal organisations bent on fomenting animosities. But it is shared
equally by the shamefully weak-kneed (or actively prejudiced) responses of the
state and district administrations in these states, especially UP and
Maharashtra. Each of these episodes could have been prevented or rapidly
quelled, if only local officials had effectively publicly dispelled hate rumours
and expeditiously arrested those who spread these falsehoods and organised
violence.
However, blame also lies with the ruling central
leadership. It is true that law and order is primarily the responsibility of
state governments. But it is no secret that the BJP rose to power with active
support of RSS cadres, and the adrenaline of their decisive victory has led
them to feel emboldened to pursue even more vigorously their intensely divisive
agendas. Raised on a staple diet of anti-Muslim propaganda, and encouraged
further by the open deployment of these sentiments to reap a polarised vote in
states like UP and Bihar, high-pitched communal tempers are not a genie which
can be released and then pushed back into a bottle at will.
Matters are not helped when a young BJP leader with a
proven record in fomenting such communal divides for rich electoral gains — in
Gujarat first, and now in UP — is handpicked to lead the party. Even more
disturbing is that these communal passions are being stirred precisely in those
states and constituencies that go to polls in coming months. The ruling
coalition further alienates Muslim people when a BJP MP on the floor of
Parliament tells a Muslim MP to ‘go to Pakistan’, as though the country belongs
any less to its many minorities. After characterising the millennium of Indian
history when the majority of its rulers were Muslim as an era of slavery, the
studied silence of the otherwise garrulous Prime Minister about these attacks
is both deafening and ominous.
A sense of dread slowly therefore mounts almost
invisibly over the country as communal tempers are cynically and perilously
being overheated for a series of electoral harvests, and for drawing larger and
larger sections of low-caste Hindus to stand with their upper-caste oppressors
against the Muslim ‘other’, who is portrayed as their common enemy. The
Congress, socialists and the Left are too dispirited to convincingly take to
the battle. The struggle to preserve the idea of India has to be fought outside
Parliament, by ordinary people, on the streets and in our homes, in places of
worship and secular assembly, but most of all in the hearts of the
young.
(Harsh Mander is director, Centre for Equity Studies.
The views expressed by the author are personal.)
---------------------
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/bharat-bhushan-ambient-intolerance-goes-up-114072901247_1.html
Ambient intolerance goes up in the Modi
era
With the temperature of Hindutva rising in the
Indian social discourse, Narendra Modi is yet to become the inclusive leader
that the high office he occupies demands of him
Bharat Bhushan July 29, 2014
Something has changed in our society after Narendra Modi became the prime minister. Today, speaking
carelessly about other religious communities has become acceptable. A new
"normal" is being defined about how India talks to herself and the
world.
Election campaigns tend to accentuate political
differences to appeal to voters and draw them away from others. Modi's campaign
also gained from polarising voters. After a handsome victory, however, as prime
minister, he has failed to heal the polity. If he lets the situation drift,
differences could grow into deep social divisions.
The tendency towards this is evident from several
disturbing developments - of which Modi is a silent spectator.
The testosterone-charged grey eminences of Hindutva,
such as Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia, are openly threatening the
Muslims. Singhal claimed that Modi's victory was a blow to Muslim politics
because it showed elections could be won without Muslim support. He saw Modi as
the "ideal" RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) volunteer who would
implement the Hindutva agenda. Modi's invitation to Pakistan Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif for his inauguration was explained as the necessity
of resorting "to deceit at times".
Togadia went much further in threatening the
Muslims. He claimed that they may have forgotten the Gujarat riots of 2002, but
they should remember the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013. Referring to the mythical
Ramayana tale he warned, "If you set Hanuman's tail on fire, Lanka will
burn." He did not receive even a rap on the knuckles.
Even legislators openly speak of a Hindufication
agenda, with one from Goa claiming that under Modi India will become a
"Hindu nation", and another countering that it already was one.
As if this were not enough, obscurantists like
Dinanath Batra are crawling out of the woodwork. Now that his claptrap has made
it to the reading lists in schools in Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)-ruled
Gujarat, he wants the school curricula for the entire country changed. The RSS
has been emboldened to set up an education commission of its own - the
Bharatiya Shiksha Niti Ayog or Indian Education Policy Commission - to suggest
changes to make the curricula more "Indian".
Even parliamentary proceedings are getting a
Hindutva tinge, with the Lok Sabha Speaker, Sumitra Mahajan, concluding
obituary references in Parliament with "Om Shanti, Shanti". Should
India get a Christian or a Muslim speaker in future, would we then expect them
to say "Amen" or recite a "dua" or prayer for the departed?
In communally sensitive western Uttar Pradesh, BJP MPs are making an issue of the installation of a
loudspeaker in a Hindu temple to broadcast the prayer rituals. They claim that
if mosques could broadcast their call to prayer, then there should be no
discrimination against the Hindus.
The ally of the ruling BJP, the Shiv Sena, sees
nothing wrong in its legislator force-feeding a Muslim during his Ramzan fast.
The BJP fielded spokespersons on TV who sermonised about the public behaviour
required of peoples' representatives, without once specifically criticising the
Shiv Sena MP. Even the home minister did not ask the Delhi
Police, directly under his control, to register a criminal case against the
loutish MP. It was left to L K Advani, marginalised in the party and
Parliament, to mutter that what happened was wrong. In a break with political
tradition, the new government's ministers have also pointedly shunned the goodwill
gesture of holding "iftaar" for the minority Muslim community
leaders, sharing the evening meal after their daylong fast during the month of
Ramzan.
With the ambient temperature of Hindutva rising in
the Indian social discourse, the question is whether Modi is letting the
situation drift deliberately. He has not yet become the inclusive leader that
the high office he occupies demands of him.
There seems to be a mismatch between Modi, the man,
and the image he is forced to adopt as the prime minister of an ethnically,
culturally and religiously diverse nation. Modi, the man, is a Hindutva icon
and a long-time RSS worker. His experience of Gujarat and the last general
election - especially in Uttar Pradesh - is that communal polarisation wins
elections.
His world view, shaped by his long tenure as a
full-time RSS worker, his political success and experience, is expected to be
sympathetic to the Hindutva agenda. In his motion of thanks to the President's
address to Parliament, he referred to "1,200 years of mental
servitude" that afflicts India. Since the British ruled over India for
only 200 years, Modi was including a further 1,000 years of rule by the Ghoris,
Ghaznavis, the Sultanate and the Mughals. This is a conception of Indian
history that Hindutva votaries believe in.
Historians can debate whether he is factually right
or wrong. But the political question is whether such a view of history, which
sees religious and cultural diversity as vestiges of those who
"enslaved" India and proselytised it, will allow him to see these as
desirable inclusive qualities of the Indian polity and tend them. What
emboldens the Singhals, the Togadias and other Hindutva activists to raise the
threshold of hate speech is perhaps the knowledge that with Modi at the helm, they
are safe.
If this is indeed the case, then the minorities
might choose to become inward-looking, more ghettoised and to withdraw from
active political participation. A large section among them might be satisfied
if they are left unharmed and allowed to live their private lives. While a
section of youth might be attracted to militancy, another section could be won
over by the loaves and fishes of office. The larger segment of the minorities
might simply become indifferent to public life. This enforced political
passivity would help the BJP electorally - it needs this to happen desperately
in states with sizeable minority population such as West Bengal, Assam, Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar.
On the other hand, Modi could embolden himself to
live up to the image of an inclusive prime minister - a leader of the entire
country. Such a transformative leadership would mean questioning his long-held
beliefs. At this point, given his indifference to the hatemongers within his
cheerleaders, this seems too much of an ask.
The writer is a journalist based in Delhi
---------------------------------------
Back
to Basics
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol - XLIX No. 36, September 06, 2014
Editorial
Now that "development" has delivered the votes, the BJP is back to hard-line Hindutva.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is supposed to have won the recent general elections on the basis of its campaign on “development”. Vikas is supposed to have been the strong pitch for transforming India – accomplishing in 60 months what the Congress and other governments could not do in 60 years – into a developed country that created the electoral tsunami which carried the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, the “vikas purush”, to power.
While it may well be true that some voters were swayed by this massive public relations exercise, a look at the electoral evidence also suggests that vicious communal divisions played a significant role in giving the BJP an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. The sweep in Uttar Pradesh would have been impossible without the execution of the well-planned Muzaffarnagar riots where Muslim communities in the rural areas were systematically targeted and an atmosphere of communal tension and suspicion was created in the entire state. A spillover of this was also the electoral bounty in Haryana. The showing in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, etc, also cannot be accounted for without the killings, general violence and displacement of Muslims, for instance, in Assam’s Bodo-dominated areas. Other states like Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, etc, also saw openly aggressive campaigns on communal issues accomplished by the BJP and other Hindutva organisations. Given the reach of the BJP’s high voltage “360 degree” media campaign, these communal pitches did not remain local but had a national effect.
Depending on the analysis, it is possible that anything from 50 to 75 of the 283 seats that the BJP won in the general elections were primarily due to the proximate reasons of communal violence between Hindus and Muslims (and also Christians). Those who have studied the popular mobilisations and political strategies of the Sangh Parivar would agree that the total number of seats won by the BJP through communal mobilisations would be much higher than the conservative psephological estimate we give here.
If communal polarisation of the electorate to build a Hindutva vote bank was a constant presence in the general election campaign, it has only seen a sharpening in the, supposedly important, “first 100 days” of the BJP-led government in office. An important way in which this has been done is the strategy of the Sangh Parivar to calibrate communal violence and hate campaigns in a way so as to keep it “under the radar”. One of the ways of accomplishing this is to shift the locus of violence and mobilisations from the urban centres to small towns and rural areas; another course is to keep the “dead-count” low and use variants of everyday, “routine” violence to spread tensions and create panic. Yet another scheme is to convert India-Pakistan relations into a subset of the Hindu-Muslim relations within India (and here the conveniently timed ratcheting up of tensions and cross-border firing is proving very useful). The most prominent method deployed in recent weeks has been the issue of “Love Jihad”.
The uncontrolled (and uncontrollable) sexuality of women has always been among the main insecurities of men who form the backbone of all right-wing movements. The fear of the “Mussalman” stealing away the innocent “Hindu” woman, impregnating her with Muslim children and thus weakening the Hindus, and adding strength to the Muslims, has been a continuous strain within Hindutva fear-mongering for at least a century in India. In one single slogan “Love Jihad” brings together the fears over sexuality, family and patriarchy, caste, religion and nation. Its potency, if a pun may be excused, as a rallying cry has long been established as reliable. No wonder it is again being deployed in precisely those areas – Jat-dominated western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, northern Rajasthan – where the first wave of communal violence consolidated the BJP’s electoral position but may not guarantee long-term dominance. In these areas the anti-Muslim slant of “Love Jihad” also fits in well with the ongoing patriarchal insecurities of the dominant communities, which have been expressed till now in “non-communal” ways, for instance, in the form of low sex ratios, honour killings, injunctions over dress and the use of mobile phones.
As some reports in the media have shown, the “argument” that there is a “conspiracy” by Muslim men to marry Hindu women and produce Muslim children through them is entirely without any basis. There is some “evidence” to show that there is an increase in the number of people marrying across caste and religious lines. Inasmuch as this indicates a growing ability of individuals to break from their traditional chains of patriarchal control, it is an entirely welcome trend. And it is unlikely that this silly, yet extremely dangerous, “Love Jihad” campaign will put a stop to the growing trend of people exercising individual choice in matters of sex and marriage. What it will however do is increase the risk for young people and provide rich electoral gains to the BJP in the upcoming state elections.
POSTED
BY C-INFO AT FRIDAY,
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 
LABELS: BJP, BJP
IN POWER MAY 2014 ON
---------------
To make a country without fear
John Dayal
[For Spotlight, Centre for Policy
Analysis, June 2014]
A lynching in the country is not a good
backdrop for a new government to begin the serious work of good governance that
was promised in the winning election 2014 manifesto. Nor is it a good omen as a
new Lok Sabha begins its inaugural session of a five-year tenure that perhaps
will be less stormy and contentious than the one preceding it, its peace
assured by the overwhelming majority of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The numbers
leave little space for dissent, even if the emasculated and truncated
Opposition to the initiative to raise issues that the Treasury benches and the
government collectively think of as contentious. The riotous assemblies of the
past on issues such as Telengana, the Women’s Reservation Bill, the Prevention
of Communal Violence Bill, albeit very briefly, and even the Tamil issue will
arguably remain just in the memories of the media and the TV-watching public.
Long before the general elections, the
re-structuring of the Bharatiya Janata Party had given an indication of the
vision for the future, with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and Mr. Narendra
Modi together micro-managing the nation-wide choice of the candidates, with the
cadres deployed all the way down to the electorate at the level of individual
booths. There were close to a million polling stations, so that should a fair
indication of the scale of the exercise and the numbers of cadres involved,
working with other BJP supporters, and surely with excellent lines of
information, command and control.
The long election campaign was vicious
and unsparing, bruising, divisive and coercive, even threatening in a manner
never seen before. The sophisticated social media, presumably manned by
“modern” and educated young men and women, many of them living in the United
States of America, often crossed the lines of legality, while their trolls
operated essentially on the wrong side of the Information Technology legislation.
Political leaders and activists, among them many who are now in the Union
Council of Ministers, pandered to the lowest common denominator in an effort,
so very successful in retrospect, to consolidate the majority communities. The
electoral rout of the so-called secular parties and those representing the
marginalised and the subaltern groups indicates how wide the communal chasm had
grown in the last one year, peaking in Muzaffarnagar, with that infamous pogrom
in turn fuelling the separation of peoples. It is a matter of speculation as to
how long it will take for wounds to heal and suspicion to fade away. That, of
course, would also depend on how long it will take for the defeated political
parties and groups to recover, regroup and rebuild themselves into potent
political entities. And that, in turn, would depend on whether the vanquished
have learnt lessons from the battle. That, some say, seems a tall order.
The all-conquering Mr. Narendra Modi, the
new prime minister has taken early and dramatic steps in an effort to prove
that he is his own man, with a visible bow to his alma mater, the Sangh. The
core group of his Cabinet is men and women fiercely loyal to him, even as the
bulk of the lesser portfolios are filled by Sangh nominees, including a man who
is an accused in the Muzaffarnagar violence, and representatives of the allies
in the National Democratic alliance. The
minorities, Dalits and Tribals have token representation. He has accommodated
one competitor, the redoubtable Mrs. Shushma Swaraj, but has kept out
patriarchs Mr. Lal Krishna Advani and Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi.
His swearing-in sought to mute fears of a
hawkish image by an invitation to the heads of government of the countries of
the neighbourhood, including the prime minister of Pakistan, Mr. Nawaz Sharif
even though some of his senior party colleagues, including former BJP president
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, had all but declared that India reserved the nuclear option
if Islamabad provoked the country. Every neighbour obliged. His inaugural address
as Prime minister spoke of development and inclusiveness. The oath taking
ceremony further spelled out the economic agenda, so to speak, in the major
presence of India Inc., led by the Ambani family, fellow Gujaratis, as well as
the more controversial Mr. Adani, and many more. And while perhaps the promise of
inclusiveness was reflected in a number of Bohra leaders, and some other Muslim
religious heads, also Protestant Christian Bishops and pastors, this was rather
offset by the entire Sangh hierarchy present on the front seats at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan ceremony. The man not present was Rashtriya Swayamsewak
Sangh head, Mr. Mohan Bhagwat. The Organiser, the official mouthpiece of the
Sangh recorded that those present included religious leaders Sri Sri
Ravishankar, Jagadguru Ramanandacharya, Swami Ramandrachrya as well as Mr.
Rameshbhai Ojha, Acharya Balkrishna, Mr. Bhaiyujji Maharaj, Sadhvi Rithambhra
and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Mr. Ashok Singhal.
And perhaps therein lies the fear that
extreme religious elements may see in the BJP-Modi landslide – that it was on a
31 per cent of the vote is largely irrelevant in the popular discourse – an
opportunity for themselves, if not a licence.
The French political scientist, Prof. Christophe Jaffrelot
who has written several books on the rise of the saffron brotherhood, noted
“Except in Uttar Pradesh, where polarisation was the repertoire Mr. Amit Shah
[the BJP campaign manager] orchestrated for delivering votes in a key state,
Mr. Modi projected a rather soft Hindutva-based discourse this time. Whether
this style will continue to prevail will largely depend on how his government
will succeed in delivering economic growth. If he can quickly achieve positive
results on the economic front and revive growth and create jobs, and can thus
remain popular – the economy is definitely his top priority – then the
development plank will be sufficient for him. If, however, he is not successful
on the economic front, there will be strong criticism not just amongst the liberals
but in his own camp. He may then resort to the Hindutva-based polarisation
strategy.”
Delivering on the economy is not one man’s job, or even of
one government. In his election rhetoric, Mr. Modi spoke of development, but
never spelt it out in detail. It remained a phrase, a matter of interpretation.
The United Progressive Alliance government of economist Dr. Manmohan Singh was
accused of policy paralysis. Mr. Modi has done away with collective decision
making mechanism thought of by his predecessor, including such holy cows as
Groups of Ministers, and Empowered Group of Ministers [which by the way were
instruments that led to the creation of Telengana]. Mr. Modi made it clear that
it would be he, and not his cabinet colleagues, who would take policy
decisions, leaving them the job of the day-to-day running of ministries whose
numbers would also be reduced in time through the clubbing of several
departments. He appointed a Principal Secretary using a Presidential Ordinance
to overcome some legal barriers. He met with the heads of all the departments,
Secretaries to the Government, and told the bureaucrats they had a direct
access to him on the mobile phone to get the work done. Mr. Modi would indeed
be the Chief Executive Officer of the new dispensation.
But India now lives in a globalised economic world and
everything from Foreign Direct Investment to join ventures needs willing
partners in the US and Europe even as they struggle in their own economic
doldrums. The balancing of internal development, infrastructure projects and
the vexatious issue of transferring land and forests to industries for
exploitation and use remains a political landmine that can turn quite few friends into enemies, and provoke mass
unrest in sensitive regions.
Thought inevitably turns to Prof. Jeffrelot’s common-sense
premonition. In a very short time, there have been voices from within the
council of ministers and the larger political family that the election verdict
is for implementing the most confrontationist subjects on the agenda. Within a
day of taking oath, a junior minister in the Prime Minister’s office spoke of
reopening the issue of abrogating Article 370, which is critical to the state
of Jammu and Kashmir’s ascension to the Union of India. The minister said talks
had begun with stakeholders, provoking an ominous statement from the state
Chief Minister that “long after this government is memory, either Article 370
will remain, or Jammu and Kashmir will not remain in India”. The political
spectrum of the valley of Kashmir came together on the point, and Dr. Karan
Singh, the last Maharajah’s son and himself the last Sadr-e-Riyasat, in a rare
statement advised caution on an issue that had international as well national
implications.
As if that were not enough, there has been a very visible
attempt to raise the national temperature by immediately bringing up the issue
of a Uniform Civil Code, which is seen as thinly veiled attempt against Muslim
personal law. Other religious communities too have in the past vigorously opposed
such a move unless there is a universal code which a citizen can voluntarily
adopt, much as he Special Marriages Act. This has been a pet project of the
Sangh Parivar, which sees the Muslim community as the font of a demographic
conspiracy to overwhelm India. Its most obscene representation was in the
slogan “Ham Panch, Hamare Pachhis”, suggesting that a Muslim man and his four
wives would produce twenty-five offspring to upset the religious population
balance in India. In actual fact, polygamy is the Muslim community is perhaps
no higher than the hidden polygamy in some other communities.
The second pet project, “Indianising Indian education” was
tried out in NDA-I under the venerable Mr. Tal Behari Vajpayee as Prime
Minister and the learned Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi as minister for Human Resource
Development. Much of the strategy revolves around changes in the curricula, in
the text and ancillary books and in pedagogy. The Madhya Pradesh government’s
Surya namashkar and efforts to make Yoga compulsory in schools is but a
dramatic sign of it.
The tens of thousands of Ekal Vidyalayas and Shishu Mandirs
run by the Sangh, often in remote villages, practice this education system.
Their target is to have one such school, mostly a single-teacher institution,
every one of the 6,38,000 villages in India. They are far away from the target,
but they plan to get there. Even in their present numbers, such schools
outstrip the total number of Christian schools and Islamic madrasas in the
country, though official figures are not available.
The new HRD cabinet Minister, Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani,
mired in an unseemly controversy about her undergraduate status, has
nonetheless announced that the education system would have to look into Indian
culture for inspiration. Her fans in academia have seen this as the go ahead
for purging textual material and curricula of things seen as Nehruvian,
western, or for that matter, Islamic. Several leaders, and smaller fries
including those who lead moral policing groups, want a drastic overhaul,
restructuring the entire secondary school system. These perhaps are explained
as the over-enthusiasm of a euphoric group.
All these are issues pertaining to the system, and will
require major administrative and legislative action. They can also not be done
in a day, or even by the next academic session howsoever hard Mrs. Irani, and
those pushing her, may try. Despite the crushing majority in the Lok Sabha, Mr.
Modi may also not try major amendments to the Constitution. The fierce independence
exercised by the leaders of ruling groups in Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West
Bengal, as well as insufficient numbers in the Upper House, the Rajya Sabha,
are current bulwarks against such adventure. But that is not to say Mr. Modi
and his government may not launch another Constitution Review Committee on the
pattern of the Justice Venkatacheliah-chaired National Commission to review the working
of the Constitution was set by NDA Government of India led by Vajpayee on 22 February 2000
for suggesting possible amendments to the Constitution of India. They have the mandate of numbers to do this, though one
would like to hope Mr. Modi will not exercise this option.
What concerns the common people, specially members of
religious minority communities as well as Dalits and Tribals, are matters of
security, issue of their self respect, welfare, economic development, identity,
and of course the protection of the law. They also want safeguards against the
excesses of the law, and of the law-keepers.
The UPA government led by the Congress was not innocent in
this. In fact, it was very guilty. There was large-scale community profiling.
The government could not deliver on safety and security. It waffled on bringing
forth Equal Opportunity Commission laws. It betrayed the minorities by almost
deliberately and cynically ensuring that the Prevention of Communal and
Targetted Violence Act was never passed by Parliament. Its Home Minister of the
time, Mr. P C Chidambaram must take much if the blame. The blackest mark
against the UPA on this score was the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which
was used to arrest, humiliate, torture and incarcerate a large number of Muslim
young men, as also those of the Christian and Sikh communities, if in much less
numbers. And the Congress government could not either tame or contain extremist
political elements spewing hate and indulging in violence.
The world is watching if the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra
Modi, can rise to the occasion and contain these forces that so intimidate
society with their violence, their moral policing and their efforts, so
successful in the short run, to bridle the freedom of speech. Collectively, the
result is great tragedy, and further dividing of people.
Mr. Modi will have to ensure
that the death of a 28-year-old Information Technology professional in Pune,
Mr. Mohsen Sadiq Shaikh, will be the last such incident of intolerance,
psychotic hysteria and brutal violence during his term in office. The police
say Mr. Shaikh was waylaid and bludgeoned to death in the wake of a morphed
image the late Shiv Sena patriarch Mr. Bal Thackeray and Maratha icon
Chhatrapati Shivaji on Facebook. Mr. Shaikh sported a beard and wore a
skullcap, easily identifying him as a Muslim. That he was entirely innocent did
not matter. That he was a Muslim, did. He paid for his identity with his
life. His alleged killers, belonging to
the Hindu Rashtra Sena, exchanged an ominous message on their mobiles: ‘Pahili
wicket padli’, The first wicket has fallen, according to Pune joint
commissioner of police, Mr. Sanjay Kumar. Considering the content of the
message exchanged by the accused and the weapons they were carrying, the police
are probing whether the attack was planned in advance. The city was under
curfew for several hours.
This ideology surely cannot
be allowed to propagate, or continue. The law must, of course, take its course.
But it is for the government now in power in New Delhi to send out strong
messages of comfort and reassurance to a traumatised people who otherwise may
fear the worst. There can be no licence allowed to self-styled moral and
cultural police groups. Mr. Modi and his party, the BJP, will have to show in
word and deed that they are genuinely inclusive, and that every Indian citizen,
whichever religious, cultural or ethnic group he or she may belong to, enjoys
the Constitutional right of life and liberty and the freedom of faith in full
measure. The law and justice system will, it is to be hoped, ensure this, with
the backing of the political dispensation in power. Mr. Modi will have to see
that such groups do not hold the government hostage, even if they think they
helped it come to power.
Development alone, however
visible it may become under Mr. Modi, will have little meaning for a people who
are otherwise living in fear of any sort.
------------
Early
Warning – increasing hate crimes alarm religious minorities
JOHN
DAYAL
UCA
News Agency, 20, August 2014
Several
political columnists have in recent weeks noted how elements of the Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh, professing a right wing ultra-nationalist and Hindu
majoritarian political ideology, have moved from the fringes where they were
for decades, to the centre stage of the national discourse in India after Mr.
Narendra Modi came to power in May this year in the wake of a massive electoral
victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP.
The
BJP is unabashed about its links with the RSS and the expanding group of
organisations it has spawned, collectively known as the Sangh Parivar. Mr. Modi
is himself a former RSS leader, as are several of his Cabinet colleagues. Some
ranking RSS officials have in recent weeks been inducted as general secretaries
of the BJP, leaving absolutely no one in any doubt of the seamless fusion of
the political party and the Sangh which styles itself as a social and cultural
organisations.
RSS
chief Mr. Mohan Bhagwat has repeated asserted that everyone in India is Hindu,
including Muslims and Christians, because this is the land of the Hindu people
and civilisation. The Sangh ideologue
MG Vaidya said on 19th May, three days after the election results,
that they can now tackle issues such as the building of the Ram temple on the
site of the Babri mosque they demolished in 1992 Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader
Mr. Ashok Singhal, said “if [Muslims] keep opposing Hindus, how long can they
survive?”.
Mr. Seshadri Chari, former editor of RSS mouthpiece Organiser
and member of the BJP national executive, who enjoys a deserved reputation as a
sober and reflective commentator, is quoted in the Outlook Magazine saying says
that Hindus have always been a majority in India but the manifestation of
majoritarianism has been reflected in the cultural and social field. “Now
it is reflected in the politics of the country. A large number of foot-soldiers
in the RSS-BJP do believe that the political Hindu has arrived.”
This was apparent in the absolutely poisonous and
acrid discussion that took place in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of
Parliament two days before Independence Day, when the BJP’s lead speaker, Adityanath, the deputy
head of religious cult in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, got away with demonising
the Muslim community and others. The Congress was ineffective in rebutting him
and his colleagues, and so were the others in pinning down the very aggressive
and very big BJP group in the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha debate, the fielding of
Adityanath as the key speaker for his party, and the applause he received from
the leaders and other members on the BJP benches, set to rest any polite talk
that Mr. Modi’s political high command distances itself from the lunacy of the
Sangh Parivar.
That
in itself would not been much of an issue where its lax electoral laws turn a
blind eye to many religious groups – including Sikhs, Muslims and even
Christian apart from Hindus – intervening in the political process with registered
political parties that contest and win elections, and occasionally even control
state governments.
The
crisis comes, as it has this time, when rogue elements choose to challenge the
law and indulge in targetted mass violence assuming, and seemingly correctly,
that the new dispensation will stop them. One group even set up a “Hindu
Helpline” to assist anyone from the majority community who is being harassed by
Muslims.
The
rash of violence against Muslims in north India, and increasing incidents of
coercion and assault against Christians in Central and north India, has alarmed
religious minorities in the country.
The
figures of communal violence, and actions that fell just sort of violence, are
not officially declared, but estimates of cases since the BJP victory
announcement on 16th May 2014 range upwards of 1,000, most incidents
taking place in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra which face elections later this year
to state legislatures. Reputations of Mr. Modi, his Gujarat lieutenant and now
the new BJP president Amit Shah, and the RSS, are at stake..
The violence against Muslims has been well
recorded. The anti-Christian violence has gone under the radar. Taken together,
they indicate a massive drive to saffronise the countryside, villages, small towns
and tribal areas away from the big towns which were the foci of violence in
past years. Bastar in Chhattisgarh is the new flashpoint.
The Christian
leadership has expressed alarm at the sharp rise in hate campaigns by the
Sangh’s political and cultural organisations. This threat of purging Christians
from villages extends from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to now Uttar
Pradesh, to the borders of the national capital of New Delhi. Condemning the
threat of Shuddhhikaran, [purification], they say it in real terms means
forcible conversion to Hinduism.
There has been no response from the state and federal governments yet to the June 2014 dictat by several village
Panchayats in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, to ban the entry of Christian
workers in their areas. The Panchayats
decided only Hindu religious workers will be allowed into the village areas in
the Tribal belt, and only Hindu places of worship could be constructed
henceforth. This decision is of course entirely illegal, and violative of the provisions
in the Constitution of freedom of expression and of movement.
The coercive methodology of branding every Tribal as a Hindu has led
to much violence in several central Indian states, including the pogrom in
Kandhamal in Orissa in August 2008. Such threats by Sangh Parivar groups were largely heard in a big way
during the early years of the NDA government of Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee,
especially in the tribal areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan. In the Dangs, more
than two dozen village churches were burnt down on Christmas eve in 1998,
followed by the gruesome burning alive of Australian medical missionary Graham
Stuart Staines and his young sons Timothy and Philip in Manouharpur in Orissa
in January 1999. Many other murders followed, including that of a Catholic
priest, Fr. Arun Doss, in that region.
The Prime Minister and his Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Rajnath Singh,
have not sent out strong signals that the rule of law will be enforced, and
religious minorities and their freedom of faith will be fully protected. Mr.
Modi’s announcement in his Independence Day oration asking for a “ten-year
moratorium” on all forms of sectorial violence has muddled the civil discourse.
Human rights and religious minority groups have questioned him on why he sought
a ten-year hiatus, and did not appeal for an end to violence against religious
and caste groups. One cynical explanation is that the BJP seeks peace for the
ten years when it hopes to rule the country in increasing strength, but may
face a difficult election ten years from now.
Mr. Modi has an
opportunity to restore faith in harmony and secularism in the country. But
there is little of hope that filters through his current strategy of silence on
most issues of concern to the country, other than in a few public speeches
where rhetoric and slogans substitute for substance.
--------
http://www.frontline.in/cover-story/divide-and-win/article6412685.ece#test
CHHATTISGARH
Marginalising Christians
Purnima S. Tripathi
CHHATISGARH’S
Bastar region looks seductive in its tranquil beauty. The calm on the surface,
however, is deceptive because the area is simmering with a hate campaign,
spurred by the Hindutva organisations led by the VHP. There has always been a
subterranean terror campaign against members of the minuscule Christian
community in this region, but the arrival of a BJP-led government at the Centre
has emboldened these organisations to such an extent that a particularly
systematic campaign to drive Christians out of the State has begun. To make
matters worse, even the police turn a blind eye; no first information reports
(FIR) get registered and representations to the Chief Minister, the Chief
Secretary, or the police chief have no impact on the ground reality.
It all began on May 10 in Sirsiguda village
when a meeting of the gram panchayat was convened and a resolution passed under
Section 129(G) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, which sought to
“preserve the traditional cultural unity of the village; prohibit non-Hindu
religious practitioners from either practising, preaching or propagating any
other religion; banning the entry of non-Hindus in the area; and prohibiting
the construction of any religious place without the prior permission of the gram
panchayat”. The resolution stated that anyone violating these clauses would be
liable for action. The resolution (a copy of which is with Frontline)
was signed by the village sarpanch and other office-bearers of the gram
panchayat. As many as 50 gram sabhas have passed similar resolutions.
The 50-odd Christian families in Sirsiguda
village have been denied their PDS rations on the grounds that their ration
cards are fake. They filed a complaint with to the district Food, Civil
Supplies and Consumer Protection Department on June 16. After the authorities
arrived in the village to investigate the issue, those who deposed before them,
mainly Christians, were beaten up by a group of 150-odd VHP activists, in full
public view, with the local policemen remaining mute spectators. Even though an
FIR naming the perpetrators of the violence was lodged the next day, so far no
arrests have been made (Frontline has a copy of the FIR). The shops in
the village refuse to sell their goods to the Christian families, who have been
repeatedly warned by VHP activists to either convert to Hinduism or leave the
place.
Residents
of Sirsiguda village gather for the special gram sabha which passed a
resolution banning the entry of non-Hindu religious missionaries into the area.
Photo:By Special Arrangement
A
Christian family in Sirsiguda, which was allegedly attacked by Hindutva
activists. Photo:PAVAN DAHAT
The
Sirsiguda sarpanch with the gram sabha's proposal. Photo:PAVAN DAHAT
Arun Pannalal, president of the Chhattisgarh
Christian Forum, told Frontline that this incident had triggered a chain
reaction in the entire Bastar region. Efforts to apprise the Chief Minister and
other senior Ministers have been in vain. “We have sought an appointment with
the Chief Minister more than 50 times, but he has not given us time.
Complaining to other State government officials has been of no help as they
only give assurances and nothing changes on the ground,” Pannalal said. (The
forum filed a writ petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court on September 5
challenging the constitutionality of the resolutions adopted by the village
councils. On September 8, the court asked the State government to file its
reply within three weeks.)
Attacks on Christians, systematic and in full
knowledge of the authorities, have become frequent since the Modi government
took office in New Delhi. On July 27, in Parapur village, where only two
Christian families have been living for the past several years, Sukhram, 22, was
beaten up by VHP activists and the police refused to register an FIR. Instead,
his family was told either to compromise or to face the consequence.
Intimidation and attacks have been happening in and around the Dhamtari area,
which has a concentration of Christian families, too.
“No one is doing anything for us. We are
totally helpless, at the mercy of Hindutva goons. The government does not
listen to us, the police take no action, the political parties just don’t care.
Where do we go? What do we do? We are not even allowed to pray in peace,”
Pannalal said, conveying the despondency and frustration the community as a
whole is experiencing in the State.
Attacks on Christians in Chhattisgarh are not
a recent phenomenon. In January 2012, activists of the Hindu Dharam Sena
created a ruckus in the Catholic Convent School in Korba, protesting against
the principal not allowing Saraswati puja in the classroom. In February 2008,
BJP Minister Renuka Singh led an attack on a Christian meeting at Fatakpur
village in Sarguja district. Eleven pastors, accused of conversion, sustained
injuries in the attack. They were arrested and later put in jail where they
continue to remain. In June 2006, five practising Christian women from Bothili
village in Durg district were disrobed at a public meeting by goons led by BJP
MLA Pritam Sahu, who was accompanied by one Madanlal Sahu.
But the difference now is that with the BJP in
power at the Centre, the attacks have become more brazen and the indifference
of the authorities has become starker. Take for example the Sirsiguda gram
panchayat resolution. The gram panchayat sabha is a local government meeting
attended by local body representatives, but a copy of the resolution banning
non-Hindus in the area was sent to the local VHP head. This raises serious
concerns about the state officially encouraging non-state actors in matters as
sensitive as religion. According to Chhattisgarh Christian Forum members, even
the police are in cahoots with VHP functionaries. “In such a scenario, where do
we go?” one of them asked.
“Physical violence was something that has been
present over the years, but now structural violence also has begun, which is
far more dangerous because it aims at systemically targeting Christian
believers. This is more dangerous because Christianity has been in existence in
the Bastar region for the last 100-125 years and to suddenly displace people,
calling them outsiders, accusing them of conversion, is painful. It breeds
hate, causes pain and frustration, and polarises society communally,” said
Akhilesh Edgar, honorary regional secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of
India, an organisation that has been taking up such issues with the State
government over the years, without much success.
As for the role of the secular parties, “the
less said, the better”, Edgar said. The CPI, however, has tried and intervened
effectively sometimes, but the Congress could not care less, he said.
---------------
ATTACKS On Christians
[AN
ILLUSTRATIVE LIST OF INCIDENTS]
Christians
not allowed -- A new cry in Bastar
VIJAYESH LAL
[Published in Indian Currents, New Delhi]
The
quite tribal community in Bastar is under going a change. A change for the
worse! Tribals are being increasingly communalized and conflicts are being
reported from the area, which sometime turn violent and divide the tribal
community further.
One
such conflict was reported from Sirisguda village, Bastar in early July 2014.
The village has a tiny presence of Christian Tribals for around 20 plus years.
In the Bastar area, however, Christians have been present for the last 150 plus
years.
In
Sirisguda, there are 52 Christian families out of around 650. The Christians
are scattered in various ‘para’s’ or mohallas in the village. But the
Christians families had been facing social discrimination. They had been denied
ration for over 2 months and their ration cards had not been renewed.
“Every
time we went to the ration shop to get our share of rice as promised by the
state government, people from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) would be sitting
there and they would make sure that we do not get anything.” Said Shibu Ram
Mandavi, a Christian from Sirisguda village.
“They
would taunt us, curse us and ask us to renounce Christianity.” He added.
In
order to renew the cards the VHP members along with the Panchayat officials
asked the Christians to provide ‘chanda’
(donation) to the tune of 200 Rupees per family member towards the village devi
(goddess) festival.
“We
are poor people. How can we give 200 Rupees per person in our family in order
to renew the cards? We told them that for years we had contributed to the
festival willingly, and as much as we could, for we love being integrated with
the village community, but they would not listen. They insisted on the amount
and there was nothing we could do. Many of us are daily labourers, how could we
afford the huge sum of money. So we continued on without food.” Mandavi said.
With
the situation turning dire, the Christians then turned to the food inspector
who was available in Jagdalpur, the nearest town and appealed to him to
intervene. He did so by sending two officials to the village on June 15, 2014,
to speak to the Panchayat officials and the Christians but the Panchayat people
did not turn up for the meeting that was scheduled at the ration shop.
According
to eyewitnesses, when the officials accompanied by the Christians approached
the Panchayat members who were all huddled up along with VHP officials having their
own meeting in a different location, they were attacked and chased away from
the village. After this the Panchayat members and the VHP workers turned their
ire towards the Christians.
“I
was near the Panchayat Bhavan when I saw the food officials leave in a hurry.
Suddenly I was surrounded by Panchayat members and people from the VHP who
identified me as a Christian and called to each other to hit me. They abused me
with filthy words, and started to beat me, cursing the Christian faith as well.
They dragged me, beat me with their fists and legs, pushed me down on the
ground and then jumped on me. Soon I lost consciousness and was later picked up
by my wife accompanied by some other women.” Said Sukhram Kashyap, who works as
a labour. He has not been able to go to work since the day he was beaten up and
feels unwell most of the time.
That
day 10 Christians including two women, Aiti and Kari, suffered injuries. One of
them, Aitu Mandavi, suffered serious injuries and had his shoulder dislocated.
While the 9 were treated at the local hospital, Aitu was carried to the
district hospital where the care is better.
“I
know these people who beat me. I grew up with them. Outsiders have polluted
their mind and created divisions. Now the same people pressurize us to convert
to Hinduism or be killed. They say they want to finish Christianity from
Sirisguda” Kashyap said.
A
day later i.e. on June 16, 2014, the Gram Sabha of Sirisguda met and passed a
resolution under section 129 (G) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Act
outlawing all non-Hindu religions from Sirisguda. The VHP functionaries were
present in this meeting and a copy of the resolution has been officially marked
to ‘Respected Chairperson VHP, Jagdalpur’
The
section 129 (G) 1 of the act gives power to the Gram Sabha in order to “Protect
the peoples’ traditions, cultural identity, community resources and traditional
way of dealing with disputes.” (Loose translation from Hindi)
Hence
by equating Hinduism with ‘people’s traditions and cultural identity’ and
outlawing all other faiths especially Christianity, the VHP has successfully
fractured the Tribal community by polarising them on communal lines.
This
was soon followed by similar resolutions from Badanji, Belar and Parapur Gram
Sabhas and according to media reports; over 60 villages have adopted similar
resolutions banning Christianity from their villages.
Christians
approached the state administration and the chief secretary of the state Mr.
Vivek Dhand, had assured them that these resolutions are ultra vires of the constitution and would be dealt with firmly. The
collector, Mr. Ankit Anand has been on record on media saying similar things.
But on the ground the situation is getting worse according to reports received.
Soon
afterwards the meeting with the state administration, villagers in Parapur and
Gadiya were threatened with Kandhamal like violence if they did not leave the
village or do not convert to Hinduism. A week later the VHP struck beating up
people in Parapur.
Sources
say that the collector Mr. Anand has since changed his stance and only promises
protection to the Christians while commenting that he cannot really do anything
about the resolutions.
“What
is being done is being done very systematically. The VHP, BJP and its allies have
been moving in the area recently and have been telling the Tribals that their
identity is Hindu and that the Christians are out to convert and enslave them.”
Says Navneet Chand, a local political leader.
Last
year members of the VHP accompanied by the local police and Tehsildar razed a
Church in Gadiya village to the ground. “The Christians present in the Church
were beaten up, women misbehaved with, Church property beoken and the altar
desecrated.” Said Pastor Budhram on whose land the Church had been built after
obtaining all due permissions. Today the faithful worship under plastic sheets
near the broken down structure, as they have no building now.
“They
have installed temples of Hanuman and sometimes Durga alongside the ancestor
shrines of Tribals, telling them that this is needed to protect them from
Christians. The VHP and BJP give money generously during Hindu festivals to
local unemployed boys who are then formed into committees and serve as cadres
for them. So we now have Tribals celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Utsav
and other Hindu festivals, which was not the case in the past. When you get 25
– 30 thousand for celebrating each festival, why wont you?” He added.
But
there is another angle as reported by other people in the region. The area of
Lohandiguda, where most of these villages are, have been marked for a steel
plant by the Tata Group. The project is expected to come up around 5000 acres
of tribal land made up of 11 villages including the villages where the
resolutions have been taken and the VHP has become recently active.
“There
is a nexus between the VHP and the corporates to divide the tribal society in
order to take the project further.” A local leader said on the conditions of
anonymity. “The project has been stalled since 2005 and Christians are just
collateral damage in this.” He said.
But
for now the atmosphere in the Bastar area is tense, charged with communalism,
as Christians wait for the administration to act and fulfil their
constitutional mandate.
---------------------------------
Adventists seek inquiry after local members converted to Hinduism
Asroi (India)/Silver
Spring (MD/USA), 03.09.2014 / Adventist Review/APD
Reconversion ceremony prompts fears that hardline
Hindus are compelling people to switch faiths
Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders have
appealed to Indian authorities to investigate the possible forced reconversion
of Adventists to Hinduism in a northern Indian village.
Forced
conversion is illegal in India, and a reconversion ceremony last week in Asroi,
located about 110 miles (175 kilometers) south of India’s capital, New Delhi,
raised fears in the wider Christian community that hard-line Hindus were
compelling people to switch faiths in a part of the world that can be
especially challenging for missionaries.
“We
have made a petition to the local civic authority and to even higher levels for
an inquiry,” said T. P. Kurian, Communication director for the church’s
Southern Asia Division.
He added:
“May I urge you to keep this matter in prayer.”
The
last members of the Asroi church switched to Hinduism at an August 26 ceremony,
Church leaders said Sunday. The church, which opened with 33 members in 2005,
had about six regular attendees left when the reconversion ceremony took place.
“It is
obvious from sources that there are some Hindu fundamental groups behind this
havoc who have forced these believers to go back to their previous faith,” said
Mohan Bhatti, communication director for the Northern India Union, citing a
report from a four-member Adventist delegation that visited the village last
week.
Church
Under Police Watch
Indian media reported that dozens of active and non-active Adventists had reconverted at the ceremony, and that hardliners had turned the Asroi church into a temple to the Hindu god Shiva, replacing its cross with an idol. The reports included a photo of two men hanging a poster of Shiva on a church wall.
Indian media reported that dozens of active and non-active Adventists had reconverted at the ceremony, and that hardliners had turned the Asroi church into a temple to the Hindu god Shiva, replacing its cross with an idol. The reports included a photo of two men hanging a poster of Shiva on a church wall.
A Shiva poster being put up inside the church in Asroi near Aligarh
Photo
©) The Times of India
But the
visiting delegation found no evidence that the church had been disturbed.
“The
idol of Shiva was not found there, and the church has not been turned into a
temple,” the delegation said in the report. “It seems that a poster of Shiva
was brought and raised up there for a few moments with the purpose of filming
and publishing.”
The
report added: “The church building is kept under police surveillance by civil
administration to avoid any untoward incident. We have the freedom to conduct
our weekly worship service.”
Bhatti
said an official inquiry was needed “into this very sensitive issue that may
cause disharmony in the community.”
The Asroi church’s history stretches back to 2001, when 33 villagers accepted the Adventist faith, according to local Adventist leaders. Land for the church was purchased in 2004, and Maranatha Volunteers International, a nonprofit organization, built the church the next year.
Church
attendance dipped in the following years. Two families stopped attending in
2007, leaving 20 people at Sabbath services. Only five to seven people were
attending regularly when the reconversion ceremony took place.
It was
unclear how many former Adventists reconverted. Indian news media, citing Hindu
activists at the ceremony, put the figure at 72, although this could not be
reconciled with the lower membership figure offered by Church leaders.
The
loss of the last church members surprised the pastor, said S.P. Singh, a local
Adventist leader who was on the delegation that visited the church.
“The
local pastor, Vikas Paswan, has been taking care of the church for 10 years,”
he said. “He conducted Sabbath worship regularly. He didn’t have any idea that
this could happen in the future.”
He called on church members to pray for the pastor and the Asroi church.
He called on church members to pray for the pastor and the Asroi church.
“Our
pastor needs our fervent prayers in this unfavorable situation,” he said.
“Let’s encourage them with our prayers and support.”
The
Adventist Church has opened its own inquiry into the situation.
Khem Chandra, who attended the reconversion ceremony and is a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a nationalist Hindu group, said it was quite clear what had happened.
“They left by choice, and today they have realized their mistake and want to come back,” he told The Times of India in remarks published Thursday. “We welcome them.”
Chandra
said had met with eight local Adventist families repeatedly over the years and
urged them to rethink their faith.
The
notion that the reconversions were voluntary was greeted with skepticism.
“It is
the right of an individual to convert to any religion of his choice, but such
mass conversions imply political, social and physical coercion and threat of
violence,” said John Dayal, a member of the National Integration Council, a
group of top politicians and public figures formed 50 years ago to find ways to
resolve problems that divide Indian society. Dayal spoke to UCA News an
independent Catholic news site.
Former
Adventists Speak Out
One former Adventist interviewed by the Times of India said that disenchantment with India’s caste system had led him to Adventism and then back to Hinduism.
“As
Hindus we had no status and were restricted to doing menial jobs, but even
after remaining a Christian for 19 years, we saw that no one came to us from
their community,” villager Anil Gaur said. “There was no celebration of Bada
Din [Christmas]. The missionaries just built a church for us in the vicinity
where some of the villagers got married. That was all."
Singh,
the delegation member who visited the church last week, said in the report to
the Northern Indian Union that he had made three previous trips to the church
and that during one of them, in 2012, he had overseen its repairs and made sure
it received carpets, songbooks, New Testaments, and materials for a pulpit.
Another
former Church member, Rajendra Singh, 70, told the newspaper that a physical
scare outside the village’s church had convinced him to leave.
"While
sleeping outside the church one day I suffered a paralytic attack,” he said. “I
found myself unable to move. It happened last year, and since then I have been
thinking that it may have been Mata Devi's punishment for abandoning my faith.”
Chandra,
the Hindu activist, expressed hope that a first Hindu temple would soon be
opened in the village, perhaps even in the Adventist church.
"We
will think about the church building. It belongs to the missionaries, but the
ground on which it stands belongs to Hindustan,” he said. “We will not
compromise on our dharti [earth]. We will meet the villagers and decide about
the temple.” (Editor: Andrew McChesney for Adventist Review [AR] and APD)
-------
Sena, Christian evangelist’s followers clash in UP village
Express News Service |
Allahabad | July 8, 2014 1:39 am
Shiv Sainiks reached the spot to protest against
alleged religious conversions.
SUMMARY
Police have registered counter cases in this
connection and arrested 10 people.
Three persons were
injured in a clash that broke out between Shiv Sena members and a Christian
evangelist and his supporters in Saraiyya village in Jaunpur district, police
said Monday. The clash took place on Sunday when Shiv Sainiks reached the spot
to protest against alleged religious conversions.
Police have
registered counter cases in this connection and arrested 10 people, including
the evangelist, Lalchandra Rajbhar, and the district head of Shiv Sena, Achhey
Lal Tiwari, on charges of rioting.
Police said the
place was being used for offering prayers and there have been no reports of any
religious conversions as alleged. Shiv Sainiks had earlier given a letter to
the Sub-Divisional Magistrate seeking permission to stage protest at the site.
However, the administration denied it.
According to
police, the incident occurred when Lalchandra Rajbhar, a resident of Saraiyya
village, was holding a prayer meeting in an enclosure on Sunday morning. Around
10.30 am, Shiv Sainiks, led by Tiwari, reached the spot and began protesting.
Some policemen deployed at the spot tried to resolve the issue.
However, soon
arguments led to fisticuffs and stone pelting. Apart from Tiwari, another Shiv
Sainik Manoj Tiwari and Pramod Rajbhar, one of Lalchandra’s followers, were
injured.
Senior officials
rushed to the spot with additional reinforcements and PAC was also deployed.
Police used force to disperse the crowd. Around the same time, former district
BJP convenor, Harendra Prasad Singh, also reached the spot. He, too, was
detained but later released.
“Both the sides
have given complaints and we have lodged FIRs accordingly. At least 10 people
have been arrested. A few others are absconding,” said police. Superintendent
of Police (Jaunpur), Pramod Kumar, said: “The fight was between the Shiv
Sainiks and those offering prayers. The BJP leader had nothing to do with it.
We are keeping a watch. Further investigations are on.”
Yet another communal clash in UP
Jul 07, 2014 |
A communal clash took place in Sarraiya village in
Jaunpur on Sunday on the issue of religious conversions. Additional forces have
been called in from adjoining districts in view of the prevailing tension in
the area. According to reports reaching here, some Christian missionaries were
visiting the Sarraiya village and local Shiv Sena leaders alleged that the
missionaries were forcibly converting low caste Hindus to Christianity.
The Shiv Sena workers surrounded the village and
supporters of the missionary group and Shiv Sena workers clashed with each
other. As the news spread, local BJP leaders also rushed to the spot and staged
a demonstration.
Timely
intervention by the police prevented the situation from taking a violent turn
The police spokesman said that 12 persons had been taken into custody in
connection with the clashes and senior police official were camping in the
village.
Pastor severely beaten up mob
at Madhya Pradesh
Jun 30 2014 Dewas, Madhya Pradesh,
A Pastor was
severely beaten by a mob of about 150 assailants during an afternoon prayer
meeting at Killoda Village at Madhya Pradesh, India on Monday, the 30th of
June, 2014. The pastor was later arrested along with a member of his church and
charged under the MP Freedom of Religion Act Sec.3, 4 and 5. The incident took
place when the pastor was at his church member's house to conduct a prayer
meeting at around 2:00 pm.
The local RSS leader along with the mob came to the house and caught the pastor and started beating him up profusely. He was verbally abused for being an adivasi and for using people from higher castes to convert the village into Christianity. They also got hold of the member and beat him up after which he escaped and ran to the nearby village. Seeing how the mob was beating up the pastor, the member's family managed to take the pastor inside their house and locked the doors to protect him from the raging mob that was waiting to get hold of the pastor again.
Meanwhile, the police was called and the Pastor was arrested while the church member was was also arrested the next day.
The local RSS leader along with the mob came to the house and caught the pastor and started beating him up profusely. He was verbally abused for being an adivasi and for using people from higher castes to convert the village into Christianity. They also got hold of the member and beat him up after which he escaped and ran to the nearby village. Seeing how the mob was beating up the pastor, the member's family managed to take the pastor inside their house and locked the doors to protect him from the raging mob that was waiting to get hold of the pastor again.
Meanwhile, the police was called and the Pastor was arrested while the church member was was also arrested the next day.
Church Demolished in
Chhatisgarh
Jun 24 2014 Bhilai, Durg, Chhattisgarh
On 24 June
in Bhilai, Durg, suspected Hindu extremists demolished an independent church of
a Pastor Santosh Roa. . According
to local sources, the thatched building of the church was completely destroyed. Some villagers claimed that the
building was destroyed by a cyclone. The area Christians, however, maintained
that it was the hands of the extremists as only the church was damaged in the
area by the so called 'cyclone'.
Moreover, the local Hindu extremists have threatened to harm Pastor Roa if he
continues to conduct a worship meeting in the area several times in the past.
--------
Two
Christian Women Arrested in Chhattisgarh
On August 8 in Sakti, Raigarh, two Christian women, Jyoti Pal and Manju Modu were arrested under Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act.
The arrest took place when the two women were conducting a healing prayer meeting and prayed for some sick patients when the Hindu extremists alleged that they were forcefully converting people to Christianity, reported area pastor Raju Yadav.
After the intervention of the area church leaders, the Christians were released on bail.
----------
Pastor
Arrested in Chhattisgarh
At Koranga, Jashpur, Hindu extremists forcefully pulled out Pastor Virendar Bhaskar from an independent church while he was conducting a Sunday worship meeting and accused him of forceful conversion and of terming the Hindu gods as evil spirit on August 17.
Our correspondent, Rev. Kalerdan Tirkey reported that Pastor Bhaskar was arrested under Section 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. However, the local villagers and believers testified at the Kunkuri police station that the allegation against the pastor was false, reported our correspondent. The pastor was released on bail on August 28.
Christians Hospitalized in India after Attack for Objecting to Discrimination
Hindu extremist-instigated mob beats one man unconscious.
June 23, 2014
NEW DELHI (Morning Star News) – Ten Christians
in India’s Chhattisgarh state whose faith cost them their food rations were
hospitalized last week after a Hindu extremist mob attacked them for objecting
to the discrimination, sources said.
One of the
Christians fell unconscious and two women were among those hospitalized in the
attack on about 100 Christians on June 16 in Sirisguda, Bastar town, Jagdalpur,
according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI).
“I received a hard
blow on my head, and thereafter a couple of extremists started to jump on me,
beating me up with sticks, punching and kicking me all over my body and my head
and telling me I deserve to die because I am a Christian,” Aitu Mandavi, who
fell unconscious and remained in a coma for two days, told Morning Star News.
Christians from 52
families from the Brethren, Bastar and Bethsheba churches at about 1 p.m.
approached the food inspector in Jagdalpur, about 40 kilometers (24 miles) far
from their village, to inquire about the denial of two months of food rations.
Two government officials went to the village to appease local leaders. Hindu
extremists chased the two officials from the village, however, and later filed
a false complaint at Badanji police station against Christians for attacking
Hindus, Christian leaders said.
“The manhandling of
the government representatives by the villagers is evidence of the level of
impunity that the perpetrators enjoy,” attorney Tehmina Arora of Alliance
Defending Freedom-India told Morning Star News. “The intentional victimization
of the 52 families using the public distribution system on account of their
faith is inhumane.”
Instigated by the
Hindu extremists, at about 3 p.m. a large mob brandishing sticks and stones
attacked Christians gathered at the office of the food inspector, sources said.
“The extremists
shouting Hindu slogans suddenly rushed in and started beating the Christians
with sticks and stones, punching and kicking whomever they could catch,” the
Rev. Bhupendra Khora told Morning Star News.
The attacked
Christians, including women and children, started to run in different
directions to avoid the attack, but the Hindus struck them while spewing verbal
abuse, victims said.
Besides his head
injuries, Mandavi’s left hand was broken, his right elbow was fractured, his
sternum was severely injured, and he sustained abrasions on his legs and
bruising all over his body. The other nine Christians sustained injuries to
their heads, hands and legs, as well as abrasions.
The extremists
dragged two women, identified only as Aiti, 40, and Kari, 45, to the ground and
stood on them as they hit their genitals.
“ADF-India
denounces these actions that affect the civil liberties of the religious
minorities in the country,” Tehmina said.
The unconscious
Mandavi was initially denied treatment, but after police intervention he was
admitted to the district hospital, and the other nine injured Christians were
admitted to the local hospital.
The village head
had denied the food rations to the 52 low-income Christians families, sources
said.
“The local
Christians have been discriminated based on their faith for the past several
months,” pastor Khora said. “It has been very difficult for them to live
without the rations being allowed to be distributed to them.”
Attorney Songsingh
Jhali said the village head continued to bully area Christians after the
attack.
“The next day after
the incident, the village head called a public meeting where it was sternly
resolved that no entry should be given to an outsiders in the village – and
that everyone in the village should embrace Hinduism or their lands would be
seized,” Jhali said.
The Christians,
however, refused to be bullied into renouncing their faith.
“They may kill us,
but we are not going to leave Jesus who loves us,” one Christian told Morning
Star News.
Police have filed a First Information Report against
the assailants, but at press time no arrest had been made.
Pastor, Believers Beaten up in Madhya
Pradesh
Jun 14 2014 Katni, Murshidābād
Gayatri Nagar, Katni, Hindutv extremists manhandled
Christians and tore up Bibles. About 15 extremists from the Bajrang Dal
attacked the Pastor and few believers from Brethren church when they were
coming out from one believer's house after a prayer.
The extremists surrounded them, started to verbally abuse them for their faith in Christ and pushed them around. Thereafter, the extremists snatched their bags, took out the Bibles and tore it up threatening them "not to pray again in the area in the future."
The Christians, however, did not file a police complaint against the attackers.
The extremists surrounded them, started to verbally abuse them for their faith in Christ and pushed them around. Thereafter, the extremists snatched their bags, took out the Bibles and tore it up threatening them "not to pray again in the area in the future."
The Christians, however, did not file a police complaint against the attackers.
-----------
Five
Christians Arrested in Madhya Pradesh
On Sept 12, police arrested five Christians after they were accused of forceful conversion and of luring people to convert to Christianity by offering monetary benefits in Barwa, Khargoan. About 10 Christians from Thlarau Bo Zawngtu Team (TBZ) were on their way to conduct a prayer meeting in one believer's house when the Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal stopped them in front of the house, questioned them and told them not to pray in the area, reported our correspondent Pu Lalngurliana Sailo.
On Sept 12, police arrested five Christians after they were accused of forceful conversion and of luring people to convert to Christianity by offering monetary benefits in Barwa, Khargoan. About 10 Christians from Thlarau Bo Zawngtu Team (TBZ) were on their way to conduct a prayer meeting in one believer's house when the Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal stopped them in front of the house, questioned them and told them not to pray in the area, reported our correspondent Pu Lalngurliana Sailo.
"We just reached the believer's place when two people standing outside the house prohibited us from entering into the house, told us to go back and not to pray." Mimi, one team member, told EFI NEWS.
Thereafter, the Christians prayed a small prayer outside the house and started heading back home on their motor cycles. However, by that time about 20 extremists swelled up near the spot. "They let the first few of us go but barred two Christians, Sawmtea and Zonuna who were coming at the last." Mimi said.
Realizing that the two Christians were stopped, two Christians from the team went back to the spot when the extremists started slapping them, verbally abused them for their faith and accused them of forceful conversion and offering Rs 1 lakh to each family to convert to Christianity and took them to the police station. The rest of the Christians went ahead and waited for their friends in the house of one believer in the same area when the police went and took another three Christians to the police station.
Altogether seven Christians including two women were questioned in the police station. Five were arrested under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code for knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse, and sent them to jail on the next day .The two women were released without any charges filed against them.
Speaking on the incident, Rev. Zaithanga, Field Director of TBZ told EFI News, "The accusations against our workers were baseless. They went to the area after they were invited by one believer to pray in his house. There was no case of forceful conversion and we did not offer money to anyone to convert them."
The Christians were released on bail around 6 p.m on Tuesday afternoon ( 16 Sept) Tension prevails in the area and the Christians were relocated for safety measures at press time. Kindly pray that the Christians will stand strong amid persecution and kindly pray for the ministry of TBZ.
Christians Repeatedly Attacked in Bihar
On August 30 in Balwanazir, Kaliyanganj, about five Hindu extremists forcefully entered into the house of Shri Lal Khatiyan, questioned them on who has visited them, called them pagans and started to beat them up.
The Christians in the area were not allowed to visit anyone's home nor entertain anyone in their home," area pastor Laxmi Prasad told EFI News. The couple later received hospital treatment. Later that day, about 100 extremists with sticks stood in each corner of the village to make sure that no Christian go out from the village to file a police complaint and threatened to cut into pieces anyone who dare venture out to report the attack against the couple.
From May 26, the Christians were beaten up, ostracized and harassed because of their faith and their prayer hall was shut down where the extremists threatened to kill and bury anyone who opens the church door in the premises, said Pastor Ajayan, area leader from the Evangelical Team of India.
--------
Christian girl beaten up in Uttar Pradesh
On August 7 in Jalanpur, Haridwar, Hindu extremists allegedly from Rashtriya Swamyamseval Sangh beat up the minor daughter of Pastor Pyare Lal ji from an Independent church while she coming back from her school and later pelted stones at the Pastor Lalji's house . The Christians fled in fear. "I was away in a nearby village when the incident took place. The extremists have threatened to harm me several times in the past if I did not stop conducting worship meetings.†Pastor Pyare Lal ji told EFI News. The Christians filed a police complaint. However, no action was taken against the attackers.
-----------
Christians Detained, Beat up in Uttar Pradesh
On August 30 in Kulesra, Greater Noida, police detained 13 Christians after the Hindu mob forcefully stop a fasting prayer meeting and accused the main pastor of forceful conversion.
According to our correspondent, Rev. Wilson Joseph, two persons barged into the fasting prayer conducted by Pastor Sanjay Singh from Calvary Temple and told him to stop the meeting. Thereafter, about 100 Hindu mob swelled up near the church and started to verbally abuse the Christians, beat them up and took five pastors to the Surajpur Thana. Later, the mob came back to the church, beat up the Christians and took three more pastors to the police station.
The mob demanded the arrests of the eight Christians when another five Christians arrived at the spot. The mob along with two police officer beat up the five Christians. One believer, Shibu Abrabram sustained a severe injury on his left ear and he was not able to hear thereafter.
"The police, however, maintained that they have beat up the Christians to please the Hindu mob as a mean of protection for the Christians." Advocate Promod Singh from the Christian Legal Association told EFI News and added that the police claimed the Hindu extremist groups, RSS, BJP and the Arya Samaj to be behind the attacked.
After the intervention of the area Christian leaders, the Christians were released without any charges filed against them. "There was no case of forceful conversion, people come to the church by their own choice." Rev. Wilson said adding that worship meeting is going under tense situation.
Indian Express investigations
Part-I:
Over 600 ‘communal incidents’ in UP since LS results, 60% near by poll seats
Written by Appu Esthose Suresh | Moradabad |
Posted: August 5, 2014
A third of
all “communal” incidents recorded by police in Uttar Pradesh in the 10 weeks
following the Lok Sabha election results have occurred in — or on the fringes
of — 12 assembly constituencies that are scheduled to go to polls over the next
few months.
If a larger
circle is imagined — covering broadly the region around these constituencies —
this proportion rises to two-thirds, police records scrutinised by The Indian
Express show.
The records
show a running strand of attempts made by an aggressive BJP, a desperate SP,
and a flagging BSP to turn every clash involving individuals from the two
largest religious communities into a communal issue.
There is
also clear evidence of provocation in areas where Dalits and Muslims live
together, leading to communal polarisation.
Between May
16 — when UP delivered a spectacular tally to the BJP in the Lok Sabha — and
July 25, 605 low-key clashes took place which police identified as “communal”
in nature. Nearly 200 of these occurred in or around the 12 constituencies, and
another 200 in the broader region.
In the
Terai, Eastern UP and Bundelkhand regions, each of which is home to two of the
12 seats, 29, 16, and 6 incidents respectively were recorded.
Records of
more than 400 communal incidents in and around the constituencies show that
tensions arose out of broadly six issues. The most common were construction
activities involving masjids, madrasas and kabristans (graveyards); and the use
of loudspeakers for prayers (120 instances each).
Issues of
land led to communal tensions in about 70 cases; alleged incidents of cow
slaughter in 61 cases; and alleged incidents of elopement and eve-teasing or
harassment involving men and women of different communities in 50-odd cases.
Minor accidents triggered communal incidents in some 30 cases.
MLAs at
these 12 assembly seats contested the Lok Sabha elections and have become MPs.
Polls to the vacant seats are due within six months.
Five of
these seats — Saharanpur Nagar, Bijnor, Kairana, Thakurwada and Gautam Buddh
Nagar — are in Western UP, where the largest number of 259 communal incidents
were recorded. Fifty-three incidents took place in Awadh, where the Lucknow
East assembly seat will go to polls.
In mid-July,
in Bijnor’s Keeratpur area, a delegation met the district administration to
demand that the construction of a gate on the Bijnor-Haridwar highway be
stopped because the top of the gate was beginning to resemble an Islamic “minar”.
The administration has now stopped work on the gate, but at a local mandir
barely 10 metres away, a practice has begun of weekly recitals of Hanuman
Chalisa, at which the gathering is told of the construction.
Septuagenarian
Jakhir Ahmed, who has kept a small shop next to the gate for three decades,
said, “Construction had been on for months. Suddenly, a few weeks ago,
protesters showed up, demanding its demolition.”
A senior
official of the district administration, who didn’t want to be identified, said,
“There is a constant pressure from one group to keep issues burning. We get
daily complaints about issues, many of which are old. But they are being
pursued on a day-to-day basis. And wherever possible, politics is being
introduced.”
On June 20,
in Rampur village of Bijnor’s Nagina region, Muslims objected to a DJ playing
music in the community hall of the village. The music was turned off, but the
following day, a clash broke out between Hindus and Muslims. Police and local
people are still not sure how the trouble began.
Five days
later, in Noorpur Chiperi village 50 km away
in the
Sherkot area of the same district, residents objected to music beign played at
a birthday party for the nephew of pradhan Mahavir Singh. Here too, the music
was turned off, but some local dailies reported that Hindus and Muslims had
clashed. The following day, the police arrested a Muslim man for allegedly
intruding into a temple and damaging the mandir’s property.
When The
Indian Express visited Noorpur Chiperi, a Dalit-dominated village, the pradhan
brushed aside the incident. “It was a misunderstanding based on wrong
information. We have no problems.”
Not far
away, in the Gulabbadi area of Moradabad town, where Dalits and Muslims live in
almost equal numbers, police have begun to receive anonymous calls about the
construction of a minar in a masjid. The masjid in question is deep inside a
narrow street, lined by buildings standing cheek-by-jowl, and crisscrossed
overhead by a thick jumble of hanging power cables.
On July 1, four
loudspeakers on the second-floor roof of the mosque were raised to a height of
three feet for Ramzan. The calls to the local police and district
administration have, however, been complaining of “attempts to raise a new
minar, leading to the setting of a precedent”.
Only a
fortnight earlier, police and protesters had clashed in Kant, 35 km from the
town, after the administration brought down a newly set up loudspeaker in a
Dalit temple.
According to
a senior police official, the incidents “reveal how closely communities are
keeping a watch on issues that have potential for communal clashes”. The
loudspeakers of the Moradabad masjid have been returned to their original
height. DIG, Moradabad Zone, Gulab Singh, said, “Even small issues like
motorbike accidents involving Hindus and Muslims is leading to mobs gathering.
No one seems willing to see reason.”
Express
investigation part-II: My loudspeaker versus your loudspeaker
Written by
Appu Esthose Suresh | Saharanpur/ Bijnor/ Moradabad | Posted: August 6, 2014
1:52 am | Updated: August 9, 2014 9:20 am
Holiyan, and
residents of the area had objected to the volume of the temple’s loudspeaker.
The local police shrugged off the attack as the result of personal enmity
between Saini and someone called Salim. But a full week after the incident, The
Indian Express observed five armed policemen still patrolling the area.
In the 10
weeks after May 16, when the new government took over in Delhi, police in Uttar
Pradesh recorded 605 incidents of “communal” nature, two- thirds of them in and
around 12 assembly constituencies headed to bypolls. In this communal
tinderbox, the humble loudspeaker emerged as a potent catalyst for tensions.
Traditionally
used for propaganda, provocation and posturing, the loudspeaker was transformed
into an effective instrument of polarisation. Police records of
over 600
communal incidents during this period scrutinised by The Indian Express show
some 120 of them were triggered by the use of loudspeakers at places of worship
— the largest contributor, alongside construction activities involving masjids,
madrasas and kabristans, to tensions.
Ten
incidents occurred in Muzaffarnagar; nine each in the districts of Bijnor,
Meerut and Moradabad. Loudspeakers triggered eight incidents each in Amroha and
Saharanpur; seven each in Sambal and Bareilly; and six in Shamli. Five
incidents each were witnessed in Baghpat, Rampur, Bahraich and Balrampur.
Mitron aaj
to tumhare mandiron se speaker utar rahe hain, ek na huye to kal yeh tumhare
ghar main ghuske tumhari izzat utarenge. Isliye bolta hoon, apni taakat dikha
do. To sab milte hain, shaam 6 baje Bageshwar mandir. (Friends, today, they are
removing speakers from your temples; if you do not unite, tomorrow they will
enter your homes and humiliate you. This is why I say, demonstrate your
strength. So let us meet at 6 pm at the Bageshwar temple.)
— Message
sent out on WhatsApp, allegedly by Vijay Kumar Mittal, head of the Bageshwar
temple committee in Saharanpur.
On July 23,
four days before riots broke out between Sikhs and Muslims in Saharanpur city,
nearly 2,500 Hindus answered the message, gathering quickly at Kothwai Nagar, 5
km outside the city. On the previous night (July 22), loudspeakers at the
temple had blared Shiv Katha, disturbing scores of Muslims at their night- time
Ramzan namaaz. Some 300 Muslim families live in the Hindu-dominated area, and
an argument broke out between the two communities on Behat Road before the
police were called in. The night passed peacefully, but the next morning, the
WhatsApp message went out.
On the same
day, in Nehtaur in adjoining Bijnor district, two Muslim men attacked a Hindu
pandit called Rajesh Singh Saini with a knife. Saini’s temple is in the
predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of
The
incidents spiked sharply after June 16, when \Hindu mobs poured out on the
streets of Kant, Moradabad, after a newly installed loudspeaker at a Dalit
temple was removed.
Between May
16 and June 16, only 17 incidents were recorded — all but one of which were in
the western UP districts of Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Amroha, Sambhal and
Moradabad. After June 16, however, and especially after Ramzan began on June
30, there was a spurt in communal incidents, which also spread rapidly
eastward.
In nearly
all of these 120 cases, a familiar pattern was seen: temple loudspeakers
competed with loudspeakers of the azaan; and a new and aggressive Hindu
insistence on the right to use loudspeakers triggered Muslim reaction.
OUTSIDERS,
RUMOUR, DENIAL
Vijay Kumar
Mittal of Saharanpur’s Bageshwar temple committee — also an activist of the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad — denied having sent the WhatsApp message that, besides
exhorting Hindus to “unite”, contained several offensive references to Muslims.
Police are yet to establish where the message originated.
Eyewitness
accounts of Muslims, corroborated by police officials, suggest that the
majority among the 2,500-strong Hindu mob that gathered at the temple were
outsiders. Said a Muslim man in Saharanpur who
identified
himself as Nazir, “We have never had such problems in the past. If it (the
loudspeaker) was loud, we would request that the volume be turned down, and the
pujari would oblige. But this Ramzan, it was impossible to conduct our prayers.
“We informed
administration officials because we did not want conflict. But an agitating mob
showed up the next day. There were very few locals in that mob. I don’t know
what would have happened had the administration not intervened.”
Nazir was
among members of the community who gathered for afternoon prayers not far from
Bageshwar temple amid curfew in Saharanpur.
Kapil
Mishra, a member of the Bageshwar temple committee, said, “The loudspeaker will
remain where it is, and the Shiv Katha will continue. The temple uses
loudspeakers only occasionally. What about the masjid? Their radio
(loudspeaker) blares throughout the year. Have we ever objected?”
Assembled
inside the temple, Mishra and other members of the temple committee described
an alleged attack by Muslims on a priest. “Muslims attacked the
pandit of
the Shankaracharya temple and injured him. This is what is happening to us
wherever the Mohammedans are in a position of strength,” they said.
However, the
local police station has no record of any such attack. About the July 23
incident, Kothwai Nagar police have recorded in the station
registry
that following rumours of a loudspeaker being removed in Bageshwar temple, both
communities had gathered on the main road, but the district administration had
settled the matter and urged both sides to maintain peace.
At
Muzaffarnagar, Balraj Singh, the Bajrang Dal’s regional coordinator for western
UP, told The Indian Express: “Why do Muslims object to mandirs using
loudspeakers? They don’t want Hindus to express themselves. They want to
subjugate us. We are being denied the right that they enjoy. That is why they
are making an issue out of mandirs using loudspeakers.”
Balraj Singh
said he had just returned from clamped- down Saharanpur.
POLITICIANS’
OPPORTUNITY
At 7 pm on
July 23, barely half an hour after the knifing of priest Rajesh Singh Saini in
Nehtaur, Bijnor, Karan Singh Saini, the BJP’s Nehtaur in-charge, arrived at the
local police station along with 200 others. Gathering the crowd had been easy,
he said, because everyone knew pressing charges against Muslims would be
difficult.
“The news
spread to nearby areas, and we decided to meet at the police station. We knew
it would be difficult to press charges against a Muslim because the Samajwadi
Party government patronises Muslims,” Karan Singh Saini said.
Soon
afterward, a “Muslim” delegation led by the SP’s local unit in-charge arrived
at the police station, seeking an “amicable” compromise. Police, however,
charged both groups, much to the dismay of the Hindu population in the area.
The station registry recorded that the incident involved two individuals of the
Hindu and Muslim community, both of whom were under the influence of alcohol,
and that an FIR had been registered.
Later,
standing in the one-room home where Rajesh Saini is recovering from his injuries,
a neighbour said, “The SP government patronises them (Muslims). We are the
victims, but get charged.”
Everyone in
the room agreed, and several people recounted incidents of attacks on priests
during Ramzan. The Indian Express could not confirm any of these incidents. The
police have no record of such attacks.
Express
investigation part-III: Dalit-Muslim divide deepens, goes rural
Muzaffarnagar/saharanpur/bijnor
| Posted: August 7, 2014 3:05 am | Updated: August 9, 2014 9:20 am
On Monday
morning, a minor argument over widening a village road resulted in a violent
clash between Muslims and Dalits in Katauli Kala in the Deogaon police station
area of Azamgarh district. SP (City), Vinod Kumar, said there was no history of
tension between the two communities in that area.
However,
according to diary entry at Rani Ki Sarai police station in Sonvar village of
the same district, on July 4, an argument between a Muslim family and a Dalit
family over the boundaries of their fields resulted in a communal clash in
which eight people were injured.
Data from
police stations across Uttar Pradesh scrutinised by The Indian Express show
that out of 605 communal incidents in the state in the 10 weeks beginning with
the Lok Sabha election results of May 16, 68 — or every ninth incident —
involved Muslims and Dalits.
Forty-eight
of these 68 incidents — over 70 per cent — took place in and around 12 assembly
constituencies where byelections are due.
Part 1 of
this Investigation, published on August 5, showed that about 400 of the 605
communal incidents between May 16 and July 25 occurred in or around assembly
constituencies whose representatives have now become MPs, necessitating bypolls
by mid- November.
Part 2,
published on August 6, showed how groups and political parties have transformed
loudpeakers at places of worship into powerful instruments of communal
polarisation, leading to clashes between Hindus and Muslims. In as many as 120
of the 600-odd communal incidents, police records of which were analysed by The
Indian Express, the trigger for violence was found to lie in a clash involving
the use of loudspeakers in masjids and temples.
The clashes
between Muslims and Dalits signal a fracture in the BSP’s once-potent social
engineering experiment. One fallout of the weakening of the BSP’s Dalit-Muslim
coalition has been that the party’s mixed leadership in these areas has found
it difficult to take sides — and individual leaders have often rushed to
align with
their respective religious groups, alienating members of the other group.
Tensions
between Dalits and Muslims began, in several cases, after a relationship
between, or elopement of, couples from the two communities. In many of these
cases, local BJP units and leaders emerged as the “protector” of Dalits, police
records show.
Village
Gaineridan, Police Station Jahanabad, Pilibhit; May 20: A Muslim family took
away by force their girl, who had married a Jatav boy. Local BJP leaders
demanded security for the Hindu family and the return of the girl, leading to
tensions.
Village
Lisadi, Police Station Lisadi Gate, Meerut; May 30: The local BJP leadership
got involved after a Jatav girl eloped with a Muslim boy.
Village
Ashapur, Police Station Kotwali, Faizabad; June 2: A game of cricket between
Muslim and Rawat boys ended in a fight, in which BJP workers got involved. A
case has been registered.
Village Neta
Nagar, Police Station Karari, Kaushambi; June 6: Local BJP leaders got involved
after an incident of stonethrowing between Pasi and Muslim groups. Hindus
complained to police, and an FIR was registered against the Muslims.
Village
Kasba, Police Station Thana Bhavan, Shamli; July 14: BJP leaders led protests
after a Khatik girl eloped with a Muslim boy.
Mohalla
Naurangabad East, Police Station Sikanderarao, Hathras; July 15: BJP leaders
led a protest roadblock after a Jatav girl committed suicide, allegedly after
having been raped by a Muslim man.
Mohalla
Malkand, Police Station Bilgram, Hardoi; July 17: An object that looked like a
Shiv linga was found while digging near a kabaristan, following which Hindus
put up a flag at the spot and began worship. Police intervened after Muslims
protested; the local BJP leadership was present.
Indeed, the
aggressiveness of Dalit populations has been a significant aspect of the communal
tension in the state, and especially in Western UP, in this period. In the July
25 Saharanpur riot — in which Sikhs clashed with Muslims — half of all
incidents of arson and violence took places in Dalit and Muslim areas.
According to
a senior police officer who was involved in tackling the fallout of the riot,
Dalit rioters were involved in around 70 per cent of cases of destruction of
property. In Kalasi Lane on the outskirts of Saharanpur town, an area that is
surrounded by Muslim and Dalit neighbourhoods, only three shops in a shopping
complex were set on fire — all belonging to Muslim tailors. All the suspects
that police have in the case are Dalits.
Of all the
non-Muslims who were arrested for the violence in Saharanpur, only 2 per cent
were Sikhs — most of the rest were Dalit Hindus.
The second
significant — and new — aspect of the ongoing phase of communal tensions in UP
is the intensity and spread of the violence in areas that are completely or
predominantly rural. Rumour has played a role in polarisation, alongwith
instruments of propaganda and posturing such as loudspeakers.
In several
cases, communal tensions have polarised communities that have had no history of
animosity, and have lived in harmony for decades.
In
Muzaffarnagar’s Kheti Viran, 80-year-old Ijhar Hussain, the oldest person in
the village, described how the family had decided to leave after Partition, but
had been persuaded by Hindu neighbours to return from the railway station.
Years later, Hussain’s uncle, Miyan Majahir Hussain, then the biggest landlord
in the village, donated the piece of land on which a Ravidas mandir stands
today.
Kheti Viran
is run as a single administrative unit along
with its
twin Badarpur. Together, the two villages are home to 4,500 families, Hindu and
Muslim in the ratio of 60:40. A majority of Hindus are Dalits.
On July 11,
around 6.30 pm, village elders in Kheti Viran reprimanded a Muslim neighbour
for tying his buffaloes next to the gate of the Ravidas mandir. Within a half
hour, a 600-strong mob had gathered at the temple. Most in the crowd were
Dalits from Badarpur, who had heard that Muslims had forcibly removed the
temple’s loudspeaker.
“Someone had
spread a rumour in Badarpur that Muslims had damaged the temple’s loudspeaker,”
pradhan Jag Sooran Singh said. Local BSP leaders — facing a statewide erosion
in their party’s Dalit-Muslim base — tried to get involved, as did the local
BJP unit. But Kheti Viran pushed back.
Two weeks
after the July 11 incident, villagers insisted there was no divide. They
recounted an incident after last year’s riots in Muzaffarnagar, when a tractor
was burnt not far from the village, and both communities had taken it in turns
to patrol the perimeter of Kheti.
And yet,
several villagers told The Indian Express that they were disturbed that the old
bhaichaara had been replaced by tanaav, and that so many people had responded
to the rumour about the loudspeaker. On August 6, in Part 2 of this
Investigation, The Indian Express had reported how a provocative WhatsApp
message, purportedly sent by a local VHP leader in Saharanpur, had triggered a
near riot, with 2,500 Hindus willing to confront Muslims in the street.
A 40-minute
drive from Kheti Viran, towards the east, is Kheti Sarai village. There, a few
metres away from the compound in which the local Ravidas mandir and Shiv mandir
stand, a new madrasa has come up. Students come from as far away as Assam.
On June 18,
two days after a fullscale riot took place in Kant, Moradabad, 25-odd students
of the madrasa, all in the age group of 12-18 years, allegedly forced their way
into the Ravidas mandir and damaged the loudspeaker.
According to
the Dalits, who make up 40 per cent of the village, the local BSP MLA, Maulana
Jameel, has been visiting the madrasa frequently and patronizing the Muslims of
the area. Jameel had been arrested for allegedly inciting riots in
Muzaffarnagar last year.
According to
Manavendra Singh, the former pradhan of Kheti Sarai who played a role in
cooling tensions, the BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Bijnor, Bharatendra Singh,
had wanted to visit the village to address a gathering. But Manavendra Singh
had refused to cooperate.
Manavendra
Singh said he was associated with the BJP himself, but “I don’t want any issue
in this village. We are living in really bad days.”
He added, “A
lot of people from Muzaffarnagar town wanted to visit the village to show
solidarity with the Hindus. I ensured with the help of the police that nobody
actually came here.”
Mewat still tense after
communal rioting; fear of ‘converting it into another Muzaffarnagar’ looms
large
Submitted by TwoCircles.net on 16 June 2014
Polarization has already begun and
there are fears of future rioting as both sides accuse the police of biased
actions.
By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
Tauru, Haryana: “Tarau was like an island, as it
did not see any communal clashes after partition, not even in 1992-93 (when the
Babari Mosque was demolished), but the trust has now been breached and may
never be repaired,” says Bipin Kumar Makker, a shopkeeper from the town of
Tauru, in Haryana’s Mewat district, about 40 Km from Gurgaon.
At a different place in the same town, surrounded
by elder Meo Muslims, Haji Hanif, Pradhan (village headman) of Dalabas village,
on the other hand is still unable to grapple with the new situations. “We have
lived together in harmony for ages. Often our trade, business and properties
are in partnerships. Perhaps instigated by some outsiders, the gap between two
communities is now deepening,” he says.
Last Sunday morning, June 8, the sleepy town of
Tauru, one of the five blocks in Mewat district, saw communal clashes between
Hindus and Muslims for the first time in its history since partition. Although
prompt action by the district officials and clamping of curfew could curtail
the damages, but polarization has already begun and there are fears of
retaliation from both sides as they accuse the police of bias. As we visited
the town on Saturday there was palpable fear and Meos were afraid to even
escort us towards the market in the Hindu dominated locality.
What began as a ‘normal’ accident on a road on
Sunday morning – normal as it was an accident and had no premeditated
intentions and certainly not the first or the only accident - soon turned into
communal frenzy as rumor mill began spreading false claims of Hindu and Muslim
youth being killed.
Haji Hanif, Pradhan of Dalabas village (in yellowish Kurta) and Saddique Ahmed (in white Kurta), Sarpanch of Chila village, along with other villagers.
Around 7 AM a dumper (a kind of truck) mowed down
two men on a bike, killing one of them, Danveer Singh, 22, on the spot while
the other was seriously injured and later admitted to the hospital. People soon
gathered on the spot and thrashed the driver Raees, 35, and helper Mubarak, 18.
(They both are still being treated in a hospital in Gurgaon.)
While the two persons on the bike – one of whom
died on the spot, the only casualty – belonged to the majority community, the
truck driver and his aid belonged to the Meo-Muslim community, who comprises
70% of the district population, but are in minority in the town. Most of the
Muslim population is in surrounding villages.
Media quoted police officer saying that soon rumour
spread that the duo were beaten to death enraging the Meo community, who
gathered at the marketplace and allegedly looted several shops. Shopkeepers in
the market also reiterated the same version, as we took a walk across the town,
accusing the local Muslim leaders, including son of former MP and INLD leader
Zakir Hussain and son of another INLD leader and former MLA Sahida Khan for
leading the mob. Similar rumour of death of two Hindu boys also spread among
Hindu communities. Allegedly social media, mobile and internet were used to
spread remours on both sides.
Former MLA and INLD leader Sahida Khan with fellow members of the Meo community.
The members of the Meo community have,
however, refuted the accusations and alleged that it was some elements of the
RSS and other right wing Hindutva forces who had instigated the riot in an
attempt to communally polarize the region few months before the Assembly
election.
Advocate Hashim Khan, out rightly rejected that the
police version saying that Meos were not the first one to attack. He said that
it was not the case of just one driver beaten on the pretext of accident, but
the mob gathered at the spot, stopped every passing bike or dumpers and
thrashed them if they found them to be Muslims. They even damaged some
vehicles, he alleged, pointing that while the town is mostly inhabited by
Hindus, Muslims live in nearby villages and hence it’s not possible for them to
immediately gather at a place. It took them few hours to reach the spot, they
point out.
(R-L) Advocate Ramzan Chaudhary, Haji Hanif, Pradhan of Dalabas village, Advocate Hashim Khan and Liyaqat Ali, Sarpanch of Dwarka village.
Sahida Khan said that as he is a native of the
place, on Sunday (June 8) as the situation was getting out of control, he reached
the spot along with other elders and tried to calm everyone down. He denies
instigating the mob and said that on the contrary, he helped form a 11 member
Peace Committee after a Panchayat of 5000 Meo to mediate and come to an
amicable solution. There appeared simmering anger among youth, but they have
since Sunday been restrained.
Locals have been questioning the dubious role of a
local doctor, Dr RP Sharma and local leader Sunil Jindal. Questions are also
being raised on Haryana State President and former Education Minsiter, Ram
Bilas Sharma, who on Thursday allegedly said in a meeting in Pathredi village
(reported in Amar Ujala and other local media houses), “Tension lene ka nahi dene ka time hai (It’s time
to give tension and not take it!) .” They have also alleged that Bhiwani-
Mahendergarh MP, Dharamvir Singh, who was earlier with the Congress but this
time won on the BJP ticket, along with other local BJP leaders are instigating
the people.
Shopkeepers were spending time by playing cards on Saturday (In striped T-Shirt is Praveen Kumar Makker).
Eye witness in the market claimed that many in the
Meo mob were carrying arms and opened indiscriminate fire. Irrespective of who
began the scuffle, stone pelting began from both sides and some rounds were also
fired, seriously injuring about 15 people, some of whom are still in hospital.
Both sides deny carrying any arms buy accuse other side of fire arms
violations.
A 12-year old boy Rohit, who was hit by a bullet in
abdomen, is back home now after initial treatment. The bullet has got enmeshed
in the rib cage and doctor says, it is risky to remove it and so he will live
with it all his life (it has been de-poisoned and so will not cause any harm as
such)
Rohit at his home with his father Poonam Prakash.
His father Poonam Prakash said that hearing the
sound of what he thought was fire-crackers he went out to see out of curiosity
and was hit by a bullet. His mother, Kiran Devi had earlier told
Indian Express that he was out to buy
groceries.
When TCN visited the Tauru town on Saturday
afternoon, several shopkeepers were huddled together and playing cards. In meek
voices some shopkeepers accepted that they are suffering losses, and that
politics should end and amicable solution, should be sought, but added that the
decisions can only be taken by leaders.
According to reports, several shops were looted;
glasses smashed with lathis, and vehicles were damaged. A shopkeeper, Anil
Taneja claimed that his mobile shop was looted and articles worth almost three
lakh was stolen. Hari Karishna, who has a sweet shop in the market, claimed
that his shop was looted, cartons of cold-drinks were taken away and
refrigerator was damaged. They even showed few marks of bullets and alleged
that some people were carrying AK-47, rifles and other arms.
Main market of Tauru remained closed for a week and opened only on Sunday.
Praveen Makker said, “Even Hindu communities have
arms, but we urged the community people to maintain restraint as the vandalism
was done in a spur of moment in communal frenzy by some illiterate people, many
of whom come to our shops and often buy stuff on credit.”
In protest, the market guild had announced that all
shops would remain shut until culprits are arrested and illegal arms are
seized. Although denied by shopkeepers, Meos claimed that the shopkeepers’
guild had informally announced that anyone found selling goods to Muslims would
be fined Rs 11000.
Although investigation is still on and it is
difficult to assess the amount of damage at this point, but the fact is that
the 4-5 shops found most damaged all belonged to Muslims. In the old main
market of the town, a two-story newly built cloth showroom of one Afseel has
been completely gutted in fire, while another on the main road “Delhi Readymade
Garments” too was damaged.
The completely gutted showroom of Afseel in the main market of Tauru.
By afternoon on June 8, curfew was
clamped. Yet in the evening two mosques, both in the Hindu dominated localities
(Most of the Muslim inhabitants of the area had migrated during partition) were
burnt. Broken switch boards, charred wooden pieces
and burnt pages of Quran still stuck on the floor, although they were
immediately cleaned by the local administration, tell a different story.
Several Hindus we spoke to in the locality alleged that mosque might have been
burnt by Meos themselves or might have accidentally caught fire.
Dilapidated Jama Masjid, Tauru.
The attached room of Imam in Qureshiya mosque
There are allegations of attack on the temple too.
Priest of the Temple Baldev Krishna claimed that a mini bus (Tata 407) load
full of Meos attacked the temple. But when we visited it, except few marks of
alleged stone pelting and contradicting statements, no conclusive evidence was
found.
Priest of the Temple Baldev Krishna.
Saddique Ahmed, Sarpanch of Chila village, was one
of the handful of elderly men allowed to offer the Friday prayer at the old
Jama Masjid, within the walking stretch of the local police station, under the
watch of the Superintendent of Police. He told TCN that that as they were on
the way some of them were attacked. When police tried to push them back, they
ushered few women in front, he alleged.
From Tuesday onward curfew was relaxed during the
day time, but shops still remained shut till Saturday. Pointing to the women in
Sarees on road in the evening carrying containers of milk, Advocate Hashim said that that although they have declared virtual
boycott of Muslims, we have not stopped from selling milk to them and their
women feel quite safe in coming to our localities to collect it.
Hindu women going back to their homes after buying milk on Saturday evening.
From Sunday most of the shops have opened after
assurance by the administration of impartial investigation. Speaking to TCN on
Saturday evening, Deputy Commissioner Ramesh Chand Verma had assured that all
shops would open from Monday. He had also informed that so far 12 cases have
been registered, but their immediate priority has been restoring peace. He
added that the situation is still tense, but he is hopeful that the normalcy
would soon return. He said that in few days he will review the situation and
remove the night curfew too.
Deputy Commissioner Ramesh Chand Verma.
While the Hindus alleged that police is
not taking action, Meos have alleged that police is acting in a biased manner
and are harassing poor villagers in the name of raids. By Friday, at least in two villages of Panchgaon and Dwarka police had
conducted raids, purportedly to catch the perpetrators. Residents have accused the police of breaking into the house,
passing derogatory comments and smashing doors, pots, cars, refrigerators,
mirrors, beds and whatever came on the way as they detained some of the youth.On
Saturday afternoon, as TCN visited some of these houses we noticed the
high-handedness of the police.
Broken door of a house in Dwarka village near Tauru town that was raided by police.
Advocate Ramzan Chaudhary, a local civil rights
activist, who is also associated with the Aam Aadmi Party, and is seeing these
cases, have accused the police of acting partially. “While raids are being
conducted in Muslim localities and youth are being detained, we are yet to see
a single raid or detention of any Hindu.”
DC Verma assured TCN that he has asked the police
officials to maintain restraints and see to it that general citizens are not
harassed.
As the assembly election is due in Haryana in few
months, like Muzaffarnagar, we see an attempt at communal polarization in
Mewat. Advocate Choudhary accused the vested interests of communalizing Mewat
for political gains. The right wing Hindutva forces are have been emboldened by
the “Muzaffarnagar experiment,” and are hence trying to spread the same
technique from Maharashtra to Haryana, which are going to polls, civil rights
activists have alleged.
When TCN asked the Deputy Commissioner, if the riot
was an attempt at converting Mewat into another Muzaffarnagar (a district in
Western Uttar Pradesh that saw communal riots in September last year), he
explained that the two communities here have lived in harmony here and it is
unlikely that such polarization would take place. Talking to TCN, he described
the communal frenzy as an aberration that occurred in the “spur of the moment”
due to rumours.
Writing on the wall in a predominantly Hindu locality behind Jama Masjid of the time when no hostility existed.
The Deputy Commissioner has stationed
himself in the Tauru and acted swiftly that averted major outbreak of riot. One
company of RAF, two of CRPF and three of BSF were soon deployed, in addition to
about 1,000 Haryana Police personnel.
Polarization
has already begun in the district though. This is not a case in isolation. In
April BJP and INLD workers had clashed during voting (April 10). Later Wajid
(28), a Meo youth was found dead. While taking us to the home of Rohit, the boy
who was hit by bullet and lives behind the Jama Masjid, Praveen Makker alleged,
“Same leaders who come seeking for votes instigated the mob,” adding, “For us
election has already occurred on June 8, and the result would be known soon.”
Communal Attacks on Muslims of Pune: Fact Finding Committee Report
Pune June, 20, 2014
This fact finding exercise was
coordinated by National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO).
Human right activists from different regions of India participated in
this inquiry. They are,
Reny Ayline, National
Secretary, NCHRO, New Delhi, Prof
A.Marx, Peoples Union for Human Rights, Chennai, Prof. G.K. Ramasamy,
Peoples Democratic Forum, Bangalore, Adv.
Y.K. Shabana, Committee for Protection of Democeatic Rights, Mumbai, 5.
Adv. Babita Kesharwani, Mumbai, Sudhir Dhawale, Editor ‘Vidrohi’ , Mumbai,
Rupali Jadhav, Kabir Kala Manch,Pune.
This team is in Pune for the past three days visiting
different places in and around Pune where Muslims and their properties were
attacked from May 31 onwards.The team visited Hadapsar where the muslim techie
Sheik Mohsin was beaten to death and places such as Handewadi, Syed Nagar, Kale
Padel, Loni, Uruli Devaichi, Landewadi, Bosery where people were beaten,
bakeries, shops, hotels,houses and places of worship that belonged to Muslims
were ransacked. We met the victims and their near and dear, owners of the lost
properties, injured persons and religious leaders and recorded their
statements.
We also met the
district collector of Pune Mr.Saurav Rai, deputy collector Mr.Suresh D Jadhav,
Hadapsar police senior inspector Mr. B.K.Bandharkar and crime branch senior
inspector Mr. Gopinath Patil who is investigating the June 2 incidents. We
discussed with the officers in detail about the attacks, action taken and the
general situation today in this area.
The Incidents
It all started in the last week of
May when some fringe Hindu outfits, mainly one Hindu Rahtra Sena ( HRS) led by
a maverick by name Dhananjay Desai protested with road rokos and demonstrations
against a derogatory face book posting mollifying the iconic king Shivaji and the Shiv Sena
leader Bal Thackeray with morphed photographs. The agitation turned violent
from May 31. The protestors, who were initially only
targeting government properties such as buses, later started pelting stones,
looting and burning shops and religious
places of the minority community in and
around Pune city. The collector
said that more than 250 government buses were damaged.
On may 31in Handewadi two madarasas and two masjids
were attacked. When the attack took place there were children working on their lessons inside the buildings. A masjid under
construction by one Salim Memon was badly damaged. The Majid e Chudeja was
partly burnt and the Imam was left with
a head injury. The manager of the Memon masjid Mr. Mohammed Aziz Sheik said
that the attackers, all youths came in two wheelers shouting “Jai Bhavani” and
“Jai Maharashtra” with deadly weapons in
their hands such as cricket bats, iron bars and talwars. Between 9 and 10 pm
three such attacks took place at half an hour intervals. In the last phase
about 50 to 70 armed goons participated in the attack. Though the manager
called the police and cried for help, they came only at about
12 pm after the attackers left safely.
More or less at the same time about 35 armed activists of the Hindutva outfit came by
motor cycles shouting in the same manner attacked Rose bakery, Bangalore bakery and Maharashtra
bakery in Loni. All of these belongs to Muslims.
Glass doors, fridges and glass show cases were damaged. The owner of Rose
bakery one Shaban Sulaiman Shaik said that Rs 35,000 cash was also looted from
his shop. A near by mosque known as Alamgir
masjid was also stoned.
At the same time in Landewadi Bosseri the Madina
masjid and a nearby Muslim kabarsthan (graveyard) were attacked. The masjid was
not only attacked but also burnt using petrol which they brought with them.
About 35 children in the age group of 12 to 17 were in the upstairs of the
masjid at that time. They actually jumped out
to the next building and escaped. The imam of the masjid one Mohammed Alam had broken
his leg when he tried to jump out. He is still under treatment. Four two
heelers which stood before the masjid were also burnt. Even the dead were not
shown mercy. The graves and a small worshiping shed in the grave yard were ransacked. In Noor
Mohalla at Bosery about 40 houses were stoned from outside. Glass windows
and doors were damaged. About 25 bykes
were attacked and broken to pieces.
All these attacks were in the same pattern. In all
the instances the police came only after the attack was over. When the
Landewadi masjid was burnt the fire service came to the place only after two
hours when everything is burnt already.
The fire station is situated just below the masjid.
Even after such series attacks were made against
Muslims of the area neither the district administration nor the police took
serious note of it. The deputy collector said that they promulgated some
prohibitary order. But they had not cared to deploy more special forces in places
were Muslims are living in large numbers.
This led to massive attacks on June 2. In Kale Padel, Syed Nagar , Hadapsar main
market a number of bakeries, shops and
hotels were ransacked and burnt. Not only the showrooms, but also the baking
machines, fridges, tempos, four wheelers and bicycles which were used to carry
the products were attacked, broken to pieces and burnt. Patel bakery, Welcome bakery, Paradise
bakery, Hotel Sahara are some of the bakeries and shops that our team visited. The houses near
by Hotel Sahara inhabited by Dalit
Buddhists were also attacked. One Neela Badukombe and anotherMaruthi Shinde
Baba, all dalits said that they are living there for nearly 50 years and this
is the first time they were attacked.
In Kasbapet a clash occurred between the Hindu
extremists who came to attack a masjid and muslim youths who tried to prevent them. Four Hindu
extremists were injured , two of them
with severe injuries. In this connection six Muslim youths are arrested.
In the Hadapsar main market area the Nalband masjid
was stoned. One fruit shop owned by Abdul Kabeer and a banana godown owned by
Abdul Rafi Bagwan were burnt out. In
Uruli Devaichi the Jama majid was attacked. A fridge and a water tank and some
other things were broken. No case was registered yet. All these attacks took
place between 9 and 11 pm. Slogan shouting armed goons who came in two wheelers
did all these things.
It was at this time the worst thing happened. At about 9 pm Mohsin Shaik (28), a pious
young muslim techie from Solapur working as a manager in a textile firm in the nearby area left the
Shine Anjuman masjid in Unnati nagar after saying his night prayer. His friend
Riyaz Ahmed Mubarak Shendru was on the pillion. When they crossed few hundred
meters from the mosque a gang of 30 to 40 armed goons came in the bikes shouting slogans. Seeing them
Mohsin stopped his bike and moved aside. The armed gang seeing these young man
sporting a bird and wearing a skull cap
began to attack with hockey
sticks, wooden stumps, iron bars and bats. Mohsin’s friend managed to escape
with injuries. But Mohsin, the only bread winner of his middle class family
succumbed to death after he was brought to a hospital.
At the end of the street two other Muslim youths
Izaz Yusuf Bagwan and Ameer Shaik
were witnessing the attack on Mohsin
with fear and awe in their eyes. The gang then targeted these men who ran away
and escaped with injuries and
fractures on their bodies. Out of fear
Izaz immediately ran to his native village. Our team met Ameer Shaik who gave a
graphical picture of what happened on the other day. Ameer’s hand is broken. He
is married and blessed with two children. He is a scrap merchant. But after
this incident nobody is ready to trade with him. His future is bleak.
A compensation amount of Rs 5,00,000 is given to
Mohsin’s family by the state govt. The collector told us that a central govt
relief of Rs 3 lakhs and another 5 lakh
rupees from the state riot relief fund will be paid in due course. But no compensation is paid till
today to the injured persons and to those who lost their properties in the
attack. The sub collector said that only if a proposal for compensation is sent
from the commissioner of police it will be considered. But no such effort is made in this direction
by the police department. Regarding the injured, the sub collector told that
any amount of compensation will be paid only to those who were in the hospital
for more than a week. But out of the seven people injured only one was in the
hospital for more than a week. Others, out of fear left the hospital within a
few days.
There are about 20 FIR s are filed in Hadapsar,
Boseri, Munuva, Loni and Vagoli police stations. The investigating officer said
that 23 persons were arrested for June 2 incidents. In total about 200 people were arrested .When we asked him
whether all those arrested are members of HRS, he replied that it could not be
said because that fringe outfit never
keeps any documents regarding its membership. When we asked whether the govt has any proposal to ban HRS
the collector replied that only if a proposal comes from the commissioner of
police the govt would consider it.
The maverick leader of HRS Dhananjay Desai is now
behind the bars. He is now investigated from the conspiracy angle in the riots
and the attack on Mohsin.
The HRS first came into focus when it carried an
attack on the office of a Marathi television channel in 2007 protesting their
coverage of an incident involving a Hindu minor girl who had eloped with a
Muslim boy. Then they protested against the arrest of army officials who were
involved in Malegaon blasts and other such terrorist activities.
Desai has 22 cases registered against him in Mumbai and Pune. While
three of the cases are related to dacoity and possession of arms, nearly all
the rest pertain to hate speeches made by him.
It is said
that the HRS chief Dhananjay Desai has a following of nearly 4,000 youths
across Pune district. They are well organised and ideologically
motivated. Most of these youths are from poor families and are unemployed. To
tend to his supporters, many of whom are from economically weaker backgrounds,
Desai brokers settlements in disputes mainly related to land and other
properties.
The HRS is very active in Hadapsar and Landewadi area. Six months back they
conducted public meetings in Landewadi in which hate speeches were freely
spoken against muslims.
Our team found that in total 40 houses and 20
masjids were attacked. Out of these
20 five masjids were burnt.
In total 35 two wheelers and five tempos were destroyed. 29 bicycles were burnt. 10 thelas were also
broken to pieces. Seven people are
injured and one person killed. We
estimate that the total losses suffered by Muslims amount to 4.5 crores.
Observations
1.Maharashtra
is in a sense the headquarters of
the Hindutva exiremist thoughts
from the days of Savarkar. In the recent times
the Malegoan and Nandid bomb
blasts, the involvement of the army
people in Hindutva terrorism and the
mystery surrounding the killing of the honest police officer Karkare who
investigated the Hindutva terrorist activities
in Maharashtra are some of the facts we have to bear in mind. We
understand that some peace loving people
and organisations have attracted the attention of the Maharashtra govt
regarding the underground activities of the terrorist organisations based on
Hindutva logic. But the Maharashtra govt had not taken such concerns and complaints seriously. In
fact we understand that both the revenue and police officials are more
sympathetic towards rightwing Hindutva forces and their ideologies. But we feel
that if such attitude continues more such attacks on minority communities will take place in the
near future.
2. Historically Pune was the epicentre of the
marata rule. 12 % of the population are Muslims. For the past 15 years right wing
forces are very active in this area. Hate crime and religious fanaticism are on the rise; On 5 January 2004 a group
calling itself the Sambhaji Brigade attacked the Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute (BORI) in Pune . The attack was the preliminary culmination in a
series of increasingly disturbing and destructive events that were triggered by
the publication of James W. Laine's Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India. Since the author had thanked the
library as well as some of the scholars working there the right wing extremists
took such an extreme step. On
January 13, 2010, RTI activist Satish Shetty was assassinated in Talegaon,
about 40 km away from Pune. In the same year, out of nine social activists
killed all over India, five were murdered in the areas neighbouring Pune. On
July 8, 2013 one Prakash Gondhale, a social activist and a strong opponent of
Hindutva hate politics was murdered. HRS
members were arrested for his murder. In 2013 August 20, the well known atheist
Dr Narendra Dabolkar was shot dead by some men on motor bikes . Nobody was arrested till today. When everybody is pointing the Hindutva outfits for the ghastly murder, the Mharashtra govt has given clean chit to
the Hindutva movements in the court. Then who are the culprits? The govt has no
answer for it.
3.Though Hindutva terrorist organisations are very
active in Maharashtra the state govt has not taken enough attention of it. Most
of the govt officials and police personnel and the vernacular media are
sympathetic towards them. Though the officials as well as the home minister
expressed that there is a proposal to ban HRS immediately after Mohsin’s
murder, now they are retracting from it. We are also of the opinion that
banning organisations are not the solution. Instead the govt should be very
firm against hate speeches against certain section of the people. Having an organisation
in the name of “Hindu National Army” (English translation of HRS) is against
the fundamental tenets of our constitution.
4.The attacks against muslims of Pune by HRS and
other such Hindutva minded people are well planned. Though Mohsin was killed
randomly for sporting a beard and wearing a skull cap, there is a well planned
conspiracy behind his killing and the attacks on muslims. Both on May 31 and
June 2 at the same time, that is, between 9 and 11 pm so many places were attacked which are separated
by large distances. The same group could not have done all these things.
Clearly some high command had assigned duties to different groups to target
different places. So this is a well planned attack . There is a conspiracy
behind it.
5. Though Mohsin’s murder was the worst part of the violence, the state
govt as well as the media focuses only on this. But behind this so many planned
attacks against the muslim places of worship and on their economic activities.
This is a very serious matter of concern.
6. Muslim public, religious leaders and
political representatives expressed
their concern about the time and background in which these attacks happened. A
change of overnment has taken place. An extreme right wing leader who boasts
himself as a “Hindu Natioanalist” have took the reign of the country. In such a
background the attacks have happened. Nobody in the central govt has condemned
it. The BJP Member of Parliament from Pune, Anil Shirole, spoke of how “some
amount of repercussions” after the posts on social media was “natural”. Instead
of distancing the party and the government from such attacks, Mr. Shirole seems
to have done just the opposite.The Jamat e Islami leader Prof Asar Ali Warsi
was very much concerned about such statements. We are much worried about such a
fear developing among the largest minority in India.
7.Spreading of rumours and false propaganda played
an important role in the escalation of violence. We should not forget that such
circulation of some fake vedio clippings triggered violence against
Muslims in Mussafarnagar. Recently, the cyber cell of the Mumbai police
identified 650 such hate pages/websites.
8. We want to mention here that not all Hindus are
cultivating hate against the minorities. But the Hindutva outfits are spreading
hate among the Hindus to polarise the
majority against a particular minority. The Hindus of Bhima Kortgaon village actually resisted the attempt of HRS when they tried to attack a mosque there.
This culture of communal harmony should be nurtured and developed. Writers, thinkers and politicians with secular views should work in this direction.
Demands
1. A central special investigation team (SIT) should be formed to investigate the
atrocities on muslims of Pune in June 2014. Reputed officers should be included
in the team.
2.A fast tract court should be formed and a special public prosecutor should be
appointed in consultation with the victims to try the cases .
3. At least
Rs 25 lakhs should be paid as compensation to the family of Mohsin.
4. A committee should be formed under the district
collector which should study the actual damages
incurred by the minorities and
they should be compensated accordingly.
5. We are worried about the fact that the govt officials are oriented
against the minority communities. Sensitisation programmes for the police as
well as revenue officials are to be conducted on issues related to minorities.
In places where muslims are largely populated
muslim officers and police
personal should be sufficiently
deployed.
6. The communal violence bill should be made as an act as early as
possible.
7. The police and other officials who didn’t take
action against the culprits should be
found out and necessary action should be taken against them. Action
should be taken against the Vandewadi fire service personnel for wilful
negligence of duty.
8.The cyber cell should expedite investigation and arrest those responsible for the
mischievous posts in the social
media.
TARGETTED ATTACK ON MUSLIMS
IN RAJASTHAN
Women
and children of Ismail Vaas ,Village Sirmoli, Alwar, were brutally attacked and
beaten up by the ‘Cobra Police’ on July 4th night. The
police did not even spare an eight pregnant woman using lathis, their boots to
attack them and using highly abusive and sexist language. One of the
policeman put the bonnet of his gun in a ten year old’s mouth when he tried to
protect his mother.
(In
2009, the Ministry of Home Affairs had approved raising of 10 CoBRA (Combat
Battalion for Resolute Action) to meet the challenges being posed by naxalites. CoBRA Battalions are trained and adept in multi
tasking skills operations in the most arduous terrain. CoBRA personnel are trained in guerrilla warfare,
field engineering, tracking of explosives, jungle survival techniques along
with ops tactics to fight insurgents. Specialized training programme includes
jungle warfare, Ops planning and execution, physical endurance, map reading and
GPS, intelligence, heli-slithering)
6
months ago a new SP Vikas Kumar was posted in Alwar. He formed a special unit
of COBRA police in Alwar. Alwar district is a peaceful district and has no
history of naxal activities.
During
the last six months COBRA police has been raiding into villages belonging to
the Meo community (a tribal Muslim community) and the modus operandi has been
to take 50-100 menn to the police station, take motorcycles, show them as
stolen and then release them and return the motor cycles as for 99% of them
papers were produced. Police has been extracting huge amount of bribes from the
community and at the same time terrorising them and spreading in the media that
stolen vehicles have been found in the Mewat areas. All raids have been done
past midnight usually or early hours around 3-4am.
On
July 4, in the month of Ramzan, 50-60 Cobra policemen led by IPS trainee,
Adarsh Siddhu entered the Ismail Vaas ,Village
Sirmoli around 8.30pm and attacked women and children with batons. Many women
were stripped, an eight month pregnant woman was kicked with boots and batons,
children snatched and thrown on the floor and all household goods broken and
food items spread on the floor. They then broke the glasses of the Bolero and
took it with them, later shown as recovered with liquor.
The Communalisation Agenda
Ancient caste system worked
well, ICHR head says
Akshaya Mukul,
TNN | Jul 15, 2014
NEW DELHI: The newly-appointed chairman of Indian
Council of Historical Research (ICHR) Yellapragada Sudershan Rao appears to be
a votary of the caste system. In a blog written in 2007, Rao had said that the
"positive aspects of Indian culture are so deep that the merits of ancient
systems would be rejuvenated."
In the blog-article titled, 'Indian Caste System: A Reappraisal', he wrote: "The (caste) system was working well in ancient times and we do not find any complaint from any quarters against it. It is often misinterpreted as an exploitative social system for retaining economic and social status of certain vested interests of the ruling class"
He added, "Indian Caste system, which has evolved to answer the requirements of civilization at a later phase of development of culture, was integrated with the Varna system as enunciated in the ancient scriptures and dharmasastras."
In the blog-article titled, 'Indian Caste System: A Reappraisal', he wrote: "The (caste) system was working well in ancient times and we do not find any complaint from any quarters against it. It is often misinterpreted as an exploitative social system for retaining economic and social status of certain vested interests of the ruling class"
He added, "Indian Caste system, which has evolved to answer the requirements of civilization at a later phase of development of culture, was integrated with the Varna system as enunciated in the ancient scriptures and dharmasastras."
---------
Choice of ICHR chief reignites saffronisation debate
The government has zeroed in on a man few in history circles have heard of
Eminent historian Romila Thapar’s article questioning
the academic credentials of the new Chairman of the Indian Council of
Historical Research (ICHR), Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, has brought the
spotlight back on the institution that was at the centre of the saffronisation
debate during the first National Democratic Alliance government.
The government has zeroed in on a man few in history
circles have heard of. The appointment was made quietly in the week the Human
Resource Development Ministry was preoccupied with the stand-off between the
UGC and Delhi University over the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme.
A blogger for several years now, Prof. Rao, who was
former Head of the Department of History and Tourism Management, Kakatiya
University, articulated his world view in the Chairperson’s Diaryposted on the ICHR website.
Stating that he owed everything to “PujyaSri,
Mahamahopadhyaya, Dr. K. Sivananda Murtyji”, Prof. Rao noted that research
sponsored and conducted by the ICHR is guided by modern schools of
historiography of the West. Though he has stated that he was never an RSS
member, historians like D.N. Jha insist he shares the Sangh’s view in
maintaining that Indian intellectual and spiritual achievements have no
parallel.
Historian D.N. Jha has questioned ICHR chairman
Yellapragada Sudershan Rao’s eagerness to fix a date of the Mahabharata. Prof.
Jha said Marxist historians were not alone in questioning the historicity of
the text. “Our own ancestors, including the great 13th Century philosopher
Madhavacharya, questioned it.”
Flagging Prof. Rao’s blog of 2007 vintage on the
“Indian Caste System”, Prof. Jha quipped: “He wants to bring it back. But then
Narendra Modi cannot become Prime Minister under that system.” In his blog on
caste system, Prof. Rao did not see it as a social evil, maintaining that the
rigidity and distortions that crept into it were the result of Muslim invasions
and subsequent rule.
Maintaining that all such appointments are invariably
political in nature, history professor T.K. Ventakasubramanian, who was appointed
ICHR member secretary by NDA in 1998, said while Prof. Rao was free to hold his
views on history, the issue at hand is the fact that his writings have not been
put to professional scrutiny. “It sends a wrong signal to have a person like
him head the ICHR, which is supposed to give a national direction to an
objective and scientific writing of history.”
RSS takeover of top
research, cultural bodies
by Kavitha
Iyer Jul 4, 2014
The new chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research,
Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, has an interesting blog post from 2013, about 'Ayodhya and History'.
"All thinking men -- religious activists, intellectuals,
politicians, professional historians and archaeologists- are divided into at
least three groups; a) those who stand for the Hindu cause, b) those who stand
for the Mosque and c) the majority of others who support an amicable settlement
of the controversy. In influencing the public opinion in favour of Muslim
community, the ‘secular’ historians and ‘progressive’ intelligentsia make
concerted endeavor in support of the Muslim cause. They further condemn all
those who sympathize the Hindu cause as Hindu fundamentalists and ‘saffron
brigade’."
Rao goes on to argue that modern history -- which he claims has received
disproportionate attention and legitimacy -- will be unable to provide
answers to the Ayodhya issue since "Ayodhya stood even before the modern
genre of history was born."
Young rightwing supporters at a rally in New Delhi. Firstpost/ Naresh
Sharma
A retired history professor, Rao has penned several
articles arguing that stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are
truthful accounts of history. According to his blog page, he has interests in
Indian mythology, Vedic literature, Sanatana Dharma, 'Bharatiya Sanskriti',
among other subjects. Raoreportedly told The Telegraph that
he hopes to push projects to rewrite ancient history to document the
“continuous Indian civilisation”, including the period of the two epics.
"The stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata cannot be
termed a-historical just because there is not enough archaeological hard
evidence," Rao said, adding,“A lot of historical material has come
through cultural, anthropological, archaeological and ethnographic studies in
the last 60 years about the continuous Indian civilisation. The findings can be
compiled by researchers. I think the ICHR should support historians interested in
doing work on these aspects."
Rao's elevation is the first of the many NDA decisions that will
determine who will lead India's top research, educational and cultural
institutions. Asked if he foresees a flood of RSS-sympathetic
appointments to these institutions, former ICHR chairperson and
historian S Settar retorts, "Do you doubt it? I don't."
Settar was ICHR chairman from 1996 to 1999, and was witness to a
gradual Hindutva takeover of socio-cultural research organisations in the late
1990s. After the UPA assumed office in 2004, Settar was also on a review
committee that examined NCERT books published by the BJP government. The
committee discussed the safronisation of the texts at length and recommended
replacing them.
Speaking to Firstpost, Settar says, "There are many rightist
corners hungry to get into the ICHR. But in any case, it is such an incompetent
organisation -- the Leftists have used it as a platform for their ideology and
friends, and now the rightists will want to use it for their ideology and
friends."
ICHR will hardly be the only institution to see top-level changes given
the BJP's track record in power. In 1999, not long after the NDA government was
sworn in, a slew of appointments were made, including some on the very
first day after then HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi assumed office.
The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) got a new chairman,
Prof B R Grover who soon became notorious for
punishing any historical research project or institution perceived as
"hostile" to the ruling government or its saffron view of history.
The new Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) head at the
time was M L Sondhi, a Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP who would later, ironically,
be summarily replaced after
he complained repeatedly and publicly of pressure from an RSS cabal within the
ICSSR. Sondhi, considered close to then PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, famously
complained that the RSS faction in the institution, led by Devendera Swaroop, a
former editor of RSSmouthpiece Panchajanya, was hindering a proposed Indo-Pak
social scientists' meet ahead of the Vajpayee-Musharraf summit in Agra.
Also among MM Joshi's early appointees was RSS sympathiser G C Pande, a
Sanskrit scholar and ancient India historian, who became head of the
Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS) in Shimla . The University Grants
Commission (UGC) top job was handed to Dr Hari Gautam, who soon after
introduced courses in Jyotir Vigyan or 'Vedic astrology' and Hindu karmakand or
rituals. The move raked up a debate on whether the UGC, the institution that
controls higher education institutes across the country, was legitimising
superstition.
And it is these institutions and their impending appointments that
will be closely tracked by activists and academicians who will be keeping a
close eye on the research projects they undertake, and changes they institute
in curriculum and historiography.
One of the many who has long opposed political intervention in
historiography is Fr Cedric Prakash of NGO Prashant in Ahmedabad. Prakash and
fellow activists in Gujarat have for some years now campaigned against
communalisation of textbooks, including approaching the courts against a
slanted view of history.
"Fascist and fundamentalist forces have consistently tampered with
the educational system of their country when in power; propagating a particular
ideology through school text books is a very easy way to manipulate receptive
minds.The Gujarat Government led by the BJP has done this systematically during
the past many years: minorities have been demonised, patriarchy is eulogized
and history is conveniently tampered with. Hindu mythology is called
history," says Fr Prakash who says He says there are several
instances of inaccuracies and omission of important events.
The saffron takeover of major institutions is part of the
RSS-BJP design, says Prakash.
How exactly does it matter who heads the ICHR, ICSSR, UGC or other
government bodies involved in research and advanced studies?
Settar says much of the research work emerging from the ICHR lacks
interpretation. It is merely an exercise of judgment in selecting documents --
those averse to Gandhi could suppress documents about the father of the nation
or those averse to Ambedkar could suppress critical documentation about that
leader, Settar offers as an example. What is selected, prioritised for
publication, what is omitted, all of this impacts the setting of the agenda and
socio-political discourse that follows. Some projects in ICHR have been
dragging for nearly 25 years.
In other institutions, as well,, from priority funding for projects,
granting of fellowships, getting publications out on time, aiding other
institutions' and universities' research work, the decisions taken by the
chairpersons of these organisations have wide-ranging impact.
One example to cite would be the scuttling of two volumes of
the 'Towards Freedom' project of ICHR in 1999, following insistence by the RSS
caucus within the committee that the texts, both by renowned historians, KN
Panikkar and Sumit Sarkar, be reviewed.
Activist Teesta Setalvad, who founded Communalism Combat, which has also
taken up cudgels against intellectual fascism and politically-motivated
historiography, says the fear is of a vision of history that is narrow and
exclusivist. "We could see a repeat of the first NDA government-led RSS
assault on independent historical research," she says. "This is part
of an intractable political project, lacking rigour of historical research,
that wants to decide how we view India."
The appointment of Y Sudershan Rao to the ICHR is only the first of more
appointments to follow. Apart from the ICHR, ICSSR, the NIAS in Shimla, the
UGC, here are other institutions to watch closely in coming months: The Indira
Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), the National Book Trust, NCERT,
Films Development Corporation, Censor Board, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala
Akademi, to name a few. Also to watch: Likely expansion plans for the network
of Shishu Mandir schools and Vidya Bharati schools, and funding patterns for
other schools including those run by the VHP.
In his blog post about Ayodhya, Rao bemoans the politicisation of
history, writing "Revisiting the past with preconceived notions and
vested interests leads to misinterpretation of historical facts. Since
independence, volumes are written by the teams of scholars owing allegiance to
either side of the issue. In this milieu, the worst sufferer could be history
as a scientific discipline and historiography as a technical craft."
If history is any indication, these words may soon prove to be ironic,
indeed.
Attack on Freedom of Expression
Bangalore: Five youngsters detained for circulating anti-Modi message on WhatsApp
CNN-IBN
May 25, 2014
May 25, 2014
Bangalore: Five students were on Saturday detained by Bangalore
Police for allegedly circulating anti-Narendra Modi messages on smartphone
messenger WhatsApp.
All
the five youngsters hail from Bhatkal in Karnataka. While four of them were
released on Sunday, one was handed over to Belgaum Police.
An
FIR has been registered against Waqas by the Khanapur police in Belgaum
district.
This comes after a young shipping professional from Goa was booked for a Facebook post criticising Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi.
This
comes after a young shipping professional from Goa was booked for a Facebook
post criticising Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi. Devu Chodankar, who is
absconding, had written on a Facebook forum that if Modi came to power,
Christians would lose their identity in south Goa.
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM:
An anti-Narendra Modi comment on social networking site during the Lok Sabha
election campaign could land Devu Chodankar 33-year-old marine engineer in
jail, with police insisting on his custodial interrogation while accusing him
of trying to promote communal and social disharmony in the State.
The
District and Sessions Court also rejected Chodankar’s anticipatory bail plea
after the police in their prayer asked for his custodial interrogation to
establish the motive and want to arrest him to recover cyber forensic evidence
and more importantly to find out if there was any motive to promote communal
and social disharmony in the State.
Businessman
Atul Pai Kane had lodged a complaint against Chodankar over his
postings/comments made on the Goa Plus Group on Facebook. Based on the
complaint the police have filed a case under sections 153 and section 295 A
IPC, sec 123 of representation of Peoples Act and sec 66 (A) of the Information
Technology Act 2000 is registered upon a complaint filed by.
Police Inspector Rajesh Job of the cyber cell, in his complaint filed
before the court said, “Custodial interrogation of the accused is very much
essential to find out any motive of larger game plan to promote communal and
social disharmony in the State.” Chodankar in his Facebook post had said that
“if Modi is elected as a Prime Minister, Christians will lose their identity in
South Goa,” and that “there is imminent threat of holocaust as it happened in
Gujarat through the garb of cunning government policies of Parrikar.” The post
was later withdrawn.
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM:
An anti-Narendra Modi comment on social networking site during the Lok Sabha
election campaign could land Devu Chodankar 33-year-old marine engineer in
jail, with police insisting on his custodial interrogation while accusing him
of trying to promote communal and social disharmony in the State.
The
District and Sessions Court also rejected Chodankar’s anticipatory bail plea
after the police in their prayer asked for his custodial interrogation to
establish the motive and want to arrest him to recover cyber forensic evidence
and more importantly to find out if there was any motive to promote communal and
social disharmony in the State.
Businessman
Atul Pai Kane had lodged a complaint against Chodankar over his
postings/comments made on the Goa Plus Group on Facebook. Based on the
complaint the police have filed a case under sections 153 and section 295 A
IPC, sec 123 of representation of Peoples Act and sec 66 (A) of the Information
Technology Act 2000 is registered upon a complaint filed by.
Police Inspector Rajesh Job of the cyber cell, in his complaint filed
before the court said, “Custodial interrogation of the accused is very much
essential to find out any motive of larger game plan to promote communal and
social disharmony in the State.” Chodankar in his Facebook post had said that
“if Modi is elected as a Prime Minister, Christians will lose their identity in
South Goa,” and that “there is imminent threat of holocaust as it happened in
Gujarat through the garb of cunning government policies of Parrikar.” The post
was later withdrawn.
Attack on human rights defenders and civil society’s
activism
Lens on foreign funds to
NGOs featuring on IB report
TNN | Jul 5, 2014,
NEW DELHI: There is more trouble for NGOs receiving
foreign funds in India. The government has decided to closely scrutinize flow
of funds to all such NGOs against whom an adverse report has been received from
IB. A meeting was held by home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday where a
presentation on visa policy and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) was
made by foreigners division of the ministry.
The government has already put Greenpeace International and Climate Works Foundation under scanner and made it mandatory for them to take permission from MHA before pumping any funds in India.
The government has already put Greenpeace International and Climate Works Foundation under scanner and made it mandatory for them to take permission from MHA before pumping any funds in India.
A leaked IB report had recently alleged that protests against development projects fuelled by certain foreign-funded NGOs had caused a presumptive loss of 2-3% to India's GDP. It had also named a string of NGOs including Greenpeace India, Cordaid, Amnesty and ActionAid as those fuelling such protests through a network of local organizations such as PUCL and Narmada Bachao Andolan among others.
A senior home ministry official said, "During
the meeting it was discussed that FCRA implementation should be tightened and
there should be greater scrutiny of thoseNGOs about whom the government has an
adverse report."
Government has also asked for a sensitisation programme to be initiated for NGOs to coax them to conform to FCRA regulations. "The home minister appreciated the FCRA Outreach Seminars in different parts of the country and desired that all Non Government Organisations (NGOs) receiving foreign funds are sensitized about the compliance with FCRA Act and rules," said a home ministry spokesperson.
The meeting also discussed visa policy in detail and stressed on developmental aspects of the same to promote tourism and other economic activities. "Rajnath Singh appreciated the need to strengthen security while facilitating legitimate travelers and instructed that Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVRFT) Project should be implemented at the earliest," the spokesperson said.
During the meeting, it was explained to the Minister that the integrated online visa system presently covers 148 Indian Missions and the online foreigners' registration system inside India has reached 80 per cent coverage.
NGOs in India receive foreign donations in excess of Rs 10,000 crore annually from over 150 countries. The IB report alleged that the "areas of action" of the foreign-funded NGOs include anti-nuclear, anti-coal and anti-Genetically Modified Organisms protests. Apart from stalling mega industrial projects including those floated by POSCO and Vedanta, these NGOs have also been working to the detriment of mining, dam and oil drilling projects in north-eastern India, it said.
-------
Annexure :
Panchayat Order in Bastar, Chattisgarh (Translated)
OFFICE OF
GRAM PANCHAYAT, SIRSIGUDA
District
Panchayat Tokapal, Bastar, (Chhattisgarh)
Today on 10-5-2014,
a Special Gram Sabha was convened by Gram Panchayat Sirsiguda.
Subject - The Gram
Sabha was convened for the purpose of maintaining and preserving the
traditional cultural and religious unity of Sirsiguda village and the same was
presided over by Shri Mahadev and Sarpanch and other distinguished citizens and
to perform worship, PaathmelaMandai with faith and conviction for Gram Devi
Mata which is being celebrated for thousands of years according to traditional
gaiety and fervor.
According to the
well-known beliefs amongst the villagers, some outsider religious preachers are
converting innocent tribal Hindus by spreading untouchability. Simultaneously
the Gods and Goddesses of the villages are being described as sinners. Due to non-cooperation
of villagers the cultural traditions of the village is being violated and a
wide gap is also coming up in the way of social unity. Keeping such a situation
in view, all the distinguished citizens of the village discussed the matter
under Section 129 D Section 7 in this specially convened Gram Sabha.
1.
It was decided to maintain and preserve the traditional cultural unity
of the village.
2.
To prohibit the Religious preachers other than those of Hindu religion
to preach or profess other religions. They are totally debarred from holding
prayers meet and deliver discourses.
3.
To prohibit construction of any religious place without prior permission
of Village Panchayat.
4.
Whoever does any act in this regard without permission of Village
Panchayat shall be liable.
This Resolution is
adopted unanimously. Hence you are requested to maintain peace and calm in the
village treating this Resolution as final and binding with due respects.
Sd/- sd/- sd/-
President Sarpanch Applicants
Sd/- sd/- sd/-
Dy. Sarpanch Secretary. All present villagers.
Copy to :-
1.
Collector, District Bastar, Chhattisgarh.
2.
Tehsildar, LokapalDisttBastar
3.
President, Vishwa Hindu ParishadJagdalpur
4.
SHO PS Vadaji.
Data
base on Media coverage of the Sangh
camoaign gainst “love Jehad”
Rajnath Singh says he doesn't know love jihad is - The Newsminute
As 12 seats in UP prepare to vote, 2 RSS magazines discuss ‘love jihad’ - Lalmani Verma - Indian Express
BJP MLA calls for ‘love jihad’ mahapanchayat - Lalmani Verma - Indian Express
UP BJP Chief Laxmikant Bajpai sets agenda for 2017 assembly elections. Talks about Love Jihad.
BJP’s mahapanchayat against ‘love jihad’ - Mohammad Ali - The Hindu
‘Love jihad’ a global conspiracy to destroy Hindu culture: Shiv Sena - The Times of India
"Love Jihad a grave social concern: Amit Shah" - Rohini Singh - Economic Times
VHP's hate pamphlets on Love Jihad resurface in Gujarat - Economic Times
BJP banks on love jihad in Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll - Piyush Srivastava - India Today
How real is the threat of love jihad? - Rohan Venkatramakrishnan - Scroll
Love Jihad? BJP's Claims for Uttar Pradesh Don't Add Up - Sreenivasan Jain - NDTV
How Crime Data Contradicts Communal Spin to UP Rape Cases - Niha Masih, Sreenivasan Jain - NDTV
Truth vs Hype - Love Jihad - NDTV
Love Jihad, Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics - Rohit Pradhan
Teach girls meaning of 'Love Jihad': Mohan Bhagwat - Hindustan Times
Just Love Actually - Mitali Saran - Indian Express
Love Jihad: A fictitious problem with real consequences - Aman Sethi - Business Standard
Fringe goes mainstream - Louise Khurshid - Indian Express
Love Jihad campaign treats women as if they are foolish: Charu Gupta - Business Standard
Who loves Love Jihad - Johnson T.A., Lalmani Verma - Indian Express
The logical response to an ideological campaign - Udhav Naig - The Hindu
The BJP and Hindu-Muslim Romance - Mukul Kesavan - NDTV
Muslim youth plan 27-dist West UP yatra against 'love jihad' propaganda - Eram Agha - The Times of India
[1] CFUN Study (E/CN Sub. 2/348
Rev. 1) on the Rights of Persons belonging to Ethnic Religious and Linguistic
Minorities (1979) by Francesco Capotorti, Special Rapporteur of the
Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
– P-13.
[2] In ancient Greece the word “Barbaros”
(foreigner) was reserved by the Athenians for their traditional enemies the
Persians; after the insular City States of Greece the same word was invoked to
denounce Philip of Macedon – though Greek, he was considered outside the
cultural pale of Athenian society!
[3]
Published in 1996 in French with English translation published in the year
2000.
[4] Vol.-I page 461.
[5] State of Bombay vs. Bombay
Education Society AIR 1954 SC 561.
[6] In re Kerala Education Bill
1957. AIR 1958 S.C. 956.
[7] St. Xavier’s Collage Vs.
State of Gujarat. AIR 1974 S.C. 1389.
[8] Judicial deference to
legislative wisdom must not be allowed to undercut the normal democratic
processes by legislators to display “prejudice against discrete and insular
minorities” – See Chief Justice Stone’s famous footnote in U.S. V. Carolene
Products Co. 304 U.S. 4, 152 = 82 L.Ed. 1234 at p-1242.
[9]
Pramati
Educational and cultural Trust vs. UOI – judgment dated
6.5.2014 – 2014 (7) Scale 306 (para 40).
[10] “The Smith of Smiths” – by
Hesketh Pearson, Published by Penguin Books, 1948 at P.248.
