Odisha: Anti Posco outfits observe black day commemorating 11th years of Posco MoU

June 23, 2016

Report by Kahnu Nanda; Jagatsinghpur: Hundreds of Posco affected people including betel vein growers, anti project outfits, land losers from proposed project site villages from Erasama block on Wednesday observed black day commemorating 11th years of Posco Mou with Odisha government.

The protestors staged demonstration, protest meeting in front of collector office here, wore black batch and hoisted black flag and reiterated their sufferings and pains during Posco drive had been on its way in their regions.

The agitators termed Odisha government had made the MoU with South Korean steel major on 22 June 2005 without considering the ground realities of the proposed project site as result received stiff resistance of local residents so project remained non-starter after it had thrown to cold storage last year.

The losses sustained by local people following Posco bid would not be compensated either by Odisha government or by steel barren Posco, the agitators rued.

The anti Posco leaders claimed to fulfill their six charter of demands as compensation for betel vein losers, to with draw cases against project opponents, to give land to the land losers under Forest Rights Act , to retrieve betel veins demolished during land acquisition , to stop the boundary wall construction at project site and cancelled the Posco MoU forever. The agitators submitted a memorandum before collector then the agitation was called off.

Homeless & Wet: 300 Familes on the Road in Dharamsala

June 22, 2016

In, what is famously known as, the ‘divine’ city of Dharamsala in Himachal, toddlers, infants and school going children of a 30-year-old slum settlement in have been rendered homeless and living on the roads since the past 3 days facing the rains without a shelter, due to the callousness of the local district administration and Municipal authorities.

The Dharamsala Municipal Corporation and administration on June 17, demolished the slum at Charaan khad, in the city, evicting 300 families, mostly migrant workers. The families, belonging mostly to the Scheduled Castes from Rajasthan and Maharashtra had been residing in this settlement for over 30 years. Working mostly as daily wage labourers on construction sites, as rag pickers and street side vendors, these people now have nowhere to go.

While the MCD has sited that the administration was “following High Court orders”, no such order has been made public yet. The residents at the settlement have not been provided any rehabilitation and were evicted with a 10 day written notice. The process of planning the demolition started three months ago and the MCD had shown them alternate sites at villages Gamru, Passu and Sarra. “The corporation just showed us the sites with absolutely nothing there – no housing, sanitation, water facility. When we went to these villages, we were kicked out by the local people. They made it very clear that we would not be spared if we set up our homes there”, said Raju bai, one of the displaced residents. Raju came to Dharamsala when she was 16 years old. She got married to another migrant worker. She brought up her children here, all of whom went to school and now work in the city. She is almost 50 today and cannot believe that she has lost her only home.

Surprisingly despite knowing that the resettlement near the proposed sites would face local opposition the Municipal corporation did not attempt any sort of mediation, nor was any effort made to look for alternate sites. Despite the advent of the monsoon, hundreds of families were thrown on the streets to fend for themselves. Close to 115 children from the slum were studying at the government schools and many others in local community schools run in the slum itself which are now demolished. It is appalling that the district authorities have unleashed police power on the evacuees. The police is intimidating not just the displaced community but any independent person attempting to talk to them or provide support. “While we tried to talk to the local people the police harassed us and threatened to detain us if we tried to talk to the people. We were asked to leave the site without any explanation”, said local activists based in Palampur who visited the demolished site today on 20th June.

It is unclear as to why the administration is now interested in clearing out the slum, which has existed for so many years. Dharamsala, which has provided refuge to many a people has suddenly turned its back on its poorest residents who have put their blood and sweat to build the city, its roads and homes. Dharamsala, was recently short listed as a ‘Smart City’ after much lobbying from various quarters in the political establishment. In its bid to become a smart city, it appears that Dharamsala may have to lose some of its soul and humanity.

For more information
Manshi Asher and Sumit Mahar, Himdhara Collective 8988275737

आरएसएस-मुक्त भारतः एक राजनीतिक अभियान की जरूरत

June 22, 2016

रवि नायर, तपन बोस, तीस्ता सीतलवाड़

हाल ही में टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया में खबर छपी थी कि मोदी शासन 1966 के उस कानून को निरस्त करने जा रही है जिसके तहत सरकारी नौकरी में अपनी नियुक्ति के वक्त उम्मीदवार को यह घोषणा करनी पड़ती है कि वे राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ (आरएसएस) या जमात-ए-इस्लामी से किसी भी तरह से जुड़े नहीं हैं।

यह मॉडल गुजरात, छत्तीसगढ़ और मध्यप्रदेश जैसे भाजपा-शासित राज्यों में पहले ही लागू कर दिया गया है जो जमीनी स्तर पर शासन को पूरी तरह विकृत कर चुका है और नागरिक सेवाओं की तटस्थता को बाधित कर रहा है।

आरएसएस संचालित सिविल सर्विस एक सेक्युलर संविधान के तहत काम नहीं कर सकता है। लेकिन 'संविधान की शक्ल को बिना बदले सिर्फ प्रशासन के ढांचे में बदलाव कर, परस्पर विरोधी बना कर और संविधान की आत्मा की मुखालफत कर इसे विकृत कर देना संभव है।'

जबकि संसदीय व्यवस्था एक पेशेवर और राजनीतिक रूप से तटस्थ सिविल सर्विस की बुनियाद पर टिकी होती है। आरएसएस ने अब मौजूदा संवैधानिक नियमों को ताक पर रख दिया है।

इस अभियान की जरूरत

टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक डिपार्टमेंट ऑफ पर्सनल ऐंड ट्रेनिंग अब गृह मंत्रालय से इस बारे में सलाह ले रहा है कि कैसे इस 'अनुचित और बेतुके' नियम को खत्म करने की जरूरत है। इसी संदर्भ में एक वरिष्ठ सरकारी अधिकारी ने यह बताया कि आरएसएस हमेशा से 'एक सांस्कृतिक और गैर-राजनीतिक संगठन' रहा है। दरअसल, यह कानूनों को ताक पर रख देने की सरकारी कवायद का हिस्सा है। इस मसले पर राज्यमंत्री जीतेंद्र सिंह ने कहा कि 'मौजूदा सरकार ने सरकारी नौकरियों में आरएसएस के सदस्यों पर रोक लगाने वाले इस सर्कुलर को जारी नहीं किया है। यह किसी से इस बात की अपेक्षा नहीं करता कि सरकारी सेवा में नियुक्ति के वक्त वह बताए कि वह आरएसएस का सदस्य है या नहीं!'

गौरतलब है कि 1966 में प्रधानमंत्री बनने के बाद इंदिरा गांधी ने यह आदेश जारी किया था, जिसे 1975 और 1980 में दोहराया गया था। तब आरएसएस पर प्रतिबंध आयद था। मौजूदा कवायद इस खबर के बाद सामने आई है कि गोवा में केंद्र सरकार के एक महकमे को अदालत में यह बताने के लिए कहा गया है कि नई नियुक्त वाले आरएसएस से नहीं जुड़े हैं। 1966 के आदेश के मुताबिक आरएसएस या जमात-ए-इस्लामी का सदस्य रहते हुए कोई भी व्यक्ति केंद्र सरकार की किसी नौकरी के लिए योग्य नहीं होगा। हालांकि गोवा में ताजा प्रकरण के सामने आने के बाद साफ हुआ कि इस आदेश पर सख्ती से अमल नहीं हुआ है। हालांकि प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी, गृहमंत्री राजनाथ सिंह और दूसरे कई केंद्रीय मंत्री हमेशा इस पर गर्व महसूस करते रहे हैं कि उनकी पहली वफादारी आरएसएस के लिए है।

कोई इस बात को सुन कर राहत महसूस कर सकता है कि पहले एक आरएसएस प्रचारक, फिर प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने हाल ही में संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका के अपने बहु-प्रचारित भाषण में कहा कि भारतीय संविधान एक पवित्र किताब है। हालांकि फिलहाल वे एक संवैधानिक पद हैं, लेकिन उनका निर्माण राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के साए में हुआ है जो भारतीय संविधान को नफरत की नजर से देखता है।

एमएस गोलवलकर की लिखी एक किताब 'बंच ऑफ थॉट' संघ का एक अहम दस्तावेज है। इसमें भारतीय संविधान में दर्ज भारत की आधुनिक बुनियाद को खारिज किया गया है। गोलवलकर का कहना है, 'वे भूल गए हैं कि यहां पहले से ही हिंदुओं और कई दूसरे समुदायों का एक सशक्त प्राचीन राष्ट्र था, जहां मेहमान के तौर पर यहूदी और पारसी या फिर आक्रमणकारी के रूप में मुसलिम और ईसाई रह रहे थे। उन्होंने कभी इस तरह के सवाल का सामना नहीं किया कि ये तमाम अलग-अलग समुदाय सिर्फ इसलिए कैसे इस धरती के संतान कहे जा सकते थे कि उनका दुश्मन एक था और उसके शासन के तहत वे एक भूभाग में रहते थे।'

सवैधानिक जनादेश के उलट आरएसएस अपने मकसद को लेकर भी बेशर्म है।
“…हमें अब तक यह उपदेश देकर बेवकूफ बनाया जाता रहा है कि हम हिंदू स्वभाव से उदार और सहिष्णु हैं, इसलिए हमें हिंदू राष्ट्रवाद और ऐसे सभी 'सांप्रदायिक', 'मध्ययुगीन' और 'प्रतिगामी' विचारों की बात करके खुद को संकीर्ण नहीं बनाना चाहिए! हमें हर हाल में यह समझना है कि एक स्थापित तथ्य के तौर पर हमारा राष्ट्रवाद एक सच है और हिंदू भारत का राष्ट्रीय समुदाय है। हमारे श्रद्धेय संस्थापक ने इसीलिए हमारे संगठन के लिए 'राष्ट्रीय' शब्द रखना तय किया। हमें एक बार फिर अपनी वास्तविक और पूरे कद के साथ खड़े होना है और पूरी ताकत के साथ यह बताना है कि हम महिमा और सम्मान के शिखर पर पहुंचने के लिए भारत में हिदू ऱाष्ट्रीय जीवन को फिर से वहीं ऊंचाई देंगे जो शुरुआती सुनहरे और धवल दिनों से लेकर अब तक इसका जन्मसिद्ध अधिकार रहा है। (पेज 127, बंच ऑफ थॉट, एमएस गोलवलकर.)

अहम बात यह है कि भारत के पहले गृहमंत्री वल्लभ भाई पटेल ने 27 अप्रैल, 1948 को प्रधानमंत्री जवाहरलाल नेहरू को लिखे एक पत्र में कहा था- “शायद ही इस बात पर जोर देकर कहने की जरूरत है कि एक लोकतांत्रिक शासन और इससे भी ज्यादा एक तानाशाही राज में भी एक कुशल, अनुशासित और आपस में जुड़ी हुई सेवाएं एक अनिवार्य शर्त हैं। ये सेवाएं हर हाल में पार्टी से ऊपर होनी चाहिए और हमें यह सुनिश्चित करना चाहिए कि राजनीतिक विचार को अगर पूरी तरह खत्म नहीं करते हैं तो घटा कर न्यूनतम कर दिया जाए, चाहें वे भर्तियों में हों या फिर अनुशासित और नियंत्रित हों।”

आरएसएस के हाथों संचालित नागरिक सेवाएं एक सेक्युलर संविधान के साथ काम नहीं कर सकतीं। उनकी निगाह में- "यह बिल्कुल संभव है कि संविधान के स्वरूप में कोई बदलाव लाए बिना, लेकिन संविधान की आत्मा के खिलाफ प्रशासन के स्वरूप में बदलाव लाकर और लागू कर संविधान को विकृत कर दिया जाए।

सिविल सेवाओं की तटस्थता पर गंभीर असर डालने वाली इस कवायद के मद्देनजर संवैधानिक अधिकारों को बनाए रखने के लिए एक मंच की शुरुआत की गई है। हम इस अभियान में शामिल होने के लिए आप सबको न्योता देते हैं।

जन-जागरूकता के लिए अंग्रेजी और हिंदी में तैयार सूचना पत्र की शृंखला की यह पहली कड़ी है। अगर आप इसे दूसरी भाषाओं में अनुवाद करना चाहते हैं तो कृपया इस पते पर संपर्क करें-
platform.constirights@gmail.com, sabrangind@gmail.com

सूचना पत्र नंबर- 1
आरएसएस-मुक्त भारत का निर्माण
बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार ने आरएसएस-मुक्त भारत का बिल्कुल सही आह्वान किया है। इसे केवल एक नारा और उम्मीद तक सीमित नहीं रहना चाहिए। शृंखला के इस पहले सूचना-पत्र में यह विचार पेश है कि संघ-मुक्त भारत के निर्माण के लिए गैर-भाजपा शासित राज्यों को सरकारी नीतियों के स्तर पर क्या करना चाहिए। इसके बाद यह बात आगे बढ़ेगी कि एक नागरिक के स्तर पर आप क्या कर सकते हैं।

आरएसएस-मुक्त भारत के लिए अभियान
1947 से लेकर आज तक माओवादियों और कुछ मुसलिम राजनीतिक संगठनों के अपवाद के अलावा यहां कोई और राजनीतिक धारा नहीं रही है जिसने प्रत्यक्ष या परोक्ष रूप से कुछ बिंदुओं पर आरएसएस के साथ संवाद नहीं किया। यह कहने की जरूरत है कि राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ की मदद करने के मामले में बहुत कम ऐसे रहे, जिनके हाथ साफ रहे और जाने-अनजाने इसके सामने दिखने वाले संगठनों का जाल फैलता रहा। और अब यह छिपा हुआ शैतान परदे के पीछे से भारत को चला रहा है। वे भारत को हिंदुत्ववादी तानाशाही देश बनाने की ओर ले जा रहे हैं। अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्तर पर इसका सबसे अच्छा उदाहरण एक गुप्त रह कर काम करने वाला श्वेत नस्लवादी संगठन अफ्रीकानेर-ब्रॉयडरबॉन्ड है जो अफ्रीका में 1918 से ही श्वेत नस्लवादी राजनीतिक गतिविधियां चला रहा है।

एक सामान्य हिंदू को यह बताने की जरूरत है कि हिंदू होने और उस हिंदुत्व में क्या फर्क है जो आरएसएस परोसना और छल से उसका घालमेल करना चाहता है। लोकतांत्रिक मूल्यों के खिलाफ उनके विरोध का जाल ठीक वैसा ही है जैसे वाइमार गणतंत्र और संविधान के प्रति एडोल्फ हिटलर का था।

यह एक संगठन के झूठ के इतिहास को सामने रखने की कोई कोशिश नहीं है, जो महात्मा गांधी की हत्या के बाद से ही सारी दुनिया जानती रही है। ये सूचना-पत्र उन लोगों की ओर से एक ठोस लड़ाई की शुरुआत करने के लिए रोड-मैप मुहैया कराने की कोशिश है जो 1950 में लागू हुए भारत के संविधान में भरोसा रखते हैं और इसे बचाने के लिए कुछ भी करने को तैयार हैं।

केंद्र, राज्य सरकारों और उनके महकमों को क्या करना चाहिए?
गैर-भारतीय जनता पार्टी शासित सभी राज्य सरकारों को केंद्रीय सिविल सेवाएं (आचरण) नियमावली यानी द सेंट्रल सिविल सर्विस (कंडक्ट) रूल्स, 1964 को सख्ती से लागू करना चाहिए। इस नियम साफ कहा गया है-

“(12) आरएसएस और जमात-ए-इस्लामी संगठनों की गतिविधियों में सरकारी कर्मचारियों का भाग लेनाः
वित्त मंत्रालय आदि का ध्यान केंद्रीय सिविल सेवाएं (आचरण) नियमावली, 1964 के नियम 5 के उपनियम (1) के उपबंधों की ओर आकर्षित किया जाता है, जिसके अनुसार कोई भी सरकारी कर्मचारी किसी भी राजनीतिक दल या राजनीति में भाग लेने वाले किसी राजनीतिक संगठन का सदस्य नहीं बन सकता। या उससे अन्यथा संबंध नहीं रख सकता या वह किसी राजनीतिक आंदोलन या गतिविधि में भाग नहीं ले सकता या उसकी सहातार्थ चंदा नहीं दे सकता या अन्य किसी भी प्रकार से उसकी सहायता नहीं कर सकता।

2. सरकारी कर्मचारियों के राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ और जमात-ए-इस्लामी का सदस्य बनने और इनकी गतिविधियों में भाग लेने के संबंध में कुछ संदेह व्यक्त किए गए हैं। इसलिए यहां स्पष्ट किया जाता है कि सरकार ने इन दोनों ही संगठनों की गतिविधियों को हमेशा ही एक-सा माना है कि यदि सरकारी कर्मचारी इनमें भाग लेंगे तो उन पर केंद्रीय सिविल सेवाएं (आचरण) नियमावली, 1964 के नियम 5 के उपनियम (1) के उपबंध लागू होंगे। इसलिए कोई भी सरकारी कर्मचारी यदि उक्त संगठनों का सदस्य बनेगा या अन्यथा उसकी गतिविधियों से संबंध रखेगा तो उसके खिलाफ अनुशासनिक कार्रवाई की जा सकेगी।

(गृह मंत्रालय का तारीख 30.11.1966 का का. ज्ञा. संख्या 3/10/(एस)/66-स्थापना (क) )

(12 क) उपरोक्त निर्णय (12) के संदर्भ में, अनुरोध है कि:
(क) इसके उपबंधों के संबंध में सभी सरकारी कर्मचारियों को दोबारा सूचना दी जाए, तथा
(ख) यदि किसी सरकारी कर्मचारी के बारे में मालूम हो कि उसने उपर्युक्त अनुदेशों का उल्लंघन किया है तो उसके विरुद्ध अवश्य कार्रवाई की जानी चाहिए।
(गृह मंत्रालय का तारीख 25 जुलाई, 1970 का का.ज्ञा. संख्या 7/4/70-स्थापना (ख) )

(12 ख) विभिन्न मंत्रालयों का ध्यान इस मंत्रालय के दिनांक 30 नवम्बर, 1966 के कार्यालय ज्ञापन संख्या 3/10 (एस)/66- स्थापना (ख) की ओर भी आकर्षित किया जाता है, जिसमें यह स्पष्ट कर दिया गया था कि सरकार ने सदा ही राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ और जमात-ए-इस्लामी दोनों ही की गतिविधियों को ऐसे स्वरूप का माना है जिनमें सरकारी कर्मचारियों द्वारा भाग लिए जाने पर केंद्रीय सिविल सेवाएं (आचरण) नियमावली, 1964 के नियम 5 के उपनियम (1) के उपबंध लागू होंगे और ऐसा कोई भी सरकारी कर्मचारी, जो उपर्युक्त संगठनों का सदस्य है अथवा उनकी गतिविधियों में किसी दूसरे तरीके से संबद्ध है, अनुशासनिक कार्रवाई का भागी होगा।

2. देश में विद्यमान स्थिति के प्रसंग में, सरकारी कर्मचारियों के लिए धर्मनिरपेक्ष दृष्टिकोण को दृढ़ करने की आवश्यकता सर्वाधिक महत्वपूर्ण कार्य है। इस बात पर अधिक बल दिए जाने की आवश्यकता है कि सांप्रदायिक भावनाओं और सांप्रदायिक पूर्वाग्रहों का मूलोच्छेदन किया जाना चाहिए।

3. सरकार और इसके अधिकारियों, स्थानीय निकायों, राज्य सहायता प्राप्त संस्थाओं द्वारा सांप्रदायिक आधार वाली याचिकाओं या अभ्यावेदनों पर कोई ध्यान नहीं दिया जाना चाहिए और किसी भी सांप्रदायिक संगठन को किसी तरह का संरक्षण नहीं दिया जाना चाहिए।

4. अतः वित्त मंत्रालय आदि से अनुरोध है कि वह इस विषय पर पैरा-1 में उपर्युक्त उपबंधों को अपने अधीन कार्यरत सभी सरकारी कर्मचारियों के ध्यान में एक बार विशेष रूप से फिर ला दें। इस बात पर जोर दिया जाता है कि इन अनुदेशों की किसी अवहेलना को गंभीर अनुशासनहीनता से भरा कार्य समझा जाए और दोषी कर्मचारियों के विरुद्ध उपयुक्त कार्रवाई शुरू की जाए।
(कार्मिक और प्रशासनिक सुधार विभाग का तारीख 28 अक्तूबर, 1980 का कार्यालय ज्ञापन संख्या 15014/3/एस/80-स्थापना (ख))

केंद्र सरकार के स्तर पर, भारत सरकार के सभी सचिव अपने संवैधानिक शपथ के मुताबिक केंद्रीय सिविल सेवा (आचरण) नियमावली को लागू करने के लिए बाध्य हैं।
लेकिन छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार ने अपने हिंदुत्व के एजेंडे को आगे बढ़ाने के मकसद से पहले ही यह अधिसूचना जारी कर अपने कर्मचारियों को आरएसएस का सदस्य बनने और इसकी शाखाओं में शामिल होने की इजाजत दे दी है। यह आदेश 23 फरवरी, 2015 को जारी हुआ था। अधिसूचना में कहा गया है कि जहां तक छत्तीसगढ़ सिविल सेवा (आचरण) नियमावली, 1965 के उपबंध 5 (1) का सवाल है, इसमें उल्लिखित प्रतिबंध आरएसएस के संबंध में लागू नहीं होंगे।

सन 2002 में केंद्र में एनडीए सरकार के दौरान गुजरात के तत्कालीन मुख्यमंत्री केशुभाई पटेल ने सरकारी कर्मचारियों को राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ की गतिविधियों में भाग लेने पर लगे प्रतिबंध को उठा लिया।
हिमाचल प्रदेश और मध्यप्रदेश की राज्य सरकारों ने इसी आशय की अधिसूचना क्रमशः सन 2004 और 2006 में जारी की। अब कांग्रेस पार्टी को यह सुनिश्चित करना चाहिए कि शिमला में उनकी पार्टी की वर्तमान सरकार पूर्ववर्ती भाजपा सरकार के उपर्युक्त आदेश को हर हाल में रद्द करे।

भाजपा द्वारा संघ को एक गैरराजनीतिक और सांस्कृतिक संगठन के तौर पर पेश करने की कोशिश हास्यास्पद है। संघ चुनावी प्रक्रियाओं में सीधे तौर पर भाग लेता है। वह संगठनात्मक कार्यों के लिए अपने प्रचारकों को भाजपा में भेजता है। ये प्रचारक संघ के साथ अपने रिश्ते बरकरार रखते हैं और संघ और भाजपा के बीच एक कड़ी का काम करते हैं। नरेंद्र मोदी, नितिन गडकरी और राजनाथ समेत कई अन्य संघ के प्रचारक ही रहे हैं।

भाजपा के मामले में, खासकर पार्टी के पदाधिकारियों और चुनाव में उम्मीदवार तय करने में संघ की इच्छा अंतिम मानी जाती है। संघ के नेता चुनाव सभाओं में सीधे तौर पर भाग नहीं लेते हैं, लेकिन परदे के पीछे मौजूद जरूर रहते हैं। संघ के प्रचारक भाजपा के चुनावी प्रचार तंत्र में होते हैं। यही नहीं, संघ के नेतागण राजनीतिक मुद्दों पर नियमित रूप से अपने विचार जाहिर करते रहते हैं।

केंद्रीय सिविल सेवा (आचरण) नियमावली में दर्ज प्रतिबंधों का मकसद प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों को राजनीतिक संगठनों और कार्यों में संलग्न होने से रोकना था। बेशक प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों को मतदान में भाग लेने, राजनीतिक दलों द्वारा आयोजित जनसभाओं में जाने और राजनीतिकों का भाषण सुनने की खुली छूट है। मगर सन 1969 में केंद्र सरकार ने स्पष्ट किया था कि केंद्रीय सिविल सेवा (आचरण) नियमावली यह सुनिश्चित करने के लिए जरूरी है कि सरकारी सेवक राजनीतिक रूप से न सिर्फ तटस्थ रहें, बल्कि ऐसा करते हुए दिखें भी। यह भी सुनिश्चित हो कि वे ऐसे किसी भी संगठन से न जुड़ें और उसकी किसी भी वैसी गतिविधियों में भाग न लें, जिसके जरा-सा भी राजनीतिक होने की संभावना हो।

सन 1980 में केंद्र सरकार ने प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों को आरएसएस और जमात-ए-इस्लामी की गतिविधियों में भाग न लेने देने के अपने निर्णय को दोहराया। सरकार ने कहा कि 'देश के वर्तमान हालात के मद्देनजर प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों के धर्मनिरपेक्ष चरित्र को सुनिश्चित करना सबसे ज्यादा जरूरी है। सांप्रदायिक भावनाओं और पूर्वाग्रहों के उन्मूलन की जरूरत को अनदेखा नहीं किया जा सकता।'
27 अप्रैल, 1948 को जवाहरलाल नेहरू को भेजे गए एक पत्र में वल्लभ भाई पटेल ने लिखा- 'मुझे एक योग्य, अनुशासित और संतुष्ट सेवा की जरूरत के बारे में ज्यादा कहने की जरूरत नहीं है, क्योंकि इसका महत्त्व एक निरंकुश शासन के मुकाबले एक लोकतांत्रिक व्यवस्था में ज्यादा है। इस किस्म की सेवा दलीय निष्ठा से हर हाल में परे हो।' और हमें यह सुनिश्चत करना चाहिए कि इसकी नियुक्ति प्रक्रिया, इसके अनुशासन और नियंत्रण के मामले में राजनीतिक आकांक्षाएं अगर पूरी तरह खत्म न की जा सकें, तो कम से कम हों।'

आरएसएस संचालित सिविल सेवा एक सेक्युलर संविधान के तहत काम नहीं कर सकती है। लेकिन 'संविधान की शक्ल को बिना बदले सिर्फ प्रशासन के ढांचे में बदलाव कर, परस्पर विरोधी बना कर और संविधान की आत्मा की मुखालफत कर इसे विकृत कर देना संभव है।' लोकतांत्रिक व्यवस्था एक पेशेवर और राजनीतिक तौर पर तटस्थ सिविल सेवा पर आधारित है। जबकि संघ वर्तमान संवैधानिक व्यवस्था को कमजोर करने के अभियान में लगा हुआ है।

सन 2000 में उत्तर प्रदेश के पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री कल्याण सिंह ने कहा था- 'मैंने अपने जीवन का एक बड़ा हिस्सा (संघ में) बिताया है। और मैं बता सकता हूं कि भाजपा में टिकट बांटने से लेकर कैबिनेट मंत्री चुने जाने तक, सब कुछ संघ तय करता है। इसके अलावा, राजनीतिक गतिविधि और क्या होती है..!'

तो अब क्या किया जाए?
सभी गैर-भाजपा सरकारें यह सुनिश्चत करें कि सभी विभागों के सभी कर्मचारी अपने कार्यस्थल पर एक आमसभा में सार्वजनिक रूप से यह शपथ लें कि उनकी निष्ठा सिर्फ भारत के वर्तमान संविधान के प्रति है। ऐसा हर एक कर्मचारी से लिखित शपथ पर हस्ताक्षर करवा भी किया जा सकता है। अनुरोध करने पर ऐसी प्रतिज्ञा का प्रारूप उपलब्ध है।

सभी राज्य सरकारों के सभी महकमे राज्य के मुख्यमंत्री के सामने इस आशय की रिपोर्ट जरूर पेश करें कि राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ से जुड़े विभिन्न संगठनों को राजकीय कोषागार से कितनी सब्सिडी या अनुदान मिलता है। इन सूचनाओं को सार्वजनिक वेबसाइटों पर उपलब्ध कराया जाना चाहिए और इस किस्म की वित्तीय सहायता को रोकने के लिए तत्काल कदम उठाने चाहिए।

मुख्यमंत्री सचिवालय में एक नोडल अधिकारी की नियुक्ति की जाए जो किसी सरकारी अधिकारी के संघ की शाखाओं में जाने या संघ के अन्य संगठनों की गतिविधियों में भाग लेने की जन-शिकायतों पर गौर करे। इस किस्म के सरकारी अधिकारियों तत्काल निलंबित करते हुए उसके खिलाफ केंद्रीय सेवा नियमावली के अनुरूप कड़ी कार्रवाई की जाए।

राज्यों में शिक्षा विभाग प्रसिद्ध शिक्षाविदों की एक समिति का गठन करे जो सरकारी स्कूलों और सरकारी सहायता प्राप्त स्कूलों के पाठ्य-पुस्तकों और अन्य पाठ्य सामग्रियों की समीक्षा करे और उनमें सांप्रदायिक और अलगाव की भावना पैदा करने वाली सामग्रियों को हटाए।

पेशेवर कानूनी जानकारों का एक पैनल बने जो भारतीय दंड संहिता की धारा 153 (ए) के अनुरूप इस किस्म के उल्लंघनों की सूचना मिलने के नब्बे दिनों के भीतर आरोप-पत्र दाखिल करे।
हर राज्य में इस तरह के मामलों की सुनवाई के लिए विशेष न्यायालयों का गठन किया जाए। सुनवाई दैनिक आधार पर हो और किसी भी सूरत में कोई स्थगनादेश न दिया जाए।
सभी राज्य सरकारें शस्त्र अधिनियम, 1959 की धारा (2) की उप-धारा (सी) को सख्ती से लागू करें और संघ और बजरंग दल जैसे उनके अन्य संगठनों द्वारा लाठी, चाकू, तलवार का सार्वजनिक प्रदर्शन और हर साल विजयादशमी पर शस्त्रों के इस तरह सरेआम पूजन को प्रतिबंधित करें। जिलाधिकारियों को भारतीय दंड संहिता की धारा (141) और धारा (148) का सहारा लेना चाहिए।
——————

हम इस पर अन्य सुझावों का स्वागत करते हैं।
Ravi Nair, Tapan Bose, platform.constirights@gmail.com
Teesta Setalvad, teestateesta@gmail.com
Dr Sunilam, samajwadisunilam@gmail.com

Why was Madkam Hidme allegedly raped and killed by Chhattisgarh police: Himanshu Kumar’s Video

June 22, 2016

Watch Gandhian activist Himanshu Kumar explaining the motives and methods behind the alleged killing of innocent young adivasi woman named Madkam Hidme in Chhattisgarh.
Video by: Amirtharaj Stephen

Why Has the Audience Gone “Wild”?

June 22, 2016

Celebrated Marathi playwright Jayant Pawar reviews Sairat, the critically acclaimed blockbuster that talks of love, caste and honour killings.

Yesterday I performed a social duty. I watched Nagraj Manjule’s Sairat [English: Wild]. Every once in a while, I miss an important film. No one quite holds you up to it. But since Sairat’s release, everybody around me has been asking, “Did you watch Sairatyet?” The tone implies that watching this film is a duty. I performed it yesterday.

I watched it at a suburban multiplex. The theatre was half-empty, and there wasn’t a crowd enjoying the tunes from the film’s hit soundtrack. So I could watch the film properly. There were a few non-Marathi speakers in the audience. The Marathi speakers were responding well, unwittingly commending its script with giggles, snickering, smiles and nudges, all at the right time. Some left the theatre with tears. A lot has been written about this movie on the social media, particularly its ending, to the point that the shock element has been blunted. But as the end of the movie approached I felt like that man who sees his imminent end. In the film Madras Cafe, just before the blast, the bomb-clad terrorist is dressed up in her final attire. The director mutes all sound. On display is a cruel ceremony, a bride being dressed up to leave home forever. Sairat’s ending stirs up a similar emotion. I wasn’t taken aback by the ending, unlike the early watchers; but it did suffocate me.

With all its flaws and its merits, I liked the movie. The flaws exceeded the merits though. At first I was perplexed about why it would be the biggest ever blockbuster in the history of Marathi cinema. After all, an overstretched plot and a dispersed focus are major artistic impediments that ail this film. In this day and age of diminishing attention spans, a feature’s three-hour length should worry its makers. Yet the viewers watched it, enjoyed it and experienced it fully. This is nothing short of a miracle. But it cannot be dismissed as a mere marketing miracle. Nor can the brand value of a director drive such a feat. When a regional film breaks all collection records and grows across length and breadth, its popularity spreading wild, the reasons for its success and its implications become crucial. The implications of Sairat‘s success need a thorough examination, and from a variety of angles. The secret to Sairat’s success, I believe, lies not within the artefact, but without. I contend that we cannot find answers within the scope of the craft. In fact, what we will find through such a limited investigation would be deceptive. On the other hand, looking at what the success reveals, about the changing tastes and sensibilities of a huge section of society, is critical.

Of course Sairat has several noteworthy features. One of them is the absence of a contrived, scripted dialogue. It stands out as realistic and spontaneous. It is chitter-chatter, ambiguous and in its very nature, bahujan. Bahujan – that militant demonym coined by the visionary 19th-century social revolutionary Jotirao Phule to denote the vast majority of the Indian population that Manu’s caste order relegated as inferior to the “twice-born”. The language Sairat’s characters speak demolishes the grammar of the standardised dialect. Sentence structures militate against strict logic. Equally remarkable are its character sketches, particularly those of the male protagonist’s two friends — Pradeep a.k.a “Langdya” [Tanaji Galgunde] and Salim a.k.a. “Sallya” [Arbaz Shaikh]. The limping, bowlegged Pradeep is a superb character. Tanaji Galgunde, who plays Pradeep, is outstanding. In a number of scenes “Langdya” is conspicuously juxtaposed on the screen by various men with assorted physical deformities.

The pervasiveness of such symbols of disabilities of ordinary, poor people and their helplessness is prominently on display. The movie also moves increasingly from fantasy to reality. But even the fairytale romance of its two lovers is in the firm grip of the reality of rural life. The nakedness of caste in rural life is not hidden. When the Patil’s brat slaps his dalit teacher in the classroom, his Maratha father’s reaction betrays a certain pride and admiration. Later in the film, this same teacher has the following advice for the male protagonist: “Didn’t you sleep with the Patil’s daughter? Well, now leave her. This is what they do anyway.”

Such clear, caste-ridden references are, perhaps, gratifying to the audience. The film thus strikes a closer resemblance to the romantic lives of young women and men who live in the shadows of deprivation. It caresses that sense of romanticism and heroism in their lives. To date, quite a few “hero-heroines” on screen have appealed to the youth. This is different. The Parshyas, the Archies, the Sallus, the Langdyas are present in the audience and they are seeing themselves on the screen. Their environment is just as violent, heartless, deprived. It is here, in this very environment, that they seek reassurance. Sairat provides it, by picturing both their fantasies and their reality. But it also unpacks a picture of the future. The everyday lives of young men and women are presented for us in the form of a three-hour capsule.

The film is laden with bahujan culture. It resonates with the majority which can hear itself in it. It has its own aesthetics. This might seem false, fabricated and flat to the elite, or to those trained in elite understanding of Art. This film also does not have a definitive or well-formed shape. It flows organically. But it does have its own pace and its own nature.

The bajuhan youth that comes to watch this film have entered every small and big cinema theatre across the state. They have danced to its musical numbers. We can now go to a fancy urban theatre and dance, standing on its seats. There are none of those high-born types there anymore. The crowd resembles us now. Never mind the flip-flops, we shall dance full-on. This is a unique confidence that this movie has conferred upon the young. This picture shows their face and speaks their tongue. This inadvertent realisation has driven them wild. It is factors like these that operate covertly behind the success of Sairat. Its success has less to do with its art per se, and more to do with the social-scientific factors within and without.

What Sairat’s massive achievements mean, though, is that henceforth the responsibilities of, and exceptions from bahujan art, have augmented. It is clear now that the neat compartmentalised plots of older films might have been convenient; but beyond sanitising reality, they achieved little. People will now expect frank and explicit depiction of caste realities. It is no longer just an artistic element; it will be a demand, a need. This reality, unfortunately, is very complex. Films can no longer resort to the lazy, hackneyed and over-simplified equation of caste reality with the “Villainy of the Patil”. Khwada and Sairat might have offended a small section of Marathas, but such caste pride will also be of little use. Just as criticism of Brahmins has to be borne and tolerated by a progressive and sensible section of Brahmins, the Marathas too shall have to deal with criticism. There is no alternative. They will have to engage with it, attenuate their snobbery, and reform themselves towards a common progressive future. At the same time, other castes cannot assume the status of the oppressed. There are oppressors in those castes too. There are oppressors in all castes. Each caste looks down on those below it in the hierarchy. Particularly when it comes to matrimonial alliances, caste-conscious human beings metamorphose into ravenous beasts. Honour killings happen within every caste and there are innumerable examples of these from Maharashtra. Patriarchy afflicts every caste – the most oppressed castes included.

The woman of the “lowest caste” is thus the most oppressed human being. Bahujan artists who aim to confront reality will have to bravely face the layered complexities of caste oppression. The members of any caste, high or low, motivated by pride and identity will not think twice before trying to gag the voice of a work ostensibly critical of them. But the bahujan artist will have to take on, and struggle against, this kind of censorship. Sairat has not taken on this challenge. But it has cleared the way for future projects of this type. It is easy to expose the other who oppresses you. It is far more difficult to show – or even watch – how you oppress your kind. But that is the key to invoke humanity.

Translated from Marathi by Siddharth Adelkar from a review first published in the Maharashtra Times

Courtesy: indianculturalforum.in

Indian Intelligence Agencies: Unchecked Accountability

June 21, 2016

Spooks have a Field Day, Supreme Court Squashes Accountability for IB

On the August 19, 2015, the Central Government informed the Supreme Court of India that there was an "enormous amount of control" over the working of the intelligence agencies, including their finances, by the government."There is an enormous amount of control over the working of the intelligence agencies. A parliamentary sub-committee (looks) into their working and tables report in parliament which are not published," Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narasimha told the bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra.”ASG Narasimha is reported to have said the accounts of the intelligence agencies were audited.[i]

The Center for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) had sought Parliamentary control of Intelligence Agencies and fiscal oversight through the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). Subsequently, on February 23, 2016, the court dismissed the petition filed by the CPIL.

According to media reports the court observed, “We do not think the court should entertain such kinds of petitions which deal with security of the country," a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh said. The media report further reported the bench as saying, "We are not inclined to entertain this petition…Trying to get into the domain of intelligence may create dent in national security."

It rejected the plea of Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO CPIL which has filed the PIL, claiming that in most advanced democracies like the UK and the USA, such agencies are accountable to parliamentary panels as they spend tax- payers' monies. No detailed reasoning was provided by the court.

"What they do in the United Kingdom, we cannot practice in India," the bench said, adding "They (Centre and Parliament) must be having some measures. It cannot be said that they do not have any mechanism. You need not legislate on all issues. You need to have some kind of caution also, otherwise, the very purpose will be lost."The bench said that irrespective of nature of the PIL, any plea that may dent national security should not be entertained by courts."As a student of History, Law and Literature, I do not think any court should enter into this territory," Justice Misra, heading the bench, added.[ii]

A careful look at the Parliament of India website as well as the website of the union home ministry reveals that neither have any mention of an extant subcommittee of Parliament on the subject.

The United States has a system of judicial authorisation, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). While the FISC has authorized on individual basis targeted surveillance within the US since 1978, it has had a more limited, supervisory, role to play in strategic surveillance.

Under Section 215 FISA, the Government must apply for a warrant before a judge of the 15-member the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The FISC approves both the “Primary Order” authorising the overall program and “Secondary Orders” which require individual phone companies to provide information to the NSA. Every order is subject to renewal every 90 days.

The FISA court process for considering applications may include a hearing, and FISC judges have the authority to take testimony from government employees familiar with the technical details of an application. If issued, a warrant requires a telecommunications provider to furnish information to the NSA on a periodic basis.

In Sweden, a Defence Intelligence Court was established (Försvarsunderrättelsedomstolen or UNDOM) together with a control and monitoring body, the Defence Intelligence Inspection (Statens inspektion för försvarsunder-rättelseverksamheten or SIUN). UNDOM consists of two former senior judges and six lay members (mainly former politicians, from several different political parties).

The judges are appointed by the government after an open recruitment process in the Judicial Council. The former politicians are appointed by the government after consultations between the parties represented in the parliament. UNDOM is thus a hybrid body. It is assisted by a small registry.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is not known either for intelligence or accountability. Take the premature obituary of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan as an example of the numerous blunders by our friends in the Intelligence Bureau- a slip that left the then Janata Government red-faced, with Prime Minister Morarji Desai having to issue an unqualified apology. The Lok Nayak reportedly took it in good humour. But it doesn’t stop there

In Canada, the Federal Court of Canada exerts oversight over the intelligence community. For example, in Canada, to obtain a warrant to intercept telephone communications there is a rigorous process where internal approval is initially sought from senior members of the agency and final approval must be given by the judiciary. The United Kingdom put in a statutory framework in 1989 for MI 5 and for MI 6 in 1994 respectively. Israel put in its statutory control mechanism in 2002. Australia and New Zealand too have their own Acts.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is not known either for intelligence or accountability. Take the premature obituary of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan as an example of the numerous blunders by our friends in the Intelligence Bureau- a slip that left the then Janata Government red-faced, with Prime Minister Morarji Desai having to issue an unqualified apology. The Lok Nayak reportedly took it in good humour. But it doesn’t stop there.

In the nineties of the last century , I.B. cooked up a fantasy spy ring indicting two of ISRO’s scientists of being spies and tortured them to obtain ‘confessions’. It reportedly delayed India’s development of cryogenic engines. The CBI in 1996 in a classified report indicted the IB chief in Kerala and nine other senior officers in this botched fiction. [iii]

Not to mention their role in the Ishrat Jahan case, with charge-sheets pending against four I.B. members.[iv]

It is not certain if the Bench was made aware of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit’s alleged involvement in the 2008 bomb blasts in Malegaon, Maharashtra. Col Purohit was an officer of Military Intelligence. And the less said about Kargil the better.

Further, Gopal Subramanian’s confirmation to the bench by the collegium was vitiated by reports submitted to it by the CBI and the IB (two of his former clients). It is rather amusing that in the reports submitted, the CBI and the IB cited ‘personality oddities’ and ‘corporate links’[v]as reasons for red-flagging Mr Subramanium.

In any event, if there is an adverse report regarding a potential candidate for judgeship of any of the superior courts, ought he/she not be given a chance to defend him/herself? In this regard, India needs to learn from the United States. For appointments to the senior judiciary, a nominee needs to undergo a rigorous procedure of vetting in the US Senate by the Senate Judiciary Committee before the Senate gets to vote. Personal prejudices denied Justice A P Shah a place on the Supreme Court.

For all the good fiction that the IB produces, it has had to face little criticism from those in power (executive or judiciary, regardless). It is no surprise, of course. Who doesn’t like a good story? With all the scholars of literature, law and history on and off the bench to gobble up the fiction, one wonders if democracy and accountability have a chance in India that is Bharat.

A reading of Benjamin Franklin all around would have been instructive.“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

(The author is a renowned analyist of human rights jurisprudence and can be reached on ravinairsahrdc@gmail.com)

[i]http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Intelligence-agencies-cant-be-subject-to-CAG-audit-Centre-to-SC/articleshow/48550409.cms
[ii] http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-putting-ib-raw-and-other-intel-agencies-under-judicial-scrutiny-may-dent-national-security-supreme-court-2181471
[iii]http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/ib-imagined-spy-ring-cbi/205531
[iv]http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/headleys-testimony-on-ishrat-jahan-is-like-kbc/20160211.htm
[v]http://www.firstpost.com/politics/cbi-ib-hypocrisy-gopal-subramanium-was-their-top-choice-for-criminal-cases-1589631.html

Fascism Knocks at India’s Door

June 21, 2016

From persistent efforts to cut the judiciary’s independence to size, to the manner in which RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan was targeted through a sleazy media campaign, not to mention an attack on free thought and Indian institutions, the signs are clearly there for all to see. We ignore these at our peril

Image: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Namo-Nazi/

Fascism is an ideology with typical characteristics and fanatic follower’s .Its chief characteristic is to make every organ of the State subservient to the Leader and to totally regulate the life of every citizen.

Hitler and Mussolini were its incarnations in the last century .Their inhuman acts and the end to which they brought their nations are well known facts of history.

Though the 21st century is very different from 1930s, and fascism in its 1930's form may not flourish, a fascist State in its modified form is still possible. India is under its serious threat.

For example, Narendra Modi is now the only leader of the BJP and its government .All other leaders of the party who devoted their whole life to the party have been reduced to non-entities. L.K.Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and the rest are nursing their humiliating wounds in silence. Rajnath Singh, a former president of the BJP has been reduced to nothingness as India's Home Minister. Nitin Gadkari, another ex-president of the BJP counts for nothing in the current dispensation. Sushma Swaraj, once an aspirant for the post of prime minister, is doing, at best, a house keeping job in the Ministry of External Affairs while it is Modi that performs as the de facto Minister of External Affairs for India.

Like a hyena feeding on the kill of bigger animals, Arun Jaitley is feeding off on Modi's kill. Like an archetypical fascist leader, Modi has surrounded himself by non-entities like Smriti Irani to project himself as a giant among the pigmies.

Like all fascists , he is systematically engaged in destroying the autonomy of all constitutional bodies and autonomous institutions .When two names were recommended by the Collegium for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court, he notified the name of one (Mr Nariman ) and withheld Mr Gopal Subramanian’s name. Such selective action was unprecedented. Mr Subramaniam withdrew his name out of disgust because –in typical fascist style — a campaign for his character assassination was launched.

Through this, one independent judge was prevented from reaching the apex court. Later, the Constitution was amended to give the power to appoint judges of higher courts to a National Judicial Appointment Commission with the Union Law Minister as one of its members .It was so formed as to make sure that nobody could be appointed as a High Court or Supreme Court judge who did not find favour with the government .

The sinister design is implicit; fill the higher judiciary with pliant and servile judges. Now that the National Judicial Appointment Commission was declared unconstitutional by the apex court, Modi is still trying to have the last word on appointments through unconstitutional provisions in the memorandum of procedure, which are being resisted by the judiciary leading to a confrontation with the Executive. Other political parties, too, are sympathetic to his move because they, too, have skeletons in their cupboards and want an amenable and manageable judiciary.

Universities and free students' organisations have been under a two pronged attack .The motive is to foist persons loyal to the Sangh's ideology ready to toe their line on the educational institutions and the other is to suppress freedom of thought of students and academia, on the campus.

A student organisation loyal to Ambedkar's ideology was banned in MIT, Madras, students at Hyderabad Central University were suppressed and victimised and almost a war was declared on JNU. A typically fascist tactic is employed to suppress students’s organisations and their activities. A conflict is engineered on the campus by employing the services of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (AVBP).

The technique is simple, the ABVP, a student’s wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), lodges a complaint with the authorities who then use their administrative power to suppress other students' organizations using police force, and their goons, if necessary. These fascist practices have been in evidence almost everywhere where there has been trouble on the campus (es).

Fascists perceive every independent person and institution as a thorn in their flesh. The RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan was a thorn which hurt Jaitley's ego more than his flesh. He is intellectually far superior to Jaitley, the lawyer and Modi, the Pracharak, whose small egoes were bruised by his intellectual superiority.

The government had the power to remove him and they would have been within their right to sack him or to let him complete his term and part gracefully, but they chose to set Subramaniam Swamy to heap insults on him through the media to satisfy their meanness. Rajan has now declared that he would be returning to the academics in the US after completing his term.

Fascists create an enemy to attack, viscerally, to divert people's attention from their continued and daily exploitation, suppression and misery and to, insidiously, justify their inhuman acts. Hitler projected German citizens of Jewish origin as the enemies of the fatherland (motherland, Bharatmata, here) and targeted and destroyed them. Modi has chosen the minorities, especially the Muslims, for this purpose.

While he himself keeps mum, his Ministers and members of parliament (MPS) act as the shameful firing squads, brazenly public in their minority bashing. Muslims are potrayed as disloyal Indians without any basis. They are projected as a threat to Hindus, who constitute 80% of
India's population, which is ridiculous.

This anti-Muslim tirade in different forms continues to be pursued with venom, rancour and a sinister design .The unfounded fear of a rising Muslim population, ordering Muslims to go to Pakistan at the drop of a hat, exhorting Hindu women to produce at least four children each, declaration of dates by which India would not have a single Muslim or Christian and other anti-minority acts are being used to keep the enemy image of the Muslims alive to pursue their fascist agenda.

The tell tale evidence of fascism knocking at our door is there for all to see and can be ignored only at the cost of our democracy and a free society; at our collective peril.

BJP’s Doublespeak on Terror

June 21, 2016

From the 1985 Air India bombings to 2007 Samjhauta Blasts, Acts of Terror need to be Tackled whichever the Ideology that Legitimises Them

Image: Rajnish Katyal/HT

As we gear up in remembrance of those who died in the Air India bombings on June 23, 1985, a few days from now, the question that should be bothering everyone is that what has really been learnt from the worst attack in the history of aviation terror before 9/11?

The Air India bombings had left 331 people dead. While 329 people died in the blast aboard Air India Flight 182 above the Irish Sea, two baggage handlers died at the Narita Airport.

The two suitcase bombs used in the crime originated from Vancouver and were intended to be used against Air India flights heading to India from different routes.

The bombings were blamed on Sikh separatists seeking revenge from the Indian government for the ugly political events of 1984. The Indian army had invaded the Golden Temple Complex, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar to flush out militants who had fortified the place of worship in June 1984. The military operation had left many people dead and the buildings inside the temple complex devastated.

That year, the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in a fit of rage by her Sikh bodyguards as a result of which anti Sikh pogrom was orchestrated by the leaders of Indira Gandhi's Congress party.

The Air India investigation has led to only one conviction of Inderjit Singh Reyat who was instrumental in making the explosive devices. The prime suspect and the ring leader of the conspiracy Talwinder Singh Parmar had died at the hands of the Indian police in 1992 under suspicious circumstances.

Parmar was a Canadian citizen and had traveled back to India to pursue armed struggle for a Sikh homeland when he was eliminated in a staged shootout, a practice that was commonly used by the Punjab police to finish off the Sikh extremists to pocket rewards and achieve quick results. This policy had partly contributed to the end of armed insurgency that was started by Sikh militants in mid 1980s and had lasted until mid 1990s.

As against the excessive force used by the Indian state to crush Sikh militancy, the police and the intelligence have generally been soft towards terrorism spread by the supporters of Hindu theocracy.

This is despite the fact that India claims to be a secular democracy. It is since the early 2000s, that the trend of bombing Muslim targets by the ultra Hindu nationalists who want to turn India into a Hindu state has picked up and gained momentum, although they had earlier, always been active and mostly been involved in rioting and mob violence against religious minorities (Gujarat 2002 pogrom being the ultimate example).

Whereas, any bomb blast during this period would quickly be blamed on the Muslim and Sikh extremists by the police and the intelligence, it is thanks to some honest investigators, open to investigate sans the blinkers of prejudice, who actually looked into other possibilities and succeeded in smashing a terror network operated by the Hindu extremists.

India blames Pakistan for sponsoring Sikh and Muslim extremists, whereas Pakistan blames India for aiding and abetting Baluch separatists. Indeed, the Pakistani agents have been supporting the Sikh and Muslim extremists in carrying out bombings in India.

These investigations revealed that they wanted to settle scores by indulging in retaliatory bombing attacks against Muslims. Ironically, in some of these cases they disguised themselves as Muslims to carry out the attacks so that the Hindus do not become suspects and the police and the intelligence consumed by a pervasive Islamophobia, too, never really tried to see how and why Muslim extremists would be targeting their own people.

The year 2007 witnessed series of such bombings, where Muslim mosques and localities were targeted. As part of this pattern, a terror attack with major ramifications occurred in February that year when the Samjhauta Rail Express was bombed leaving 68 people dead. The rail service was started to connect India and Pakistan.

A majority of those killed in the attack were Pakistani Muslims who were returning to their country after seeing their relatives in India. In fact, India and Pakistan used to be one before 1947. The two countries were divided on religious lines. While Pakistan became an Islamic republic India chose to remain a secular state in spite of the fact that it is a Hindu dominated nation. The Hindu supremacists have, since then, been on a publicly declared project to India into a Hindu state.

They (Hindutva supremacists) have been involved in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. Gandhi was opposed to the religious partition of India and spoke vehemently against violence against Muslims by the Hindu extremists. Those involved in Samjhauta Rail episode follow the principles of the killers of Gandhi.

Since the time of division of India and Pakistan, an atmosphere of mistrust has prevailed between the two countries which have even turned to two major wars in 1965 and 1971. The two sides continue to accuse each other of creating disturbances in their respective countries.

India blames Pakistan for sponsoring Sikh and Muslim extremists, whereas Pakistan blames India for aiding and abetting Baluch separatists. Indeed, the Pakistani agents have been supporting the Sikh and Muslim extremists in carrying out bombings in India.

Notably, the BJP government is known for its tough anti terror stance, but this is weakened or stands exposed when it comes to dealing with the terrorists from within their lot. It is pertinent to mention that the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen in the company of one of the Samjhauta blast accused Swami Aseemanand in Gujarat where he was previously the Chief Minister.

So when the Samjhauta blast happened it was instantly blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic extremists. The Hindu extremists were never even seen as potential suspects even though they opposed the train service connecting India with a "traditional enemy".

In some other blasts that happened the same year, Muslim men were arrested as suspects and incarcerated in jails. Only later when it emerged that these blasts were the handiwork of the Hindu extremists, the Indian authorities had to face embarrassment.

The Hindu ‘nationalist’ (read supremacist) Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) which is currently in power was in the opposition at that time. The so called secular Congress government too tried to play down the involvement of Hindu extremists initially as it wanted to isolate Pakistan internationally for sponsoring terrorism. The truth however cannot and could not be buried. As the complicity of the Hindu extremists became apparent, the BJP reacted sharply and accused the Congress government of defaming the Hindu community.

It is therefore not surprising to see that under the present BJP government in India, those arrested for Samjhauta blast and similar attacks directed at Muslim community are getting a reprieve and back door amnesty. The charge sheet previously filed against them (Malegaon 2008 blasts) is being diluted and the investigators are not opposing bails being granted to those facing charges.

Notably, the BJP government is known for its tough anti terror stance, but this is weakened or stands exposed when it comes to dealing with the terrorists from within their lot. It is pertinent to mention that the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen in the company of one of the Samjhauta blast accused Swami Aseemanand in Gujarat where he was previously the Chief Minister.

Aseemanand is an ascetic who ran a camp in Gujarat that worked aggressively to covert Christians into Hinduism. It was during Modi's tenure as chief minister that an anti Muslim massacre took place in 2002. Modi had also publicly opposed the arrests of Hindu extremists in connection with terrorism.

Nevertheless, it is also a question of constitutional duties of the investigators and prosecution who are expected to act impartially and follow the rule book. If the list of banned terror groups on the National Investigation Agency that is looking into these cases is any indication, no Hindu extremist group has been or is designated as terrorist organisation.

Only the Sikh and Muslim separatist groups and Maoists, besides groups representing armed movements by other sub nationalities within India appear on this list. Unlike Parmar and members of other minority terror groups who have been killed in staged police shootouts, the Hindu extremists enjoy state patronage.

The self styled critics of terrorism and violence who have always been much in the news have maintained a studied silence over the existence of terrorism in the name of Hindu nation.

In lasting and meaningful memory of those who died for no fault of theirs; whether they were Air India victims or those aboard Samjhauta Rail we need to question terrorism in all its forms.

Political forces that not only patronise terrorism and violence, but also breed them through their politics of bigotry need to be exposed, however inconvenient this may prove to the powers that be.

The Air India tragedy was a culmination of this dangerous game of dividing people on the basis of religion and terrorising a minority community. Under the BJP government this threat has grown has manifold as not only attacks on religious minorities have grown, rather those indulging in them are being openly shielded by a democratically elected government.

The Indian state that continues to point fingers at Pakistan or Canada and tells the world to stand up against terrorism, should first set its own house in order. Rather than seeing terrorism as a problem exported from outside, it needs to look also, inwards for enemies within. Pakistani agents and ISI only took advantage of the grievances of the minorities in India but they can never be blamed for creating circumstances that forced the extremists from these communities to take to the arms.

The Air India tragedy was a culmination of this dangerous game of dividing people on the basis of religion and terrorising a minority community. Under the BJP government this threat has grown has manifold as not only attacks on religious minorities have grown, rather those indulging in them are being openly shielded by a democratically elected government.

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