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Secularism is a Bangladeshi Trait; We Must Stand By It

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It was our undying commitment to secular values that led to the nation’s birth 

Our nation has a long history of tolerance and diversity.

There is a door in Ahsan Manzil that is carved with the utmost love and intricacy that embodies a culture rich in its diversity. Commissioned by a Muslim nawab and created by Hindu artisans, it has panels depicting Jesus, Buddha, Durga, and Krishna — surrounded by both Arabic and Bengali calligraphy, and once serving as the entrance for British imperial officials wishing to speak with Dhaka’s ruler.

That door single-handedly represents the heart and soul of what our identity is. We are a region that draws inspiration from a variety of faiths and we are at our strongest when we are united.

History proves this assertion. Undivided Bengal was the greatest and the last conquest of the British East India Company. It was one of the pivotal hubs of dissent against imperial rule, being a space for multi-religious cultural protest as well as the oft-overlooked Tanka tribal movements.

The crown countered this unity with partition in 1905 only to revoke it six years later. Although religious divisions shaped the destiny of the sub-continent in subsequent decades, the confluence of faiths and cultures did not diminish, ultimately leading to our independence in 1971.

Lest we ever forget, it was our undying commitment to secular culture that underlined the Language Movement in order to protect our right to a derivative of Sanskrit and not one of Arabic. And it was that same commitment that flew in the face of the rhetoric of an Islamic nation, allowing us to gain our independence in 1971.

Lest we ever forget, it was our undying commitment to secular culture that underlined the Language Movement in order to protect our right to a derivative of Sanskrit and not one of Arabic. And it was that same commitment that flew in the face of the rhetoric of an Islamic nation, allowing us to gain our independence in 1971.

Secularism has never been about a rejection of religion, at least, not in South Asia. Rather, it is a promise to respect and protect all faiths (and individuals of no denomination), while favouring none.

All one has to do is look at the writings of Rabindranath Tagore’s essays on nationalism to understand that this is not an idealistic observation but a fact. Mapping the history of nationalist movements in Asia in comparison to Europe, Tagore notes how identities in Europe, particularly during the time of the Peace of Westphalia and the creation of the nation state, relied heavily on religious denomination as an identifier. The Self was of similar faith; the Other being heathen.

South Asian nationalism, by contrast, had always been about transcending ethnic and religious differences by placing importance on cultural commonalities and unity. This was as much a strategic ploy as a magnanimous one.

After all, it would be much easier for Muslim dynasties like the Mughals to successfully rule Hindu areas, and for Hindu dynasties like the Mauryas to do the same with Muslim communities, if they undermined the notion of religion being a key aspect of identity and autonomy. Regardless of the motivations, it is safe to say that Bengali nationalism has a deep historic connection with secularism that we have since forgotten.

Critics and deniers of this legacy would have us forget the door in Ahsan Manzil. They would focus on the Islamic identity of our Bir Sreshto freedom fighters while ignoring the likes of Surjo Sen and Pritilota Waddedar. They would underline the religious affiliations of some of our icons like Nazrul and Jasimuddin, while conveniently forgetting those of Tagore and Modhushudon Dutta. They would have us ignore the fact that our capital is a tribute to the goddess Dhakeswari, that our new year celebrations are heavily influenced by Hindu, Buddhist, and even Sikh rituals, and that our weddings are a colourful explosion of various faiths.

The political compromises that have led to our country being defined as secular while the Supreme Court still retains Islam as a state religion do not reflect our historic commitment to being a tolerant nation. And the deafening silence and inaction in the face of blogger murders only serve to strip others of their voice.

The truth of the matter is, however, that our daily lives are a testament to our diversity and the strength we derive from it. Our history is in danger and we must do our utmost to protect it before it is too late. 

Ibtisam Ahmed is a Doctoral Research Student at the School of Politics and IR in the University of Nottingham. 

(Ibtisam Ahmed is a Doctoral Research Student at the School of Politics and IR in the University of Nottingham). 

Republished with permission from Dhaka Tribune.

Balraj Madhok: A Pracharak-turned-Crusader against His Own ‘Parivar’

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Balraj madhok             Image: indiatvnews.com
 
The former Jan Sangh/RSS leader is no more. But he leaves behind his memoir with sensational allegations of “degenerate behaviour”, palace intrigues and “criminal conduct” on the part of some of the leading lights of the sangh parivar in the "pre-planned murder" in 1968 of a stalwart from their own stable: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya     
 
With Balraj Madhok's death on May 2, 2016 the era of old guards of Hindutva politics comes to an end. An RSS pracharak till the end, he received handsome tributes on his demise from RSS leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself a senior pracharak. He described Madhok as a "stalwart leader of the Jan Sangh (predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party). Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong & clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation & society. [I] had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions".
 
It is intriguing that Madhok is now being confined to his leadership of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS). He was undeniably a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organisation relied for initiating major Hindutva projects. This reductionist attitude of the present RSS leadership towards his contributions to the organisation suggests an attempt to hide Madhok's role as a chronicler of the alleged degeneration in the higher echelons of the sangh parivar through the 1970s and ’80s.
 
Born in 1920 in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan), Madhok had emerged as a prominent RSS organiser by 1942. As RSS pracharak he was in-charge of Jammu & Kashmir state in pre-Partition days, a responsibility he shouldered till 1948 when he was ordered to leave the state by the Sheikh Abdullah government. In Delhi, he edited the English organ of the RSS, Organiser and founded the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) the student front of the RSS in 1948.
 
Next, he teamed up with Shyama Prasad Mukherji to launch the political wing of the RSS, Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) in 1951 in which he held the cru­cial posts of all-India secretary of the BJS (1951-1965), president, Delhi BJS (1954-1963) and finally the party’s national president (1965­-1967). It was during his stewardship that the party made significant gains in the general elections of 1967 by reducing Congress to a minority in several states. He was elected twice to the Lok Sabha (1961 & 1967) from Delhi.
 
Alongside his hectic political life, Madhok was a prolific writer, known for his controversial political tracts. He was the one primarily responsible for articulat­ing Hindutva’s “Indianisation” theory in 1969 as a “solution” to the problem of religious minorities, especially Muslims.
 
Madhok also penned his autobiographical account in three volumes. The first two volumes, Zindagi Ka Safar–1 and Zindagi Ka Safar–2, were published in 1994. It is only 9 years later that the third volume in this series, Zindagi Ka Safar –3: Deendayal Upadhyaya Ki Hatya Se Indira Gandhi Ki Hatya Tak (Life’s Journey-3: From the Murder of Deendayal Upadhyaya to the Murder of Indira Gandhi) saw the light of day.
 
This last volume was full of shocking allegations and explosive facts concerning RSS, covering political happenings between 1968 and 1984, starting with the mysterious death in February 1968 of the newly-appoint­ed president of BJS, Deendayal Upadhyaya and ending with the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi.
 
The issues and controversies raised in the third volume of Madhok's autobiography had long been in the public domain. But the revelation of shocking facts in his memoirs concerning the pre-planned murder of Upadhyaya – a prominent BJS leader, thinker and ideologue of the RSS – triggered a huge controversy. Madhok made the sensational allegation that those behind the “conspiracy” and its subsequent “cover-up” were none other than some BJP/RSS leaders, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Nana Deshmukh. Madhok even held the former RSS leader Balasaheb Deoras, who later became its sarsanghchalak (supremo), guilty of shielding the above duo in their alleged misdemeanors and worse.
 
If Madhok's autobiography is to be believed, the RSS top brass had already reached its nadir of degeneration by the late 1960s. The most significant aspect of his memoir was that Madhok published it during his lifetime, while he was still saw himself as a swayamsevaks/ pracharak.
 
In the foreword to his third volume, he wrote: “I have tried to present the prominent incidents of this stormy era, my experiences and their influence on me, Jan Sangh and life of the nation with factual and objective narration and eval­uation. Being a student of history I have always kept in mind the universally accepted principle of history that ‘facts are sacred’ though there may be different interpretations of the same.”
 
Madhok was of the firm view that Deendayal Upadhyaya’s murder on February 1, 1968, was the harbinger of a vicious rising storm which derailed the Jana Sangh. Before unfolding the mystery of Upadhyaya’s murder he raised a few questions: "Why was he murdered? Who were the people involved in the conspiracy? The aim and goal behind this conspiracy is still shrouded in mystery. But all this will (surely) be unveiled as cir­cumstantial evidences about his murder are quite revealing.” (p. 14­-15)
 
Madhok’s autobiography aimed at “exposing the con­spiracy behind Deendayal Upadhyaya’s murder” by meticulously putting together facts as if preparing a legal document. While dealing with the identity of the murderers of Upadhyaya, he made the following significant statement: "One thing is clear. Behind the murder of Deendayal Upadhyaya was neither the hand of communists nor any thief… He was killed by a hired assassin. But conspirators who sponsored this killing were self-seekers and leaders of Sangh/Jan Sangh with a criminal bent of mind." (p. 22)
 
The autobiography proceeded to detail a concerted attempt by the alleged conspirators to keep facts under wraps: “The needle of suspicion points directly towards those jealous self-seekers who conspired in the murder of Deendayal Upadhyaya. While they are reaping benefits exploiting his name, they do not want the truth of his murder to come out. However, as a student of history I believe that the blood of Deendayal Upadhyaya will be avenged, history will do justice to him and those who conspired to kill him will be sub­jected to a curse.” (p. 15)
 
The pracharak was absolutely non-hesitant in pointing fingers towards Vajpayee and Deshmukh as the “main conspirators” in the murder of Upadhyaya. He categorically stated: “Information gathered from difference sources points the finger of suspicion in the murder of Deendayal Upadhyaya towards them.” (p. 23)


Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Balraj Madhok & other leaders
 
According to the autobiography, Upadhyaya’s murder was engineered by those who were kept out of leading positions by the BJS president. It is to be noted that after taking over as president of the BJS from Madhok in December 1967, Upadhyaya had denied important posts to Vajpayee and Deshmukh. According to Madhok, Upadhyaya was murdered because, “he was constantly striving to ensure that ill-reputed people get no promotion in BJS, so that the organisation’s reputation is not tar­nished. Because of this some characterless, self-seeking people saw him as a stum­bling block in their path.” (p. 145)
 
In identifying who these “characterless, self-seekers” were, Madhok minced no words. According to the autobiography, he was all too familiar with them during his own stint as BJS president before Upadhyaya: “Some time back when I was the president of Jana Sangh, Jagdish Prasad Mathur, in-charge of the central office who was staying with Atal Behari at 30, Rajendra Prasad Road, had complained to me that Atal had turned his house into a den of immoral activities. Every day new girls were coming there. Things were getting out of hand. So as a senior leader of Jana Sangh I have dared to bring to your notice this fact, he told me. I had some information about the character of Atal, but I did not know that the situation had deteriorated so much. I called Atal to my residence and in a closed room inquired from him about matters raised by Mathur. The explanation he offered further confirmed the facts conveyed by Mathur. I suggested to him that he should get married, otherwise, he was bound to get a bad name, and the reputation of Jan Sangh too would suffer.” (p. 25)
 
As a close and keen observer of devel­opments in BJS in the immediate post-Upadhyaya period, Madhok was astonished to find that a dominant section of the RSS lead­ership was bent upon making Vajpayee president of BJS. This was hap­pening despite the fact that Madhok did bring all these facts to the notice of the then sarsanghchalak of RSS, MS Golwalkar. According to him the meeting took place in Delhi in early 1970. “After listening to me he [Golwalkar] kept quiet for some time and then said: ‘I know of the weaknesses in the character of these people. But I have to run an organisation. I have to take everybody together, so like Shiva I drink poison everyday.’” (p. 62)
 
The autobiography went on to relate developments akin to palace intrigues. "It has been the tradition of Jan Sangh that if the president expires before completing his term, the senior vice-president is given the responsibility for the rest of the term. So I thought that Shri Pitamber Das or principal Dev Prasad Ghosh will be given this respon­sibility. Atal Behari Vajpayee was nowhere in the reckoning (Atal Behari Vajpayee kisi ginti maen nahin thaa). I was stunned when informed that Sangh leaders wanted to make Atal Behari Vajpayee president”.
 
“Immediately after becoming president, he removed Jagannath Joshi from the impor­tant post of organisation in-charge (sangath­an mantri) and appointed Nana Deshmukh to this post. Thus two persons who were direct beneficiaries from the murder of Shri Upadhyaya were those whom dur­ing his tenures as BJS general secretary and president he had adopted a conscious policy of keeping away from important posts.”(pp. 16-17)
 
Madhok made serious allegations against Vajpayee and Deshmukh holding them responsible for thwarting any probe in the “murder” of Upadhyaya. According to him, whatever public posture RSS might have taken over Upadhyaya’s death, Vajpayee treated it as a simple accident. When Madhok confronted Vajpayee on the issue, the latter is claimed to have retorted: “Deendayal was a hot-headed (jhagdaloo) person; he might have picked a quarrel with someone in the train and in the scuffle got pushed out and died. Do not call it murder.” (p. 16)
 
Madhok goes on to narrate how both Vajpayee and Deshmukh allegedly tried to mislead the Justice YV Chandrachud Commission of Enquiry which was constituted to uncover the truth concerning Upadhyaya’s death. “When the Chandrachud Commission started the enquiry, I was informed that BJS president [Vajpayee] has given the whole responsibility of presenting Jan Sangh’s case before the commission to Deshmukh. So from the Jan Sangh side only those would appear as witnesses who have been hand-picked by Deshmukh and without his permission no other member of Jan Sangh could appear as witness. I was expecting that I will surely be presented before the commission. But I did not figure in the list of witnesses prepared by Nana Deshmukh… In such a situation the Chandrachud Commission failed in unraveling the mystery of this murder. From the attitude which was adopted by Vajpayee and Deshmukh in relation to the enquiry commission and from the kind of witnesses presented I can only conclude that instead of unveiling the truth they were interested in a cover up.” (p 19)
 
As mentioned earlier, Madhok also pointed fingers at Balasaheb Deoras, who became the RSS sarsanghchalak in 1973 after Golwalkar’s death. “After becoming BJS president, the stature of Shri Deendayal Upadhyaya grew further. Some felt that he might become the next sarsanghchalak of RSS. This possibility was unacceptable to some of the self-seeking Sangh people, especially Balasaheb Deoras. They started feeling that due to Deendayal their chances of further advancement might be jeopardised. Possibly, this is the reason that after the murder of Deendayal, he not only took direct interest in making Vajpayee president of Jana Sangh but also helped in covering up the murder of Deendayal. He wanted me to stop talking about it as a murder and describe it as an accident like him. But I was not ready to hide a fact witnessed by my own eyes and verified.” (p. 21)
 
The autobiography highlighted the allegedly degenerate personal and political life of Deoras. Referring to the Emergency days of 1975, Madhok states: “Sarsanghchalak of the Sangh, Shri Balasaheb Deoras was held under MISA. In contrast to the life of struggle and idealism of Shri Golwalkar, he was fond of good living. That is the reason why he wrote two letters, on August 22, 1975 and November 10, 1975, to Indira Gandhi for reconsidering her attitude towards the Sangh and lifting the ban on it. He also wrote a letter to Shri Vinoba Bhave requesting his help in removing the misgivings Indira Gandhi had about the RSS." (p. 188-189)
 
According to Madhok, Vajpayee and company continued to make all kinds of efforts to finish off his political career. They even succeeded in expelling him from the primary membership of BJS in 1973. Madhok was bitter about LK Advani who allegedly was a puppet in the game. Madhok wrote that his expulsion was “an immoral, unconstitutional and criminal act. In this, Sarkaryavah of the Sangh, Balasaheb Deoras and some other parcharaks including Madho Rao Mulay and organising secretaries played a prominent role. They used Atal as a shield and Advani as a puppet.” (p. 144)
 
Madhok was scathing in his comments on Advani, the ‘Iron Man’ of Hindutva. “The position of Lal Krishna Advani was like a puppet. He was not qualified for the post [presidentship of BJS] which was given to him after discarding many senior workers. I knew through my personal experience that he is a boneless wonder. He has neither personal integrity nor opinion. But he is lucky. In gratitude for the office which he received as a prasad from Vajpayee and officials of Sangh, lacking self-esteem, he acted as a bonded labourer for any job assigned to him.” (p. 146).
 
Madhok claimed in his memoirs that when Swamy sought a fresh commission of enquiry during the Janata government’s rule in the late 1970s, it was scuttled by Vajpayee and Advani. Madhok is now no more. Last year, the RSS-directed, BJP-dominant, Modi-led government observed a year-year celebration to mark the centenary of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Among other things postage stamp was issued in his name.
 
“A beacon of selfless service & an excellent organiser, I bow to our inspiration & guide, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya on his birth anniversary”, Modi had tweeted on September 25, 2015. But celebrations apart, no one in the sangh parivar, except Upadhyaya’s family and Subramanian Swamy are interested in solving the mystery of his untimely death.
 
Was Upadhyaya killed by two thieves while travelling in a Lucknow-Patna train on February 11, 1968, as concluded by a CBI investigation? While the accused were acquitted for want of sufficient evidence, the Chandrachud Commission of Enquiry appointed subsequently more or less concurred with the CBI’s findings. Was he a victim of a Congress plot as alleged in the recent period without a shred of evidence? Or was Upadhyaya assassinated by jealous, self-seekers within the BJP and the RSS as alleged by Madhok?              
 
While the mystery of Upadhyaya’s death is unlikely to be solved, why none of the stalwarts of the BJS/RSS whom Madhok accused of criminal conspiracy ever sued him will remain as much a mystery.
 
(‘Deendayal Upadhyaya ki hathtya se Indira Gandhi ki hathtya tak’ by Balraj Madhok (volume 3 of his Zindagi ka Safar) is available at Dinman Prakashan, 3014 Charkhaywalan, Delhi-110006).

Do Not Rest in Peace, Jisha: Shehla Rashid

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Dear Jisha, I never knew you, nor did you know me.

You were probably a “usual” student, pursuing your studies, dreaming of a better future for yourself and your country. You were probably someone like Rohith Vemula, who dreamed of stars and skies. I learnt that you were a law student, but I regret to tell you that the Law of this country fails us miserably.

It is because a Bhanwari Devi does not get justice that Bhagana happens. It’s because no one in Bhagana gets justice that a Delta Meghwal happens. It is because a Delta Meghwal does not get justice that a Jisha happens. And most painfully, I can predict that you may not get justice either.

This is because the law that you studied is not the law that actually runs this country – this country runs according to a parallel Law which is called Manusmriti. It is routinely quoted by judges in their judgments, but perhaps you wouldn’t have studied that in law school. It is the law of Manusmriti that prescribes limits for women and limits for Dalits.

That women should not go out after a certain time, that women should not study and become independent, that Dalits should not study or acquire skills, is embedded in the law that actually runs this country.

You probably loved this country, but I regret to tell you that this is no country for women. On the contrary, if you had ever questioned patriarchy or caste or class, they would have shoved a slogan or two down your throat. “Bolo Bharat Mata ki Jai”, “Bolo Vande Mataram” are the two favorite responses of our government to anyone who complains of injustice.

I am guessing you were a patriot and loved your country, but alas, declaration of Bharat Mata ki Jai wouldn’t come to your help when you were being murdered and raped. I shudder to think about the brutal details of your rape that have emerged. They make me wonder if all the people who kill their daughters in infancy do the correct thing. Such a desperate thought to occur to someone like me, who is supposed to be strong and calm! But it could have been me, it could have been anyone. I didn’t know you, but I can think about the terror that you must have felt.

Whatever has been done with you has been said to me in threats by BJP supporters on Twitter. Where does this thinking come from? How is there such a tremendous uniformity in the actions of your rapists and the words of the Sanghi trolls? It is the ideology of Manu, the ideology of hatred and caste patriarchy that drives both sets of criminals to do and say such things.
 

  ‘Justice for Jisha’ Protest at Kozhikode, Kerala. Photographs by Biju Ibrahim

You will not get justice because we are quick to blame the rape on everything, but its real cause. We are ready to blame the rape on the dress and choices of women, on poverty, on alcohol, on chowmein, on mobile phone and other absurd things, but not on patriarchy, feudalism, commodification of women by capitalism, on caste, on our society.

We are told not to do politics and focus on studies, when we raise issues of justice for women like you, women like survivors of Bhagana mass rapes, the women getting raped at gun point in Kashmir and Northeast and for women like Soni Sori, whose rapist is given the gallantry award because she is labelled as a Maoist for opposing corporate onslaught on the tribals of this country.

You were probably one such student, among millions of others, who was studying and not doing politics. But the brutality of this society did not spare you. The brutality that you’ve faced did not result from a personal hatred against you, I believe, but from deep-seated biases against women, from rampant misogyny, from the treatment of women as commodities, as things to be used and discarded.

The violence that you’ve faced is only a manifestation of the hatred that prevails against all women, against me, against my friends, against all thinking, speaking, working, studying, questioning, politically active women, especially since we are not the traditional social elites. How dare they trespass their gender? How dare they trespass their second class minority status? How dare they trespass their lower caste status?

We are told not to “divide” people when we raise issues of caste, class, gender, race, disability and so on. We are told that, since it has been written down in Law, equality has been achieved!

But the ugly realities of caste will dawn upon us pretty soon, when we demand justice for you, when despite your case being as brutal as that of the young woman everyone called Nirbhaya, it will not shake the national conscience, when, perhaps, no one in your case will be punished hard enough, except if they are poor.

How I wish, as a fellow woman, I could say to you, Rest in Peace, sister. But the times we are living in, do not allow me to say that.

I am forced to say, DO NOT REST IN PEACE, JISHA. And don’t let anyone in this country rest in peace.

Enrage this country, this world. Awaken it from complacency.

Yours,

Shehla

(Shehla Rashid is a student at the Centre for Studies in Law & Governance, JNU, an activist with the All India Students Association (AISA), and Vice President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union.
Biju Abraham is a photographer and filmmaker based in Kozhikode, Kerala).

This article was first published on Kafila.org.
 

Outrage in Kerala over Dalit Woman Rape, NHRC Sends Notice, Two in Custody

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Image Cortesy: Reuters

Outrage in Kerala over Nirbhaya-like Dalit Woman Rape, NHRC Sends Notice, Two in Custody

Two persons have been reportedly taken into custody in connection with the rape and brutal murder of a 30-year-old Dalit woman, Jisha,  at Perumbavoor that sparked protest marches by students and rights activists across Kerala today condemning the incident.

The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo moto cognizance of media reports of the brutal rape and murder of a 30-year-old law student in the Ernakulam district of Kerala and issued a notice to Government of Kerala. Sections of the media have started a debate on whether Jisha was a Dalit or not.

After reports of the gruesome and shocking incident that took place on April 28 were reported in leading Kerala dailies, the political class responded. The crime has been dubbed "Kerala's Nirbhaya" for its chilling similarities to the gang-rape in 2012 of a young Delhi student on a moving bus. The girl later succumbed to her injuries. The Dalit woman, a law college student, hailing from a poor family was raped and brutally assaulted using sharp edged weapons before being murdered at her house at Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district on April 28. She was found dead in a pool of blood at her one room home at 8 pm on April 28 by her mother when she returned from work.

The incident occurred inside her house, neighbours had seen the victim at around 1 pm. So it might have happened after that. Police were informed after her mother saw the body around 8 pm. "As of now we have not got any evidence (pointing to an accused). It is an area where a lot of migrant labourers reside, so we are extending our enquiry to them too,".Anil Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Perumbavoor told The Deccan Herald. Jisha, a law student, lived with her mother Rajeswari on a plot of ‘purambokku’ land. At the time of the murder, the victim was alone at home as her mother had gone out to work. Hasna, a trade Union activist and Jisha’s junior in college met her mother on Monday. Her mother is inconsolable and requested all of her friends to go home and take care of themselves. She pleaded us to be safe and secure. Jisha was an introvert. She hardly mingled with anybody at college, say her friends.

Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Caste and Tribes registered a suo motu case into the incident and asked police to submit a report on the progress of the probe by May 28 while the Kerala Human Rights Commission ordered that the probe be handed over to the Crime branch. Taking suo motu cognisance of the case on the basis of media reports, state Human Rights Commission Chairman Justice J B Koshy issued a direction to the state DGP in this regard.

"Kerala is shocked by the brutal murder of a young woman. The culprits will be brought to book and the severest punishment will be ensured to those who involved into the incident," Chandy said. Condemning the crime as a 'heinous one', chairman of the state commission for scheduled castes and tribes, Justice P N Vijayakumar said he has sought formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident.

"The commission suo-motu registered a case into the incident based on the reports of the vernacular and national dailies. I asked DGP to form a SIT to probe into the case. I also asked police to submit a report of the progress of the case by May 28," Justice Vijayakumar told PTI in Thiruvanathapuram.The commission also suggested that special mobile squads such as those operating in Wayanad,  Palakkad and Kasaragod be formed for the safety of SCs and STs, in all districts of the state for the security of women and children irrespective of caste barriers.

Women's rights activists and political leaders, cutting across party lines, have voiced concern against the murder which they believe was a first of its kind in the state for the sheer brutality of the crime.The brutal murder has shocked the state, with women activists and students taking to the streets, demanding justice for the woman.
Students and rights activists took out protest marches in various parts of the state condemning the incident.

Students of Kerala University at Thiruvanathapuram broke pots, considering it as the symbol of cruelty shown by society towards women, to mark their protest. Protests were also held by Law college students at Ernakulam.

State Women's Commission Chairperson K C Rosakutty said she would take all necessary steps to pressure police to nab all those behind the brutal act at the earliest.

Terming the incident as 'devilish', CPI(M) leader and Lok Sabha MP, P K Sreemathi said no other women in the state should be subjected to such a cruelty any more.
"It is one of the most brutal attacks against a woman in the state. It is the same as that had happened to the hapless Nirbhaya in Delhi. It is shocking that the public and media came to know about the incident only five days after the incident," she told PTI.

JNU Academics Sit on Solidarity Strike Condemn Administration Highhandedness

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The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) observed a one day Hunger Strike on 3rd May 2016 as JNU administration has been non-responsive to the major challenges that the university is facing, including the ongoing indefinite Hunger Strike by the students.

JNUTA has expressed concern since the administration is apparently using very different yardsticks to respond to grave issues, and continuing to disregard important norms and conventions.

The JNUTA has, once again,  raised the issue of High Level Enquiry Committee (HLEC), the haste with which it was constituted and took its decisions, bypassing basic norms, including those of natural justice by the committee. Instead of bringing back normalcy, the Administration is taking steps to further escalate the situation by digging up old complaints, denying striking students access to bathroom and toilet facilities etc.

The Hunger Strike of 22 students would enter its second week soon, students are already being admitted to hospitals and if the administration chooses not to relent and does not engage with the students the situation is likely change for the worse, which is not in the best interests of the University.
 
JNUTA reiterated its demands for immediate attention:

–University administration should immediately ensure normalcy in the campus by seriously engaging with the students on hunger strike.

–Immediate action against the culprits of the Paschimabad incident of 12th February 2016.

–Withdrawal of the punishment based on HLEC Report, as credibility of HLEC remains questionable.

–Immediate assurance that the current policy of Rotation on seniority basis for appointment of Deans and Chairpersons will be continued.

–Action should be taken on the basis of HLEC Report on harassment of Dr. Burton (Warden Jhelum Hostel).

–Immediate end to intimidation of teachers and victimization of elected representatives of JNUEC and JNUTA.

–Security Establishment must be cautioned against over-enthusiasm and arbitrarily motivated interference like incident of barging in a CSLG class.

–Continuous monitoring to ensure supply of water and uninterrupted power in the campus, in the homes, hostels and academic buildings in particular.

–The University has not even taken cognizance of a “Dossier” being circulated that denigrates JNU and its various sections in the most vile and despicable manner. It urged the Vice Chancellor (VC) as the Head of the Institution to trash the contents of the Dossier in public without any delay and inquire about the authorship of such a defamatory document. JNUTA strongly condemns such reprehensible behavior from any member of JNU Community. 

Finally, JNUTA would strive relentlessly so that University remains a space where academic environment must not be dictated to be of certain kind.
 

Dalit Women Student Brutalised Before Murder: Kerala

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Silence of the ‘national media’ around the death of Kerala student, Jisha, who was beaten savagely, sexually assaulted, similar to the Delhi bus gang rape, as revealed by the post-mortem raises serious questions about media priorities and ethics

Sabrangindia had raised the issue of selective prioritization of such crimes  even related to the  mysterious death (after alleged rape) of Delta Meghwal a 17-year old Dalit student in Rajasthan

 
The post-mortem report on the death of Jisha, the 29-year-old student who was found dead at her house near Perumbavoor in Kerala on April 28, reveals that she was brutally and sexually assaulted before she died, similar to the infamous 2012 Delhi gang-rape.

According to the latest report by Malayalam newspaper, Mathrubhumi,  Jisha was beaten savagely by a stranger/s using a sharp weapon that pulled out her intestines. More than 30 injuries were found on her body. As per the autopsy report, two sides of her chest were pierced to almost two inches deep using a sharp knife. She was also struck in the genitals with an iron rod. A severe injury on her head is cited as the main reason of her death. The post-mortem report will be handed over to the police officials on Tuesday.

The investigators have remained clueless even one week after the brutal incident, which is being called as the Nirbhaya case of Kerala. The hashtag #JusticeforJisha has been trending on Facebook and many social media users have been requesting the police and the government to take proper measures to find the person, who brutally killed the student.

Jisha, a law student, was found dead by her mother Rajeswari at their house in Rayamangalam panchayat on Thursday night after she returned from her daily work. The deceased is survived by her married sister and her father, who has been living separately from the family for years.

Here are some of the comments from social media:

Vibin Thomas                                 
!!!!!!!SHAME KERALA ####…..One law student named jisha is brutally rapped and killed by a stranger at its own house at perumbavoor… Its day five after that incident…no one arrested till now…..no politicians, medias, or woman activities s there for help..only her mother was live along with jisha….jisha s harmed by sharp tools… I think its like delhi case..may be larger than that….

Pratheesh Pc
Feeling so sad to hear about Jisha brutal rape murder happened in Perumbavoor, Kerala… Wish police and authorities take proper and bring justice to us…

Anil Kumar
No excuses for rapists, hang them on the spot…# justice for jishaperumbavoor.

Remesh Nair 
A dalit girl Jisha(Law student in Kerala) was brutally raped & killed in way Kerala hv never seen. No party is interested in it.#KeralaNirbhaya
Local news channel on the incident https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBBteg8vyLY

2015 a year of growing intolerance in India: USCIRF report on religious freedom

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The country that prides itself as being the world’s largest democracy presents a sorry pretty picture of itself before the global community.

India was on a downward curve in 2015, when religious tolerance “deteriorated” and violations of religious freedom “increased”, observes the just released annual report of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).   

Pointing its fingers directly at the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and the sangh parivar whose parliamentary wing the BJP is, the report noted: “Since the BJP assumed power, religious minority communities have been subject to derogatory comments by BJP politicians and numerous violent attacks and forced conversions by affiliated Hindu nationalist groups, such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Sangh Parivar, and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
 
“Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups. Members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tacitly supported these groups and used religiously-divisive language to further inflame tensions,” the report added.
 
The complicity from sections of the ruling party, the report observed, has only worsened “the longstanding problems of police bias and judicial inadequacies”. This accentuates the “pervasive climate of impunity, where religious minority communities feel increasingly insecure, with no recourse when religiously-motivated crimes occur.”
 
Pointing out that the Modi government had refused permission to an USCIFR team to visit India, the commission said it “will continue to monitor the situation closely during the year ahead to determine if India should be recommended to the US State Department for designation as a ‘country of particular concern,’ or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) for systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom”.
 
For 2015, the USCIRF has placed India yet again on Tier 2, where it has been since 2009. This puts India on par with Afghanistan, Azebaijan, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhistan, Laos, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey as regards religious freedom. For the commission, Tier 2 countries are just a step away from degenerating into “countries of particular concern” (CPC) and the situation in all such countries need to be closely monitored.
 
Other highlights of the USCIRF report:

  •  In the last year, “higher caste” individuals and local political leaders also prevented Hindus considered part of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Dalits) from entering religious temples. The national government or state governments applied several laws to restrict religious conversion, cow slaughter, and foreign funding of NGOs. 
  • An Indian constitutional provision deeming Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains to be Hindus contradicts international standards of freedom of religion or belief.
  •  The country has experienced periodic outbreaks of large-scale communal violence against religious minorities, including in Uttar Pradesh in 2013, Odisha in 2007-2008, Gujarat in 2002, and Delhi in 1984. 
  • In 2013, in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, violence between Hindus and Muslims left more than 40 people dead, at least a dozen women and girls raped, and upwards of 50,000 displaced, many of whom still have not returned to their homes.
  •  In Odisha in 2007-2008, violence between Hindus and Christians killed nearly 40 people, destroyed churches and homes, and displaced nearly 10,000. 
  • In Gujarat in 2002, violence between Hindus and Muslims left between 1,200-2,500 Muslims dead, destroyed homes, and forced 100,000 people to flee.
  •  The 1984 anti-Sikhs riots resulted in deaths of more than 3,000 Sikhs. 
  • India established special structures, such as Fast-Track Courts, Special Investigative Teams (SITs), and independent commissions, to investigate and adjudicate crimes stemming from these incidents. However, their impact has been hindered by limited capacity, an antiquated judiciary, inconsistent use, political corruption, and religious bias, particularly at the state and local levels. Many cases stemming from these incidents are still pending in the India court system.
  •  Minority religious leaders and laity, including from the Muslim, Christian, and Sikh communities, and non-government organizations (NGOs), attribute India’s recent decline in religious freedom and communal harmony to religiously-divisive campaigning in advance of the country’s 2014 general election and the BJP’s victory in that election. 
  • While Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and other minority communities recognize that religious freedom issues in India predate the current government, these communities report that targeting of them has increased under the BJP government.
  •  Christian-affiliated NGOs and religious leaders report that Christians are particularly at risk in states that have adopted “Freedom of Religion Act(s),” commonly referred to as anti-conversion laws. 
  • Sikh communities, who have long pursued justice for the 1984 violence or advocated for Sikhism to be recognized as separate from Hinduism, also have been targeted by the Indian government for years.
  •  Muslim communities report that since the 2008 and 2010 terrorist attacks in India, Muslims have faced undue scrutiny and arbitrary arrests and detentions, which the government justifies as necessary to counter terrorism.

Modi’s Undeclared Emergency: Academia feels the Heat

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Universities Under Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi, a pithy comparison
 
Even during the 21 months of the Emergency between 1975-1977, the bastions of learning were never shabbily treated as they are now

I was a teacher at a University in Bihar in 1974, and played a very active role in the J.P-led  (Jayaprakash Narayan-led) movement. Along with a few colleagues, I was detained under the dreaded MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971) and was suspended from service under the rules. After release from the jail , we were not discriminated against. Even though it was well known that JP had asked the students to give one year to the country and discontinue their studies, the University treated us, as any other teacher and not like an enemy who might be influencing students to respond to J.P.'s call. Even the students' organisations affiliated to the Indira Congress and the CPI did not treat us dis-repectfully or interfered with us in any way.
 
 When the emergency was clamped, we continued our activities to oppose Indira Gandhi and the emergency and were detained under  the Defence of India Act (1915). Following our release on bail, we were placed under suspension, which was withdrawn only after Indira Gandhi's defeat and the lifting of the emergency. The suspension order was passed at the instance of the State government.  However, the University did not impose any restriction on our entry into the college nor  did it interfere with our movement inside college or the university .In fact, even the students ' organisations affiliated to the Indira Congress and the CPI did not treat us disrespectfully.
 
Under Narendra Modi, educational institutions are under attack in a planned manner .With Modi coming to power, the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) has suddenly sprung into action. It creates a conflict and then complains to univerisity authorities, who act either on their own or at the instance of government to suppress other organisations.
 
This happened at the IIT, Chennai, in the Central University, Hyderabad and many other places. The most outrageous was the wholesale attack on JNU .The Union Government went out on full-scale attack, and allowed its goon brigade in black to beat up Kanhaiya Kumar in the court and other  JNU students in Patiala court campus with hundreds of policemen looking the other way.
 
The ABVP, empowered by the administration’s silence and authorities acting in tandem has become a familiar pattern in educational institutions by now .The organisations affiliated to the ruling party and the agencies of the State collaborating in this suppression of the opposition is a well known and time-tested strategy of  fascist organisations .
 
The latest and most naked show of the power of the State is the order regarding Professor Saibaba of Delhi University ‘not to enter the college without permission’. He is  physically (90 % ) differently abled. What are the authorities afraid of? They have nothing to fear. But the order is meant to display the iron fist which Modiji had kept concealed in democratic gloves before coming to power. It is the same show of brute power that was evidenced when the CBI raided the residence of Himanchal chief minister just as he was leaving for a Mandir (temple) to perform a Puja on the day of his daughter's wedding .
 
The autonomy of universities nurture an atmosphere in which a hundred flowers may bloom and a hundred thoughts may prevail[1]. This is  indispensable for  pushing further the frontiers of knowledge, and should be protected, at all costs, from Modi's brutal attack .

(The author is a veteran civil rights activists associated with major movements and the People's Union for Civil Liberties,PUCL)

 

[1] Though he did not live up to it, the sound and magnificent call was given by Mao.
 
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