Important archive of police intelligence files on activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1947. This material is made available here in public interest.
Courtesy: http://www.sacw.net
Email: sabrangind@gmail.com
Adivasi Forest Movement leader Sukalo arrested
Even as UP’s Forest Minister assures Action on Incidents of Police violence, Police Carry Out Clandestine Arrests
Sukalo Gond, the treasurer of AIUFWP, along with Kisamati Gond and Sukhdev Gond were arrested in a clandestine manner from Chopan station, Sonbhadra, UP just as they were returning after a meeting with the state forest minister, Dara Singh Chauhan and Forest Secretary in Lucknow on June 6. Sukhdev Gond is resident of village Lilasi and was first beaten up by SO SP Singh Muirpur. Kismati Gond is the new secretary of Forest rights committee, she too was badly beaten up by police The police had entered homes and reportedly assaulted Adivasi women and children on May 19 when Sukalo was in Lucknow at a training workshop.
Roma, the General Secretary of AIUFWP informed CJP that after 12 pm yesterday, June 8 she lost touch with Sukalo, only to read this morning of her sudden and unwarranted arrest. Roma further conveyed the fact Sukalo’s family members were worried about her safety as she was not in touch with the family for the past few days.
CJP appeals to its members to call the DGP, Uttar Pradesh, Om Prakash Singh at 0522-2206104, SP, Sonbhadra at 9454400304, DM, Sonbhadra, Amit Kumar Singh at 9454417569, Forest Minister Dara Singh Chauhanat 09455073877 and demand that the Adivasi human rights defenders, Sukalo, Kisamati and Sukhdev are released. CJP has been closely following how Adivasi women of Sonbhadra are being systematically bullied and harassed. Many of them face fake cases filed on false or trumped up charges. We are fighting for the human rights defenders in court, and also intervening in everyday episodes of institutional violence in the area. Please donate generously to support these efforts.
Sukalo, a human rights defender and woman Adivasi leader has been at the helm of protests. Her profile may be read here.
Following this surreptitious crack down, it is also believed that more villagers are facing the threat of indiscriminate arrests. These actions are getting more frequent on villagers after the people from 16 Gram Sabhas filed community resource rights claim on March 23, 2018.
Sukalo and two others have allegedly been booked under Sections such as 147,148,149, 307, 343, 333, 504, 353, 332, 336, 427, 120b of IPC, Section 7 of Criminal Act,3/5 public property Act, 5/26 Indian Forest Act. Around 24 people have been named in which Ashok Choudhary and Roma are also named as accused. And around 35 people are unnamed in the criminal complaint.
The local media is reportedly giving a one sided version, not presenting the villagers’ version at all. Some local newspapers have gone to the extent of saying that Sukalo and others were underground, which is untrue since they had just returned after a meeting with the authorities in Lucknow.
CJP has a complete update of the meeting between the leadership of the AIUFWP and the Forest Minister and Secretary.
Meanwhile, in a significant breakthrough, the NHRC assured action against the incident of police brutality that took place in Lilasi village on AIUFWP and CJP’s intervention. Roma met chairperson, NHRC on May 30 in New Delhi after CJP facilitated the complaint and appointment.
Forest Minister assures Investigation in case of Police Brutality against Adivasis in Sonbhadra
On Wednesday, June 6, members of the Forest Rights Committee (FRC) established under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, Roma Malik, Sukalo Gond, Nandu Gond and FRC Secretary Kismati Gond met with the minister of the Uttar Pradesh government’s Forest Department, Dara Singh Chauhan and Secretary of the Forests and Wildlife Department of the state.
“The Forest Minister took the matter very seriously and heard the issues of the villagers with keen interest. He has assured a thorough investigation in the entire episode. He has also asked his Principal Secretary to look into the issue. He may make a visit to the area sometime in June” said Roma after the meeting. The team sent a letter to the Secretary of the government’s Social Welfare Department and now plan to send letter to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Following the meetings with high level functionaries, Roma informed CJP that they also submitted a copy of the community rights claim that was filed on March 23 at the local level to establish the motive behind the local administration’s animus and nexus with vested interests trying to prevent rightful claim over land. Further they also gave the medical report of Kismati’s injury; she was wounded after being attacked by police personnel on May 22. Meanwhile, the SDM also assured the Union leadership that he would look into the community land claims filed in the 16 Gram Sabhas by the villagers with the help of All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP).
Roma said the activists questioned why the claims they have filed have been met with episodes of reprisal violence when, in fact, claims should have been assessed dispassionately. The AIUFWP has alleged that their lands have been captured by upper caste people, and Roma said that the minister has summoned a list of these people allegedly blocking the legitimate claims of Adivasis so that the matter could be investigated.
A letter addressed to the Forest Minister, signed by Nandu Gond and Kismati Gond, detailed the events of Friday, May 18, and Tuesday, May 22, in which Adivasis were arrested and, days later, attacked by the police. The letter explained that on May 18, police accused ten Adivasi women of cutting trees, and noted that they were only released following the intervention of the CJP team who made calls to the administration and police. Thereafter, on May 22, in Lilasi village, police barged into the home of Forest Rights Committee Secretary Kismati Gond and attacked her; she sustained a wound to the head. They also assaulted several other village residents, and harassed two teenage girls. Threats from the police have rendered the Adivasis afraid to remain in their homes, and also unable to speak their truth, the letter stated.
Copy of the letter
The letter has recorded that there were multiple political reasons for these incidents, highlighting that on March 23, community forest resources claims were filed by the people of 16 villages. These claims were over approximately 250 acres of land under the FRA 2006. The letter alleged, “Fifteen years ago, the Forest Department dispossessed the Adivasis of the land that their ancestors had tilled and cultivated under Section 20 of the draconian Indian Forest Act, 1927.” Though the claims were filed by the Adivasis, demarcation of the land in question wasn’t done, nor were officers appointed as mandated by the FRA, 2006. In fact, the land from which the Adivasis were dispossessed was used to build houses by people belonging to dominant and upper castes. The land records were fudged with the complicity of the police. The Adivasis believe, as also indicated in the letter that their efforts towards fighting this usurpation of land, spurred the powerful among the upper castes to perceive a threat against their illegal land-grab and construction, prompting the false allegations of cutting trees against the Adivasi women.
It is these set of factors that have mired local Adivasis into a new set of fabricated cases.
In fact, in the latest round of such cases, involving the violence in Lilasi village, Roma and Ashok Choudhary, who were not even present at the time of incident, have been implicated with serious offences such as Section 307 of IPC, attempt to murder! CJP believes that this is a clearcut attempt to target an organization that has cemented the united struggle of the Adivasis of Sonbhadra.
Major demands of the Adivasi community:
- that a complete assessment of the forest land should be done for the village Lilasi and the information on illegal land capture should be made available.
- That there should be a high level inquiry of the assault on the Adivasi women in Lilasi.
- That the false FIRs on villagers should be quashed and the responsible Forest officers should be prosecuted for not following procedures under Section 7 of FRA and FIRs should be initiated on them under Section 3 (1)(G) of SC/ST PoA Act, 1989.
- That the villagers should be returned their lands as claimed by them through collective claims that they filed on March 23.
Related Articles:
CJP in Action: Defending Adivasi Human Rights Activists in Courts
Pranab Da Makes a Visit but why Now?
Was one of the motives to undercut Rahul Gandhi as he prepares to appear before a Bhiwandi Court on the issue if ‘RSS Involvement’ in the Gandhi Assassination?
Image: Facebook/RSSOrg
In current parlance, here is my “takeaway” on Pranab Mukerjee’s so tantalizing visit to the RSS Headquarters in Nagpur:
First, why was he invited? However Mohan ji Bhagwat may have underplayed the occurrence as a rather routine and innocent one, the invbite was clearly loaded with political purpose.
That India is now run by an RSS-led Bharatiya Janata Party is all very well, but inviting a former President of the Republic to RSS’s organizational den is quite another matter.
One thing is for sure: as Bhagwat cannily said in a speech intended to forestall the ch ief address of the evening, there was no intention to learn new things from the sagacious Mr,Mukerjee. Dialogue may have been lauded but it was always going to be a dialogue of the deaf, Leopards donot change their spots because someone of great pharmaceutical knowledge brings them a new brand of soap.
The event, let us not fool ourselves, was smartly intended to enhance the political acceptability of the Sangh. After all, Mr, Mukerjee did end up endorsing the late Hedgewar as a great son of India. Coming from a former President—an office that watches s over the Constitutional uprightness of the realm—this was a coup. That Mr.Mukerjee, in deference to the office he had held lastly, did not insist on the national tricolor to be unfourled or the national anthem to be sung must be counted as further acquiescence to a body of thought that accepted the tricolor some two years after Independence as a tactical necessity inorder that the ban on it could be lifted in 1949.
A second purpose that the RSS could well have had in mind is to cause disruption among thinking Congress men and women with respect to the propriety or otherwise of Mr,Mukerjee making such a visit—underthe present conditions, a most useful thing to do from the point of view of the Sangh. Although the Congress has come to quickly clear the ground on this, post Mr,Mukerjee’s speech at Nagpur, the RSS can claim to h ave had some success in causing a flutter among Congess men and women. Indeed, Mr, Mukerjee’s own daughter felt obliged to publicly underscore her father’s naivete in the matter, and the ways in which the Sangh propaganda machinery would not but use his visit, in fair and foul manner; th ink that already there is a video doing the rounds which shows Mr,Mukerjee with a black RSS cap on his
head.
A third purpose might have been to undercut Rahul Gandhi as he prepares to s how up at a Bhiwandi court to answer charges of defamation against the RSS on June 12.
So why did Mr,Mukerjee accept theinvitation, given that he is no RSS man, although, interestingly, in his speech of all the foreign interventions and incursions he counted he cited only Muslims as “invaders.”
There can be no doubt that the thought of telling off the Sangh view of nationalism, identity, culture, patriotism in a speech delivered in their den must have seemed an act of great political enhancement, This need not be denied, But it would grossly underrating Mr,Mukerjees’s acumen to think that he went there hoping he would teach the RSS a lesson they would actually learn, Just as Bhagwat ji explicitly did not think that Mr,Mukerjee would be converted to the Sangh cause once he was welcomed at Nagpur.
In this context, Mr,Mukerjee’s sense of occasion must be lauded: after all as clips from his speech will continue to be aired, he will continue to be praised for having articulated a critique that others, including Rahul Gandhi, are upbraided for voicing in and out. It must be conceded that in this Mr,Mukerjee understood how he could bear the weight of the office he had held before Shri Kovind took over to put on record a view of pluralist nationalism and composite culture that had informed and driven the Freedom Movement, That h is articulation here was ringing and unambiguous must go to his great credit and hopefully to the aid of many struggling to push back revanchist and communal alternatives. In recalling western nationalisms after t he Westphalia Treaty of 1648 which came to be based on univocal axes of religion, language, race, Mr. Mukerjee did well obliquely to suggest that after all the nationalism that t he RSS espouses is more western in character than indigenous. A monumental irony there. Whereas the national movement built by multifaceted Indian leaderships was uniquely inclusive, pluralist, assimilatve and therefore, had secularism as the soul and article of faith. For this, one must be thankful to Mr. Mukerjee.
Where will this event lead, if anywhere? To put the matter baldly, can Mr. Mukerjee hope that as a result of his ringing articulation of the Nehruvian view of our modern history the Indian National Congress might call upon him to be the face of the new opposition which is now in themaking. After all, the post of the Republic’s chief executive is one he has always thought his deserving.
The anwser must be that this is highly unlikely, fresh enthusiastic Congress cadres may not be expected to give up easily on Rahul Gandhi.
But that still leaves scope, in Mr.Mukerjee’s likely considerations, that a “third Front “of secular formations may indeed call upon him to take the lead to give Mr.Modi a Presidential-type of contest, come 2019. This cannot be ruled out,. Should such a thing eventuate, the Congress would indeed be put to considerable difficulty in working out its options—a circumstance that may thus altogether go to favour the possibility of a Modi come back.
For now, the RSS may not gloat too much at the visit, given that Mr.Mukerjee very squarely poured cold water on its ideological world-view. However astute Bhagwat ji’s formulations were, inevitably the notion of a Hindu Rashtra remained central to its projection. And only the very gullible would argue that this view will see a secular and pluralist transformation as a result of Mr,Mukerjee’s intervention. The Sangh has never till now repudiated the notion of a Savarkarite citizenship of India, or Shri Golwalkers’ stipulations on being Muslim in India. Till such repudiation happens, in all likelihood never, the Sangh,,however it pitches for supremacy, will remain the “other” of mainstream Republican thought.
It will be interesting to see, nonetheless, how influential media houses play out the event of Mr.Mukerjee’s visit. This for the reason that the obscene centralization of wealth now in India—a Corporate dream always—will not but continue to push Corporate media owners to tilt in favour of an equally centralized political dispensation in which democraticprocesses and idealisms about equity and welfare are relegated to lip service at husting times.
It is tempting to stipulate that none of these tactical pushes and pulls may come to be any great account in the next General Elections; one has the gut feeling that a wave of anger now in evidence across the length and breadth of the country may reduce electoral minutae to irrelevance.
Dr Kafeel’s brother Kashif shot in Gorakhpur, condition stable
Kashif Jameel, younger brother of Dr Kafeel Ahmad Khan has been shot in Gorakhpur on Sunday night about 10 pm. Kashif is being treated at the Star Hospital in Gorakhpur, and according to his family members, the medical condition of Kashif is stable and he is conscious.
By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
Khan was shot near the famous Gorakhnath Temple by two unknown gunmen who came near Kashif with an Activa. One gunman was wearing a helmet while other had a towel wrapped around his head. Kashif has sustained three bullet injuries. One on the neck, one on the shoulder and last one on the forearm. All three wounds have been reported on the right side of the body.
Kashif is the younger brother of Kafeel Ahmad Khan, the pediatrician from BRD Medical College Gorakhpur who was jailed even though he tried to save children in August last year when the medical college went out of the oxygen supply. Kafeel was granted bail only last month, spending more than eight months behind bars.
34-year-old Kashif is a businessman in Gorakhpur who deals with batteries and electric inverters. When the incident happened, Kashif was out to the temple zone for some task related to his business.
Soon after the incident happened, WhatsApp messages from Kafeel Ahmad Khan have been started circulating on the mobile phones. One message reads, “Mere bhai Kashif ko kisi ne Goli maar di…hai star hospital me admit …. plz help.”
Another message from Dr Khan opens rather more details to the incident. It says, “Mere bhai Kashif Jameel ko aaj bullet shot se 3 fire kr murder karne ka try kiya gaya.. He is star hospital mai hai.” It further reads, “I always said they would try to kill us. Dr. Kafeel Khan.”
According to Adeel Khan, the elder brother of Kafeel and Kashif, the family — which still in distress and shock after the incident — has no clue about the people and power behind the attack. Adeel told TwoCircles.net, “We do not know who is behind the attack. As of now, we just know that Kashif was shot by two gunmen on a scooter. We are still unaware of the weapon of the attack.”
Adeel further said that they have not been able to be in touch with the police. “But as soon the news reached WhatsApp groups, the police have arrived at the Star Hospital. We urge media to raise our voice,” Adeel said.
Courtesy: Two Circles
How Islamic are the Islamic Countries
A study conducted by Prof. Hussain Askari of George Washington University entitled “How Islamic are the Islamic Countries” showed that most of the countries that apply “Islamic Principles” in their daily lives are not ones that are traditionally Muslim.
New Zealand ranked 1st,
Luxembourg 2nd,
Ireland 3rd,
Iceland 4th,
Finland 5th,
Denmark 6th
Canada 7th.
Malaysia 38th,
Kuwait 48th,
Bahrain 64th
and the surprise:
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is ranked 131st.
The study, published in the Global Economy Journal might be shocking to most of us but when we look around us and see the reality of the situation, we find that the results of the study are accurate and true.
As Muslims we seem to care only about performing religious Obligations/Rituals/Sunnah (prayer, fasting, niqab, beards, etc), reading the Qur’an and the Hadiths, but we don’t practice what we espouse. We listen to religious lessons and sermons more than the other people on the face of the earth, but we are still not the best of Nations. In the last 60 years, we have listened to 3,000 Friday sermons.
A Chinese merchant once said: “Muslim merchants come to me and ask me to put fake international labels and brands on their goods. When I invite them to eat, they refuse because the food is not Halal. So it is Halal for them to sell fake goods?”
A Japanese Muslim said: “I traveled to the West and saw Islam in practice applied in the daily life of non-Muslims. I traveled to the East, I saw Islam but did not see any Muslims. I thank Allah I knew Islam before I knew how Muslims act.”
Religion should not be reduced to Prayer and Fasting. It is a way of life and it is about how we treat others.
Performing a religious obligation is up to you and it is something between you and Allah. However, good ethics is something between you and other people. In other words, if we do not put Islamic ethics into action and practice, corruption will become rampant and disgrace will be our future.
We should not judge a person based on how he performs religious obligations for he might be a hypocrite.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Verily, the bankrupt of my nation are those who come on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting and charity, but also with insults, slander, consuming wealth, shedding and beating others.”
I believe *Islam* (external aspect of faith) is incomplete without *Imaan* (internal aspect of faith) and *Ihsaan* (social aspect of faith). Ponder, understand and realize this.
Lord Bernard Shaw is said,to have said:
Islam is the best religion and Muslims are the worst followers.
(As received through Whatsapp)
Ex-President Sir, you have denigrated Mother India, committed sacrilege towards our glorious freedom struggle!
An open letter to Pranab Mukherjee
Image Courtesy: PTI
Respected Sir,
You have been a leader of the Indian National Congress, theoretically committed to democratic-secular India for more than four decades and also occupied the office of the President of India, the highest constitutional office of the country.
Sir, yesterday (June 7, 2018) while addressing a select gathering of RSS cadres at its headquarters, Resham Bagh, Nagpur, which included its top brass, Mohan Bhagwat, you remembered the founder of RSS, KB Hedgewar and wrote the following words in the visitor’s book in his praise, “Today I came here to pay my respect and homage to a great son of Mother India”.
Sir, there could not be a more blatant lie than this as your ‘great son of Mother India’ founded RSS in 1925 to oppose the united freedom struggle for an inclusive India. He did not join the freedom struggle because it was being fought for an all-inclusive India and not a Hindu state. He declared minorities, specially Muslims, the enemy of India and not the British rulers. He was a diehard casteist. He was inimical towards the Tricolour which had become a National Flag for resistance to the British from 1930 onward. His Hindutva icon VD Savarkar-led Hindu Mahasabha ran coalition governments with the Muslim League in 1942 in Bengal, Sind and NWFP when Congress was banned, the country had become a jail and hundreds of patriotic Indians were being ruthlessly massacred for daring to carry the Tricolour or unfurl it at house tops. Hedgewar believed in Hindu nationalism as opposed to Indian nationalism.
Sir, your character certificate to Hedgewar as a ‘great son of mother India’ is not only an insult of the great anti-colonial freedom struggle but also belittling of the great sacrifices of Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqullah Khan, Chander Shekhar Azad, Jatin Das, Potti Sreeramulu and thousands of other revolutionaries who died for the freedom of India. It was a sad day for the Indian Republic that Hedgewar was idolized by a person who enjoyed all the fruits of the Indian constitutional polity and was part of Congress which led the freedom struggle.
Sir, I am reproducing facts from the RSS archives which conclusively prove that you committed an act of sacrilege towards India’s glorious freedom struggle by declaring Hedgewar as a ‘great son of mother India’. You, kindly, check the truthfulness of these RSS documents. If I am proved wrong, please, take any action you feel fit.
Hedgewar hated the Tricolour
You would recollect that the Tricolour symbolised a united and composite Indian nationalism. However, it remained an object of hatred for the RSS during the freedom struggle. When the Congress passed a resolution demanding complete independence or Sampurna Swatantrya and called upon all Indians to celebrate 26 January 1930 as Independence Day (and every January 26 in future) by saluting the Tricolour as National Flag, Hedgewar instead instructed the RSS cadres to bow before its own flag, i.e. Bhagwa Dhawaj or saffron flag. The circular carrying this instruction asked all heads of the shakhas to take a meeting of their respective swayamsevaks at 6 pm on Sunday, 26 January 1930, at the respective sanghasthans (places where shakhas are held) and offer,
“salutation to the National Flag i.e. the Bhagwa Dhawaj. In the form of speech everybody should be explained in detail the correct meaning of independence and the reason why this ideal alone should be kept before everyone .”[i]
It was this legacy of hatred for the Tricolour that the RSS English organ, Organizer, demeaning the choice of the National Flag on the eve of Independence (14 August 1947) wrote:
“The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolour but it will never be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country.”
Hedgewar founded the RSS as he was opposed to Hindu-Muslim unity
Sir, I hope you still believe that for the good of India there should be unity between Hindus and Muslims but your ‘great son of Mother India’ hated it. RSS documents make it clear that Hedgewar was disillusioned with the Congress for the specific reason that it stood for unity between Hindus and Muslims. In one of the official biographies of Hedgewar published by RSS it is made clear why Hedgewar parted with the Congress led freedom struggle:
“It is clear that Gandhiji worked constantly with one eye on Hindu– Muslim unity…But Doctorji sensed danger in that move. In fact, he did not even relish the new-fangled slogan of ‘Hindu– Muslim Unity’.”[ii]
Hedgewar was never able to hide the fact that he distanced himself from the Congress because it believed in Hindu–Muslim unity. While returning from Central Province after the Hindu Mahasabha session (presided over by Savarkar) in Akola, Maharashtra in 1937, when he was asked why he left the Congress Hedgewar’s answer was, “because Congress believes in Hindu–Muslim unity”.[iii]
CP Bhishikar, official biographer of Hedgewar, while highlighting the factors which led him to part company with the Congress wrote:
“As a result of the Non-Cooperation Movement of Mahatma Gandhi the enthusiasm in the country was cooling down and the evils in social life which that movement generated were menacingly raising their head. As the tide of national struggle came to ebb mutual ill-will and jealousies came on the surface. Personal quarrels raged all round. Conflicts between various communities had started. Brahmin vs. non-Brahmin conflict was nakedly on view. No organization was integrated or united. The yavana-snakes [i.e. Muslims] reared on the milk of Non-Cooperation were provoking riots in the nation with their poisonous hissing.”[iv]
Thus according to RSS Muslims were snakes which are most of the times, if sighted, are killed.
Hedgewar acted as agent provocateur instigating communal riots
Sir, your favourite Hedgewar behaved as a bully in this game of communal mobilization and believed in aggravating communal conflict. One biography of his records that at times when band (music) troupes hesitated to play music before a mosque, Hedgewar “himself would take over the drums and rouse the dormant manliness of the Hindus”.[v]
It is important to recall that by 1926, the playing of music outside of mosques was the main reason behind a spate of communal riots. How Hedgewar personally led Hindus in this kind of aggressive communalisation is corroborated by Annaji Vaid, a steel mill owner of Nagpur who was not only a close confident of Hedgewar but one of the first RSS members:
“In those days [1926] Hindu–Muslim riots had begun to occur at many places. But we decided that this [ban on playing music in front of mosques] unreasonable stubbornness on the part of Muslims was an attack on the just demands of Hindus so while processions passing through each mosque must play musical instruments. Once on a Friday musicians while passing in front of the gate of a mosque stopped playing music. Then Doctorji himself snatched the drum, hanged it on his neck and played it. Only then the playing of music could start outside the mosque.”[vi]
Hedgewar was a diehard casteist
Sir, you talked of so many things at the RSS headquarters but were mum on the scourge of casteism which is one of the fundamental beliefs of RSS. You kept quiet, perhaps, for the reason that you did not want to embarrass your casteist patrons. You kept mum on this issue despite the fact that in last four years of RSS/BJP rule attacks on Sudras have increased manifold. However, the contemporary RSS literature shows that Hedgewar believed in casteism and did not mind practicing its off-shoot, the degenerate and inhuman practice of untouchability, in order not to antagonize high caste sympathizers. In Nasik Hedgewar went to the house of a Brahmin known as Dr. Gaidhani along with Krishna Rao Wadekar and Bhaskar Rao Ninave. When the time for meals came, Ninave who happened to be from a low caste asked Hedgewar whether he should sit separately for meals, as was commonly practised. When Wadekar suggested that there was no need for it, as Gaidhani had no way to know Ninave’s caste, Hedgewar openly disagreed with the suggestion that Ninave should eat sitting beside other Brahmins. Hedgewar’s logic was that it would cause immense pain to Gaidhani. He went on to add,
“and what benefit will we get out of it? On the contrary, if he sits separately for the meals that [action of his] will leave a far better impression on Gaidhaniji. Our swayamsevak may feel a bit hurt but in the view of our work this much pain should be tolerated. First we should win him with our love then these differences will disappear.”[vii]
It is a well-known fact that Hedgewar discouraged any attempt for community lunches (sah-bhoj) inclusive of all castes of Hindus which were being organized by a section of reformist Hindus in order to abolish the practice of untouchability.[viii]
Hedgewar shamelessly betrayed the freedom struggle
Sir, your favourite son of Mother India remained a silent spectator to British rule. Hedgewar went to jail twice individually on the call of Congress, otherwise the RSS scrupulously avoided any political activity which might be construed as being against the British authorities. According to one RSS publication:
“After establishing [the] Sangh, Doctor Saheb in his speeches used to talk only of Hindu organization. Direct comment on the government used to be almost nil.”[ix]
Hedgewar offered an interesting alibi for keeping silent against the British masters. When people asked him,
“why there were no speeches against the British rule in the RSS, Doctorji replied that ‘Only by having the goal of forcing the British out the British are not going to leave. The British have entered India due to unorganized nature of the nation, that has to be removed, building self-relying and disciplined society is the goal of Sangh’.”[x]
Hedgewar took measures to check the spontaneous joining of RSS cadres in the Salt Satyagraha led by Gandhi. He made it clear to the RSS cadres,
“Going to jail is today considered a sign of true patriotism… There can be no salvation for the country until this type of fleeting emotion gives place to positive and lasting feelings of devotion and sustained efforts.”[xi]
Sir, despite all such anti-national and anti-humanity acts/beliefs of Hedgewar you have declared him as “great son of Mother India”. If he was so then who was Gandhiji who opposed the RSS and was killed by the Hindutva assassins who, like the RSS, called themselves Hindu nationalists. The fact is that either Gandhiji or your newly found favourite Hedgewar can be called a “great son of Mother India”. Please withdraw your character certificate to this Hindutva zealot who stood against everything which democratic-secular India dreamt and fought for.
Sir, I am sorry to write that you have denigrated Mother India and it depends on you how to restore its dignity.
With best wishes,
Shamsul Islam
June 8, 2018
(notoinjustice@gmail.com)
[i] N. H. Palkar (ed.), Dr.. Hedgewar Patr-Roop Vayakti Darshan [Selection of Hedgewar’s letters, Hindi edition] (Indore: Archana Prakashan, 1989), 18.
[ii] H. V. Seshadri (ed.), Dr.. Hedgewar, the Epoch-Maker: A Biography, 61.
[iii] H. V. Pingle (ed.), Smritikan: Param Pujiye Dr.. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan [in Hindi a collection of incidents in the life of Dr.. Hedgewar] (Nagpur: RSS Prakashan Vibhag, 1962), 93.
[iv] C. P. Bhishikar, Keshav Sangh Nirmata (Delhi: Suruchi, 1980), 7, cited in Tapan Basu and others, Khaki Shorts Saffron Flags: A critique of the Hindu Right (Delhi: Orient Longman, 1993), 14.
[v] H. V. Seshadri (ed.), Dr.. Hedgewar, the Epoch-Maker: A Biography (Bangalore: Sahitya Sindhu, 1981), 71.
[vi] H. V. Pingle (ed.), Smritikan: Param Pujiye Dr.. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan [in Hindi a collection of incidents in the life of Dr.. Hedgewar], 31–32.]
[vii] H. V. Pingle (ed.), Smritikan-Param Pujiye Dr.. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan [in Hindi a collection of incidents in the life of Dr.. Hedgewar], 66-67.
[viii] Ibid., 119.
[ix] C. P. Bhishikar, Sangh-viraksh Ke Beej: Dr.. Keshav Rao Hedgewar [in Hindi] (Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1994), 24.
[x] H. V. Pingle (ed.), Smritikan: Param Pujiye Dr.. Hedgewar Ke Jeewan Kee Vibhin
Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan [in Hindi: a collection of incidents in the life of Dr..Hedgewar] (Nagpur: RSS Prakashan Vibhag, 1962), 43.
Gahtnaon Ka Sankalan [in Hindi: a collection of incidents in the life of Dr..Hedgewar] (Nagpur: RSS Prakashan Vibhag, 1962), 43.
[xi] H. V. Seshadri (ed.), Dr.. Hedgewar, the Epoch-Maker A Biography, 119.
Police Raj and Human Rights Violations in Tamil Nadu
There are rumours now that the state police have prepared a list of several movement leaders, political personalities and frontline activists to be detained over the next few weeks and months. The people’s right to assemble, right to oppose a dangerous project that spoils the local land, water, air and the health of the people and their right to protest peacefully are all being systematically violated by the authorities.
T. Velmurugan
Tamil Nadu: Several political leaders and frontline activists of people’s movements and political parties are being arrested, incarcerated and persecuted in Tamil Nadu by the state police. It is widely suspected that the central government in Delhi is guiding the Tamil Nadu government and police in these operations.
On May 25, 2018, T. Velmurugan, the founding president of the Tamizhaka Vaazhvurimai Katchi (Tamil Nadu’s ‘Right to Life’ Party), was arrested at the Thoothukudi airport on his way to meet and console the families of the massacre victims in the anti-Sterlite protest. All different leaders had been visiting the city on a regular basis to do just that and Velmurugan intended to do the same. After all, he has served as an MLA twice in the past and is a known figure in Tamil politics.
“On May 26, Velmurugan visited the violence-hit Thoothukudi district. He was arrested by the Neyveli police at Thoothukudi airport and remanded to judicial custody at Puzhal prison. Velmurugan was vociferous against the Centre and state on issues like Cauvery water management and permanent job for localities in Neyveli Lignite Corporation. His outfit also took part in the anti-Sterlite protests,” reported Deccan Chronicle on May 31.
“The Neyveli Thermal Police have booked a case under Sections 124 A (whoever by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visual representation or otherwise brings or attempts to bring in contempt or hatred), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth) and 505 (II) (b) – with intent to cause or which is likely to cause fear or alarm to the public. A warrant has been issued,” reported The Hindu.
“Mr. Velmurugan is presently undergoing treatment at the Government Stanley Hospital in Chennai where he was admitted for health complications developed during his recent imprisonment at the Puzhal Central Prison,” the report added.
He and nine others were kept overnight in a dilapidated hall without food, water or toilet facilities. The hall was locked on the front and at the back and no one (including lawyers, doctors, journalists or friends) was allowed to see Velmurugan and the other detainees. The police were lathi charging those who approached the hall. The arrested were taken to the Chennai central prison in northern Tamil Nadu without even a chance to take a break or to urinate on the way. All this amounts to gross human rights violations.
Various political parties such as the MDMK, the DMK, the VCK, the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, the TNCC, the CPI and the CPM came together to protest against the arrest of Tamilaga Valvurimai Katchi leader T. Velmurugan before the Chennai Collectorate on Tuesday.
Earlier, two youngsters Idumbavanam Karthi and Kadal Deepan, both Naam Tamizhar Katchi (We Tamils Party) workers, were arrested under various charges and incarcerated in the central prison in Chennai. Similarly, Viennarasu, the state coordinator of the Naam Tamizhar Katchi (We Tamils Party,) was also arrested under a false charge that he had instigated arson in the May 22nd Thoothukudi protest and imprisoned.
K. M. Shariff, the president of Tamizhaga Makkal Jananaayaka Katchi (Tamil People’s Democratic Party) was arrested along with his friends on June 5 when he tried to blockade actor Rajnikanth’s house in Chennai. Usually, the police would arrest such protestors and let them go in the evening but this time they remanded Shariff and his comrades and sent them to prison.
Two other leading activists, Thirumurugan Gandhi of May 17 Movement and Dyson of Tamizhaga Vidiyal Katchi (Tamil Nadu Dawn Party), had been arrested a few months back under the goondas act and they came out on bail.
There are rumours now that the state police have prepared a list of several movement leaders, political personalities and frontline activists to be detained over the next few weeks and months. The people’s right to assemble, right to oppose a dangerous project that spoils the local land, water, air and the health of the people and their right to protest peacefully are all being systematically violated by the authorities.
In the light of the above situation, the Pachai Tamizhagam Katchi demanded that all of the above leaders and workers be released immediately and unconditionally. All the false and concocted charges against them must be dropped. The fundamental human rights and entitlements of the people of Tamil Nadu must be respected and protected.
Written and forwarded in most part by SP Udaykumar, Pachai Tamizhagam Katchi (Green Tamil Nadu Party.)
A year later, Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ still not released
The Dalit Rights Activist was arrested and detained under the draconian NSA for allegedly rioting and stoking violence in May 2017. No one from the upper-caste community accused in the violence has been arrested under the same act.
Lucknow: It was around this time last year that Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ shouted from a dais in the national capital that “We are the rulers of this country,” with the famous twirl of his moustache. The 30-year-old was being seen as a serious contender and fierce competitor to UP’s BSP party and the ruling party. Dalits in Western UP found a fresh and strong voice in Azad’s brand of politics and justice that they had not witnessed in the country before.
The month of May 2017 saw an attack by upper castes on Dalit homes which led to more clashes, also known as the Saharanpur violence. He was accused of rioting and arrested by UP’s Special Task Force in June 2017 with 24 FIR’s filed against him.
“In November 2017, when Azad’s arrest came up before the Allahabad High Court, the judges called the charges “politically motivated” and granted bail to the Dalit rights leader. Yet, despite this clear decision from the High Court, the Uttar Pradesh government promptly slapped the draconian National Security Act on Azad. No one from the upper-caste community accused in the violence has been arrested under the NSA,” reported Scroll.
Amnesty International demanded the immediate release of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ on Thursday and said that he was being falsely imprisoned under the NSA.
“He has been languishing in prison for the last one year. Keeping him behind bars under repressive administrative detention laws shows that the Uttar Pradesh government would rather stifle dissent than address serious human rights concerns,” Programmes Director at Amnesty International India Asmita Basu said in the PTI report.
Unlawful Detention
On May 2, 2018, the Adityanath administration extended the application of the draconian National Security Act (NSA) on Azad by three more months, till August 3, thereby increasing his period of “preventive detention.” CJP has carried an intensive and exclusive report about the dangerous precedent being set by incarcerating Azad.
Earlier on April 28, the Allahabad High Court rejected a writ petition filed by the team of lawyers representing Azad, led by Senior Advocate Ravi Kiran Jain.
Responding to this decision of the Court, Advocate Jain said that they are planning to file a review petition in Supreme Court soon in the case. He said that one of his arguments that “the Magistrate didn’t have powers to order detentions on supposed apprehensions of threats to national security” wasn’t heard. He said that the argument made by the state government that Azad’s incarceration was just based on “subjective satisfaction of available material” was a stretch and didn’t hold ground.
“The NSA allows the state to keep an accused in preventive detention for up to a year, and following that, the freedom to issue another order of preventive detention. The only check on this process is the permission to someone who has been detained under National Security Act to make a representation before an Advisory Board of three high court judges, or people qualified to be high court judges, after three months in detention. Uttar Pradesh’s use of the National Security Act against Azad, even though the High Court made it clear that the charges against him were politically motivated, is a perfect example of why a law like this should not be on the books in the first place. Why is it okay for a government to keep someone behind bars, without a chargesheet or a trial, when even High Court judges have criticised his arrest?” the Scroll report stated.
Azad’s Hunger Strike
Azad announced his hunger strike in April 2018 demanding amnesty for those facing cases for participating in Bharat Bandh, an all India strike of Dalit and progressive groups on April 2, 2018. He began by skipping one meal a day and promised to keep increasing the intensity of his hunger strike if his demands were not met.
The Bandh was called against the Supreme Court order of March 20 diluting the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 by the bench of U.U. Lalit and A.K. Goyal. The court order says that the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act, 1989 is being “misused” and lays down procedures which will make it difficult for vulnerable communities to lodge cases against people in powerful positions such as government officials.
How Chandrashekhar became Ravan
A report by CNN-News18 in 2017 detailed many important aspects of the Bhim Army. “Chandrashekhar, or Ravan as he calls himself, was born in Dhadkuli village near Chatmalpur in Saharanpur. A law graduate from a local college in the district, he first courted controversy in 2015, when he put up a board at his native place that read ‘The Great Chamars of Dhadkauli Welcome You.’ The move led to tensions between the Dalits and the Thakurs in the village. While the controversy was brought under control, the then 28-year-old, who soon became the face of the Dalits in the village, came into the spotlight. “Chandrashekhar slowly gained prominence. Soon after this incident, he started putting together the Bhim Army and got young Dalits under the banner,” said retired IPS officer and Dalit activist SR Darapuri. He adds that the youths had been disillusioned by the BSP’s style of politics, and Chandrashekhar’s fresh and strong voice struck a chord with many. “This disillusionment struck home with the Dalits who felt it was time to be aggressive in terms of activism. This thought spread across the ranks of the Bhim Army and Chandrashekhar became Chandrashekhar Azad for them,” said Darapuri in the report.
“Ideologically, too, Chandrashekhar poses a challenge to the saffron party. “Chandrashekhar calls himself Ravan and his followers have added an Azad to his name. The leader uses a Hindu mythological character as an epithet of oppression and his followers call him nothing less than a nationalist freedom fighter. You think this goes down well with the saffron party or the RSS?” asks activist Ram Kumar. Without waiting for a reply, Kumar said this phenomenon can never be digested by the Sangh Parivar or the BJP,” the 2017 report stated.
In an extensive report by CJP, Azad had said that he would prefer death over comprising on principles. He had also claimed that he feared for his life.
Vinay Ratan Singh won’t back down
The PTI report stated that “over 140,000 people across India have supported Amnesty International India’s campaign calling on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to release Azad, the president of Bhim Army, Vinay Ratan Singh said. The petition launched on 4 April, requests people to give a missed call to show their support for Azad, Singh added.
Singh made this statement along with Basu, a week after he was let out on bail from a Saharanpur local court. He said that he would launch a statewide stir for the release of the outfit’s founder Chandrashekhar Azad.
“When the riots were taking place, the same state authorities had asked for his and Bhim Army’s help to maintain peace in Saharanpur. Now they are saying that if he is released, he will create a law and order problem,” said Singh in a press conference in Lucknow.
CJP’s demand
Citizens for Justice and Peace have launched a campaign to free him and wrote a petition to UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
The petition says that in Chandrashekhar’s case, there are reasons to believe that he is not a threat to the security of the state, but simply asserting his democratic and Constitutional rights as a citizen. In fact, here it is important to take note of the exemplary work which was being carried out by Bhim Army under his leadership. The Bhim Army has been working for the education of poor and dis-enfranchised Dalit children, opening 350 schools that were forcibly thereafter shut down in the past nine months. Two such schools are still being valiantly run in Azad’s home village of Shabbirpur in Uttar Pradesh.
In light of the above facts, CJP demands that all charges against Chandrashekhar Azad under the NSA be dropped immediately and that he be released on bail. CJP urges CM Yogi Adityanath to take urgent cognizance of his deteriorating health.
Support Citizens for Justice and Peace’s Campaign to Free Chandrashekhar Azad, Chief of Bhim Army by signing this petition to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to drop NSA charges against him.
In light of the above facts, CJP demands that all charges against Chandrashekhar Azad under the NSA be dropped immediately and that he be released on bail. CJP urges CM Yogi Adityanath to take urgent cognizance of his deteriorating health.
Support Citizens for Justice and Peace’s Campaign to Free Chandrashekhar Azad, Chief of Bhim Army by signing this petition to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to drop NSA charges against him.