Naroda Patia Case: Gujarat HC allows Free Case Papers to Survivors

December 21, 2016

The High Court has also started hearing the appeal petitions on daily basis since last Monday, December 19

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday allowed six victims of the 2002 Naroda Patia massacre to get case papers running into over 1.25 lakh pages free of cost from the registry of the court. Survivors backed by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP),a Mumbai-based civil rights and legal aid group had filed this application in early December 2016. The application may be read here.

Survivors had filed a petition earlier this month to get the case papers free of cost after the registry demanded Rs 1.18 lakh printing cost from them. The victims Fatimabibi Sheikh, Farzanabanu Pathan, Dilawar Saiyed, Jannatbibi Sheikh, Ishrat Jahan Saiyed and Ruksana Qureshi moved the application through advocate on record, K N Shashtri, seeking copies of the case papers without any charges.

During the hearing, a division bench of Justices Harsha Devani and A S Supehia asked the special investigation team (SIT) lawyer if the victims, who have also filed appeal petitions against 11 persons who were acquitted, can be given the papers free of cost.

SIT lawyer R C Kodekar told the bench that it is the discretion of the court to grant such requests, however, there is no such rule under the Code of Criminal Procedure and other relevant high court rules. Following the brief argument, the bench allowed the petition moved by the victims and ordered the registry to provide a copy of entire case papers without any charges. The case papers include the appeal petitions and judgment of the special designated court.

The High Court has also started hearing the appeal petitions on daily basis since Monday. The division bench is hearing the appeal petitions against conviction moved by 31 convicts, including former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babubhai Patel alias Babu Bajrangi. They are facing life sentence for their alleged roles in the Naroda Patiya massacre in which 97 Muslims were killed on February 28, 2002, when large scale riots had broken out in the state following the Sabarmati Express train burning incident.

During the hearing of the Sardarpura appeals, Survivors were greatly handicapped not having a copy of the case papers.

This appeal has run into a series of controversies.Criticising this practice which appeared to have been adopted in the controversial and sensitive Naroda Patia massacre case of the 2002 riots, to possibly deliberately engage an advocate who is a distant relative of Justice Akil Kureshi, the division bench of Kureshi and Justice Biren Vaishnav observed that instead of requesting the judge not to hear the case, the senior counsel should have refrained from appearing in the case as the judge does not hear the cases of that lawyer. This had happened on Friday, November 18. Before that,last year, two Judges of the Gujarat HC in open court had said that one of the accused had approached and even threatened the judges.

Meanwhile, both Maya Kodnani and Babu bajrangi,the high profile accusedhave got permamnent and temporary bail since their conviction on August 29,2012. At the last hearing of the appeal,Babu Bajrangi had pleaded for permamnent bail claiming that he was nearly one hundredper cent blind. He has been supported by a report of the jail doctor and medical team

Witness File Application for Free Access to Papers in Naroda Patiya Appeal :Gujarat HC, December 2016

December 21, 2016

I N D E X

Annex.	Particulars	Page No.
	Memo of petition
“A”	Copy of application to the registrar dtd. 28.7.2015.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
         DISTRICT: AHMEDABAD

MISC. CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.            OF 2016

                                                          IN
      CRIMINAL APPEAL     NO.            OF 2016

Fatimabibi Mohammed Yusuf Shaikh & Ors                          …Petitioners
V E R S U S

The State of Gujarat and Anr.                                                        …Respondents

                                                 LIST OF EVENTS

The petitioners are the original witnesses and victims of the offence.
The criminal appeals filed by the accused as well as the petitioners and the State of Gujarat have been ordered to be heard together considering the fact that the impugned judgment and order is common.
28.07.2015 : An application was filed before the respondent no. 3 requesting to tender the copy of the paperbook to the victims who have lost their close family members. This request had been made earlier too by the petitioners. However, the request was declined on the ground that the petitioners must be required to pay Rs. 1.18 lac approx for the paperbook.
The petitioners can’t afford to pay such a huge amount, they are daily wage earners and are the Survivors of this brute act of targeted violence. Hence this petition.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
         DISTRICT: AHMEDABAD

MISC. CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.            OF 2016

                                                          IN
      CRIMINAL APPEAL     NO. 1812          OF 2012

Fatimabibi Mohammed Yusuf Shaikh Age:55
Farzanabanu Ayubkhan Pathan Age:40
Dilawar Umrao Saiyed Age:62
Jannatbibi Kalubhai Sheikh Age:55
Ishrat Jahan Parvez Saiyed Age:32
Ruksana Bundubhai Qureshi Age:37

Applicants residing at :-

Hukamsingh Ni Chaali, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad
Imambibi Ni Chaali, S. T. Workshop, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad
Hussein Nagar Gali No. 1, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad
Nr. Hukamsingh Ni Chaali, S. T. Workshop, Naroda Patiya, Ahmedabad
Nr. Hussein Nagar Ni Chaali, S.T.Workshop, Naroda Patiya, Ahmedabad
Javan Nagar Gali No. 12, Naroda Patia, Ahmedabad.

( Original Witnesses/Victims)

V E R S U S

The State of Gujarat,

(Notice to be served through the
Ld. P.P. High Court of Gujarat
Ahmedabad)

Special Investigation Team,

Through its special public prosecutor,
Hon’ble Gujarat High Court,
Ahmedabad.

The Registrar General ( Judicial),

Hon’bel Gujarat High Court,
Ahmedabad.                                                         …Respondents
                                                                             (No.2 -org. complainant)
Application u/s. 482 of Cr. P. C. obtaining paperbook in Criminal Appeal No. 1812/2012       and allied appeals.
TO,
THE HON’BLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE OTHER HON’BLE JUDGES OF THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT.
THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHEWETH: –

The petitioners are the original prosecution witness nos. 112, 106, 143, 142, 177 and 212 respectively in the Sessions Case Nos235/2009, 236/2009, 241/2009, 243/2009, 245/2009, 246/2009, 270/2009decided by the Ld. Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad. The petitioners herein have filed Criminal Appeal No. 1812/2012 u/s 372 Cr.P.C.The appealsfiled against the judgment and order of conviction have been filed by the accused whereas the appeals against acquittal have been filed by the petitioners being Criminal Appeal No 1812 of 2012.
The petitioners respectfully submit that the petitioners are victims of the offence of mass carnage where more than eighty innocent people were done to death. The petitioners are extremely poor and are unable to pay the court fee amounting to Rs. 1.18 lac approx. It is under these circumstances the petitioner’s lawyer had tendered an application to the registry dtd. 28.07.2015. Annexed as ANNEXURE: “A” to this petition is the copy of the application to the registry of this Hon’ble Court. The petitioners can’t afford to pay such a huge amount, they are daily wage earners and are the Survivors of this brute act of targeted violence.
The petitioners respectfully submit that there is no communication from the registry but the registry has been insisting for the payment of this preposterously huge amount againstthe paperbook. Now that the appeal is likely to proceed same request has been renewed on behalf of the petitioners but paying a huge amount is a big hurdle. The petitioners submit thatconsidering the impecunious conditions of the petitioners it would not be possible for them to bear the huge cost of obtaining the paperbook and thereby assist this Hon’ble Court in best possible manner. The petitioners further submit that the petitioners have not been rehabilitated by the state government by providing any house/ shelterand have been compelled to survive on their own. Under these circumstances if the petitioners are deprived of the paperbook it would be extremely difficult for them to assist this Hon’ble Court. The lack of access to the paper book would be a denial of natural justice to the petioners also Victim Survivors of a brute massacre.
The petitioners have not filed any other petition either in this Hon’ble Court or in he Hon’ble Supreme Court of India withregard to the subject matter of this petition, and having no any other equally efficacious remedy, this petition is filed.

   6.        The petitioners therefore humbly prays that this HON’BLE COURT BE PLEASED: –
(A)              YOUR LORDSHIPS be pleased to order the respondent no. 3 to allow the petitioners to get one set of the combined paperbook for Criminal Appeal No. 1812/2012 and allied appeals in the interest of justice;
(B)              YOUR LORDSHIPS be pleased to grant such other and further relief as may be deemed fit in the facts and circumstances of the case;
AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS AND JUSTICE THE PETITIONER SHALL AS IN DUTY BOUND SHALL FOREVER PRAY

Ahmedabad:                                                       (Kalpesh Shashtri)

Date:    /12/2016                                                   Advocate for petitioners

                                             A F F I D A V I T

I, , Age:. herein do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as under:-

I am Petitioner in the memo of the petition and am conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case and am competent to depose that what is stated herein above is true to the best of my knowledge information and belief and I believe the same to be true and correct.
I have gone through a memo of petition and I solemnly affirm and state what is stated in para nos. 1 to 6 are true to the best of my knowledge and information and para no. 6 is a prayer clause which is based upon legal advice of advocate.
I state that the Annexures are produced with the accompanying petition are true copies of their original documents.

Solemnly affirmed at Ahmedabad on this day, of December, 2016
DEPONENT
Explained and interpreted
To the Deponent by me

I-T Sleuths Raid BJP leader Sushil Waswani for allegedly Laundering Huge Sums of Black Money

December 21, 2016

I-T department raids BJP leader Sushil Waswani for allegedly laundering huge sums of black money

The raid was simultaneously conducted at 12 different locations in Bhopal on Tuesday, December 20, that includes his house in the Bairagarh township and the three hotels he owns in various parts of Bhopal.

Sushil Vaswani, the BJP leader has been raided by the Income Tax department in Bhopal for allegedly exchanging large amounts of old currency notes with new ones through the Mahanagar Nagrik Cooperative bank.

The raid was simultaneously conducted at 12 different locations in Bhopal on Tuesday that includes his house in the Bairagarh township and the three hotels he owns in various parts of Bhopal.

Earlier in November, BJP’s youth wing secretary from Salem, JVR Arun, was arrested by Tamil Nadu police with bundles of new currency notes worth Rs 20.55 lakh. BJP said that they had removed Arun from organisational responsibilities after his arrest. In another incident, former BJP leader Manish Sharma from West Bengal was also caught with Rs 33 Lakh in Rs 2,000 notes.

Photo Courtesy: Indian Express

Who is Sushil Waswani?

Says India Today,

He was once a bus conductor in the now defunct Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation. But that was much before Vaswani made it big in MP BJP politics.
He now owns three hotels and several other posh properties in Bhopal.
The raid was simultaneously conducted at 12 different locations in Bhopal on Tuesday that includes his house in the Bairagarh township and the three hotels he owns in various parts of Bhopal.
Vaswani is also the founder director of the Mahanagar Nagrik Cooperative Bank that was inaugurated by a top BJP leader in 1992.
Apart from a senior BJP minister Uma Shankar Gupta, senior RSS leader Shashi Bhai Seth are also among the directors of this bank through which the disproportionate exchange of old and new currency notes has allegedly happened.
Vaswani also enjoyed a minister of state status in the BJP government when he was appointed the chairman of the MP Housing Corporation. He proudly displays his past status on the name plate of his house that was raided on Tuesday.
The December 20 income tax raid started at around 6.30 am with 64 officers simultaneously searching 12 locations in different parts of the city.
According to a top source in the IT department a lot of incriminating evidence pointing towards large scale exchange of currency notes post demonetisation have been recovered during the raids.

Build, Rebuild & Consolidate Communities to Bring Real Change: Angela Davis

December 21, 2016

Delivering the 8th Anuradha Gandhy Memorial Lecture, titled Black Lives, Dalits Lives: Histories and Solidarities to a rapt and considerable audience at the KC College auditorium in south Mumbai, Ms Davis spoke passionately about the moments of promise and solidarities between the Dalit and Adivasi movements in India and the Black resistance in the United States.

Video Courtesy: Satyen K. Bordoloi

Excerpts from the Lecture:

“In the aftermath of the Constitutional Abolition of Slavery in the United States, Jyotiba Phule from Maharashtra, in 1873 dedicated ‘Gulamgiri’ to anti-slavery activists in the USA. And, when Phule called upon people from the lower castes and Dalits to unite and defeat the caste system he was making a connection to those battling slavery.

“This was a Moment of Promise; the Moments we need to Remember to Build Solidarities. Dr B.A. Ambedkar was in Columbia—and Columbia is in Harlem though often represented as located at the edge of Harlem!—and Harlem is the Capital of Black America.

“W.E.B. Du Bois, the prominent African American intellectual and activist[1] was a contemporary of Dr. Ambedkar. The public archive of his works and records lies in an archive in the University of Massachusetts. In the 1940s, Ambedkar contacted Du Bois to inquire about the National Negro Congress petition to the U.N., which attempted to secure minority rights through the U.N. council. Ambedkar explained that he had been a "student of the Negro problem," and that "[t]here is so much similarity between the position of the Untouchables in India and of the position of the Negroes in America that the study of the latter is not only natural but necessary." In a letter dated July 31, 1946, Du Bois responded by telling Ambedkar he was familiar with his name, and that he had "every sympathy with the Untouchables of India."

Angela Davis also referred to the relationship of the Dalit struggle and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Dr Martin Luther King, in 1959 wrote of “My Trip to the Land of Gandhi” and here he discussed this relationship: the problem of segregation (we call it race; they all it caste: in both cases some are considered inferior and are discriminated against.)”

Anuradha Gandhy, in who’s memory this 8^th Memorial lecture was being held was a committed revolutionary with the CPI(ML), activist and academic. She died in 2008, contracting malaria in the jungles of Jharkand where she lived teaching Adivasi women.

She was an integral part and founder of the the Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sanghatana that has had 90,000 members.

To quote Gandhy, “The history of the caste system can be tracked back to over 3,000 years. It is inextricably linked to the development of the class society. The merchants of the state, the development of the feudal mode of production and the continuous and often forcible assimilation of tribal groups into exploitative agrarian economy. To root out the caste system we must first understand the origin and development and evaluate the various failure successes and failures of the caste struggles.”

[1] In 1913, B.R. Ambedkar arrived in New York City from Bombay at the age of twenty-two, on a scholarship to attend Columbia University that Fall and pursue an M.A. in Economics. After returning to India (not before completing a Ph.D. in London), Ambedkar would go on to become the most influential Dalit leader in India in the 20th century, the chairman of the constituent assembly that drafted the Indian constitution, and one of the most incisive theorists of caste and greatest intellectuals of modern India. From the perspective of a researcher, Dr. Ambedkar's proximity to Harlem during his years of study at Columbia has always raised several questions about his experience in the U.S. How might have his experiences in New York impacted his thinking? Aside from his influential mentors at the University (John Dewey, Edwin Seligman, James Shotwell, and James Harvey), who were his personal acquaintances in the U.S.? And did his experience witnessing anti-Black racism in America influence his thinking on the caste question in India? Despite the many allusions to race in the U.S. in his oeuvre, Ambedkar — as far as I know — left no first hand account of his time in New York to answer such questions.

An interesting record appears in the papers of W.E.B. Du Bois, the prominent African American intellectual and activist, whose archive is housed at the University of Massachusetts. In the 1940s, Ambedkar contacted Du Bois to inquire about the National Negro Congress petition to the U.N., which attempted to secure minority rights through the U.N. council. Ambedkar explained that he had been a "student of the Negro problem," and that "[t]here is so much similarity between the position of the Untouchables in India and of the position of the Negroes in America that the study of the latter is not only natural but necessary." In a letter dated July 31, 1946, Du Bois responded by telling Ambedkar he was familiar with his name, and that he had "every sympathy with the Untouchables of India."

बीजेपी प्रवक्ता संबित पात्रा के शो में हाथापाई के साथ चली कुर्सिया, शो करना पड़ा स्थगित

December 21, 2016

बीजेपी प्रवक्ता संबित पात्रा को लेकर एक निजी टीवी चैनल ने नोटबंदी के मुद्दे पर वाराणसी के रविदास घाट पर एक टाॅक शो का आयोजन किया था। शो के दौरान नोटबंदी के सवाल पर राजनैतिक पार्टियों के समर्थक आपस में भिड़ पड़े।

हाथापाई के साथ, कुर्सियों को एक दूसरे पर उठा-उठाकर फैंकना शुरू कर दिया और जमकर नारेबाजी की गई। इस कार्यक्रम में संबित पात्रा के अलावा सपा, बसपा व कांग्रेस के नेता भी अपने-अपने समर्थकों के साथ मौजूद थे।

मीडिया रिपोट्स के मुताबिक, इस टॉक शो में बीजेपी के प्रवक्ता संबित पात्रा, सपा के राजकुमार जायसवाल, कांग्रेस के नदीम जावेद आदि नेता नोटबंदी के फायदे व नुकसान को लेकर परिचर्चा कर रहे थे। सभी दलों के समर्थक भी वहां पर कुर्सी पर जमे हुए थे और विषय को लेकर प्रश्र भी कर रहे थे।

नोटबंदी के बाद बेकार हुए अपने नोट बैंकों में जमा कराने पर लगी इस रोक को लेकर कार्यक्रम में पूछे गए सवाल पर बीजेपी प्रवक्ता संबित पात्रा ने कहा कि एक बार ही नोट जमा करने का निर्देश इसलिए कि ऐसा न हो बार-बार किसी ब्लैकमनी वाले का पैसा कोई जमा कर आए। वहीं कांग्रेस नेता नदीम जावेद ने इस कदम की आलोचना करते हुए पीएम मोदी पर इस मामले पर चर्चा से भागने का आरोप लगाया।

इसी दौरान जबरदस्त बहस का माहौल बन गया। बीजेपी, सपा और कांग्रेस के बीच गर्मागर्मी का दौर शुरू हो गया। देखते ही देखते पार्टी समर्थकों के बीच विवाद बढ़ने लगा। इसके बाद निजी चैनल के लोग मामले को सुलझा पाते कि बात बिगड़ गयी और सपा और बसपा के कार्यकर्ता आपस में लड़ गये।
दोनों ही पक्षों ने एक-दूसरे पार्टी के नेताओं के खिलाफ जमकर नारेबाजी की और मारने के लिए कुर्सी भी चलायी। दोनों ही पक्ष में जमकर बवाल हो गया। हंगामे के चलते कार्यक्रम को भी स्थगित करना पड़ गया।

सपा कार्यकर्ताओं ने बीजेपी पर सीएम के खिलाफ अभद्र भाषा का प्रयोग करने का आरोप लगाते हुए लंका थाने का घेराव किया। सपा के लोगों ने बीजेपी प्रवक्ता संबित पात्रा के खिलाफ कार्रवाई के लिए तहरीर दी गई।

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter

मोदी के दोस्त चंद्रबाबू नायडू ने निकाली भड़ास, कहा- काबिल नहीं है सरकार

December 21, 2016

नई दिल्ली। पीएम मोदी ने 8 नवंबर को शाम 8 बजे अचानक 500 और 1000 के नोटबंदी की घोषणा कर दी। पीएम ने जब नोटबंदी की घोषणा की तो विपक्षियों ने उनके इस फैसले पर सवाल खड़े किए थे। हालांकि कुछ राजनेताओं ने पीएम मोदी के नोटबंदी के फैसले को बोल्ड फैसला बताते हुए पीएम मोदी की तारीफ भी की थी। जिसमें बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार और पीएम मोदी के मित्र और आंध्र प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री चंद्रबाबू नायडू का नाम शामिल है।

लेकिन आज नोटबंदी के 42 दिन बाद भी जब समस्याएं जस की तस बनी हैं और लोगों का मरना जारी है तो लोगों के सब्र का बांध टूट रहा है। नोटबंदी को लेकर मोदी सरकार की तारीफ करने वाले आंध्र प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री चंद्रबाबू नायडू ने भी अब अपना रुख बदल लिया है।

चंद्र बाबू नायडू का अब कहना है कि नोटबंदी से जैसी उम्मीद थी वो पूरी नहीं हुई। चंद्रबाबू नायडू का ये भी कहना है कि नोटबंदी के चालीस दिन गुजर जाने के बाद भी समस्या का कोई हल नहीं दिख रहा है। नोटबंदी पर अपनी राय बदलते हुए चंद्रबाबू नायडू ने कहा, “इतने दिन बाद भी समस्या बरकरार है। समस्या सुलझाने वाले काबिल नहीं हैं और फिलहाल इसका हल नहीं दिख रहा है।”

आपको बता दें कि चंद्रबाबू नायडू केंद्र सरकार की तरफ से बनाई गई उस 13 सदस्दीय कमेटी के चेयरमैन हैं जिसके पास नोटबंदी से पैदा हुई समस्याओं को देखने की जिम्मेदारी है। चंद्रबाबू नायडू ने सरकार को चेतावनी दी है कि अगर फौरी तौर पर सुधार के कदम नहीं उठाए गए तो लोगों की परेशानी लंबे समय तक बनी रही सकती है।

चंद्रबाबू नायडू ने कहा, “जैसी खुशफहमी मुझे थी, नोटबंदी वैसा नहीं रहा। नोटबंदी के 40 दिन बाद भी लोगों को भारी परेशानी का सामना है और अभी इसका कोई हल भी नहीं दिख रहा है।” आंध्र के सीएम ने कहा, “नोटबंदी अब भी संवदेशनशील और जटिल परेशानी है।”

चंद्रबाबू नायडू का कहना है कि वो हर रोज दो घंटे नोटबंदी से पैदा हुई परेशानी को कम करने में लगाते हैं, अपना दिमाग खपाते हैं, लेकिन वो कोई हल निकालने में नाकाम रहते हैं। उन्होंने आगे कहा, “हमने 30 दिन में अगस्त संकट (1984 में पार्टी के भीतर हुए तख्तापलट) का हल निकाल लिया था, लेकिन नोटबंदी अब भी परेशान कर रही है।” उन्होंने कहा कि नोटबंदी और डिजिटल ट्रांजेक्शन के लिए लिए बैंक तैयार नहीं थे।

Courtesy: National Dastak

With Fear of Silence: In Conversation With Megha Pansare

December 21, 2016

A professor of Russian in the Department of Foreign Languages at Shivaji University in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, Megha Pansare ostensibly leads a quiet life. She is the President of the District Council of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) in the state of Maharashtra. She is also a noted activist and the daughter-in-law of Comrade Govind Pansare. But most importantly, a year ago, she dared to question the Union Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, for denying the link between the murders of Dr. Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. It is clear that those purported to have killed these rationalists belong to the same right-wing organisation, the Sanathan Sanstha. During the three-day conference in Goa in November titled "Abhivyakti’" organised by the Dakshinayan Rashtriya Parishad, ICF had an opportunity to speak with Megha Pansare and ask her a few questions.

Megha Pansare
Images Courtesy Sandesh Bhandare

Yesterday in your speech (in the Public Meeting at Lohia Maidan in Madgaon for the Abhivyakti Conference of the Dakshinayan Rashtriya Parishad) you spoke of fear, not just of those who kill rationalists in broad daylight, but fear of the existing political order. Could you explain further what you meant?

Today, people across the country are being threatened or facing cases of defamation. In 2015, 8 people (rationalists and journalists) were killed, 30 attacked, 3 arrested, 27 threatened, 35 charged with sedition and 48 faced cases of defamation. In 2016, there has been an unprecedented rise in cases throttling free speech. These cases have spread the fear of attacks – big and small – on activists, journalists, academics, writers and intellectuals, leaving them with no room to criticise or even question. Only those who align with the state or belong to the right wing fundamentalist groups aligned with the state have space to raise their concerns. Those of us who wish to speak our minds are not permitted to do so. And if we do, we can’t do so in the way we should. To me, this is visible in the college staff room where we can no longer criticise or express ourselves freely. Earlier people used to debate without fear, agree to disagree, and at least hear each other fully. Now, silence is preferable for fear of unforeseen consequences. If this is the case within a university staff room, how will we speak freely in society? Fear has set in.

If we readily compare ourselves to a theological state like Pakistan while invoking the bogey of Islam, we need to remember that as per our Constitution we are a democratic one. We need to remember whose interest it serves to polarise people along communal lines. But if we dare to expose this link, we are immediately branded “anti-national”. This question is now being posed as one community against another, one religion against another, and one nation against another. It is building distrust, animosity and resentment among the people in the subcontinent. It effectively closes all scope for dialogue.

Secondly, the ruling party and organisations affiliated to it are effectively using moles and agents within the government machinery to sight voices of dissent. This surveillance builds a climate of fear. The government machinery is being used to attack the very people exposing the insidious networks between power and economic wealth. Over the years, RTI activists have systematically exposed the nexus between the corporate sector and politicians. But when RTI activists are attacked and killed and no one is held responsible, the terror within us is heightened. Moreover, Modi is using the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to advertise himself and his policies, and the ruling government and its political agenda. Now there is no difference between the government and the ruling party. The difference has been wiped out. Leadership is in the hands of one person and his coterie. To me, this is clearly setting the stage for fascism.

The ruling establishment is using laws like defamation cases against people speaking out against those in power. In such a scenario, how can people resist?

Those spreading this climate of fear are well organised and coordinated. They may have different names but they hold a common ideological thread and the same divisive ideology. But the victims of their hate are those fighting at individual levels. That is why the fear has spread so widely. Platforms such as this (three-day Abhivyakti Conference of the Dakshinayan Rashtriya Parishad in Goa) bring people together. Not only that, it also helps us chart an action plan to fight the growing intolerance in the country. When a few people decide to talk, and more and more join, tens and hundreds find courage and come together in unity. This collective protest has strength when it is open and united. Only then can our purpose be achieved effectively. Only then can we fight this climate of fear.

How can we reach out to people in this worsening political climate? How can we uphold the sacrifices made by people like Comrade Pansare, Dr. Dabholkar and Prof. Kalburgi?

I belonged to the student organisation All India Students’ Federation (AISF) in Maharashtra and was in the State Committee. I was the Joint Secretary for 10 years. Now I am the President of the District Committee of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) in Maharashtra. The new generation needs to change the form in which it engages with people. It needs to explore social media and work on programmes that create awareness about superstition and discrimination. Young people need to fully understand and uphold the democratic ideals of the Constitution. New forms to reach out to the younger generations need to be creative and appeal to a wide range of people. Our clarity and astute understanding of the political climate will also help our views reach people. Making films – short ones – that can go viral is one such way. Films, documentation, collection of data and such efforts make people aware, politicise and unite. This needs to be followed by cultural performances and plays. But all this finally needs to come together in the form of mass protests and mark the assertion of our dissent. Many of us don’t know the history of struggles led by people who have come before us. If we do, we have forgotten a lot of it. Such efforts help remind us of that history, understand the condition today, and ultimately help us decide our path for the future.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

“Making the National Anthem Compulsory in Cinema Halls is a Call to Violence”: Sadanand Menon

December 21, 2016

We spoke to Sadanand Menon, cultural theorist and commentator, at Tepantar Theatre Village, located in the village of Satkhania, Burdwan. Each time there is an attack on freedom of speech and expression, we rush to the courts as a means of refuge. A thriving democracy cannot operate in this manner, he said. He also discussed the Madras High Court judgement in favour of Perumal Murugan, and called it a step ahead from the Delhi High Court judgement, which was in favour of the painter, M.F. Hussain. Watch the video below, to hear him explain the difference between the two judgements:

Courtesy: Indian cultural Forum

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Naroda Patia Case: Gujarat HC allows Free Case Papers to Survivors

The High Court has also started hearing the appeal petitions on daily basis since last Monday, December 19

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बीजेपी प्रवक्ता संबित पात्रा के शो में हाथापाई के साथ चली कुर्सिया, शो करना पड़ा स्थगित

मोदी के दोस्त चंद्रबाबू नायडू ने निकाली भड़ास, कहा- काबिल नहीं है सरकार

With Fear of Silence: In Conversation With Megha Pansare

The ruling establishment is using laws like defamation cases against people speaking out against those in power. In such a scenario, how can people resist?

How can we reach out to people in this worsening political climate? How can we uphold the sacrifices made by people like Comrade Pansare, Dr. Dabholkar and Prof. Kalburgi?

“Making the National Anthem Compulsory in Cinema Halls is a Call to Violence”: Sadanand Menon

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