Did anti-Dalit WhatsApp messages shared among Savarnas trigger the violence during Bharat Bandh?

April 6, 2018

The foundations of the Bharat Bandh, which took place on April 2, was laid on March 20, when the Supreme Court verdict pertaining to SC/ST Act came out. Over the next 12 days, a series of WhatsApp messages started making rounds asking citizens to take part in the protests and raise their voice.

But while people who supported the protests went on a WhatsApp overdrive, a parallel set of WhatsApp messages was also being circulated, especially among Savarnas asking people to not take any part in such protests. A number of such messages even asked users to take to the streets and protest against the protest march called by the Dalit-Adivasi communities.

What is even more interesting is that most of these messages were specifically targeted to the cellphones of users who belonged to the upper-caste community. Alok Kumar Sharma, a 32-year-old salesperson based in Varanasi, confirmed this. “It was maybe March 29 when I received one such message. And it was not from a WhatsApp group or so. I received the message from a personal number. As the protest day came closer, I was getting five or six such messages every day. Now the relatives and close friends too were sending same messages,” he said, adding that his younger brother had also been receiving such messages.

Satish Singh, a 22-year-old student living in Samastipur, said, “I did not receive the messages initially. But it started soon after I talked to several of my college friends about the Bharat Bandh protest.” He said, “I did not take part in any such protest. But I know many of my upper caste friends who went to those events.”

If one looks at the quality and content of such messages, it sure looks like they were composed to target the audience between 20-40 age groups. Examples of few such messages are:

1.
Important Notice:
I, as a young citizen of India, welcome Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgment regarding SC/ST Act. I appeal to the people of General Category to come out at the front for our rights and let’s unite against Dalit community’s call to protest against the decision. We must not let them succeed. For the very first time in history, the Supreme Court has given any verdict in favor of General Category community, and that must sustain.

Jai Bharat! Jai Manavta!

2.
Shapath (The Oath)
My fellow brother! I have lost many things in our lives. Muslims took away our peace, our families, our ancestors and then our country. And since many years, I have been giving away my many rights to these Dalits, who never did anything other than to feed and live on what was mine. This is the first time the top court has made the call for equality among the community. I must stand to protect the same. And I request you to come out your comfortable homes on April 2, and let us show these people what it means to lose everything to them.

3.
Silence is everything which reduced my opportunities in this life. I was born Savarna, but this was not my fault. I lost admission to a good school, even after having some good marks, that was not my fault. I lost the job opportunity in a government institute, that is not mine fault too. Whose fault was that? Do not you know?

But when I am going to stand against these atrocities on me on April 2, media will make that my fault. But we both know that this won’t be mine. So let us stand for the right and stand with the power to take back what has been supposed to be ours.

Apart from these messages, there were many messages which appealed to “teach a lesson to these Chamars!” or trying to incite violence in clear words.

The Police across many states have been trying to decode the real cause behind the violence around Bharat Bandh protests. Police sources claim that Social Media and WhatsApp messages sent in various groups are being observed to trace the turnout of violent elements at protest sites.

Rakesh Sundaram, a freelance IT expert from IIT-BHU explained how WhatsApp messages could be used to target a certain audience who belong to the Savarna community. “The basic algorithm between Facebook and WhatsApp is connected. You don’t have to provide age details on WhatsApp as opposed to Facebook, but we often forget that both are owned by the same company.

“I am not saying that the Facebook is directly involved, but through Facebook, you unwillingly submit yourself to many things including hate propaganda,” he said, adding, “These are not bots, these are people who chose you through your background.”

The message trend was observed especially in the many areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Lenin Raghuvanshi, a human rights activist based in Varanasi, said, “This has been a trend when any such anti-government agitation happens in India. These are planned approaches to totally deviate the attention from the main agenda.”

Many accuse Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other allied Hindutva organizations behind spreading such hate messages out to the public, but Sangh sources inform that they merely forwarded the messages sent to them. One source from Lucknow said, “I received three messages in a row from my Prant Pracharak (a state level leader in RSS), and he asked me to spread this among others. I just did that.”

The RSS leader Bhaiyaji Joshi denied any such involvement in the violent incidents, even after expressing his views over caste-based reservation openly. In a press release, he said, “The tasks to malign the name of the Sangh is objectionable and baseless. Sangh has no affiliation with the decision made by Supreme Court of India regarding the SC/ST Act.”

Courtesy: Two Circles

Kerala Microbiology Professor Competes with BJP Leaders on Unscientific Statements

April 6, 2018

His statements have offended many, including the transgender community, women, and also, parents, doctors, and caregivers of autistic children.

Earlier this week, a professor from Kallady College in Kerala, Dr. Ranjith Kumar, claimed to have a new scientific explanation for how and why transgender people are born in this country.

Dr Ranjith Kumar, who holds a PhD in microbiology, was quoted as saying , “What will the children born to women who dress like men be like? Their children are going to be transgenders, napumsakam, or hijra, as some people might say.”

He went on to claim that jeans are “evil.” “The children born to men and women who rebel have this new disease called autism. Do you see that? [pointing to a video] The mother is wearing jeans and both her children suffer from autism.”

Interestingly, this lecture took place in Kerala, the first state in the country to provide job security to transgender people.

There are multiple reasons why his claims are controversial. As a microbiologist, people expect his claims to have a scientific basis. In fact, if he is speaking as a doctor, it is his responsibility to make claims that have some basis in science. However, the reasons he presented for his claims are not just unscientific but also stupid. They do not even follow any established norms of research.

His statements have offended many, including the transgender community, women, and also, parents, doctors, and caregivers of autistic children.

Transgender people are those whose gender identity or gender performance differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. By claiming that jeans are “evil” and responsible for the birth of transgender babies, Kumar is increasing and, worse, legitimising the transphobia that exists in our society.

Second, autism is a genetic disorder. Instead of increasing awareness about autism, his claim places the “blame” for the children’s condition squarely on the parents. Must these parents, who already struggle to find acceptance and understanding in our country, also feel guilty for committing the “sin” of wearing jeans, must they be condemned to the society’s judgement for their clothing choices?

Besides all this, it is yet another attempt at policing women and what they wear, burdening them with the “ignominy” of having transgender children if they “rebel.”

Dr Ranjith Kumar isn’t the only one to have made such regressive remarks. Recently, the Minister of State for Human Resource Development in Higher Education, Satyapal Singh, was quoted as saying, “No boy will be ready to marry a girl who comes to the mandap (wedding stage) in jeans.” A couple of years ago, a famous Malayalam singer, Dr K J Yesudas, courted controversy when he said , “What should be covered should be covered. When women wear jeans, others are forced to look beyond that. They should wear modest attire that suits our culture.”

Unlike the Central Government, which has chosen to remain silent on this issue, the Kerala state government reacted to the incident and barred the professor from addressing any public gatherings.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

Who is harassing Teesta Setalvad and why: Sabrang’s Official Statement on latest false FIR

April 5, 2018

CJP Secretary Teesta Setalvad is being attacked once again, this time with a barrage of false allegations pertaining to her education NGO KHOJ. Rais Khan, a disgruntled ex-employee of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), has filed an FIR against Setalvad alleging that Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand used fraudulent means to get funds to the tune of Rs 1.4 crores from the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the UPA Government. However, CJP would like to state that these are baseless and false allegations.

Khan’s plans fell flat when the court granted transit bail till May 2 to both, Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, two key functionaries of both CJP as well as Sabrang Trust. We welcome the transit bail and stand by the integrity of both Setalvad and Anand.

We also deplore the near desperate measures adopted to by the Crime Branch of the Gujarat Police to harass, intimidate and threaten the personal freedoms of both Setalvad and Anand. We believe that this latest attempt, in which too the original complainant was a former employee of CJP, Rais Khan Pathan is nothing short of a coercive method to prevent Setalvad from going on a long planned trip for human rights lectures abroad. Setalvad has been invited to Canada by Sikhs of Indian Origin to commemorate the 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Setalvad’s great grandfather, Chimanlal Setalvad was part of the Committee that cross examined and interrogated General Dyer after the massacre. Thereafter, Teesta Setalvad is scheduled to deliver lectures at Harvard and several other cities of the United States.

A Brief Background of how Rais Khan has been harassing Setalvad

Khan has, since 2010, thirty two months after he was discontinued from services of field coordinator of CJP, a renumerative post where rental accommodation was also provided, literally been forum shopping and at the root of several malicious and false cases against first Setalvad alone, then both Anand and Setalvad. Setalvad was first targeted in 2004 through wings of the Gujarat state who induced star witness, Zahira Shaikh. A Supreme Court appointed Registrar General report completely exonerated Setalvad and CJP of baseless charges and found Zahira guilty of inducement by influential politicians. She was sentenced to one year simple imprisonment in 2006. Allegations against Setalvad have ranged from kidnapping to perjury now financial embezzlement.

Clearly, today Khan who enjoys the patronage of the regime in Delhi having been appointed to the Central Wakf Board also has senior counsel closely associated with the ruling party appearing for him. Since September 2010 his forum shopping has meant him approaching five trial courts specially hearing the Gujarat 2002 cases, the Nanavaty Shah Commission, the SIT and now the Crime Branch of the Gujarat police. In two judgments, in the Sardarpura matter and the Naroda Patiya matter, the judgments have passed remarks against Khan labelling his conduct as interference in the administration of justice.

Clearly the path-breaking work by CJP, spearheaded by its Secretary, Setalvad that has ensured the conviction of 172 persons — 124 of which to life imprisonment– is the single most significant reason for her being singled out by a vindictive regime. The continued historical legal battle in the form of the Zakia Jafri case too, is a serious thorn in the flesh for the powers that be.

Khan has now, in a new FIR, made a series of baseless allegations suggesting Setalvad and Anand got this funds for their education NGO KHOJ under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, but the funds so obtained were utilised for personal purposes. The complaint also states the fund were used for creating and distributing printed materials that could cause communal disharmony. Khan first tried to get CBI, then MHRD to lodge this complaint. When that did not work, his allies in the crime branch have come to his aid.

So far, Teesta Setalvad, a human rights defenders with three decades of courageous work behind her, has had to seek anticipatory bail in false criminal cases eight times already. Curtailing her personal freedoms and threatened incarceration is clearly the preferred way of this regime. Anand too, has now been falsely implicated three times.

Now, CJP would like to set the record straight by presenting a summary of the facts of the case:

In 1994, Setalvad and Anand started a programme for school children which was christened as ‘KHOJ: Education for a Plural India’. As a project of Sabrang Trust, the KHOJ innovative educational modules evolved by them have been successfully implemented in both privately run and civic corporation-run schools in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra over the years.

Prior permission for a team of KHOJ teachers to run these classes in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation run schools, for example, was granted by the BMC’s Education Officer, year after year. KHOJ has been active since 1994 and has been working on the crucial area of Education Policy related to Democratization of the Social Studies and History Syllabus and Text-books.

Teesta Setalvad’s work in the field of education has been widely recognized and she was appointed to the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) Committee (CABE is a board constituted by the Parliament) in 2004 and served on the board till the year 2014. Teesta Setalvad was appointed as a member of the CABE on ‘Regulatory Mechanisms for Textbooks and Parallel Textbooks Taught in Schools outside the Government System’.

The terms of reference (TOR) of the Committee were:

To study and report on textbooks in government schools not using the CBSE syllabus;
To study the textbooks and curriculum of schools outside the government system, including those run by religious and social organizations;
To suggest an appropriate regulatory mechanism for institutionalizing the issue of preparation of textbooks and curricular material.

In the course of their work, Setalvad came to know about the grant by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for Scheme of Assistance under Innovation and Experimental Education Programmes (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan). On behalf of Sabrang Trust, Setalvad submitted the proposal for grant from the Ministry of Human Resource Development to the then Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Human Resource Development Ms. Anita Bhatnagar on 8th March 2010. The said proposal was in the prescribed form along with the necessary Application Form.

Sabrang Trust sought 100% grant from the Ministry of Human Resource Development for a period of three years i.e. 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. Through the infusion of the grant in the said project the Trust sought in order to reach out to 6000 students in 75 schools, which would include the 2000 students in 33 schools across Maharashtra where KHOJ classes were already being conducted. The said Application Form also laid down the budgetary details of the Trust’s spending on the said project for the fiscal year 2009-10 and the total estimated expenditure for the fiscal year 2010-11. The total amount of grant requested for the fiscal year 2010-11 stood at Rs. 1,00,55,400/- (Rupees One Crore Fifty Five Thousand Four Hundred only).

After Sabrang’s proposal was examined and scrutinised, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education & Literacy released the first installment of the grant for the first year of the approved project amounting to Rs. 58,72,500/- by a letter dated 03.02.2011. A Joint Evaluation Team (JET) comprising of Ms. Venita Kaul (Member, Grant-in-Aid Committee), Mr. A. K. Tewari (Government of India Representative) and Mr. Nandan Nangare (State of Maharashtra Representative) under-took and evaluation of the project’s progress on 09-10.02.2012. This was favourable and some changes were suggested which were accepted by Sabrang.

Under the said scheme, 16 teachers were employed during the duration of the project. The said project benefited 192 schools through direct teaching and teacher training programmes. 10 Libraries were setup across Maharashtra and most of the books for the libraries were procured from Government publishing houses. An online project was set up, the same is still in existence 7 short films were made and one book was conceptualized and published as curriculum for 5th standard students. Through this curriculum which was a child centric pedagogy India’s constitutional values and pluralism were imparted to around 6000 students across the State of Maharashtra.

In fact, the JET said,

Overall, the objectives and efforts under the KHOJ project are undoubtedly laudable since not only do they cater to the need to promote secularism and peace education, which should be a priority, but also since there is hardly any effort otherwise in mainstream schools to address these aspects. How crucial it is to reach out to the children especially of the urban poor from the slum areas comes across very strongly in the anecdotes shared by KHOJ teachers with the JET.”

Over the period of three years the Ministry of Human Resource Development released grants worth Rs. 1,42,23,797/- (inclusive of bank interest) of which the Trust utilized a total of Rs.1,36,31,686/- and the un-used funds which amounted to Rs. 5,91,871/- was duly returned to the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 12.06.2014. The Ministry of Human Resource Development released grants worth Rs. 58,72,500/, Rs. 26,66,570/- and Rs. 54,20,848/- in the fiscal years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively and the Applicants furnished relevant utilization certificates.

The entire procedure was above board an in line with the law. CJP therefore requests the media to check their facts before reporting on the case. CJP would also like to warn readers against some outright hateful articles in some publications. We have nothing to hide and all facts have been laid clearly in this statement.

CJP Targeted
Teesta Setalvad targeted yet AGAIN!

No further delays in payment, pay Rs. 127 crores to Tea-Garden workers of Four states: Supreme Court

April 5, 2018

The Supreme Court bench comprising SA Bobde and LN Rao passed an order today directing the state of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal asking them to make an interim payment of approximately Rs. 127 crores to the tea garden workers of these states in a contempt petition (Contempt Petition 16/2012) filed by the International Union of Food Workers (IUF), Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity(PBKMS) and Nilgiri District Estate Workers Union (NDEWU). The bench has also insisted that no further delay could be allowed seeing the condition of workers who have suffered for long.

Their dues have remained unpaid for over 15 years, an event that has led to a lot of distress among workers, even causing deaths due to starvation during these years.

The Huma Resources Law Network (HRLN) has pursued this cause under the guidance of senior counsel Colin Gonsalves.

Hundreds of the workers had died out of starvation during this period. Their cause has been diligently pursued by HRLN and senior advocate Colin Gonsalves through these 15 years. The submission of the Central government was that the dues of the workmen was 249 crores in Assam, 27 crores in Kerala, 70 crores in Tamil Nadu, and 30 crores in West Bengal. In view of this gross underpayment and negligence, the SC ordered that each state government should pay approximately half the dues outstanding by way of interim relief to the suffering workers and their families, within a period of 60 days.

All the companies that have been running the tea estates have been summoned by the SC as per a list submitted to the court. The companies have been asked to appear in the next hearing.

As per submissions by PBKMS it was recorded that rogue employers had abandoned gardens with unpaid dues of 135 crores for 29 garden in West Bengal and they intend to raise the recovery of total amount in the next hearing. The unions also intend to monitor payment of dues by the State Government and the employers and regular status reports should be provided to the SC order to ensure that money has reached the workers.

In 2010, a Supreme Court Bench presided over by CJI SH Kapadia had stated in its order, “We find that till 2006, this writ petition has been pending, No steps have been taken. The tea estates have been abandoned by the tea companies. The workers are left high and dry. They are living in a pitiable condition. They have not received their dues”. This was the first intervention by the Court in which it ordered the Central Government to use its powers under Sections 16B, 16C, 16D and 16E of the Tea Act to take over gardens and recover dues.

The decision comes as an enormous relief to over 300,000 tea garden workers who were forced into a precarious life for the last two decades. Thousands of them had died of starvation and the remaining live in sick state in closed tea garden without ration, drinking water, electricity, school for children and medical dispensaries.

Yes to refugee repatriation, but first things first

April 5, 2018

Ensuring the Rohingyas’ safety is of paramount importance

Yes to refugee repatriation, but first things first

Rohingya refugees have all the right to returnPhoto: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

It seems to be a case of wishful thinking.

Even as Myanmar’s response to the Bangladeshi government’s first list of more than 8,000 Rohingya refugees for repatriation in February was to “verify” around 600 and not to facilitate a single return, Dhaka reportedly plans to send a second list, of 10,000.

Bangladesh rightly insists on the refugees’ right of return. Ethnic cleansing is never acceptable and any country that forces minority populations out should remain under constant pressure to reverse course and bring those forced to leave safely back to their homes.

But this is not the time for Bangladesh to be putting forward thousands of names of Rohingya to go back to the villages that Myanmar authorities have burned and bulldozed, erasing evidence of their crimes against humanity.

Before the start of actual returns, Myanmar should agree to a set of prerequisites for return, including unfettered, independent monitoring of returnees, free movement, restoration of lost homes and properties, and access to services.

Myanmar officials should also take substantive steps to rectify the discriminatory policies which have been used to persecute the Rohingya minority for decades, starting with denial of citizenship.

No one should backtrack in insisting on Rohingya refugees’ right of return, but much more needs to be done before they can safely return home

Refugee return also cannot be divorced from the question of impunity for the crimes that caused the refugees to flee.

Myanmar needs to allow access to independent investigators, the media, and the UN-mandated fact-finding mission and special rapporteur. Repatriation is not an end in itself, but part of a process of reintegration that involves a government’s commitment to respecting rights and the rule of law, truth-seeking, and accountability for past crimes.

At the proper time, Bangladesh should put forward the names of refugees who freely choose to return to Myanmar. There will need to be full and accurate information about conditions back home with transparency throughout the process by all parties, including facilitation and monitoring by the UN refugee agency.

But now is not the time.

While keeping pressure on Myanmar to allow the Rohingya to return home is understandable, putting forward another list of 10,000 names for return risks being a distraction from the more immediate imperative as the rainy season approaches.

The urgent priority now is to keep vulnerable refugees safe from flooding and the outbreak of disease. No one should backtrack in insisting on Rohingya refugees’ right of return, but much more needs to be done before they can safely, voluntarily, and sustainably return home to Myanmar.

In the meantime, there’s work to be done.

Bill Frelick is Refugees Director at Human Rights Watch.

Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune

‘She could have been our Martin Luther King Jr’ – tribute to Marielle Franco

April 5, 2018

The city councilwoman advocated for the rights of the most oppressed Brazilians. This is why people around the world are mourning and protesting her death. Español

Marielle Franco in August 2016. Credit: Mídia NINJA/Flickr. [CC-BY-SA-2.0].

Some rights reserved.In Brazil, the federal government’s makeup does not reflect the societal DNA of the population. More than 54% of the country’s population is black, but about 80% of the parliament and 98% of the senate is white. Only two black senators have ever been elected. Women hold only 22% of senior positions in government; just 2.4% of them are black.

At the local level, in the 2016 elections, only 4.6% of elected council members in all of Brazil’s municipalities were women. Of the 51 city council members of Rio de Janeiro, Marielle Franco was one of four black council members.

The only black woman from the favelas on the Rio city council, Franco was a clear exception in this political landscape. She advocated for the rights of the most oppressed Brazilians – and paid the ultimate price. She was assassinated on 14 March 2018. This is why people are mourning and protesting her death around the world.

There are many different “Brazils”

Brazil is one of the 10 most unequal countries in the world. Indeed, there are many different “Brazils”. One of these realities is the favelas, mostly populated by black Brazilians; a reality that is often ignored by national politicians and policies.

Franco was born and raised in the favela Complexo da Maré, in the north of Rio de Janeiro. She started working at age 11 to help support her family. At age 19, while pregnant with a daughter she would then raise on her own, she received a full scholarship to study Social Sciences at PUC-Rio, one of the best private universities in Brazil.

She later earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the prestigious Fluminense Federal University, with a thesis on police violence in the favelas. In it, she acknowledged that for favelados (people who live in favelas) to overcome the vicious cycle of poverty and stigmas imposed on them, they must be twice as good at everything.

Franco represented the struggle to succeed in Brazil when one does not belong to the white middle class. Ambitious and intelligent black women like Franco are not uncommon. But few are able to overcome the stigmas in a society suffering from deeply rooted racism and sexism. Franco, elected as a city councilmember of Rio in 2016, received the fifth largest number of votes.

Franco represented the struggle to suceed in Brazil when one does not belong to the white middle class.

As a militant and a politician, Franco fought for the empowerment of others who, like her, have few opportunities to break the barriers imposed on the black population of Brazil. She represented a Brazilian reality in which black citizens are deprived of their voice and of public power. She fought for the rights of the black people, the poor, and all who suffer injustices at the hands of a corrupt police state, including police members themselves.

Franco became a symbol of representation and resistance for poor and black Brazilians and bothered the predominantly white system.

In February 2018, the federal government gave the military control of security in Rio – a measure not taken since the dictatorship which ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. This decision has been widely criticised as a political strategy employed by the current conservative government to generate fear and gain votes in the upcoming presidential elections.

Franco was against this intervention and was appointed the rapporteur for a commission monitoring the military’s use of force in the favelas.

She pushed barriers; her work rattled the system every day. This is why Franco was silenced. She was assassinated on 14 March 2018 after speaking at an event called “Young Black Women Who are Changing Power Structures”.

“Marielle is with us, today and always!” Credit: Geraldo Magela/Agência Senado/Flickr. [CC BY 2.0] Some rights reserved.

Franco bothered the system by doing the work a politician is supposed to do: represent and defend their electorate, and ensure that campaign promises are honoured.

Her position threatened the status quo in Brazil with its failed institutions and repressive policies that have only contributed to the exponential growth of homicides. We now have one every 21 minutes, most of which are of poor black people.

Upon her death, Brazilians poured into the streets of cities all over the country and protests have taken place around the world.

In Portugal, there were protests in more than nine cities. The Portuguese Parliament demanded the European Union suspend free trade negotiations with the South American trade bloc Mercosur until the violence ends against human rights defenders in Brazil.
In the US, vigils took place both in New York and in Washington, DC. Cities in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom also saw protests.

She rattled the system, so she was silenced.

In Latin America, a region where most countries still live with the haunting memories of brutal dictatorships, Franco’s death hit close to home.

In Argentina, more than 300 people marched along with the Madres de la Plaza de Marzo, the mothers and grandmothers whose children were disappeared during the military juntas of the 1970s and 1980s.

In Chile, a vigil took place in front of the Brazilian-Chilean cultural centre, joined by anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist and feminist groups. A large crowd took to the Plaza Libertad in Uruguay under the motto: We are all Marielle.

In Honduras, activists connected Franco’s death with that of Berta Cáceres, an indigenous leader and environmentalist who was killed in 2016.

Franco was silenced, but she has become a global icon. Now, the world might be able to start waking up to the complexities of the favelas, the deeply-embedded racism in Brazilian society and impunity towards those who attack and even kill activists for change.
The United Nations’ special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnès Callamard, said the evidence suggests that Franco’s assassination was a targeted political act. This has left some of the groups she represented, and other human rights defenders in Brazil, feeling hopeless and intimidated.

Franco was a beacon of hope to those who suffer the stereotypes imposed by rich white men, who rule a country they do not represent. She could have been our Martin Luther King Jr., if she had had more time. To borrow her words: “how many more will have to die until this war is over?”

Juliana de Moraes Pinheiro is an internationalist passionate about culture, music, recycling and sustainable development. With a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from American University, she identifies as a feminist, a dreamer, and a fighter for human rights. She is a consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank. She tweets @Ju_Moraes.

Courtesy: Open Democracy

Five Muslims accused of waging war against India acquitted of all charges after 17 years, but they may never walk free

April 5, 2018

Anees Ahmed, Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Yunus, Sultan Ahmed and Ghyasuddin. All of these men are residents of Gohalpur. Between September 27 and October 1, 2001, they attended a pre-Muharram meeting at a place called Beni Singh ki Tillaya near their village of Gohalpur. The meeting, conducted just before Muharram that year, was to advise women to wear Burqa/Niqaab during the following days and protect themselves. What followed was a religious congregation like millions conducted across the country. Among the people in the audience sat the five men mentioned above. Since the speakers used some references from the Quran and the Hadith, the pamphlets distributed among the crowd needed to be translated in Hindi/Urdu and the five men were among a number of volunteers who helped with the translation.

Image for representational purposes only

It is an act that has seen them stuck in jail since 2008. But to understand how and why this happened, we must go back to September 2001, especially September 27.

Even before the then NDA government decided to ban India’s largest Muslim student organisation, the Delhi Police had been investigating SIMI and its members. On September 27, 2001, finally, SIMI was banned by the Indian government and subsequently, several members of the organisation were picked up by police across the nation.

Seventeen years later, all of this seems mostly immaterial and irrelevant. While the Indian state machinery and the corporate media spent a considerable time telling Indians just how dangerous SIMI and its members were, the truth is that when it comes to convictions, the Indian government has precious little to offer.

On October 1, 2001, four days after SIMI had been banned, the Jabalpur Police got intel that some people had been organising anti-India meetings in the district, which lead to four policemen reaching the area and arresting these five individuals. In their charge sheet, the police alleged that these five were involved in anti-India chants including “Osama Bin Laden tum Sangharsh Karo” and “Taliban Zindabad” among others. The five were able to get bail despite the ‘serious charges’ within a month or two of the arrest and by the beginning of 2002, the five were out again. Interestingly, the Police also put the case in the cold storage and for the next eight years, the case never moved forward. The seven remained in that region and unable to apply for any government or private jobs, they stuck to small-time businesses like selling school supplies, stationery, etc.

It was not until July 2008, after the Ahmedabad serial blasts and the attempted attacks on Surat three days, that the Jabalpur Police decided to arrest the five men again and start the trial with regards to the 2001 case. In 2009, the trial finally started in the Jabalpur sessions court. The police claimed they had enough evidence including “Jihadi literature” and testimonies of people who were witnesses to the anti-India sloganeering. Nine years later, in March 2018, the five were found innocent by the court.

Moharram Ali, who was the lawyer of the five along with Mohammed Pervez, spoke at length with TwoCircles.net. Ali says that the verdict might surprise some people, but this has become a regular factor now. “There have been five judgements on people who have been accused of being SIMI members and organising anti-India activities. Four cases are from Jabalpur (including this one) and one from Narsinghpur. And in all cases, the people have been announced innocent. It is amazing that for all the noise you hear about these cases, the truth is that they are all fabricated and have nothing to do with reality. In this case for example, let alone proving their guilt the Police could not even convince the judge that these five were even members of SIMI.”

Ali points out how the Police tried to fabricate evidence at every stage. “The people, who the Police claimed were witnesses, said they knew nothing…the judgment orders shows that the supposed witnesses said nothing that could convict the accused…the evidence they produced was actually seized in a totally unrelated case but the police nevertheless produced it in this case also.” The only disadvantage that the five men had was that they could not produce witnesses in their support, but that is understandable, says Ali. “When the police are gunning for these five, it is unlikely that common people will come to their support. Who can risk making the police angry, especially Muslims?” he asks.

Then, there was the pace of the trial. The police would take months to produce witnesses, sometimes not doing so for a full year. And all this time, the accused were not allowed to get bail. “We approached the local court where the case was going on, the High Court and even the Supreme Court. However, every bail application was rejected because the charges were ‘serious’”, says Ali. “Three of the men were in their early 30s when the trial began in 2009 and two were in early 40s. Their entire life has been wasted in front of their eyes and our government couldn’t care less,” he adds.

What is also visible is that for the Indian government, as long as people are arrested, the case is deemed to have been solved. “These five men were also booked in Gujarat for their alleged role in the Ahmedabad and Surat blasts. In fact, the Gujarat Police filed a total of 38 cases against these five people. So even though they are now not guilty in Jabalpur, there is no chance that they will walk out soon,” says Ali. In fact, Ali paints a very pessimistic picture about the future of these people. “In the Ahmedabad and Surat cases, the police have a list of over 3,000 witnesses out of which only 1,000 have been produced in a decade. Now tell me, when do you think will the trial end? 10 years? 20 years? Will it make a difference to these people?”

Regardless of what the future outcome of the Gujarat cases will be, it has become clear that the lies about SIMI stand exposed completely. If one goes beyond right-wing rhetoric and takes a long, detailed look at the court orders, it becomes clear that hundreds of Muslim men are languishing in jails for no reason. While people who kill Muslims and Dalits on camera in the name of cow roam free and are endorsed by political parties, many Muslim men might never know what it feels to be free again. And the truth is, the Indian government is happy to live with that thought.

Courtesy: Two Circles

Loans Worth Rs 2.72 Lakh Crore Written Off by Modi Sarkar

April 5, 2018

Meanwhile ‘bad’ loans have climbed up to over Rs.8.85 lakh crore.

Image Courtesy: Square Capital

Modi sarkar’s economic policy continues in a deadly tailspin with rising unemployment, flagging agricultural and industrial output, stagnating credit growth, below par GST collections and so on. But one feature of this paralysis perhaps defines the whole policy approach. This is the burgeoning non-productive assets (NPAs) – loans gone bad – of banks.

In a series of statements made in Parliament, through written answers to members’ questions, the govt. has revealed that bad loans of all 42 Scheduled Commercial Banks had risen to a staggering Rs.8.85 lakh crore by end December 2017 and over Rs.2.72 lakh crore had been written off (or compromised upon) by the 21 public sector banks since the Modi sarkar took over. Write off means that the bad loans are removed from the balance-sheet of the bank concerned.

Why are ‘bad’ loans and write offs important? The government endlessly laments that there are no resources to spend on important welfare measures or on essential services. Cuts are continuously imposed by Finance Ministry on spending on education and health, on schemes like MGNREGS (rural job guarantee) or social security, several services that the govt. should be handling are handed over to private profiteers in the name of saving precious resources. And yet, when it comes to corporate borrowers, the govt. has no qualms in writing them off or generally going lax in recoveries.

In fact, the govt. has admitted in Parliament on 3 April (Q.No.4050) that bad loans have exploded under its watch with their growth recorded at 182% among public sector banks and a stunning 234% among private banks during 2015-16 and 2017-18.

“Writing off of loans is done, inter-alia, for tax benefit and capital optimisation. Borrowers of such written off loans continue to be liable for repayment,” said state minister of finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, giving these figures on 27 March to the Rajya Sabha (Q.No.3600).

The minister is being disingenuous when he says that borrowers continue to be liable for repayment after their loan has been written off. As his statement also lists in an annexure, some Rs.29,343 crore have been recovered from the written off loans. That’s just about 11% of the amount written off. Recovery usually takes place through a mutual compromise either before or after proceedings are initiated in Debt Recovery Tribunals or under various other schemes/laws.

In another reply in Rajya Sabha (Q.No.4073), on 3 April, the minister had also said that 9063 ‘wilful defaulters’ had been declared by the public sector banks as of end December 2017. These are account holders and loanees that have absolutely refused to pay up for whatever reason. The sum of money involved, that is, the loans held by these defaulters was Rs. 1,10,050. Note that declaring a person or entity ‘wilful defaulter’ does not in any way mean that there is some chance of recovery of the loan. In fact, in all probability, the bank can say good bye to the amount owed.

In another reply (Q.No.3780) given in Rajya Sabha on 28 March, Gitiraj Singh, minister for micro, small and medium enterprises revealed that this sector has NPAs worth Rs.82,756 crore. That’s about a tenth of the NPAs owed by the corporate sector. About 90% of this is held by public sector banks. Clearly, it is the big corporate borrowers – the Nirav Modis, Deepak Kochhars, Vijay Mallyas, et al – who are sitting on the mountain of credit that remains unreturned. And, we know what happens to these high fliers –they fly away from India never to return, gobbling up the money they got from the public exchequer.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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Loans Worth Rs 2.72 Lakh Crore Written Off by Modi Sarkar

Meanwhile ‘bad’ loans have climbed up to over Rs.8.85 lakh crore.

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