The story of three Bengali Muslim households which lost their men to lynching in 2017

January 30, 2018

Ashin Mohammed says he had a dream. He starts to explain the dream to Harsh Mander and the others from the Karwan-e-Mohabbat team, but is, soon, overwhelmed with tears. They choke his throat before the words can come out.

Mohammed Nasiruddin’s Voter I Card | Photograph by Sujay Sen

His son, Mohammed Nasiruddin, is one of the three who were killed in a mob lynching for alleged cow theft. Those who killed the three Muslim men, on 22 June, 2017 also filmed the entire incident. Ashin Mohammed came to know of his son’s demise through this video.

On our way to the police station, he told me, “A person from our local Islampur thana showed the video and asked, ‘Do you know who this is? People say that he is from this village.’ I saw the video and panicked. I said, “E to hhamar chele!” (This is my son!).

This reporter has a copy of the video but it is difficult to find out which of the three dead is being lynched in the video. He is also uncertain if Ashin Mohammed had seen the same video. Ashin, however, was quite convinced that he had seen the murder of his own son in a video that was shown to him a day after the lynching.

He remembered how the two days unfolded. “It was the month of Ramzan. He had come for iftar. After he finished eating, he received a call. He was told to come for work at the Islampur village, near Chopra. He left after iftar, and I haven’t seen him since.”

Asin Mohammed | Photograph by Sujay Sen

Mohammed Nasiruddin and his two friends, Nasirul Haque and Mohammed Samiruddin, worked as masons. They arranged for labourers and worked in the construction business together. Everyone in the village reported that they had been working together for some time. However, there were also unverified and contradictory accounts which said that they had been caught for stealing cycles a year ago. This particular story was related to us by a local imam who changed his version of the events as the day unfolded. We could not verify the validity of this claim.

An Indian Express report, published at the time of the incident, claims that in the villages of Durgapur, more than two dozen complaints had been lodged at the Chopra police station. The reporter spoke to Atul Chandra Basu, whose two sons were initially arrested for lynching the three Muslim men. The reporter quotes Basu as saying:
More than two dozen complaints have been lodged from this village alone; the number crosses 50 if you count those lodged from adjoining villages. But the police told us not to bother them with such petty affairs and asked us to handle them ourselves…

So we handled it ourselves.
“Handling it ourselves” means the disturbing trend of taking the law in their own hands to settle matters. West Bengal in particular has seen a rise in the number of casualties related to cattle. According to a report published in The Quint, West Bengal tops the charts for cattle related violence in 2017. Mohammed Nasiruddin, too, was urged by his villagers to avenge his son’s death. “But I said no. Let the law take its own course. If there is any justice, I will receive it from the courts of this land,” he said.

But justice has been slow for the families of the deceased. The three accused who were arrested for the crime, Asit Basu (aged 28), Ashim Basu (aged 27), and Krishna Poddar (aged 24), were released on bail two weeks after their arrest. The police are yet to file a charge sheet, even after almost six months since the lynching. In spite of the existence of the video, the FIR was filed under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), which is a bailable offence, and not under Section 302, which is non-bailable. The families have also written to the Sub Divisional Officer, requesting them to conduct a CBI inquiry. They also made a written appeal to the Karwaan-e-Mohabbat team.

The letter submitted to the SDO | Photograph by Sujay Sen

Harsh Mander, John Dayal, and a team of lawyers travelling with the Karwaan-e-Mohabbat team, had visited the Chopra police station, along with one family member from each of the three deceased’s families. But Goutam Roy, the OC of the police station, said that he had strict instructions from the SP to not say anything about the case.

After coming out of the station, Mander commented, “I am extremely disappointed with the state administration. One would expect an administration that claims to be secular to be more considerate towards the minorities. I could have well been in Gujarat and Rajasthan. There is no difference in the apathy and disregard shown to the grieving families. I will write an open letter to the Chief Minister.”

On the other hand, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government has been quite considerate to Afrazul’s family. Afrazul was killed by a man in Rajasthan, who, too, made a video of the killing. The state government has declared that a compensation of five lakh rupees for the family. In this case too, the murder had been filmed by the perpetrators, but the deceased’s families are yet to be visited even by a gram panchayat leader.

A journalist who was at the spot, but who did not wish to be named, said, “This case does not bode well for the Trinamool Congress government. In Afrazul’s case, the murder was in Rajasthan, which has a BJP government. In this case, the lynching has taken place in Bengal by a Hindu-majority mob. The BJP in Bengal, of course, is silent on this case because the perpetrators are Hindus.”

Not only has no government official reached out to the deceased families, they claimed to have been threatened by the police if they enquired too much about progress in the case. “The police said that they will lock me up as well,” said Ashin Mohammed. At Nasirul Haque’s house in Kutipara, the family members alleged that the police had been bribed to brush the case aside.

Nasirul Haque’s mother works in the tea gardens. “After his death, I have not been able to pick one tea leaf.”

The tea garden outside Nasirul Haque’s house | Photograph by Sujay Sen

Haque’s wife had just delivered a baby, who is two months old. There were posters of children in front of the rooms. The cradle inside the house was empty.

Nasirul Haque’s house | Photograph by Sujay Sen

Souradeep Roy is part of the editorial collective of the Indian Writers’ Forum.

Co-published with Newsclick.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

BJP Wants All Workers To Become Contract Labourers

January 30, 2018

The Union Labour Ministry has issued draft rules that allow businesses to hire workers on fixed-term contract basis and fire them without notice.

Image Courtesy: Indian Express

For the fourth time, the BJP-led NDA government is trying to turn the productive workforce of the country into an army of casual workers.

The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment has issued a notification with draft rules introducing “fixed term employment” across sectors.

This means all businesses are allowed to hire workers on a fixed-term contract basis — even as workers across industries have been demanding an end to contract labour and are demanding regularisation of jobs.

All central trade unions in India have been consistently opposed to the moves towards contractualisation and casualisation of workers.

The draft rules make it clear that employers are not required to give notice of termination of employment for fixed-term workers, nor do employers owe any retrenchment pay to such workers. In other words, workers can be hired and fired without notice.

It makes little difference then for the rules to say, as they do, that fixed-term workers are entitled to the same hours of work, wages and other benefits as that of permanent workers.

In fact, the provision mandating that only a fixed-term worker who has served for three consecutive months is entitled to a two weeks’ notice (and in absence of notice, will be informed of the reason for retrenchment in writing) indicates how short a term of employment even the government envisions for the workers if these changes are introduced.

The NDA had first introduced hiring of fixed-term contract workers in 2003, but the UPA government in 2007 had reversed the order, owing to massive unanimous opposition from all the central trade unions.

Then in 2015, the NDA again issued draft rules for the same purpose, but the proposal was shelved again following protests from trade unions.

In October 2016, the NDA introduced fixed-term employment in the apparel manufacturing sector, despite the continuing stiff opposition. The government had tried to justify it saying that work in the apparel sector was seasonal in nature.

Now, on 8 January 2018, the labour ministry again issued the draft notification meant to amend the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules 1946. The notification has been uploaded on the ministry’s website for comments till 9 February 2018.On 10 January 2018, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) wrote a letter to the labour ministry, urging the government to drop this incredibly anti-worker proposal.

“Have all jobs in all industrial sectors turned “seasonal”?” asked the letter by Tapan Sen, general secretary of CITU, referring to the ministry’s earlier justification for introducing fixed-term contracts in the apparel sector.

“It is a grossly anti-worker measure designed to temporarise and casualise the workforce to serve the interests of the employers’ class,” Sen said.

“Extending same wages and service conditions as regular workers to fix-term employees as mentioned in the notification does not mean anything since the very temporary character of employment and accompanying fragility in job security will not allow such temporary employees to demand such equal treatment simply out of fear of losing employment.”

The notification is a “design to gradually replace the regular workforce in industries by temporary workers, totally deprived of all rights and hence cannot be accepted,” the letter said.

It has been reported that there was pressure from various quarters of industry to bring back the proposal allowing flexibility in hiring workers. When talking of expanding the fixed-term employment to other sectors, the government has said the idea was to “attract large scale investments at global scale” by improving the ease-of-doing-business.
Speaking to Newsclick, Dr K Hemalata, president of CITU, said, “This will only make the conditions of workers more precarious, as employers will have no obligation towards the workers. They’ll get a almost entirely free hand to hire and fire. There will be no job security and no social security for workers,” said

As for the claims of employment generation, Dr Hemalata said, “Employment generation depends on the purchasing capacity of the people. If the people have money, if they purchase, only then will they produce and only then will there be employment generation. Whatever employment is being generated is not creating that kind of purchasing power among the workers. It is not any decent employment.”

“When the PM says that a person selling pakodas and earning Rs 200 a day is employed, when MGNREGA workers who don’t get even 40 days of work are said to be employed, then what is this type of employment?”

She said even an International Labour Organization (ILO) report of 2015 had said that attacking the rights of workers was not how employment generation took place.

No wonder that a 2018 report by ILO estimates that 77% of Indian workers will be engaged in vulnerable employment by 2019.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

Women Leading Mix Gender Prayers: Smashing Patriarchal Certainties

January 30, 2018

“The Quran is clear – there is no discrimination between man and woman,” Imam Jamitha Teacher told NDTV

That Muslim women have been leading prayers is no secret. There are records which attest that. But these records tell us that they were leading all women congregation. There was perhaps no precedence of a women leading a mixed congregation of men and women. One of the earliest examples of women praying inside mosques are at Ahmedabad where it can be clearly seen that women devotes had earmarked spaces for them: generally above the basement in an enclosure meant for them. The entrances and exits of these enclosures were separate and idea was that they should be out of sight of the praying Muslim men.

There is nothing in the Quran which prohibits women either going into a mosque or leading a mix congregation. In fact, there are many parts of the Muslim world where Muslim women are allowed access to mosques and they can pray there too. However, these are still segregated spaces and mixed prayer is something which is still unthinkable. The problem seems to be typical of South Asia, where women are not allowed to pray inside the mosque. Forget about mosques, they are not even allowed in various Dargahs. Consider the irony: Bulle Shah learnt most of his Islam in the company of women and yet women are not allowed in his mausoleum. Consider also the Shrine of Peer Abbas in Pakistan where dogs are not allowed in his shrine anymore although while alive the Peer himself was surrounded by strays all the time. The puritanism that applies to women and dogs are the same: they are both considered polluted and hence to be kept outside the sacred space.

Since the Quran is silent about it and it is only the Hadith which speaks about restricting women’s spaces to mosques and shrines, throughout history, such patriarchal reading of the text has been questioned from time to time. One of the first to raise the banner of revolt was the great grand-daughter of the Prophet himself. Sukayna exercised her Nikahnama so that her husband will never take another wife, something which we could have learnt during our debate on a model Nikahnama. Taking a cue from the courage displayed centuries ago by Sukayna, one Muslim woman has sought to challenge the entrenched male dominance within the Muslim society. K Jamittha led a mixed gathering Namaz at Mallapuram. Of course she must have been supported by the many progressive minded Muslims like her, both men and women. But to take that first step is always audacious and for that reason alone she must be saluted. In her brave act, she has followed the footstep of Amina Wadud and Asra Nomani who have led similar acts of worship in the western world. These simple acts of worship are actually political protests as women have been denied the fundamental right to prayer in a congregation and even if she is the most knowledge in the group, she has been denied to lead the prayer just because of her gender. Citing that nowhere in the Quran, there is such provision, these women have marched ahead and reclaimed a space which they hold dear and think that it is important part of their identity.

Before we come to any conclusion that these are western inspired women who are out to imitate the west, without any real knowledge of the scripture, please think again. K Jamitha is very much Indian and her conviction to challenge a male fortress has come after a long struggle within her own community. Also there is an ideological movement behind her which made this happen. K Jamitha belongs to the Quran Sunnath Society, which follows the ideology of Chekanoor Maulvi who was killed under mysterious circumstance in 1993. Chekanoor Maulvi was perhaps the first Alim who supported the Supreme Court Judgement on Shah Bano and said that she should be given alimony. He rejected all the classical texts barring the Quran and in fact said that some of the Hadith were written to give a bad name to Muhammad. His was therefore an approach which completely discarded adherence on the traditional narrators like Abu Huraira who he thought was responsible for much which is wrong in the Quran. He questioned the established interpretation of Quran and therefore questioned many of the existing power relations in society. It is not surprising therefore that one day he just ‘disappeared’, never to be come back. It will be a great tribute to the scholar if his works are translated far and wide so that others can learn from him.

After his death, his followers established the Quran Sunnath Society of which K Jamitha is a member. Thus she is not without an ideological pedigree. She belongs to a thought which made the orthodox call Chekanoor Maulvi by various names when he was alive. Today when she has done such a revolutionary thing by leading mixed prayers, the orthodox are in union saying that this is a small incident and does not affect the Kerala society. Thus they have conveniently made the Quran Sunnath Society into a sect: s sect which lies in some remote corner and whose members are limited and therefore not a threat to the larger social religious structure. They must remember that all prophets and all truths have a certain remoteness about them but they all eventually triumph.

May Jamitha and her tribe increase!

Arshad Alam is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com

Courtesy: NewAgeIslam.com

Message from Kasganj: Muslims, damned if they unfurl the tricolour, damned if they don’t

January 29, 2018

The Republic Day programme of Kasganj Muslims clashed with the sangh parivar’s projection of Indian Muslims as pro-Pakistani, anti-national

Image: NDTV

Imagine the scene. Its January 26, Republic Day. In a Muslim neighbourbood of some small town, residents are setting up chairs at a chowk named after Veer Abdul Hamid, in preparation of hoisting the national flag. It was Havildar Abdul Hamid, remember, whose act of extraordinary courage and sacrifice gave the Indian army a crucial edge during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. For this he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest military honour any Indian can aspire for.

Imagine the symbolism embedded in this scenario. Away from the media gaze, Indian Muslims are quietly displaying their respect for the national tricolor, recalling with pride the sacrifice for the country of a fellow Muslim. What more “proof” does one need of Muslims’ love for their motherland?

This, however, does not fit the image of the Indian Muslim that the RSS has been projecting before the nation for nearly a century now. Hindus alone are the legitimate inhabitants of India, wrote the most revered Guru of the sangh parivar, MS Golwalkar in his We, or Our Nationhood Defined in the late 1930s. Some two decades later in his Bunch of Thoughts, he warned Hindus to beware of Indian Muslims, their “enemy number one”. The internal enemy, he pointed out, was worse than any external enemy. For the sangh parivar the Indian Muslim remains a “Pakistani within” whose patriotism is forever suspect.

On a separate note, as is well-known Golwalkar and the entire sangh parivar were staunchly opposed to the national tricolor. “Indian tricolor will never be respected and owned by the Hindus”, Golwalkar wrote in the RSS mouthpiece Organiser in 1947. “The word three in itself is an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country”, he added. Golwalkar also hated the Indian Constitution.

Accordingly, the RSS refused to unfurl, pay respects to the tricolor for decades after independence. In recent years, however, political expediency has dictated that the sangh parivar “respect” and “own” the tricolor. And now that it “owns” the national flag, how can it tolerate the sight of Muslims affirming their “co-ownership” of the same?

Understand this and you have a clue to the likely perpetrators and their motive in triggering the communal clash that erupted last Friday – Republic Day — in Kasganj town of UP.

Even as Kasganj struggles to return to normal one thing appears certain: There was nothing spontaneous in the flare-up on January 26 in a town with no history of Hindu-Muslim conflict. It was a riot by design, a pre-meditated act with deliberate intent to provoke Muslims.

Consider this. On the morning of Republic Day, Muslims from Badu Nagar (a Muslim-predominant neighbourhood) in Kasganj are lining up chairs at the Veer Abdul Hamid chowk, in preparation of hoisting the national flag. Out of nowhere, a “tiranga rally” with activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) riding motor-cycles descend on Badu Nagar. Police say no permission was asked or given for the rally.

The bikers demanded that the chairs be removed for them to pass through. The Muslims instead invited them to join the locals in the hoisting of the flag. The bikers then resorted to raising provocative slogans which have been videographed: “Hindi-Hindu Hindustan! “Katwe bhago Pakistan!”, “Jai Shri Ram!”! “Hindustan mein rehna hoga toh Vande Matram kehna hoga!” (India is for Hindus! Muslims go to Pakistan! Jai Sri Ram! Chant Vande Mataram if you wish to stay in India).

Some news reports have quoted the VHP-ABVP activists as alleging that Muslims raised pro-Pakistan slogans. The Muslims say this is an outright lie adding it even defies common sense to suggest they would raise pro-Pakistan slogans at a function they themselves have organized to salute the national tricolour.
On Friday morning the provocation had its intended effect. In the heated argument that followed, finding themselves outnumbered the VHP, ABVP activists left the scene. Reportedly the bikers who were then joined by others descended on Bilram Gate area about a kilometer away from Badu Nagar. It is here that reportedly both Hindus and Muslims resorted to firing in which two persons – Chandan Gupta and Naushad — received bullet injuries. While Gupta died in the hospital, Naushad was moved to a hospital in Aligarh where he is undergoing treatment.

The situation took a turn for the worse on Saturday morning following a highly provocative speech during the cremation of Gupta by Rajveer Singh, BJP’s MP from the Etah constituency. Immediately after Gupta’s cremation, mobs selectively set Muslim shops and vehicles on fire. By Saturday evening, just when the administration claimed the situation was under control three more vehicles were torched.

On Sunday, the Yogi Adityanath government announced compensation of Rs. 20 lakh to be paid to the parents of Chandan Gupta. No compensation has been declared for Naushad or for others injured or for those whose property has been destroyed.

The UP police meanwhile have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. An impartial probe into a criminal incident requires that the crime be explored from all possible angles. Here are two possible motives that the SIT should consider exploring. One, the “Hindu nationalists” deliberately disrupted the flag unfurling ceremony by Muslims as it does not sit well with their agenda of constantly demonizing Indian Muslims, projecting them as pro-Pakistani, anti-nationals. Two, could the communal conflict be part of the sangh parivar’s rehearsal for the 2019 polls?

Looking at how the incident is now being exploited to the hilt by Hindutva’s hate-mongers on the social media, it seems clear that the Kasganj flare-up has served the intended purpose. Twisting the tale hyperactive trolls are busy peddling their propaganda that Muslims opposed a “Tiranga Rally”, refused to sing Vande Matram, raised pro-Pakistan slogans and therefore their nationalism is suspect.

My Sister, My Soul Mate

January 29, 2018

Gauri Lankesh fearlessly spoke truth to power. She stood up against injustice and discrimination. She continued to strive for communal harmony until her dying breath. On the occasion of Gauri Lankesh’s birth anniversary, we are publishing a heartbreakingly beautiful tribute by her sister Kavita.
My Sister, My Soul Mate

A Poem for Gauri by KavitaLankesh

She raved, she ranted,
Many times she burst out….
Uppercaste this… Brahmincal that…
At the inhumanity of it all…
At the injustice of it all…

Wait a minute…
Is it the same woman?
Who spoke soft words, and tenderly hugged
And embraced
Little kids,
The untouchables,
The Muslims,
The women,
The minorities…
The Maoists..

Few Rabids barked she is a bitch,
some even called her prostitute,
just because she was single
and lived her life the way she wanted to…

But hundreds called her sister, thousands called her mother
a million now are saying
“We are all Gauri…”

She blasted when someone threw a
cigarette butt from the car window
Lest it would hurt a two wheeler rider…

Her house is a garden
Where many a snake wandered
And she would wait patiently
For it slither by,
Not stopping , not harming , not killing it
Waiting patiently for it pass and continue to live…
But finally a snake came which didn’t slither away,
A human snake
on a two wheeler
to stop the fire out of Gauri …
and silence her..

Silence Gauri?
Ha ha!! What a joke!!
She burst like sunflower seed
scattered all over
In India
And across the seas…
Now the silence is chanting ….echoing, ..
“ We are all Gauri!!”

Remembering Gauri Lankesh’s Last 10 Seconds

January 29, 2018

Kavita Lankesh’s poem talks about how she finds it difficult to cope with Gauri’s death. On the occasion of Gauri Lankesh’s birthday we are publishing this touching tribute to the fearless tigress from her loving sister.

Image: Suhel Banerjee

The last 10 seconds

Sometimes I feel
You are here…
It’s just one of those hectic days
So you haven’t visited us.
But most times
Reality punches in my gut
And I know you are gone
Forever.
I churn,
I shiver,
I reel…
I feel like puking but my stomach is empty
Much like everything else
Agonized when awake,
Nightmares in sleep…
As I try to re-live
Your last 10 seconds
That’s all the time it took
To end your voice
The cops tell us
Let me imagine those 10 seconds-
The killer a coward no doubt
hiding behind a helmet
rushes towards you
“Yako? What are you doing magane?
The first shot!
You! Bolimagane! Who the fuck are you?
Not my comrade,
not my blood,
certainly not my creed!!
You think you got have become big
because your chaddi got longer
And now you wear pants?
Come, end me! Let’s see!!
How dare you!
I am never ending!!
Ten seconds. Three more bullets.
And you were gone.
Did Esha ,Amma or I
Flash through you?
The love, the care, the concern?
Did thoughts of your comrades
Flicker in you?
The same comrades who converted
you from a little chirping sparrow to
a roaring tigress?
Till the last bullet ripped
and stopped it all…?
You lay there
In a pool of blood.
But have you stopped?
A thousand others continue
Your fight
Here, there, everywhere…
Every drop of your blood
a protest!
With more fervour and vigour…
Confusing me further
If I voice for the voiceless
Like you
Am I you?
If I am silent…
Am I dead…?

– Kavita Lankesh

Stop Violence and Discrimination against Minorities: Retired Civil Servants’ Open Letter

January 29, 2018

The letter has been signed by 67 retired civil servants belonging to a range of services, many of whom had reached the pinnacle of their careers during their working lives.

Photo credit: Indian Express

The Open Letter expresses deep concern at the continuing brutal violence and widespread discrimination targeting minorities as also the wholly lackadaisical response of law enforcement authorities to these attacks. The letter calls upon the Hon’ble Prime Minister and his Government to give an immediate and clear response on these issues and to take firm action against the perpetrators of such hate crimes by various law enforcement agencies. In conclusion, it urges those who belong to the majority community to stand up, oppose and publicly condemn the communalization of our society and our country.

Of the 67 signatories, 8 were in the Indian Police Service (IPS), 9 were in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), 8 in other services like the Indian Information Service (IIS), the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS), the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and so on and 42 in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).Analysis of their ranks and postings is instructive.

Of the IPS officers, most retired in the rank of Director-General of Police and/or Special Secretary/Secretary to the Government of India and two of them went on to become the Governor of Manipur and Adviser to the Governor of Punjab/Ambassador to Romania respectively. Amongst the IFS officers, 8 out of 9 represented India as Ambassadors and High Commissioners to different countries and went on to retire in the rank of Special Secretary/Secretary to the Government of India.

Amongst the signatories are at least 2 former Chief Information Commissioners of the Central Information Commission, a former Chief Information Commissioner in a State, a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and a former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India as well as more than 15 former Secretaries to the Government of India, 3 former Chief Secretaries to State Governments and several Additional Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries to State Governments. One is a winner of the Magsaysay Award. Cutting across services, there are are some officers who headed Central and State public sector undertakings, Government Commissions and so on.

January 28, 2011

Open Letter regarding violence and discrimination against minorities in India.

We, retired civil servants belonging to different Services and batches, wish to register our deep concern at the continuing incidents of mindless violence in the country, especially those targeting the minorities, and the lackadaisical response of the law enforcement machinery to these attacks.

The killing of Mohammed Afrazul, a migrant worker from West Bengal in Rajsamand, Rajasthan, on the 25th Anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid has deeply shaken each of us. The recording of the brutal act on video and the circulation of the justification for the killing over the internet cuts at the roots of an inclusive and pluralistic society drawing its inspiration from the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Akbar, the Sikh Gurus, Hindu Sages and Gandhi. The violent incidents in Udaipur in support of the alleged killer are a pointer to how deep the sectarian poison has spread among the population of this country.

In the last nine months, we have seen the death of Pehlu Khan on 3rd April after he was attacked by a crowd of so called Gau Rakshaks near Behror, Alwar, on 1st of April. The killers named by him have not been arrested so far. However, seven others have been arrested and subsequently let off on bail.

The second killing on 16th of June of Zafar Khan was in the name of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The Municipal Chairman and other Safai Karmacharis in Pratapgarh reportedly beat him to death while he was opposing the naming and shaming process for making Pratapgarh open defecation- free. There is no arrest so far with the police claiming that Zafar Khan died of a heart attack.

The third killing in June 2017, was that of 16-year-old Junaid Khan on a train returning after Eid shopping in Delhi following a dispute over seats on the train when following abuses and insults he was stabbed and thrown out of the train at Asoti station, where he bled to death.

Following an outcry against this incident both within and outside India, the Prime Minister made a statement that “killing people in the name of ‘Gau bhakti’ is unacceptable”. He repeated this once again a day before the Parliamentary session started on 15th of July, 2017, at an all India meeting of the BJP, where he placed the onus on taking stringent action in these cases on the State governments. However, the killings continue without any check.

The fourth killing happened on 27th August, 2017, when Anwar Hussain and Hafizul Sheikh, both 19 years of age, who were transporting cattle purchased from Dhupguri in West Bengal to Tufangunj in Cooch Behar. As they got lost on the way, a mob accosted them in the early hours and when they could not pay the 50,000 rupees demanded of them, beat them both to death. Though three persons were arrested for the lynching, efforts to identify others in the mob have not produced any result so far.

The fifth killing happened on 10th of November, 2017, when Umair Khan and his friends transporting cows were fired on by so called Gau Rakshaks in Govindgarh Tehsil in Alwar district. Umair Khan was killed and his body was carried to the railway track in an attempt to destroy all evidence. Of the seven killers only two were arrested. However, two of the victims, Tahir and Jawed, were placed behind bars.

The Indian Express of December 25 quotes a BJP MLA from Rajasthan – Gyan Dev Ahuja of Ramgarh – who said that “if one engages in cow smuggling or slaughters a cow, he will be killed.” Such language is an open incitement to violence, acts of which are slowly poisoning the body politic and examples of which are listed above. Such words and actions have no place in a civilized society and fly in the face of established jurisprudence. Vigilantism is let loose upon a hapless group with all its tragic consequences.

Apart from the murders, we are deeply concerned to see the acceleration of a process of ghettoization through organized resistance to sale of properties to Muslims, or refusal by owners to have them as tenants. A recent case reported in the media relates to prevention of a Muslim buyer to take possession of a house in the Maliwara locality of Meerut that he had paid for. The daily indignities that the Muslims face in this and many other ways is bound to lead to an atmosphere of resentment in that religious community that will further vitiate an already poisoned environment. The “love-jihad” campaigns of right-wing Hindu groups are again symptomatic of the efforts by extremist elements of the majority religion to interfere in the basic constitutional rights of citizens to enter into marriage with a partner of their choice.

In the past few weeks in December, we are witness to increasing targeting of Christians around the observation of Christmas. On 15th of December, police detained groups singing carols in Satna. When a group of priests went to make enquiries, they were also reportedly detained by the police. In Uttar Pradesh, the Hindu Jagran Manch warned Christian schools in Aligarh against observing Christmas. In Rajasthan, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad allegedly stormed a Christmas function on the grounds that this was an attempt at forced conversion.

We seek now and without delay a clear response from the Hon’ble Prime Minister and his government on these issues, along with immediate and firm action against the perpetrators of such hate crimes against minorities in this country by the respective law enforcement authorities.

These recent incidents undermine our Constitutional values and weaken the rule of law to create a new normal in society. Our existing laws provide adequate protection if they are implemented with the necessary will and determination. Legal protection alone however is not a solution when the communal virus has already spread far and wide in the society. It is essential for each of us as individuals to reflect on the repercussions of a situation where the present trends could threaten the peace and cohesion that is a fundamental pre- requisite for our growth and development. And for all of us, most of all for those who belong to the majority community, to go beyond mere reflection, to stand up, oppose and publicly condemn the communalization of our society and our country.

Signatories:
1.S.P. Ambrose, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping & Transport, GoI
2.Ishrat Aziz, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Brazil & Saudi Arabia
3.Vappala Balachandran, IPS (Retd.)Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI
4.Meera C Borwankar, IPS (Retd.) Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research and Development, GoI
5.Sundar Burra, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
6.Som Chaturvedi, IRTS (Retd.), Former Additional Member, Railway Board, GoI
7.Javid Chaudhuri IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI
8.Kalyani Chaudhuri, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
9.Anna Dani, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra
10.Surjit K. Das, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttarakhand
11.Vibha Puri Das, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI
12.Nareshwar Dayal, IFS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
13.Keshav Desiraju, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI
14.Sushil Dubey, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Sweden
15.K.P. Fabian, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Italy
16.Bhaskar Ghose, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, GoI
17.Hirak Ghosh, IAS (Retd.), Former Principal Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
18.Balagopal Gopalan, IAS (Retd.), Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
19.R. Govindarajan, IPS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Joint Intelligence Committee, Cabinet Secretariat (in the rank of Secretary to GoI)
20.Meena Gupta, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
21.Ravi Vira Gupta, IAS (Retd.), Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
22.Wajahat Habibullah, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, GoI and Chief Information Commissioner.
23.Deepa Hari, IRS (Resigned).
24.Sajjad Hassan, IAS (Retd.), Former Commissioner (Planning), Govt. of Manipur
25.Gurbachan Jagat, IPS (Retd.), Former DGP, J&K; DG, BSF; Chairman, UPSC; Governor of Manipur
26.Kamal Jaswal, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI
27.K. John Koshy, IAS (Retd.), Former State Chief Information Commissioner, West Bengal
28.Ajai Kumar, IFS (Retd.), Former Director, Ministry of Agriculture, GoI
29.Arun Kumar, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, GoI
30.Brijesh Kumar, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI
31.Chaman Lal, IPS (Retd.), Former DGP, Nagaland.
32.PMS Malik, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Myanmar & Special Secretary, MEA, GoI
33.Harsh Mander, IAS (Retd.), Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
34.Aditi Mehta, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
35.Dalip Mehta, IFS (Retd.), Former Secretary to GoI & Dean, Foreign Service Institute
36.Sonalini Mirchandani, IFS (Resigned)
37.Dr L Mishra, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Labour, GoI
38.Sunil Mitra, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI
39.Ruchira Mukerjee, IP&TFAS (Retd.), Former Adviser, Telecom Commission, GoI
40.Anup Mukerji, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar
41.Deb Mukharji, IFS (Retd.), Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Ambassador to Nepal
42.Pranab S. Mukhopadhyay, IAS (Retd.), Former Director, Indian Institute of Port management, Kolkata, GoI
43.Sobha Nambisan, IAS (Retd.), Former Principal Secretary (Planning), Govt. of Karnataka
44.Sivakami Palanimuthu, IAS (Retd.), Former Special Commissioner, Stationery & Printing Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu
45.Niranjan Pant, IA & AS (Retd.), Former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
46.P R Parthasarathy, IPS (Retd.), Former Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Govt. of Maharashtra
47.K Sujatha Rao, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI
48.MY Rao, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Orissa State Electricity Board, Govt. of Orissa
49.NK Raghupathy, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
50.Satwant Reddy, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary to GoI, Ministry of Chemicals and Petrochemicals
51.Julio Ribeiro, IPS (Retd.), Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & Ambassador to Romania
52.Sayeed Rizvi, IAS (Retd.), Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI
53.Aruna Roy, IAS (Resigned)
54.Manabendra N Roy, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
55.ManMohan Sagar, IPS (Retd.), Former CMD, Assam Police Housing Corporation
56.Umrao Salodia, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Rajasthan Road Transport Corporation, Govt. of Rajasthan
57.Deepak Sanan, IAS (Retd.), Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
58.Deepak Sandhu, Indian Information Service (Retd.), Former Chief Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission
59.EAS Sarma, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, GoI
60.NC Saxena, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI
61 A Selvaraj, IRS (Retd.), Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI
62.Ardhendu Sen, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal
63.Aftab Seth, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Japan
64.Har Mander Singh, IAS (Retd.), Former Director General, ESI Corporation, GoI
65.Jawhar Sircar, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI, & CEO, Prasar Bharati
66.Geetha Thoopal, IRAS (Retd.), Former General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata
67.Ramani Venkatesan, IAS (Retd.), Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. Of Maharashtra

A Poem celebrating the spirit of Gauri Lankesh

January 29, 2018

Gauri Lankesh, the fearless and formidable journalist who was shot dead outside her home in September 2017 was known for her never backing down. Which is why her friends, family and supporters refused to back down despite harassment from authorities, and demanded a thorough investigation into her death. “I am Gauri” became the new battle cry for those demanding Justice for Gauri. In this poem, her sister Kavita recalls how people came together after Gauri’s death to honour a journalist who always lived her life on her own terms and with her head held high. We are publishing this to commemorate Gauri’s Birth Anniversary today.

Cheers Gauri!

You must be so proud of me!!
Happy in heaven
or knowing you
you probably prefer hell
You brought me down to
the streets and that I was arrested!!
First time!!
Cheers!!

Finally maybe I am worth being called your sister!
It’s been three months
And our voices For the government has turned
Anti government…
Cheers!!
That’s what you and appa always stood for!
Anti government..

I finally know
How a mongrel feels
When stray dogs are abound
In the neighbourhood
Watching, biting and mating
They are caught and left in another locality
We were like that yesterday..
A harassment to the general public
And the government
They took us for a ride on a BTs bus
And left us in another area
Hoping we will stop
The battle.
They don’t know the war is still on..
Cheers!!

Your comrades shouted slogans and
Shook their fists
I simply looked at them
My eyes brimmed with tears,
My voice choked and I was mute ,
My hands lay limp by my side..
Impotent and dead..
But the voices of protest resonated
Again and again
Maybe I am still alive??
I have fought many a battle
But nothing that required e me to

Raise my voice ..
Or raise my fists
unless I wanted to slap a wandering hand..
But this was beyond all that
How can one stop the voice that’s echoing
‘We are gauri”
“I am Gauri”?
The shouts fill me-
Down ! Down! The Killers are free!!
The innocents are arrested!
My very being is filled
with a sense of pride !!

Countless times I had asked
Who will come to you if you are sick?
Who will come to you if you are broke?
Who will come when you …
Are dead and silent?
Such a fool I was
As if we were the only ones…
Cheers!

Seems like I am a non entity
Compared to your
dear and near ones…
who are holding you up
shouting and screaming
Just like you cannot be silenced
They cannot be too!!
I hope I cannot be silenced too!
Cheers!!

-KavitaLankesh

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Remembering Gauri Lankesh’s Last 10 Seconds

Kavita Lankesh’s poem talks about how she finds it difficult to cope with Gauri’s death. On the occasion of Gauri Lankesh’s birthday we are publishing this touching tribute to the fearless tigress from her loving sister.

The last 10 seconds

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A Poem celebrating the spirit of Gauri Lankesh

Cheers Gauri!

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