WSS Petitions NHRC on Bela Bhatia Case, Intimidation in Chhatisgarh

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March 28, 2016

The Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS) has, on March 28, 2016 petitionerd the National human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the continued intimidation of independent researcher Bela Bhatia by non-state actors allegedly backed by the local police in the Bastar Region of Chhatisgarh. Bela Bhatia had been openly threatened two days ago. On March 13, 2016 the WSS had also written to Union Minister for Home Affairs Mr Rajnath Singh on the fast detiorating situation in Chhatisgarh

The text of the memorandum submitted to the NHRC is below:

March 28, 2016
To
Justice HL Dattu
Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission

Reference: Addendum to our complaint number 920/33/17/2015-WC regarding sexual violence by armed forces and harassment of human rights defenders by BastarPolice

Respected Justice Dattu,

Our complaint regarding cases of sexual violence against Adivasi women by security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations in Bastar, and attempts by Bastar Police to silence human rights defenders and journalists who are exposing and challenging these violations, is currently under investigation by the NHRC.

We have already apprised you (through written and oral submissions on February 19, March 21 and March 23 ) of the intensification in hounding of complainants and human rights defenders including Adivasi activists Soni Sori and Lingaram Kodopi, and women lawyers of the Lagdalpur Legal Aid Group, apparently as a reaction to the visit of the NHRC investigation team.

We would like to bring to your notice the latest such incident reported by WSS member Dr Bela Bhatia, an internationally renowned social scientist whose researches and contributions on issues of Adivasi rights has been recognised by Government of India in the past. It is noteworthy that Dr Bhatia released an open letter to the press on 22 March, expressing her intention to continue staying and working in Bastar.

The group identified by Dr Bhatia as responsible for the incident is the Samajik Ekta Manch, one of the vigilante groups bodies set up by IG Bastar SRP Kalluri, who has stated that support to such groups is part of the official strategy to counter Maoist organisations. The evidence submitted by us as part of our earlier complaint, and by various other human rights groups in separate complaints to you, makes it clear that groups like Samajik Ekta Manch and Mahila Ekta Manch are fronts for the targeting and hounding of human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists who are exposing and challenging the egregious violations of human rights that are being perpetrated by the state in Bastar.

While we support the right of citizens to raise issues and concerns in a peaceful and democratic manner, we hope you will agree that this latest attack on Dr Bhatia goes well beyond the boundaries of democratic protest, and amounts to criminal intimidation and incitement to violence.

We hope you will agree that, given the current situation in Bastar – where the seniormost police officer has made several public statements asking the public to act against individuals who have clashed with him on the issue of human rights – the labelling Dr Bhatia as a “Naxal sympathiser” is tantamount to issuing a call for violence against her.

We request the investigation team to take this statement on record and give it due consideration in their enquiries.

We also urge the NHRC to act immediately and direct the Government of Chhattisgarh and the district administration in Bastar to issue a written notice to leaders of the Samajik Ekta Manch, Mahila Ekta Manch and other such organisations set up by the Bastar Police at various levels, warning them that attempts to target, malign, intimidate and instigate violence against human rights defenders will not be tolerated and will be dealt with strictly and in accordance with the law.

Dr Bela Bhatia's statement is given below.

“At around 4 pm on 26 March, a large group of agitated people (perhaps 100 or so) came to the village where I live, 8 km from Jagdalpur, in my absence. They came in four jeeps/cars, five autos and one pick-up. The group included men and women as well as members of the police force who were in plain clothes, a few of whom were armed. Villagers recognized some of them who were from a road-side neighbouring village. Around 4-5 were from another hamlet of this village.

The group was carrying a banner. They came to my house. They asked questions about me from the landlady and some neighbours. They asked why a Naxalite “aatankwadi” had been allowed to rent a room there, and advised the landlady to evict me (“unko bhagao”). They were also asking her for information about the landlord, her husband.

Then they took out a rally in the hamlet, shouting slogans against me (including “Bela Bhatia murdabad”) and distributing a leaflet. The leaflet accuses me of being a "Naxali dalal" from outside and ends with the slogan "Bastar chodo, Bastar chodo, Bela Bhatia Bastar chodo". The leaflet doesn't bear anyone's name or any details of any printer. Some of them were also distributing sweets to village children.

Several of these people were identified by as members of Samajik Ekta Manch. One woman, Lakshmi Kashyap, is a member of Mahila Ekta Manch and a signatory to a letter (attached) to the Prime Minister demanding arrest of JagLAG lawyers and myself as “Naxal sympathisers”. Some had apparently been mobilised from neighbouring hamlets.”

We are attaching a press report of the above incident, which includes a scan of the leaflet distributed by the vigilante group. We are also attaching a copy of the letter submitted by Samajik Ekta Manch to the Prime Minister, demanding arrest of Dr Bhatia and other WSS members.

KALYANI MENON-SEN
Convenor, WSS
(Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression)

JAGLAG Petition to NHRC dated March 23, 2016

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March 28, 2016

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March 23, 2016

To,
Mr Sanjay Jain, Sr. SP
National Human Rights Commission
New Delhi

Subject – Additional Information about the situation in Bastar in relation to Complaint no. 920/33/17/2015-WC

Dear Mr. Jain,

This is in continuation of the submission made by Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group to your team on March 1 in Raipur. We wish to update you on some other incidents that have occurred in Bastar subsequent to your visit to the area –

On March 14, 2016, one of us, Advocate Shalini Gera travelled to Geedam, Dantewada, to assist Ms. SoniSori with some legal counsel on the question of the ongoing investigation into the chemical attack on her. Ms. Gera stayed with Ms. Sori’s family on the 14 and 15 of March 2016.

On March 16, 2016 Ms. Gera travelled to Jagdalpur to consult with the District Legal Services Authority, about the possibility of collaborating with them in providing legal aid services in the district. From the DLSA premises, Ms. Gera walked over to the adjoining court complex in order to follow up on some of JagLAG’s cases which they had been forced to hand over to other lawyers in a hurry at the time the group was forced to evacuate from Jagdalpur. As soon as Ms. Gera walked into the court complex, within minutes Ms. Gera was surrounded by a whole host of people, mostly lawyers, led by one Mr. Anand Mohan Mishra of the Samajik Ekta Manch, and Ms. Madhuri Yadav, loudly asking Ms. Gera to leave the court premises immediately. Once again, these lawyers made claims that since Ms. Gera was not a “local lawyer”, therefore, she had no right to enter the court premises or work therein. Ms. Gera informed them that as of last week, Ms. Gera’s transfer to the Chhattisgarh State Bar Council was complete, and now she was duly registered in the Bar Council of Chhattisgarh State (Enrollment No. CG/344- A/TR/2013). Besides which, the Bar Association’s resolution was before the Appeals Committee of the Chhattisgarh State Bar Council, and hence, she requested that the lawyer’s wait for the final judgment on that appeal and follow the order of the Hob’le Bar Council. However, the angry group of lawyers, by now numbering 50-60, insisted that they were not beholden to the Chhattisgarh State Bar Council, and that they will not allow Ms. Gera and her colleagues to work in the area. Further, they made several other allegations – the primary amongst them being that JagLAG has close relations with the Naxalites, is anti-national, and hence, will not be allowed to operate in the court. By making such false and defamatory accusations, these lawyers tried to inflame passions of other lawyers in the Bar Room of the court, and made it clear that these lawyers will not be allowed to work peacefully in the area. A local paper carried some an article regarding this incident, which is included as Annexure 1.

Earlier on the same day, the National Federation of Indian Women, a national mass-organization of women, had held a dharna outside the Commissioner’s Office in Jagdalpur, which was mainly addressed by the Adivasi women organisers. They demanded action against the guilty security men in the cases of mass sexual violence in Peddagellur, Nendra and Kunna villages in the past few months. In their speeches, they also condemned the eviction of JagLAG lawyers and the journalist Malini Subramanium, and the attack on SoniSori. Ms Gera attended this meeting briefly, where she met Ms. Bela Bhatia. It appears that after Ms. Gera had left, Ms. Bhatia also addressed this meeting.

Presumably in response to this meeting, another meeting was held two days later, on March 18, 2016, by a newly formed group Mahila EktaManch. While this meeting was purportedly organized to protest the recent incident in Sukma where a young girl had lost her life in an IED explosion caused by the Naxalites, this meeting largely raised slogans against Advocate Shalini Gera and Social Worker Bela Bhatia, publicly asking them to leave Bastar. Photos from the event are attached as Annexure 2.

At the end of this meeting, the organizers also submitted a letter to the Prime Minister, asking the government to ensure that lawyers associated with JaLAG – Shalini Gera and IshaKhandelwal, the social worker – Bela Bhatia, human rights worker associated with the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organizations (who were part of the fact-finding team that looked into the Nendra incident)- Ms. Shreya, a JagLAG intern – Ms. Praavita, and a representative of Amnesty International -Makepeace, are not allowed into Bastar, and that they are booked under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act. Furthermore, this letter also asked that the government arrest the NFIW organizers, Shalini Gera and Bela Bhatia in Naxalite cases. Photos taken of the letter are annexed as Annexure 3. Such letters, specifically targeting private individuals are aimed at intimidating them and vitiating the atmosphere of the area, ensuring that it becomes very difficult for them to work independently.

On the night between March 17, 2016 and March 18, 2016, Ms. Makepeace Silthou of Amnesty International who had been visiting the area, and Ms. Bela Bhatia,were traveling in a public bus from Jagdalpur to Raipur. First, they were accosted by the SamajikEktaManch people at the Jagdalpur Bus Stand, and later their bus was stopped twice at two different check-posts in Bastar, where the police wanted to conduct a security check on all “women passengers,” subjecting both Ms. Silthou and Ms. Bhatia to an intrusive searching of all their belongings, which delayed all the passengers in their bus by two hours or more. Again, these are simply tactics of intimidation and harassment.

It should also be noted that in the name of investigation into the chemical attack on Ms. Sori, her family is being continuously harassed and intimidated. Her brother-in-law Mr. Ajay Markam was illegally detained for over 36 hours over March 10, 2016 and March 11, 2016, when we, as the family’s lawyers were forced to write to the DGP of Chhattisgarh, Mr. Upadhyay seeking his intervention. Her nephew and close colleague, Mr. LingaramKodopi has been receiving direct and indirect threats from no less than Mr. SRP Kalluri that he will be killed in an encounter, and that he will be implicated in this attack. Even after Mr. Kodopi wrote to the DGP on 14.3.2016, raising his concerns that the SIT is not conducting an impartial and objective investigation, and hence, he will not answer their requests for further interrogation, and requested the DGP to constitute an independent team before which he is ready to testify – yet, he is being routinely pressured to appear before the SIT. On March 17, 2016 and on March 21, 2016, he was again asked to appear before the SIT, despite multiple submissions to the SIT on this issue.Not only that, he has also been handed a notice under section 107 of CrPC asking him to sign a bond of good behavior in view of his non-cooperation with the investigative team and his public threat of suicide. It should be noted that Mr. Kodopi has only talked of hurting himself, while the Bar Association and groups like the SamajikEktaManch, MahilaEktaManch etc. have publicly issued threats to JagLAG – yet, none of them have been served any notices under section 107 of the CrPC.

In such an environment of continuous harassment and open intimidation, directly by the police or by groups close to the police, we note that it will be very difficult for people still living and carrying on businesses in Bastar to come before the NHRC team also, and feel comfortable in giving testimonies critical of the police. We request that the NHRC try to look for documentary evidence in order to substantiate some of the allegations made by complainants, or give weightage to testimonies from people who have knowledge of incidents, but who are no longer living in Bastar. For instance, in the case of JagLAG’s eviction, we note that over the last few days of our stay in Jagdalpur and immediately following our evacuation (from 16 Feb to 22 Feb 2016), our landlord received many calls from various officials of the police and the Kotwali PS as well as the Bodhghat PS.

Officials such as the CSP and SP of Bastar have also called him to hasten and ensure our departure. We request that our landlord, Mr. Praveen Baghel’s , call details be called for and looked into. Furthermore, at the time of our eviction, we were also joined by two student interns, Ms. Mukta Joshi and Mr. Ashwin Pantula of NLSUI Bangalore, and a freelance journalist Ms. Freny Manecksha. These independent witnesses, who are not subject to the pressures of Bastar, will be able to give an uninhibited account of the last few days of eviction.

Signed
Shalini Gera,
Isha Khandelwal,
Devesh Agnihotri

Petition to NHRC, Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression, February 19, 2016

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March 28, 2016

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Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression

To
Honourable Justice Cyriac Joseph
Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission

February 19, 2016

Subject: Update on our complaint number 920/33/17/2015-WC

Respected Justice Joseph,

We are writing to request your urgent intervention to protect our colleagues, women's rights activists in Bastar from attacks by the police and goons who are targeting them for taking up the cases of sexual violence against Adivasi women by police and security forces.

Sir, we have been greatly encouraged by the fact that you have taken suo motu notice of media reports of widespread sexual violence against Adivasi women, and have admitted our complaint which is to be heard by the Commission at your meeting Monday 22 February 2016.

Further to the above complaint, we would like to apprise you of the sharp deterioration in the situation over this last week, as a result of which WSS members Soni Sori (Adivasi woman leader and survivor of custodial rape), Shalini Gera and Isha Khandelwal (women lawyers who are taking up cases of Adivasi women in Bastar courts), Bela Bhatia (independent researcher who has been documenting sexual assaults of Adivasi women) and Jagdalpur-based journalist Malini Subramaniam of Scroll.in are all being threatened with dire cconsequences if they do not immediately quit Jagdalpur.

We have just received information that journalist Malini Subramaniam left Jagdalpur with her family last night, after a week of threats and physical intimidation[1]. Last week, Malini's house was attacked by stone-throwing goons affiliated to Samajik Ekta Manch, a vigilante group set up by the police. The police refused to respond to Malini's complaint and file an FIR or provide protection. Subsequent to the issue being picked up by the international media, the District authorities assured Malini that the incidents would not be repeated and her safety would be ensured. However, on the night of 17th February, Malini's landlord was summoned to the local thana and ordered to get Malini to vacate the premises. Prachi, a young women employed by Malini, was picked up at night and held without any charges, then released and picked up again. Malini's husband was also questioned when he went to the thana to enquire about Prachi.

Lawyers Shalini Gera and Isha Khandelwal have also been asked to vacate their house and office within 24 hours. These women lawyers who have been living in Jagdalpur for the last several years and taking up cases of rights violations of Adivasis and rape/sexual assault on Adivasi women by the police and security forces, are being systematically targeted and hounded for the last 18 months. Shri SRP Kalluri has held press conferences and public meetings where he has issued thinly-veiled threats that the police are closely monitoring NGOs providing "legal aid to Naxalites". Clients and visiting journalists have been told by the police that they are a "Naxalite front", soon to be arrested. Police claim to be investigating "anonymous" complaints that they are "fraudulent" lawyers who should not be allowed to practise. The local Bar Association, clearly instigated by the police, took out a resolution prohibiting Shalini and Isha from practice in the local courts. This resolution was challenged by Shalini and Isha in the State Bar Council and which issued an interim order allowing them to practice. Howevr, they have been receiving information warning them that they will be attacked during their court appearances.

For the last two days, Shalini and Isha's landlord, a Dalit Christian taxi driver, has been repeatedly picked up by the police for “interrogation”. His vehicle has been impounded. He was directed to give one week's notice to the activists, which he did. Last night, he was picked up again and told that he must ask them to vacate within 24 hours. He has been threatened with dire consequences if he does not comply. Not wanting to make him even more vulnerable than he is, Shalini and Isha have agreed to vacate the house.

We have just received information that women's rights activist and Adivasi leader Soni Sori has been accused of encroaching on government land and warned that she is going to be evicted.
Police are visiting and questioning her neighbours and local shopskeepers about her ccomings and goings, particularly her links with other activists. This seems to be an immediate response to Soni's attempts to file an FIR against IG Shri Kalluri, giving evidence of the campaign of threat and intimidation against her on public platforms, declaring her as a Maoist sympathiser despite the fact that the multiple false cases against her have been quashed by the courts.

We have also just heard that researcher Bela Bhatia has been given a similar notice of eviction by a police party that visited her house an hour ago.

A WSS team was in Raipur during 14-18 February 2016 and met with the Chief Minister, the Director-General of Police and the Chairperson of the State ST Commission to apprise them of the deteriorating situation in Bastar, and to urge them to ensure the personal safety and security of activists, lawyers, journalists who are supporting Adivasi women in seeking justice. We are shocked and seriously alarmed to note that the assurances given to us by these officials have proved to be no more than empty promises, since the eviction orders have come within 24 hours of our return.

We therefore urge you to
Immediately direct the authorities to ensure the safety of women activists, and to take action to rein in the police and prevent them from overstepping their powers.
Since no landlord in Jagdalpur will now have the temerity to rent out premises to Shalini and Isha, who are fighting several cases in various sessions courts of Bastar, we request you to instruct the DM to provide them with government accomodation and provide them with security at their residence and during court appearances.
Institute a commission of enquiry into the functioning of the police and the district administration in Bastar, and hear the testimonies of activists, lawyers, journalists and citizens who are facing the brunt of the campaign of threats, intimidation and calumny launched by the police against anyone who raises their voice against violations of Constutional rights and the rule of law.

Kalyani Menon-Sen
Indira Chakravartthy

On behalf of Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression

[1] See attached detailed report.

Letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, March 13, 2016 on Deteriorating Situation in Chhatisgarh

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March 28, 2016

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To
Shri Rajnath Singh
Honourable Home Minister of India

March 13, 2016

Subject: Harassment of human rights activists by police in Bastar, Chattisgarh

Respected Shri Singh,

We are writing to request your urgent intervention to protect our colleagues, women's rights activists in Bastar from attacks by the police and goons who are targeting them for taking up the cases of sexual violence against Adivasi women by police and security forces.

Sir, you are no doubt aware of widespread sexual violence against Adivasi women by security forces in Bastar in the course of search and combing operations. Thse have been widely reported in the media. The National Human Rights Commission has instituted an enquiry into these incidents after complaints from women's organisations.

We would like to apprise you of the sharp deterioration in the situation over these last few weeks, as a result of systematic targeting, hounding and threatening of women activists by Bastar police led by IG Bastar Shri SRP Kalluri.

Adivasi woman leader and AAP party activist Soni Sori has been systematically hounded by the police and has been personally targeted by IG Kalluri. A copy of an FIR that Ms Sori and her nephew Lingaram Kodopi have been trying to file against Shri Kalluri under the SC/ST Act is attached. The police have refused to file this FIR, and threatened Ms Sori with dire consequences if she spoke against Shri Kalluri. On the night of 22 February, Ms Sori wa attacked by three persons who again threatened her and smeared her face with a corrosive substance. Ms Sori was seriously injured and was brought to Apollo Hospital in Delhi for treatment. She has returned to Chhattisgarh on 11th March.
During Ms Sori's absence in Delhi, her young daughters and family including her brother-in-law were threatened by people whose affiliations with the police are well-known. Ms. Soni’s brother-in-law, Mr. Ajay Markam, was picked up by the police on 11th March and held in police custody for a day and a half, with no intimation to his family about his whereabouts and the reasons for his detention. His wife and Ms. Sori’s sister, Ms. Dhani Markam, was also picked up by Bastar police from the hostel of the nursing school where she is a student, and taken to an undisclosed location. They were released only yesterday, after interrogation by the SIT set up by Bastar police to investigate the attack on Ms Sori. They have been pressurised to make a false confession that they were responsible for the attack on Ms Sori. Ajay Markam has been severely beaten and Dhani Markam has been reduced to a state of emotional breakdown. Details of their illegal detention and the behaviour of the police are in the attached complaint filed by their lawyers with the NHRC and the IG Police Chhattisgarh.

Our colleagues Shalini Gera and Isha Khandelwal (women lawyers who are taking up cases of Adivasi women in Bastar courts), have been targeted and threatened by Shri Kalluri and by members of the Samajik Ekta Manch, a vigilante group with close links to the police.These women lawyers who have been living in Jagdalpur for the last several years and taking up cases of rights violations of Adivasis and rape/sexual assault on Adivasi women by the police and security forces, are being systematically targeted and hounded for the last 18 months. Shri SRP Kalluri has held press conferences and public meetings where he has issued thinly-veiled threats that the police are closely monitoring NGOs providing "legal aid to Naxalites". Clients and visiting journalists have been told by the police that they are a "Naxalite front", soon to be arrested. Police claim to be investigating "anonymous" complaints that they are "fraudulent" lawyers who should not be allowed to practise.

The local Bar Association, clearly instigated by the police, took out a resolution prohibiting Shalini and Isha from practice in the local courts. This resolution was challenged by Shalini and Isha in the State Bar Council and which issued an interim order allowing them to practice. They have been receiving anonymous information warning them that they will be attacked during their court appearances. They have now left Jagdalpur after their landlord was picked up by police and warned that he would face consequences if he did not evict them.
Independent journalist Malini Subramaniam was forced to leave Jagdalpur with her family after her house was attacked by stone-throwing goons affiliated to Samajik Ekta Manch. The police refused to respond to Malini's complaint and file an FIR or provide protection. Subsequent to the issue being picked up by the international media, the District authorities assured Malini that the incidents would not be repeated and her safety would be ensured. However, on the night of 17th February, Malini's landlord was summoned to the local thana and ordered to get Malini to vacate the premises. Prachi, a young women employed by Malini, was repeated picked up by police and pressurised to confess to the attacks on Malini.

A team of women activists was in Raipur during 14-18 February 2016 and met with the Chief Minister, the Director-General of Police and the Chairperson of the State ST Commission to apprise them of the deteriorating situation in Bastar, and to urge them to ensure the personal safety and security of activists, lawyers, journalists who are supporting Adivasi women in seeking justice. We are shocked and seriously alarmed to note that the assurances given to us by these officials have proved to be no more than empty promises. The attacks, harassment and hounding has been further stepped up since the visit of the NHRC team.

We therefore urge you to
Immediately direct the authorities to ensure the safety of women activists, and to take action to rein in the police and prevent them from overstepping their powers.
Institute a commission of enquiry into the functioning of the police and the role of IG Kalluri in subjecting activists, lawyers, journalists and citizens to a campaign of threats, intimidation and calumny.

Sir, we trust that you will intervene to ensure protection and freedom of functioning for women activists who are exercising their democratic rights to raise their voice against violations of Constutional rights and the rule of law in Bastar.

Brinda Karat, AIDWA
Jagmati Sangwan AIDWA
Prof Uma Chakravarthy

Kalyani Menon-Sen,

How a Hate-Speech Record Increases Chances of Election Victory by 3 times

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March 28, 2016

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UPDATE:

Sabrangindia received clarifications in the summary and story done by Indiaspends. These have now been incorporated into the story.
– Editors

Candidates with hate-speech cases against them have three times greater chance of winning elections, as this survey by Indiaspends shows. This analysis has been undertaken from the self-disclosed crime records of candidates who have contested various elections nationwide over the last 12 years.
Of the 70 candidates surveyed, unsurprisingly, the RSS-driven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tops the list with 28 candidates with hate crime records. This numero uno position is followed by nine MPS each from the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS), six MPS from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), five from the Samajwadi Party (SP), four from the telugu Desam, three from the Indian National Congress (INC), three others and 12 independents.
So, being guilty of hate-speech with a case registered provides a candidate with a better chance of victory.

Candidates with hate-speech cases against them were three times more successful in elections compared to those without a criminal record, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of self-disclosed crime records of candidates who have contested various elections nationwide over the last 12 years.

To put these data in perspective, over the last 12 years, 10% of candidates with no criminal cases won elections, while the figure was 20% for candidates with criminal cases of any kind.

As many as 70 members of Parliament (MPs) and members of legislative assemblies (MLAs) have hate-speech cases pending against them, according to their own disclosures to the Election Commission (EC) of India.

A season of hate speeches by politicians—including union ministers, MPs and MLAs—is underway across India, riven by inflamed, opposing views on nationalism and free speech.

Some recent examples:

Union Ministers

Members of Parliament

Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs)

Political party chiefs

How “hate speech” is identified, numerous laws in force

“Hate speech” currently has no specific legal definition, although the Law Commission has been tasked by the Supreme Court to do just that.

There are several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that pertain to hate speech, including:

153(A)—statements aimed at creating enmity related to communal, racial, linguistic, ethnic and descent;
153(B)—statements against sovereignty;
295(A)—statements aimed at hurting religious feelings;
505(2)—statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes; and
Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act—promoting enmity between classes in connection with elections.

BJP has given tickets to most number of candidates with “hate-speech” cases

As many as 399 candidates with “hate-speech” cases have been fielded by political parties in various parliamentary and state assembly elections over the last 12 years. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads the list with 97 candidates.

How political parties violate their oath given to ECI at the time of registration

Each political party, at the time of registration, has to provide a self-sworn oath to the EC, declaring that the party will adhere to the principles of “socialism, secularism and democracy”.

A party must provide a copy of memorandum of rules, which should contain a specific provision—drawn from Representation of the People Act, 1951—that says “….and such memorandum or rules and regulations shall contain a specific provision that the association or body shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.”

By giving tickets to candidates with “hate-speech” cases, political parties in a way violate their self-sworn oath to the EC.

(Manoj K is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and the founder of the Centre for Governance and Development. He has a special interest in transparency and accountability in governance and has spearheaded several projects on these subjects.)

Courtesy: IndiaSpend

Was Father Tom Crucified by ISIS on Good Friday? Catholic sources uncertain

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March 28, 2016

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UPDATE:

Fate of ISI captive Fr Tom remains uncertain

JOHN DAYAL writes in a special article for SabrangIndia:

The fate of Indian Catholic priest, Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, remains uncertain a day after Easter as different church officials continued to hope he was alive, but admitted there was no evidence on whether he had been “crucified” on Good Friday by the Islamic State terrorists who had taken him captive on 4th march 2016 in Aden, Yemen. Sixteen persons including an Indian Nun of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charities order had been killed by the ISIS in their assault on an old age home run by the nuns. News of his crucifixion on Good Friday carried by Washington Times have been denied by Catholic sources to this writer.

Hopes for the priest have waxed and waned with divergent “news” going viral on social media, and even usually reticent web portals.

In a communiqué on Easter night, Bishop Paul Hinder, in charge of the Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen, indicated that the priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco order was alive though “no information can be given about the efforts to get Fr. Tom free.’ The bishop asks “not to decrease the prayers” for Fr. Tom.

Bishop Hinder said he had “reason to believe that the religious was alive and in the hands of the kidnappers.” Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who had earlier reportedly confirmed the execution of the priest, later told the Kathpress news: "There is still hope."

The Indian government said it was still actively trying to rescue the priest. External affairs minister, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, had tweeted on March 26 that the government was continuing efforts to rescue Father Thomas Uzhunnalil. But the Washington Times reported March 27 that Fr Tom had indeed been “crucified” by the ISIS on Good Friday. It said repeated that the priest's death was confirmed by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn at an Easter Vigil Mass.

Catholic sources later told this correspondent that the Cardinal had been misquoted by international news groups.

Monseigneur Joseph Chinnayan, the deputy secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India was quoted by Ucanews.com on March 28 that he has contacted "all authentic sources" within the church and government. "As of now, there is absolutely no basis for this talk of crucifixion," he said. The CBCI is expected to meet government of India officials soon to urgent them for more intense efforts to secure the release of the popular priest.

Father Mathew Valarkote, spokesman for the Salesian's Bangalore province, told the media the government statements so far "definitely shows that no harm has been done” to the 56-year-old Kerala born cleric. “We will disseminate news in case we have any confirmed reports from credible sources,” he told a Matters India reporter.

The reports of the crucifixion of Fr Tom first flashed when Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna was quoted reportedly mentioning it during the Easter Vigil at Stephansdom. The Dominican prelate was quoted saying the 56-year-old Salesian was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday. Polonia Christiana carried the news, based on Austrian media reports. Catholic News World carried the report on Easter, March 27. Church sources now say the Vienna cardinal might have based his statement on a WhatsApp message that began circulating early Saturday.

The Vatican and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation have been reportedly working with Mid East groups for his rescue.

Earlier Report:

Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna has confirmed last night, that the Salesian priest, Fr. Thomas Uzhunnalil was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday. Father Tom was with the Sisters of Mother Teresa who were killed in Yemen.

According to a report in Washington Times, Thomas Uzhunnalil, an Indian priest who was kidnapped in Yemen in March was crucified by ISIS on Good Friday. His execution was done in the same method that Romans were believed to use on Jesus on Good Friday. The report claims that his execution was confirmed at the Easter Vigil Mass by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna.

Earlier, the Indian government had confirmed the capture of Father Tom Uzhunnalil, the Indian priest from Bangalore, who was kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Yemen and said that efforts were underway to ensure that he is released. "Fr Tom Uzhunnallil – an Indian national from Kerala was abducted by a terror group in Yemen. We r making all efforts to secure his release," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. Her reaction comes after a growing alarm among the Christian community following an ominous report by the terror outfit to crucify him around Easter. This has been subsequently denied to JOHN DAYAL by Catholic groups who have said they have been misquoted.

Tom Unzhunnalil was reportedly kidnapped from the Missionaries of Charity’s home for the elderly in Aden where he serves as a chaplain on March 4. A spokesman for the Bangalore province of the Salesians was quoted saying that no group has taken any responsibility yet. A post on the group’s South Africa page has been taken down. Earlier, the Yemen authorities blamed ISIL for the attack on March 4. The External Affairs Ministry had said only one Indian nurse was killed in the terrorist attack in strife-torn Yemen's Aden city.

Sixteen people were killed in Aden when a group of terrorists stormed an elderly care home run by a Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity and sprayed bullets at the residents. There are around 80 residents living at the home, which is run by Missionaries of Charity, an organisation established by Mother Teresa. Recently, Missionaries of Charity nuns also came under attack in Yemen in 1998 when gunmen killed three nuns in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.

Re-Using the Communal Card in Assam: BJP Manifesto 2014, Vision Document 2016

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March 28, 2016

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Image: The Hindu

The week end, just passed was witness to a whirlwind of meetings by the top brass of the ruling party, not least its mascot, the prime minister Modi making a strong bid for power in the north eastern state of Assam.

On Friday last, March 25, 2016, the union finance minister, Arun Jaitley flanked by BJP President Amit Shah set the stage for the week end that was to follow. “Our priority is the illegal infiltration and detection and deportation of these infiltrators,” he said while adding that the Vision Document, which is a roadmap for progress on all sectors, has also assured that a law would be enacted to deal sternly with industries, business establishments, small and medium enterprises or any other agencies employing infiltrators. This kind od statement, in a party's vision document rises serious questions about policies that may be set into motion on employees and labourers of a particular denmination.

This campaign is ominous, just as it was when, in the April of 2014, the then prime minister in waiting, Narendra Modi said at a rally in Srirampur, “"BJP's position is very clear, votebank politics has destroyed the country… Those who are Bangladeshi infiltrators, will have to go back," welcoming those with Hindu blood from across the border.

This campaign pitch by Modi and followed by others had drawn rich dividends for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls of May 2014. The party’s vote share had gone up from 11.47 per cent in the 2011 state assembly elections in Assam to 36.5 per cent in May 2014. Since that date, 22 months later, the election fortunes of the BJP have slumped if Delhi (February 2015) and Bihar (November 2015) are anything to go by. With little else to show on its score card however, the RSS-driven BJP appears, in Assam at least, of sticking close to its winning strategy: hate speech and communal polarisation. Assamese or ‘illegal migrant’? What ‘identity’ of people means to different parties ahead of polls.

Modi’s campaign at the end of April of 2014 found an echo in the 2016 plank of the party this time making a bid for power in Assam. Jaitley used a press conference to releasing his party’s “Vision” for Assam to refer repeatedly to “infiltrators”, a term that has come to mean Bengali-speaking Muslims settled in the state. That document promises ‘the people’ ‘that a law will be enacted to “deal sternly” with industries, businesses, Small and Medium Enterprises or any other agencies employing infiltrators’.

Meanwhile, Assam’s leading newspaper today, The Sentinel reported the day after Jaitley’s Guwahati sojourn that the Tribal Sangha has announced its intention of burn copies of BJP's Assam vision document.

The reason, the Sangha feels, is the Document not laying the required stress on the development of the indigenous Scheduled Tribes other than according ST status to the six ethnic groups and a grant of Rs 1,000 crore for the BTC. The AATS also called all tribes of Assam to boycott of the BJP in the 2016 Assembly elections in the State for its disrespect to the indigenous tribes of the State.The decision was taken not just to boycott the BJP in the Assembly election but also burn copies of the Assam Vision Document of the party. The speakers at a meeting of the Sangha on March 26 reported by The Sentinel said that the head ‘tribal development’ in the Assam Vision Document of the BJP has only two aspects – according ST status to the six ethnic groups of the States and Rs 1,000-crore Central assistance for the BTC. “This is nothing but an utter disrespect to the indigenous tribes of the State. This vision document has also laid bare the anti-tribal policy of the BJP,” the AATS leaders said, and added: “So much so that the BJP has been out to deprive the State STs of their rights given by the Constitution of India.”

The meeting clearly spelt out that the AATS was not against according ST status to the six ethnic groups in the State. “The NDA Government at the Centre has resolved to accord ST status to Assam’s six ethnic groups that have been declared other backward classes (OBCs). However, the Centre is silent on the steps to be taken to solve the problems to be faced by the existing STs in the State in the aftermath of inclusion of six more communities in the State as STs. What is baffling is that the head ‘tribal development’ in the vision document speaks of developing communities that have not been declared STs now after giving them ST status. How come the Centre feel that Rs 1,000 Central assistance to the BTC will ensure development of all tribes in Assam? An Assam vision document bereft of issues like preservation of tribal blocks and belts, providing land to tribal farmers through the Forest Rights Act, scholarship for ST students, socio-cultural and economic development of the tribal people of the State is an utter disrespect to the tribals of the State,” various speakers at the meeting said.

Right now, on the eve of polls to five states, the relevant question is whether hate speech and communal polarization is going to work as it has proven for the RSS-driven BJP before.A sample survey by Indiaspends reveals how hate speech crimes have yielded heavy benefits to the ruling BJP during the parliamentary elections of 2014. The survey sums up that candidates with hate-speech cases against them have a 30% greater chance of winning elections, as this survey by Indiaspends shows. This analysis has been undertaken from the self-disclosed crime records of candidates who have contested various elections nationwide over the last 12 years. To put these data in perspective, candidates with no criminal cases boost their victory chances to only 10%, half that of candidates with criminal cases of any kind. Of the 70 candidates surveyed, unsurprisingly, the RSS-driven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tops the list with 28 candidates! So, being guilty of hate-speech with a case registered provides a candidate with a better chance of victory if the last Lok Sabha election samples are anything to go by. At least until May 2014.

Since however several elections have come and gone. Year 2015, barely six months after Modi and BJP’s sweeping victory, signaled a clear mood shift. Despite every effort by the BJP’s top brass to capitalise on the Modi mascot (even US President, Barrack Obama’s visit), the Aam Aadmi Party broom swept aside Modi an BJP’s any dream of victory.

Bihar in early November 2015 capped this trend. Despite all out efforts to raise communal temperatures in the state, despite humungous (and un-accounted) expenditures – as many as 40 helicopters a day air dropped central ministers for campaigning in the state every day – the Mahagathbandhan of the Nitish-Laloo kind kept hatred and polarisation at bay.

In April 2014, the writer had written a commentary on Modi’s campaign in the north eastern part of India that was overtly communal. This is relevant today as Assam once more gears up to face an overtly communal campaign led by none less than the leading lights of the government at the Centre. What is greater relevance is the real and perceived inaction of the Tarun Gogoi-led state government to act resolutely against perpetrators of hate speech in Assam.

Article in April-May 2014

Finally the cat is out of the bag and it is left to be seen whether it will become, as the BJP and its mascot, a rather shrill PM-in-waiting wants it, a cat among the pigeons. Or will it in fact become the proverbial albatross with which the BJP will have to bow it’s rather thick-skinned neck.

Page 41 of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto speaks of the contentious issues that the RSS first raised through its rabid wing, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the mid 1980s, and not just enflamed this preciounation, but sowed the seeds of a bitter poison that has still not been bled from its veins. In the name of tushtikaran (appeasement) of the minorities it justified the basest of acts perpetrated through violence against India’s largest minority, the Muslims.

Rewarded for this bloodletting through victories at the ballot box (remember the proverbial increase in seats up to the magical figure of 182) it then set a bout it’s agenda launched cynically when the man at the head of the rath, India’s former deputy prime minister and home minister LK Advani had set in motion post Emergency in the Janata government in 1977, fill key positions in the bureaucracy, police, educational institutions and even the judiciary with men and women who owe allegiance not to Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution but to an ideology that believes in the supremacy of one kind of Indian over another.

The fact that India’s lofty institutions of governance caved in to this ideology meant and means that an Advani guilty of a criminal act of witnessing the demolition of a place of religious belief (and conspiring towards the same, remember rallies he held at Mathura and Kashi before December 6, 1992) could rise to occupy the third most important position in the Indian executive.

This overt, even brazen politics of hatred and violence for which the parliamentary wing of the RSS has never been held accountable, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) now covets for itself not just a central government but a man at the helm who has gone several steps further in the crime notching charts then the offences committed in full public eye on December 6, 1992.

Even if one sets aside the crimes committed in 2002 and since within Gujarat, to be part of a well heeled conspiracy to allow the Godhra tragedy for the vengeful reprisal killings in 19 districts at 300 locations within the state—crimes that include the willful subversion of justice and the destruction of documents—lets zero in on election season (2014) and list the acts of hate speech committed in the here and now.

After voting on April 30, 2014 in Gujarat, the Man who would be PM appeared to clearly violate the Representation of People’s Act by a crude campaigning for his party and himself as he emerges from the booth at Ahmedabad. The Election Commission reacted but the agency that investigates the offence is the selfsame one and the official the very same, Himanshu Shukla who was given the task by RK Raghavan of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of “giving a clean chit to Modi in the Zakia Jafri case”!

This campaign pitch by Modi and followed by others had drawn rich dividends for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls of May 2014. The party’s vote share had gone up from 11.47 per cent in the 2011 state assembly elections in Assam to 36.5 per cent in May 2014. Since that date, 22 months later, the election fortunes of the BJP have slumped if Delhi (February 2015) and Bihar (November 2015) are anything to go by. With little else to show on its score card however, the RSS-driven BJP appears, in Assam at least, of sticking close to its winning strategy: hate speech and communal polarisation.

Rewind now to Assam and the tragic violence in Kokrajhar that took place during electioneering in the week following Modi’s rally in April 2014. The prime responsibility for the breakdown of the rule of law must lie with the Congress Tarun Gogoi government but the filthy speeches, hate filled and targeted of the Man who would be PM, since February 2014, created the ripe hate filled climate for the Bodos to strike and must in claw ensure his criminal prosecution. Immediately after the filthy speech of the man made at a rally on April 1, 2014 what happened?

‘On April 1, immediately after Narendra Modi’s rally in Biswanath Chariali, a local BJP leader, Bhavdev Goswami, told a TV channel that the BJP had the support of the NDFB [National Democratic Front of Bodoland] rebels. At Sri Rampur on the Assam-West Bengal border, Modi said he would drive out all Bangladeshis after May 16.’
[The relevance of May 16 is that the BJP expects to win the marathon election held now, which ends on May 12, whose results will be declared on May 16, 2014.].

Interestingly, the NDFB is an armed separatist outfit which seeks to obtain a sovereign Bodoland for the Bodo people in Assam, India. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the government of India. According to the Assam police, the NDFB’s Sangbijit group is behind the killings in the massacre of Muslims since May 1, though the group has denied its role in a press statement.

The published reports from Assam show that on April 1, Bhavdev Goswami claimed in front of a television camera that he along with some other party workers had a meeting with members of two NDFB factions — Sangbijit and Ranjan Daimary — at Bhalukpung and they had pledged support to the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP candidate from Tezpur constituency, RP Sarma, also reportedly told the TV channel that he was aware of the meeting. The BJP’s Sonitpur West district president Ritubaran Sarma later denied that any such meeting took place.

These video casettes of these channels can clearly provide independent and exemplary proof of the claims of the Assam police. Besides the fact that the NDFB was opposing the Congress was clear.

On March 27, 2014 when Rahul Gandhi held a rally at the same rally where Modi spewed poison that led to bloodshed, the NDFB had declared a bandh. Certain sources in government have also alleged that the extremist elements in Bodoland People’s Front, an alliance partner of Tarun Gogoi-led state government, were also involved in the recent violence in Bodoland Autonomous Territorial Districts. The BPF is also in power in the BTAD. It is also alleged that one such extremist leader of the BPF, Pramila Rani made a provocative and incendiary comment on April 30 threatening local Muslims since they did not vote for her candidate from the Kokrajhar seat Chandan Brahma. Chandan Brahma is currently transport minister in the Gogoi cabinet.

Will the Gogoi Government act against this extremist element is also a key question? Muslims are a major constituent of this group that fielded Naba Kumar alias Hira Sarania, a former United Liberation Front of Asom rebel, as an independent candidate in Kokrajhar. Non-Bodos including other tribes have never won this seat despite constituting two-thirds of the population.

The leadership of the BPF has been alleged to have been responsible for instigating cadres to attack non-Bodo villagers, particularly Muslims, because they realized it could lose the Kokrajhar seat. Hundreds of Muslims and other minority groups have fled their villages to safer locations fearing a rerun of the 2012 communal clashes that took the lives of 108 people. According to India Today, indefinite curfew has been clamped in Baska and Kokrajhar districts. The union home ministry has sent 10 companies of central paramilitary forces to Kokrajhar and Baksa.

The Assam government cannot and must not be allowed to escape responsibility for the violence. Key to the accountability that citizens must demand is criminal prosecution of not just those who made incendiary speeches who hail from the national stage and those who belong to possibly the NDFB but if proven even those in alliance with the government in power. Will the Assam government that lays claim to equality and non discrimination (secularism as its creed) have the moral and political courage to take the bull by its horns? We as concientious citizens must ensure that it does so.

Narendra Modi’s other communal speeches have included what he said in Faizabad and elsewhere especially after the phases to ‘urban, cosmopolitan India’ were concluded and the phases to the north east and Uttar Pradesh remained. (EC seeks report on Modi’s Faizabad rally, Modi Invokes Lord Ram to woo voters in Faizabad )

Assamese Muslims now live in fear (April-May 2014). Reuters reported that Anwar Islam, a Muslim who had come to buy food in Barama, a town about 30 kilometres from the villages in the Baksa district where the violence erupted on Thursday and Friday, was heard saying, ‘We are scared to live in our village, unless security is provided by the government.’ He said men armed with rifles had come to his village, Masalpur, on bicycles and had then fired indiscriminately and set huts on fire. A relevant view can be read here

As I write this article on a Sunday, 32 people have died, all Muslims, as a result of the latest pogrom in the BATD of the state of Assam. The district administration in the adjoining Dhubri district has opened up two relief camps. The death toll is expected to go up with many reported missing.

Targeted massacre of minorities has no place in our time, especially in a state that touts itself as a model of democracy and secularism. Such crimes only strengthen the dark forces on all sides, and often have ramifications that go beyond the sources of the trouble.

The Indian government owes it to its people to rein upon such evil fascist forces that have managed to thrive unscathed, often fattened by the local government that is supposed to protect the victims. The Indian Election commission should also look into the matter of hate speech delivered by chauvinist politicians whether such speeches had violated rules during the election time. Simply sending a notice and not pursuing prosecutions under the Representation of People’s Act is in fact allowing the erosion of basic and fundamental values of the Constitution by the forces of majoritarian fascism.

There is little doubt that BJP leaders’ xenophobic speeches have catalysed targeted pogrom in Assam. Justice demands that they be held accountable for their criminal role. Otherwise, all those bloated claims about Indian secularism are mere hogwash and nothing else. The government in power must also be held to account: will it prosecute those who attempted to deny those from Kokrajhar who form a majority of the voters to vote for a candidate of their choice?

If the state does not initiate prosecutions, we as citizens must do so…like we did in Gujarat post 2002. Towards that end…..

BJP Vision Document 2014

(A version of this column appeared in the Rashtriya Sahara on May 9, 2014 titled Secularism on Trial)

Nailing the sangh parivar’s lies: How the Naujawan Bharat Sabha is doing it

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March 27, 2016

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Welcome: NBS library at Mankhurd, Mumbai

In Mankhurd, a Mumbai suburb, the RSS is faced with a grassroots problem. Undeterred by the local police’s attempt to act at Hindutva’s behest, activists of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha (NBS) in the area have been distributing leaflets in the area and in local trains exposing the fraudulent bid of the sangh parivar to claim Shaheed Bhagat Singh as their own.

When threats did not scare the NBS, the sanghis got the local police, and even the anti-terrorism squad to intervene. The police raided the NBS office, confiscated the anti-RSS leaflets and tried to intimidate the activists. Not to be so easily cowed down, the activists challenged the police to explain under which law of the land it was acting to prevent the NBS from exercising their constitutional right to free speech and democratic dissent.

Recognising the blatant illegality of their act, the police had to back out, for the moment at least. Notwithstanding the continuing veiled threats from the sanghis, the NBS activists have printed a fresh lot of their leaflets in Hindi and Marathi and have resumed distribution of the same in Mankhurd locality and in the local trains.

Written in simple language, the opening para of the leaflet reads: “Brothers and sisters, all over India some people have appointed themselves as the sole custodians of patriotism (deshbhakti) and nationalism (rashtrabhakti). These are the same people who played no role in India’s freedom struggle. These are the same people who had conspired with the British against young Indians like Shaheed Bhagat Singh ready to stake their lives for freedom’s sake. These are the same people who took their inspiration from Hitler and Mussolini and who before independence bowed before the Imperial Queen. Since when have they become the custodians of patriotism”?

Shockingly, they (police) answered that although there is nothing wrong in those pamphlet but people belonging to RSS do not want these pamphlets to be distributed. Finally, when the police could not come up with any substantial argument they had to release me.

Referring to the incidents at JNU and the misconduct of “fascist goons” even inside court premises in open defiance of the Supreme Court’s directions, the leaflet argues that the real reason for the Modi government’s vendetta against the JNU students was simply because “these students were protesting against the anti-student, anti-worker, anti-poor policies of the Modi government”. What’s happening in India today, the leaflet added was “no different from the lawlessness which had prevailed in Germany and Italy under fascist regimes where too self-proclaimed patriots and nationalists ruled the streets”.

The acute embarrassment of the local RSS-BJP activists at this expose of their inglorious past and devious present may well be imagined. Unable to refute the content of the leaflet, they turned to the local police (The BJP-Shiv Sena coalition is in power in Maharashtra) to silence the NBS activists.

Recounting the developments, NBS activist Virat Choudhary told SabrangIndia:

Naujawan Bharat Sabha (NBS) is a youth organisation which follows the ideals of great martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and its goal is to eradicate social ills like casteism, communalism, etc. from society. We are committed to carry forward the legacy of the great revolutionaries and have been continuously waging struggle against the hateful propaganda of communal groups. Precisely because of this, NBS members have been getting frequent threats from such groups. And now the local police has been acting on the behest of RSS.

Recently we decided to publish and distribute leaflets in the area to expose the political designs of RSS and the Modi government.

On the night of March 22, Mumbai police cracked-down at the NBS office in Lallubhai Compound, Mankhurd. The three policemen forced the activists to open the gate and started interrogating. They asked the activists to show their identity cards and other documents such as rent agreement. The only reason for their raid at that hour of night was that the pamphlets distributed by NBS were not liked by the RSS people. The policemen took some of the pamphlets and left saying that the activists have to report at Mankhurd police station in the morning.

The most disturbing thing was that the police which is supposed to safeguard the people and their democratic rights, was trying to intimidate the NBS activists, forcing them to silence their voices against RSS. Moreover one of the policemen was not even in his uniform. When I asked him for his identity, he gave a vague reply.

Clearly, knocking on the door of NBS after midnight and interrogating the activists was aimed at threatening us. In the morning another policemen, again without uniform showed up at the office and asked me to follow him. When asked about his identity, the policeman didn't show his badge or identity card; instead he replied that people call him ‘Kumbar Bhai’.

I was mentally harassed and questioned about the pamphlet at the police station for about two hours. The police was pressurising me to handover all the pamphlets to the police. I refused and demanded to be told if there is anything against the law or constitution in the pamphlets.

Shockingly, they answered that although there is nothing wrong in those pamphlet but people belonging to RSS do not want these pamphlets to be distributed. Finally, when the police could not come up with any substantial argument they had to release me.

But within one hour, two persons from ATS (Anti-terrorism squad) came to NBS's office to ask for rent agreement for verification. They tried to intimidate the activists by indicating that they might have to vacate the room unless the NBS stopped its pamphleteering. As elsewhere, instead of performing its duty, ensuring the masses the freedom of expression and speech, the police is acting unconstitutionally at the behest of the RSS and the ruling party.

When there is nothing unlawful in the pamphlets distributed why is police troubling the young activists? What else is the reason behind raiding the office after midnight, if not intimidating them? What is the motive behind ordering them to stop distributing the pamphlets? The whole incident raises serious questions on the role of police and its autonomy. If anything this is suggestive of its unholy alliance with the ruling party.

Refusing to be cowed down by the bullying tactics of the police or the continuing veiled threats from the sanghis, NBS activists have printed a fresh lot of leaflets and are back distributing them in Mankhurd.

SabrangIndia tried contacting the Mankhurd police today (March 27) to get their version of the entire episode. A phone call on the landline number listed in the directory of the Mumbai police (22926006) was greeted with the response, “this number does not exist.” Attempts to contact the Mankhurd police on two alternate landline numbers provided by the city’s police control room (24783300, 28917286) yielded the same number-does-not-exist response.

When contacted this afternoon, Virat Choudhary and his fellow NBS activists were out on action, distributing leaflets on the streets and in the suburban trains.

What might the RSS and the local police try next?

NBS pamphlet can be found here.

WSS Petitions NHRC on Bela Bhatia Case, Intimidation in Chhatisgarh

JAGLAG Petition to NHRC dated March 23, 2016

Petition to NHRC, Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression, February 19, 2016

Letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, March 13, 2016 on Deteriorating Situation in Chhatisgarh

How a Hate-Speech Record Increases Chances of Election Victory by 3 times

UPDATE:

Union Ministers

Members of Parliament

Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs)

Political party chiefs

How political parties violate their oath given to ECI at the time of registration

Was Father Tom Crucified by ISIS on Good Friday? Catholic sources uncertain

Fate of ISI captive Fr Tom remains uncertain

Re-Using the Communal Card in Assam: BJP Manifesto 2014, Vision Document 2016

Nailing the sangh parivar’s lies: How the Naujawan Bharat Sabha is doing it

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