ALL INDIA LAWYERS UNION RAJASTHAN STATE COMMITTEE: Solidarity Message to JNU

February 17, 2016

ALL INDIA LAWYERS UNION RAJASTHAN STATE COMMITTEE

Dated:18.2.2016

SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO JNU

All India Lawyers Union (AILU), Rajasthan State Unit, strongly condemn the recent incident where individuals in uniform of Advocates misbehaved and assaulted Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar, the president of JNU Students Union, JNU faculties, Media persons on 15.2.2016 when Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar was produced in court before the magistrate is very serious issue and it became vigorous when the incident was repeated after two days, on 17.2.2016 despite of the actions given byHon’ble Supreme Court.

Further the AILU is of the view that the Jawahar Lal Nehru University is one of the institutions in the world where healthy atmosphere is developed over a time to discuss over the national and international issues. The students as well as the faculty members thereof is of the caliber to suggest a visionary and logical culmination, which not only important for individual but also for the nation and humanity as whole. Furthermore, University is a place where new ideas are developed, questions are asked and policies are praised or criticized. If any unwarranted incident is happened in the campus of the university, certainly an action has to be initiated against the responsible individual and for such action the university administration is having sufficient measures to act upon and no police action inside the campus was required at all. If the university authorities failed to take action or has shown its inability to restrict such activity, only then the police force may be used.

As such the police action in the university campus was absolutely unwarranted, unjustified and abuse of power by the state machinery.

Arrest of Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar and other students and treating them like hardcore criminals/terrorists, in the name of sedation without any substantial evidence, is not expected in a civilized society. The crime of sedation was inserted in IPC by the British rule in order to supress anyone who used to speak against the colonial rule. This term ‘sedation’ is obsolete and has no place in a democratic system like ours, especially in the educational institutions, having international reputation. Framing students in the name of sedation is clearly an attack on the fundamental rights, that is, of speech and expression.

Intentional avoidance of the Hon’ble Supreme Court instructions is apparently an act of contempt of court for which stern action has to be taken. AILU strongly suggests to take following actions against the responsible :
(i) Criminal case has to be registered against the advocates or the persons in the advocates’ uniform indulged in assaulting within the court premises;
(ii) Separate proceeding of criminal contempt is to be started against the persons involved in assaulting despite instructions of Supreme Court;
(iii) The police personals deployed at the court campus, in front of whom the act of assault was occurred has to be suspended henceforth and inquiry has to be initiated against them;
(iv) Mr. Om Prakash Sharma, the sitting MLA, who was apparently involved in the assaulting and to instigate others to involve in assaulting, his membership of Legislative Assembly is to be seized, proceeding of criminal contempt is to be initiated against him;
(v) The courts are the place where people come with the deep faith to get justice but such type of incidents not only deprive the people to avail justice but also diminish the belief in rule of law, and therefore, stern action has to be initiated against each and every responsible person whomsoever he is;
(vi) Code of conduct for advocates has to be reviewed and it may be inserted that any advocate, who involves in such incidents occured on 15.2.2016 and 17.02.2016, shall be restricted to appear in court as well as seize their auth of advocacy;
(vii) The magistrate, before whom the repeated disruption of court proceeding was occurred but no action against the responsible advocates/persons was taken, no FIR was lodged, stern action is required to be initiated against him.
The AILU condemn both the incidents, i.e. abuse of power by the police administration in the JNU campus and omission to prevent the assault on the students faculties and media persons in the court room /campus of Patiala House court. Our organization also demands for immediate release of Kanhaiya Kumar, president of JNUSU, so that normalcy can be restored.

(Dr. Vikram Singh Nain)
General Sectretary

General Secretary: Dr. Vikram Singh Nain Advocate Mobile No: +91 9414069959 Office: 0141-2810959 E-mail: nain_vs@yahoo.co.in

President: Sanjay Tyagi Advocate Mobile No.+91 9414048493 +91 9314013492

8, Nagaur Nagar, Nr. Kisaan Dharam Kanta Gopalpura Bye-pass Road, Jaipur-302019

Solidarity with JNU and Conversations on Kashmir: JKCCS

February 17, 2016

Guest Post by Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society

Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) expresses its solidarity with the striking students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. We have watched with a sense of horror and dismay, the violent criminalizing of student democracy and dissent, not just at Jawaharlal Nehru University but across Indian campuses in the recent past. Having long and intimate knowledge of violent repression and legalized impunity that Indian state is capable of, especially against those it considers ‘anti-national’ we are not surprised by these events, but have a special empathy with all who suffer its horrors. We demand the release of all student dissenters and political prisoners in the custody of the Indian state, and an end to acts of policing and surveillance on campuses, and targeting of students on the basis of political beliefs and speech.

The Kashmiri students in different colleges and universities in India, who have always faced discrimination and intimidation time to time, are now feeling the extreme regressive and oppressive means used by right wing groups and the government. After being hounded, Kashmiri students have begun leaving Delhi. There are several places where the landlords, in whose properties Kashmiri students were renting flats, have asked the students to vacate. These experiences of Kashmiri students are part of the larger reality faced by Kashmiri youth in Jammu and Kashmir and in India. The voices of dissent in Jammu and Kashmir have been dealt with administrative detentions under Public Safety Act, illegal detentions, torture, surveillance and killings by armed forces including the most recent one of Asif and Shaista at Pulwama on 14th of February.

We also view with alarm, the reports about the cynical use of Kashmiri students studying in Delhi as hostages in the politically illegitimate process of government formation in Srinagar.

We are dismayed that the public narrative about the recent events has often descended into disputes over Indian ‘patriotism’ and the shrill condemnation of a few ‘fringe’ ‘radical’ ‘traitors’ for ‘irresponsible’ slogans. These sentiments are neither mere slogans nor represent the ‘fringe’ in Kashmir, the very place they were made in reference to. As Kashmiris, we believe that the right to self-determination is inseparable from the right to political association, dissent and free expression, and these rights cannot be selectively asserted or upheld. In the competitive public proclamations of nationalistic credentials, what has been lost is that courageous act of defiant solidarity with the Kashmiri people’s struggle for justice and self-determination, that lies at the heart of these debates. Despite the disavowals and the state repression, the solidarity with the political rights of the Kashmiris is growing and spreading, as events in Jadavpur University demonstrate. We acknowledge the emerging spaces in Indian civil society to converse on the question of Kashmir, beyond nationalist framings. We hold out hope for future alliances with students, groups and individuals willing to engage in honest conversations, in which they alone do not determine the boundaries of what can or cannot be said, thought or felt.

Spokesperson
JKCCS

JNU Crackdown: Com. Shehla Against BJP Govt. assault on JNU and Democracy

February 17, 2016

Com. Shehla, JNUSU Vice President, addresses students and teachers gathered in protest against BJP Govt.s unprecedented assault on Campus Democracy.

"The assault on JNU is a well drafted script by the RSS-BJP which uses the charade of Anti-National to silence the most vocal intellectual opposition against BJP govts anti-India policies"

Stop the Vigilantes: Petition in SC against Assaults in Court

February 17, 2016

Source: Indian Express, Abhishek Angad: assailants Yashpal Singh (L), Vikram Chauhan (C) and Om Sharma (R) during the assault at Patiala House Courts

Supreme Court will hear a petition against the NDAII government and the Delhi police at 10.30 a.m. today, February 17

Senior academic and social activist, N. D. Jayaprakash has taken on both the government of India and the Delhi police for their severe derelictions of duty amounting to a miscarriage of justice and an infringement of the fundamental rights of the petitioner and all those brutally assaulted within the Magistrate Loveleen’s court in the Patialia Court premises on February 15, 2016.

The physical violence and intimidation faced by the petitioner, Jayaprakssh and a large number of students, teachers and journalists while attending a judicial proceeding before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Loveleen on February 15, 2016 is a matter of deep concern. The violence and intimidation took place at the Patiala House Courts, Delhi, as well as in the court complex.

The Delhi police, present in large numbers, were mute spectators to the violence and did nothing to protect those being intimidated.

Jayaprakash, in his petition seeks directions of the Supreme Court to ensure the safety and security of all persons within the premises of the court during the trial of Kanhaiya Kumar, President of Jawarharlal Nehru University Students’ Union. While the police are duty bound to protect innocent citizens from acts of violence and vandalism in Court premises, they were mute spectators.

Due to the surcharged and vicious atmosphere in the Court premises, it is today not possible to even produce the accused. Deliberate intimidation and assaults by a section of lawyers and others, owing allegiance to the ruling dispensation ensured that violence broke out soon after the court was to assemble at 2.00 pm on February 15. The violence initially broke out inside the court and thereafter spilled over in the adjacent areas of the court complex as people started running to save themselves from the brutality of lawyers and outsiders which included several politicians.

Such brazen acts of violence in the court complex can never be permitted or countenanced. It is so serious a breach so as to tantamount to criminal contempt of court and denial of access to justice. The judicial functioning requires a calm and tranquil atmosphere. Even surcharge atmosphere is considered not conducive to justice by that standard physical violence must be treated as grosses of contempt apart from various other offences.

No question about the merits of the case of the students or teachers is being raised as that ought to be decided by the concerned court before which the matter is brought. This petition merely seeks to assure safety of the accused their relatives, friends, lawyers and journalists while discharging their legal as well as professional obligations.

The incident of February 15, 2016 in the Patiala house courts poses a serious threat to the life of the accused. The atmosphere was so surcharged that even the women journalists were not spared and were not permitted to discharge their journalistic duties and be able to report the events as witnessed by them directly. More than a dozen journalist including women journalists suffered physical assault and sustained injuries, the mobile phones of journalists were snatched, broken or stolen to prevent them to able to report the violence.

That police were a mute spectator to this brazen display of violence and brute force being perpetrated on innocent persons who had gathered in the Court premises. It is submitted that the State and the Police have bounden constitutional obligation to ensure the safety and security of the life and liberty of citizens. The incidence of February 15, 2016 is a crude affront to the rule of law and violation of Article 21.

I have been attending cases since 1989 before this Hon’ble Court, before the Hon’ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur and before the District Court of Bhopal. However, it is for the first time in 27 years that I have had to confront such an ugly situation. I am greatly alarmed by the brazenness with which the said group of lawyers were attacking those who had come to watch the proceedings and the journalists, who had come to cover the proceedings.

The Supreme Court in Zahira Habibulla H Sheikh And Anr v. State Of Gujarat, (2004) 4 SCC 158 has noted that it is the duty of the court to assure propitious conditions which conduce to comparative tranquility at the trial. Turbulent conditions putting the accused's life in danger or creating chaos inside the court hall may jettison public justice.

That a surcharged atmosphere in the court room where there exists a threat of physical violence and threat of intimidation, of family and friends or other persons known to the person against whom a FIR has been filed, such as the Petitioner, violates the fundamental rights of such persons, in particular under Articles 21.

That Respondent (officers) being present at the court should have avoided escalation of the violent situation which clearly impeded the proceeding and the safety of various persons present, including the Petitioner. It is submitted that a congenial atmosphere is imperative for a fair and impartial judicial proceeding, which is a fundamental right of every person under Article 21 of the Constitution.

ND Jayaprakash, aged 66 years, is a citizen of India and a resident of New Delhi. The Petitioner is also an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi (“JNU”) and a social activist.
The petition has been filed against the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which is entrusted with the responsibility of internal security and law & order, etc. Respondent No. 2, the Delhi police, is directly under the control and supervision of the MHA, Respondent No. 1.The Respondent number 2 is Delhi Police. It is the duty of the Respondent to ensure that there is law and order maintained in the state of Delhi including Court premises. That the Police, Respondent No. 2 in the petition, has grossly derelictedin its duties in failing to provide safety and security to the litigants, journalists and others in the Patiala House Court premises on the day when the incident of took place.

Chronology of Events:

On February 15, 2016, around 02.00 pm at the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Loveleen, Patiala House Courts, Delhi a group of lawyers suddenly barged into the court room and asked them to vacate the chairs on which they were sitting, claiming that the chairs were only meant to be occupied by advocates. While the Petitioner (Jayaprakash) and one other male professor told the lawyers they would vacate the chairs and there was no need for them to get agitated, the said group of lawyers suddenly became violent and slapped and physically assaulted the male professor.

Brief Facts:
Around February 12, 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar, JNUSU President, was taken into judicial custody for 3 days, after an FIR was registered against him by the Police under Section 124A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, upon receipt of complaints from several persons.

Kanhaiya Kumar was to be produced on February 15, 2016, at the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Loveleen, Patiala House Courts, Delhi, at the end of the 3 day judicial custody, for further proceedings.

Jayaprakash was present, at or about 02.00 pm on February 15, 2016, at the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Loveleen, Patiala House Courts, Delhi, to attend the proceedings relating to the custodial detention of Kanhaiya Kumar. While he, the Petitioner was seated in the court room along with a group of about 7 or 8 professors and students from JNU, waiting for the court proceedings to commence, a group of lawyers barged into the court room and asked them to vacate the chairs on which they were sitting, claiming that the chairs were only meant to be occupied by advocates. While the Petitioner and one other male professor told the lawyers they would vacate the chairs and there was no need for them to get agitated, the said group of lawyers suddenly became violent and slapped and physically assaulted the male professor.

Meanwhile, some of the persons in that group of lawyers also started shouting that there was no need for them to learn manners from “Pakistani agents” and asked the Petitioner and the others to vacate the court room. The female professors refused to move from there, which caused the said group of lawyers to abuse them. The lawyers of Kanhaiya Kumar, who rushed into the court room hearing the commotion were also abused and manhandled.

This conduct of this group of lawyers continued unabated. It was possible that the Magistrate was sitting in his chamber behind the court room but may have been reluctant to come to the court and restore order, given the atmosphere created by the aforesaid group of lawyers. However, the Petitioner is at a loss to understand why the Ld.Magistrate did not seek the help of the security personnel and the police to restore order in the court room.

Further, a large contingent of about 200 police personnel was present just outside the court room also because Union Minister (Finance) Mr.Arun Jaitley was appearing in one of the adjacent courts at the same time. After several of us sought help from some police officers, who were standing outside Court No.4, a few policemen came into the court room. However, no action was taken by them against the group of lawyers engaging in physical and verbal violence other than to stand between the said group of lawyers and the JNU teachers and a few others, who had come to attend the proceedings.

Thereafter, the Petitioner left the court room to make some calls about the out of hand situation and thereafter upon returning to the court room at about 3:00 pm, was shocked to see that a correspondent from a news channel was also being beaten up for refusing to hand over his mobile phone. The lone head-constable, who was present in the court room, could hardly protect the said correspondent from the attack.

In trying to save the correspondent, the Petitioner was also physically assaulted. After the group of lawyers snatched the mobile of the said correspondent, we were kicked and dragged out of the court room. The large contingent of police, including senior officers, who were stationed outside the court room, remained mute spectators while we were being beaten and pushed out of gate No.2 of Patiala House. There were other female news correspondents, present at site, who were also harassed by the group of lawyers.

During my brief absence from the court room, apparently several other journalists were roughed-up inside and outside the court room and their mobiles were snatched by the attackers or destroyed. These journalists have registered a formal complaint with the Tilak Marg Police Station against the systematic physical attack.

As a petitioner representing the cause of the Bhopal gas-victims, Jayaprakash says, “I have been attending cases since 1989 before this Hon’ble Court, before the Hon’ble High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur and before the District Court of Bhopal. However, it is for the first time in 27 years that I have had to confront such an ugly situation. I am greatly alarmed by the brazenness with which the said group of lawyers were attacking those who had come to watch the proceedings and the journalists, who had come to cover the proceedings. My greatest fear was that, if the JNUSU President was brought before the court at that moment, he may have been literally lynched by that mob, which was baying for his blood. The said group of lawyers were terrorising all those who were present without any fear that they would ever be taken to task for their unacceptable behavior. I was shocked and dismayed by that terrible experience. Hence, I am filing this writ petition before this Hon’ble Court for appropriate remedy.”

Further, petitioner Jayaprakash makes out a series of grounds for his petition to be entertained:

–That a congenial atmosphere is imperative for a fair and impartial judicial proceeding, which is a fundamental right of every person under Article 21 of the Constitution.

-This Hon’ble Court in Zahira Habibulla H Sheikh And Anr v. State Of Gujarat, (2004) 4 SCC 158 has noted that it is the duty of the court to assure propitious conditions which conduce to comparative tranquility at the trial. Turbulent conditions putting the accused's life in danger or creating chaos inside the court hall may jettison public justice.

-This Hon’ble Court in Bablu Kumar and Others v. State of Bihar, (2015) 8 SCC 787 has held that keeping in view the concept of fair trial, the obligation of the prosecution, the interest of the community and the duty of the court, it can be irrefragably be stated that the court cannot be a silent spectator or a mute observer when it presides over the trial. Further, neither the prosecution nor the accused should corrode the sanctity of the proceeding.

— That a surcharged atmosphere in the court room where there exists a threat of physical violence and threat of intimidation, of family and friends or other persons known to the person against
whom a FIR has been filed, such as the Petitioner, violates the fundamental rights of such persons, in particular under Articles 21.

— For that the situation deteriorated to the extent that the police found it impossible to produce the accused as violence broke out soon after the court was to assemble at 2.00 pm.

— For that the violence initially broke out inside the court and thereafter spilled over in the adjacent areas of the court complex as people started running to save themselves from the brutality of
lawyers and outsiders which included several politicians.

— For that violence in the court complex can never be permitted as countenanced.

— For that it is so serious a breach so as to tantamount to criminal contempt of court and denial of access to justice.

— For that the judicial functioning requires calm and tranquil atmosphere. Even surcharge atmosphere is considered not conducive to justice by that standard physical violence must be treated as
grosses of contempt apart from various other offences.

— For that this petition no question about the merits of the case of the students or teachers is being raised as that may be decided by the concerned court before which the matter is brought.This
petition merely seeks to assure safety of the accused their relatives, friends, lawyers and journalists while discharging their legal as well as professional obligations.

— For that incident of 15.02.2016 in the Patiala house courts raise serious threat to the life of the accused. The atmosphere was so surcharged that even the women journalists were not spared
and were not permitted to discharge their journalistic duties and be able to report the events as witnessed by them directly.

— For that more than a dozen journalist including women journalists suffered physical assault and sustained injuries, the mobile phones of journalists were snatched, broken or stolen to prevent
them to able to report the violence.

— For that police was mute spectator to this brazen display of violence and brute force being perpetrated on innocent persons who had gathered in the Court premises.

— For that the State and the Police have bounded constitutional obligation to ensure the safety and security of the life and liberty of citizens.

— For that the incidence of 15.02.2016 is a crude affront to the rule of law and violation of Article 21.

— That Respondent (officers) being present at the court should have avoided escalation of the violent situation which clearly impeded the proceeding and the safety of various persons present,
including the Petitioner.

— The Petitioner by way of present Writ Petition is seeking appropriate directions to the Respondents including the Police to ensure the safety and security of persons inside the Court Premises
during the trial of Kanhaiya Kumar, President of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union. It is submitted that the Respondents are duty bound to protect innocent citizens from acts of
violence and vandalism in Court premises.

— That the Respondents are amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court under Article 32.

— That the Petitioner has not filed any other Petition in respect of the subject matter of this Petition in this Court or any other Court in India.

— That the Petitioner has no other alternative efficacious remedy but to approach this Hon’ble Court for reliefs prayed for and if the same are granted that shall be complete.

For that the Petitioners crave leave of this Hon’ble Court to amend, alter its grounds at appropriate stage, if and when required.

The petitioner has urged the Supreme Court of India to issue firm directions to ensure that that the proceedings against Kanhaiya Kumar at the Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate Loveleen, are carried out in a manner which is not prejudicial to the fundamental rights of the persons, such as the Petitioner, attending the proceedings;

Directions from the Supeme Court to ensure that Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate Loveleen free of persons causing physical harm, any form of intimidation or any disturbance whatsoever; Orders directing Respondent 2, that is the Delhi Police, to ensure that proper and appropriate action is taken against any person who is obstructing the proceedings against Kanhaiya Kumar before Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate Loveleen in any manner whatsoever; that the Supreme Court directs the MHA and Delhi Police to safeguard the CCTV footage in and around the said Court No.4 of Magistrate Loveleen, which may be used as evidence in any further proceedings in the matter.

Time Line

12.02.2016	Kanhaiya Kumar, President of Jawarharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, was taken into police custody for 3 days, by the order of Shri Loveleen, Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Courts, Delhi, after a FIR was registered against him by the Police under Section 124A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, upon receipt of complaints from several persons.
15.02.2016	Petitioner attended the proceeding before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate Loveleen, Patiala House Courts, Delhi, where Kanhaiya Kumar was to be produced at the end of the 3 day judicial custody, for further proceedings, and where the Petitioner was physically assaulted by a group of lawyers.
16.02.2016	The present Writ Petition was filed.

We are paying the price of holding our heads high: Shital Sathe

February 16, 2016

Singing songs of ordinary people, especially Dalits, Shital Sathe has been singing of the marginalised, Dalits and others all over Maharashtra, She is one of the vibrant singer-poet of the Kabir Kala Manch. Attacked for her trenchant critique of the caste order, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – currently behind the attacks of students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and earlier at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) – has tried to disrupt her performances in rural Maharashtra. See https://sabrangindia.in/article/my-songs-are-my-protest-sheetal-sathe

On February 7, 2016 she gave a rendering of unique compositions and songs of protests at the Press Club, Delhi. Sudhanva Deshpande interviewed her for this joint production of Communalism Combat and Newsclick.

“These are moments of acute loneliness and struggle. My son, Abhang, is without his father. (Sachin Mali has been in jail, denied bail, for 32 months). Sachin is without his son and wife. Sachin’s parents are without Sachin. I am without Sachin. We can’t be a family, many precious moments of life have been lost,” Shital Sathe

“I sing a song for Abhang anticipating the questions he may put to us. You were born in a storm, and the swing we have for you is tied to the sky,” Shital Sathe

Inssan ke liye gaana chahie, Isaan ke andar ke jaanwar ko maar dene ke liye gaana chahiye
— Shital Sathe on Wamanrav Kardav her inspiration

‘We are paying the pricing of not bending, not giving in, holding up our self-respect; the cost of self-respect and resistance is the ‘Anda’ (isolation cell) at Arthur Road jail, a room of 5 X 15 feet,” Shital Sathe

“It was the collective and invisible violence of the caste system that killed Rohith Vemula. He was a victim of caste abuse. The Brahmanism in the education sector is shameful,” Shital Sathe. Her song about the killing of Rohith is powerful: Rohith gela, Dalit mela, Meli Lokshaahi (Rohith left us, a Dalit died, It is the Death of Democracy)

“Kabir Kala Manch sings the songs of the lives of ordinary people, the marginalised, Dalits”, Shital Sathe

“It is our fundamental belief in equality, dignity and opposition to the indignities of caste and the supremacist of Hindutvawaadis that is the real reason for the opposition of the ABVP. There is nothing remotely Maowaadi or Naxalwaadi in us”, Shital Sathe

“Hindu Rashtra can never be acceptable in our country with people of different faiths, different thoughts, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists etc. Hindu Rashtra is against Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution”, Shital Sathe

“Mukta Salve, who studied in Savitribai Phule-Jotiba Phule’s school in Pune had asked, how can a religion that does not even consider us as human ever be ours,” Shital Sathe

“Babasaheb (Ambedkar) had said that though I was born a Hindu, I don’t want to die a Hindu,” Shital Sathe

“My songs talk of the newer manifestations of caste under the neo-liberal regime, our notions of patriotism is the struggle for the equality and dignity for all,” Shital Sathe

“Sachin Mali, my husband and comrade is the poet who’s songs we sing; I write some songs too. We are the children of the Maharashtrian Shaayri tradition. The saints of Maharashtra who questioned the caste structure, Tukaram Namdeo; this tradition carried forward to the shaayri (poets) tradition under Shivaji. During the nationalist movement and communist movement Annabhau Sathe and Amar Sheikh are our mentors. Then the Ambedkarite movement gave birth to Wamanrao Kardav and Bhimrao Kardav. We are children of that tradition,” Shital Sathe

If this is seditious and anti-national, then God save India!

February 16, 2016

Kanhaiya Kumar , the JNU Students' Union President, addressed a gathering on the campus on Thursday evening, that is February 11, 2016. The following day, February 12, 2016, Kumar was arrested on the charge of sedition for taking part in a march on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, where anti-India slogans were raised.

The following is the English translation of the Hindi speech delivered by Kanhaiya Kumar on Thursday. The Video recording of the speech can be heard here (Call this Sedition? Speech of JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar the day before he was arrested)

[English translation}:

"They are the ones who burnt the Tricolour. They are followers of Savarkar who apologised to the British. They are the ones who, in Haryana, have changed the name of one airport. There was one airport named after Bhagat Singh. The Khattar government has now named it after one Sanghi (a person associated with the RSS).

What I mean to say is that we don't need the certificate of patriotism from the RSS. We don't need a nationalist certificate from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). We belong to this country. We love this country. We fight for the 80 per cent of the poor population of this country. For us, this is nation worship.

We have full faith in Babasahab (Ambedkar). We have full faith in the Constitution of India. We want to say this very forcefully that if anyone tries to challenge the Constitution, be it the Sanghis, we will not tolerate.

We have faith in the Constitution. But we don't have faith in the Constitution that is taught in Jhandewalan (RSS headquarters in Delhi) and Nagpur. We don't have faith in Manusmriti, we don't have faith in the caste system in this country.

The Constitution and Babasahab Ambedkar talk about corrective measures. The same Babasahab Ambedkar talks about abolishing capital punishment. The same Babasahab Ambedkar talks about freedom of expression. And we want to uphold the Constitution, we want to uphold our right.

But it's shameful and sad that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in association with friends from a section of the media, is running such an orchestrated campaign. Yesterday, the ABVP joint secretary said that we fight for fellowships. How ridiculous it sounds! Their government, Madam ManuSmriti Irani is ending fellowships and they accuse us of fighting for fellowships. Their government has reduced the higher education budget by 17 per cent.

Our hostel has not been built for the past four years, there is no Wi-fi. BHEL gave us one bus but the administration has no money for oil. And ABVP people stand like Dev Anand claiming that they will get hostels built, they will get Wi-fi and they will get fellowships.

They will be exposed if there is a debate on the basic issues in this country. We are proud of being JNU-ites because we discuss and debate the basic issues concerning this country. We raise issues related to the dignity of women, Dalits, tribals and minorities in this country. And so, their Swamy (Subramanian Swamy) says that jihadis live in JNU, that JNU students spread violence.

On behalf of JNU, I want to challenge RSS ideologues. Call us and hold a debate. We want to debate the concept of violence. We want to raise questions about the frenzied ABVP's slogans, their slogan that they will do tilak with blood and aarti with bullets. Whose blood do they want to spill?

They aligned with the British and fired bullets on the freedom fighters of this country. They fired bullets when poor people demanded bread; they fired bullets when people dying of hunger talked about their rights; they have fired bullets on Muslims; they have fired bullets on women when they demand equal rights.

They (RSS) say that five fingers are not equal. They advocate that women should emulate Sita and give agnipariksha. There is democracy in this country, and democracy gives equal rights to all – be it a student, a worker, the poor or the rich, Ambani or Adani. And when we talk about equal rights of women, they accuse us of destroying Indian culture.

They say that five fingers are not equal. They advocate that women should emulate Sita and give agnipariksha. There is democracy in this country, and democracy gives equal rights to all – be it a student, a worker, the poor or the rich, Ambani or Adani. And when we talk about equal rights of women, they accuse us of destroying Indian culture.

We want to destroy the culture of exploitation, the culture of caste, the culture of Manuwad and Brahminism. Till now, the definition of culture has not been resolved. They have a problem when people of this country talk about democracy, when they give blue salute along with red salute, when people talk about Ambedkar along with Marx, when people talk about Asfaqulla Khan (the freedom fighter). They can't tolerate. It is their conspiracy. They were British stooges. I dare them to file a defamation case against me. I say that the RSS's history is one of siding with the British. These traitors today are distributing certificates of nationalism.

Check my mobile phone, friends. Dirty abuses are being hurled at my mother and sister. Which Mother India are you talking about? If my mother is not part of your Mother India, your concept of Mother India is not acceptable to me.

My mother is an Anganwadi sewika, my family runs with the Rs 3,000 she earns and they are abusing her. I'm ashamed that in this country, the mothers of the poor, Dalit farmers are not part of Mother India. I will hail the mothers of this country, I will hail the fathers of this country, I will hail the mothers and sisters of this country, I will hail the poor farmers, Dalits, tribals and labourers. I will tell them that if they have courage, then say ' Inquilab zindabad', say 'Bhagat Singh zindabad', say 'Sukhdev zindabad', say 'Asfaqulla Khan zindabad', say 'Babasahab Ambedkar zindabad'.

Only then will I believe that you have faith in this country.

They are enacting the drama of celebrating Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary. If they have courage, they should raise the issues Ambedkar raised. Caste system is one of the biggest problems in this country. Talk about caste system, bring reservation in every sector, bring reservation in the private sector. Raise these questions, then I will believe that you have faith in this country.
This nation had never been yours and will never be yours. A nation is made by its people and if there is no place for hungry and poor people in your idea of the nation, then it is no nation.

Yesterday, I said in one TV debate that we are in difficult times. The way fascism is coming in the country, even the media would not be spared. The media would be provided with written scripts from the RSS office, just as written scripts came from the Congress office during the Emergency.

Some media friends told me that JNU runs on taxpayers' money, on subsidy. Yes, it is our right that JNU runs on subsidy. But I want to raise the question: what are universities for?

Universities are there for critical analysis of the society's collective conscience. Critical analysis should be promoted. If universities fail in their duty, there would be no nation. If people are not part of a nation, it will turn into a grazing ground for the rich, for exploitation and looting.

If we don't assimilate people's culture, beliefs and rights, a nation would not be formed. We stand firmly with the country, we stand for the dreams of Bhagat Singh and Babasahab Ambedkar. We stand for equal rights. We stand for the right to live. Rohith (Vemula) had to lose his life to stand for these rights.

But we want to tell these Sanghis – "shame on your government". We challenge the central government – we will not allow in JNU whatever it did in the case of Rohith. Rohith will not lose his life here. We will not forget Rohith's sacrifice. We will stand for freedom of expression.

My mother is an Anganwadi sewika, my family runs with the Rs 3,000 she earns and they are abusing her. I'm ashamed that in this country, the mothers of the poor, Dalit farmers are not part of Mother India. I will hail the mothers of this country, I will hail the fathers of this country, I will hail the mothers and sisters of this country, I will hail the poor farmers, Dalits, tribals and labourers.

Leave aside Pakistan and Bangladesh, we call for unity of the poor and the toiling masses of the world. We hail the humanity of this world, we hail the humanity of India.

We have identified those who are against humanity. This is the biggest issue before us today. We have identified that face of casteism, the face of Manuwad, the face of the nexus between Brahminism and capitalism. And we have to expose these faces. We have to usher in real freedom, and that freedom will come through the Constitution, through Parliament. And we will achieve it.

I want to appeal to you friends that despite all the differences, we have to safeguard this freedom of expression, we have to safeguard our Constitution, we have to safeguard the unity and integrity of this country. For this, we have to remain united and fight the forces trying to divide our country, the forces that give shelter to terrorists.

One last question before I end my speech. Who is Kasab? Who is Afzal Guru? Who are these people, who are in a state to wrap bombs around their body and kill? If these questions are not raised in universities, the existence of universities becomes pointless.

If we don't define justice, if we don't define violence and how we see violence? Violence is not only about killing somebody with a gun. There is violence when the JNU administration denies the constitutional rights guaranteed to Dalits. This is institutional violence.

They talk about justice. Who will decide what justice is?

Brahminism did not allow Dalits to enter temples. The British did not allow dogs and Indians to enter restaurants. That was justice then. We challenged that justice and today we challenge the justice of the ABVP and the RSS because their justice does not accommodate justice for us. If their justice doesn't accommodate justice for us, we will not accept their justice and this freedom.

We will accept this freedom when every person gets his constitutional right. We will accept justice when there is equal rights for all.

Friends, the situation is very serious. Under no circumstances does the JNUSU (the JNU students' union) support any violence, any terrorist, any terror incident and any anti-India activity. I want to reiterate that the JNUSU strongly condemns slogans of "Pakistan zindabad" raised by some unidentified people.

I want to share one thing with you, friends. It is a question related to the JNU administration and the ABVP. Thousands of things take place on this JNU campus. Listen carefully to the slogans being raised by the ABVP now. They are calling us 'communist dogs'. They are calling us 'Afzal Guru's dogs'. They are calling us 'children of jihadis'.

If the Constitution gives us the right to be citizens, then is it not an attack on our constitutional right when they call our parents dogs? We want to ask this question to the ABVP and the JNU administration.

We want to ask the JNU administration for whom, with whom and on what basis it works. It is now clear that the JNU administration first gives permission and then withdraws it on receiving a call from Nagpur. This thing of first giving permission and then withdrawing, it has intensified.

First, they will announce fellowship and then tell that it has been withdrawn. This is the RSS and ABVP pattern with which they want to run this country.

We want to ask the JNU administration. Permission (for the February 9 programme where eventually the anti-India slogans were shouted) was granted despite the fact that posters had been put up and pamphlets distributed. When it gave permission, on whose directive was it withdrawn? We want to ask this to the JNU administration.

At the same time, understand the truth of these (ABVP) people. Don't hate them. I feel sad for them. They are jumping today because they feel that the way they got Gajendra Chauhan (in the FTII), they would get people like him in every institution. They feel that with people like Chauhan everywhere, they would get jobs. Once they get jobs, they will forget nation worship and Bharat Mata. What to tell of the Tricolour, which they have never respected? They will also forget the saffron flag.

I want to know what kind of nation worship they are talking about? If an owner doesn't behave properly with his employees, if a farmer doesn't do justice with his workers, if a highly paid CEO of a media house doesn't behave properly with the meagrely paid reporters, then what is this nation worship?

Their nation worship ends with an India-Pakistan cricket match. After that when they go out on the road, they misbehave with the person selling bananas. When the person selling bananas tells them that a dozen comes for Rs 40, they abuse him and accuse him of looting customers. They demand a dozen for Rs 30.

The day the person selling bananas turns and tells them that you are the real looters, they will term the poor fellow anti-national. Nation worship begins and ends with wealth and facilities. I know a number of ABVP people and I ask them whether the fervour of nationalism moves them? They tell me: "What to do, brother, this government is for five years and two years are already over. Three years' talktime is left and whatever has to be done, should be done in this period."

But I ask them what will happen if, tomorrow, one of their own members, who is going around in trains checking for beef, holds them by the collar and accuses them of being anti-national since they are from JNU? They could be lynched. I ask them whether they realise this danger?

They tell me that they realise this danger and so are opposing‪ #‎JNUShutdown (a Twitter hashtag). First, they build an atmosphere against JNU and, then, oppose it when they realise that ultimately they have to live in JNU only.

This is why I want to tell all JNU-ites that elections are coming in March. The ABVP people will seek your votes with the "Om" flag. Ask them: "We are jihadis, we are terrorists, we are anti-nationals and by taking our votes, will they also become anti-national?" Do ask them these questions. I know when you ask them these questions, they will tell you, "not you but a few people are anti-nationals". Then ask them, "why did they not tell this in the media then"? Ask them why their vice-chancellor and registrar too did not tell then?

Tell them that those few people too are saying that they did not raise slogans of "Pakistan zindabad", nor did they support terrorism. Those few people are asking why at first permission was granted and then withdrawn and this is an attack on their democratic right? These few people are saying that if somewhere a democratic struggle is being fought, they will stand for it.

They will never understand this. But the people, who have gathered here at short notice, understand the issue. They will go around the campus and tell the students that the ABVP is not only breaking this country but also JNU and we will not allow this to happen.

Long live JNU. JNU will continue to actively participate in all democratic struggles taking place across the country, continue to strengthen the voice of democracy, the voice of freedom and freedom of expression. We will struggle and win and defeat the traitors of this country. With these words, I thank you all and appeal for unity.

Jai Bhim, Lal Salaam."

Why the Controversy over Afzal Guru’s Hanging Refuses to Die

February 16, 2016

This question assumes acute relevance after recent events at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). A meeting called to mark the anniversary of the hanging of Afzal Guru by another group has led to the JNU Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar being arrested on charges of sedition.

Afzal Guru was hanged for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack case. While pronouncing sentence, the Supreme Court of India admitted that there was no evidence to show that Afzal Guru was a member of any banned organisation nor had any of the 80 prosecution witnesses said that Afzal was associated with any terrorist organisation.

The judgement states, 'The incident which resulted in heavy casualties, has shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will be satisfied (only) if the capital punishment is awarded to the offender.' We have to ask ourselves whether this kind of ‘satisfaction of the collective conscience’ can be a reason enough for ending somebody's life, in a civilised society?

Are there not to be even questions raised over this judgement? It would be a disservice to Indian democracy if we all assume the collective guilt of an unquestioning silence.

Afzal Guru did not receive a fair trial. He was not allowed to have a lawyer of his choice. Neither did the court hear his version. He was made to accept his crime under duress and threat by the police. Simply put, he was made a scapegoat.

The truth is, if he had not been hanged, a ‘feeling’ would have prevailed that India was or is not able to take strong action against the perpetrators of the attack on Parliament (2001). Somebody needed to be hanged and it was the misfortune of Afzal Guru that he was the most vulnerable among the four who were made the accused in the Parliament attack case.

The then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah had sharply criticised the execution of Afzal Guru, saying clearly that it would reinforce the sense of alienation and injustice among Kashmiri youth. He asserted that the decision to hang Afzal Guru was more political than legal. It is this doubt over Afzal's hanging that persists even three years after his hanging. That is the reason why for some persons, he is even called a martyr.

There are people associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who would like to eulogise Nathuram Godse. Some even want to build a temple in his name. For those who would like to worship Nathuram as a hero, there can be no objections to others who consider Afzal Guru a martyr.

The NDA II regime has already termed the event(s) on JNU campus (having such a meeting to discuss the execution) as anti-national as there were some objectionable slogans raised. It is time we asked some hard questions. What will be considered to be more anti-national — ideologically motivated and uncritical defence of the hanging of a person whose crime was not conclusively proved or merely raising pro-Kashmiri and pro-Azadi slogans? It is this simmering sense of injustice done in the case of Afzal Guru (his hanging) that is reverberating in the form of slogans which (this time) happened to be raised at the JNU meeting.

It remains important to question the hanging of Afzal Guru so that no more such incidents occur in future.

The right to free speech is under threat within Indian democracy today. The threat is posed from communal fascist forces. There are people associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who would like to eulogise Nathuram Godse. Some even want to build a temple in his name. For those who would like to worship Nathuram as a hero, there can be no objections to others who consider Afzal Guru a martyr.

The authorities are also suggesting that the permission for the event was withdrawn just before it was to take place. This is a time-tested tactic. A similar thing happened when a reputed journalist was recently invited to speak at Allahabad University on invitation of the Allahabad University Students' Union President Richa Singh on January 20, 2016. The Vice Chancellor there also withdrew the permission at the last moment.

I would like to ask a question to the current ruling dispensation and their aggressive champions. Those who have made it their business to assume sole defence of ‘nationalism’, the torch bearers of desh bhakti. Did they take any permission to demolish the Babri Masjid in 1992, an incident that remains a blot on our constitutional, secular ethos and which has, forever and seriously, compromised India's internal security?

Or, (did they seek permission) before they killed Mahatma Gandhi? Or, when they allegedly carried out bomb blasts twice in Malegaon (2006, 2008), in Hyderabad (Mecca Masjid Blasts, May 18, 2007), then in Ajmer (October 10, 2007) and in the Samjhauta Express (February 18, 2007)?

Or, did the NDA I government led by Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the centre take even their own Defence Minister (George Fernandes) into confidence, not to mention Parliament, before testing nuclear weapons in 1998, an act which adversely affected and worsened South Asia's security environment?

For those associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) who believe, that by being in the seat of government, they have un-checked, arbitrary powers which includes dictating what others should or should not do; preventing ‘others’, even violently, from carrying out their activities, the next elections will surely bring a rude shock. The people in this country have never tolerated tyrannical ways. Hitler may be a hero for the RSS but he is not for the masses in India.

The treatment meted out to journalists and JNU students and professors at the Patiala House court yesterday, on February 15, 2016, by lawyers associated with the RSS, is shameful. If the violence resorted to by terrorists and naxalites is condemnable how can the police and the ‘nation’ stand spectator to hooliganism indulged in by the Sangh parivar members? No other mainstream political organisation(s) exhibit the kind of lawlessness that organisations associated with this supremacist right wing ideology do.

They and their ideological associates have allegedly committed serious crimes; like murders of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi and have facilitated an atmosphere within which Rohith Vemula was forced to commit suicide, in addition to innumerable incidents when they are guilty of threatening and intimidating actions against people who simply do not agree with their ideology. This nonsense should not be tolerated in a democracy even if a price has to be paid for it. The RSS is hurtling this country towards a state of emergency which can only lead to civil war and anarchy.

The people who brought BJP to power with a thumping majority in 2014 must rethink their support and mandate. Is this party that is even fit to rule for five years? Stalwart socialist leader Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia once famously said that “Live communities don't wait for five years” (the term of Parliament). Today, these sharp and sagacious words must show us the way.

(Sandeep Pandey, a Magsaysay awardee for emergent leadership has trained in Mechanical Engineering but has been working on social justice issues; he is co-founder of Aasha)

The long march to justice: Pansare’s murder

February 16, 2016

Image: Megha Pansare

Emotions were high as were the resoluteness of all of gathered at 9 a.m. to recall that awful day, a year ago when Comrade Pansare was shot at. Over 500 activists and students assembled along with Umatai Pansare, the rest of the surviving family and myself at 9 a.m. this morning. We met in remembrance and struggle.

The march then proceeded to Bindu chowk with revolutionary songs being sung along the way. Umatai Pansare and others garlanded the statues of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Jotiba Phule.

“The long march to justice and equality that was severely jolted with the killing of Mahatma Gandhi, and then again with the shooting of Comrade Govind Pansare, a year ago will continue till the ideology that kills is rooted out,” Bhai ND Patil said here today while talking to the media.

Severely criticising the lack of political will of the present Maharashtra government in getting to the bottom of the conspiracy that killed Govind Pansare, ND Patil said, “the present government does not have the will to nab the killers.”

Finally the gathering that had by now grown to over one thousand met at the Prince Shivaji Maratha Boarding College, Govind Pansare’s alma mater. The elderly principal of the Prince Shivaji Maratha Boarding College, DB Patil, who was a long time colleague of Comrade Pansare was emotional in his recollections. Over one thousand students of the school and college participated in the remembrances.

Image: Megha Pansare

It is the slow pace of the struggle for justice that is enervating and draining. The Bombay High Court, even at the last hearing of the case, used harsh words, calling the attitude of the government and the investigating agencies “a miscarriage of justice.” Yet the matter drags on. Sameer Gaikwad, the sole man arrested, who is still in jail has approached the High Court for a transfer of the trial out of Kolhapur. We, on the other hand, have asked the High Court to direct that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed in this case (with its chief in Pune, one investigating officer in Pune, another in Kolhapur) be directed to only deal with this case and not with all and sundry other responsibilities. This prayer is yet to be heard out.

Meanwhile, in the trial court, the bail for Gaikwad has been rejected at the last hearing. I (Megha Pansare on behalf of the family) have made an application for the Ballistic Report to be sent to Scotland Yard. (There were reports of the similarity of source and kind in the bullets used to kill Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburghi). The accused on the other hand has asked to be released from his isolation cell. The judge in the trial court at the last hearing has asked for a report from the jailer on the matter of Gaikwad’s state of mental health.

Image: Megha Pansare

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We are paying the price of holding our heads high: Shital Sathe

If this is seditious and anti-national, then God save India!

Why the Controversy over Afzal Guru’s Hanging Refuses to Die

The long march to justice: Pansare’s murder

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