Addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner and copied to the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, the memorandum documents a disturbing pattern of unauthorised deletions, fabricated objections, false declarations of death, and misuse of statutory forms, allegedly targeting legitimate voters across multiple districts of the State. Along with CJP, Assam Majuri Sramik Union, Banchana Birdodhi Mancha and Forum for Social Harmony are also the signatories to this memorandum.

Dead voters filing objections, living voters declared dead

Among the most alarming allegations are instances where “dead persons” are shown as having filed objections against living voters, as well as complaints branding living electors as deceased. The memorandum flags this as a grave subversion of electoral procedures, calling for immediate scrutiny of how such objections were accepted during the SR process.

In several cases, voters who never changed residence were issued objections falsely claiming that they had shifted addresses. A separate annexure, the groups state, lists such affected voters.

A single woman, 64 objections — all denied

The memorandum details a striking case from Goalpara town, where a woman named Naba Bala Ray from Jyotinagar, Krishnai, was shown to have filed 64 objections against voters. When the affected voters approached her, she categorically denied filing any objections. While she later withdrew some complaints in Assamese, the memorandum notes a glaring inconsistency: her signatures also appeared on Form 7 complaints in English, which she claimed she could not write or understand.

CJP annexed these complaints as evidence of forgery and fabrication within the objection process.

Man objects to himself — and 133 others

In another extraordinary instance from Shribhumi district (formerly Karimganj), a man named Salim Ahmed was shown as having filed objections against himself and 133 other voters, alleging they were not genuine electors. According to the memorandum, Ahmed told the Booth Level Officer that he never filed any such objection, pointing to what the groups describe as a “fully fabricated” complaint attributed to him without consent or knowledge.

BJP leaders accused of unauthorised access to election data

Beyond individual cases, the memorandum raises grave institutional concerns. It alleges that office-bearers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including district-level leaders and ST Morcha functionaries, unauthorisedly entered the office of the Co-District Commissioner, Boko-Chhaygaon, and accessed official documents and the Election Commission’s electronic database.

Such actions, if proven, would amount to a serious breach of electoral neutrality and administrative safeguards, the groups warn.

Migrant workers disproportionately affected

The memorandum also flags how migrant labourers from Assam were particularly vulnerable during the SR process. Voters who had temporarily left the State for work during verification reportedly returned to find fresh objections raised against their names, effectively penalising economic migration and seasonal labour mobility.

Allegations of partisan signalling from political executive

Calling for institutional impartiality, CJP and other groups cite alleged interference in the Boko-Chhaygaon constituency and refer to statements attributed to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, which they characterise as “blatantly partisan” and inconsistent with the constitutional requirement of a neutral electoral process.

Demands to the Election Commission

The memorandum places eight specific demands before the ECI, including:

• Withdrawal of objections where the original complainant is absent during hearings
• Investigation and penal action for false Form 7 complaints
• Action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 against false declarants
• Compensation for victims subjected to mental, physical, or financial harassment
• Extension of timelines for claims and publication of the final electoral roll

At its core, the memorandum urges the Election Commission to restore procedural integrity and ensure that Assam’s electoral rolls are prepared “free and fair, in the interests of democracy”.

Why was this memorandum submitted?

Coming amid heightened national scrutiny of electoral processes, the allegations — if substantiated — point not merely to clerical lapses but to a structural vulnerability in voter list revision mechanisms, particularly in politically sensitive regions. The memorandum underscores that electoral rolls are not administrative lists but constitutional instruments, foundational to the exercise of universal adult franchise.

The Election Commission has not yet responded to the memorandum.

The complete memorandum may be read below.

Detailed report may be read here.

Related:

Supreme Court defers hearing in batch of petitions, led by CJP, challenging state Anti-Conversion laws; interim relief applications pending since April 2025

CJP flags Zee News broadcast ‘Kalicharan Maharaj vs 4 Maulanas’ for communal framing before NBDSA

A voter list exercise under scrutiny: Assam’s Special Revision of electoral rolls, allegations of targeted harassment and misuse of Form-7

The case of “pushback” of Doyjan Bibi and the quiet normalisation of undocumented deportations

The post Assam’s Electoral Rolls in Crisis: CJP flags structural manipulation in Summary Revision appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The chief minister had held a meeting with the CEC today in Delhi over the issue of deleted names from draft electoral rolls during ongoing special intensive revision (SIR). She was accompanied by Trinamool Congress MPs and 12 voters from West Bengal – five of whom were declared dead and had their names deleted from the rolls. The delegation, including Banerjee, wore black shawls on as a mark of protest.

In November, she had asked the CEC to halt the SIR in the poll-bound state, claiming that the BLOs had not been provided adequate training, support or time.

“I have been involved in Delhi’s politics for a long period of time…But I have never seen such an Election Commissioner. He is extremely arrogant. He is a great liar. I said that I respect your chair. I said that no chair is permanent for anyone. One day, you too will have to go. Don’t create this precedent,” she said, addressing the media after the meeting.

She claimed that the EC was using artificial intelligence (AI) to remove names from the list and that was the reason behind the discrepancies. She also claimed that “only Bengalis” were being targeted.

Here are five things she said while speaking to the media:

1. ‘Why Bengalis?’

“Why are only Bengalis being targeted? In a democracy, elections are a festival,” Banerjee asked, claiming that 58 lakh voters had been removed from the rolls without being given a chance to defend themselves.

She further questioned why the SIR exercise was not being conducted in BJP-ruled states and was limited to opposition-ruled West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. She said her party did not oppose SIR in principle, but it should not have been carried out in the hurried manner as it is being conducted.

“SIR didn’t happen in Assam since there is a BJP government. You didn’t carry out SIR in the north-eastern states. SIR happened in Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. In BJP-ruled states, you will get the time to put everyone’s name on the voter list,” she said, alleging more mismatches and mismapping in the opposition states.

2. ‘Using AI’

The chief minister alleged that it was not the EC handling the revision but BJP IT cell, who were “using AI” to delete names from the rolls.

“Who is doing this using AI? It is nobody from the EC. It is being done by the BJP IT cell. Even when a murderer doesn’t get a lawyer and pleads to the judiciary to defend himself, he is allowed to do so. But, you removed 58 lakh voters in the very beginning through Seema Khanna (EC’s IT expert) and the use of AI,” she said.

She highlighted that in several cases of deleted names, the issue was that the English surname did not match with the Bengali surname.

“I write Mamata Banerjee in English. However, in Bengali, I write Mamata Bandhopadhyay. Chatterjee in English is Chattopadhyay in Bengali. In this way, it [the ECI] has removed all the names that it could not understand [as being the same],” she said.

“It is fine that duplicate voters have been removed. We also highlighted duplicate cases last year. That should have been rectified, and the names of genuine voters should have stayed,” she said.

3. Minorities affected, elderly hassled; BLOs died

She added that this was affecting women who have changed their surname after marriage, the young generation and minorities, including Muslims, SCs and STs.

Banerjee questioned why the documents listed for verification were not being allowed for SIR in Bengal. “In every state, domicile certificates, land certificates, Aadhaar cards, land records, and matriculation certificates are allowed. None of these documents are recognised in Bengal for the SIR process. People in Bengal are carrying trunks full of documents, yet they are put into the ‘not found’ category in terms of evidence,” she said.

She also raised the issue of elderly harassment, pointing out that the elderly people were “being taken to the hearing venue in ambulances”, “made to wait futilely for 8-10 hours before they are sent back”.

She also pointed out that institutional delivery was rare earlier that many people are unable to retrieve their parent’s birth certificates, etc.

“Ask your PM if he has his parents’ birth certificates. Could Atal ji have been able to provide his birth certificate had he been alive today? Ask Advani ji if he can provide the dates of birth of his parents,” she said, calling the SIR process “totally undemocratic and unparliamentary”

Raising the issue of BLO suicides, the chief minister claimed that the BLOs died as they were “threatened and terrified” by the officers.

Banerjee has previously also criticised the situation in which BLOs across West Bengal were reportedly working. Many have alleged they are being forced to distribute hundreds of forms daily, then digitally upload them despite repeated server failures and poor technical infrastructure.

4. ‘Will face consequences like Dhankhar’

Banerjee told the media that she told CEC Kumar that he will “also face consequences like Dhankhar”, for “working at the behest of the BJP”.

Notably, before becoming the vice president, Jagdeep Dhankhar, as West Bengal’s governor, was often embroiled in public spats with Banerjee and the TMC.

“You are not doing inclusion; you are doing deletion. After removing 58 lakh voters, you have planned to remove another 1.4 crore voters. That means you have put 2 crore voters under the mismatch and mismap category,” she alleged.

5.’Boycotting CEC, not elections’

The chief minister said that the party has “boycotted” Kumar because he “insulted and humiliated” them. She also alleged that the CEC did not respond to her letters, and also went against the Supreme Court judgement.

However, she said she will not “commit the mistake” of boycotting the elections.

“We will not boycott the elections. We will not commit this mistake. We will fight and win. They have captured our administration for the last six months. They are not letting us do any work. It’s just like President’s Rule. Bengal is being targeted. Till he [the CEC] is sitting on that chair, he is going to be a threat to the country.”

“My allegation is against only one person. I respect the chair. I said that I have faith in him, and that is why we came. But he is not ready to listen. He does whatever the BJP instructs him to do.”

Courtesy: The Wire

The post Five Things Mamata Banerjee Said After Meeting CEC Over SIR appeared first on SabrangIndia.

His tragic death has been widely mourned but it should also lead to soul searching beyond improving VIP travel modes. They get all the attention, they choose to spend huge amounts chartering aircraft even when there is no urgency for travel, they build airports in their areas leaving State bus transport in a shambles, the bus stations are dirty, basic amenities are lacking.

Similar neglect of a train travel long distance as well travel in urban areas. In Mumbai 3,000 people fall from overcrowded trains each year, three days before Ajit Pawar’s death, a college lecturer was murdered in a local train in Mumbai due to tension caused by overcrowding.

On roads in the country over 100,000 are killed in crashes, many more are injured every year and the numbers keep rising. But there is little media attention, little discussion on TV channels which spend hours on deaths of people like Ajit Pawar or when there was the Indigo air disruption. Far more disruption is caused to millions on a daily basis to ordinary people which never gets the focus.

Our ecosystem now exists largely to serve political, corporate and VVIP clients — an ecosystem where aircraft are booked at short notice, routes change rapidly and operators compete to provide speed and reliability. This demand structure means aircraft are often flying multiple sectors in a single day, crews are working tight rotations, and planning windows are compressed. While none of this automatically implies unsafe operations, it creates an environment where margins are thinner and the system relies heavily on strict procedural discipline to compensate for Even during investigations into the Baramati crash, VSR aircraft were used to ferry politicians for funeral-related travel, underscoring the company’s continued role in high-profile political transport, points out Shreedhar Rathi, aviation writer.

Santosh Desai said in response to the Indigo, disruption, mismanagement. When airports were being built and modernised in the 1990s and 2000s, railway stations were also there, also serving millions. The choice to pour resources into airport infrastructure while leaving railway infrastructure as it was did not arise from abstract economic reasoning. It reflected a clear judgment about whose comfort mattered, whose complaints would be heard and which spaces needed to perform India’s modernity to the world.

Even when stations are redesigned, the aesthetic choices tell their own story. They gain glass facades, retail units and food courts. They are remade to resemble consumption spaces rather than transportation hubs.

What is being modernised is not only travel but the traveller. The aim is to turn them into a new category of person, someone who buys a latte, a fancy coffee cup, rather than someone who sits on a platform eating from a tiffin. It is a prefab vision of modernity often unconcerned with what railway users actually need.

When passengers complained that airports looked like railway stations, they were not merely pointing out operational failures. They were confronting the fear of category collapse, the discovery that their status as air travellers rested on fragile foundations and that a system breakdown could render them ordinary again. They had paid for elevation but found themselves in conditions they recognised from the category they believed they had left behind. Without the confirming architecture, they became just people in a crowded building, shouting to be heard.

When IndiGo flight cancellations caused massive chaos, newsrooms called in panels to discuss the ‘crisis’. But delays on trains, including the Rajdhani whose fares now match those of a budget flight, feels ‘normal’. Over 23 million people take trains every day, which is 51 times the number of air passengers, and an estimated 20% of long-distance trains experience delays of several hours.

Passengers inconvenienced by the flight crisis were described as the ‘stranded middle class’, officially numbering 4.5 lakh daily flyers according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. But what about the beedi-roller in Bihar rushing to a clinic or the daily wage worker from Patna standing for 12 hours in a general compartment? As the sociologist, Ashis Nandy, points out in The Intimate Enemy, the post-colonial elite’s sense of time favours the clock of capital over the rhythms of the struggling classes. This makes waiting seem like a normal part of life for the impoverished.

daily wage worker from Patna standing for 12 hours in a general compartment, pointed out Ankita Jain in an article in the Telegraph earlier this month.

Ajit was also known as Ajitdada

The original Dada in Maharashtra’s politics was Vasantdada Patil, former chief minister, whose government was toppled by Mr Sharad Pawar through defections and alliances in 1978.  SP (Sharad Pawar) was then a young man, I was recently looking at all the names in his ministry, all are gone, he remains but clearly now he has really aged.

Vasantdada came to acquire the respectful way of address (Vasantdada) through love: he was a freedom fighter, knew difficult days, there were times when he travelled second class by train to attend Congress meetings.

Sharad Pawar never acquired the title dada, he remained Sharad Pawar in the media, at best during personal meetings people would call him, saheb, Sharad rao, sir etc. He never instilled fear.

Ajitdada grew in entirely different circumstances, he acquired power at a very young age becoming a minister in SP’s ministry when I met him a few times, never later. His becoming a dada is relatively a later phenomenon.

Politics has changed so much in the last few weeks. I saw Supriya Sule in a jovial mood at the inauguration of the golden jubilee of Stree Mukti Sanghatana at Y.B. Chavan Centre last month.

She cracked jokes about there being both Pawar and Shinde in her family, her mother is originally a Shinde (the daughter of cricketer Sadu Shinde.). She was referring to the two deputy c.ms, Pawar and Shinde. She said people should not draw any conclusions from what she was saying.

Subsequently there were reports that she may be drafted into the ministry at the Centre following the alliance with the AP (Ajit Pawar) faction.

Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Sena made a valid point in a news conference that top ministers should not exert too much, should not travel too much by air, they should leave decisions to other leaders, they themselves need not campaign in every lower level election. All this was taking toll of their health.

After all these years in the profession, I get a feeling that journalists can be too liberal in their understanding of politicians, even naïve. They get easily carried away with all the hospitality they enjoy, they must realise that the politician treats you well because you have clout, you are from the media. They may give you a scoop, but in that also they have a motive, else they would just keep their mouth shut. The question is how the politician treats common people, that is the real test.

These journalists praise some politicians for working hard, the question is working hard for whom? They are busy enriching themselves, average politicians with some standing now have assets running into crores of rupees.

If the politicians were so competent, why are their constituencies getting, worse, unliveable?

(The author is a senior journalist and commentator; the present text is from his post on Facebook on January 31, 2026 that may be read here)

Related:

Catch people’s attention on pollution narrative: “Switching to public transport can lower your heart attack risk by 10%.”

Government and automobile lobby are in a cosy affair while public transport is treated like filth

The post Ajit Pawar’s death and the deprivation of everyday connectivity & transport appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Draft Electoral Roll, released on December 16, 2025, revealed the scale of the disruption as over 58.2 lakh names were deleted and more than 1 crore voters flagged for verification, including more than 31 lakh “unmapped” entries that do not link to the 2002 baseline. Citizens have been asked to justify age gaps, parental details, and other historical data, effectively shifting the burden of proof onto individuals and forcing them to produce decade-old documentation.

Challenged in the Supreme Court under Mostari Banu vs Election Commission of India [W.P.(C) No. 1089/2025], the process has been criticised as arbitrary, opaque, and burdensome. On January 19, 2026, the Court has already intervened, directing the ECI to ensure transparency: publish lists of excluded categories at local offices, allow authorised agents to submit documents on behalf of voters, and minimise travel and inconvenience.

Professor Amartya Sen: a noble laureate received SIR notice

One of the most discussed cases was the notice issued to the noble laureate Professor Amartya Sen at his Santiniketan residence in Bolpur. The official notice, written in Bengali, stated that “the age difference between you and your parents is less than 15 years, which is not generally expected and this needs to be clarified,” and directed him to appear for a hearing on January 16 at 12 PM at his Bolpur residence with the “original documents prescribed by the Election Commission of India.”

SIR Notice issued to Prof. Amartya Sen

For Sen, who is in his 90’s and globally recognised for his academic work, the matter drew immediate public attention. All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) questioned the logic behind the notice to Amartya Sen.

On January 7, the party posted on X that “A Nobel laureate should be above any suspicion, right? But what if he’s a Bengali? Then he’ll be slapped with hearing notices as if he were some common criminal. Amartya Sen, whose ground-breaking works form the bedrock of modern economics, who has brought unparalleled glory to Bengal and the entire nation, and whose ideas are studied in universities across the world, has been issued a SIR hearing notice.”

TMC further added that “This is the cynical, shameful farce of @BJP4India and  @ECISVEEP‘s SIR process. They will drag our icons through the mud, tarnish our pride, and stoop to any low if it serves their Bangla-Birodhi agenda of division and degradation.”

Sen would not need to appear for the hearing: ECI

However, days later, the Election Commission clarified that the case involved minor spelling errors and that Sen would not need to appear for the hearing. Officials added that such discrepancies could be corrected locally by Booth Level Officers without summoning the voter and that the issue had “no bearing on eligibility”, as The Hindu reported.

Unjust to voters and unfair to Indian democracy: Amartya Sen

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has expressed concern over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, saying the exercise is “being done in a hurry” and risks becoming “unjust to voters” ahead of the state assembly elections. According to the Times of India, Sen said that while revising rolls can strengthen democracy, “a thorough review done carefully with adequate time can be a good democratic procedure, but this is not what is happening in West Bengal at this time.”

He added that the SIR gives “inadequate time” for citizens to submit documents and that this is “both unfair to the electorate and unfair to Indian democracy.” Recalling his own case, Sen noted he was questioned about his right to vote from Santiniketan and highlighted documentation challenges, saying, “Like many Indian citizens born in rural India, I do not have a birth certificate.” He warned the poor and underprivileged are most at risk of exclusion.

“Unjust to voters and unfair to Indian democracy.”

After the Hon’ble Supreme Court, Nobel Laureate and eminent public intellectual Amartya Sen has now condemned the SIR process, flagging the UNDUE HASTE with which it is being bulldozed, denying rightful voters the time and… pic.twitter.com/QfG2tMlkaZ

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) January 25, 2026

Admiral Arun Prakash: when the ECI summons a war hero

Former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, a 1971 war veteran and Vir Chakra recipient, received an SIR notice in Goa. His enumeration form did not include EPIC numbers, roll details, or constituency information, leaving him classified as “unmapped.”

The Election Commission said notices were system-generated and that the process applied uniformly to all citizens. Prakash’s case highlighted that even individuals with notable public service records are included in automated verification if documentation is incomplete.

The #ElectionCommissionofIndia has issued a notice to former chief of #navalstaff Admiral Arun Prakash, asking him to attend a meeting to establish his identity as part of the ongoing #SpecialIntensiveRevision (SIR) of #electoralrolls.
https://t.co/pywWO07xyc

— Deccan Herald (@DeccanHerald) January 12, 2026

SIR notice to Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami

Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami was also summoned for an SIR hearing in Kolkata’s Rashbehari constituency after officials flagged discrepancies in his voter enumeration form. At the time, Shami was in Rajkot representing Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, prompting him to seek a fresh date on account of his sporting commitments. The Election Commission of India rescheduled the hearing between January 9 and 11, with officials terming the process a “routine verification” necessitated because the form had been “incorrectly filled out.”

However, after appearing for the hearing, the India fast bowler said that, “I am a proud Indian and Bengal citizen. If called 10 times, I will come and prove my citizenship on every single occasion.”

#CricketWIthTOI | “I am a proud Indian and #Bengal citizen. If called 10 times, I will come and prove my citizenship on every single occasion,” said Indian fast bowler #MdShami, who has 462 wickets across formats, after appearing for an SIR hearing on Tuesday to protect his vote.… pic.twitter.com/94YsaMy4OR

— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) January 21, 2026

ECI targeting citizens of West Bengal through SIR: TMC

Moreover, on January 6, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP-led Centre and the Election Commission of jointly “insulting the people of Bengal” and targeting the state ahead of the assembly elections.

Addressing a rally in Rampurhat, Banerjee claimed that Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen had been served an SIR hearing notice and urged party workers to “un-map the BJP from Bengal,” setting a target of winning 250 of the state’s 294 seats. “Many eminent people like actor Dev and cricketer Md Shami were also served notices,” he said, arguing that the exercise reflected a “Bangla-Birodhi” mindset.

Deepak Adhikari aka Dev

Actor and TMC Member of Parliament Deepak Adhikari, also known as Dev, received SIR notices for himself and his family members. TMC councillor Moushumi Das described the notices as unnecessary, noting that a three-term MP was being treated like any other citizen for verification purposes. TMC spokespersons also criticised the process as burdensome rather than corrective.

However, Dev did not make any public statement regarding the notice, as the Indian Express reported.

SIR Notice to Joy Goswami, a Sahitya Akademi Award recipient

Poet Joy Goswami, a Sahitya Akademi Award recipient, was unable to attend his SIR hearing on January 2 due to recent surgeries. His daughter, Devarti Goswami, confirmed that both she and her father had submitted their voter enumeration forms on time. Despite this, both were flagged as “unmapped” because their names did not appear in the 2002 voter rolls, as reported by the Times of India.

The Election Commission later contacted the Goswami family, stating that their case could be resolved without requiring the poet to appear in person. Reports from other districts noted that some elderly voters had experienced health problems while attending hearings.

Education minister Bratya Basu has strongly condemned the action and said that “This only goes on to expose BJP’s views of Bengal and its culture. Joy-da was recently hospitalised and I paid a visit to him there. If Joy Goswami can be called for a hearing, I fear Tagore too would have got call for a hearing had he been alive now. This call is an expression of the respect BJP has for Bengal and Bengalis. Joy-da is an Indian. He is a poet. He has migrated from Ranaghat to Kolkata some 40 years ago and has been a legitimate voter. I am not even talking about literary prowess. If BJP and EC can do this to Joy-da, any person can be called and told ‘ghus petiya’.”

West Bengal State Minister Shashi Panja receives SIR notice

West Bengal state minister Shashi Panja received an SIR notice despite her name appearing in the 2002 voter list. Panja said she had submitted all required documents but was still marked as “unmapped,” and described the process as “conducted in haste and without adequate preparation.”

According to the Telegraph India, Panja stated that she would attend the hearing like any other voter and did not request any special privileges as a minister. The Election Commission included her as part of the general process, which applied to all citizens flagged for verification.

Actor Anirban Bhattacharya

Actor Anirban Bhattacharya received a notice after his voter registration could not be linked to the 2002 rolls. Born in 1986, Bhattacharya currently lives in Kolkata but remains registered in Midnapore. His parents and grandparents were also absent from the 2002 voter list, complicating verification. His father passed away in mid-2025, adding to the challenge of retrospective documentation.

Under the pretext of SIR hearings, ECI is harassing ordinary people, and even eminent personalities of Bengal: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the SIR process, stating that Under the pretext of SIR hearings, the Commission is harassing ordinary people, and even eminent personalities of Bengal such as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, and actor Dev are facing the same ordeal.

In most cases, it is women whose names are being removed in greater numbers. Notices are being issued in the name of “logistical discrepancy” without providing complete information, TMC alleged.

Under the pretext of SIR hearings, the Commission is harassing ordinary people, and even eminent personalities of Bengal such as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, and actor Dev are facing the same ordeal.

In most cases, it is women whose names are being removed in… pic.twitter.com/NucTMvWICR

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) January 8, 2026

Related:

SIR 2025 in Bengal: 5 Key Takeaways That Strike at BJP’s ‘Infiltration’ Bogey

West Bengal Draft Electoral List: Over 58 lakh names deleted under SIR exercise, urban seats & Hindi speakers see higher voter deletions

ECI’s announced nationwide SIR, will cover 12 States and UTs with a reduced documentary burden

The post SIR Notices in Spotlight: from Amartya Sen, war vetereran Arun Prakash to Mohammed Shami summoned for SIR hearing appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Who is Girish Mahajan? A seven times elected MLA from Jamner constituency im Jalgaon district amd guardian minister for Nashik. Mahajan also an entrenched member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and a close aide of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis courted criticism and controversy when he failed to mention Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his Republic Day address on Monday. January 26.

A woman officer of the Forest Department in uniform was vocal and emotional in her outspoken outburst. “I will not allow Dr Babasaheb’s legacy and contribution to be erased,” reported ABP Marathi and Economic Times. Social media too was flooded with messages castigating Mahajan and expressing support for Madhavi Jadhav. The minister reportedly made several references to personalities in his Republic Day address, including religious figures. However Dr Babasaheb who is venerated for his remarkable contribution on being an architect of the constitution was committed! The ideologues of the far Hindu right have been forever uncomfortable with this rich tradition that challenged caste hierarchy be ut Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule or Ambedkar.

It was while the 77th Republic Day celebrations were being observed with enthusiasm across the country on Sunday, an incident in Nashik triggered political and administrative unrest after Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan was accused of not mentioning Dr BR Ambedkar in his Republic Day address. The controversy unfolded during a Republic Day programme organised in Nashik when Madhavi Jadhav, a woman employee from the forest department, openly questioned Mahajan for omitting Ambedkar’s name in his speech. Following the confrontation, tension prevailed briefly at the venue, prompting police to take Jadhav into custody to restore order.

Girish Mahajan compelled to express regret

Speaking to the media after the incident, Girish Mahajan said the omission was unintentional and expressed regret over the matter. “It must have happened unintentionally. I had no such intention. I raised slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai’. I had no intention of deliberately omitting any name,” Mahajan said. He added that such incidents do not usually occur during his speeches and expressed remorse over the controversy.

“Suspend Me, But I Won’t Apologise”

Clarifying her stand, Madhavi Jadhav maintained that she would not apologise for questioning the minister. She said Dr Ambedkar, as the architect of the Constitution, must be acknowledged on Republic Day. “The minister made a mistake. I will not apologise. The minister should take responsibility. If you want to suspend me, do it. I will not allow Babasaheb’s identity to be erased,” she said. Jadhav further stated that she was repeatedly waiting for Ambedkar’s name to be mentioned during the speech but it never came up, despite references to other leaders.

“The names of people who were not responsible for democracy and the Constitution were repeatedly mentioned. Then why was the name of the real creator of the Constitution missing?” she asked. She added that while she does not believe in the dates of August 15 or January 26, she firmly believes in democracy and constitutional values.

Related: 

Standing Truth on its Head: Ambedkar and BJP agenda

On his 135th birth anniversary, we ask, would Ambedkar be allowed free speech in India today?

Dr BR Ambedkar: How the ongoing tussle between the BJP and Congress is both limited & superficial

The post Republic Day 2026: Omission of Ambedkar in Girish Mahajan’s speech sparks outrage  appeared first on SabrangIndia.

By a remarkable coincidence, the Muslim woman’s blood group matched the Hindu man, and the Hindu woman’s blood group matched the Muslim man. Understanding the situation, both women made a thoughtful and humane decision and agreed to exchange donors, giving both men a new lease on life.

At a time when when hatred-driven politics and people spreading religious animosity push others to turn against one another, this scene offers a much-needed sense of hope and reassurance.

Thanks Sakal newspaper for this story of Everyday Harmony (: हिंदूची किडनी मुस्लिमाच्या; तर मुस्लिमाची किडनी हिंदूच्या शरीरात; तुम्हीच सांगा, या किडनीचा धर्म कोणता?)

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Closed doors of the operation theatre. Outside, the anxious heartbeats of relatives. There was neither religion nor caste here—only the will to live. Driven solely by love for their dear ones, a Hindu woman’s kidney was transplanted into a Muslim man, and a Muslim woman’s kidney into a Hindu man. This surgery was carried out at Care Sigma Hospital.

In the city, campaigning for the municipal corporation elections has come to an end. In some wards, the election turned into a Hindu–Muslim issue instead of focusing on development and civic concerns. While all this coloured the public sphere, elsewhere a Hindu woman donated her kidney to a Muslim man, and a Muslim woman donated her kidney to a Hindu man, saving their lives.

The surgery was performed at the Care Sigma Hospital. The kidneys of two men—one Hindu and one Muslim—had failed. They were undergoing treatment, but there was no option other than a kidney transplant. Not wanting to lose their life partners, with whom they had shared a lifetime of summers and monsoons and stood together through joy and sorrow, both wives agreed to donate their kidneys.

However, a problem arose because the blood groups did not match, so neither woman could donate a kidney to her own husband. As a result, both were left helpless. Meanwhile, the Muslim woman’s blood group matched the Hindu patient, and the Hindu woman’s blood group matched the Muslim patient—because blood is neither saffron nor green; it is simply blood.

Senior nephrologists at the hospital, Dr. Pradeep Saruk and Dr. Shrikant Deshmukh, counseled both families. After that, the women decided to donate their kidneys to each other’s husbands. As a result, not only were two lives saved, but a new bond of blood was formed beyond the walls of religion.

During this entire process, valuable support was provided by anesthetist Dr. Pramod Apsingekar and his colleagues, transplant coordinator Vishal Narwade, OT technicians, and other staff members. For this, the hospital’s Managing Director Dr. Unmesh Takalkar, Director Dr. Manisha Takalkar, and Chief Operating Officer Sameer Pawar congratulated the entire team.

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The post A rare yet heart-warming coincidence: Hindu-Muslim Kidney transplant appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Resurrecting the outlook of Father Stan Swamy and Prof. G. N. Saibaba, Whither Human Rights in India is both a chronicle of resistance and a call to reshape the future of democracy and human dignity.

Reviews highlight it as imperative for understanding the struggles of minorities, the role of activist scholars (like contributors Harsh Mander, Teesta Setalvad), and the impact of laws like the UAPA on activists.

It is an illustrative and lucid anthology that provides a panoramic view and an unwavering critical analysis of the aggravating crisis in human rights in India, offering profound research on systemic failures and the ongoing fight for justice.

Principally, the book is a comprehensive exploration of how the devastation of human rights over the parts decade are not just a continuation of past patterns but symbolise a crucial departure or rupture, manifesting a new fascist paradigm which will make it an arduous task for future generation s to stand up against to restore past rights.

The essays trace the historical and ideological roots of India’s human rights evolution. They explore how colonial past and constitutional ideals grossly contradict current realities. Critiques analyse the rise of majoritarian politics, state violence, and impunity, especially against minorities.

The book scrutinizes the judiciary, hate speech, “bulldozer justice,” and development models. Features contributions from leading voices like Teesta Setalvad, Harsh Mander, Gautam Navlakha, and Kalpana Kannabiran.

The book addresses the persecution of activists (like the book’s editor, Anand Teltumbde under laws like the UAPA.

In a most illustrative and congeal manner the chapters of the book encompass the unprecedented destruction of human rights during the tyranny of BJP rule.

The first part includes seven papers that give a clear theoretical cognitive on vital spheres lie state violence, impunity, ‘Urban Naxal narrative, the hate speech epidemic persecution engineered by the constitutional executive, controversial supreme court rulings, growing inequality, and the superstructure of New India promoted by BJP, the Gujarat model and the ‘bulldozer justice.’

The second part features nine papers, documenting violations on minority communities like Muslims and Christians.

Introduction by Author

Teltumbde gives a most comprehensive introduction where he explores the evolution of human rights in India from the Colonial days of the British rule, linking it with the rise of British liberalism. He examined the contradictions of British imperialism with liberalism as well as the percolating of liberal ideas and catalysed social reforms that addressed oppressive practices. He chronicled the events that orchestrated the wave of human rights in the Freedom struggle and why World War 2 became a turning point in the global recognition of human rights, with creation of United Nations. Teltumbde has appraised the Indian Constitution of 1950 that secured important rights, praising India’s dedication to preserving human rights in that era.

Pertinent and positive that Tetumbde exposes the glaring loopholes in late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s policies, who he described as fostering caste discrimination as well as inequality to engineer a largely undemocratic social order, promoting even Preventive Detention and toppling the elected government of Sheikh Abdula h in Kashmir and the Elected Communist party in Kerala.

Anand makes an intensive exploration of the gradual deterioration of human rights in periods like Indo-China War, Emergency, and events under the Congress regimes that were the precursor-sponsored rise of BJP neo-fascism was bitterly critical of the regimes of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, supressing workers and student movements. He scrutinized how the 1991 economic reforms although boosted private enterprise and consumer freedom, escalated economic equality, displaced large populations and marginalised the poor due to privatisation, and linked those aberrations with informalisation of labour and commercialisation of services like healthcare and education that engineered a new era of human rights violations.

Teltumbde recounted the Babri Masjid demolition orchestrating communal polarisation and widespread violence and the transition to the 202 Gujarat agenda, with the gruesome Godhra carnage. In the main Teltumbde navigated how in essence the state’s actions stood in stark contrast to the lofty ideals of the constitution.

Anand finally explored and evaluated the making and fabric of fascism in India under Narendra Modi He reflected the role played by the media. He elaborated how Modi regime viewed civil society as an enemy, mercilessly framing activists and dissenters as threats to national security. Teltumde chronicled events symbolising the multidimensional assault on human rights, like Pulwama action, Citizenship amendment act, abrogating article 370 in Kashmir, criminalising human rights organisations, extensive use of colonial era laws like UPA.etc.

In his conclusion of the introduction, he diagnoses a return to the ancient Brahmanical order, stripping al human rights. He expresses fear of the silence and indifference of the Indian public on Modi’s regime and relentless propaganda that conceal the truth.

Chapters in the Volume

Kalpana Kannabiran examines how state actions over seven decades have reinforced impunity and aggression.

Ajay Gudavarthy and G Vijay navigate targeting of activists as anti-Hindu and terrorist to supress resistance of civil society.

Mihir Desai explores the Supreme Court’s failures to safeguard constitutional rights over the lats decade.

Subbhas Gatade draws similarities of the bulldozing of Muslim homes with Israeli demolitions in Gaza.

Teesta Setalvad diagnoses the reactionary character of the ‘Gujarat Model’, evaluating it as facade to engineer corporate welfare and communal polarisation.

Gautam Navlakaha recollects life serving a sentence as an undertrial prisoner, revealing how special laws are designed to undermine the principle of innocence until proven guilty, denying bail to prisoners making them languish for years.

Harsh Mander touches on the escalation of hate speech, vilifying Muslims as traitors.

Aakar Patel explores the persecution of Muslims, tracing it to the ideological roots of the BJP, describing Modi’s regime as one mercilessly promoting nationalism.

Vineeth Srivastav characterises Modi’s regime as fascist, which fuses rhetoric nationalism, religious identity and anti-elitism to trigger Hindu nationalism. He lucidly analyses Fascist underpinnings exploring how the cult of Modi, the normalisation of Hindu nationalism, the mockery of constitutional values, the power of propaganda, the dominance of mob mentality, the revival of religious myths, as national narratives and ‘bulldozer justice’, are a testament to New India’s transformation into a fascist society. This new India’s characterised by a fascist revival of a mythic past as well as a dynamic relationship of the state, corporate interests and highly mediated cultural nationalism, bolstering ultra-nationalism with crony capitalism.

Anand Teltumbde investigates the organised erosion of Dalit rights, in the backdrop of the marinization of constitutional protection.

Vernon Gonzalves chronicles the systematic extinguishing of prisoners’ rights under Modi.

Lancy Lobo describes the Violence unleashed on Christians, with anti-conversion laws enforced to attack on Christians.

Irfan Engineer covers the escalating violence and discrimination of Muslims under Modi’s rule.

Mahruk Edenwala exposes the failure of child protection laws, particularly in aftermath of NRC.

Bittu KR analyses the restriction on rights of the LGBTQIA for living freely and equally.

(The author is a freelance journalist)

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Iconoclast: Path breaking biography of BR Ambedkar projects his human essence

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A detailed audit titled “The Bihar Verdict 2025”, curated by Vote for Democracy (VFD), Maharashtra, suggests that this is precisely what unfolded in the 2025 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. Drawing exclusively from official Election Commission of India (ECI) data, statutory provisions, constitutional norms, and documented inconsistencies, the report presents a disturbing account of how India’s most fundamental democratic exercise was methodically hollowed out—before, during, and after polling.

What emerges is not a story of sporadic irregularities or administrative error, but of systemic electoral engineering, carried out through opaque voter roll revisions, statistical impossibilities, data suppression, and post-poll manipulation—raising urgent questions about the credibility of India’s electoral institutions.

The said report has been authored and compiled by Vote for Democracy (VFD), Maharashtra under the guidance of experts MG Devasahayam (IAS (Retd) and Founder, Forum for Electoral Integrity), Dr Pyara Lal Garg, (Former Dean, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh) and Professor Harish Karnick, (Computer Science Expert) and Madhav Deshpande, (Computer Science Expert).

The Electoral ‘Ambush’: An unprecedented Special Intensive Revision

At the centre of the report is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, notified by the ECI on June 24, 2025, just months before the Assembly election. While electoral rolls are periodically revised, the timing, scale, and opacity of this exercise make it extraordinary.

Bihar’s rolls had already undergone continuous revision since 2003, with a Special Summary Revision completed in January 2025. There was, therefore, no apparent administrative necessity for another sweeping revision so close to elections. Yet the ECI undertook precisely that—without recording reasons, disclosing empirical justification, or publishing a transparent methodology.

The report argues that this move violated statutory safeguards under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, while also undermining constitutional guarantees under Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, and 326. Most alarmingly, the SIR reversed a core principle of electoral democracy: the presumption of inclusion of citizens on the voter roll.

Instead, the revision effectively placed the burden of proof on voters themselves, subjecting them to what the report describes as a citizenship-style verification exercise, without any legislative sanction.

Mass disenfranchisement hidden in plain sight

The consequences of the SIR were immediate and devastating. According to official ECI figures:

• On June 24, 2025, Bihar had 7.89 crore registered voters.
• By the Draft Roll of 1 August 2025, this number had dropped to 7.24 crore—a deletion of 65.69 lakh voters.
• The Final Roll published on September 30, 2025 stood at approximately 7.42 crore electors.

Yet, the report finds that only 3.66 lakh voters were ultimately found to be ineligible. The sheer scale of deletions—nearly twenty times higher than justified exclusions—points not to routine correction but to deliberate disenfranchisement.

The most shocking phase occurred between 21 and 25 July 2025, when over 21.27 lakh voters were deleted in just three days. During this period alone:

• 5.44 lakh voters were marked as ‘dead’,
• 14.24 lakh as ‘permanently shifted’, and
• those marked ‘untraceable’ increased by an astonishing 809% overnight.

Despite the SIR being justified as a means to remove “foreigners” from the rolls, not a single foreign national was identified.

As the report notes, such numbers defy administrative logic and statistical probability, pointing instead to algorithmic or bulk deletions, carried out without genuine field verification.

The ‘rectification’ that didn’t add up

Following public criticism, the ECI claimed to have undertaken a process of rectification, stating that approximately 17 lakh objections or applications were received. However, the final numbers tell a different story.

The report documents that around 22 lakh entries were modified—far exceeding the number of applications claimed. Even after accounting for these corrections, the voter roll should have mathematically settled at approximately 7.38 crore electors. Instead, the ECI declared 7.42 crore voters, leaving an unexplained surplus of 3.24 lakh electors.

No reconciliation statement, independent audit, or transparent explanation has been provided for this discrepancy—raising serious concerns about the integrity of the final roll itself.

When the rolls kept changing after elections were notified

Electoral law and convention require voter rolls to be effectively frozen once elections are notified, to ensure certainty and fairness. Yet, the report shows that in Bihar, the rolls continued to change even after notification.

• On October 6, 2025, the electorate stood at 7.43 crore.
• By poll day, it had risen to 7.46 crore.

In just ten days, 3.34 lakh voters were added, including a sudden and unexplained spike in young voters—an impossibility given eligibility timeline.

The sanctity of the voter roll, the report argues, was thus compromised at the most critical stage of the electoral process.

Structural rigging and data suppression

Manipulation was not confined to voter rolls alone. The report details a sharp increase in polling booths—from 77,462 in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to 90,740 in Bihar 2025—without a corresponding expansion in remote or riverine areas, raising questions about constituency engineering.

Equally troubling was the Election Commission’s progressive withdrawal of transparency. Constituency-wise turnout figures and final votes polled before counting—data routinely published in earlier elections—were withheld. Instead, fragmented district-level data was released, making independent verification virtually impossible.

Institutional capture at the grassroots

At the ground level, the report highlights the deployment of 1.8 lakh ‘Jeevika Didis’ as poll volunteers—women who were also beneficiaries of state welfare schemes involving cash transfers. This, the report argues, blurred the line between welfare delivery and election administration, undermining the neutrality of the electoral machinery.

The imbalance in Booth Level Agents (BLAs) further compounded the problem. While the ruling alliance deployed over 91,000 agents, the opposition averaged just 1.55 agents per booth, creating vast unmonitored spaces within polling stations.

Poll-day violations and the ‘midnight hike’

Polling and counting days were marked by a series of disturbing incidents: CCTV failures, VVPAT slips found discarded on roads, unauthorised vehicles near strong rooms, and the transportation of approximately 6,000 voters from Haryana through special trains, allegedly facilitated with free tickets.

But the most consequential intervention came after polling had ended. On 12 November 2025, official data recorded a uniform 0.18% increase in voter turnout—identical for both men and women across phases. This “midnight hike” added 1,34,145 votes, altering outcomes in around 20 constituencies.

In 21 seats, victory margins ranged from zero to just 15 votes, yet no automatic VVPAT recount was ordered.

More than a Bihar story

“The Bihar Verdict 2025” concludes with a stark warning: what happened in Bihar is not an isolated aberration. It represents a new mode of electoral manipulation, executed not through visible violence or overt coercion, but through administrative opacity, legal sleight of hand, and data control.

At stake is not merely the outcome of one state election, but the constitutional promise of universal adult suffrage itself.

As the report makes clear, when voters disappear from rolls, when numbers defy arithmetic, and when transparency is treated as expendable, democracy itself becomes the casualty.

The complete report may be accessed here: https://votefordemocracy.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260113-FINAL-THE-BIHAR-VERDICT.pdf

Presentation: https://votefordemocracy.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/THE-BIHAR-VERDICT-2025-ppt.pdf

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The country, India, the world’s largest democracy, placed fourth out of 168 nations assessed for the likelihood of what researchers call intrastate mass killings. More significantly, India topped the list of countries facing such danger that are not already experiencing large-scale violence.

This is the December 2025 report Countries at Risk for Intrastate Mass Killing 2025-26, Statistical Risk Assessment Results, available here, from the museum’s Early Warning Project estimates India has a 7.5% chance of seeing deliberate mass violence against civilians before the end of 2026. The researchers define such violence as armed groups killing at least 1000 non-combatants within a year based on their group identity, which could include ethnicity, religion, politics or geography.

Three countries scored higher than India. Another South Asian neighbour, Myanmar, holds the top spot, followed by Chad and Sudan. However, the difference is that several high-ranking nations including Myanmar and Sudan are already dealing with ongoing mass killings, making India’s position particularly noteworthy as a potential new flashpoint.

Methodology: Researchers at the museum and Dartmouth College analysed decades of historical data to identify patterns. They look at which characteristics countries shared in the years before mass violence erupted, then search for similar warning signs today.

“Which countries today look most similar to countries that experienced mass killings in the past, in the year or two before those mass killings began?” the report asks.

The model examines more than 30 factors, from population size and economic indicators to measures of political freedom and armed conflict. Historically, roughly one or two countries experience new episodes of mass killing each year.

It was Lawrence Woocher, research director at the museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, wrote in the report’s foreword that the project aims to help officials and organisations decide where to focus resources for prevention. Pointing out that the Holocaust was preventable, Woocher wrote, “By heeding warning signs and taking early action, individuals and governments can save lives”.

The assessment looks only at future outbreaks, not whether existing violence might worsen. This approach helps fill what researchers see as a gap in prevention efforts, since ongoing crises often dominate attention.

Crucially, the researchers caution against viewing their findings as predictions. The statistical model identifies risk factors that historically appeared before mass violence, but these factors do not necessarily cause such events.

“Readers should keep in mind that our model is not causal,” the report states. “The variables identified as predicting higher or lower risk of mass killings in a country are not necessarily the factors that drive or trigger atrocities.”

For instance, a country’s large population, for instance, does not trigger violence. However, nations with bigger populations have historically been more likely to experience mass killings, making it a useful indicator when combined with other data.

The model relies on publicly available information from 2024, which means events from 2025 do not reflect in the current rankings. Data limitations also mean the assessment may not fully capture conditions in places where governments restrict access to observers. “This assessment is just one tool,” the report underlined. “It is meant to be a starting point for discussion and further research, not a definitive conclusion.”

Identifying the countries in the top tier, the report lays out specific concerns.

“For every country in the top 30, we recommend that policy makers consider whether they are devoting sufficient attention to addressing the risks of mass atrocities occurring within that country,” the authors recommended.

The report suggests several lines of inquiry. Are governments paying enough attention to the danger of systematic attacks on civilians? What specific triggers, whether elections, political upheaval or protests, could spark widespread violence?

The authors recommend that international bodies and national governments conduct their own detailed assessments of high-risk countries. Such reviews should examine what drives the risk, what scenarios seem plausible, and what existing strengths in a society need to be reinforced to prevent violence.

“Strategies and tools to address atrocity risks should, of course, be tailored to each country’s context,” the report noted.

The Early Warning Project has released annual assessments since 2014. In that time, mass atrocities have occurred in multiple countries, including genocide against the Rohingya in Burma and mass civilian deaths in South Sudan and Ethiopia. “Even in cases like these where warnings have been issued, they have simply not prompted enough early action,” Woocher stated.

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Apologies from an ashamed Hindu

Muslim student set on fire in Bareilly outside exam centre, suffers 8% burns

The post India tops among countries at risk of mass crimes, atrocities, US Holocaust Museum warns appeared first on SabrangIndia.

I profusely apologise for the incessant atrocities that are being committed against you all since 2014 by the Modi Regime.

There are thousands and lakhs of Muslim Freedom fighters, who gave their blood and lives to make this Nation, when RSS traitors were colluding with the British.

The sadistic pleasure drawn by few self-proclaimed Hindus, on withdrawal of MBBS Course from Shri. Mata Vaishnavo Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Jammu, is so disheartening and nauseating that I don’t wish to be associated with this kind of Hindu Community.

My sense of dismay, disheartenment is so profound and intense that I now realise and feel the pain that Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar must have felt while Quitting this hate filled, demonic, human social system.

Followers of Manusmriti are using the very Constitution which promised you all, other minorities and the poor and downtrodden, a dignified, egalitarian position in the India liberated on 15-08-1947.

Neither this is that India, nor are the bulwarks of that Constitution intact.

Lynching Muslims, dehumanising them, reducing them to second citizens, bulldozing their homes and forcefully pushing them into Bangladesh, committing genocide against them like in Godhra, even a Muslim MP is not safe and are deprived of the fundamental human dignity in the Parliament.

Doesn’t matter, that Modi Regime and its cronies are accepting the Gulf Dinars from the Sheikhs, to survive and sustain their business, which in any sovereign state eg. America, would tantamount to, proceeds of crime.

I can never forgive myself for what my sister Bilkis Bano had to go through. A believer in the Rule of Law, a pious, devout Hindu can never accept this and never promote such cowardice. I am stunned to see the Hindus (baring few exceptions), not condemning the Regime which enabled atrocities on Muslims of Godhra.

It’s suffocating, I am literally gasping for breath, as the chain of events run through my mind, as a fast forwarded video, full of blood, cries for help, daggers and machetes slashing human beings, bullets fired on innocent young Muslim Kashmiris, poor truck drivers being thrashed, lynched and killed on hate filled, inhuman and fake Hindutva narrative of Cow smuggling.

I choke and wake up at nights with the cries of little kids, young girls, women being drawn into the crowd by Hindutva zombies; those tears welling down those wrinkled cheeks of mothers and fathers who lost their sons, daughters or some loved ones, a source of support and strength in old age, snatched away, ask me, IS THIS WHAT YOUR RELIGION IS ALL ABOUT?

I have read the Vedas, Upanishads, Geeta, Ramayan, Mahabharata, the texts sacred to Hindus religion. I ask any Hindu to tell me, on the basis of which Verse, are Muslims being lynched, killed and relegated to second class citizenship and made to live in fear?

I also ask my Hindu brothers and sisters, IS THIS ‘YOUR’ HINDU RELIGION AND DOES IT TEACH YOU TO KILL OTHER HUMANS, IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR RELIGIONS AND RELEGATE THEM TO SECOND CLASS CITIZENSHIP?

What do you ask of your Idols, when you light the lamps every day in your homes, or visit the Temples? That hey lord, please give Hindutva Regime more strength to instil fear amongst Muslims and lower caste Hindus? If that’s the case he seem to be answering their prayers!

This is repulsive and I want to give away any identity that I may knowingly or unknowingly, have with such a Group, Society, Community, Religion.

I fail to understand how can pious, loving and warm Hindu friends and fellow Indians allow 04 lumpen Gujarati thugs, hard-core criminals, recognised internationally, denied Visas, summoned by International Courts, to be our representatives, using the very Constitution which GUARANTEES PROTECTION TO EVERY INDIAN?

Sorry, this is not Hindu Religion by any wild stretch of imagination. This is using Hindu Religion, like Taliban, to kill people, for Power and Control.

The Congress Party has profoundly failed to protect our Muslim brothers. It is being brought down by its on archaic bureaucracy which is not able to give shape to the dreams and vision of Rahul Gandhi. What are they doing behind paying lip service and using SM handles like Journalists and Activists. What worth is their Power? Who will expose and preempt the wicked, demonic Modi Regime? Few Journalists and SM activists, YouTubers are even doing that, at the cost of their lives. What have Congress and Opposition MPs, MLAs done about it since 2014?!

In my five decades of existence, having seen the World, learning about the Civilisations, Religions and experiencing the collective social progress we made together, especially since the Liberalisation, I have never imagined, India would be taken over by such criminals.

Now that we are and that their claim to Power and source of legitimacy is the very Hindutva, derived from Hindu Religion, I have decided to keep distance and my future course shall be carved out soon.

If this is what the HINDU RELIGION can do, as is seen since 2014, I am better off it.

I would also like to ask My dear Hindu Brothers and Sisters – with whom you have shared your homes, Offices, travelled together, played and dreamed together – whether they have become ACCUSTOMED to these atrocities against you all, to the dehumanisation, disenfranchisement and demonization of Muslims?

I hope they answer in Negative. I know many of them are as nauseated and repulsed by the bloody Communal politics of the Sangh Parivar but are mum and frightened for their own selfish reasons.

I am convinced, I owe an unconditional apology to my Muslim Brothers and Sisters. My being a Hindu, a Brahmin at that, makes me a perfect candidate to seek this unconditional apology for the dreadful experience you have had, are having.

I am too weak to do anything about it individually but I hope and wish, my fellow Indians, friends and followers, especially Hindus, Brahmins at that, share letters of support and show Muslims, show the poor, the downtrodden, the backwards class compatriot Brothers and Sisters that we don’t subscribe to what the Modi Regime is doing to them.

Yours faithfully,

Raju Parulekar
(An Ashamed Hindu)

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