Festivals have never been just about religion and spirituality. However, of late they have started displaying stark political hues and become more about a pompous display of power. In the times of rising Hindutva and a regime openly headed toward totalitarianism, a festival like Ram Navami, that isn’t even celebrated in all parts of the country, has become a vulgar display of ‘competing communalism’. While other festivals too have been hijacked by loudspeakers blaring Hindi movie songs dripping misogyny, Ram Navmi is headed for something much worse and more sinister.
 

TV 18 Reports on BJP Supporters Resorting to Violence After Ram Navmi, March 26

The Curious Case of Bengal
This year Poschim Bongo, a state that traditionally celebrates Ram Navami by offering prayers to artfully crafted figurines of goddess Durga in imaginatively designed pandals or tents, saw multiple street rallies of sword and trident wielding men in saffron clothes chanting jingoistic slogans like:
 
“Jay Shree Ram!
Pakistan, tu kaan khol ke sun le,
Doodh mangoge toh kheer denge,
Kashmir mangoge toh cheer denge.”

(Pakistan, you better listen carefully.
If you ask for milk, we give you pudding,
But ask for Kashmir, and we rip you apart.)
 
Rampurhat, a small dusty town in Bengal’s Birbhum district, witnessed more than a dozen rallies this year where toxic lyrics were mixed with catchy tunes to further a hyper-nationalistic agenda. Reportedly, both, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were involved in the organising these rallies in an act described as ‘competitive communalism’ by CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Surya Kanta Mishr.

 
Armed Mob Attacks Police Station at Kandi, Murshidabad during Ram Navmi Procession on March 26 -PTI

The purported objective is to pitch Ram as an ‘Indian icon’ rather than just a ‘Hindu icon’ in a duplicitous bid to equate being Indian with being Hindu. In fact, banners from “Ayodhya Ram Mandir” committee were also spotted on celebration grounds and prayers were started with an elaborate display of traditional weapons at many ‘puja’ venues.
 
BJP leaders confirmed that the festival is being used as a political tool to gain electoral mileage saying, “Just two months to go for panchayat elections and one year to go for general elections, we will show how much powerful the BJP has become in Bengal.”
 
The so-called Ram Navami ‘wave’ initiated by the BJP was aimed at triggering its rival, the TMC which outwardly took a stand against armed rallies. Hindu Samhati leader, Tapan Ghosh warned TMC against preventing their rallies saying, “West Bengal government would have to go through huge troubles if they try to prevent ‘Hindus from celebrating Ram Navami.” Many such rallies were held across Birbhum, Midnapore and Nadia.
 
Growing Participation of Children
 
A particularly disturbing and outrageous phenomenon observed this year was participation of children weilding arms in these rallies. The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) asked two Bajrang Dal members to appear before it on April 12 in the matter of involvement of children in armed rallied during Ram Navami.
 
Reportedly, around 10 children were spotted carrying weapons in rallies in Purulia. “The commission has summoned them on the basis of preliminary information given by the district magistrate of Purulia. We are waiting for the status report from other district administrations and will act accordingly,” said Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborty, Chairperson, WBCPCR. Suraj Sharma, Purulia district co-ordinator and Gourab Singh, Purulia additional district coordinator were asked to appear in person.
 
Meanwhile, one person was killed and six policemen were injured in a clash between two groups Purulia. Similar clashes have been reported from other parts of the state such as Kankinara in 24 Parganas and Raniganj in Bardhaman district.
 
The violence spreads
However, it was not only Bengal that experienced such hideous displays of ‘celebration’ and violence . In Aurangabad district of Bihar, prohibitory orders were clamped following a clash between members of two communities. Section 144 was imposed at several places. It was reported that some areas saw heavy stone pelting and arson at several places along the path of a Ramnavami procession.
 
https://www.sabrangindia.in/indepth/communal-violence-chhapra-maker-fact-finding-report

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Justice AP Shah said head of judiciary or Chief Justice of Bombay High Court should look into the matter

New Delhi:  How a judge deciding whether BJP chief Amit Shah should be tried for murder died in December 2014 must be investigated, says one of the most respected judicial voices in the country, Justice AP Shah.

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Agitated members of opposition political parties protested outside a polling booth in Meerut for several hours on Wednesday after a voter realized that though he had pressed the button for BSP candidate, the EVM registered a vote for the candidate of the ruling BJP party.

Although officials replaced the faulty machine claiming it was a case of machine malfunction, the opposition parties alleged tampering of the EVMs. “We replaced the machine which was malfunctioning immediately”, additional district magistrate of Meerut city told the Times of India.

A video of a voter, Tasleem Ahmed unsuccessfully trying to cast his vote for the BSP went viral on the social media. “I voted for BSP candidate. I am still holding the pressed button. The machine has recorded my vote as having gone to BJP. I’ve been waiting here for an hour but no solution has been found so far,” Ahmed can be heard saying in the video. The Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) leader, Mayawati, who has been campaigning against tampering of EVM machines since the Assembly polls in UP in March, has threatened to petition the court over the fresh incident of alleged tampering.

Meanwhile, the Urdu dailies Rashtriya Sahara and Inquilab have reported widespread protests in Kanpur city where again voters from many booths alleged that irrespective of the button they pressed, the vote went to the BJP.  The police resorted to lathi charge in some places to disperse the agitated crowds. Voters from polling booth number 58 in the Chekeri area of Kanpur who went to cast their votes alleged that irrespective of the button they pressed the machine registered a vote for the candidate with the BJP’s lotus symbol.

The voters also alleged that despite their complaint the voting was continuing. The Rashtriya Sahara reports that after a complaint was lodged with the polling officer the EVM machine was replaced.

Inquilab reported protests outside several booths in Kanpur city, following which polling officers had to replace the voting machines (EVMs). Booth number 978 in the Govind Nagar assembly segment was one place where irrespective of the buttons pressed the machines were registering all the votes in favour of “a particular party”. 

It was the same story at booth number 104 too. According to the Inquilab, EVMs had to be replaced at a total of 102 booths in Kanpur because of complaints.
 
The first phase of voting for civic polls was held in part of UP on Wednesday.  
 

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A 58-year-old self-styled godman in Rajasthan’s Alwar who allegedly raped a 21-year-old law student after promising her to make her a judge, is the latest in a series of scandals involving dubious Godmen, who has today been arrested reports NDTV.  Godmen who run large businesses and operations have been found to be close not just to the politically powerful but even those holding high constitutional positions, it is alleged.

Rajasthan Police, compelled to arrest the Baba after the complaint, said the man – Alwar-based Kaushlendra Falahari Maharaj who commands a strong following across India – allegedly raped the woman devotee on August 7 when she went to his ashram to offer her first stipend as a token of respect. The woman, a resident of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, lodged an FIR and state police took up the case on September 11.

A case was then lodged against 70-year-old Swami Kaushlendra Prapannachari Falahari Maharaj with the women police station here on September 11, said Bilaspur Additional Superintendent of Police Archana Jha, based on the complaint. The incident had allegedly taken place at Madhusudan ashram of the godman in Alwar, Rajasthan, on August 7 this year, she said.

“The family members of the victim have been devotees of the Maharaj for the past two decades. Recently, the woman, who is a law student, joined an internship at a company through the godman’s recommendation…. she came to Alwar to give the Maharaj Rs. 3,000 that she got as a stipend,” said Shishram Meena, station house officer, Aravali Vihar police station, Alwar, quoted by both The Hindustan Times and The Tribune.

Police said he allegedly raped her during this stay at the ashram in Alwar. The allegations have come roughly a month after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted for raping two women devotees 15 years ago. police said Singh’s conviction motivated the woman to make the complaint.

According to the criminal complaint, the parents of the woman, who is a student of law at Jaipur, are followers of Falahari Maharaj and have been for the past several years, the police officer said. It was on the baba’s recommendation, she did an internship under a senior lawyer in New Delhi for which she received a stipend of Rs 3,000. Her parents asked her to donate the stipend amount to the baba’s ashram in Alwar, the ASP said.
 
Following her parents’ advice, she went to the ashram on Raksha Bandhan last month. Citing occurrence of ‘grahan’ (eclipse) that day, the self-proclaimed religious guru advised her to stay in the ashram which she agreed to, Jha said. During the night, the baba called the woman in his room and allegedly sexually assaulted her, the ASP said, quoting from the complaint.
 
The baba asked her not to tell anyone about the incident and threatened to harm her if she did so, she said. When the survivor came home here this month, she narrated the ordeal to her parents following which a rape complaint was lodged with the women cell, Jha added.
 
A case was registered against the accused under IPC Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation), the police officer said.

The survivor’s statement was recorded before a magistrate here and the case diary sent to the Alwar Police for further action, she added.

“She was raped by the baba on the pretext of making her a judge. The girl came back to Bilaspur and narrated the whole incident to family members,” said additional superintendent of police, Bilaspur, Archana Jha. Rajasthan police added that the self-styled godman, who also has an ashram in Bilaspur, allegedly threatened the woman to not disclose the incident to anyone, citing his influence.

“The woman has said in the complaint that following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, she got courage and decided to report the matter to the police,” added Meena.

The accused was admitted to a private hospital on Wednesday. “Alwar police have taken up the investigation and we will also be speaking with the victim to know more about the case. As of now, we haven’t been able to question the godman as he is admitted in a hospital,” said Meena.

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In this August 16, 2017 photo, a Rohingya refugee girl looks through a mesh window at a camp set up for the refugees on the outskirts of Jammu.   | Photo Credit: AP

Yesterday, September 4, at the last hearing in the case, the Centre refuses to give undertaking in SC to stop deportation move against Rohingyas. “I am not making any such statements,” Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta says remaining non-committal to stop the deportation move  The Centre on Monday refused in the Supreme Court to give 40,000 Rohingya Muslim immigrants an assurance that it will not move for their deportation back to Myanmar.
 

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, remained non-committal on Monday when the two Rohingyas who moved the Supreme Court tried to draw an assurance that the government would not move against their community or take “coercive steps” as the apex court was now in the picture. The matter has now been listed on September 11.
 

Arguing his case, Prashant Bhushan said, “The 40,000 Rohingyas are the world’s most wretched people. They have been persecuted everywhere. Protect them,” Mr. Bhushan, assisted by advocate Pranav Sachdeva.As of now, the court refused to commit to anything. “Let’s see,” Chief Justice Misra said. The petition by the Rohingyas contended that any move to deport them would violate the constitutional guarantee of the Indian State to “protect the life and liberty of every human being, whether citizen or not.”
 

However, the Indian government plans to deport the people living here in various rehabilitation centres. Thankfully beyond all these moral, ethical arguments, lies the legal framework, on which Prashant Bhushan has filed a petition, which might be the only thing that will save the lives of the refugees.
 

The writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India seeks to secure and protect, the right against deportation, of the petitioner refugees in India, in keeping with the Constitutional guarantees under Article 14 and Article 21, read with Article 51(c) of the Constitution of India against arbitrary deportation of Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in India after escaping their home country Myanmar due to the widespread discrimination, violence and bloodshed against this community in their home country. The petitioners have been registered and recognised by the UNHCR in India in 2016 and have been granted refugee I-cards. The ‘Non Refoulement’ text, meaning we cannot deport people when they face imminent threat to their lives states:

“No contracting State shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” A copy of the Convention relation to the Status of Refugees, 1951

Though India is not a signatory of ‘UNHCR’ Refugee treaty, still it is applicable to India, as a part of customary international law, which is binding on India.

The Indian Constitution accords refugees some degree of constitutional protection while they are in India. The following constitutional provisions offer a framework for protecting the rights of refugees: 

● Article 51 (c) of the Indian Constitution, a Directive Principle of State Policy, requires fostering of respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another.

● Article 14, Right to equality states: “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.” This article guarantees to refugees in India, the right to equality before law and equal treatment under the law.

● Article 21, Right to life and liberty: “No person shall be deprived of his life of personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”. In according protection to refugees, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has interpreted these constitutional provisions to extend the protection of the right to equality and the right to life and personal liberty of refugees.
 

Cases cited in the plea before the Supreme Court are:

 “That the Supreme Court in its landmark judgement on the right to privacy dated 24th August 2017, in, Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) and Anr. v. UOI and Ors WP (C ) No. 494/2012, has categorically stated, “Constitutional provisions must be read and interpreted in a manner which would enhance their conformity with the global human rights regime. India is a responsible member of the international community and the Court must adopt an interpretation which abides by the international commitments made by the country particularly where its constitutional and statutory mandates indicate no deviation.”
 

Another excerpt from the petition:

“That In the National Human Rights Commission v. State of Arunachal Pradesh (1996) 1 SCC 742, the Supreme Court , states “Our Constitution confers certain rights on every human being and certain other rights on citizens. Every person is entitled to equality before the law and equal protection of the laws. So also, no person can be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure

established by law. Thus, the State is bound to protect the life and liberty of every human being, be he a citizen or otherwise”
 

Though India is not a signatory of UNHCR, as Kiren Rijiju has repeatedly stressed, we have a judgement which says the opposite.
 

“The Delhi High Court in Dongh Lian Kham v. Union of India, 226(2016) DLT 208, states, “The principle of “non-refoulement”, which prohibits expulsion of a refugee, who apprehends threat in his native country on account of his race, religion and political opinion, is required to be taken as part of the guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as “non-refoulement” affects/protects the life and liberty of a human being, irrespective of his nationality.”
 

The petition prays for the following:

1. An Order directing a stay on Deportations of members of the Rohingya community who are presently in India.
2. Directions to the Govt to ensure that petitioners and other members of the Rohingya community in India, such basic amenities to ensure that they can live in human conditions as required by International law in treatment of refugees.

If India goes ahead with their plan to deport Rohingyas, this would violate India’s commitment to international conventions which recognise the “Principle of Non-Refoulement.” This principle of customary international law prohibits the deportation of refugees to a country where they face threat to their lives.
 

The UNHRC Report of 2016 on the Human Rights violations and abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar has noted successive patterns of serious human rights violations to the right to life, liberty and security of the Rohingyas by state security forces and other officials in Mynamar.
 

Violations include summary executions, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment, forced labour, arbitrary arrest and detention of hundreds of Rohingyas, including women and children.
 

Recently, the National Human Rights Commission had also issued notice to the government on the proposed deportment.Panic struck the refugee community following media reports of a statement by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in Parliament in early August that the Central government has directed States to identify and deport illegal immigrants, including Rohingyas.
 

At heart, is the communally motivated Ctizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 of the Modi Regime that is currently before a Joint Committee of Parliament. The Modi regime seeks to pass this before the general elections of 2019. This rather perverse amendment., in its current formulation, seeks to exclude undocumented immigrants belonging to certain minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan (all majority-Muslim countries) — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians—from the category of illegal migrants making them eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. The list of religious minorities, inexplicably, excludes Muslim groups like the Ahmadis, who are also among the most persecuted religious minority in Pakistan. This essentially means that, while non-Muslim migrants become eligible for Indian citizenship, Muslims are denied this right.

Also Read:

How India’s Right-Wing Government Is Trying to Institutionalize Discrimination Against Muslim Migrants: New draft law seeks to privilege the non-Muslim migrant over Muslims.

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