The scene at the Wallajah Mosque in Triplicane is electrifying. Volunteers from the Sufi Dar temple located in Mylapore come to the Big Mosque every evening with the eatables for ‘Iftar’.

The volunteers, respectfully donning traditional Muslim caps, serve the fasting Muslims to break their fast. They help them with water bottles and dates to break the fast which is for 13 to 14 hours in this part of the world.

Every evening the Sufi Dar volunteers come carrying colorful buckets filled with eatables to the big mosque. They bring items like; fruit, milk, cooked rice, sweets, dates, watermelon, and packaged water.

“Each day we change the menu and give vegetable biriyani, channa rice, pulao, cauliflower rice etc,” said Harish Makkar, one of the volunteers from the Sufi Dar.  “Some 1000- 1200 Muslims gather daily at the mosque to break their fast. Volunteers or ‘sevadars’ from the Sufi Dar have been serving them faithfully for nearly four decades,” he adds.

“The Muslim brothers appreciate our activity, the sevadar (volunteer) said”, adding, “We do this as a service and with the motive that compassion knows no religion.”

“The important thing about our activity is the leftover food is distributed among the Hindu destitute who gather in large numbers every evening outside the mosque,” the volunteer explained.

As one enters the Sufi Dar, one is overwhelmed by the atmosphere of sanctity that prevails there. Pictures of several Muslim Sufi saints, Hindu saints and mystics, Jesus Christ and Mother Mary, Guru Nanak, and other Sikh gurus, religious leaders of Radhaswami and Chidakashi sects, and Sai Baba adorn the walls of Sufi Dar.

Marble statues of Lord Ganesh, Laxmi Narayan, Shiva Parvati, Radha Krishna, Lord Ram, Sita, Laxman, Hanuman, Durga Mata and Jhulelal Saint are tastefully arranged and placed there.

Every visitor, irrespective of his faith, is sure to behold his favorite deity and feel at home in Sufi Dar.

This beautiful tradition was started by Dada Ratanchand, a Hindu refugee from Sindh, who sought refuge in Chennai after the Partition of India.

Nawab Mohammad Ali Wallajah, the ancestor of Nawab Mohammad Abdul Ali, the current Prince of Arcot built the Big Mosque.

In a world often divided, this Chennai temple stands as a shining example of unity, reminding us that love, kindness, and tradition can bring communities together.

Related:

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Muslim community comes together to perform last rites of Hindu neighbour

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Operation Samadhan-Prahar has to be seen in the context of the Changing Nature of the Indian State, a new feature of the Second Republic that is in the offing, now called ‘New India.’

It is estimated that the Adivasi (indigenous peoples’) population is about 10 crores, 40 lakhs in India.  They live primarily concentrated in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, etc[1]. These states are richly endowed with natural resources that have underground mineral wealth that needs to be mined. These regions also have dense forests that have to be shorn and cut for this exploitation of mineral wealth.

Even though the areas where Operation Samadhan-Prahar is deployed are protected under the Provisions of the PESA or Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, of 1996 and Schedules V and VI of the Indian Constitution, the government has auctioned the mines located there to several corporates houses like Adani, Birla, and Vedanta, TATA and Jindal groups of industries without requisite consent of the gram sabhas of communities authorised under statute for prior sanction.

Adani is exploiting Hasdeo Aranya and Dantewada for Coal and Iron Ore. Aditya Birla, L&T, and Utkal Alumina are exploiting Rayagada/Kashipur in Odisha for Bauxite, Vedanta for Bauxite in Lanjigarh, Niyamgiri, Odisha, TATA steel for Iron ore in Jajpur, Kalinganagar, Odisha and JSW Utkal Steel in Dhinkia village, Jagatsinghpur for Iron. All this assault on India’s forests where Adivasis and indigenous peoples live has and will have a severe impact on climate change but then, who cares?

These corporates are allegedly paying the bureaucrat of the state and union governments to freely exploit minerals resources. However, this institutionalised plunder is also being met with stiff resistance by the indigenous population. The tribal gram sabhas empowered under the PESA Act have been organising rallies, dharnas, and other forms of peaceful protests to resist the exploitation of their natural habitat and natural resources. Cynically, the government (Indian State) has erringly dubbed them as “Maoist insurgency.’

It is in this context that Operation Samadhan-Prahar needs to be assessed, especially in terms of methods employed to eliminate the indigenous population of India. In January 2023, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the government’s effort is to make the country “free of Maoism” and this narrative is likely to be central to the upcoming 2024 parliamentary polls. Later in March 2023 he again reiterated that the fight against “the Maoist is in its final phase”. In saying this, he has vowed to “eliminate the tribal resistance” in the country.

Violence under operation Samadhan-Prahar 

On April 7, 2023, bombs were dropped aerially with the help of drones on the tribal of Bhattum, Kavurugatta, Meenagatta, and Jabbagatta villages of Bastar district, Chhattisgarh. This was the fourth bombing since 2021, the first happened on April 19, 2021, the second on April 15, 2022, third on January 11, 2023. After the bombing, three helicopters were used by the Air Force for firing at the local tribal population.

Integral to Operation Samadhan-Prahar, are the government-established military camps in the tribal areas. The armed forces have turned the rich, forested local habitat of Adivasis including their land, forest, and water bodies into jails or concentration camps!

On May 17, 2021, four Adivasis were killed by CRPF for protesting against the setting up of a CRPF camp on a 10-acre agricultural field in Silger, Bastar. On May 22, 2021, an Adivasi youth was shot dead by CRPF for collecting mangoes near the CRPF camp in Silger. On January 14, 2022, the villagers were physically attacked ruthlessly by 500-member paramilitary and state police after they protested against the encroachment of their land.

It is not only government forces but also the private militia of corporates that are deployed against the indigenous tribal and forest dweller population in the region. The infamous Salwa Judum militia which widely burned houses and murdered and was even accused of raping Adivasis was allegedly funded by TATA and trained by government forces. In fact, close to a dozen years back, in 2011, the Supreme Court had declared as illegal and unconstitutional the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers. [2]Though the primary source for funding the government forces is public money, in reality and practice, large sections of the Indian armed forces (in these regions at least) have become the private armies of the corporates.

In 2016, the government introduced the Road Connectivity Project in the Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA) for “development purposes of the region”.  Though proclaiming development, in reality, these roads were used by corporate companies to move their vehicles, transport their mining machinery, and for patrolling local populations and movement. The security forces reportedly used military vehicles manufactured by TATA to protect the corporates.

Defaming the Resistance

The union government has therefore left no stone unturned to defame the local, indigenous and tribal resistance to the state and corporate encroachment of their habitat. The state has actually unleashed a barrage of fake news and propaganda, a sinister campaign to defame this resistance through the mass media. When Adivasis have resisted the security forces’ occupation of their schools, the news flashed carried headlines like, “Maoist’s attack schools.” The extra-judicial targeted killings of protesters were presented “as genuine, in the public interest” by the media and the dead were described as “Maoist insurgents”. In later days when public memory faded, judicial investigations have found many of them to be fake encounters.

Often, in the changed and polarised public atmosphere with an increasingly aggressive Indian state, even the courts are now being used to defame this tribal resistance blaming Maoist insurgency. Chhatisgarh-based Gandhian, Himanshu Kumar has been penalised five lakhs by Supreme Court along while dismissing a petition filed by him and 12 Adivasi villagers in 2009 that demanded an independent probe into the extra-judicial killings of Adivasis in Gompad, Chattisgarh. The judgement that has attracted widespread criticism was passed on July 13, 2022.[3]

The infamous Gompad Massacre led to 16 Adivasis belonging to the villages of Belpocha, Nulkatong, Gompad, and Gachanpalli being murdered by armed forces and Salwa Judum militia between 17 September 2009 and October 1, 2009. During the same onslaught, a two-year-old baby’s finger was chopped off by those wielding guns for the Indian state after allegedly raping and killing his mother.

However the Supreme Court, based on the version put forward by the state, concluded that it was Maoists who had killed the Adivasis despite relatives of victims, villagers, human rights organisations, and social activists saying that the massacre was committed by the forces representing the government.

Arrests of activists and human rights defenders under UAPA are also strategies employed by Operation Samadhan Prahar. The murder of Fr. Stan Swamy who fought for Adivasis and against their displacement, the jailing of Prof GN Saibaba for protesting against corporatisation and militarization, and the incarceration of Adivasi woman Hidma Marke for leading the protest against Adani’s Bailadila iron-ore mine in Chhattisgarh are all directly or indirectly connected with  operation Samadhan Prahar.

Under Operation Samadhan Prahar such fake encounters, torture, sexual violence, rape, and enforced disappearances are reportedly deployed as “tactics of counter-insurgency”. The government justifies combing operations against left-wing extremism as a counter-insurgency method, but in reality, it is indirectly facilitating corporates to plunder the natural wealth of the region and displace the local, indigenous tribal population inhabiting those places.

Conclusion

“Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas- Report of an Expert Group to India’s Planning Commission”, has concluded with the finding that military suppression cannot finish the resistance of Adivasis and Maoists. It also analyses the phenomenon of locals support for the Maoists in terms of the one-sided exploitation by the Indian state that includes violent and enforced displacement and capture of resources by corporates. This is the primary factor responsible for compelling people to engage in this “war to protect themselves” against the government which is under Oath to the Constitution to protect lives, liberty and resources of all its citizens.

The unilateral war declared under Operation Samadhan Prahar by the Indian state is aimed at more than the ten crore forty lacks Adivasis and their natural habitats. It is in fact a war against all the Indian people, the entire country, motivated by a desire to align with and help a handful of corporates. This is the unique feature of New India. This will be proclaimed as as the Second Republic, in all likelihood, in 2024.

(The author is a journalist based in Chennai)

[1] Though Assam and other states of the North-East, Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand also have indigenous populations some not recognized officially as Scheduled Tribes (STs) by state governments.

[2]
In a blow to both the Chhattisgarh government—then ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the union government led by the Congress dominated United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Supreme Court had declared as illegal and unconstitutional the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers – either as ‘Koya Commandos’, Salwa Judum or any other force – in the fight against the Maoist insurgency and ordered their immediate disarming. The ruling, delivered by Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar on a writ petition filed by social anthropologist Prof. Nandini Sundar and others – strongly indicted the Indian State for violating Constitutional principles in arming youth who had passed only fifth standard and conferring on them the powers of police.

[3]  A Division Bench consisting of Justices AM Khanwilkar and JB Pardiwala y dismissed a writ petition filed in 2009 seeking independent investigation into alleged extra-judicial killings of tribals in Chhattisgarh by security forces filed by activist Himanshu Kumar and 12 others.

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The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, intends to link demographic and biometric information with the identification of citizens in an attempt to make all the natural citizens of India to be looked at as ‘suspects.’ The law is draconian and against the principle of civil liberties, human rights and against the tenets of Indian Constitution. It is apparent that with such an Act a permanent Emergency architecture is being constructed in the country.   

The Lok Sabha on April 4, 2022, passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, in 2022 with a voice vote. The Bill was strongly opposed by the Opposition members in the Parliament and their demand for sending the Bill to the Parliamentary Standing Committee was not given any consideration by the members of the treasury bench.

What is the Act all about?

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 seeks to empower the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of India to collect, store and preserve the record of ‘measurements’ and for sharing, dissemination, destruction, and disposal of records. It empowers a Magistrate to order any person to give the ‘measurements’ for the purpose of investigation. 

The Act empowers a head constable of a police station or a head warden of jail to take ‘measurements’ of convicts as well as those in preventive detention. If the said person resists, he can be charged under the Indian Penal Code.

The Bill aims to authorise taking ‘measurements’ of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters. It is to preserve records and for matters connected therewith. The definition of ‘measurement’ indicates that it is likely linked to DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 as well. 

According to Section 2 (b), ‘measurements’ includes finger-impressions, palm-print impressions, foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, physical, biological samples and their analysis, behavioral attributes including signatures, handwriting or any other examination referred to in section 53 or section 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. 

The biometric-based measurement identification is an attempt to create unique identification numbers for each citizen of the country. The idea is to have unauthorized control over citizens by the use of these technologies. In sum the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 is an attempt to make India a police state. 

Why the Act is opposed? 

The Act is opposed by civil rights groups and activists for being unconstitutional.  It is seen as an assault on the privacy of the citizens. The bill is a direct violation of Fundamental Rights. It is an open-ended provision that infringes on the liberties of an individual. It is an attempt to make India, a surveillance state.

The words ‘biological samples and their analysis’ in the Bill could extend to narco-analysis and brain mapping and DNA tests. This is clearly violative of Article 20 (3) of the Constitution.

The provision in the Bill for retaining the ‘measurements’ for 75 years from the date of collection of data is contrary to the principles of data minimization and storage limitation, laid down in the Puttaswamy and Aadhaar judgment. The provisions of the Bill are in violation of the Right to be Forgotten enshrined in the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution. It is in opposition to the spirit of human rights and civil liberties enshrined in Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.  

The main opposition to the Bill is the concern about the misuse of the legislation by police and prison authorities. The information gathered in the name of the safety of the nation is an attempt to breach the elementary rights of the citizens assured by the Constitution of India.

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 repeals the legislation enacted by the British in 1920 has fewer safeguards than the colonial law. The proposed measure in the bill lacks safeguards on the issue of the data collected and protected properly. It could lead to a violation of the privacy of a person who is not even been convicted. As such there are not sufficient safeguards in the Act.

According to some civil rights activists, the objective of the Act is not to establish the prisoner’s identity but to establish the crime of the accused. This probably makes the bill susceptible to being misused.  

Even more problematic is the increase in the power of the State, by facilitating invasive biometric measurements for all arrested, convicted, and detained persons, regardless of the gravity of the offense.

Another concern is that the powers of the police and jail officers are being widened by this Act. Under the new legislation, ‘measurements’ may be taken by the police to gather samples not solely from convicts but also from those arrested and even detained under any preventive detention legislation. 

This may be expanded to all persons who are placed under arrest in any case. This is worrisome indeed because it is a blatant curtailment of fundamental rights.

The new Act can be applied to petty crimes such as violating a prohibitory order for not wearing a mask or a traffic violation even peaceful Satyagraha. A more worrying feature of the Bill is, that a person, who has never been arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation, can be ordered by a magistrate to collect the samples of ‘measurements.’

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 if taken to its logical conclusion is an attempt to create a comprehensive profile of all the citizens in this country. And that amounts to making the fundamental rights redundant.   

The ramifications of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, of 2022 are quite lethal to the country. Unless the Supreme Court becomes alive to the impending danger posed by this Act to the country, the writing on the wall is clear; India has become a police state.  

*The author is a journalist based in Chennai.

Related:

The DNA Bill: A perfect recipe for absolute surveillance and zero privacy

How CIA Can Access India’s Biometric Aadhar Database: Indian Sovereignity Under Threat?

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Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has said it will run awareness campaigns across the country in support of raising the minimum marriage age of Muslim women.

The Union government has introduced the “Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021” in the winter session of Parliament last year. The Bill seeks to increase the age of marriage of women from 18 years to 21 years. The Bill has been sent to the Parliamentary standing committee for examination.

Mohammed Afzal, the national convener of MRM said his team will visit all the districts of Uttar Pradesh to raise awareness on raising the Muslim women’s minimum marriage age. He further said the Muslim community should be made aware of the ill effects of various issues plaguing the community.  These are triple talaq, halala, polygamy, hijab, the marriage of girls attaining puberty, etc.

The Manch has called for a nationwide discussion on these issues. The discussions will be held with the cross-section of the Muslim community. “Various cells of the Manch will prepare a plan of reforms by taking together different sections of the society and will implement them in a sequential manner across the country,” he said.

The MRM is a Muslim organisation that’s inspired by RSS ideology. It was formed in 2002 in the presence of the then RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan with the stated aim of bringing Muslim communities close to Hindus in India. MRM has 10,000 volunteers and its website is www.muslimrashtriyamanch.org.

The MRM has also expressed support for many of the causes espoused by the RSS, including the banning of cow slaughter. It also supported the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’. “Our Muslim brothers should understand that Vande Mataram is the national song and every Indian citizen should respect and recite it,” said Afzal adding that those Muslims who refuse to sing it are opponents of both Islam and India.

In August 2008, MRM organised a Paigham-e-Aman (message of peace) yatra from the Red Fort in Delhi to Kashmir in support of land allocation for the Amarnath pilgrimage.

In November 2009, the MRM organised a Tiranga yatra (march in honor of the national flag) leading to the Gateway of India in Mumbai, protesting against terrorism. One thousand volunteers took a pledge against terror and vowed to campaign against it in their home districts.

In September 2012, the MRM organised a signature campaign to revoke Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted limited autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and claimed to have collected 7,00,000 signatures.

When questioned about Modi’s involvement in the Gujarat riots, Afzal stated, “Had Mr. Modi been involved in the riots, his police would not have fired 1,200 rounds and killed over 200 rioters. Every court has acquitted him. And there has not been a single incident of communal violence in Gujarat since 2002.”

The MRM has also expressed its views that ‘Yoga’ has nothing to do with religion. It further stated that “Namaaz is one sort of Yoga asana”. His statement was supported by the Union Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), though many Hindu organisations had objections to it.

*Views expressed are the author’s own. Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai.

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022, has brought uncertainty to the lives and futures of nearly 4,00,000 Muslims who call the country their home, the majority being Crimean Tatar. According to an estimate, as many as 1,00,000 Muslims are living in the capital Kyiv alone, while others are in other war-torn cities like Kherson, etc.

The other ethnic Muslim groups in Ukraine besides Crimean Tatar are Volga Tatars, Azeris, North Caucasians, and Uzbeks. After the Russian invasion, the future of the Ukrainian Muslims hangs in balance and largely depends on the ongoing diplomatic efforts by world leaders to defuse the escalating tensions.

The Union of Islamic Communities of Italy has urged Muslim communities in the country, and across Europe, to open the doors of their centers so they can be safe havens for those fleeing from war in Ukraine. Muslim communities throughout Italy have been organising local initiatives to collect food and medicine to be donated to Ukraine, in cooperation with the Catholic organisations.

In this regard, there is little effort made by the Muslim countries. In fact, their reaction to the current Ukraine war does not inspire any hope. While Turkish President Erdogan has criticised the Russian invasion, Iran has accused the U.S. and the West of causing the ‘problem’ in Ukraine. The other Muslim countries are silent about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and they have no words of support for the fleeing Ukrainian Muslims.  

To recall, in March 2014, Russia annexed Crimea after a disputed and internationally rejected referendum. The occupying forces immediately began to crack down on the Crimean Muslims. The war displaced some 7,50,000 Muslims from the Crimea peninsula and they moved to the capital Kyiv and Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine.

Now with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the nightmare of persecution once again looms large over the minds of Muslims and they are worried about their future. The renewed threat of their displacement by the Russians, lays their future uncertain, and they fear being treated in the same way as they were in 2014, during the Crimea war.

The history of Muslims in Ukraine is associated with the Crimean Tatars, the Turkic-speaking descendants of Turkic and non-Turkic peoples who had settled in Eastern Europe as early as the 7th century. The Crimean Tatars are a Muslim ethnic group indigenous to the Crimean Peninsula, on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Muslim settlements are concentrated in the countries in the southern half, particularly in Crimea, although there are Lipka Tatar colonies in other regions such as Volhynia and Podolia.

Muslims established the Crimean Khanate in southern Ukraine in the 15th century. The Khanate soon lost its sovereignty and fell to the Ottoman Empire, although its local rulers retained a significant degree of autonomy. The Khanate ended after growing Russian influence leading to its annexation into the Russian Empire after the Russo-Turkish Wars in the late 18th century. At the time when the Khanate was annexed by Russia, its capital of Bakhchysarai had at least 18 mosques along with several madrassas. Later, at the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Muslims constituted one-third of Crimea’s population. Nearly all major cities in Crimea had a significant Muslim population.

However, the Russian Empire began persecuting the Muslims. Crimean Muslims were subjected to mass deportation in 1944 by Joseph Stalin who accused them of collaborating with Nazi Germany. This stigma was propagated about the Muslims despite tens of thousands of Crimean Tatars serving in the Red Army.

In 1944, more than 200,000 Crimean Muslims were deported to Central Asia, primarily to Uzbekistan. They were forced onto the cattle trains and exiled. It is estimated that about half of them died due to the harsh journey, starvation, and subsequent diseases.  

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Crimean peninsula became part of Ukraine, and the exiled Muslims were asked to return to their homeland. The repatriation though began in 1989, accelerated after 1991. The returnees faced challenges such as being blocked from buying or renting homes, including those that they had previously owned before the deportation.

Estimates of the Ukrainian Muslim population vary. According to a 2011 Pew Forum study estimate, the Ukrainian Muslim population is about 3,93,000, but the Clerical Board of Ukraine’s Muslims claim that there are two million Muslims living in Ukraine. According to another report of 2012 an estimated 5,00,000 Muslims live in Ukraine, among them, are as many as 3,00,000 are Crimean Tatars.

The condition of the Muslims in Ukraine has been improving since 1991, that is since Ukraine’s independence. During the Soviet era, Ukrainian Muslims were not allowed to practice their religion in open but after 1991, Muslims were allowed to pray in their mosques.

There are other notable developments taking place with regard to Ukrainian Muslims since 1991. A Crimean Tatar representative body was formed to be called Mejlis in 1991. In addition, Crimean Tatar language schools were introduced to reverse the effects of the Soviet ban on the study of the language. Now Muslims in Ukraine have 445 communities, 433 ministers, and 160 mosques, more mosques being built there slowly and steadily. There are nearly 360 registered Ukrainian Muslim communities and organisations, including several charitable organisations.

Muslims in Ukraine lead an Islamic way of life. Weddings are conducted as per Islamic rituals, halal food is served, and Islamic education for children and adults and other facilities are provided. Ramadan programs are organised in a big way. During the month of Ramadan, there are about 800-1,000 people who visit the Central Mosque in Kyiv for iftar and Tarawih prayers daily.

The assumption is Russia may not persecute the Muslims of Ukraine as it has done before, because there is no reason for doing so. It is believed that Vladimir Putin has built a brand image for himself in the Muslim world that he is the only leader that can stand up to Western anti-Muslim biases. In the war against Ukraine, he must deploy this Russian capital in the most effective way and spare the Muslims from any harm to gain the support of Muslims from all over the world.

*The author is a journalist based in Chennai.

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Ukraine invasion: Indian student killed in Kharkiv, right-wing blames the victim!
Kashmir and Crimea – where is the difference?

The post Plight of Ukraine’s Muslims amidst the Russian Invasion appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image courtesy: Indian Express

Muslims mourn the first 10 days of Muharram month and this mourning is observed in different ways in different parts of the world.

However, in a sleepy village of Tamil of Tamil Nadu, Muharram is observed as ‘Allah Festival’ by the Hindu residents with equal fervor as Muslim brethren do so in other places of the world.

The residents of Kasanadu Pudu, in Thanjavur district who are predominantly Hindus except for a handful of Muslims, start preparation for the festival ten days in advance. They clean the vicinity of the Allah temple (Koil) near the public square of the village. They paint and decorate the Koil with new green flags, flowers and decorative lights.

On the eve of Muharram, the Hindu women of the village take out a procession from each street that ends at ‘Allah Koil.’  They carry a large pot filled with sweetened water atop their heads with a small pot over the larger pot that has puffed rice and jiggery inside.  Members of the Muslim families also conduct some rituals and offer puffed rice and jaggery to the Allah Koil.
 

As the procession proceeds through the village streets, residents pay obeisance to the hand symbols from their houses and those who make vows offer garlands made of lemon and silk towels to the symbols.

The procession ends on the 10^th Muharram and those holding the finger symbols and those making vows, observe a fire-walk ritual by walking bare foot on the burning fire.

With this activity, the festival comes to a close and the finger symbols are deposited at the Allah Koil.  It will be taken out again next year for the Allah festival on the eve of Muharram.

The tradition of the ‘Allah festival’ celebration is quite ancient. A legend has it that some villagers of Kasanadu Pudu saw a light in the flowing water of Pudhu Aaru River which passes near the village. A resident found a hand symbol with five fingers made of metal. Later, he had a dream in which a Muslim saint told him that he would be residing in this village to bestow his blessings to the villagers.

As such this became the reason for ‘Allah festival’ that is celebrated every year beginning from the first day of Muharram and concluded on the 10^th day of Muharram.

M Singaravel, a native of the village who works as a health inspector with the health department said, ‘Allah festival’ is a faith based festival celebrated by the Hindu residents of Kasanadu Pudu village from centuries. There is an emotional attachment to the festival as many people’s vows being getting fulfilled in this festival.

“I had vowed to offer a silk shawl, if my daughter got a seat in the desired course,” Singaravel said adding his wish was granted.

Apart from Kasanadu Pudu village ‘Allah festival’ is also celebrated in a few other villages including Ko Vallundampattu near Thanjavur. The most fascinating part of this festival is the excitement with which Hindu families start preparation for the festival.  The natives of the village working elsewhere in various places make it a point to come to their village especially to attend the celebration of ‘Allah festival.’

This is a remarkable story of the survival of little tradition in the country, at a time when the great tradition of Hindutva is bulldozing all other tradition under the juggernaut of ‘Jai Sri Ram.’  This ‘little tradition’ of syncretic culture upholds the liberal values of Hinduism and maintains the communal harmony of the country.
 
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com

Courtesy: Two Circle

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The BJP government with a sledge hammer of brute Parliamentary majority has integrated the state into the Indian union without any consultation debate or discussion with any of its stake holders. It’s an unprecedented move that will have far reaching consequences that only time may tell.

The first thing is that this Parliamentary legislation will certainly be challenged in the Supreme Court. Some experts of law have shown their reservation about the hurriedly brought legislation that may not withstand the legal scrutiny. However, we have to wait for final verdict of the Apex court before rejoicing at the government’s promulgation.

In case, if the apex court does not give its approval to this Parliamentary legislation what will happen next? Are we prepared to accept the supremacy of the Parliamentary legislation over the Supreme Court verdict? Will this be a right precedent?

Many may agree that the way this legislation was brought in the Rajya Sabha is an assault on federal character of India. If the state of Jammu and Kashmir can be turned into Union territory, clearly it indicates that India that any other state may fall victim to the whims and fancy of Parliamentary majority. The act of the central government clearly outlines that India is a unitary state with federal features, where only the will of the majority in Parliament prevails.

The same fate may wait for Nagaland and Tamil Nadu. While Nagaland wants greater Nagaland, that is impossible to grant, the obvious solution will be turning the state into Union territory and govern it from New Delhi.

Somewhat similar case is with Tamil Nadu too. Here there is acute abhorrence towards the Hindi language and Aryan culture and this do not fit into Hindi Hindu Hindustan narrative of the north India. So Tamil Nadu too does not comply with the central government’s scheme of thought and will it be victimized with unitary move by the Union government.

Article 370 was a bridge between India and Kashmir. Now, Kashmir is converted into a colony or vassals of India. As such Kashmiris are put in Chains. There will be struggle to break the shackle and definitely there will be struggle for freedom. Henceforth the occupational army will be pitted against the strugglers for freedom. As for sure violence will be order of the day in that state for a long timed.

There will be spurt in militancy and it will be from three cornered. First, the global jihadists who are busy fighting in West Asia may head to new theater of Islamic Jihad that is Kashmir. With the abrogation of article 370, an invitation has already been sent to the IS1S and Al Qida to come to Kashmir and fight holy Jehad.

Then Pakistani militants and Afghan Taliban are keen to take on the might of Indian state.  They may be keen to play ‘Holi’ with our brave Jawans. The third source of violence will come from the local armed rebels. There will be more recruitment of local youth to join the militant fold. In such situation peace will definitely become causality and violence will gain prominence.

It is not the politician who will bear the brunt of the abrogation of Article 370 but our brave soldiers who may have to do the dirty job of holding the territory and maintaining peace. Already as many as 600,000 Indian soldiers are stationed in Kashmir to suppress the rebellion, how many more soldiers will be added to it, is anyone’s guess.

Now in such atmosphere of rebellion and carnage there will be violation of human rights. The human rights watch group will make much noise about mass murders. The human rights activities will frame India for creating conflict and may seek its resolution with the global community. In such situation India’s moral high ground of being peace lovers and victim of cross border terrorism will definitely take a beating.

If such situation arise who will bail India out in Security Council. Can we stand to Pax Americana that would certainly have besides US, France, England and China on its side. It Russia alone that may have differing voice but its vote can’t be taken for granted. That means our diplomats have to make extra effort to paint India’s peaceful intentions and keep pinning down Pakistan as source of terrorism. Will they be successful in such acts of diplomacy and if they are unable to do so, are we prepared to tackle such any eventuality?

It’s apparent that only war will decider of the fate of Kashmir. With the abrogation of Article 370, India has given an open invitation of confrontation with Pakistan. Now there is no space for negotiation with Pakistan left now. It’s for sure there will be no dialogue with Pakistan for long time to come. Pakistan will certainly make noise about this development and appeal for tri-lateralism at various international forums. Can we tell them to shut up!

Pakistani will certainly say from now that it does not recognize Simla agreement. It does not recognize the line of control and bilateralism is now a dead horse. Can we force them to our point of view and make them stick to bilateralism? Are we prepared to tackle the fall out of Pakistan’s propaganda?

Last but not the least, all the political leaders in Jammu Kashmir have lost their relevance in the state as the Union Territory is going to run by the Lt Governor.  The political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir who have been calling the shots on democratic plank in the state are being reduced to become irrelevant. Will they sit in peace and sing India’s tune now.

It is beyond comprehension to what extent these political leaders of different hues will create trouble for India. As up to now they were the only ones who had held lid on the simmering discontent in Kashmir.  Now they will be all united to confront the writ of Indian state by opening the lid.

In order to bring sanity in the strife torn region next on the agenda of the Indian union will be to try ethnic cleansing of the Kashmiri Muslims and changing the demography of the Kashmir valley. This move will go against globally accepted conventions and there will huge international fall out. Are we prepared to hold the Apple that Newton did in the park in the process inventing the theory of gravity!

So in such mournful atmosphere created after the abrogation of Article 370, how the hearts and minds of the people of Kashmir can be won over? They already have a sulking heart being suffers for long time in hope of some justice meted out to them. But now with the abrogation of article 370 this hope has vanished in thin air. How can such sullen soul be brought in sync with the rest of India? Perhaps another Shiekh Abdullah that may fulfill the BJP’s vision has to be searched out.

As far as Indian Muslims are concerned, they have no choice other than to support the majority of the countrymen’s point of view. Some may have silent prayers on their lips to protect the oppressed people of Kashmir. They cannot do anything beyond that as they will be branded as antinational and terrorists.

So the view of Indian Muslim on the abolition 370 could be; banā kar faqīroñ kā ham bhes ‘ġhālib’- tamāshā-e-ahl-e-CHAMAN dekhte haiñ.  Meaning; I disguise myself as saint or anybody and watch the activities of my motherland.

Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com

Courtesy: Counter Current

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In deeper introspection, it turned out to be a tale of human love cutting across religion and other parochialism that could be an eye opener to those who are forcing the Muslims to chant Jai Sri Ram and killing them for being an Indian Muslim.

The 46-year-old Sreedharan’s facebook post is an amazing account of how interfaith bonds survive in India even in these trouble times when Hindus minds were rigged in just concluded General Election of 2019.

A pious Muslim couple Subaida Thennad and Abdul Azeez Haji had three children of their own and they fostered three more, Sreedharan and his two elder sisters Ramani and Leela. The Muslim couple adopted these Hindu kids when their widow mother, Chakki passed away due to sudden illness. Having no one to look after these three Hindu children, Subaida took them under her wings, with Sreedharan being hardly one, and others being less than five years of age.

The three Hindu children were raised by Subaida in her house as practicing Hindus along with her own three practicing Muslim children. In the mornings, when the three Muslim children went to the madrasa, the three Hindu kids were sent temple to learn about their religion.

All the six children lived in the same house under one roof, in the care of the loving Muslim parents.  They all ate together, played together and slept together and woke up together without an feelings of religious divide between them.

“Our foster parents brought us up like their own children and educated us. They got my sisters married off. Though we were taken in at an impressionable age, they never tried to convert us to their religion, said Sreedharan, who works in Oman in the FB post adding, his foster mother to him was like her own mother (Umma).

News of her mother’s death shattered Sreedharan who cried on his personal loss, holding bottles of perfume that he had bought for his beloved mother in Oman. He chose not to rush home in Kerala as he lacked courage to see her dead body. And instead wept and prayed for the departed soul.

The death of Subaida Thennad would have gone unnoticed outside her home in Kalikavu village in Nilambur taluk of Malappuram district in Kerala. It is her foster son, Sreedharan, who had put up a Facebook post that tickled many funnels hearing such tale of communal harmony, where recently one Tabrez Ansari was done to death by a Hindu mob for reasons Ansari being an Indian Muslim.

Another story of Communal harmony has come from Belarikhan village under the Gosaiganj Assembly constituency in Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh. Here in a rare gesture some Hindus have donated 1.25 bighas of land to Muslims for using it as their burial ground.

As per records, the land belonged to the Hindus but some Muslims have buried their dead since it was by the side of a graveyard. The land had been a bone of contention between the two communities and there were disputes and tension over this issue for years between them.

However some nine Hindu gentlemen who were shareholders of the land, signed a registered deed for 1.25 bighas of land in favour of the Qabristan Committee, Gosainganj on to bury their hatchet once and for all.

Khabbu Tiwari, the local BJP MLA who took the initiative said; “It’s a gift from the Hindu community through a proper deed and stamp duty, as the tradition of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood in Ayodhya has a long history. This is a small token of love from Hindus to Muslims and I hope this amity will continue,” he added.

In these days of Hindu religious fundamentalism where some radical Hindus are trying to lynch Muslim through mob attacks, such tales of goodness must be highlighted.  These are rare instances of interfaith gestures of communal harmony in the country and reflect how India society is interwoven from below.

These stories will definitely give a tight slap to those relentlessly working overtime to increase the religious divide between the Hindus and Muslims in the country. It’s also a lesson or two those who are indulging in the conspiracy of silence by not opening up their mouths against those perpetrating hate crimes against Muslims in India.

German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) has rightly said; first they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com

Courtesy: Counter Current
 

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Now, when the heat and dust of over such monumental shame is settling down, it is time to take stock of the situation. This should begin with the acknowledgment of those who are the prime movers of this news into the public domain.

First mover and shaker of this news is the “Team Koshish” (field-action programme of Tata Institute of Social Sciences) that conducted the ‘Social Audit’ of the Muzafarpur shelter home and brought out the shocking irregularities. The ‘Koshish team’ is worthy of praise because they have worked in an extremely hostile milieu to audit the lives of the marginalised destitute, homeless and beggars and brought out the graphic details.

Even though, all the members of the ‘Koshish team’ deserve accolade, the special one must go to Mohammad Tarique (an Ashoka Fellow) who led the team from the front with excellence and passion. He selflessly supervised an outfit of youth committed to prepare the audit report impartially and bring the finding in an extremely tight time frame.

The second kudos goes to Atul Prasad, Principal Secretary, ‘Social Welfare Department’ government of Bihar for envisioning such an unprecedented social audit. He deserves bigger accolade for accepting the truth and publishing the “TISS Report” and making it public. The truth may have remained buried in the files of Social Welfare department of Bihar had it not the gone public with the TISS report

The third person who deserves credit accolade is Ms Harpreet Kaur, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Muzafarpur. It is her investigation which had made skeletons tumble out. She showed promptness to lodge the FIR in this case and arrested the key accused. She has shown to the country what an upright police officer can do if allowed to handle such sensitive cases.

The case so far and where it’s heading? A nationally reputed NGO carried out a social audit of the state run shelter home and based on evidence of ‘inmates’ reported the instances sexual assault on them. The social welfare department of the state made the report public.

Following which the Superintendent of police filed FIR and book the culprits. In the process police have video-graphed evidence based on statements of victims. The independent medical board from reputed medical college of the state corroborated the incidents of rape.

There was a public hue and cry for speedy disposal of case and exemplary punishment for those found guilty. After that the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar handed over the case to the CBI for investigation. He declared that no culprit, however powerful will be spared.

It is likely that the CBI will carry out further investigation of this case and collect more clinching evidences to make it a water tight case. Then the case will be heard in a court and justice will to deliver justice in a time frame.

It is now clear that most of the rape was committed on minors and falls within the jurisdiction of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act 2012.

Under the new provision of POSCO Act that was amended in 2018 after “Asifa rape case” states that “all accused are guilty till proven innocent.” This is a significant shift from the previous position that, “All accused are innocent till proven guilty.”

This Muzafarpur shelter home case is a rarest of the rare case, where under the new provision of POSCO Act 2018 the accused can be given death sentence for raping of minors below 12. It is expected from the custodian of justice to award award maximum punishment to those pathological criminals found guilty of committing such heinous crime.

Muzafarpur shelter home expose has blown over the lid of such horrific crime. The National Human Right Commission Reports testify to the fact that such sexual abuse of girls and women are more of a norm than exception in Mental Hospitals government, private or NGO run homes.
It is high time that all the state government to fast-track all such social audit and make it public. An honest audit by the bunch of committed youth like those of ‘Koshish team’ can deliver the desired results.

Such social audit should have full state support and protection and be combined with speedy follow up action. The various reforms suggested in the audit report should be implemented expeditiously by the state governments and monitored periodically.

Another concern is how to reorganize the rehabilitation programme. These girls are victims of social and psychological malaise of the society; they have been protection in the shelter homes to escape from the society. Now in such protected home they have been physically and psychologically humiliated. A full proof rehabilitation programme of these victims poses a big challenge to the state governments.

There are no quick-fix solutions to such problems. The heart of the matter is that governments are absolving themselves from the welfare responsibilities and handing it over to some non-governmental organizations. This is the biggest take away from this story.

There is no quick fix solution to such national shame. This malaise will not be set right unless the governments become proactive in discharging the social duties. It is a very serious issue and the response to it should be in proportion to the pandemonium created in the country today.

Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com

Courtesy: https://countercurrents.org
 

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