Expressing its concerns over the recent amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 (aka UP anti-conversion law), United Christian Forum (UCF) has submitted a detailed memorandum to UP Governor Anandiben Patel highlighting the misuse of the law by right-wing extremists and alleged police bias. The Forum, on August 19, also demanded that the legislation be repealed as well as the recent amendment to the law, which was passed by the UP legislature this month.

The memo titled, “Memorandum pertaining to Concerns Regarding the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024” said that it aims to draw the Governor’s attention to  the stringent measures proposed under the recent amendment bill against fraudulent or forced religious conversions; the role of police in colluding with Hindutva groups whilst turning a blind eye to offenses committed against Christians, and “the correlation between increased violence and the enactment of the anti-conversion laws.”

UCF pointed out that in many cases false complaints under the anti-conversion law were filed against members of minority communities by third parties who were not related in any way to the alleged victims of fraudulent conversions, thus revealing the communal agenda behind such harassment tactics. The memorandum also conveyed its worry over the recent amendment bill to the UP anti-conversion law and observed that “The broad and ambiguous language of the Bill emboldens individuals and groups to target religious minorities under the pretext of preventing fraudulent conversions. The provision allowing ‘any person’ to lodge a complaint widens the door to accusations driven by personal, political, or communal biases, leading to a wave of violence and harassment against these communities.”

The representation also referred to the study published by Article 14 wherein the latter analysed over 100 FIRs filed under the UP anti-conversion law and found out that 63 of them were registered by third-parties, including 26 from extremist groups. The memorandum said that the terms like “force, fraud, and allurement” remain undefined and vague under the law, with a possibility of categorising “any collective gathering of Christians… as an attempt to allure people to Christianity.”

The Forum maintained that existing criminal laws are already equipped to handle cases related to fraudulent and/or forced conversion, “yet the Bill imposes disproportionately severe penalties under the guise of preventing unlawful conversions.” The memo further cited media reports to highlight weaponisation of anti-conversion laws by mob and police to target religious minorities, wherein false cases linger for years against accused even as legal costs continue to grow, thus resulting in violation of accused’s right to life and liberty.

False and third-party complaints

In its memorandum, UCF provided details about several complaints which it claimed were either false, filed by third party, or involved police complicity. The details of these complaints and related FIRs can be found below:

1. Sonbhadra: FIR No. 0269/2023

Details of the case: On November 29, 2023, in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, 22 individuals were apprehended by the police with arrests made across various police stations in the district. The charges against the pastors include allegations under the Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021 with a total of 42 individuals implicated in the said. The complainant’s status as a leader of a fundamentalist group suggests that the FIR against the 42 pastors is driven by motives.

The copy of the complaint/FIR can be found here:

2. Azamgarh: FIR No. 0286/2022

Details of the case: On July 30, 2022, six Dalit women were arrested in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh while celebrating a child’s birthday – the son of one of the ladies. Local extremists witnessed the congregants praying for the child and reported it as an event where forced conversion was being carried out. All six women were booked under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

The copy of the complaint/FIR can be found here:

3. Maharajganj: FIR No. 0410/2023

Details of the case: On August 20, 2023, Santosh Nishad from Maharajganj District in Uttar Pradesh was hosting a prayer gathering and get-together at his house when a group of approximately 10 individuals trespassed his property and physically assaulted him, accusing him of engaging in fraudulent religious conversions. On the evening of August 21, Pastor Santosh was taken into custody at the Nichlaul police station. The said FIR was registered under IPC sections 323 and 506 and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 leading to his imprisonment. Pertinently, the complainant later testified in the Maharajganj Sessions Court that he had been coerced into filing a complaint against the accused.

The copy of the complaint/FIR can be found here:

4. Azamgarh: FIR No. 0370/2022 

Details of the case: On November 23, 2022, a complaint was lodged in the Azamgarh district, alleging fraudulent religious conversions by Prashant Singh as the complainant, who claims to be a leader of the Bajrang Dal. As a result, the said FIR was registered under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, naming Harkhuram and Achhelal as the accused. Achhelal Rahi was subsequently placed in judicial custody on November 24, 2022. Notably, Harkhuram, one of the accused in the FIR, had passed away 12 years earlier.

The copy of the complaint/FIR can be found here:

5. Azamgarh: FIR No. 0397/2023

Details of the case: On September 10, 2023, in a village in Azamgarh, a prayer meeting was abruptly interrupted when a neighbour falsely accused them of religious conversion. The police swiftly arrested Brijesh, Parmeshwar, and Poonam Yadav, the wife of Brijesh Yadav. Poonam, who was three months pregnant, was taken into custody along with her innocent one-year-old daughter. They were all charged under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 and the said FIR was registered against them.

The copy of the complaint/FIR can be found here:

6. Ayodhya: FIR No. 0206/2024

Details of the case: On June 23, 2024, Sarju Prasad was illegally detained for almost 48 hours without the registration of an FIR when a prayer gathering at his home was disrupted in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, by journalists alleging fraudulent religious conversions by the police. The two online complaints were filed alerting the police regarding this illegal detention, accompanied by tweets addressing the police regarding this incident. The FIR bearing number 0206/2024 at Police Station Cantonment under the anti-conversion law was subsequently filed against him on June 26, 2024, and was he subsequently arrested and has been in judicial custody since then.

The copy of the complaint/FIR can be found here:

Conclusion

Even as the Forum highlighted the grievous violence and atrocities that have been committed against the Christian community, it also suggested several recommendations to Governor Anandiben Patel to ameliorate the situation. Its recommendations include:

1. Repealing the existing Anti-Conversion Law
2. Suspension of the 2024 Amendment Bill
3. Strengthening training for the police and judicial officers: Enforcement of comprehensive training programs for police personnel and judicial officers focused on safeguarding religious freedoms, handling complaints ethically, and conducting unbiased investigations.
4. Victim support in cases of false complaints: Establishment of support systems for individuals wrongfully accused, including legal assistance and psychological counselling to mitigate the trauma and financial impact of such actions.
5. Strengthening Community Relations: Undertaking initiatives that strengthen community relations and promote tolerance among different religious groups instead of using punitive legislation which may exacerbate communal tension.
6. Public Awareness and Education: The Government to prioritize public awareness campaigns to educate citizens about the constitutional rights related to religious freedom and the importance of respecting diversity.

The copy of the memorandum can be found here:

Related:

United Christian Forum submits detailed memorandum to Minority Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju highlighting targeted violence against Christian Community; demands repeal of anti-conversion laws | SabrangIndia

Sharp increase in violence against Christians, 161 incidents of violence in 75 days of 2024 | SabrangIndia

Environment of targeted hate and violence against Christians: Report | SabrangIndia

The post United Christian Forum submits memorandum to UP Governor Anandiben Patel; demands repeal of UP anti-conversion law and its recent amendment appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Whenever a Bill comes, it does not come just like that. There is a survey conducted that shows how many girls married, how many faced problems, how many girls came back, how many girls lodged complaints. Even parents come forward seeking arrests, alleging that the boy changed his name. When such incidents are increasingly reported during a survey, in such a situation such a Bill is brought and is pursued. Women come to me with different issues and if required, I refer issues to the government. But there are not many complaints,” said Governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel in an interview to the Indian Express. She was asked about intervening in matters wherein women have spoken up about their choice to wilfully decide their partner and religion. Not revealing much about the survey and statistics, she justified the state government’s law against religious conversion for the sole purpose of marriage.

On matters of security of women, she said, “There are various ills in society, families and individuals. When these ills come out, they lead to such incidents. Then we think that justice is given, proper action is taken. But I would say that it is also the responsibility of the family to handle children. At home, caution should be taken to keep a watch on what sons and daughters are doing outside, whether any untoward incidents might happen.”

Contrary to the survey that discloses the alleged “problems” faced by families and women that the Governor mentioned, the courts have yet not ordered coercive action against any accused person citing lack of evidence and emphasising on the guaranteed fundamental rights of citizens.

The Allahabad High Court, in one instance, stayed the arrest of a man booked under the new Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 in Nadeem v State of UP and ors (CMWP No. 16302 of 2020) observing that, “There is no material before us that any force or coercive process is being adopted by the petitioner to convert the wife of the informant.” In the same case, Justices Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agarwal upheld the Right to Privacy and fundamental right guaranteed under Article 25.

In another instance, the same Bench reunited an interfaith couple after a lower court’s order led to their separation and observed that women are free to move as per their own choice without any restriction or hindrance being created by a third party. Two brothers named Rashid and Salim who were arrested on December 5, soon after they visited the registrar’s office in Moradabad to get Rashid’s marriage to a Hindu woman, were released from jail on December 19 when the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate found no evidence against the two.

Another pathbreaking judgment by the Allahabad High Court was delivered even before the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance was promulgated. The same progressive Bench of Justices Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agarwal had ruled in November, 2020 that the right to live with a person of his/her choice irrespective of religion professed by them, is intrinsic to right to life and personal liberty and neither any individual nor a family nor even State can have objection to relationship of two major individuals who out of their own free will are living together.

The Division Bench, in this case too, quashed the FIR against the accused primarily on the ground that no offences were made out and that two grown-up individuals decided to live together of their own free will and choice.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up in September 2020, by Inspector General (Kanpur Range) Mohit Agarwal and headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Vikas Pandey submitted its report in November last year after probing 14 cases of alleged love jihad, dismissing charges against Muslim men. Contrary to the claims of right-wing organisations and the Government officials over increasing instances of Hindu women being lured by Muslim men into marriage in a bid to convert them, the report showed insufficient incriminating evidence.

According to the report, in three of the 14 cases it investigated, the SIT found that police had even filed “closure reports” in some cases after the “Hindu women, had given statements in favour of their Muslim partners” who had been named as the accused. The young women had stated that “either that they had married Muslim men or been with them of their own free will.” Interestingly, while probing the alleged conspiracy angle in other 11 cases, the SIT found that only four of the Muslim youths, against whom cases were lodged, were known to each other. It also ruled out outside funding alleged against Muslim youth.

Besides the discussion on anti-conversion law, Ms. Patel was also asked her opinion by the Indian Express Team on the Farmers’ protests and the new law in the State regarding the recovery of damages to property during anti CAA protests, and posters of the accused that were put up on crossings.

On the issue of farmers she said, “All those farmers who are intelligent…have there been protests in any other part of the country? Only farmers from Punjab are sitting in protest. When a Bill is brought, no one discusses which part is causing the problem. There is simply a demand to withdraw it. One should think with intellect.”

Speaking about the controversial name and shame ordinance passed in Uttar Pradesh, she said that she has not been asked to intervene by any individual for relief. She said, “All those who do wrong never go anywhere. However, if one has not done any wrong and gets the notice then they approach people but no one approached me in this regard.”

Ms. Anandiben Patel, who also has the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh, has completed one and a half years in the Uttar Pradesh office as Governor. The Madhya Pradesh Love Jihad law (Freedom to Religion Bill, 2020) that was cleared by the Cabinet on December 29, is currently tabled before her for assent.

Related:

Right to choose a partner is intrinsic to Right to life & personal liberty: Allahabad HC

Allahabad HC protects man booked under UP ‘love jihad’ law

Allahabad HC reunites interfaith couple, provides police protection

UP SIT probe says there is no ‘love jihad’, rules out conspiracy, outside funding

Inter faith unions: Lawlessness widespread in Uttar Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Cabinet clears ‘Love Jihad’ law!

The post Survey indicates need for Love Jihad law: UP Governor appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: The Indian Express

Earlier this year, the review committee headed by the then CM Anandiben Patel had assured withdrawal of 90 per cent of the cases after having agreed to have a discussion with the community leaders “sympathetically”, according to an Indian Express report. Obviously a favoured community/caste in Gujarat, unlike the state's Muslims and Dalits, the Patidars have received this 'favour' from an otherwise government hostile to people's rights.
 
According to the recent news reports, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said that out of the 438 cases registered during the Patidar agitation, 416 have already been withdrawn. “We have also decided to withdraw the remaining cases registered against the Patidars. The government is having a sympathetic view towards the Patidar community,” he said.
 
Out of the 438 cases lodged against the members of the agitation, Gujarat Police was the complainant in 230 cases on behalf of the government.
 
According to police sources, the cases of violence, arson and assaults on police were registered against the Patidars during their agitation for reservations in jobs under the other backward class quota.
 
Times of India reported that the process to withdraw the remaining cases, which are not serious in nature, will be initiated before Diwali, according to a few sources.
 
A mass gathering of the Patidar community members on August 25 last year had turned violent. Patidar leader and convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti Hardik Patel was also among those arrested in connection with the vandalism. He was however, granted a bail earlier this year.

Also read: Anandiben Patel's Offer to Quit: Beginning of the End of BJP’s Nearly 20-years Old Reign in Gujarat?

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Anandiben Patel has “offered” to resign as chief minister of Gujarat triggering speculation in political circles over whether this only marks an end to her personal political career or also the beginning of the end of the BJP’s nearly two-decade long uninterrupted rule over Gujarat, a state claimed by the sangh parivar as its “successful laboratory of Hindutva”.

In her Facebook post today Patel claims to have written to the BJP high command saying it’s time for her to go as she is nearing the 75-years age limit for party leaders set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also claimed her departure will give time for the new CM to rise and shine during the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ scheduled for January 2017.

Political observers however believe the outpouring of Dalit rage, the already agitated Patidar community and the Aam Admi Party’s growing footprint in the state have together forced Patel and the party high command to read the writing on the wall.     

The state has been rocked with extensive Dalit protests after four Dalit youths were brutally beaten for skinning a dead cow. Another Dalit youth committed suicide on Sunday after consuming poison to protest the Una beatings. At least 18 Dalit youth have attempted suicide in the state following the attacks. 

Hardik Patel, the Patidar leader who had earlier paralysed the state government over its demand for reservations for the Patel community, was released from jail a fortnight ago, after nine months. He has been ordered to stay out of the state for another nine months but the Patidar leader has vowed to continue his struggle to obtain OBC status for the Patel community. 

In the 2002 anti-Muslim carnage in Gujarat under the watch of then state chief minister, Narendra Modi, Dalits had been deployed as foot soldiers. But history seemed to take a U-turn on July 27 when a large number of Dalits and Muslims marched together in Naroda Patia, down the same streets which had witnessed the worst massacre of Muslims in the state in 2002. As significantly, Muslims joined thousands of Dalits at the mega-convention in Ahmedabad on Sunday to protest against the Una outrage.

Earlier this month, AAP leader and Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal was in Gujarat with his “one booth, 10 youth” campaign to dislodge the BJP from power.

Is Patel’s impending departure a precursor to the BJP’s humbling at the Assembly elections due next year?
 

The post Anandiben Patel’s Offer to Quit: Beginning of the End of BJP’s Nearly 20-years Old Reign in Gujarat? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

सोशल मीडिया युग में आप सबका स्वागत है. चैनल और अखबार वाले विश्राम करें

आप फेसबुक पर हैं, मतलब आपके पास कंप्यूटर या स्मार्टफोन है, इंटरनेट तक पहुंच है. इंग्लिश भी जानते हैं. आप हजार जगहों से जानकारी लेने की हैसियत रखते हैं.
उन गरीब, लाचार, कम पढ़े-लिखे, खासकर गांववालों के बारे में सोचिए, जो ज्यादातर सूचनाओं के लिए अखबारों और टीवी चैनलों पर निर्भर हैं.
उन्हें तो पता ही नहीं चलेगा कि गुजरात में कितनी बड़ी सामाजिक क्रांति इन दिनों हो रही है.

ये भारत के चार सबसे बड़े अखबार हैं. दैनिक भास्कर, दैनिक जागरण, हिंदुस्तान और अमर उजाला. इनके लिए पहले पन्ने की बड़ी खबर गुजरात का दलित विद्रोह नहीं है.
तो पहले पन्ने की देश की बड़ी खबरें क्या है?
1. दूल्हे ने 200 फुट पर लटककर शादी की
2. नवदंपति के कमरे में घुसा तेंदुआ
3. आमिर खान पर पर्रिकर के बयान से बवाल
4. पीएम ने साइबर अपराध पर चेताया
पढ़ते रहिए. वे आपको मूर्ख समझते हैं. अगर आप सूचनाओं के लिए सिर्फ अखबारों और चैनलों पर निर्भर हैं, तो फिर आपका कुछ नहीं हो सकता.

बहुजन एक्टिविस्ट – गुजरात को बंद रखा जाएगा.
मीडिया ने बताया – गुजरात को बंदर खा जाएगा.

फोटो – डेल्टा मेघवाल की हत्या की मीडिया में अनदेखी के खिलाफ बेंगलुरु टाउन हॉल पर प्रदर्शन.

The post आनंदीबेन पटेल ने इस्तीफा दिया,फेसबुक पर इस्तीफा देने वाली पहली मुख्यमंत्री – Dilip Mandal appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image for representation purpose only

Something is amiss in the state of Denmark. The proverbial Shakespearean phrase appears to sum it all.

Yesterday, May Day 2016, more than 300 rural families employed in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in Jharkhand's Latehar, one of India's poorest districts, have donated their small annual wage increase to prime minister Narendra Modi. The workers attached five rupee notes to a letter addressed to the prime minister that was posted on May Day.

“The government must be really short of money if it is unable to raise NREGA wages to the minimum wage, that too when one third of the rural population is affected by drought,” reads the letter by the workers, noting that the central government had increased their wage this year by only Rs 5, from Rs 162 to Rs 167 earlier in April. This the villagers of this village in Latehar, Jharkand saw as an insult. Rs 167 is Rs 45 below the state minimum wage Rs 212 per day in Jharkhand. There are over 1.1 lakh families in Latehar district working in the scheme under which the government provides 100 days of employment a year to any rural household willing to do manual work – building public works such as roads, ponds, wells. Of this, 43% are women, and 37% are tribals.

Then today, May 2, the very next day, The Times of India and The Indian Express have broken the news that 35 Dalit families, living in Nedali village of Mehsana, just 15 kilometres from Modi’s hometown of Vadnagar have threatened self-immolation  due to the humiliating boycott that they face. The boycott is on account of their struggle for justice under the Atrocities Act — they dared to seek legal actions against alleged atrocities committed by eight members of upper castes in the village—and that is not on in Mehsana. It is this extreme discrimination has forced them to write to the chief minister seeking her leave to immolate themselves in a village just 15 km Modi's home town, Vadanagar. All this while the BJP dominated NDA II government seeks to appropriate Babasaheb Ambedkar and the country as a whole is celebrating Dr BR Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary.

Dalits Discriminated in Gujarat
Dalits are not a happy lot in the state of Gujarat. A quick look at the detailed documentation of violence and exclusion suffered by Dalits in the state since January this year reveal sharp and persistent cases of exclusion, violence and a denial of basic rights especially in Mehsana district and even in Sabarkantha.

Only in February this year, Dalit families from Lakshmipura-Bhandu, a small village of Visnagar taluka also in Mehsana ( Mehsana is also the home district of Anandi Patel, chief minister) were ‘not allowed’ to build a toilet! Even with today's reports of this letter seeking permission to self-immolate another one, of a Dalit groom and his family members being attacked and assaulted for ‘daring to ride a horse’ during the marriage procession )Khadol village Sabarkantha were documented by the media. Newspapers say this is the second such incident in 12 days.

In January 2016, on two separate occasions, Dalit sarpanches were not ‘allowed’ to hoist the national flag, the tricolour, on Republic Day.

The government, following the famed Gujarat model, has also passed a controversial land acquisition bill that will deprive small land-owners, farmers, Dalits, Adivais,owners of any say in land acquired by big business and government (April 1, 2016)  but is doing precious little on issue related to the fundamental protection of the rights of all it citizens. The resistance of the Gujarat government to make public the Inquiry Report into the Thangadh firing that left three Dalits dead after Gujarat police officers had used AK-47s to kill peaceful protesters.
 
But this letter written by 35 Dalit families representing a few hundred residents of the village seriously questions the government. The Times of India reports that the letter written by Babubhai Shankarbhai Senma, 46, of Nandali in Kheralu taluka of Mehsana district, addressed to the chief minister, says that Senma families, comprising 35 members, seek permission of self-immolation as members of upper castes have forced all villagers to boycott them. The boycott is in reaction to Senmas seeking legal action against eight upper caste persons under atrocity laws.

 According to the letter accessed by the TOI, Senma, who belongs to Dalit community, had gone to Mehsana district industrial centre to seek a sewing machine for her daughter-in-law, when one of the accused, identified as Jujarji Parmar, had hurled casterelated slurs and slapped him. Following the incident, Senma had approached local police, but no actions were initiated. However, the accused as ked villagers to boycott Senma and other members of his community. Following the direction from the upper caste member, villagers had not only boycotted the Senmas, but also stopped supplying essential commodities to them.

“Senma community members are not being given food grains, water, milk and fodder for their cattle. The villagers have stopped employing Senmas as daily wage labourers. Upper caste community members have issued diktat that if any villager is found employing a member of Senma community , then he too will be boycotted,“ said the letter. Senma alleged in his letter that the upper caste community members have been threatening Dalits to leave the village or face dire consequences.
 “The accused persons are threatening to burn us alive. Despite making several representations to the state administration, no government representative came to meet us. Therefore, please allow us permission for self-immolation," said Senma.
 

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