On October 31, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) filed a complaint with the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) against serial hate offender Deepak Sharma, after he made derogatory statements and spewed hate against the “Miya Muslims” in Assam in the instigating video that has been uploaded on Facebook.

Recently, Shiladitya Dev who is a BJP leader and previously a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Hojai constituency of Assam, has in the impugned video, unleashed words that were inciteful, provoking the wider community in the name of ‘Miya Museum’. After the inauguration of the museum on October 23, Shiladitya Dev, an influential political personage affiliated with the ruling dispensation, the next day, on October 24, indulged in brazen hate speech which violates Indian criminal law.

He started his diatribe with, “Assam is filled with Miyas, so why there is need for a Miya Museum, it should be set on fire and set ablaze.” This was a brazen incitement to targeted violence. He then continued, “After the CAA protest, one section of the community wants Miya Museum in Srimanta Shankardev Kalakhetrya, specially one MLA.” This reference to one MLA, by Dev was meant to target Sherman Ali Ahmed. He also spoke of the origin of today’s Muslim, “90-99 out of 100 Muslims in Assam have been basically converted from the Hindu religion; and even today, some of them still have a Tulsi plant in the verandas of their homes in upper Assam.” He also demanded that the authorities demolish the Miya Museum forthwith.

Dev also went on to say “Miya culture cannot be the culture of Assam so the Museum cannot be built here. The country was divided for Miyas on the basis of religion and, so if they want to build any such Museum then they should build it in Bangladesh or Pakistan. We won’t have any objections then.” Continuing with his diatribe, he said “Lungi Topi (the lower garb and skull cap) cannot be their identity, and indigenous Muslim also do not wear that Lungi and Topi.” He alleged that Miya Muslim people trying to establish Arabic Culture in Assam!  

This is not the first time that Shiladitya Dev has found himself in trouble over his comments. In Aug 2020, multiple FIRs had been filed against him by several groups and individuals for particularly inciteful speeches. At the time, he had even been widely condemned by Assamese society when he had dared dubbed Assamese litterateur who happened to be a Muslim, an “intellectual jihadi.”

The complaint filed by CJP highlights the statements made by Shiladitya Dev are a grave threat to peace, unity and integrity of India. Especially so, in view of the sensitive atmosphere today when aggression is being unleashed on sections of our population.

A copy of the complaint may be viewed here:

Related:

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Multiple FIRs against BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev’s Hate Speech: Assam
BJP MLA’s communal Facebook posts finally removed

The post Shiladitya Dev makes derogatory remarks against ‘Miya Muslims’ in Assam, CJP moves NCM appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Once again, the epithet, Miya Muslim, has generated controversy and let loose a string of hate and targeted speech, that too emanating from some influential personalities in Assam. After being inaugurated on October 23, the district authorities in the Goalpara district of Assam on Tuesday, October 25 sealed a museum dedicated to the Miya Muslim community on allegations of wrongful use of the premises, officials told the media. The museum had been inaugurated just two days before, on October 23.

Two leaders of the community, including the person who set up the museum, were also detained on Tuesday evening. They have been charged under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy and collecting arms with intention to wage war against the Union government!

These developments on October 25 were, predictably, preceded by a string of hate speeches made targeting Bengali Muslims and their culture. The first such, was made by controversial former MLA of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shiladitya Dev and then followed by another made by the chief minister, Himanta Biswas Sarma himself.

Shiladitya Dev, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who was previously the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Hojai unleashed words that were inciteful, provoking the wider community in the name of ‘Miya Museum’. Dev is a serial offender and even previous statements reported by Sabrangindia have been hate-ridden, made with a motive to fuel the communal tensions between communities. This was on October 24, the day after the museum was inaugurated. In Aug 2020, multiple FIRs had been filed against him by several groups and individuals for particularly inciteful speeches. At the time when he had been widely condemned by Assamese society he had dared
dubbed Assamese litterateur who happened to be a Muslim, an “intellectual jihadi.” 

He started his diatribe with, “Assam is filled with Miyas, so why there is need of Miya Museum, it should set on fire and set ablaze.” This was a brazen incitement to targeted violence. He then continued, “After the CAA protest, one section of community wants Miya Museum in Srimanta Shankardev Kalakhetrya specially one MLA.” This reference to one MLA, by Dev was meant to target Sherman Ali Ahmed. He also spoke of the origin of today’s Muslim, “90-99 out of 100 Muslims in Assam have been basically converted from the Hindu religion; even today, some of them still have a planted Tulsi plant in the verandas of their homes in upper Assam.” He also demanded that the authorities demolish the Miya Museum forthwith. 

There is worse. Shiladitya Dev also alleged, “In the name of ‘Grow More Food Project’ in 1936, the then government brought the Bengali speaking Muslims to the state. However there was a hidden agenda which was to increase the Muslim population in Assam and annexe Assam with East Pakistan. In this process they enrolled their names in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and so on.” He also criticised, ” The Bengali speaking Muslim whom I refer as Bangladeshi Muslim, prove that they wants to establish the Bangladeshi culture not the Assamese  which is “Sonatani Culture” (Sanatani, upper caste Hindu) in Assam though they utter slogans like Jai Aai Axom (Hail mother  Assam).” “Lungi Tupi  (the lower garb and skull cap) cannot  be their identity, and indigenous Muslim also do not  wear that Lungi and Tupi.” He alleged that Miya Muslim people trying to establish Arabic Culture in Assam! 

Not stopping here, his hate rant goes even further. 

“Few days ago one Ismail Islam went to Majuli and went to eat inside a kitchen of a Satra. Santana Dharmis worship cow and a cow eater went into Satra, this is awful. If he wants to revert back to the faith of his origin let him do so completely.”  

[[Ismail Hussain ( junior) a writer of Assam went to a Satra ( monastery-cum- centre of traditional performing arts in Assam; this particular one is a reference to Sankrian i.e who believed the philosophy of  Srimanta Sankardev’s naba boishnab dharma) in Majuli District where Ismail Hussain partook of food in the kitchen of the satra.]] 

Dev also went on to say “Miya culture cannot be the culture of Assam so the Museum cannot be built here. The country was divided for Miyas on the basis of religion and, so if they want to build any such Museum then they should build it in Bangladesh or Pakistan. We won’t have any objections then.” 

Immediate Background

The word ‘Miya’ unleashes a fresh round of hate and a controversial debate ensues once again, in Assam again. A newly established Miya Museum, set up in the Goalpara district of Assam is is located at Dabkarvita in Lakhipur area. The inauguration program was held on October 23, and was attended by vast sections of the including the dignitaries of All Assam Miya Parisad.  

On October 25, the Miya Museum was sealed just day after the inauguration of it in Lakhipur of Goalpara district. The Museum was sealed by Rajiv Gagoi, the Circle officer of the Lakhipur. The official reason to seal it is yet to be known but it could be assumed that after the Statement of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma it was enacted. 

Miya Museum at Lakhipur sealed soon after CM @himantabiswa assured action.

— atanu bhuyan (@atanubhuyan) October 25, 2022

In a recent developments two professor from different colleges in Assam was arrested in allegedly connection with ban outfit. The Special DGP of Assam GP Singh tweet reads as follows: “Sri Mohar Ali of Goalpara & Sri Abdul Baten of Dhubri have been detained in connection with Ghograpar PS Case no.163/22, U/S- 120(B)/121/121(A)/122 IPC , R/W-Sec -10/13 UA(P) Act. Further investigation and interrogation would be carried out about their association with AQIS/ABT.”

Sri Mohar Ali of Goalpara & Sri Abdul Baten of Dhubri have been detained in connection with Ghograpar PS Case no.163/22, U/S- 120(B)/121/121(A)/122 IPC , R/W-Sec -10/13 UA(P) Act. Further investigation and interrogation would be carried out about their association with AQIS/ABT.

— GP Singh (@gpsinghips) October 25, 2022

Chief Minister Sarma weighs behind the hate

Not only were these statements problematic but even Assam’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appears to have also added fuel to the fire. This was on the day after Shiladitya Dev’s rantings, on October 25. 

He said, “I don’t know what kind of Museum it is, there is nothing new except the lungi (loin cloth). All the others like plough or fish hunting tools are being used in Assam for centuries. They have to face the law as they took (snatched) these things from the Assamese people and put them up in ‘their’ Museum, if they want to keep these items there, then they have to produce a valid inscription.” 

Addressing intellectuals from Assam at a press conference on the issue, Sarma said: “Now is the time for Assamese intellectuals to think. When I (earlier) criticised Miya poetry they called me communal. Now there is miya poem, miya school, miya museum.”  He took on the very idea if a Miya Museum and said, “I was saying about these threads earlier. They have to answer to this government about the things they have preserved because they took the Gamosa (gancha) from Deshi people. After the holidays action will take place.” 

Not only were these statements problematic but even Assam’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appears to have also added fuel to the fire. October 25, 2022)

Sarma also spoke about three important tasks, he stated, “Number one, They have to give historical data that plough is only used by the Miyas. Second part is from where have they got the money for this museum, they must reveal details to the police and police will investigate. Thirdly, intellectuals should now address this issue, I only faced flak earlier.” 

He further commented on the items on display at the Museum, “I understand the lungi is their original contribution but all others like fish hunting tools, we have already preserved those as part of Brahmaputra Heritage. Now they have to answer which one is their original symbol of representation? ” He also alleged, “Deshi people saying that their Gamosa has been stolen from them and ‘claimed’ by Miya Muslims there.”  

He lastly spoke about the contentious issue of demography, that is “Muslim- majority districts!  “You have already known about eight districts and their condition. If someone place something on their homes, how many houses can the government evict? So there should be a cultural, political protest against this attitude.” 

He ended his exhortation with suggestions for the wider Assamese Community, “Moreover, the Assamese community should think about the resistance to these tendencies; in the coming days we may face more such challenges. If you see the voter list of Barpeta district some 50 years ago, you will find out that there were historic places in almost all villages by name but everything has ‘disappeared’ now. I have spoken about the Barpeta Satra too, but many ‘Assamese intellectuals’ have criticised me. They (Miya Muslims) are holding 1/3 of all lands in Assam, the government can demolish one house but how many more can we do. There should be a spontaneous resistance from the people.” 

The issue and terminology, Miyas,  be it for the ‘Miya Museum’ or to define a section of self-acclaimed Muslims in Assam had also generated much debate in Assam in year 2020 when Congress MLA, Sherman Ali Ahmed  first proposed that a Miya Museum be established at the Srimanta Shankardev Kalakhetrya in Guwahati. He argued that Miya literally means ‘Sir’ or ‘Gentlemen’ and represents the Bengali Speaking Muslim especially, residing in Assam. The museum should be established to preserve the art and culture of the community, it was argued.  

However, this thought was resisted by large sections of the wider Assamese community, who have often assessed the terms in a chauvinistic manner. They expressed their ‘strong discomfort’ with the idea. Now, recent developments related to the Miya Museum unleashed by the ruling party BJP and its leaders, seen as majoritarian and chaunvinistic, have further, again targeted the Miya Community. The slogan, predictably is, ‘Assamese culture is in danger!’ 

In early 2021, as the State approaches the Assembly polls, Hemant Biswa Sarma said that the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) does not need votes from the Bengali origin Muslim community in Assam to win the elections, and accused them of “openly challenging Assamese culture, language and the composite Indian culture”, as reported by the Indian Express

If these are not brazen incitements to violence against a targeted section, it is a difficult to assess what is. With the state and administration under him, Sarma is playing with fire.

Related:

I Am ‘Miya’ — Reclaiming Identity Through Protest Poetry

Don’t need Miya Muslim vote: Himanta Biswa Sarma

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The post Hate Watch: BJP Top functionaries spew hate against ‘Miya Muslims” in Assam appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In a damning indictment of the devolving standards of television news debates in India, NKTV, an Assamese language news channel, appears to have allowed a panelist hailing from the ruling regime to make a series of anti-minority comments during one such live debate on its channel.

Shiladitya Dev, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who was previously the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Hojai, was part of a panel discussion on NKTV centered around the recent incidents of violence in Batadraba. However, he was allowed to make a series of statements against Muslims and even alleged that India was not their country, they were merely “allowed” to live here.

During this debate, Dev spoke in Assamese about the alleged influx of Bangladeshis into Assam. The gist of it as translated by CJP’s Assam team is, “80 lakh Bangladeshi origin Muslims have illegally entered India,” and that “During partition Muslims had created a separate country for themselves. They should be grateful they are being allowed to live in India.”

Other panelists included Congress MP Abdul Khaleque, Raijor Dal spokesperson Gyanoshri Borah, All Assam Minority Student Union(AAMSU)General secretary, Imtiaz Hussain, and All BTAD Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU)General Secretary Ashraful Hussain. The debate was hosted and moderated by anchor Paragmani Aditya. Though the purpose of the debate was to discuss the Batadraba violence and its aftermath, it quickly veered towards the topic of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the alleged infiltration by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

Dev began by tracing his own roots to Bangladesh, saying, “I didn’t hesitate to admit that my father was originally from Rangpur district. But Muslims never admit to their origins.”

Abdul Khaleque countered this saying, “Even my forefathers from that part, but that time it was undivided India. And on the basis of that you(Shiladitya Dev) can’t label them as a Bangladeshis today.” Now, even though Khaleque had merely stated a fact, and in fact proved Deb wrong by admitting to his own ancestor’s origins, Dev accused him of advocating for Bangladeshis.

When Imtiaz Hussain countered this, Dev tried to suggest that Indian Muslims were somehow not at par with other Indian citizens. He said, “It is my nation, you (Muslims) are just allowed to stay here.”

All this while, the anchor rarely intervened in any meaningful way. He neither asked Dev to tone down his anti-Muslim comments, nor did he ask any questions about how he arrived at the figure of 80 lakh Bangladeshi illegal immigrants. At one particularly heated point during the debate, he could be seen smiling quietly instead of asking the participants to exercise restraint.

The entire debate in Assamese may be viewed here. TRIGGER WARNING: Communally charged statements:

https://fb.watch/dkM9zyVm6j/

The big questions remain:

• Why did the anchor not try to play the part of a good debate moderator and control the speakers?

• Did any other channel employee, perhaps the show’s producers, try to stop Dev? If not, why not?

• Was Dev allowed to make anti-Muslim statements so that the channel could benefit from showing allegiance to the ruling regime by fanning “nationalistic” sentiments, all the while also bumping up their own TRPs?

• Does the channel endorse Dev’s idea of Muslims being a sort of second-class citizens who merely live in India because the majority community has “allowed” them to do so?

NKTV has a lot of questions to answer, because the conduct of the channel’s anchor and by extension the channel itself does not showcase commitment to journalistic standards and guidelines set by various news broadcasting bodies.

As perthe codes of ethics and principles of self-regulation laid out by the  News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), that was previously known as NBSA, Broadcasters shall ensure that the news shall not be selected or designed to promote any particular belief, opinion or desires of any interest group. It also stipulates that Broadcasters shall ensure a full and fair presentation of news and shouldtake responsibility in ensuring that controversial subjects are fairly presented. As per their principles, TV News channels must provide for neutrality by offering equality for all affected parties, players and actors in any dispute or conflict to present their point of view. Caution should be exercised in reporting content which denigrates or is likely to offend the sensitivities of any racial or religious group or that may create religious intolerance or disharmony. Moreover, caution should be exercised in reporting content which denigrates or is likely to offend the sensitivities of any racial or religious group or that may create religious intolerance or disharmony.

In addition, the NBDSA’s guidelines state, “News broadcasters must not broadcast any form of ‘hate speech’ or other obnoxious content that may lead to incitement of violence or promote public unrest or disorder as election campaigning based on communal or caste factors is prohibited under Election Rules. News broadcasters should strictly avoid reports which tend to promote feelings of enmity or hatred among people, on the ground of religion, race, caste, community, region or language.”

Shiladitya Dev: Serial Hate Offender

Dev is a serial hate offender and CJP’s sister publication SabrangIndia has reported on his many instances of hate speech in the past. In March 2018, he had blamed Bangladeshi Muslims for increasing instances of rape in Assam. He had also made this claim of Bangladeshi Muslims “raping our mothers and daughters” in a Facebook post. Dev has repeatedly used social media platforms like Facebook to make hateful comments, especially against Bangladeshis and Muslims. But Facebook had allegedly turned a blind eye to this and only took the posts down last year, after an article in the Time magazine highlighted his hateful comments.

His hate speech, that allegedly attempted to divide Assamese and Bengalis, had led to an FIR at the Silchar police station in 2018. A case was also filed in the same year in the court of chief judicial magistrate, Nagaon, against him for his frequent communal remarks on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. Dev had alleged that Hindu refugees were being shown as foreigners, while the names of Bangladeshi Muslims were published in the final NRC.

After unidentified gunmen killed five people in Tinsukia district in November 2018, state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass had said provocative statements by some groups and individuals were to be blamed for the case. Dass had informed the media that Dev had been warned twice not to make any such statements or else the BJP would write to the parliamentary board for taking action against him.

Dev had also made disparaging statements against revered Assamese scholar Syed Abdul Malik in August 2020, calling him an “intellectual Jihadist”. Malik a poet and former president of the Azam Xatia Xabha (AXX) is a highly respected leader and has a huge following across Assam, especially among indigenous people.

In fact, shortly after this statement, several FIRs were filed against Dev. While the minority department chairman Salman Khan of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), Asom Songrami Yuva Mancha president Amir Hussain and organisational secretary Sankar Thakuria lodged an FIR against Dev at Hatigaon police station, the All Asom Goriya Yuva-Chatra Parishad president in-charge Mokbul Hussain lodged another FIR at Jalukbari outpost. A case (388/20 u/section 153(A)/505 (ii) IPC) was registered at Hatigaon Police Station stating these facts.

Members of the Sadou Asom Goriya-Moriya Deshi Jatiya Parishad had also staged a sit-in at Dighalipukhuripar demanding his immediate arrest at a time when he was the sitting MLA. The Sadou Asom Goria-Moria-Deshi Jatiya Parishad had filed complaints at different police stations in Barpeta, Dhubri and Morigaon districts, while the Sadou Asom Goria Yuva-Chatra Parishad filed a report at Jalukbari police station in Guwahati.

Dev’s comment against Malik was denounced by his own party men.BJP leader and Assam Minority Development Board Chairman Muminul Aowal condemned the statement and demanded a public apology from his party colleague. “What Shiladitya said, I oppose it and strongly condemned it,” he had said at that time, adding, “If he does not apologise publicly, then I will always take a strong stand against him.”

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The post Hate Watch: Couldn’t NKTV have stopped BJP’s Shiladitya Dev from making anti-Muslim comments on air? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Shiladitya Dev, the sitting Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Hojai in Assam has threatened to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the party refused him a ticket to contest the upcoming elections. He was replaced by Ramkrishna Ghosh.

Dev is a serial hate offender and SabrangIndia has reported on his many instances of hate speech in the past. In March 2018, he had blamed Bangladeshi Muslims for increasing instances of rape in Assam. He had also made this claim of Bangladeshi Muslims “raping our mothers and daughters” in a Facebook post. Dev has repeatedly used social media platforms like Facebook to make hateful comments, especially against Bangladeshis and Muslims. But Facebook had allegedly turned a blind eye to this and only took the posts down last year, after an article in the Time magazine highlighted his hateful comments.

His hate speech had led to an FIR at the Silchar police station in 2018 for allegedly making provocative statements to divide Assamese and Bengalis. A case also was filed in the same year in the court of chief judicial magistrate, Nagaon, against the BJP MLA for his frequent communal remarks on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. Dev had alleged that Hindu refugees were being shown as foreigners, while the names of Bangladeshi Muslims were published in the final NRC.

After unidentified gunmen killed five people in Tinsukia district in November 2018, state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass had said provocative statements by some groups and individuals were to be blamed for the case. Dass had informed the media that Dev had been warned twice not to make any such statements or else the BJP would write to the parliamentary board for taking action against him.

He had also made disparaging statements against revered Assamese scholar Syed Abdul Malik in August 2020, calling him an “intellectual Jihadist”. Malik a poet and former president of the Azam Xatia Xabha (AXX) is a highly respected leader and has a huge following across Assam, especially among indigenous people.

In fact, shortly after this statement, several FIRs were filed against Dev. While the minority department chairman Salman Khan of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), Asom Songrami Yuva Mancha president Amir Hussain and organisational secretary Sankar Thakuria lodged an FIR against the MLA at Hatigaon police station, the All Asom Goriya Yuva-Chatra Parishad president in-charge Mokbul Hussain lodged another FIR at Jalukbari outpost. A case (388/20 u/section 153(A)/505 (ii) IPC) has been registered at Hatigaon Police Station stating these facts.

Members of the Sadou Asom Goriya-Moriya Deshi Jatiya Parishad had also staged a sit-in at Dighalipukhuripar demanding immediate arrest of the MLA. The Sadou Asom Goria-Moria-Deshi Jatiya Parishad had filed complaints at different police stations in Barpeta, Dhubri and Morigaon districts, while the Sadou Asom Goria Yuva-Chatra Parishad filed a report at Jalukbari police station in Guwahati.

Dev’s comment against Malik was denounced by his own party men. BJP leader and Assam Minority Development Board Chairman Muminul Aowal condemned the statement and demanded a public apology from his party colleague. “What Shiladitya said, I oppose it and strongly condemned it,” he had said at that time, adding, “If he does not apologise publicly, then I will always take a strong stand against him.”

It appears, even the BJP found his blatant communalism a liability during the election season, and jettisoned him from their candidate list to avoid embarrassment.
 

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The post Assam elections: Denied ticket, Shiladitya Dev threatens to quit BJP appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Assam BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev’s communally-motivated posts have finally been taken down by Facebook as per the implementation of its community standards. But it was only because of a TIME magazine investigation that the social media giant was jolted into action and took down the hate-filled posts.

Facebook had allegdly even turned a deaf ear to repeated complaints by NGO Avaaz that denounced Dev’s anti-Bangladeshi-Muslims comments. According to the TIME report, Avaaz officials had tried to have a meeting with Facebook officials to talk about the hate-speech posts in India including Dev’s posts. However, the company officials had left the meeting midway citing other important work.

This despite the fact that the MLA had been named in several FIRs earlier this month for describing a beloved personality in Assamese literature as an “intellectual jihadi.”

The sequence of events, concretises a theory suggested by journalist and digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa during a legislative proceeding last week that Facebook does not act upon its community standards unless shamed by the US media. A pitfall of this apathy is the encouragement it gives to those propagating hate.

In Dev’s case, instead of apologising after the TIME story, he posted the following statement on his other Facebook account suggesting zero remorse for his conduct despite being a people’s representative:

In 2019, Avaaz had included the State Legislative member in its ‘Megaphone For Hate’ report as a promoter of communal hate in Assam. Many Assamese people including officials from the BJP condemned Dev’s remarks about Syed Malik and demanded a public apology. Accordingly, he posted a statement on his Facebook account on August 8:

Loosely translated, Dev wrote in the post that someone had ‘created’ a controversy from his comment on Syed Malik and apologised if his statement had hurt someone which was not his intention. 

However, his apology came too late. Over the years, the man became notorious for denigrating Bangladeshi Muslim to “rapists.”

This makes Facebook’s lax attitude towards Dev’s posts even more upsetting. As journalist and author Paranjoy Guha Thakurta pointed out, Facebook is committing a crime in ignoring posts that have been the subject of FIRs.

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported how Facebook’s hate-speech policy implementation was hindered by Indian politics.

As per Facebook’s own community standards, “We define hate speech as a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, caste, sex, gender, gender identity, and serious disease or disability … and also provide certain protections for immigration status. We define attack as violent or dehumanizing speech, harmful stereotypes, statements of inferiority, or calls for exclusion or segregation.”

By its own definition, posts such as those made by Dev fall under the category of hate-speech. Yet the bitter truth remains that the company needs to be scrutinised by US media for such content to meet its consequences.

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The post BJP MLA’s communal Facebook posts finally removed appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Several FIRs have been lodged against BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev in various police stations of the state, including a few in Guwahati, on Sunday. The over half-a-dozen complaints have been filed against controversial Assam BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev by various organisations days after he termed revered scholar Syed Abdul Malik (former AXM (Axam Xahitya Xabha) president )an “intellectual jihadi”. Reports on these complaints have been carried in The Sentinel. Assam and PTI.

BJP leader and Assam Minority Development Board Chairman Muminul Aowal condemned the statement and demanded a public apology from his party colleague. “What Shiladitya said, I oppose it and strongly condemned it,” BJP leader Aowal said. “If he does not apologise publicly, then I will always take a strong stand against him.”

The Congress called Dev a “mad person” who should be sent to “mental asylum” for his frequent controversial and communally-sensitive statements.

While APCC’s (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) minority department chairman Salman Khan, Asom Songrami Yuva Mancha president Amir Hussain and organizational secretary Sankar Thakuria lodged an FIR against the MLA at Hatigaon police station, the All Asom Goriya Yuva-Chatra Parishad president in-charge Mokbul Hussain lodged another FIR at Jalukbari outpost. A case (388/20 u/section 153(A)/505 (ii) IPC) has been registered at Hatigaon Police Station stating these facts.

In another such offensive, members of the Sadou Asom Goriya-Moriya Deshi Jatiya Parishad staged a sit-in at Dighalipukhuripar demanding immediate arrest of the MLA. The Sadou Asom Goria-Moria-Deshi Jatiya Parishad has filed complaints at different police stations in Barpeta, Dhubri and Morigaon districts, while the Sadou Asom Goria Yuva-Chatra Parishad filed a report at Jalukbari police station in Guwahati.

In a statement issued to the media on Sunday, the Parishad said ‘on the pretext of the Thelamara incident the MLA hurling insults at former AXX president Syed Abdul Malik is a direct attack on the AXX and the indigenous people of the State. We condemn such a statement from the MLA. Such a suspicious person has no right to make such a comment.” Following an appeal from the Parishad’s president Hafijul Ahmed FIRs have been filed against the MLA at various police stations in the State.

The Asom Songrami Yuva Manch, too, filed a complaint at the Hatigaon police station and demanded strict action against Dev. Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi strongly condemned Dev’s derogatory remarks against Malik, a highly-respected poet, novelist and short-story writer. Asam Sahitya Sabha president Kuladhar Saikia condemned the “controversial remarks” against Malik, who was also the president of the apex literary body.

Dev had said last Friday that Malik was a poet who was indulging in “intellectual jihad”. He made the remarks while commenting on the recent communal clash in Sonitpur district on the day of the foundation stone-laying of Ram temple.

Cutting across political affiliations, this sparked sharp reactions across the state and many groups burnt effigies of Dev on Sunday.

Last month, Dev had said he would quit the BJP on July 14, alleging neglect and groupism by the leaders, but later he made a u-turn and did not resign. Dev has been in the news for making controversial statements, mostly targeting one particular community, leading to even registering an FIR at the Silchar police station in 2018 for allegedly making provocative statements to divide Assamese and Bengalis.

A case also was filed in the same year in the court of chief judicial magistrate, Nagaon, against the BJP MLA for his frequent communal remarks on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. Dev had alleged that Hindu refugees were being shown as foreigners, while the names of Bangladeshi Muslims were published in the final NRC.

After unidentified gunmen killed five people in Tinsukia district in November 2018, state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass had said provocative statements by some groups and individuals were to be blamed for the case. Dass had informed the media that Dev had been warned twice not to make any such statements or else the BJP would write to the parliamentary board for taking action against him.

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