VIDEO | Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress candidate from North East Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar was attacked by unidentified men earlier today.#LSPolls2024WithPTI #LokSabhaElections2024

(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/X6Z1S0FXje

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 17, 2024

The attackers said that they attacked Kumar because he had given anti-India slogans earlier. The alleged attacker is referring to the 2016 incident at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University where the media had raised allegations about anti-national, separatist slogans being raised at the university. Kumar, who was the student union president, along with other students, had been arrested in the case that followed. 

Recently, during the course of an investigation, a forensic report has revealed that that it was a close aide of the then Human Resource Department Minister Smriti Irani, Shilpe Tewari, has come under  the focus of the investigation in relation to some doctored videos of the event. These videos, now considered to be doctored, which had been circulated around by media in the aftermath of the event had been used to accuse the students at the university of making anti-India slogans. 

According to Hate Detectors, the two now detained for attacking the MP candidate call themselves ‘Sanatani’ and ‘Kattar Hindu’ respectively. They both are public Instagram figures it seems, as one of them has over 11000 followers, and the other has over 300,000. They have both claimed responsibility for the attack in a video shared by them. They say they have given Kumar a ‘treatment’ for his ‘anti-India’ talks. 

The main attackers who carried out a pre-planned attack on #Congress leader #KanhaiyaKumar are #DakshChaudhary and #AnnuChaudhary. Many criminal cases are already registered against them. pic.twitter.com/CsYoJm5avF

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) May 17, 2024

The north-east Delhi police commissioner has stated that the videos of the incident are being examined and an investigation is underway. 

As of now the Congress has claimed that the attackers belong to the BJP, and especially to those known by the north-east Delhi’s current MP Manoj Tiwari and the candidate opposite Kumar. However the party’s office has denied such claims and stated that the Congress party is spreading rumours.  Delhi goes to vote for the country’s Lok Sabha elections on May 25, on the sixth phase. 

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The post Delhi candidate Kanhaiya Kumar attacked during campaign appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Come Sunday, March 19, 2023, 5 p.m., and Sheetal Nagar, at the heart of Mira road city centre will see the kick off of a unique campaign launched by young citizens of Mira Road-Bhayander. Hundreds and thousands of post cards will be written ad dispatched to the elected representative of the locality, Geeta Jain, who sought the vote as an independent and is now hob-nobbing with the hate-mongers sponsored by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Ms Geeta Jain, after elections switched to the saffron fold. Her facebook posts show her assimilating and meeting a cross-cultural polity but when she participated in a hate event last Sunday, March 12, residents felt that the #HateVirus had struck!

Dear citizens of #MiraBhayandar* brace yourselves for some *not-so-happy news*  today

Our beloved MLA, *Geeta Bharat Jain* has contracted a highly infectious and *dangerous virus that goes by the name of #HateVirus* . Unlike the #CoronaVirus, this nasty bug doesn’t just attack the body; it preys on the very *humanity* within.

But fear not, my friends! We are not giving up on Geetaji just yet. We can still show her that *we care and support her by sending her some #GetWellSoonGeetaJain cards and flowers.*

*Let’s shower her room with so much love and positivity that even the virus will have to retreat in defeat!*

To all the amazing folks of *#MiraBhayandar* who voted for Geetaji and her *#9AdhureVachans*, let’s rally together and show our MLA some much-needed love and support.

*With our encouragement and backing, our MLA can take on this virus and prove to the     world that love and positivity always win over hate and negativity*

So, let’s *get those pens and papers out, and write those #GetWellSoonGeetaJain messages with all our wit and humor. And don’t forget to send some gorgeous flowers too, because nothing cheers up a sick person like some colorful blooms!*

*#haqhai*

*#nafratmuktmirabhayandar*

*#HateCannotWin*

*#GetwellSoonGeetaJain*

https://www.facebook.com/SadiqueMBasha?mibextid=LQQJ4d

*#GetWellSoonGeetaJain* Campaign. Let’s show Geetaji how much we care!
Add your name and share widely. *Let’s fight #Hate with #Harmony,#Brotherhood & #Love*

It is this event held by the ‘Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha’ in Mira Road on March 12, in which an outside speaker from Gujarat Kajal Hindustani was invited as chief hate guest that has triggered this concern-filled response. On Tuesday, March 14, political representatives and citizens submitted a memorandum to Commissioner of Police, Madhukar Pandey demanding prosecution of the hate mongers.

A delegation of citizens and representatives of political parties including the CPI (M), AAP and Shiv Sena(UBT) met the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai Virar police commissioner with a letter listing elements from the vicious hate speech by Kavita Hindustani in Mira Road on Sunday. The letter also requests the police commissioner to take action against the perpetrator of hate speech as well as the organisers of the ‘Jan Akrosh Morcha’. Among those who attended were Sadiq Basha of the CPI(M), Sukhdev Banbanci of the AAP and Sabby Fernandes of Shiv Sena (UBT). The letter has also been signed by representatives of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Details of the hate event that were covered by Sabrangindia may be read here. The “star speaker” Kajal Hindustani was clearly in fact advocating violence as a solution. It was also clear from such-like statements that a concerted attempt is being made by Ms Kajal Hindustani and the organizers of the Hindu Jan Akrosh rally to create divisions in the society, promote enmity among communities and disturb the rule of law in Mira-Bhayandar city. Calls for economic boycott of a community consistently create an atmosphere of fear in the city apart from being patently anti-constitutional.

BJP leader Nilesh Rane (Narayan Rane’s son), BJP’s Mira Bhayandar unit President Ravi Vyas and BJP MLA Geeta Jain were also present at this event attended by wide sections of the media including Sabrangindia. Rane called for anti-conversion law in Maharashtra on the lines of other BJP states and Vyas justified the concept of ‘Land jihad’ as being real, citing two alleged incidents of land encroachment.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has been through a series of interventions with NBDA (National Broadcasting Digital Authority) and in the series of hate busters it has created pointed out and analysed how the term ‘Jihad has been twisted and manipulated by the far right to signify a series of “underhand” acts by Indian Muslims laced with conspiracy. It began with a series of electronic media (read commercial television broadcasts on India Today and Zee News in March 2020 when terms like “Corona Jihad” etc were concocted and sought to gain legitimacy.

Following the memorandum to the commissioner of police on Tuesday, this citizens campaign by all citizens of Mira Road- Bhayander to gently remind their elected rep, MLA that ‘hate” is a virus that needs to be shed, is a strong assertion by the citizenry of Constitutional values and the rule of law. Maharashtra has seen a spate of such hate events/rallies since December 14, 2022.

Related:

Maharashtra: Vitriolic speaker from Gujarat calls for economic boycott of Muslims in Mira-Bhayandar

Take action against hate speech in Mira-Bhayandar: Residents, Opposition parties to Commissioner of Police

The post #GetWellSoonGeetaJain Campaign gets off the ground, Mira Road Bhayander residents’ push back against Hate appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In January 2019, Saira Bano, mother of Junaid, who was just a teenager when he was lynched on June 22, 2017 on a Delhi-Mathura train, had spoken bravely about the investigations following her son’s murder. “The FIR itself has not included the crucial sections of section 302 and 307 (murder and attempt to murder),” she had said, adding, “Six of the accused have been let off by the courts on bail. There is talk of the main accused standing for the coming elections. We need to speak out. There should be no question of feeling afraid. My son’s death has killed the fear in me.” 

Saira also participated in, ‘Awaaz Ke Hum Sab Ki Awaaz’ a program organized in Mumbai where she recalled that none of the people present in the train came forward to save her child. Junaid’s elder brother,  Mohd Kasam, had also said “He was just 16. He did not even understand hatred against minorities. Those men asked him to return to Pakistan… There were 60 knife marks on his body, and nobody came to stop them”. He said the family had always worked for non-Muslim employers and never imagined they would become victims of hate crime. She was among the inspiring women who had hoisted the Tricolour at Shaheen Bagh to celebrate Republic Day 2020. An act that brought some focus to victims of communal hate.

The #Dadis of #ShaheenBagh #RohitVemula and #Junaid‘s mothers together hoisted the #nationalflag at ShaheenBagh in the presence of thousands of people.#RepublicDay@sushant_says @MirchiSayema @Troll_Ziddi @imMAK02 @deepsealioness @IamOnir @IndianPrism @NrcProtest @iamrana pic.twitter.com/E4G7p0rpuB

— Mansoor Azad منسور آزاد (@MansoorAzad) January 26, 2020

Another year has gone by, and Junaid’s family is marking the fourth anniversary of the day when their beloved child was brutally killed. Another year, they continue to wait for justice. Each year, the voices who storm social media with hashtags #notinmyname, and #justiceforJunaid seems to be getting lesser, as the numbers of right-wing hate mongers grows. Junaid, a teenager who was studying to be an Imam, was beaten, allegedly stabbed and thrown off the Delhi Mathura train. He and his two brothers were returning home after Eid shopping in the big city. Junaid was killed and his brothers were seriously injured in the assault that was clearly communal, with vile abuse being flung at the boys and their beards being pulled. 

The murder and assauslt had then fuelled massive outrage and protest. Sabrangindia had reported how even after the attack, the shocked and injured victims received no response from the Emergency Police and Helpline numbers. Junaid was killed, his brothers Shakir and Hashim were also injured. The brothers who survived, had then also alleged that the GRP (railway police force) at Ballabgarh railway station stood by and refused to help. The young men had boarded the train at Delhi around 5 pm for Ballabhgarh, Haryana. Junaid and his younger brother were students in a Madrassa in Surat and were home on their annual visit during Eid. ‘Some men’ who got on at Tughlaqabad started abusing them using filthy communal language, the survivors had told the media then. When they protested they were brutally attacked amidst shouting of communal slogans. Junaid was beaten to death in the train itself, and then reportedly thrown off it. Media reports carried versions on the reasons for the attack, from “rumours of beef eating on Delhi-Ballabhgarh train” to a fight over seats occupied by the brothers. 

Shout out #NotInMyName again

The #NotInMyName Protests after Junaid’s killing had shown some resistance to the repeated violence against minorities that has been a hallmark of this regime.  Four years later, there is little headway in the case itself. According to a report in Times of India the Supreme Court stayed the trial court proceedings in March 2018, and by October 2018, all six accused were out on bail. Due to Covid-19, the court hearings “have been on the back burner.” Saira Bano told TOI that despite the financial difficulties, the family that still lives in Ballabhgarh’s Khandawali village, plans to continue the legal battle. “We cannot give up. Junaid must get justice,” she said. It is time once again to loudly say #HateHatao, and #notinmyname, as India’s ‘lynch calendar’ as it were, keeps adding new cases as landmarks.   

Three Muslims allegedly lynched in Tripura

And it isn’t as if there has been a fall in instances of lynching in India. On Sunday, Zayed Hussein (28), Billal Miah (30) and Saiful Islam (18), were allegedly lynched in Tripura’s Khowai district. The victims were suspected of ‘smuggling’ cattle, police told the media. The police told the media, “On Sunday morning, villagers of Namanjoypara found the trio fleeing with five animals in a vehicle.” It was reported by the Telegraph that “two of the deceased were beaten up by a mob at North Maharanipur while the third, who had escaped, was caught and assaulted at Sovaram Para, 3km away.” The injured men were rushed to a nearby primary health centre, and then to the G.B. Pant Hospital in Agartala, about 45km from Khowai, stated the report. They were declared dead. In the Bharatiya Janata Party governed Tripura, neither transport nor slaughter of cattle is banned. The police told the media that two cases of lynching against unidentified people have been registered.

Haryana’s communal season continues

Since  May this year, communal tension has flared up in Haryana’s Nuh district following the brutal killing of 27-year-old Asif Khan, a gym instructor. He was allegedly abducted, and beaten to death. However the Haryana police had told the media that Asif was “attacked by some people from his own village and that they had a long-running tiff”. It was reported that Asif Khan, a resident of Kheda Khalilpur in Nuh, was allegedly abducted while he was out with two cousins to buy medicines when they were “first waylaid by a dozen people and beaten up”. It is alleged that Asif “was then taken away, leaving his battered cousins behind at the scene of abduction.” According to the complaint lodged with the police the attackers “shot Hussain and also used other weapons on him”. His body was found a few hours later. The other two cousins, identified as Rashid (31) and Wasif (22), survived the attack. The Tribune reported that Asif was “taken to the outskirts of Sohna and allegedly killed”. His family claims that the men made Asif say ‘Jai Shree Ram’, and abused him with communal slurs. This has been the pattern has been observed in cases of communal mob lynching accross India. 

Just another incident Uttar Pradesh 

For Uttar Pradesh  an impression that it is a state where vigilante groups feel no fear of the law, and are out targeting members of the minority communities, seems to be what the right wing ecosystem wants. Many of these vigilantes like to call themselves “gau rakshak” or cow protector. The latest murder was reported earlier this month from Mathura district’s Tumaula village. The victim, Sher Khan alias Shera (55) was shot dead, and six of his associates were injured. According to media reports the local police alleged the men, who were from Bulandshahr, were “cattle smugglers”, who were “attacked by the villagers for smuggling cows in their vehicle.” The police reportedly seized the vehicle, and recovered six cows. Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl SP) Shrish Chandra told the media that a preliminary inquiry revealed that “residents of Jawa village came to know that cattle smugglers were transporting cows” and “alerted their neighbours in Tumaula village. The villagers blocked the road and “forced the men transporting the cattle to stop.” Police claim that the alleged “cattle smugglers started firing and the villagers retaliated” they “ caught the men in the vehicle and started assaulting them with sticks and stones”. Sher Khan was declared dead on arrival, according to the news report it is suspected that he was shot in the stomach. Sher Khan’s son Sharukh alias Tittu has filed a complaint against unidentified people at the Kosi Kalan police station, accusing them of murder.

Then there was Mohammed Shakir, a meat seller and transporter, who was assaulted in May, in a village in Moradabad district. Shakir’s brother in his complaint to the police stated that the vigilantes attacked Shakir when he was carrying 50 kg of buffalo meat on a scooter. The FIR stated that the cow vigilantes demanded ₹ 50,000 from Shakir and then assaulted him, before warning him against going to the police. The police filed a case against the men who attacked Shakir, on the basis of a complaint by the victim’s brother. However, they also filed a counter case, of their own volition, stated in the news report, against the victim, and charged him of  ‘mischief by killing an animal’, ‘committing an act likely to spread infection’, and ‘violation of Covid lockdown guidelines’. 

Remember Rajasthan’s Rakbar Khan?

The investigations in each communal case takes years, to say the least. A case in point is the communal lynching of Rakbar Khan in Alwar, Rajasthan. According to a report in the Indian Express, three years after “31-year-old Rakbar Khan was lynched by ‘cow vigilantes’ police have finally arrested local VHP leader Naval Kishore Sharma”, who had been accused by the victim’s family. According to the report, “Rakbar’s family had said Sharma, the VHP Gau Raksha cell chief of Ramgarh, Alwar, had led the mob that beat him to death.” The case had been damaging to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state. Alwar SP Tejaswani Gautam told the media that Sharma was arrested on Thursday night and “as per the current Investigating Officer (IO), he has been found guilty of conspiracy, (of being) involved in cow vigilantism.” Sharma had been sent to 10-day custody.

In February this year, the district court in Alwar, Rajasthan rejected the plea filed by Rakbar Khan’s mother for transferring the cow-vigilante mob lynching trial to another court. Rakbar Khan was brutally beaten to death by a mob on the night of July 20-21, 2018, when he, and his friend Aslam, were walking with two cows towards his home, Aslam had managed to escape. Later, Aslam and Khan’s mother, Habiban filed the application for transfer citing lack of trust in the ADJ court which is hearing the case. Habiban argued before the District court that she has no hope from the ADJ court hearing the case and even claimed that the case has been ‘managed’ by the accused, who have openly told them that “faisla hum humare favour mein kara ke chhorenge (We will ensure the judgment is in our favour).” Those arrested were: Dharmendra Yadav, Paramjeet Singh, Naresh Sharma and Vijay Kumar, while investigation was kept pending against Sharma under Section 173 (8) of the CrPC, reported the IE.   

Policemen as accused?

In a chilling coincidence, another horrific death was reported from Haryana’s Nuh, the victim is also named Junaid. A complaint from his family stated that the24-year-old, Junaid, succumbed to injuries inflicted while in police custody. A case has now been registered against “11-12 police personnel” from Nuh Police, who told the media that an  FIR has been registered on the complaint submitted by Junaid’s mother, Khatija, at the Bicchor police station in the district. Narendra Bijarniya, Nuh SP said the “FIR has been registered under IPC sections 302 (murder), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 34 (common intention) against seven police personnel by name and 4-5 unnamed others.” Those accused are Sub Inspector Rajesh, Sub Inspector Surjeet, Head Constable Naresh, Head Constable Dalbir, Assistant Sub Inspector Narendra, Assistant Sub Inspector Javed and Station House Officer Basant, all from the cyber station in Faridabad. According to Junaid’s relatives he was wrongly picked up on May 31 and tortured in custody. Faridabad Police however, have reportedly said he died due to a kidney ailment. According to Indian Express, the Faridabad Police, said they had taken Junaid, along with five others, into custody in connection with a case registered in September last year regarding an incident of financial fraud of Rs 80,000. They added that Junaid was among those taken for questioning on May 31, and was suffering from kidney disease; he and four others were “released the same night,” Sube Singh, PRO of Faridabad Police, told the media that three others, including Junaid’s two brothers, were arrested. 

Related:

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Cow vigilantes assault Muslim man, cops file case against victim too!

The post Remember the teenager named Junaid Khan? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Voices for dissent echoed from different parts of India as the ‘Hum Agar Uthe Nahin Toh’ (If We Do Not Rise) campaign came to its culmination on September 5, the third anniversary of journalist Gauri Lankesh’s assassination.

Last Saturday on August 29, over 400 women’s groups, LGBTQIA collectives and human rights organisations had given a clarion call to the people of India to raise a united voice against the attacks on dissent.

In response to this call, artists, workers, civilians have all come together to show their support, as a united front, for the freedom to express dissent.

The online gathering was first serenaded by the ‘Aaj Hum Nahi Uthey Tow’ Madhya Pradesh collective that brought together artists from varying backgrounds to sing in support of the cause.

Co-founder of Drishti Media Arts and Human rights collective Shabnam Virmani, Indian folk singer Prahlad Tipanya and vocalist Neelanjana Vashishtha sang songs in memory of the people who tried to speak truth to power. Similarly, renowned Hindi poet and journalist Rajesh Joshi and poet activist Shiv Kumar Archan presented their verses during this event.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=425253338514614&ref=watch_permalink

Meanwhile Amarjit Baheti and her daughter from Aurangabad Maharashtra sang and shared a song in solidarity with dissent.

The National Network of Sex Workers hosted a live ‘Ask Us Anything’ session on Facebook where sex workers from different States talked about their condition during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as about the nature of their work. They also discussed the government’s assistance or lack thereof. Towards the conclusion, participants demanded recognition of the rights of sex workers and spoke in memory of Gauri Lankesh who also fought for the rights of transgenders and sex workers.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2853307248224460&id=100006356376217&sfnsn=wiwspwa&extid=hK78CLfYIYV1fcxc

Women’s associations across India protested on the streets as well.

The All India Progressive Women’s Association put up posters on domestic violence and child abuse under a flyover. Among the many posters, one has the words “Remember remember 5th of September!!! Three years ago they killed Gauri Lankesh on this day.”

The Gamana Mahila Samuha in Karnataka sang songs to join their voices in the ‘Hum Agar Uthe Nahi Toh’ campaign. The participants also included children holding posters in support of the event.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=157643122636666&id=100051729365183

Similarly, another young protester held up a placard in support of the movement in Dahod, Gujarat.

Members of the Jangal Jameen Jan Andolan in Rajasthan talked about the suppression of dissent in the country. Member Madhulika in a video said that people who voice opposing views have a right to be heard. She encouraged people to discuss government actions and listen to all sides of an argument.

Similar protests also took place in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh, Mandla Madhura Pradesh and parts of Bihar.

Individuals such as human rights activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad also put up a video expressing the need to protect the right to dissent in the current socio-political conditions.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=607846223230476&extid=dnfFSDLWdQmMxBbX

Even civilians circulated videos where they talked about the woes they faced due to the poor implementation of government policies.

Endorsing the campaign, ex-Supreme Court Judge P.B. Sawant issued a statement wherein he said that the Central political regime that opposes the ideals and objectives of our Constitution has multiple difficulties of the country.

“The regime has been working to build a society which is fascist, strongly capitalist and non-secular,” he said.

Regarding the issue of casteism and communalism, Sawant said that the present regime is responsible for creating friction among social groups. He said that the current system created such antagony to maintain power. He also pointed out that communalism can be sourced back to casteism and thus every person regardless of caste or religion are as much original inhabitants of India as the majority community.

“Humanism must triumph over everything else,” he said.

Commenting on the regime’s poor economic system, he concluded that it was to blame for many of the country’s problems as well because it considered the profits of the few rather than the benefit of the many for problems of pollution, corruption and criminalisation.

Related:

Hum Agar Uthe Nahi, a clarion call for Indians to show a united front

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Over 400 women’s groups and human rights organisations will come together on September 5 for a nation-wide Hum Agar Uthe Nahi Toh (If We Do Not Rise) campaign against various issues faced by marginalised sections of society, activists said on Thursday.

During the campaign thousands of individuals will make videos of two to three minutes to share on social media platforms, livestream on Facebook and create posters, animation, memes, songs and performances and circulate on the social media.

“Due to COVID-19, we will not be able to come out on streets in large numbers but there will be videos on issues and there will also be social media live sessions and also posters, art, paintings can be made on the subject people wish to raise their voice on,” said activist Shabnam Hashmi.

Accordingly, participants will observe physical distancing norms and gather in small groups with placards and slogans. They will also give memoranda on different issues to local authorities.

General Secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) Mariam Dhavale said the campaign is a timely intervention since the government is hurriedly changing laws while rising violence and a hunger crisis persists in India.

“The government is using the pandemic to change the entire nature of the country thinking the country is grappling with the pandemic and will not be able to revolt,” she said.

As per the meeting’s press note, the last few years have seen a collapse of democratic institutions in the country. The independence of the judiciary and other institutions of oversight has come under a serious cloud and the functioning of the Parliament has been gravely compromised.

Similarly, co-convenor of the campaign for people’s right to information and founding member of Satark Nagrik Sangathan Anjali Bhardwaj, claimed that there has been an “unprecedented attack” on India’s democracy and citizens’ constitutional rights.

“The COVID-19 crisis the way it was handled also exposed the anti-poor regime. The way lockdown was announced how it hit the farmers, migrant workers or sex workers how they have lost all employment and the government has done little to fix the problem,” she alleged.

Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, said that the many movements that have come together for this campaign make India the best place it could be.

“These are urgent times so that is why we have to come together and protect India’s Constitution and democracy,” she said.

“The government is moving fast to change the India we know. If we look at the National Education Policy, it is bringing graded inequality. In case of Environment Impact Assessment, they are getting rid of environmental assessment measures and they are moving fast to get rid of labour laws,” Krishnan claimed.

According to the press note, the changes in the EIA will lead to adverse changes in agrarian policies which will lead to unemployment, hunger and destitution among the working poor, especially migrant workers.

Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women, said there needs to be discussions on all sorts of issues whether it is violence against women or atrocities against marginalised sections of society.

“The government is not thinking that’s why there is unprecedented increase of violence against women. If we don’t speak up now then it would be a tragedy,” she said.

The campaign will be launched on the anniversary of journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder three years ago to honour the voices of dissent that have been systematically silenced and labelled anti-national. Factsheets regarding various themes including violence against women, transgender people, health, political participation of women, migrant workers, women farmers and sex workers will also be released on the day of the campaign.

The activists also acknowledged the significant role women and LGBTQIA+ persons have played in addressing the frontal attack on the freedom of expression in the last few years.  Regressive laws like the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act have adversely impacted the rights of Transgender persons who enjoy very few provisions to protect themselves.

They organisers appealed to all artists, intellectuals and concerned citizens to join the campaign on September 5.

The post Hum Agar Uthe Nahi, a clarion call for Indians to show a united front appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Even today, almost three months after the coronavirus outbreak in India, people are highly misinformed about the pandemic’s symptoms and steps to be taken to stay safe thanks to the overly increasing disinformation and claims about the same.

However, setting an example of fighting misinformation with correction information are the Maulana Adam Shafiullah, the imam of a mosque and Abdur Rauf, a leader of the All India Forward Bloc’s (AIFB) youth league in the Dinhata subdivision of Cooch Behar who are visiting homes in villages with more a higher minority population to raise awareness on the contagion, The Telegraph reported.

Shafiullah told The Telegraph that going by the gravity of the situation, he felt it was necessary to undertake this task. He said, “I felt it important to visit households and tell people how to save themselves from infection. I specifically pointed out that they should refrain from assembling in mosques for weekly prayers to maintain social distancing.”

The duo have also communicated the same to imams of other mosques and the muezzins of smaller mosques to pass on awareness on social distancing, hand-washing and use of masks. Apart from this, the duo are also advising that senior citizens and children under 10 years of age stay home.

Maulana Shafiullah and Rauf are also in touch with migrant workers who are returning home and asked the family of a migrant worker to take responsibility to make all returnees aware of the precautions they need to take.

The Nazirhat, Dinhata-II block which has a population of over 50,000, with 45 percent being minorities have seen results after the two men put their efforts to issue safety directives. People stayed home during Eid and though around a 100 people had contracted the infection, most had recovered. Rauf told The Telegraph, “People were aware, they acted responsibly and that’s why the spread of the infection was not as rapid as it might have been in the area.”

Also, setting a strong example of communal harmony when the media was trying to create a divide, Rauf told TT that they went to Hindu and Muslim families alike. He told TT that they had also handed over relief materials to families of Hindu priests who were in distress due to temples being closed.  

Fake news around the pandemic has led to rumours, vilification of minorities, death and also a spike in cases. With excess information circulating, people started self-medicating and some thought of the virus to be a hoax until it spread in large numbers. In India, fake news against the minorities spread far and wide, exacerbated by the media leading to the ostracization of minorities. Amid these setbacks, the efforts of Maulana Shafiullah and Abdur Rauf are two exemplary steps forward to making the country coronavirus free and more tolerant to its minorities.

Related:

Covid-19 is a political Pandemic in Delhi
Students with disabilities, those from underprivileged households and women left out of online learning during pandemic

The post Rural stay-safe campaign curbs spread of coronavirus cases, fosters communal harmony appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In response to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) door-to-door campaign, the Congress has also readied itself for an anti-CAA and anti-National Register of Citizens (NRC) training session for which party workers are being trained by experts on the “ill-effects of the government’s citizenship policies”.

After the BJP started its pro-CAA rally by holding pro-CAA campaigns in schools and conducting campaigns, the Congress has also decided to hand out booklets on the perils of the CAA-NRC implementation.

The political party, in its first training session, invited lawyer Mihir Desai, activists Feroze Mithiborwala, Varsha Vidya Vilas, Salim Alware and MA Khalid, Bombay Catholic Sabha President Dolphy D’souza, Amol Madame of Akhil Bharatiya Parivar and Jatin Desai to apprise the functionaries about the legal and technical aspects of CAA and NRC and their potential effects on Indian citizens.

The Mumbai Mirror reported that city Congress chief Eknath Gaikwad said that the party would soon be launching an outreach programme to inform people about the CAA. “The awareness campaign will include block level meetings and a door-to-door campaign,” Bhushan Patil, a city Congress functionary said. Responding to what information will be disseminated at these meetings he said, “There is a lot of misinformation about the CAA and NRC. In reality, it is discriminatory and has divided the country. It’s an attack on the Constitution of India. These issues will be explained at these training sessions and then our office bearers and workers will spread the word.”

The Congress, along with the NCP and other parties has formed a front called “Hum Bharat Ke Log” that has organized massive rallies against the CAA and NRC throughout India. After a massive rally in Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan that took place in December 2019, Patil has said that the next anti-CAA rally has been planned on January 24, 2020 at Parel’s Kamgar Maidan.

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BJP and its attempts to get support for a law it passed, without due democratic debate

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The saying, “Desperate times call for desperate measures” applies aptly to the Central government right now. The ruling government is leaving no stone unturned to garner more and more support among the masses for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The party seems to have given out a diktat to its party members across the country to do all it takes to get support for the contentious law, this includes doing a door to door campaign informing people and giving them the ‘right information’ about the law claiming misinformation is being spread across various platforms of media, be it digital or print.

It is natural that people who are clueless about the law or know very little about it and are supporters of the BJP will believe the narrative being laid out by the “official source” which is the government itself and when the government comes to your doorstep to inform you about its law, there remains very less room for suspicion.

Here’s a look at all the desperate measures of the BJP government to garner support for its controversial law that drew criticism from citizens especially students across the country.  it also invited criticism from international organizations like the United Nations as well as countries like United States of America as also few student’s organizations of universities like the Oxford University in United Kingdom.

West Bengal

The BJP launched a door to door campaign in TMC ruled Bengal on January 5 in support of the central government’s initiatives on citizenship in at least three districts of north Bengal, namely, Siliguri, Malda and Cooch Behar. The Telegraph reported that in the past one week, BJP’s state and central leaders, including Arvind Menon, Rahul Sinha and Mukul Roy, held closed-door meetings with district and block level functionaries of the party in north Bengal. In these meeting strategies are known to have formulated to counter the campaign by TMC and other parties against the CAA.

A BJP insider said, “It was decided that the BJP’s campaign would be carried out in a very sublime manner so that people could openly air their opinions. In Malda and Cooch Behar, people heard the leaders and received the pamphlets and booklets from them on Sunday. But we doubt how many of these people shared their opinions.”

Delhi

The impending elections in Delhi called for more rigorous and effective campaign and hence the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, himself knocked at the doors of some residents of south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, originally established to house Hindu and Sikh refugees from West Pakistan. The Telegraph reported that before beginning this campaign he addressed a meeting wherein he asked party cadres to raise the slogan of “Bharat Mata ki jai” so loudly that the “kaan ka parda (ear drums)” of those opposing the CAA “phat jaaye (gets ruptured)”.

What is important to note is that Shah chose a Hindu-Sikh locality for the campaign instead of a minority-dominated area where the actual “fear” exists. During this campaign residents were given pamphlets containing “myths” and “facts” about the CAA and asked them to give a missed call on a particular number to show their support for the amended law.

Jharkhand

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad organised a meeting at the ground in front of the Bodhi temple in Sakchi area of Jamshedpur which was attended by over 3,000 people, in support of CAA. VHP international vice-president Jagannath Sahi while challenging the protestors said, “I ask CAA protesters to pick up a copy of it and let us know if there is anything in it against the Muslims of this country.” He also said that the streets are not meant for only those who are against the law. On the same day, Union minister of tribal affairs Arjun Munda visited several places in Jugsalai to raise awareness about the CAA.

Missed calls to support CAA

The real desperation of BJP could be seen when Twitter saw many BJP supporting accounts posting the phone number, pretending to be a lonely, bored women asking people to call the number, even going to the lengths of claiming that calling on the number will activate free Netflix subscription of 6 months.

The BJP even roped in Jaggi Vasudev ‘Sadhguru’ to spread a positive message about CAA and to mainly reach out to the followers of Sadhguru and harbouring their support as well. His talk was even endorsed by the Prime Minister himself. The talk given by Sadhguru in support of the contentious law was criticised by many on social media for being misinformed on facts and history.

The widespread protests that have flared up since after the CAA became law seems to have taken the BJP by surprise. They, most definitely, did not expect such a deep rooted backlash from people from varied walks of life and such a long drawn protests that refuses to die down. Hence, the BJP has been compelled to come up with such campaigns to gain support for a law that it has already passed.

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Kannan Gopinathan detained in UP on his way to deliver speech at AMU
Pak Hindu girl permitted to give Board exams by Rajasthan Govt.
Mangaluru: Fact-finding report unearths the reality of police brutality at anti-CAA protests

The post BJP and its attempts to get support for a law it passed, without due democratic debate appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A left-wing students’ union in Gujarat went in for a massive signature campaign in Ahmedabad in support of the anti-fee hike movement of Jawharlal Nehru University (JNU) students. The All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) organised the campaign near the main gate of the historic Gujarat College, whose students had made a major mark during Independence movement.

AIDSO secretary Rimmi Vaghela claimed, “In spite of University examinations going on, a large number of students supported the JNU students, signing up the huge banner, which will be sent to the JNU Students’ Union.”

Though the programme was taking place outside the campus of the Gujarat College, the college principal ordered removal the banner and threatened AIDSO activists that if they did not do it, he would call the police. “When we discussed this with matter him, he said he had received a phone from a government secretary, seeking his intervention, Vaghela said.

Courtesy: counterview.net

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The 5 human rights activists are Sudhir Dhawale, a writer and Mumbai-based Dalit rights activist, Surendra Gadling, a UAPA expert and lawyer from Nagpur, Mahesh Raut, a young activist on displacement issues from Gadchiroli, Shoma Sen, a university professor and head of the English literature department at Nagpur University, Rona Wilson, a Delhi-based prisoners’ rights activist.

These arrests were followed by witch hunting of other activists from all over India and advocate Arun Ferreira, advocate Sudha Bharadwaj, writer Varavara Rao and Vernon Gonsalves, Anand Teltumbde were arrested subsequently.

On January 1, 2018, hundreds of Dalits had gathered for the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Anglo-Maratha War of 1818 in which Dalits had fought bravely alongside the British, defeating the upper caste Maratha army of the Peshva. But there was stone pelting allegedly by the right winged groups who attacked the Dalits that resulted in the death of a youth while others were attacked and even detained. Vehicles were torched and some policemen were also injured.

The activists were charged under the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act by a trial court and later the police filed a charge sheet containing more than 5000 pages claiming that these activists were involved in Maoist activities under the banned party Communist Party of India ( Maoist) and that they were planning the assassination of Prime Minister Modi.

However the police have not provided any evidence despite their claims of having solid evidence against these activists. On the contrary they have kept delaying the trial on one pretext or the other.

Today despite more than 60 hearings the 5 activists have not been granted bail.

Activists, lawyers, academicians and others have initiated a campaign on Twitter to demand the release of human rights activists and lawyers arrested by tweeting to the Chief Minister’s office and the police of Pune.

Join the campaign today 6^th June between 7 pm to 9 pm.

Courtesy: Two Circle

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