Men, reportedly from the Bajrang Dal forced their way into a train and harassed two Catholic nuns and two other young women passengers travelling together, near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. The senior nuns were in their ‘habit’ or tradition nun’s dress with a headgear that identifies them as members of a congregation, the young women, who were going to join a convent were in regular salwar kameez. However at the sight of the Nuns, one of whom hails from Kerala, a group of men started hurling rude questions at them, all of which were answered patiently and politely by the women.

The men seemed confident that the law keepers would not correct them were even heard telling the policemen to forcibly take the women out of the carriage. The policemen seemed to comply, even as the goons continued harassing the young women loudly in the train coach itself. While someone filmed, one man demanded that the young woman travelling with the nun show him her identification card, when she replied that she was a Christian and wanted to become a nun herself and was travelling for that purpose. 

The goons were accusing the senior nuns of forcibly “taking the girls away to convert them,” however the young woman answered bravely that she was already a Christian and was going to follow her calling. She showed her Aadhaar card, which identified her as a 19-year-old, to the angry men, who then started yelling that it did not “identify her as a Christian”. Clearly the men who just seemed intent on hassling women travelers did not know that the Aadhaar does not mention religious identification of any sort. They then called the young woman a liar and asked the police to forcibly evict them from the train.

The two senior nuns belong to the Sacred Heart Congregation (SH) of the Delhi Province, and were travelling to Odisha from Delhi on Friday, March 19. According to news reports, the nuns and the soon to be student nuns were travelling in the Third AC compartment of the train that rolled out of Delhi at 11:30 A.M. Just before it arrived at Jhansi at around 6:30 P.M, the Hindutva group of men began harassing them loudly. They kept talking loudly in threatening tones and accusing the nuns of “converting” the young women. One of the nuns called the Provincial House, the congregations headquarters in Delhi and informed them of their predicament, all this while the group of men kept shouting ‘Jai Sri Ram and Jai Hanuman’, as per a post by the Vigilant Catholic, an online news monitoring group.

The Hindutva group then allegedly invoked the Anti-Conversion Act that is now enforced in Uttar Pradesh, and called the police as well as more members of their group. According to news reports when the trains arrived at Jhansi railway station at 7:30 P.M, male police officers entered the train and asked the four nuns to evacuate the compartment. The police did not accept their word that they were going on vacation and would not evacuate the train especially without the presence of a female police officer, stated news reports. It is alleged that the local male police forced them out of the train, on the platform were hundreds of Bajrang Dal members shouting slogans.

Sister Usha Maria, the provincial, told Matters India details of the train ordeal suffered by her sisters saying, “The men in their compartment blamed the nuns for forcing the postulants to religious conversion. The 19-year-old students repeatedly told them that they are Christians and they want to become nuns. They showed their identity proof, but the radicals wouldn’t leave the sisters.” She added, “Christians have been facing regular attacks recently in Uttar Pradesh and this is the latest,” and that this is “very dangerous” for a secular country like India.

According to news reports, the women were taken by the police from the railway station to the police station, and the crowd of Hindutva outfit members followed them. It was then that one of the Nuns, insisted that a female police officer be called to accompany them. Meanwhile, senior nuns from Delhi had informed the Jhansi Bishop’s House, Lucknow IG, who then reportedly intervened and met the nuns. The nuns still had to show additional “supporting documents” as demanded by the police to prove their innocence. It is reported that they were allowed to leave the police station at 11 P.M. The authorities took them to the Bishop’s House in Jhansi to ensure their safety. 

It is reported that the nuns eventually resumed their journey on Saturday, however this time they did not wear their monatic clothes, and were in ‘civian’ dress to prevent any further attacks.  

It is not yet known if any action has been taken by Uttar Pradesh police against the group of men who harassed the four women, and have been filmed doing so.  

Related:

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Mob attacks Christians in Chhattisgarh, 8 hospitalised
Interfaith unions: Lawlessness widespread in Uttar Pradesh
Mob Lynching in 2020: Misleading Exception than a Norm

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Come October 8, 2018 and the annual commemoration and awards for war correspondents, instituted since 1994, will begin this year showcasing and Exhibition on Afghan Lives. But this year it will be extra special because India’s feisty and courageous journalist, Gauri Lankesh will find honour and mention here.

Image: cjp.org.in

The Bayeux-Calvados Awards for war correspondents (Prix Bayeux-Calvados des correspondants de guerre) is an annual prize awarded since 1994, by the city of Bayeux and the General Council of Calvados. Its goal is to pay tribute to journalists who work in dangerous conditions to allow the public access to information about war.

Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), a partner to the award has informed Ms Kavitha Lankesh that her sister, Ms Gauri Lankesh will be honoured in a new stele that will be inaugurated in this year’s memorial commemorating reporters killed on duty. This stele covers part of last year, and Gauri Lankesh’s name will be on it. Ms Gauri Lankesh was brutally gunned down on the night of September 5, 2017.

There will be tributes paid to her and invitees will speak about her work. Ms Kavitha Lankesh has been invited to attend and pay her own personal tribute to Gauri.
 
The family of Ms Gauri Lankesh, while deeply grieving her loss, one year to the date of her brutal killing, is overwhelmed at this continued recognition of her contribution and her work.

About the Award

The award was launched as part of the fiftieth anniversary of the Normandy landings. It is awarded in Bayeux, one of the first French cities to be liberated in the Second World War, in a conference that includes a book fair, a media forum, discussion evenings, and youth-oriented events.

The award has had twelve categories since 1994: Daily news, Magazine, Photojournalism, Radio, Television, Large Format Television, Web journalism, Young reporter, Lower NormandySecondary School Students’ Prize, Ouest-France – Jean Marin Prize (Print journalism), Public Prize.

In 2012 it was  Javier Espinosa, El Mundo who was recognised for Print journalism, the Photojournalism prize went to Aris Messinis, AFP, the Radio Prize to Jeremy Bowen, BBC News,  the Television prize to Nic Robertson, CNN, the Large Format Television: Mathieu Mabin, France 24, the Web journalism prize to David Wood, Huffington Post, the Young reporter prize to Ed Ou, Getty Images, the Lower Normandy Secondary School Students’ Prize: Mathieu Mabin, France 24, the Ouest-France – Jean Marin Prize (print journalism) to Rémy Ourdan, Le Monde and the Public Prize: Manu Brabo, of AP.
 

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A day after activists of a right wing group ransacked the Jan Chetna book store run by the leftist organisation Naujawan Bharat Sabha at Punjabi Bhawan here and manhandling the volunteers at the store, several Leftist organisations today laid a siege to the Division No. 5 police station and demanded action against the assailants.

It all began when a group of Hindutva goons ransacked Janchetna — an institution dedicated to promote and propagate progressive literature — in Ludhiana on January 2, 2017. They also abused and misbehaved with the book shop manager Binny and manhandled other activists who came to her rescue. They even threatened to put the books on fire. More disturbing, however, was the fact that all this happened in the presence of police which remained a mute spectator to this fascist attack which lasted for two hours.

Later, Anand of the Jan Chetana book store alleged that, instead of arresting the goons, the police took the activists present there — Binny, Janchetna book shop manager, Lakhwinder , President of Textiles Hosiery Kamgar Union, Gurjeet (Samar), an activist of Karkhana Mazdoor Union and Satbir Naujawan Bharat Sabha activists — into custody and sealed the shop. However, due to people’s pressure the activists were soon released and a demonstration of various mass organisations and trade unions compelled the police to let the book shop reopen.

Media reports claimed that 21-year-old Shivani had been visiting the store to read literature pertaining to Shaheed Bhagat Singh and other freedom fighters. The literature had influenced her so much that she had left her home. Her parents, along with right wing people, yesterday reached the store and complained that their daughter had left home because the Jan Chetna volunteers were inculcating revolutionary ideology in her, thus making her to leave her home.
 
There were vociferous protests by trade unions and people’s organisations. Today’s protest was led by Lakhwinder, president of the Textile Hosiery Kamgar Union. Members of several other unions took part in the protest. He alleged that the Jan Chetna store was selling revolutionary, democratic and freedom struggle literature which was already available in the market. “Instead of taking action against the right wing members, we were rounded up by the police and kept at the police station for more than two hours.  We have been assured by the ACP-West that an inquiry into the case has been marked. If no action is taken by the police within 24 hours, we will again gherao the police station,” he added.
 
Yesterday, the police had also sealed the store. However, they returned the keys to the authorities today and the book store reopened, he added.
 
The chief spokesperson  for right wing organisation Shri Hindu Takht, Rohit Sahni, told the media that they were approached by the girl’s parents with a complaint that the Jan Chetna store was providing revolutionary literature to her daughter due to which she wanted to leave home. ”We immediately went to the store along with the parents. The police also seized the banned revolutionary literature, forcing revolutionary thoughts on the youth and making them anti-Hindu. Our complaint has been sent to the DA (Legal) by the police. An FIR under section 295-A of the IPC could be registered against the Jan Chetna store,” he added. 

He also alleged that the case of Shivani was not an isolated one and there could be several other youngsters who were being forced by Jan Chetna to adopt revolutionary ideology and leave home.

The ACP-West, Varinderjit Singh, said both parties had submitted their respective complaints and an inquiry into both complaints would be conducted by the SHO.

Goons owing allegiance to the ideology of Hindutva lodged a complaint to the police that Janchetna was “brainwashing the youth” by promoting “Anti-Hindu literature” and “propagating anti-India ideology among youth”.  They also submitted some literature  such as “Why I am an Atheist” by Bhagat Singh and “Ishwar ka Bahishkar” by Radha Mohan Gokulji to the police and demanded that an FIR be lodged against Janchetna for “promoting atheism” and “hurting religious sentiments”.  

It was after this incident, some mass organisations had given a call to protest. On January 3, hundreds of youth, students, workers and democratic rights activists took out a rally and laid a siege to the police station division number 5 Ludhiana to protest against the attack by the Hindutva goons and the police inaction. The protestors demanded that strict action be taken against the goons and also the policemen who were present at the spot.

The siege ended after the ACP asked for 24 hours of time to take action against the attackers. The protest demonstration forced the police to return the keys of bookshop to the Janchetna representatives.

The organisation which took part in the demonstration included Textile Hosiery Kamgar Union, Punjab Students Union, Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Inquilabi Kender Punjab, Democratic Employees Front, Tarksheel Society Punjab, Lok Ekta Sangathan, Molder and steel Workers Union, Democratic Lawyers Association etc.

This incident is in continuation of the increasing attack on the rational thoughts and freedom of expression being carried out by the forces of Hindutva with increasing regularity ever since the Modi government has come to power. It is particularly dangerous because the Hindu fundamentalists have had little support base in Punjab compared to other parts of the country.  As this incident shows, they are spreading their tentacles in Punjab as well. Clearly, grass root mobilisation against such tends is the need of the hour. This incident shows yet again that the fascist forces are afraid of revolutionary, democratic and rational ideas. Janchetna will carry on the task of promoting and propagating the literature containing such ideas.  

In Kerala, on the eve of the state assembly elections, a people’s library with precious manuscripts had been burned down by persons belonging to the RSS. The  Violent Attack on Thought and Discussion Through the Violent Act of Burning Down a Library was Met with a Unique Peaceful Resistance, in Kerala !  Within less than a month, the burned down Library that had 5,000 books was re-opened with a people's contribution of over 15,000 Books!
 
Interview of Janchetna book shop manager Binny describing the event

 
 
 
 

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