These rallies by the Bharat Mukti Morcha are a part of the awareness rallies the said organisation has been holding across the country, which are named as ‘EVM Scam Expose Rashtriya Parivartan Yatra – Part 2’. Through this collective effort, the protestors are demanding the removal of EVMs to save democracy in India along with establishing of elaborate administrative safeguards, procedures and security by the Election Commission of India to ensure that elections are transparent, free and fair.

EVM machine is a thief, Election Commission is the leader of thieves. -Mr. Waman Meshram (National President, Bharat Mukti Morcha)#LongMarchOnECI pic.twitter.com/hSmxjlLYi8

— #राष्ट्रीय_किसान_मोर्चा (@DHARMENDRARKM) January 25, 2024

As per Meshram, “EVM machine is a thief, Election Commission is the leader of thieves”. Meshram, who is also the national president of the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF), has also asked for the opposition parties and the INDIA alliance to also be a part of his agitation against EVMs. 

Hashtags of EVM hatao desh bachao (remove EVM to save our nation) can be seen trending on X (formerly Twitter) with lakhs of retweets and posts in support of this protest.

The pictures and videos from on-ground are as follows:

Jantar Mantar Ground New Delhi.
Protest March On Election Commission of India. Leadership: Hon. Waman Meshram (National President Bharat Mukti Morcha)#चुनाव_आयोग_पर_महामोर्चा pic.twitter.com/rWItwESU2R

— MSS (@Manojs0504) January 31, 2024

आज दिल्ली में evm के विरोध में भारत मुक्ति मोर्चा के बैनर तले व तमाम बहुजन संगठनों द्वारा चुनाव आयोग का गहराव किया जा रहा है।
मिडिया कांह छुप गया?@1stIndiaNews@news24tvchannel@nayak1news#चुनाव_आयोग_पर_महामोर्चा pic.twitter.com/gCVaGESh15

— Panchraj vanal (@Panchrajvanal) January 31, 2024

#चुनाव_आयोग_पर_महामोर्चा#BAN_EVM#SAVE_DEMOCRACY

I SUPPORT #BharatMuktiMorcha pic.twitter.com/cmNToiq7Ka

— Prasad Wahule (@vahule3) January 31, 2024

Scenes from Delhi

Crowds of people took to the streets at Jantar Mantar, protest is being organized by Bharat Mukti Morcha, demonstration is being organized to remove #EVM #Delhi#EVM_हटाओ_लोकतंत्र_बचाओ #IndiaAgainstEvm #BanEVM_Save_India #SupportMahaRally_AgainstEVM… pic.twitter.com/MLu5ULG6lu

— Sebastian (@Sebastian_IYC) January 31, 2024

A video of a speech being delivered by Rajendra Pal Gautam, the ex-cabinet minister of NCT Delhi, can also be seen going viral on social media. In his speech, Gautam can be heard saying “How are leaders from the Modi government so confident regarding their seats in elections? This time they are saying that they will get 400 plus seats. They have this much confidence as these EVMs are made by Bharat Electronic Ltd. Out of the seven directors heading this company, four are leaders of BJP. The micro-controller chip used in EVMs are fixed by these BJP leaders which ensures that our votes go to BJP. They are fixing votes, they are stealing our votes. But we, the followers of Ambedkar, will not let our right to vote be stolen like this. We got this right after facing many difficulties.” 

The full video of the speech can be viewed here:

नई दिल्ली LIVE:

EVM के खिलाफ महामोर्चा
जंतर मंतर #चुनाव_आयोग_पर_महामोर्चा

INDIA SUPPORT #BharatMuktiMorcha

pic.twitter.com/Pzi8wA1mF6

— Gurjar (@PratiharSurendr) January 31, 2024

Sharad Pawar, the founder and chief of Nationalist Congress Party, was also a part of the said grand protest in Delhi.  

National President of Rashtravadi supports Mahamorcha at Central

Congress Party Hon. Sharad Pawar Ji

Election Office through Bharat Mukti

Morcha #BanEVM#चुनाव_आयोग_पर_महामोर्चा #BalletPaper#BanEVM_SaveDemocracy #Bmm pic.twitter.com/0tSBvDdD0P

— The.Warrior_Monu (@MonuTurakne) January 31, 2024

BIG BREAKING:
नई दिल्ली जंतर मंतर

राष्ट्रवादी कांग्रेस के सांसद मा. शरद पवार और भारत मुक्ति मोर्चा के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष मा. वामन मेश्राम जी का सम्बोधन!#SharadPawar #WamanMeshram

pic.twitter.com/g5fQEMUuZ1

— Gurjar (@PratiharSurendr) January 31, 2024

Related:

At least 40% of the EVMs were tampered here: Mohd. Arshad Khan

EVM security: Whose responsibility is it anyway?

Memorandum to ECI to implement its constitutional mandate and conduct free and fair election

Were the 2019 general elections free & fair?

The post Massive protest in Delhi by Bharat Mukti Morcha with one demand- REMOVE EVMs, SAVE DEMOCRACY appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Justice Mukta Gupta granted bail to Preet Singh, who allegedly raised inflammatory and anti-Muslim slogans at Jantar Mantar, on August 8. The court noted that he was not needed for custodial interrogation any longer and could be released on bail.

Without indulging in the issue of whether or not Singh was involved in hate speech, the court noted in its order that as per the video footage and the call records of Singh, he had left the spot at around 2:00 P.M., whereafter the main provocative words/slogans were shouted by the co-accused at around 4:00 P.M.

During the bail hearing, Preet’s lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, had argued that if the demand for a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation) comes within the ambit of hate speech laws that intend to hurt the sentiments of a particular community, he will not press the bail application.

Tarang Srivastava, the Additional Public Prosecutor, representing the state, had opposed the bail application stating that Preet Singh was a co-organiser of the event and is thus responsible for the incitement which continued till the evening. He pointed out that even in an interview given by Singh along with co-accused Pinki Chaudhary, he used inciting words against the Muslim community.

To this argument, the high court said, “the interview by the petitioner was not an isolated interview and was part of simultaneous conversation with a number of speakers. Further large numbers of people gathered at the spot due to the petitioner co-organizing the protest and therefore the petitioner would be liable for any offence committed in furtherance of the common object of the assembly.”

However, Justice Gupta relied on his call records to observe that Preet had already left the spot before the Islamophobic sloganeering started.

On August 27, the district court refused to grant him bail on grounds that prima facie, there was material to believe that there had been active participation by Preet in his individual capacity and also as the main organizer of the Jantar Mantar event in spite of the denial of permission by the Delhi Police and total disregard to Covid­-19 protocol issued by the government.

Additional Sessions Judge Anil Antil of the Patiala House court had said, “Given the stature of the applicant, it was expected that he ought to have exercised his authority, in these circumstances, and prevented participants from erring such inflammatory opinions in the larger interest of the public/Committee welfare. On the other hand, the applicant is clearly seen actively participating in the incendiary speeches along with his other associates.”

Before this, on August 12, the Metropolitan Magistrate, Udbhav Kumar Jain, had observed that accused persons Deepak Singh and Preet Singh were seen together making “scathing remarks which are undemocratic and uncalled for from a citizen of this country where principles like Secularism hold the value of basic feature imbibed in the Constitution.” The MM had also rejected his bail plea.

On August 8, vile slogans like Mu*** (slang term for Muslims) kaate jaaenge, Ram Ram chilaenge” (Muslims will be slaughtered in the name of Lord Ram), “s**r kaate jaaenge, Ram Ram chilaenge” (Pigs will be slaughtered in the name of Lord Ram), and “Hindustan mein rehna hoga, Jai Shri Ram kehna hoga” (If you want to live in India, one must say long live Lord Ram) were raised by a group of people.

After the Delhi Police registered an FIR, 6 people, including supreme court lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, were arrested on August 10. As per a SabrangIndia report, the next day, on August 11, Magistrate Udbhav Kumar Jain had granted relief to Upadhyay, while saying, “Except for a mere assertion there was nothing on record to show that the alleged hate speech to promote enmity between different groups was done in the presence or at the behest of the applicant/accused.”

Other people booked and arrested for this event are Deepak Singh, Vinod Sharma and Pinky Chaudhary. While dismissing Chaudhary’s bail plea, Additional Sessions Judge, Anil Antil, had said, “applicant’s interview is impregnated with high octane communal barbs, laced with inflammatory, insulting and threatening gestures, ex facie indicative of the calculative design on the part of the applicant to promote hatred and ill will amongst other section of the community”.

The HC order may be read here:

Related:

Preet Singh involved in incendiary speech: Delhi court denies bail
Delhi Court rejects bail pleas of three accused in the anti-Muslim sloganeering in Jantar Mantar rally
Court reminds hate mongers, India is not a Taliban State
Jantar Mantar rally: BJP leader, SC lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay among six arrested
Anti-Muslim hate speech at Delhi rally calls for communal violence

The post Jantar Mantar hate speech case: Delhi HC grants bail to accused Preet Singh appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It took Delhi Police minutes to swing into action at Jantar Mantar on August 10, slapping section 144 of the CrPc that prohibits gatherings of four or more people. They then took just a few more minutes to drag the protesters into a waiting bus. These included scores of journalists, students, peace activists who had announced a peace protest.

This was an unusual protest, that grew organically after a call given by journalist Shyam Meera Singh who told SabrangIndia before the protest that he could not sit silent after witnessing the hate speech spewed at the rally called by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Upadhyay  who is also a Supreme Court lawyer. 

It was a conversation with other reporters on the matter that threw up the idea. Someone had casually asked why there was no protest in Delhi even after such a call to violence against Muslims had been given. “Who will protest,” asked another. It was then Singh spoke up. ”I said we must protest,” he told us. The anti-Muslim hate speech and literal call to genocide by a group at the at the Delhi rally on Sunday shook him. “It felt like someone entered your home and grabbed your mother by the collar… it felt like a personal attack… no more I said. This is an attack on democracy,” he said, getting ready to leave for Jantar Mantar and hoping that others who want to protest hate and protect democracy will join him.

The numbers did not matter here, the fact that citizens were rising as one against hate, and the hope that a genocide must be averted was the driving force. He shared the idea on social media and soon it grew and Protest_against_Hate started trending on Monday night. By Tuesday morning, scores had made up their mind to reach Jantar Mantar in the evening and stand up against hate speech.

However, just hours later he announced that the Delhi Police, which had somehow ‘missed’ the hate speech given under their gaze on Sunday, had stopped those protesting hate, and imposed Section 144 around Jantar Mantar. Shyam Meera Singh was detained along with many others.

मैं मोर्चे पर आ गया हूँ. आसपास खड़ा हूँ ताकि शुरू में ही डिटेन न कर लें. आप लोग भी आइए. सब लोग मिलके खड़े होते हैं.
– जंतर मंतर #Protest_against_Hate

— Shyam Meera Singh (@ShyamMeeraSingh) August 10, 2021

शांति मार्च से हमें
हमें गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया है
– जंतर मंतर

मैं डरूंगा नहीं लड़ूंगा
इस संघी सरकार से।#Protest_against_Hate pic.twitter.com/us8t8lm5ao

— Sandeep Singh (@ActivistSandeep) August 10, 2021

पुलिस हम सबको किसी अज्ञात स्थान पर ले जा रही है।#Protest_against_Hate pic.twitter.com/JrvjoiNOXo

— Vivek Gupta (@30guptavivek) August 10, 2021

The Police continued to detain protesters, even dragged some of them into a bus and took them away without disclosing the destination!

आप शांति के नारे नहीं लगा सकते। नफ़रत फैलानी हो तो दिल्ली पुलिस आपको सुरक्षा देगी।

आज जंतर मंतर #Protest_against_Hate pic.twitter.com/1BNoX6Z0hR

— Ashok Kumar Pandey अशोक اشوک (@Ashok_Kashmir) August 10, 2021

इस तरह घसीट के गिरफ़्तारियाँ की गई। मैं एक चैनल को बाइट दे रहा था। मेरे साथ भी बदतमीज़ी की कोशिश की है। @Sujata1978 का हाथ मरोड़ा गया।

सॉरी बॉस आप डर गए हैं शांति के आह्वान से लेकिन हम तो कहेंगे #Protest_against_Hate pic.twitter.com/dhwtlNwWsf

— Ashok Kumar Pandey अशोक اشوک (@Ashok_Kashmir) August 10, 2021

Kawalpreet Kaur, a political activist, lawyer and national Vice President at All India Students’ Association (AISA) told SabrangIndia that even the arrest of those who organised Sunday’s rally was an eyewash saying, “This has been going on with the support of the people in power, with the support of the police, and this arrest with sections which are so diluted which will not even stand on their own leg is not the answer. Imagine if it was a protest by farmers or another group?” She added that only six people have been identified. “It is not that the police were caught unawares. Police presence at Jantar Mantar is normal. They saw 3,000 people gathered there, they saw people chanting slogans that were open calls for killing,” said Kaur, adding that the police could have acted and stopped the hate speech in its tracks. Ironically the police acted and rounded up the peace activists and journalists on Tuesday evening.

Delhi Police has detained protestors from Jantar Mantar who had gathered to protest against the hate speeches and calls of genocide by radical Hindu groups/terrorists against Muslim community. We are at the Mandir Marg Police Station right now. pic.twitter.com/rILrBg05xS

— Kawalpreet Kaur (@kawalpreetdu) August 10, 2021

She added that the Delhi Police had in fact also detained a group of students from Jamia Nagar who went to file an FIR against the hate speech at Ashwini Upadhyay’s rally. This was confirmed on social media by other activists.

AISA too had sent out an appeal to students and people of Delhi to join the protest against hate at Jantar Mantar. However this protest was a truly organic one even though brief, it made a massive point that the calls for peace can no longer be stifled. 

If you’re in Delhi, do come to demand action against terrorists who called for slaughter of Muslims at Parliament Street. Challenge @PMOIndia @PIBHomeAffairs @AmitShah to recognise Hindutva Supremacist terrorism as the No1 threat in India, arrest every single member of that mob https://t.co/1kU1f2nwjd

— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) August 10, 2021

The protesters, who now included members of AISA and other student groups, as well as university teachers, and concerned citizens themselves shared videos and photos from inside the bus. They were taken to the Mandir Marg police station and detained.

The Protest Against Hate, it seems was not something Delhi police was going to allow to be conducted peacefully. The Police had not intervened when Hindutva groups were raising anti-muslim slogans at the same place at Jantar Mantar two days ago. No one had been detained from the site then, even though police had itself stated that the rally on Sunday did not even have police permission.

मैं @ShyamMeeraSingh और अन्य साथियों को पुलिस मंदिर मार्ग थाने ले आयी है।
हमारा गुनाह सिर्फ इतना है कि हम नफरत के खिलाफ आवाज उठा रहे है।#Protest_against_Hate pic.twitter.com/PlZ4wd6Wi2

— Vivek Gupta (@30guptavivek) August 10, 2021

Those who were detained on Tuesday continued to share photos that showed that they were not easily intimidated at all. And that the call for peace was louder than ever.

Delhi police detained peaceful protesters We’re in Mandir Marg police station now. Have some shame @DelhiPolice.@ShyamMeeraSingh #Protest_against_Hate pic.twitter.com/lw40KyT3cj

— Ahtesham Qadri एहतेशाम क़ादरी (@Ahtesham88825) August 10, 2021

Nearly 10 to 15 protesters detained by @Delhipolice as of now from Jantar Mantar #Protest_against_Hate pic.twitter.com/cYpfCIYzHa

— Zafar Abbas (@zafarabbaszaidi) August 10, 2021

Related:

Jantar Mantar rally: BJP leader, SC lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay among six arrested
Anti-Muslim hate speech at Delhi rally calls for communal violence
Haj House in Dwarka will lead to riots: Residents Federation write to Lt-Governor
FIR against serial hate offender Ragini Tiwari, finally
Yati Narsingh And continues to spread hate
Gurugram Court denies bail to ‘Jamia Shooter’ in a Hate Speech case

The post A tale of two protests in the heart of Delhi appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Workers, farmers across India mobilised as a united front in response to the clarion call set for November 26, 2020. Peasant organisations joined forces to decry anti-labour, anti-farmer and anti-national policies of the central government as well to stop the privatization of the public sector.

While the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) estimate more than 50,000 farmers standing at Delhi border by Thursday evening, a press release from Central Trade Unions has said total numbers of strikers exceeded a strength of 25 crore people.

Hundreds of farmers were arrested, not only in Haryana, Rajasthan and UP, but also at the Gurudwara Majnu ka Tila in Delhi in an attempt to pre-empt farmers’ action. Nevertheless, farmers continue to march towards Delhi for the “Chalo Parliament” programme on November 27, when workers will also stand alongside them.

“The continuing detention of Medha Patkar, Pratibha Shinde, Yogendra Yadav, Krishnaprasad and all other farmer leaders is denounced and condemned and their immediate release is demanded,” said the AIKSCC in a press release.

Incidentally, a large number of locals joined the stand-off near Agra, where farmer leaders Medha Patkar, Pratibha Shinde and others were barred from moving. The area is currently blockaded.

Trade Union leaders such as Ashok Singh of INTUC, Amarjeet Kaur of AITUC, Harbhajan Singh Sidhu  of HMS, Tapan Sen of CITU, among others gathered near Jantar Mantar crossing to register their protest. Large number of farmers also managed to reach Delhi around the same time despite inhuman attempts by the anti-people RSS-BJP-led Haryana government to stop Punjab farmers by using lathicharge, water cannon, tear gas.

As per AIKSCC reports, farmers acted unitedly and peacefully to remove police barricades. The organisation further informed that the Haryana government tried to prevent several jathas in villages, but protesters persevered and planned to join the protest at Delhi, or at the border.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of farmers crossed the Shambhu border at Ambala, past Kurukshetra, Pipli Mandi. The gathering is expected to swell through the night as thousands of tractors and trolleys carrying farmers, women and children from Punjab’s interior areas travel to Delhi.

Regarding workers strike, Punjab and Haryana reported that state road transport buses did not leave their depots in the morning.

As the day continued, trade Unions sent reports of successful strikes in coal and copper mines and other mineral resource mines. Employees of the postal, telecom and steel sector were also in action and gramin dak sevaks observed complete strike. In several places oil sector unions also observed strikes. Picketing was resorted to in some parts of the country.

“This situation has arisen because the incumbent BJP Government is following in the footsteps of Britishers, using unconstitutional means to sacrifice workers’ and the farmers’ interests for corporates. It is the duty of workers and farmers to beat them back for asserting their own constitutional rights,” said Central Trade Unions.

Massive protests were observed from farmers and industrial workers in east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Kerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Assam and Telangana reported complete shutdowns. Tamil Nadu also observed complete shutdown in 13 districts, while industrial strikes continue in the rest of the state.

Rural India observed Grameen Hartals and demonstrations on Thursday. Moreover, Kisan Sangharsh Samitis started cropping up in villages near Delhi. Farmers are preparing for massive protests in their villages.

Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh reported a “100 percent” strike including in BALCO. Scheme workers, electricity employees, domestic workers, construction workers, beedi workers, hawkers, vendors, agricultural workers, self-employed people in rural and urban areas continue to hold demonstrations at various places, even defying police restrictions.

Maharashtra protesters in Mumbai and various districts formed human chains. At many places, auto and taxi drivers remained off of roads. Railway and defence employees held demonstrations in support of the strike, at their respective places of work. Financial institutions such as banks, insurance remained closed. State government employees, central government employees including all income tax department personnel and other public sector undertaking (PSU) workers participated in a big way.

Over 2000 farmers were stopped at Bilaspur turn, Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. State police prevented them from moving to Delhi. However, they intend to continue protesting at the Nainital–Delhi highway.

The gathering mass of protesters advised the Union government to give up its machinations against farmers and workers and stop using brutal police force to curb democratic movements, especially on the Constitution Day of India.

Some images from the nationwide protests may be viewed here: 

Related:

LIVE Updates on All India General Strike and Peasants’ Protest 2020
Right Wing media working overtime to discredit farmers?
We will stop your march at all cost: Political message to farmers?
Adivasi Union to stand with peasants of country during nationwide protests

The post Second peasant strike in two months garners even bigger support! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In solidarity with the locked up Kashmiris not one, but two protests were held simultaneously from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 10^th of September, 2019.The organizers and participants of the first protest were Kashmiri students and professionals based in Delhi or outside Delhi who decided to come together at JantarMantar on the day of Muharram. Speakers explained that Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Muhammad was beheaded in 680 CE at the battle of Karbala; the mourning/remembrance/observance of Muharram includes deriving messages from Hussein’s sacrifice and includes story telling. Iman Hussein’s family members and companions accompanying him were killed or subjected to humiliation. Muharram being the first month of the Islamic calendar its tenth day known as Ashura symbolizes struggle against oppression.

The analogy of Muharram was used to depict the plight of entire population of Kashmir to be under oppression and facing a near death; yet struggle against oppression was to continue. In fact people of religions other than Islam also take part in and observe the Muharram activities in India.

The placards prepared by the Kashmiri students had messages addressed to people of India primarily:
 

• Stand up; Speak up
• We are people too
• We have mothers too; We have fathers too; We have brothers too
• You voted for fascism once, not again
• Your silence is seen as consent; Speak up for Kashmir
• Caged in our own home; Do not be complicit in crime
• I stand with Kashmir
• Ink your finger red for Kashmir
• Forced marriages are not made in heaven
• Who killed Asrar???

There was no slogan shouting at this protest. At one corner lay the ‘corpse’ of democracy covered in white sheet and a garland of marigold flowers. Some mourners sat in vigil near the ‘corpse’. The banner at the protest site had a map of Kashmir in bloody red colour; it also symbolizes their Karbala as Kashmir has been under 36 days of military seize the protesters were mourning the death of democracy at JantarMantar not as citizens but as prisoners of Kashmir. The word ‘citizens’ stands cancelled on the banner.

The Kashmiri students listed legal professionals, RTI activists and politicians who are under arrest. It was pointed out that if this protest at JantarMantar had taken place in Kashmir all the students would have been arrested. A lady doctor related her experience of how stressed people in Kashmir are and have become victims of Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression. She asked three questions:
 

• Why are Indians silent?
• Of what are Indians afraid?
• Can this India be really termed as a democratic country?

She said that either India is normal or Kashmir is normal. She started and ended her speech with Urdu poetry which was actually sung at the end. A student from Lucknow raised the question:
 

• Which narrative is one to believe in that of the Indian state or the lived experience of Kashmiris?

Another Kashmiri student said that this is a solidarity demonstration and praised the courage of the participants who had come to attend. To non-Kashmiris the message was:
 

• What has happened in J & K will happen to whole of India one day
• This monster – loss of Constitution and democracy in Kashmir – will come for you in India

A speaker disclosed that there were death threats to them back in Kashmir.

The Second Protest

In the second protest the participants included women’s groups – National Federation of Indian Women, Purogami Mahila Sangathan, All India Democratic Women’s Association,Pragatisheel MahilaS angathan;senior activists like Tapan Bose, documentary film maker; residents from slums, resettlement colonies & workers from industrial areas participated in the protest demonstration. Leaflets in Hindi and English were distributed by Purogami Mahila Sangathan. The protesters carried placards with messages in Hindi and English:
 

• Down with lockdown
• Freedom is our fundamental right
• We dare because we care
• People of Kashmir you are not alone; We are with you
• Restore democratic rights of Kashmiri women
• If there is heaven on earth it is here; it is here, it is here; now where is that heaven; where is it?

Speakers stressed the following points:
 

• In the name of Indians,don’t oppress Kashmiris
• We oppose the Government’s oppression in Kashmir
• Remove the telecommunications blocked for over 35 days
• The role of army should be confined to protecting the borders
• We oppose the establishment of Hindu Rashtra in India
• The statement of right wing leaders of Haryanaabout north-Indian men to now easily marryKashmiri girls is highly deplorable
• Hindu workers in Kashmir feel safe working for decades in the valley
• An appeal to all Indians to strengthen this movement in support of Kashmir

The following slogans were raised:
 

• Stop atrocities on Kashmiri people
• Long live our unity and solidarity with people of Kashmir

A poem was read out in support of Kashmiri people; shayari (Urdu poetry) was used in abundance by several speakers capturing their concern and expressing solidarity with the oppressed people of Kashmir.

At the end of this protest at about 2 p.m. the protesters marched in a rally towards the police barricade and shouted slogans in support of the people of Kashmir. Finally they stood in support with the Kashmiri students.

(Dr. P.S. Sahni & Shobha Aggarwal are members of PIL Watch Group. Email: pilwatchgroup@gmail.com)

Courtesy: Counter Current

The post Twin Protests On Muharram Day at Jantar Mantar In Solidarity With Seven Million Kashmiris Locked Up appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Hundreds of young Kashmiri students, living in Delhi, alongside members of the civil society, fellow students and common citizens observed the occasion of Eid- Al- Adha at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, while the valley remains under a lockdown. Students who participated in the event said that they are dejected, but not defeated and that this event should be viewed as a silent protest against the government.

Courtesy: News Click

The post Dejected But Not Defeated: Young Kashmiris Observe Eid in Delhi appeared first on SabrangIndia.

#JusticeForNajeeb

Protest at Jantar Mantar, Where is Najeeb? October 15, 2018, Two Years After his Disappearance

Monday October 15, was a sombre day in New Delhi as three mothers got  together to demand justice for their sons. While Fatima Nafees was demanding answers about the whereabouts of her son who went missing exactly two years ago from his hostel room in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Radhika Vemula and Shahira knew for a fact that their sons would never come back to them. 
 
Radhika’s son Rohith was a PhD student at the University of Hyderabad and committed suicide in January 2016, an action called ‘institutional murder’ by the burgeoning student movement that emerged after his death. Rohith was a student activist and a member of the Ambedkar Student’s Association. Following his vocal outpouring at a protest against the hanging of Yakub Memon, prime accused in the 1993 bomb blast case, members of a right wing student’s association labeled him as ‘anti-national’. In fact, members of the same group also allegedly physically assaulted him so badly that he required surgery.
 
Rohith was also suspended and barred from the hostel. The University also reportedly stopped paying his monthly fellowship. For 13 days before he took this step, the students barred from their hostel rooms were sleeping within the University premises in a makeshift Dalit Veliwada (the segregated space for Dalits in Indian villages). Rohith’s suicide was his last recourse after suffering months of bullying, harassment, physical violence and mental torture at the hands of University authorities as well as the said student’s union. A month before he died an eloquent letter to the VC sarcastically said that every Dalit student should be given a bottle of poison and a hangman’s noose when he or she is admitted. This document is a scathing indictment of the racial, caste bias that is still a reality of Indian campus life, 70 years after Independence.
 
Meanwhile, Shahira’s son Junaid was murdered in full public view because of a dispute about train seats. He was just 16, and was on his way back from a shopping trip for Eid. While there were many witnesses, and the prime accused Naresh had even confessed, the case appears to be in limbo with all accused being granted bail in the case. Shahira was seen addressing the protesters at Jantar Mantar.
 
On Monday, nearly 500 people including students, activists and civil society members joined the mothers in Delhi demanding justice for Najeeb, Rohith and Junaid. They marched from Mandi House to Parliament Street. 

Grief and Loss, Najeeb’s Parents

Support Through protestors

Fatima Nafees, Najeeb’s Mother

Mother of Junaid, lynched in 2017 (June) speaks at the protest against two years of                    
Najeeb’s Disappearance

Protestor

JNUTA STATEMENT IN SOLIDARITY WITH MOTHER OF NAJEEB AHMAD

Two years have passed since the disappearance of Najeeb Ahmad from JNU camps. He was last seen on 15 October 2016 after he had been assaulted the previous night in the Mahi-Mandvi hostel. In these two years the investigative agencies have failed to find a single clue as to his whereabouts and CBI has now moved to file a closure report on its investigation.

As Najeeb’s mother Fatima Nafees lurches between hope and grief, she has also found the strength and energy to lend support to the struggles of the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Junaid Khan. JNUTA salutes her spirit and we note with dismay that the central and state governments, and university administrations, who ought to have acted more efficiently and empathetically to ensure the young persons’ security and well-being have failed to respond to concerns of the mothers.

In Najeeb’s case, instead of taking responsibility JNU administration has adopted a callous approach, resulting in the failure to pin responsibility for the fateful events of 14th and 15th October 2016. JNUTA condemns the cold treatment meted out to Najeeb’s mother by Vice-Chancellor, and would like to remind him of care that is expected of him in his role as the guardian of students on campus. The disappearance of a student from the campus will remain a grim reminder of the many dark failures of the current JNU administration and its devastating treatment of the university students and teachers.

JNUTA expresses concern for Fatima Nafees’s health and deep dismay over the lackadaisical and facile efforts of the university administration to find Najeeb. We demand a conscientious response from the competent authority that they write to the Ministry of Home Affairs to urgently institute a credible investigation to ascertain Najeeb Ahmad’s whereabouts and to ensure that justice is served.

Sonajharia Minz, President, Sudhir K Suthar, Secretary

The post Tale of Three Mothers: Fatima, Radhika and Shahira demand justice for Najeeb, Rohith, Junaid appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Defying attempts by the Uttar Pradesh State administration to hound the organisation, Bhim Army leader, Chandrashekhar, took the battle to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar today. Protesting against the recent caste disturbances in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, hundreds led by the Bhim Army, an organisation fighting for Dalit rights, gathered at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Members of several Dalit groups gathered at the protest site on Sunday, despite being denied permission by the Delhi Police. More than 50,000 persons had gathered at the protest today.

https://www.facebook.com/Akhil1490/videos/1418120028249603/

Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar, has been contesting allegedly fabricated charges of the Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly trying to instigate people. He  was present at the event. Gujarat youth Dalit leader Jignesh Mawani and former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar were among those who joined the protesters, it is reported.

Late on  Saturday, the Delhi Police denied permission to Dalit unions to hold a protest at the venue. “The capacity of Jantar Mantar is 5,000, and there are already several protests going on there… The permission for this demonstration has been denied,” BK Singh, DCP (New Delhi), had said. However, members of the Bhim Army announced that they will go ahead with the plan as their supporters had already reached Delhi and that more were on their way to the venue.

Photo Courtesy: Indian Express, Abhinav Saha

Chandrashekhar, founder of the Bhim Army, addressed the crowds at Jantar Mantar. Last Saturday, on May 13, Justice Sawant, Justice Suresh, Justice BG Kolse Patil and others had in a press statement cautioned against the sue of draconian laws like the National security Act (NSA) on members of the Bhim Army including Chandrashekar. On May 5, violence broke out in Saharanpur’s  Shabbirpur village after members of the Dalit community objected to loud music during a Thakur-led procession to mark the upcoming birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap. The Dalits claimed that the Thakurs did not get permission from the authorities to hold the event. In the clashes that followed, a Thakur man was killed. Later, around 2000 members from the Thakur community gheraoed the village and burned and ransacked 25 houses belonging to the Dalits. At least 15 people were injured in the violence.

Photo credit: Indian Express

Thousands of Dalit activists gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest against the recent caste disturbances in Uttar Pradesh. Weeks after the violent clashes, police arrested five members of the Bhim Army and booked Chandrashekhar.  Sadar Bazar police station SHO Piyush Dixit said a case was filed against Chandrashekhar on Thursday on the basis of an audio clip purportedly released by him.

The audio calls for a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on May 21 to protest against the “lax attitude” of police and administration in taking action against the violence on Dalits in Shabbirpur village on May 5. Dixit said that Chandrashekhar has been accused of staging protest against the administration and trying to create an atmosphere of violence by instigating people from different communities. Chandrashekar and other members of his organisation are also wanted for arson and violence at various places in Saharanpur on May 9. FIRs have been lodged against Bheem Sena activists Arun and Vikas Meshram.
 

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The Supreme Court, on Monday, July 24, 2018, ruled that there could not be a “complete ban” on protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, the Indian Express reported. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and A. K. Sikri said, “There cannot be a complete ban on holding protests at places like Jantar Mantar and Boat Club (near India Gate),” and directed the Central Government to formulate guidelines regarding the issue. 

The ruling came in the case of a petition filed by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan, which challenged an order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which in October 2017 had asked the Delhi government to end all protests in the Jantar Mantar area, Scroll reported. The NGT said the protests breached environmental laws, and that it was the state’s duty to shield people from nois pollution, the Indian Express reported. The bench, led by Justice R. S. Rathore, had directed the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to take down all temporary structures, loudspeakers, and other protest-related equipment on the road leading to Jantar Mantar. It had deemed the Ramlila Grounds in Ajmeri Gate as an alternative option for demonstrators, where, as per North body authorities, just one group can hold an event at a time. 

It is Article 19(1) of the Constitution Of India that gives Indians the Right to Protest. Article 19 reads:
Article 19 (1) All citizens shall have the right
                (a) to freedom of speech and expression;
                (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms;

The petition challenging the NGT’s order argued, “….holding peaceful demonstrations in order to air grievances and to see that their voice is heard in the relevant quarters, is the right of the people. Such a right can be traced to the fundamental freedoms that are guaranteed under Articles 19 (1) (a) and 19 (1) (b) of the Constitution. Article 19(1)(b) specifically confers the right to assemble and thus guarantees that all citizens have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms,” Bar and Bench reported. The petitioner had argued that authorities and the police had curbed protests by constantly imposing Section 144 of the CrPC. The petition had said that the Delhi Police had for multiple years been issuing such directives as soon as the previous order lapsed, which constituted an abuse of power and hampered citizens’ right to protest, violating Article 19. The petitioner also submitted that in other areas of New Delhi, protests were previously permitted but have been slowly curbed over time. 

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Prem Singh : " I am fast on the day of Eid. I know this is not the custom. But Junaid's murder was committed just two days before Eid by mob-lynching. But as a citizen there was no other way to express my feeling of grief and shame.

With the hope that families of Junaid, Zafar Hussain and Pahlu Khan will find a better social atmosphere to observe next Eid, I would like to wish Eid Mubarak to all."

Image Courtesy: Aijaz Ashraf, Scroll.in

Today he issued this statement:

A number of colleagues from across the country have sent messages of solidarity, they have observed the fast in support. Several friends will join the fast at Jantar Mantar today.
In yesterday's fast young people were present in strong numbers. Young leaders including Yogesh Paswan, Bandana Pandey, Sadat Anwar, Shweta Rashmi, Laraib Akram spoke their minds and participated in the discussion.

Senior activists like Ravikiran Jain of the PUCL, Vimal Bhai (NAPM), Thomas Mathew, AK Maji, comrade Baldev Singh Sihag, Comrade Narendra, Navaid Hamid, Satish Kumar, Dr. MA Johar, Dr. Sunilam, Darshan Pal, Avik Saha, Sadat, Anwar, Amar Singh Amar, Tehseen Ahmed, Prof. Gopeshwar Singh, Prof. Sudha Singh, Prof. Ratan Lal, Prof.
Vipin Tripathi, Atul Sood, Navsran, Seema Baite, Renu Gambhir, Baba Vijender, Prof. Vipin Tripathi, Ramesh Chand Sharma, Dr. Tariq Ashraf too came and expressed their anxiety about the prevailing situation.

Giving the example of Gandhi, Prof. Vipin Tripathi explained that the biggest evil can be changed by the power of truth. Akram said that in earlier times parents used to advise caution at the time of leaving home. Now the young themselves fear while going out. The first need is to change this feeling of insecurity among people before making a call for any other revolution. Prof. Vipin Tripathi and Akram voiced similar apprehensions and suggestions. The moral health of society depends upon its
own strength and truth should be the strength of the society.
Yesterday Justice Sachar quarreled with me on phone because I had did not informed him about the fast. He has threatened to reach Jantar-Mantar today with a glass of juice!

I am fast on the day of Eid. I know this is not the custom. But Junaid's murder was committed just two days before Eid by mob-lynching. But as a citizen there was no other way to express my feeling of grief and shame.

With the hope that families of Junaid, Zafar Hussain and Pahlu Khan will find a better social atmosphere to observe next Eid, I would like to wish Eid Mubarak to all.

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