The GSRTC conducted an investigation following complaints that several highway hotels, which had Hindu names, were actually run by Muslim proprietors. The licenses were then cancelled, citing reasons such as “misrepresentation” and “unhygienic conditions.” These establishments, located in key districts like Vadodara, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, and Bharuch, were integral stops for GSRTC buses, ensuring a steady flow of customers.

Hotels such as “Hotel Shivshakti” and “Hotel Tulsi” were specifically targeted because their names suggested Hindu ownership, a tactic allegedly used to attract a broader Hindu clientele. Critics, however, argue that the cancellations go beyond mere regulatory enforcement, aiming to marginalize Muslim businesses under the guise of addressing “public misconceptions.”

BIG NEWS Gujarat BJP Govt cancels Bus halt license of 27 Muslim-owned hotels that were using Hindu names.

For example, All the owners and managers of Hotel Shivshakti on are Muslims.

Hotel Tulsi, located on the Surat-Ahmedabad route, is also owned by Muslims.

Permit of… pic.twitter.com/vrsOXV3ez2

— Times Algebra (@TimesAlgebraIND) January 24, 2025

Community backlash

The move has been perceived as part of a growing trend of policies aimed at alienating the Muslim community. Business owners argue that these measures undermine their rights to operate freely in a competitive market, with many pointing out the larger implications of such targeted actions. Muhammad Aslam, a hotel owner from Vadodara, stated, “This action isn’t just about our businesses; it’s an attack on our dignity and identity as Muslims.”

Local leaders and associations have also criticized the government’s approach, calling it a deliberate effort to widen communal divides. Zafar Alam, a community leader, expressed concerns about the divisive implications, emphasizing that such policies erode trust and harmony between communities.

Broader implications

The economic impact of this decision is substantial. By severing these businesses from GSRTC’s bus network, the government has significantly reduced their customer base. Hotel owners are now left grappling with potential financial ruin, particularly in a political climate already challenging for minority communities.

Moreover, the psychological toll on the Muslim community is palpable. Zahida Khan, a resident of Godhra, expressed the emotional strain of such actions: “It’s painful to see our community targeted like this. It’s as if we need to hide our identities to survive.”

A pattern of discrimination?

This incident is not an isolated case. Observers note parallels with similar actions in other states, such as Uttar Pradesh, where Muslim businesses were compelled to publicly display their religious identity. Critics argue that these measures reinforce harmful stereotypes and aim to exclude Muslims from public life under the pretense of regulation.

For instance, during the Kanwar Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, the state government issued directives requiring eateries along the route to display their owners’ names, sparking widespread backlash. Critics labeled the order “communal and divisive,” arguing that it targeted Muslim and Scheduled Caste businesses under the pretext of law and order. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the directive “exclusion by identity,” highlighting its economic and social ramifications. The Supreme Court later paused the implementation of this order, questioning its statutory backing and purpose. Observers noted that this directive forced business owners to reveal their identities, exacerbating existing societal divides and reinforcing systemic biases.

Adding to the growing Islamophobic narrative, certain social media posts further amplify divisive rhetoric. For example, a post by a user named Mr. Sinha on X (formerly Twitter) perpetuates stereotypes and spreads harmful misinformation about Muslims, contributing to the broader atmosphere of hostility. Such posts play a significant role in normalizing discriminatory policies and attitudes

What did you notice?? pic.twitter.com/a9Cxxkpzsd

— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) January 24, 2025

It is pertinent to highlight that such actions run contrary to the principles enshrined in Article 15(1) of the Constitution of India, which unequivocally states: “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.”

The cancellation of licenses for Muslim-owned hotels in Gujarat reflects a concerning trend of discriminatory policies that undermine democratic principles of equality and fairness. By targeting businesses based on their owners’ religious identity, such actions deepen social divides and erode the pluralistic fabric of society. As the affected entrepreneurs face mounting challenges, the incident raises urgent questions about the future of minority rights and economic inclusion in India.

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The post Discrimination targets Gujarat’s Muslim businesses appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the countries wherein this monster is all set to eat violently those who nurtured it for their own vested interests. This left doing politics, normal living, and meeting people all at risk. And thousands of children, the elderly, and young people have fallen victim to it.

Media and scholarly, academic reports reveal that Muslims living in the West too are now influenced by their preachers and imams. They have begun to believe in sectarian conflicts as well as emotional slogans like a revival of the old Caliphate. Amazingly, thousands of youth born and bred in the West were recruited or joined the forces of the fake Caliphate established by the notorious Abubakar Al-Baghdadi a decade ago?

Pakistan was created in the name of Islam, but what is the condition of Islamic ideology there? What is the sanctity of a human life? From time to time, a fanatic mob would rise, blaming a person for blasphemy. No matter whether he is a Muslim or non-Muslim, it would kill him in cold blood or often burn him alive. The police simply watch the spectacle, indeed, occasionally participate in the crime. Later, religious people would start justifying the heinous act by citing old jurists and their fatwas. And secularists and liberals would start condemning the act. The administration remains deaf and dumb. Judiciary very seldom takes suo motu cognizance. After a few days, the matter is normalised.  The cruel bloody mob then goes out in search of another prey. All businesses of life and religion continue to thrive!

The killing of the then Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer by his own official bodyguard a few years ago on fake charges of blasphemy is a case in point. The dastardly killer was then turned into a saint! The presumably educated advocates in Pakistani courts threw rose petals over him when he came to face the charges of murder. After his execution, his grave has been turned into a shrine. Thousands visit it regularly to pay their obeisance. What Fanaticism!

While the West is thinking of building colonies on Mars and China is conquering new vistas with AI, what is the favourite pastime of the great Muslim ulama, clergy and religious scholars of Pakistan and India, indeed even Bangladesh?  It is to make ordinary Muslims blindly believe in unverifiable predictions about the appearance of the supposed Imam Mahdi. These people are saying, day in and day out, particularly sice the genocide of Palestinians started, that Dajjal is about to come out and Mahdi has to appear and after that Jesus will come and the rule of Islam is just about to be established on the whole planet.

Religious Muslims are generally simple-minded and naive. They believe in these myths. They do not feel the need to move forward in the world. Our task should be to promote science and technology, indeed first create a scientific temperament among the rank and file of Muslims.

 History shows that this situation will finally lead to the point when the political leaders will have to resort to fighting the monster of their own making as Pakistan is compelled to do with the Taliban now. Muslim clergy and ulama in the Indian subcontinent must also repent and take a vow never to use religion for political purposes. If Muslims come to this point, they must put before them some hard facts to eradicate extremism from its foundation.

First, this demon of extremism did not come down from heaven directly. It is a cherished baby born of religious thought which is taught and studied in our religious schools and madrasas under different titles, such as the enforcement of Sharia, Jihad and eradication of infidelity, polytheism, apostasy, etc. Radicalised people and extremist movements draw inspiration from this traditional theology. They propagate it for their dastardly purposes. This prominent religious thought and its political interpretations popularly called Political Islam have been logically criticized by some thinkers and brilliant minds of Islam like Maulana Waheeduddin Khan and Javed Ahmad Ghamdi. Had there not been stirring uproar, protests, and threats from ulama in the face of scientific reasoning, certainly the thought of these thinkers would have changed people’s minds and popular narratives.

Now to counter the religious radicalism in Muslim societies we have to develop a counter-narrative to the propagated traditional religious thought. Still, it is unfortunate and tragic for Muslim societies that violence and extremism prevail to protect religion and preserve Sharia.

Unfortunately, the culture of disagreement with politeness and respect has not yet developed. These situations require us to be sensitive to freedom of opinion in religious ideas and thinking. And to be frank, our clerics and religious preachers exert a policy of pressure to prevent the freedom to express free opinion. If they want to reveal the error to those who disagree with them, they can do so in an open way by resorting to the weapon of knowledge and reasoning. The world of knowledge does not accommodate compulsion, protests, uproar, and tyranny. It is a counter-narrative of popular religious thought presented by the likes of Mr. Ghamidi that alone can reform the situation in the Muslim community, not propaganda of secularism or anti-religionism. Iqbal the poet and philosopher tried a century ago to draw our attention to the same truth in his lectures on the need for reconstruction of religious thought that he delivered in Aligarh and elsewhere. Sir Syed and his school of thought made the same effort.

Second, in secular fields, we do not allow someone to establish institutions to graduate children and boys as doctors, engineers, or skilled in any division and department of science and arts. This cannot be done without giving Muslim children general education for twelve years or so. But children and young people are trained as religious scholars in madrasas and centres of religious learning. These madrasas close the door of modern learning on them altogether and play with their future lives. Some of them could have been doctors, some of them engineers, poets, writers, photographers, etc.. But these madrasas, regardless of their aptitude, taste, inclinations, or qualifications, make great efforts to make them religious scholars only and deprive them of all opportunities to choose an area of science and art of their own choice.  They cut their ties to society and made them aliens in their own societies by depriving them of general public education for twelve years. Therefore, it has become necessary to prohibit religious schools, like all other institutes of specialized education, from interfering with a student without giving him general education up to 12 grade.

We can say with confidence that this one step alone will change the current situation created by the institutes of religious education. As Founder-Editor of NewAgeIslam.com, Mr. Sultan Shahin told the UN Human Rights Council at Geneva some time ago, madrasa education is the biggest violation of the human rights of Muslim children. Every child has the right to acquire general education before going in  for specialisation in any field. If we don’t give our children medical or engineering education at the age of five, then why burden them with theology at such a tender age. Young children and adolescents need general education first. They should have the choice to go in for any specialisation they want.

Thirdly, it is necessary to end the dominance of clerics and preachers of hate in masjids and mosques. They generally use Friday pulpits for their vested interests in Muslim societies. If we don’t do this, we cannot escape extremism. Who does not know that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) established a Sunnah regarding the Friday prayer? It was that the Imam (head of government) or whoever he appoints is entitled to lead the Friday prayer and deliver the sermon. No one else is permitted to use this pulpit unless they have this specific instruction from the ruler.

However, throughout the decadent age, Muslim monarchs typically lacked the necessary tools to perform this function. They gave the Friday pulpits to the clergy and Ulama. Since then, the Ulama and clergy have gained such clout that they utilize Jumma (Friday) sermons and mosque pulpits to push their objectives and vested interests in Muslim societies.

This has resulted in deepening the sectarian lines. Now separated along sectarian and Fiqhi lines,  in lieu of God’s mosques we have Ahle Hadis mosques and the Hanaf mosques, Deobandi mosques, and the Barelvi mosques, etc. They ought to be God’s mosques alone wherein worship of Allah is practiced.

 Mosques are now becoming hubs for extremism and sectarianism. The mosque must be run by a collective management of Muslims and should not be used by individuals, movements, or organizations to spread a particular theological or political message. Mosques are houses of God. They must not be transformed  into sites of conflict and disunity among Muslims. They should never be used to radicalise Muslims for a particular purpose. This is an essential step.

Research Associate with Centre for Promotion of Educational and Cultural Advancement of Muslims of India, AMU Aligarh.

Courtesy: New Age Islam

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The Mathura parliamentary constituency has repeatedly twice elected Hindi film actress Hema Malini to the Lok Sabha with significant margins in 2014 and 2019.  It is once again witnessing her candidacy for the third time this year. Malini is contesting against Congress candidate Mukesh Dhangar and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Suresh Singh. 

According to the 2011 census, Muslims constitute 8.5% of the population in Mathura district. 

As reported by Scroll, Muslims hold considerable numerical strength in the area near the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura. Their electoral support is predominantly divided between the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which is now in alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, and the Indian National Congress. Scroll reports that voters in this area are largely leaning towards supporting the Congress party.

Zulfiqar Qureshi, 54, an RLD functionary, spoke to Scroll, calling out the opposition for failing to campaign in the vicinity. He also stated that he himself had faced challenges in voting in his own family, saying the Booth Level Officers are to blame for this issue, “But earlier, one or two per cent of voters were affected by it. This time, 15-20% of voters in Nai Basti could not vote because of it.” One 74-year-old lady, Jamrul Nisa, stated that none of the members of her 9-member family were able to vote this year. 

Furthermore, according to Hindustan Times, the voter turnout in Mathura witnessed a significant decline, dropping by 12% from 61.03% during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to 49.29% in the second phase of the 2024 parliamentary polls. Similarly, in Amroha where the constituency saw the highest voter turnout out in Uttar Pradesh where polling was recorded at 64.02%. Danish Ali, who is Congress’s Amroha candidate, reportedly had an argument with the police where he was seen talking about how police were harassing voters from voting at booths, “Ban on mobile (phone) was for voters and not candidates.” UP has previously also seen similar instances of voters’ names left out, with Muslims often being the group left out. For instance, Moradabad,  which houses a large number of Muslims residents, recorded that a harrowing figure of 80 percent names of Muslim voters were absent from the electoral rolls in the last elections, according to Deccan Herald. 

In 2019, Missing Voters, a smartphone app designed to gather data on disenfranchised voters in India claimed that nearly 120 million citizens were absent from voter lists during last 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Furthermore, the harrowing figures suggested that more than half of these missing voters were Muslims and Dalits and women. Similar cases were found in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka. 

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The post Mathura records Muslim votes missing, is this the first time? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

According to a report released by a Washington-based research group, India Hate Lab incidents of anti-Muslim hate speech in India have increased over the time. In 2023, they increased by 62% during the second half of 2023 compared to the first half of the year. The report also documented a total of 668 hate speech incidents targeting Muslims in 2023. Of these, 255 incidents occurred in the first half of the year, while 413 took place in the latter half. The United Nations has warned that unchecked hate speech can lead to actual violence. Yet despite that, these incidents continue across the country. 

Wanaparthy, Telangana

In a polytechnic college, a young Muslim boy was beaten by six fellow students on his way to offer his daily prayers one evening. The student, Mohammed Masum, a 19-year-old student at the college could be seen on a video posted by Hate Detectors, bleeding and heavily injured. The incident took place at the KDR Govt Polytechnic College in Wanaparthy district, Telangana on April 24.  Masum was reportedly stopped by the attackers, who included fellow students one of which was named Lokesh, who not only threw his skull cap on the ground and stomped on it and beat the young student up. 

Masum managed to attract the attention of other students by calling out for help after which his attackers ran away. He was later admitted to a hospital by the mosque’s imam for treatment. The Wanaparthy police have reportedly started an investigation into the matter and have already arrested one suspect linked to the assault. 

Vadodara, Gujarat

On April 20, late at night at around 2:15 am in Vadodara, Gujarat, Mohammed Faizan Amiruddin Shaikh, a 26-year-old street food vendor, was beaten and assaulted allegedly by police officials. As per a report, the incident unfolded after Faizan had a disagreement with the officers, leading to a violent altercation.

In response to the police’s abuse, Faizan stood in front of their PCR van, blocking its path following which a crowd began to gather. The police personnel responded by driving forward and reportedly pushed Faizan back nearly 100 feet until he fell under the van. 

Faizan is currently in critical condition and is receiving medical treatment at a private hospital. Consequently, the three policemen—Mohammad Salim, Raghuvir Bharatbhai, and driver Kishan Parmar—have been suspended from duty, and a case has been filed against them. Faizan himself has been subjected to an FIR by the police at the Sayajigunj police station. The X, previously Twitter, page of Hate Detectors uploaded a video that showed a young man grievously injured and unconscious in the hospital. 

The  Assistant Commissioner of Police A Division DJ Chavda told the Indian Express, “The personnel in the PCR van used the needed physical force and he has been injured. Faizan too attacked the police personnel on duty. We have registered two FIR’s and are probing the incident.”

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

In another distressing incident, a police official from the UP Police was allegedly caught on video violently beating a young boy clad in kurta-pajama in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad. The video footage captured a Inspector Bhanu Prakash was seen violently dragging a 14-year-old driver by his hair and subjecting him to merciless beating. 

Following public outcry over the video, the police has told the public that appropriate action would be taken against the officer. Authorities shared on X that the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for Wave City had been tasked with initiating an investigation into the matter.  Hate Detectors reported the young boy to be named Sohail. 

E-rickshaw driver Sohail was brutally manhandled by police inspector Bhanu Prakash in #UttarPradesh‘s #Ghaziabad. pic.twitter.com/q1PlOMHmIB

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) April 24, 2024

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The post Hate Watch: Muslim college student beaten by fellow students in Telangana appeared first on SabrangIndia.

To better understand the controversy, it is helpful to refer to the impugned manifesto. While the Congress manifesto (Nyay Patra) talks about growing inequality in the country between richest of Indians and the large number of poor, it only says that “We will address the growing inequality of wealth and income through suitable changes in policies.” 

In the same fashion, Nyay Patra mentions that “Congress will conduct a nation-wide Socio-Economic and Caste Census to enumerate the castes and sub-castes and their socio-economic conditions. Based on the data, we will strengthen the agenda for affirmative action.” Ironically, the manifesto notes that Congress “guarantees” that it will pass a Constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SC, ST and OBC.

Why SC/ST reservations cannot be transferred to Muslims (legally)?

Muslims in India are given reservations only under the categories of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and/or Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC), the lists for the same are prepared by the Central and State governments respectively. 

Effectively, this means that any increase in Muslim quota can be only undertaken at OBC/SEBC level, without touching the integrity of the SC/ST reservation. Furthermore, as the ST/SC reservation is a Constitutional reservation, nobody can remove these categories from the benefits of reservation unless a Constitutional amendment is made in that regard, which is politically unsustainable. Furthermore, SC/ST converts from Islam are not eligible for reservation benefits under SC/ST category, and the case is pending before the Supreme Court in this regard.

The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021 modifies Articles 338B, 342B, and 366 of the Constitution to allow state governments to prepare their own socially and economically backward classes lists for the purpose of giving reservation to these communities, apart from the ones already covered under the OBC list prepared by the Central Government. This amendment had to be carried out because after the passage of 102th amendment Act, followed by the Supreme Court judgement in Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil v. Chief Minister, Maharashtra, the court had held that due to 102th amendment Act states did not have the power to make their own SEBC lists.

How do the Muslims fare within OBC/SEBC reservation?

While the possibility of a religion, if it is proved to be socially backward, constituting a class in itself cannot be ruled out, much of OBC reservation today is also based on socio economic indicators of caste groups within communities. Thus, it is not the religious identity per se, but caste identity (irrespective of religion) on the basis of which OBC reservation is generally granted. Though Andhra Pradesh did provide reservation to Muslims exclusively on the basis of religion, the State justified it on the basis that the whole religion is backward in the state. Pertinently, Muslim quota did not affect the quotas of other OBC groups, as the former had a separate 5% reservation over and above the traditional OBC list. Similarly, Karnataka provides 4% OBC reservation to Muslims out of total 32% earmarked for OBC category, but this has not significantly affected share of other OBC groups as the proportion for Muslim reservation has remained constant throughout. 

In any case, proving backwardness of a group (caste/religion) before granting reservation remains a legal requirement, whether it is for group A or group B, irrespective of caste or religious considerations. 

In the past courts have cancelled the reservation granted to the groups for the absence of valid data to support the claims of backwardness for incorporating these groups under OBC/SEBC reservation. The most recent example of this can be found in Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil vs The Chief Minister and Ors., where the Supreme Court quashed the SEBC Act of Maharashtra state as amended in 2019 for breaching the 50% limit on reservations, as the court did not find any exceptional circumstances for giving flexibility to override the 50% limit set by the apex court in Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India.

Muslim castes under OBC/SEBC lists in Gujarat 

The list of SEBC castes/groups prepared by the state government of Gujarat has 30 entries (out of over 140 such entries) covering numerous Muslim castes under its SEBC reservation policy. Similarly, Central list of OBCs for the State of Gujarat prepared by the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has 23 entries in which various Muslim castes are provided benefit of OBC reservation. Thus, the fearmongering that Muslims will take up the space of other groups in the SC/ST/OBC categories might not be true when the PM Modi’s home state itself has generous provisions for various Muslim caste groups, quite reasonably so. 

Interesting, in 1985 when the Madhavsinh Solanki of the Indian National Congress was ruling the state of Gujarat, he increased the SEBC reservation from 10% to 28%, calculating his political moves on the basis of KHAM strategy (Kshatriyas, Harijans, Adivasis and Muslims). The move was profoundly rewarding, with the INC bagging 149 seats out of 182. 

Importantly, the Baxi Commission report –a decade before in 1975—identified around 35.5% of population in the state as backward, and the move to increase the SEBC reservation in the state was strengthened on that basis. Later, after studying that Baxi Commission report that was submitted in 1975-76, the government issued a resolution in 1978 adding 82 castes/classes/groups in the SEBC category (with 21 such entries for various Muslim caste groups). While the Solanki government benefitted from increasing the SEBC reservation from 10% to 28%, it also sparked massive protests and riots in the State, especially in Ahmedabad as the people starting opposing OBC quotas, which together with ST and SC quotas took the total reservation in the state to 49% percent. Notably, Gujarat also remains prominent in the 1980s for anti-Mandal riots, which eventually became anti-Muslim, as the opposition to KHAM gathered pace (and as Kshatriyas lost ground to their political rivals Patidars with the emergence of the BJP).

Despite changes in the fortunes and alterations in the government, with the BJP ruling the state since 1995, there has been no demand or attempt to take away reservations provided to sections of caste groups within Muslim community (which was initially provided on the basis of their backwardness alone). 

This reality –given the fact that Narendra Modi himself ruled the state for a significant 17 years — makes it even more ironical that his recent campaign claims against the Indian National Congress (INC) sound hollow. Gujarat has sat comfortably with 12-15 Muslim OBC caste groups enjoying the benefits of reservation as per the Baxi Committee report. So, in spite of Prime Minister making grand claims about Muslims’ taking away resources or reservations of the SC/ST/OBCs, the home state of the PM has since long identified and understood that large sections of Muslims are still fairly backward, and the last 25 years of BJP rule has not made any moves to exclude these Muslim caste groups from the state list of SEBCs!

The Gujarat state list of SEBCs may be seen here

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Equality and a Level Playing Field 

The post Why Modi’s poll histrionics accusing Congress of potentially fracturing away SC/ST quotas to Muslims is a spurious claim? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The incident allegedly took place over the blocking of a vehicle’s path carrying some goods.

Hubballi-Dharwad City Commissioner of Police Renuka Sukumar confirmed to an independent news portal, South First that it was merely a quarrel between two groups. She did however state that the groups indulged in fisticuffs, but clarified that the incident was not communal in nature.

The police have registered a case against four persons belonging to the minority community over the incident. They have been booked under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 34 (common intention), 504 (intentional insult provoking breach of peace), and 323 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case was registered based on the complaint by Manjunath Udakeri of Lokuru in Dharwad. He is the brother of Irappa Rudrappa Udakeri, the victim.

“We have secured two people involved in the assault and are investigating further into the case,” Renuka told the media.

The quarrel

According to the police, the incident occurred at around 6:45 am on Saturday, February 3. Irappa and his driver had just arrived at the market with their goods vehicle loaded with vegetables.

Injured Irappa Rudrappa Udakeri in Dharwad

It is reported that when Irappa actually entered the market, another vegetable vendor Asfak’s son and son-in-law Abdul Rehman had spread their vegetables on the road to sort them, hampering movement. An irritated Irappa, who knew Asfak, apparently demanded they move the vegetables so that his vehicle could pass through.

The response he got from the two was that if he wanted to pass by with his vehicle, he would have to drive over their vegetables. The exchange quickly turned ugly, with the assembled people taking sides. The duo allegedly hurled vulgar abuses at Irappa and then started assaulting him after two others restrained him.

According to his brother’s complaint, Irappa was repeatedly punched in the face. He sustained injuries to his mouth and could not speak, said the police, adding that he also bled from his nose.

Witnesses informed the cops, who rushed to the spot and shifted Irappa to a hospital.

No communal angle, say cops

“Irappa could not speak to the police officers as he had injuries to his mouth. His friend Nadaf (belonging to the minority community), who was at the spot and an eyewitness to the incident, gave a statement to the police on Irappa’s behalf,” CP Renuka Sukumar told South First.

However, rumours started spreading on social media that a farmer was attacked by four men belonging to the minority community just because he was a Hindu.

The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) Karnataka unit spokesperson Mohan Gowda posted on X, “Yesterday radical Muslims vendors beaten to Hindu poor Farmer in Dharwad APMC market for selling vegetables. Hindus farmers seviourly injured and admitted Hospital. It shows how Hindus are unsafe in Karnataka. [sic]”

However, the Hubballi-Dharwad police clarified that there was no communal angle to the incident.

“In fact, a friend of Irappa from the minority community named Nadaf helped him by communicating to the police about the incident,” the CP also added in their conversation with  South First. However, this has not stopped HJS from continuing with its communal diatribe.

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The post Ultra right-wing outfit gives Dharwad market brawl communal colour; police counter with facts appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In its order, the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate C V Rana, while acquitting Mohammad Akhtar Shaikh, observed that the complainant “failed to prove that the accused was a Muslim, who had posed as a Hindu bearing the name Mukesh Gupta, with a job in the Railways and had hidden the fact that he was married earlier”.

“The case is surrounded by a cloud of suspicion, and this court believes that the accused should get the benefit of doubt. Taking into account the evidence and statements of witnesses on the record, the complainant side had failed to prove the suspicion in court (about the accused being a Muslim pretending to be a Hindu) and the marriage that took place between them should not be considered as unlawful conversion,” the court also said.

Following the order, Shaikh was released from Surat Central Jail. The case concerns a complaint filed at Dindoli police station by 19-year old Pooja Sahu, a resident of Dindoli in Surat, against her husband Shaikh from Limbayat.

Pooja Sahu had alleged that Shaikh, who was from Samastipur in Bihar, had masqueraded as a Hindu man named Mukesh Gupta and married her “in a temple” at Kadodara village, on the outskirts of Surat, in 2019. The marriage was allegedly solemnised under the Hindu Marriage Act. The complaint also said that the couple had a son, who was given a Hindu name.

In August 2021, Sahu claimed that she stumbled upon the Aadhaar card of her husband and found that he was a Muslim. This was followed by frequent quarrels between the couple.

Sahu, in her criminal complaint, had further alleged that while Shaikh at first told her that he was a railway employee, she later found that he runs a paan shop near Udhna railway station in Surat. She claimed that Shaikh had taken cash worth Rs 13.7 lakh from three of her relatives on the pretext of getting them all jobs in the Railways. When he failed to get them jobs, he did not return the money, she also alleged.

Sahu further claimed that Shaikh tried to forcefully convert her to Islam and when she refused, he beat her up and “threatened to kill her”. However, when contacted, Shaikh’s lawyer V S Patil said, “The complainant works in a cell phone company. The two came in contact when Shaikh went to her store to get a connection in 2018… He also helped her get more customers to meet her target.”

“Their friendship turned into an affair and they used to visit the dargah together. She was aware that he was a Muslim. To get married, they mutually agreed to change Shaikh’s name to Mukesh Gupta, so that she could convince her family members for their wedding… They got married at a temple,” he added. “The court found that there was no evidence to show that the accused beat her up and even forced her to follow Muslim rituals,” Patil said. The assistant Public Prosecutor a M Miyatara reportedly said, “We will look into the details of the judgment and then move a higher court.”

Acting on Sahu’s complaint filed on August 11, 2021, the police booked Shaikh under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 494 (marrying again during life time of husband or wife ), 495 (same offence with concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted), 498(a) (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. Moreover, he was also booked under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021.

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Notably, the Gujarat High Court has granted a stay on the order for three months to allow the accused to move an appeal against the verdict to the Supreme Court. The said stay had been granted on the request made by senior advocate Prakash Jani, who was representing to the accused officers. 

It is essential to note here that the aforementioned judgment had been announced by the High Court bench in the Kheda flogging case. In October 2022, videos showing 13 police officers mercilessly flogging the victims had surfaced on the internet. The said illegal action by the police had been in response to an incident of communal clash that had been reported a day prior wherein it had been alleged that a mob of 150-200 people had allegedly attacked a garba event in Kheda district by pelting stones and had allegedly “hurt religious sentiments”. In the same month, the five Muslim men had moved the court to seek justice.

As per a report of Indian Express, while delivering the verdict, the bench had termed the act of public flogging by the police as “inhumane” and an “act against humanity”. The bench had also delved into the physical and emotional damage that acts of torture or humiliation can cause on the ones subjected to it. In addition to this, the court also emphasized that under the criminal justice system of India, the arrestees have been granted protections and rights. Even when under arrest, the right to life of an arrestee, which also includes the right to life with dignity, cannot be put in abeyance.

As provided in the IE report, the bench also quoted Mother Teresa while pronouncing the sentence. The bench stated that Mother Teresa had said, “Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government, they are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of humanity. The right of life does not depend and must not be contingent on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign.” Relying on the same, the bench noted that in this case, the accused cops “have defiled the human rights and dignity of the complainants as if they were conferred with the privilege to do so”, as per IE. 

The court also observed that the ones who are given the power to uphold law and order “should not become depredations of civil liberties for their duty is to protect and not to abdicate” and that an accused person’s “dignity cannot be allowed to be comatose” once the person is in police custody.

Prior to this, on October 16, the five Muslim victims in the case had refused to compromise and settle with the four police officers when they had expressed a desire to pay compensation rather than face such punishment that could affect their careers. 

Background of the case:

In October 2022, a group of Muslim men had allegedly thrown stones at a garba site near a mosque at Undhela village of Kheda. The following day, five Muslims accused of being involved in the incident had been dragged out in public, tied to a pole and beaten with a stick by almost 13 police officers as the crowd had cheered them on. Videos of the flogging went viral on social media. The video also showed the five Muslim men being asked to apologise to the public.

Victims Jahirmiya Malek (aged 62) Maksudabanu Malek (aged 45) Sahadmiya Malek (aged 23) Sakilmiya Malek (aged 24) and Shahidraja Malek (aged 25) had moved the Gujarat High Court in October 2022 itself seeking action against the 13 offending police officers. They had asked the High court to “punish the accused officers for contempt and non-compliance” of the directions enunciated by the Supreme Court in the D. K Basu case. In the said case, the Supreme Court had pronounced detailed guidelines to be followed by the police during arrest and detention and on custodial torture.

Related:

Kheda Flogging case: Muslim victims refuse to compromise and settle with accused police officers

Gujarat: HC questions state on public flogging of Muslim men in Kheda

In Affidavit to High Court, Kheda SP defends policemen who publicly flogged Muslims: Gujarat

Where 4 Muslims were publicly flogged by cops, 39 others live in ‘exile’: Gujarat, Kheda

Kheda public flogging: Gujarat HC issues notice to police, Muslim victims seek action

Kheda police flogging: Victim-Accused files private complaint, court directs police to conduct probe

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The Indian Express reported that the woman’s family members, who come from the same area as the pair, are suspected of carrying out the attack. The woman’s brother, brother-in-law, and a family friend have all been taken into custody. According to the IE story, the girl’s parents are still being sought by the authorities. The five accused have been booked for rioting, murder, and assault. The police have extended protection to the interfaith couple and refused to divulge their location. It has been provided that the latter left the village a day before the parents of the man were attacked.

Speaking on the case, Sitapur Superintendent of Police (SP) Chakresh Mishra provided that “We got information that there was a fight between the two sides and two people died. The police reached the spot and found that a couple aged around 50 years had been killed. Their neighbours told us that another family in the neighbourhood attacked the couple with iron rods. The couple died on the spot. We are getting the post-mortem done. A police force has been deployed in the village.”

The police said the rivalry between the two families started after the adult son of the deceased couple eloped with the girl for the first time. As per the report of the IE, the inter faith couple had eloped for the first time in the year 2020. Reportedly, the girl was a minor then. The Muslim boy had been booked under charges of kidnapping, rape, and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), and had to spend more than one year in jail. Pursuant to this, the couple eloped for the second time when the girl turned 18. She had also given a statement to the court that she was leaving her family of her own volition when another case had been lodged against her partner.

“The son, 28, of the deceased couple, was booked in 2020 for eloping with a minor girl. The case was lodged after a complaint was received from the girl’s family. He was subsequently arrested and spent 13 months in jail. A few months ago, the girl turned 18 and became an adult and the two again ran away. Another case was lodged and they were found, but this time the girl gave a statement in court in favour of her partner. The man was again arrested around two months ago in connection with a separate case and released on bail just a few days back,” Mishra stated as he provided a background of the case, as per the IE.

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The news of the ECI’s move also comes at a turbulent period when the parliament introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday last week that will allow the PM to select a minister to replace the Chief Justice of India in the committee which will select the Election Commission members, including the Chief Election Commissioner. Raising serious questions of the union government’s intent—in this case to remote control the entire election process —it also will overturn an earlier judgement of the Supreme Court. Arguably then, if this control of the ECI itself is left unchallenged even by the Supreme Court the nationwide de-limitation process due in 2026 will itself be controlled by any government in power at the time.

The final de-limitation order, released under Section 8-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, marks a crucial development on Assam’s electoral map. The commission’s press release, released on August 11, detailed that its  approach involved an extensive consultative process with a wide range of stakeholders. This included three days of public hearings in Guwahati in July 2023, supplemented by pre-meetings held in March 2023. According the press note, all representations, suggestions, and objections were considered by the commission, composed of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel.

As many as 30 assembly constituencies will cease to exist in their current form while 26 new ones will be created, the Economic Times had reported in June. The final order did not further change any constituency boundaries, but renamed 19 assembly constituencies and one parliamentary constituency.

Representatives from various opposition national and state parties, including Aam Aadmi Party, Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as state-specific parties like All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Asom Gana Parishad, United Peoples Party Liberal, and Bodoland People’s Front, provided their feedback and suggestions to the Commission. Additionally, the United Opposition Forum Assam, comprising of multiple parties, and Registered Unrecognized Political Parties (RUPPs) such as Raijor Dal, Bhartiya Gana Parishad, National Republican Congress, and Assam Jatiya Parishad, also took part in the discussions. Over the course of three days, the Commission engaged with more than 1200 representations from 31 districts and conducted meetings with over 20 political parties. 

The commission says it incorporated. Around 45% of the total 1222 suggestions/objections. According to the press release, while some 5 % of the demands were found to be outside the bounds of constitutional and statutory provisions, and the rest of the 50 % were not deemed suitable. According to a report by The Hindu, the poll panel has largely retained the changes that were introduced in the original draft proposal released earlier in the year. 

The current chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma –whose term has been marred by aggressive steps and posturing against the state’s minorities– has also given his support to the ECI earlier. Assam chief minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier said that if the ECI’s draft proposal was approved, the “people of Assam” would have a greater say in their constituencies.

“Assam should not be taken over by unfamiliar persons, and for that we worked religiously to protect jati [community], mati [land], and bheti [foundation], so as to retain the political power in the hands of our people.”

আমাৰ লক্ষ্য – জাতি, মাটি আৰু ভেটিৰ সুৰক্ষা

We are committed to protect the interests of our indigenous communities.

If the EC’s draft on delimitation is approved, people of Assam will have a greater say in their constituencies.

Lakhimpur#MahaJansamparkAbhiyan pic.twitter.com/sQ6ZWatM2L

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 23, 2023

His remarks and the delimitation proposal have been criticised as an attempt to weaken the representation of the state’s Bengali-origin Muslim community, who are often vilified as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

It is also not a coincidence that it is only the current ruling party BJP remains to be one party that welcomes the order, amidst many oppositions by other parties, including the Congress and AIUDF.

Gaurav Gogoi, a two term MP from the Congress party in Assam, has stated on Twitter that the Delimitation Exercise only ‘suits’ the BJP. 

Election Commission publishes delimitation of Assam in 2023 based on 22 year old census. Hence no benefit to Assam in terms of increase in Lok Sabha seats. The result is a reorganization of existing seats to suit BJP voting trends. No wonder BJP doesn’t want CJI to select ECs.

— Gaurav Gogoi (@GauravGogoiAsm) August 11, 2023

Changes in the Final Draft

The delimitation exercise is based on the 2001 Census data a move which has been largely questioned by critics. The last delimitation was carried out in Assam in 2008. The latest delimitation exercise has resulted in the allocation of 126 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) and 14 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) in Assam.  The commission’s final proposal includes revisions to the names of certain constituencies. Existing names such as Mankachar and South Salmara have been changed to Birsing Jarua and Mankachar respectively, amongst other changes.

Image: ECI Final Order.

When the initial draft was released, many apprehensions were made as for the new allocation of constituencies reserved for the scheduled castes (SCs). According to the final order, the SC seats are distributed among districts based on the proportion of the population of SCs in each district compared to the overall SC population in the entire state. Within each district, the priority was given to assembly seats with the highest proportion of SC population in relation to the total population of that assembly constituency. Similarly, for Parliamentary Constituencies, the one with the highest proportional SC population in relation to the total population of that parliamentary constituency was reserved for SCs. In 2001, the Scheduled Caste (SC) population stood at 1,825,949 out of the total population of 26,655,528. This proportion of SCs in the population was calculated to be 0.0685. The state had a total of 126 Assembly Constituencies (ACs), out of which 9 were to be reserved for SCs. Additionally, there were 14 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs), with 1 PC earmarked for reservation for SCs. The ECI has argued that these changes in reservation for SC and ST communities were made according to Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution.

According to Barak Bulletin, Silchar MP Rajdeep Roy had warned that there would be ‘Kashmirisation’ of Silchar if it becomes an unreserved constituency. Similarly, according to report, the main request of Barak Valley’s residents was to restore the Assembly representation to 15 seats. However, the Election Commission of India’s final draft stipulated 13 seats for the region. Notably, Algapur and Katlicherra, previously separate constituencies, were combined into Algapur-Katlicherra. Similarly, Badarpur merged with North Karimganj, now known as North Karimganj. Acknowledging Minister Parimal Suklabaidya’s objection, the ECI retained the name of Dholai Constituency, despite the initial proposal to rename it.

A significant development is the reduction in the size of the Silchar Legislative Assembly, both in geographic and electoral terms. Wards 1 to 7 of the current Silchar Municipal Board have been excluded from Silchar LAC. Furthermore, the ECI’s final draft confirmed that the Silchar Parliamentary Constituency, one of Barak Valley’s two constituencies along with Hailakandi-Karimganj, will continue to be reserved for SC candidates. It is notable that the Hailakandi-Karimganj constituency, formerly reserved for SC candidates, is now open to general candidates.

Opposition protests against the order

In the Supreme Court of India, writ petitions were submitted by Rajya Sabha member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan and Dr. Hiren Gohain, as well as one by the opposition parties. These petitions highlighted that the earlier postponement of the delimitation exercise was due to its reliance on outdated 2001 Census data. Given that India’s most recent Census was in 2011, it would naturally contains more current and updated data compared to the information from 2001, but there are no reports of the 2011 data included. 

On July 24, the Supreme Court declined to put a stay on the delimitation process in Assam. The Court directed the Union government and the poll panel to provide their responses to a set of pleas on this matter. A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, alongside Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra however decided that they will look into the constitutionality of Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. This is the section which grants the Election Commission the power to carry out constituency delimitation. 

During the hearing for the petition, representing the petitioners, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the opposition party leaders, argued against the commission stating that traditionally, this task was handled by a Delimitation Commission consisting of a retired Supreme Court judge and people’s representatives. He contended that entrusting the process to the ECI lacked a rational basis.

The proposed changes have triggered responses on the ground as well. Organisations and political parties had earlier called for a 12-hour strike in certain districts of Barak Valley in June, at the release of the ECI’s delimitation draft.

According to an earlier report by Sabrang India, a contentious aspect of the proposal centres on the potential elimination of assembly seats with Muslim-majority populations. This move has invited criticism from opposition parties, who assert that these constituencies often represent the Bengali-origin Muslim community, leading to concerns of minority representation and potential bias.

According to the report, the draft’s provisions suggest merging or incorporating such seats into newly-formed constituencies, some of which house significant Hindu populations.

India’s next nationwide delimitation is slated for 2026, while Assam’s last comprehensive delimitation was performed in 2008, with a subsequent deferral. This raises the question as to what was the hurry to perform a delimitation exercise specifically for Assam just a few years away from the all India exercise? The fact that the Lok Sabha elections are just a year further raises significant questions.

Related 

Assam: Delimitation of Assembly, Parliamentary Seats, Merging of Districts Raise Apprehensions

Election Commission of India receives 467 suggestions and objections over the proposed delimitation exercise in Assam

Protests erupt over ECI’s new delimitation draft in Assam which is embroiled in controversy

Election Commission of India says voters’ names not to be removed without prior notice

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