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Friday protests: More people booked for unlawful assembly

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 14:01:13 +0000

Image Courtesy: indiatoday.in

Arrests of protesters having agitated in the June 10, 2022 protests continue to grow. By June 13, the news reports talked of more arrests in Uttarakhand and Karnataka. Meanwhile, more people are being booked for the Friday protests.

According to the Hindustan Times on Monday, the Uttarakhand police arrested 12 people in connection with the Friday protests that flared across India. On that day, Muslims condemned suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammad and Islam. They demanded her immediate arrest for insulting the community during a Times Now debate on May 26.

According to recent reports Maharashtra police also booked the debate anchor Navika Kumar on June 13 for allegedly “maliciously intending to outrage religious feelings”. However, Muslims still demand Sharma’s immediate arrest along with that of recently-expelled BJP leader Naveen Kumar Jindal.

Protesters in Rudrapur and Jaspur of Udham Singh Nagar and Bhagwanpur of Haridwar districts were arrested for participating in these “illegal and unauthorised” protests. Further on June 11, three persons were arrested in Karnataka’s Belagavi for hanging Sharma’s effigy from cable wires. According to Siasat Daily, these individuals are Mahmad Soheb, Aman Mokashi, Arbaj Mokash. Further, two arrests were made in Delhi on June 12, reported the Indian Express.

These 17 arrests now add to the already over-400 arrests made across India over the weekend. Particularly in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, 92 people were arrested for charges ranging from rioting and hurting religious sentiments to sections under the Explosive Substances Act. Overall, at least 325 arrests were made in Uttar Pradesh, 100 arrests in West Bengal, and 25 FIRs were filed against thousands in Jharkhand.

Aside from arrests, more people are being booked for the Friday protests. On Tuesday, the Indian Express reported that 10 people were booked in Jamalpur region of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The police charged them for allegedly violating Section 144 and 188 dealing with unlawful assembly and disobeying orders from a public servant.

The city police on Sunday detained 48 persons in Juhapura locality in Vejalpur to keep them from taking out a protest rally against Sharma. Meanwhile, the cyber-crime cell of Ahmedabad Police on Sunday arrested Rakhial resident Irshad Ansari, 36 under sections of the Information Technology Amendment Act for allegedly uploading multiple instigating posts against Sharma on social media.

By Monday, the number of arrests only grew with five men in Surat released on bail after a one-day police remand. The accused allegedly stuck posters of Sharma on the road and circulated videos of the same. Other than these two cities, protests also broke out in Kalupur, Khadia, Shahpur, Mirzapur. Like in other cities on Friday, shops and markets were shut at Teen Darwaza, Kalupur and Relief Road. Police identified demonstrators using video footage and said the people did not have permission for such a protest.

In Maharashtra, over 100 demonstrators were booked in Aurangabad, said Newsclick. Muslims gathered near the Divisional Commissioner’s office in the Delhi gate area of Aurangabad on Friday. People were charged for unlawful assembly and other relevant provisions of the IPC and Motor Vehicles Act against the protestors.

Near simultaneous with these arrests come the demolitions of various Muslim activists in UP. Already Prayagraj activist Javed Mohammad’s house was destroyed after authorities claimed the property was on encroached land.

This tactic of targeting communities in mass protests was first employed in 2019 when students across India rose in protest of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In 2022, these demolition attacks spread to Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Assam.

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Diva police arrests 5 for murder of Ola-driver, protests follow

Mon, 30 May 2022 13:54:37 +0000

Four adults and one minor boy were arrested on May 30, 2022 for the alleged murder of Ola-cab driver Muhammad Ali in Diva, Thane over the weekend. While the news came as some relief to the victim’s family, the drivers’ union condemned the company for tampering with the driver’s records.

According to Shil Daighar police Inspector Ramchandra Mohite, the accused Atish Bhosale, Omkar Kasekar, Harshul Sheikh, Prashant Periaswami and one minor were in an inebriated state when they attacked the 27-year-old driver. The group booked a cab ride from Ambernath to Diva. However, Ali’s body was found near a gutter bridge on May 29 in a half-naked state. Many valuables including his mobile phone and money were missing.

As for the vehicle, it remained in the same location until Sunday morning when a local farmer from Padlegaav found the body. 52-year-old Balkrishna Patil found the youth’s body near his field on an RCC bridge. In his report to the police, he spoke of dried blood on the body’s head and a blood-stained paver block nearby.

“I found the body in a half-naked state near my field. He had injuries near his buttocks. I immediately called Phadkepada police station [at around 9:30 AM],” said Patil.

The police found the Maruti vehicle around 60-70 m away from the place. All windows of the vehicle were open. Maharashtra App Based Union Transport Workers President Prashant Sawardekar said Ali was on his third or fourth ride on May 28 when the Ola operator noticed that the vehicle had stopped moving.

However, the union condemned the Ola company for covering up this information by ‘flashing’ Ali’s records for the day. According to Sawardekar, flashing is when the records of a driver’s daily work are erased.

“This is a matter of social security code. The company regularly flashes drivers and blacklists them,” said Sawardekar.

Although unmarried, Ali came to Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh. He lived alone in Kurla and worked as an Ola cab driver for nearly two years. The union has promised its full support to the family in getting justice in the matter.

The union estimated that around five such cab-driver deaths have occurred in the recent past although the exact locations of the deaths are yet to be confirmed. Still, the union demanded that the company take responsibility for their employees’ security.

As such, they have called for a protest on March 31 near the Shil Daighar police station to demand the administration’s attention in the matter. Sawardekar said that nearly 50 drivers will gather to talk about continued denial of their basic labour rights.

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Umar Khalid bail: Prosecution alleges Pinjra Tod and others were included to give protests appear secular

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 12:46:00 +0000

Image Courtesy:indiatoday.in

Dr Umar Khalid’s bail hearing continued today before Additional Sessions Judge, Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma Shahdara Court, Delhi, as the prosecution made submissions that protest sites across Delhi were indeed organised and were not at all organic. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad submitted that women were used as a front in these protests to avoid police clashes and Pinjra Tod was included to give the protests a secular colour.

Khalid, activist and former student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been in prison since September 2020. He has been booked under sections 13 (Punishment for unlawful activities), 16 (Punishment for terrorist act), 17 (Punishment for raising funds for terrorist act) and 18 (Punishment for conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 in the conspiracy case.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad appearing for Delhi Police took off from where he concluded at the previous hearing which was held on January 11. He began his argument by displaying a Whatsapp message sent on the Delhi Protest Support Group (DPSG), which according to him is a group central to the chargesheet in the conspiracy case and the case as a whole. He pointed out that after the violence broke out in February 2020, several members were added to the group and eventually members decided to switch to Signal messaging app by dismantling the Whatsapp group.

Protests were not organic

This was the main argument made by SPP Prasad at the hearing today and made submissions to support the same. He stated that firstly, the FIR was lodged based on information received by the police that the riots were not spontaneous and were in fact pre planned and that a conspiracy was hatched by Umar Khalid and his associates. “Khalid gave a provocative speech appealing to the minority community to block roads during Donald Trump’s visit to India. Idea was to create a propaganda at international level to show that minority is tortured in India,” he submitted.

SPP Prasad stated that people have the right to protest but the manner of protesting matters. He insisted that Khalid and other accused were conspirators behind the riots as they mobilised people for sit-in protests, arranged for disruptive chakka jam, targeted government property for destruction and sought to increase the number of sit-in protests across the country.

He further claimed that Popular front of India (PFI), Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JHI) were the “hidden elements” of these protests and that members of the Jamia Coo-ordination Committee (JCC) liaised with members of these organisations. He stated that Jamia Awareness Campaign Team (JACT) was formed under the aegis of JCC and was formed under the direction of Umar Khalid and Nadeem Khan. The purpose was to spread misinformation and to incite the minority against CAA-NRC. He further stated that local offices were set up at all the protest sites in Delhi and the sites were monitored by JCC.

He submitted that protest sites were made women-centric to avoid police clashes and were organised only in Muslim dominated areas, funds were collected, legal teams were kept ready to help detainees and regular meetings were held to take stock of the developments.

He stated that 25 protest sites were created under DPSG and each of these sites were given a nomenclature to give them a secular colour while the real names of these sites are related to the mosques in the vicinity of which they were set up. He gave numerous such examples by stating that Shaheen Bagh was actually Habeeb Masjid protes site; Chandbagh site was actually Syed Chandbaba Masjid site; Sriram Colony site was actually Noorani Masjid.

The Judge questioned “You call these sites on the basis of masjids. Is it because it is called that or is it because of the vicinity to the masjid?” SPP Prasad responded that he will come to it later and demonstrate how it is relevant.

Secrecy of Whatsapp groups

It was also submitted that SIM cards were exclusively purchased for being part of the many Whatsapp groups and these cards were purchased based on fake identities. As per the Delhi Police, the first phase of the riots took place between December 13 and December 20, 2019 where more than 100 police personnel and public officials were injured. This is the period when Shaheen Bagh sit-in protests began and the police stormed the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia University injuring several students and staff of the University. Police had barged into the campus, fired tear gas shells in closed spaces like the library and destroyed property on campus.

Why North East delhi was “chosen”

He stated that the pattern of riots of December and of February was similar, only the intensity was more in February 2020. “Almost every person involved in the December riots surfaced in the 2020 riots,” he said. “Difference between the two phases was that the Shaheen Bagh and Jamia areas were left out. Women were put to the forefront of riots, to make it look like a rightful dissent in 2020,” he added. He said that Sharjeel Imam’s speech made this very clear.

The Judge pointed out that Imam’s speech indicates that he has an ideology of his own and he does not even align with the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and others so “how does he align with others?” The SPP insisted that he will demonstrate the same as he goes through material on record.

SPP Prasad claimed that North East Delhi was selected as an area to commit riots for its “unique geo-economic conditions for mass-scale mobilisation and violence.” He stated that Pinjra Tod and DPSG were included in February for tactical reasons to get away with the stigma of becoming an overtly communal campaign. Pinjra Tod gave an effective female shield to give legitimacy to sit in protest.”

“Umar Khalid is not an atheist”

SPP prasad submitted that Khalid claims publicly that he is an atheist but that only for showing to the public. He asked, “If he is an atheist why did he join the WhatsApp group called Muslim Students of JNU (MSJ)?”

Meetings and speeches

The Delhi Police submitted that Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi met with councilor Tahir Hussain for he funded the riots with his “black money”.

Further, the meeting of January 23, 2020, between Khalid and Pinjra Tod members was to pass directions to gear up for riots and for stockpiling of weapons for the same. He said that on the same date, Sharjeel Imam gave his speech in Bihar which was on the same lines and that this is no coincidence. “Plan here was to mobilise protest, go to next level of chakka jam and riots,” he concluded.

The arguments will continue on January 28.

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SKM demands Centre come through on its promises

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 12:59:29 +0000

Farmers’ umbrella body Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has called for a nationwide protest on January 31, 2022 after expressing disappointment at the central government’s failure to come through on its own promises to protesters.

Around December 8, 2021, the Centre first initiated talks with farmer leaders negotiating many demands such as a legal guarantee to Minimum Support Price (MSP), withdrawal of the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021, penal provisions on farmers in the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021 and FIRs registered against agitating farmers across India.

However, “Barring some FIRs in Haryana, there has been no progress regarding the assurances made in the documents,” said SKM member Ashok Dhawale during a press conference.

For this reason, the members declared tehsil-level protest all over the country on Monday. Further, if their demands remained ignored after the protests, farmers decided to launch “Mission Uttar Pradesh” and “Mission Uttarakhand” in the respective states to condemn the ruling regime.

Why is BJP govt alwys against farmers?
How long will farmers hv to wait fr justice on Lakhimpur incident?#योगी_किसान_विरोधी pic.twitter.com/E7A9D9arzk

— Kisan Ekta Morcha (@Kisanektamorcha) January 14, 2022

Regarding politics, the SKM also clarified that it has distanced itself from all unions wishing to enter politics as the movement “is apolitical”. Leaders said they will decide whether the estrangement will continue four months from now.

Meanwhile, it voiced fresh support to the anganwadi workers in Haryana, who have been asserting their rights since December 8. The SKM also promised to participate in the All-India General Strike of trade union on February 23 and February 24 to condemn other oppressive laws of the government.

Since October 2021, farmers have also demanded the sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra for his alleged involvement in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre. Leaders pointed out that even the SIT probe stated that the incident was a premeditated act and not a chance event. However, while Mishra remains in office many farmers have been arrested since then.

To look into this matter, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait along with a delegation of the SKM will go to Lakhimpur Kheri on January 21 for three days to talk to the arrested farmers and their families.

Protest called off!! But still false charges on farmers nit withdrawn
No justice to victims f Lakhimpur incident
Why is #ModiHelpingCriminalTeni ?? pic.twitter.com/J19hEuDBXs

— Kisan Ekta Morcha (@Kisanektamorcha) January 15, 2022

“We will meet the people in jails and their families. Many of our people have been imprisoned and we plan to talk to authorities about this. Even authorities who arrested farmers outside Uttar Pradesh will be questioned for the act,” said Tikait.

The SKM said that if the delegation finds their investigations unsatisfactory, they will announce fresh protests across the district.

Farmers demands

Aside from the withdrawal of the three contentious laws, the SKM has constantly demanded a legal guarantee to MSP. During their last talk with officials, farmers were told that the Centre will create a committee to discuss MSP legalisation. However, after nearly a month, farmers noted that the government has taken no efforts to follow through on their promises.

Similarly, many peasant families have been waiting for their compensation from the government after family members died while participating in the national struggle. Yet, many have not received any word from officials.

During the press conference, the farmer leaders called this protection of Minister Mishra and the stalling of the committee another way to protect their “vote bank”.

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Anganwadi agitation: 20 villages in Punjab burn effigies of the government!

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 13:08:35 +0000

As many as 20 villages of Muktsar Sahib district, Punjab burnt effigies of the state government on the call of anganwadi workers and helpers on September 14, 2021.

Punjab Anganwadi Employees Union President Hargobind Kaur thanked the 20 villages for participating in the workers’ struggle that will go on till September 30. A state-wide protest will also take place on October 2.

The demonstrations began on September 13 during which villages of Lakhewali, Khokhar, Chautra, Fattanwala, Ramgarh Chunghan, Sirwali, Barkandi, Haraj, Fatui Khera, Dhulkot, Doda, Kotli Ablu, Dabra, Lakkarwala, Ward No. 11 Malout, Kaulianwali, Fatta, Ramnagar, Sheikhu and Chhapianwali showed solidarity.

Through these protests, employees reiterated their demand to reinstate children between 3 and 6 years, who were transferred from anganwadi centres to primary schools by the state government in 2017.

Further, women demanded that their job designation be promoted to nursery teachers. Earlier, the government promoted EGS volunteers to the same status. Along with this change in status, they demanded that the government offer them honorarium as per the Haryana pattern.

Hargobind Kaur also demanded that workers receive the pending money from Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana (PMVY) 2017 – a maternity benefit programme.

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Mumbai police withdraw ‘externment notices’ against activists, students

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 05:00:28 +0000

Image Courtesy:thewire.in

Mumbai Police are in the process of withdrawing externment notices that had been previously issued to students and activists who had protested the January 5 violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as well as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The protests took place in Mumbai on January 6, 2020, at two locations; Gateway of India and Hutatma Chowk. Following this, three police stations; MRA Marg, Colaba and Tardeo, issued notices under sections 107 (security for keeping the peace) and 110 (security for good behaviour from habitual offenders). As per the terms of the bond, if these people engage in any act that threatens law and order, it would lead to not only confiscation of the surety amount, but also externment from the city! This effectively discourages them from being part of peaceful protests in future, and is thus a violation of the rights to freedom of speech and expression and the right to protest.

Such notices had reportedly been served to as many as 25 people including college students, cultural activists and human rights defenders. The most shocking case was that of Suvarna Salve, a college student and cultural activist who is a part of Samta Kala Manch, who was asked to sign a bond for Rs 50 lakh!

Now, The Wire reports that police have initiated a process to withdraw said notices. Last week, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Azad maidan division withdrew notices against eight people including Suvarna Salve. ACP Milind Khetle who is heading the proceedings told The Wire that police are in the process of closing the file on others too, however, he did not confirm grounds for doing the same.

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National Unemployment Day: Youth demand jobs, financial security

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 14:12:43 +0000

Image Courtesy:edexlive.com

The youth are on the streets, not beating thaalis, not lighting diyas. They are on the streets demanding jobs, and risking a police beating for doing so. Videos of a massive protest at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, against the policies of “Modi-Yogi” rather the lack of policies were shared on social media all day. The protest came together, and grew to massive proportions as the ‘joblessness’ situation in the state, and the country shows no signs of abating, and the youth are rightly worried.

Add to that the fears generated by the proposed ‘contract’ employment proposed by the Adityanath led-Uttar Pradesh government. The UP government may soon bring about major changes for Group B and Group C state government employees, who will then be recruited on contract basis for five years. These employees will not be entitled to allowances and other benefits like the permanent employees. The contract can be terminated after ‘scrutiny’ at the end of the five years. According to news reports, UP’s Department of Personnel has initiated the consultation process with other stakeholders and the proposal is likely to be placed before the state cabinet soon.

This proposed move, has now forced a large group of young protesters to gather at Prayagraj, and other areas of the state. They shared videos of the protest, and images of injured protestors who were hit even though they were just demanding permanent jobs and assurances of a secure future. This is perhaps the first major student , and youth led protest that has been seen in Uttar Pradesh in recent months. There was blood on the streets today. And those supporting the protest hoped it would bring about a revolution.

ये खून लिखेगा, बदलाव की इबारत l#17Baje17Minute pic.twitter.com/nQ57Pc65xP

— Surya Pratap Singh IAS Rtd. (@suryapsingh_IAS) September 17, 2020

Soon enough, social media trends showed the hashtag #NationalUnemploymentDay

trending with around 4.16M Tweets. Clearly, social media users wanted to send a message to the governments that young citizens were increasingly feeling frustrated and angry. It was also Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 70th birthday, when social media users took upon themselves to remind him of the mood on the streets.

Then there were protests on the ground, such as the one in Prayagraj, and a series of protests that have already been carried out across the country by trade unions, Left parties, Congress, Samajwadi Party, and all of them found a place online today. The trend was fuelled by individual users, and propelled further by political parties and leaders with large online presence. Soon enough “National Unemployment Day” was a thing no one could ignore, along with hashtags such as ‘#17Sept17Hrs17Minutes’.

The young are asking ,pleading for employment,give it to them it was your promise ,what’s the disrespect here #17Baje17Minute

— Juhie Singh (@juhiesingh) September 17, 2020

Respect the youth then we will respect our PM#17Baje17Minute pic.twitter.com/tdhVeK2g95

— #17Baje17Minute (@AishwaryVerma9) September 17, 2020

“Protests across the country on National Jumla and unemployed day. How long will we keep people from getting off the streets by keeping a lockdown,” asked one.

17/9/2020#NationalUnemploymentDay pic.twitter.com/egizX78m0n

— Ali Khan Mahmudabad (@Mahmudabad) September 17, 2020

Youth members of the ⁦@samajwadiparty⁩ raising their voices for the nation’s youth.

As a return gift for coming to this ‘birthday party’ they are arrested and beaten. #NationalUmemploymentDay pic.twitter.com/cxdPIE9boq

— Ali Khan Mahmudabad (@Mahmudabad) September 17, 2020

“Massive unemployment has forced the youth to call today #NationalUnemploymentDay.

Employment is dignity.For how long will the Govt deny it?,” said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

यही कारण है कि देश का युवा आज #राष्ट्रीय_बेरोजगारी_दिवस मनाने पर मजबूर है।
रोज़गार सम्मान है।
सरकार कब तक ये सम्मान देने से पीछे हटेगी?

Massive unemployment has forced the youth to call today #NationalUnemploymentDay.
Employment is dignity.
For how long will the Govt deny it? pic.twitter.com/FC2mQAW3oJ

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 17, 2020

Only peacocks are celebrating Mr. @narendramodi‘s birthday as students, farmers and migrants have been decimated. The oppressive policies of BJP have wrecked havoc with lives of Indians.#NationalUnemploymentDay pic.twitter.com/nFbzXwkM9N

— NSUI (@nsui) September 17, 2020

Recently, the Minister of Labour and Employment was grilled by Members of Parliament on subjects like unemployment and plight of migrant workers on the opening day of the first session of Parliament after the Covid-19 pandemic. The minister submitted that as many as 1,04,66,152 persons migrated back to their hometowns when asked about labourers who had migrated back from their cities during the nation-wide lockdown, during the monsoon session of Parliament on September 14, 2020. In light of the recent migrations by daily wage workers, Members of Parliament Syed Imtiaz Jaleel and Asaduddin Owaisi asked Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar about the condition of the labour force. Firstly, they asked for a confirmation that the unorganised sector was the worst-affected section of society due to the lockdown. Secondly, members asked for State-wise figures of labourers who had migrated due to loss of jobs. Thirdly, they enquired whether the Central government offered any assistance to states with large migration-intake to rehabilitate these labourers and give them employment. Fourthly, members asked how many people had been repatriated to their work-place during the reverse migration process.

In response, the government presented state-wise figures of migrants who had returned to their home states. However, it failed to confirm the condition of the unorganised sector.

The presented data showed that Uttar Pradesh had the highest intake of migrants with over 32 lakh people followed closely by Bihar that recorded the return of over 15 lakh people.

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Solidarity pours in for brutally attacked JNU students and teachers

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 04:37:29 +0000

Image Courtesy: deccanherald.com

Once again, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has brought together the whole of India to stand against injustice, mob violence, police excesses and inaction and the fascist policies of the government.

On the night of January 5, 2020, students and teachers were brutally attacked by masked goons who entered the campus to quash their protest against the fee hike imposed by the University administration. The JNU students’ union President Aishe Ghosh was badly injured on her head, Professor Suchitra Sen too was attacked and around 26 students were reportedly hurt.

The news of the attack spread like wildfire and an outpouring of solidarity came through from all over India. People from different states and universities marched in support of the students and condemned the violence on peaceful protestors.

Here is a round-up of how India stood for JNU.

1. Aligarh – Aligarh Muslim University – On Sunday, January 5, 2020 the students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) hit the streets with a peaceful candlelight march to protest against the violence at JNU and demanded that the perpetrators be booked for the violence.

https://twitter.com/MoazRamzi/status/1215215908949377024

Protest at #AMU
Live.@Maq_one @brumbyoz @tanwer_m @AdityaMenon22 pic.twitter.com/FlfadgMGGe

— Moaz Ramzi | معاذ رمزي (@MoazRamzi) January 9, 2020

2. West Bengal – The outpouring of support from West Bengal has been heartening. Students and teachers from Jadavpur University joined hands to condemn the attack on JNU students. The rally held by the students’ union of the arts, science and engineering faculties saw slogans like “Awaaz do sab ek ho” and “Lathi goli ki Sarkar, nahi chalegi ab ki baar”.

https://twitter.com/TanveerAnas/status/1214804246606024704

Protest at Jadavpur University against #CAA_NRC_NPR & solidarity with JNU students.#BharatBandh2020 #MazdoorKisanStrike #IndiaStrikesAgainstModiGovt #CAAProtests #NPRisNRC #BharatBandh #CAA_NRC_Protest #IndiaAgainstCAA_NPR_NRC #IndiaAgainstViolence pic.twitter.com/pijwRL1Btd

— Tanveer (@TanveerAnas) January 8, 2020

Inspired by the women of Shaheen Bagh, women staged a sit-in leaderless and banner less protest at Kolkata’s Park Circus in solidarity with the women attacked at JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University.

https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&q=women%20protest%20park%20circus&src=typd&lang=en

Just wow!!

Inspired by the women of #ShaheenBagh , women in Kolkata have started sitting in protest against CAA, NRC & NPR at Park Circus – Kolkata.

AND THE CHAIN WILL GO ON.. #ShaheenBaghProtest has been an inspiration..@IndiasMuslims @SidrahDP @deepsealioness @Ssaniya25 pic.twitter.com/uZ0YEWMJAe

— Saqlain Quadri (@ImSaqlainQuadri) January 7, 2020

Students from the Indian Statistical Institute formed a human chain and sang Jana Gana Mana on Wednesday afternoon to protest Sunday’s attack on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Reciting ‘Africa’ by Rabindranath Tagore and ‘Hum Dekhenge’ by Faiz at the ‘cultural assembly’, they spoke against the atmosphere of discrimination in the country.

https://twitter.com/anandavardhanan/status/1215106042956115968

Elo ora lohar hathkodi niye, nokh jader teekhno tomar nekrer cheye

And then they arrived, manacles in hand / Claws sharper by far than any on your wolves.

Tagore’s “Ode to Africa” at a cultural assembly at ISI Kolkata to protest the attack in/on JNU.https://t.co/2Ecr4IYUzO

— Anand (@anandavardhanan) January 9, 2020

3. New Delhi – The people of Delhi called people to join a protest against the JNU attacks starting from Mandi House. However, to quell the same, the Delhi Police imposed section 144 there. Yet, not cowered down by the police’s tactics, people sang and raised slogans condemning fascism.

https://twitter.com/Huzaifa_Aamir/status/1215245074251968512

Today Joined Citizens March From Mandi House to HRD Ministry against brutal attack of ABVP on #JNU studens and draconian laws CAA +NRC + NPR#CAA_NRC_Protest #JNUUnderAttack #IndiaAgainstCAA pic.twitter.com/D52EM275BN

— Huzaifa Aamir Rashadi (@Huzaifa_Aamir) January 9, 2020

After the attack on JNU students and faculty on the night of January 5, 2020, Delhi came together in condemnation of the shameful act. The protest continued at JNU, with actress Deepika Padukone standing in solidarity with the students at JNU.

https://twitter.com/Suresh_Mathew_/status/1214567803308523520

Actor @deepikapadukone meeting #AisheGhosh in #JNU. She’s at ground zero despite knowing the backlash it will receive from RW goons who will attempt to boycott her film which releases in two days. Coming from Deepika who has largely been silent on political issues this is BIG. pic.twitter.com/xaNTHpezfU

— Suresh Mathew (@Suresh_Mathew_) January 7, 2020

Even St. Stephen’s College, stood up for the students of JNU with students gathered under colourful umbrellas walking out of their classrooms, for the first time in 30 years, to actually take part in a protest, reported The Telegraph.

https://twitter.com/thefirstindia/status/1214897877199114240

The St Stephens College in Delhi joined other institutions in showing solidarity with other students in condemning the violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University.#StStephensCollege #JNUViolence #JNUSolidarity pic.twitter.com/D6rBOV9SN1

— First India (@thefirstindia) January 8, 2020

Thousands of students from Delhi University paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda and marched against the violence perpetrated on students and faculty members in universities across India in a silent protest.

https://twitter.com/sevadalBAK/status/1215173090256121857

Students of Delhi University pay tribute to Swami Vivekananda in a silent protest against violence perpetrated on students and faculty members in university campuses across India.

We salute these bravehearts. pic.twitter.com/DV5IhcXheL

— Banka Congress Sevadal (@sevadalBAK) January 9, 2020

4. Mumbai – Mumbai came to the streets immediately to condemn the attack on JNU students and teachers, starting with a peaceful protest at the Gateway of India.

https://twitter.com/ShifaShikalgar/status/1214838041694617600

Protest at Gateway of India from 6/1/20. Mumbai stand with Students of #JNU #AMU #JAMIA ??#StandWithJNU pic.twitter.com/3QBox3pTZb

— Shifa Shikalgar (@ShifaShikalgar) January 8, 2020

Bollywood celebrities staged a silent protest at Carter Road in Bandra to show their support for the JNU victims.

https://twitter.com/18AKGOYAL/status/1214739302858379264

Taapsee Pannu, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap & Other Bollywood Celebrities Join Mumbai Protest Against JNU Attack https://t.co/BM11rqwC6B

— ASHWANI KUMAR GOYAL (@18AKGOYAL) January 8, 2020

https://twitter.com/pencilpusher24/status/1214906947171999745

Some more visuals from the silent protest at Carter Road right now. pic.twitter.com/zFb4XyfEhi

— Gaurav Sarkar (@pencilpusher24) January 8, 2020

Thousands came out in support in various other areas like Mumbra with the hashtag #JNUWeWithYou.

https://twitter.com/Nafees1325/status/1215234741642973184

#JNUweWithYou students of mumbra and kausa protest in solidarity with JNU, JAMIA and AMU. pic.twitter.com/wbRNbvZXz4

— NAFEES AHMED SHAIKH (@Nafees1325) January 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/JD_Edits/status/1215261945256767488

Mumbra protest against jnu violence #JNUwewithyou #JNUTerrorAttack #JNUViolence pic.twitter.com/GLtZBaePpy

— J_Editsgfx (@JD_Edits) January 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/Saleh_Batlawala/status/1215255737875648512

9th January 2020
At Mittal Ground, Mumbra.
Students are like a complete body if one part is hurt the whole body will feel the discomfort.#CAAProtests #JNUweWithYou #NRC_CAA_Protests @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/94CVzGpIIF

— Saleh Batlawala (@Saleh_Batlawala) January 9, 2020

Students of IIT Bombay too extended their support to JNU students and faculty.

https://twitter.com/couchbatata/status/1214428675736649728

IITB stands with #JNU pic.twitter.com/iT4p0XcgEP

— Divyanshu (@couchbatata) January 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/srivatsayb/status/1213885190872788992

And it begins..

Students of IIT Bombay protest against ABVP’s mob violence on JNU students. Several universities have started protesting across India

A NATIONWIDE STRIKE in solidarity with JNU must be called

Let every youth know what this govt is doingpic.twitter.com/hKq4jhughZ

— Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) January 5, 2020

https://twitter.com/IITB4Justice/status/1213889644258938881

Students of IIT Bombay in solidarity with students of JNU #JNUViolence #iitbwithjnu pic.twitter.com/Hpjltq19XA

— IITB4Justice (@IITB4Justice) January 5, 2020

5. Bangalore – Bangalore always showed up in solidarity with the people of India for the causes that mattered most. After heavily protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), students and various other professionals came out to voice their anger against the attack on the pupils of JNU.

https://twitter.com/TanuKul/status/1214049328366358528

Students of NLSIU and IIMB late on Sunday night had a candle light vigil against the brutal attack on students of JNU. More protests planned today @THBengaluru pic.twitter.com/VZgHC2eOrd

— Tanu (@TanuKul) January 6, 2020

https://twitter.com/AdityaJossen/status/1215245173183016960

Lawyers of Bangalore standing opposite the Vidhan Soudha, protesting against CAA & NRC and in solidarity with JNU. #bangaloreagainstcab #SolidarityWithJnu pic.twitter.com/CnrXP7TLPf

— Aditya Jossen (@AdityaJossen) January 9, 2020

https://twitter.com/iimb4justice/status/1214878719271038976

We, the members of IIM Bangalore community, strongly condemn the attack on the students and faculty of JNU. We extend our solidarity to JNU in this solidarity statement, signed by 271 members of IIMB Community. pic.twitter.com/wUFEJ5vlYy

— IC4J (@Ic4Justice) January 8, 2020

It’s true when they say that when it rains, it pours. The students of JNU who have been fighting for the longest time against the management’s decision to revoke the fee hike that if implemented, will lead to more than 40% of the students being bereft of quality education.

The dastardly attack by the alleged ABVP goons or the Hindu Raksha Dal which has claimed responsibility for the attack, has only brought together more people to support JNU’s cause. The attack which displayed the complicity of the police and the government, has today, once again brought together the future and the strength of India, its students, together to support inclusivity and foster democracy.

The post Solidarity pours in for brutally attacked JNU students and teachers appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Come rain or cold, Assam protests go on

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 08:33:31 +0000

Image Courtesy:TOI

The Bhupen Hazarika memorial at Jalukbari, Guwahati saw a protest rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) organized by the artistes of the state and backed by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU). Thousands of people were present wearing black masks as a mark of their angst against the CAA and vowed to uproot the current government if it failed to respect public sentiment

This rally took place a day after a massive gathering of BJP workers at Khanapara ground in a show of strength for CAA.

The rally covered a distance of 14 kms from Jalukbari to Dighalipukhuri. AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said, “The BJP showed its strength with its party workers but the anti-CAA movement has public support. In a democracy, public is the power and this movement has witnessed spontaneous public support from day one.” AASU maintained its stance that their movement will continue until their goal of securing constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people of Assam was achieved. AASU general secretary also accused the government of hiring goons to attack protestors and warned the government against applying force or power to dominate their movement.

BJP President’s statement that “duck sellers, chicken sellers, vegetable vendors and egg sellers” were participating in the anti-CAA rallies, invited a response from Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) general secretary Palash Changmai, who said, “Why can’t vegetable vendors or chicken sellers join the movement? If a tea seller can become the Prime Minister then I am sure a vegetable seller is also a patriot and can assert his democratic voice.”

Zubeen Garg, a popular singer in the state has been voicing his agitation against the government since the beginning of the anti-CAA protests and was leading the artists community rally as well. He said, “The government is not listening to our voices and so we have worn these black masks in protest. If needed we are ready for a political alternative. We are ready to uproot this government if it continues to be blind and deaf to the people’s cry.”

Popular singer Manas Robin said the artiste community would decide to take forward the protest against the amended citizenship law on January 17, when the state celebrates Shilpi Divas in memory of Assam’s cultural icon Jyoti Prasad Agarwala; while also calling upon various communities and organizations in Assam to join hands in opposing the new citizenship law.

These protests are braving the cold and harsh winter rains to stand in protest. Another protest organized by Shilpi Samaj, an artist fraternity in Assam saw Dibrugarh-based musician Prasanta Bordoloi addressing the gathering at Jeotimoral Sangha playground in Dibrugarh on December 5. He said that CAA was against the people of Assam. He added, “The ongoing anti-CAA movement reflects our rational and emotional sides. The CAA is against the secular fabric of the country and will divide the people of India. We, the artiste fraternity, assembled here to protest against it. The government has forcefully imposed it on Assam for vote bank politics.”

This gathering saw people singing songs of Bhupen Hazarika and the common sentiment among the protestors remained that Assam is not a dumping ground for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and that CAA violates the Assam Accord and hence the protests would go on until CAA is scrapped.

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NAPM releases report on state repression of protestors in UP

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 14:03:12 +0000

Image Courtesy: Facebook

The year 2019, saw the state of Uttar Pradesh witnessing a staunch resistance by the people to the blatantly communal and unconstitutional Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). In response to a national call for an All-India protest on December 19 against these draconian laws and decisions, lakhs of common citizens all across the state, hit the roads and protested in a peaceful and democratic way.

Rattled by the public outrage, the state swung into retaliatory mode to clampdown on peaceful protests, attack common people and create a climate of fear, violence and polarization. It attacked students, activists, the human rights community and organizations and civil society groups.

The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has prepared a report on the state repression and extraordinary situation in Uttar Pradesh in the wake of widespread protests against the CAA-NPR-NRC protests. NAPM says that the report is being brought out with a sense of urgency and with an attempt to broadly map out the scale and seriousness of the situation in the state, in particular, the unprecedented excesses committed by the Uttar Pradesh Police since the protests commenced. The information in this report has been obtained from sources in the public domain including official statements, FIR copies, credible news reports, social media accounts as well as reliable conversations with activists, lawyers, journalists from different districts.

The excerpts from the report are stated below.

ATTACK ON THE ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY

On the night of December 15, in order to quell a peaceful student protest, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) RAF and police started hurling rabidly communal abuses and firing tear gas shells, rubber bullets, stun grenades, pellets and other kinds of explosive weapons into the crowd that was inside the campus gate.

The army and police personnel entered buildings where students were hiding and attacked them ruthlessly. They even targeted students who were not part of the protests. Consequently, up to 60 students suffered varying degrees of injury including amputation of hands, limb injuries, suffocation and unconsciousness etc. The bikes of students which were parked were vandalized in large numbers. As per an estimate, up to 22 students ‘have gone missing since then’. Wide-spread fear was induced that anyone who speaks up would be charged with NSA! While no action has been taken against the erring officials, FIRs have been filed against 21 named and 500 unnamed students.

The University administration immediately declared winter vacations after this incident leading to a mass exodus of students from the campus. A report released by the AMU Students Union. The Allahabad High Court CJ Bench has taken cognizance of the incident and directed the District Magistrate, Aligarh to ensure all necessary medical assistance & aid to students & persons injured by lathi charge or any other means since December 14. The next hearing in the case is on 2nd Jan, 2019.

STATE ATTEMPTS TO PREVENT PROTESTS ON DECEMBER 19^th

Completely undermining the constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens under Article 19, invoked Sec 144 CrPC in a blanket sweep to impose ‘curfew’ across the entire state, rather than localised areas which is how Section 144 is legally intended to be used, as laid down by the Apex Court. As per news reports, on December 18, the UP Police issued notices to about 3,000 people across the state, cautioning them to not participate in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. These notices were issued under Sec.149 Cr.P.C and Sec 116/107 Cr.P.C, to individuals to not participate in any kind of protest and to execute a bond for keeping peace and good behaviour. Key activists including Adv Shoaib, Sandeep Pandey, SR Darapuri was kept under ‘house-arrest’ from the 18th night /19th early morning.

However, thousands of people both in UP and many other states where Sec 144 was imposed came out on the streets in large numbers and participated in the mass civil disobedience against the CAA. The protests that were entirely peaceful only turned violent after some unidentified miscreants burnt down a bus and some media OB vans, leading to police raining lathi blows on protestors and the situation turning volatile. It was not established as to who exactly were responsible for the same. Some reports indicated that the arson and violence was being carried out by ‘hired rioters’ to sabotage the peaceful protests. In the past couple of days, the security forces have been using excessive force on peaceful protestors, leading to loss of lives and severe life-threatening injuries.

Following this, UP CM Yogi Adityanath announced that his government would ‘take revenge’ on those involved in the violence by confiscating their properties. He said all of them have been marked in the CCTV footage and the state shall seize their property and compensate the losses caused. Within a day, he also ‘appealed people to maintain peace and law and order across the state’ and urging them ‘not to fall for rumours and get misled on the new citizenship law’.

The internet blockade that began soon on December 16 was imposed in 21 districts of UP and it was reported that mobile service was suspended only in Muslim localities of Muzzaffarnagar, while they were restored in the rest of the district. Internet blockade for over two weeks has also led to a serious deficiency in effective communication flow. The state government has not given any specific reasons or justification for the suspension. The suspension of internet has badly affected civilians and local businesses.

THE RISING DEATH TOLL AND INJURIES DUE TO POLICE FIRING: 20 DEAD AND COUNTING

19 people, including a minor have been killed in police firings and brutalities among the state. Media reports stated a senior police official saying that the deaths of at least 14 persons was due to ‘firearm injuries’.

An independent investigation is urgently required to ascertain the exact cause of the deaths due to police firing. This is even more necessary since in several videos that have emerged, policemen are seen with revolvers and batons, aiming and shooting directly at unarmed protestors/civilains, above the waist.

As per a news report, a 17 year old child from Meerut who has a bullet in his spine is also lodged in the Emergency Ward of AIIMS. “The teen’s mother who requested not to be identified out of “fear of the police8 said her son was returning home from a school books manufacturing unit where he works when he allegedly received a gunshot wound at Meerut’s Lisari Gate. He returned around 5 pm, semi-conscious and in bloodied clothes…. He cried all night, as he couldn’t move his arms or legs – we couldn’t take him to hospital, as everything was shut,” said the mother”.

Meerut has seen a total of five deaths due to police firing.

In Kanpur, three deaths have been reported, all due to sustaining bullet injuries. In Rampur, one man lost his life after he was shot by the police and in Firozabad, two men died due to bullet wounds. Two men also passed away in Sambhal after being shot by the police and in Bijnor, two young men lost their lives for the same reason. Lucknow, Muzzaffarnagar and Varanasi saw one death each, but this is what the police had to say about its actions. “All the deaths took place in cross-firing and this would become clear in the post-mortem examination. We are clear and transparent on this. If anyone died due to our firing, we will conduct a judicial inquiry and take action. But nothing happened from our side,” said DGP Mr. OP Singh. It was only in the case of Suleiman from Bijnor, the police has accepted that the firing happened in ‘self-defence’.

REPRESSION OF ACTIVISTS AND PROTESTORS: ARBITRARY DETENTIONS, ARRESTS AND TORTURE

Clamping down on peaceful protesters against the CAA, the UP police has arbitrarily arresting human rights defenders (HRDs), political activists, journalists, lawyers and others, without any evidence or without following the due process of law across the state. Several vocal critics of the CAA, have been detained, on clearly trumped up charges and in a manner replete with procedural violations. There are also instances of torture in custody. For a long duration, the family members of those arrested / detained were not informed about their whereabouts or about the charges under which they had been arrested or detained. All this amounts to brutal crackdown negating fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution.

The protestors and activists have been charged under serious offences ranging from being party to a criminal conspiracy to rioting, from intentional insult to provoke breach of peace to criminal intimidation and from assaulting a public servant when suppressing a riot to mischief by fire or an explosive substance.

Even media persons like Omar Rashid, a journalist with The Hindu and Alimullah Khan, the editor of Qaumi Raftar just go to show that the state will go to any extent to suppress the real picture of the matter from being privy to the public.

The police also rounded up peaceful protestors, saying that they would be detained under Section 151 of the IPC and bailed out the next day. However, they were charged under more serious offences and were later sent to Chowkaghat District Jail. Among those arrested were students and activists, even senior citizens who had been subject to custody for more than 12 days without any explanation.

On the evening of December 18 at around 8:00 pm, democratic rights activists Arundhati Dhuru, Madhvi Kuckreja and Meera Sanghamitra went to the Hazratganj police station to enquire about the whereabouts of Adv. Shoaib, SR Darapuri, Sadaf Jafar and others who were arrested earlier in the day. In a short while, another policeman Mr. Dhirendra Kushwah who identified himself as the incharge of the thana as well as two other policemen straight away started very rudely and baselessly accusing Arundhati, Madhvi and Meera of instigating and being responsible for the ‘incidents of violence’ at Parivartan Chowk on December 19. Mr. Kushwah particularly kept asking-alleging: “Ab poora shahar jalakar kaisa lag raha hai madam”? (How are you feeling after burning down the city?) Within a few minutes, a large number of police men surrounded the three women.

The police misbehaved with the three women and detained them, in a completely unlawful, and unreasonable and arbitrary manner. The state cannot deny any citizen the fundamental right to peaceful association, expression and life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

RECOVERY OF PROPERTY FROM ‘RIOTERS’: WHAT LIES BENEATH

On December 19, the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath issued an open warning that those involved in the violence will have to pay for the damage to public properties. He declared that the state will attach the properties of such persons, based on face-identification through the video footage. Subsequent to the CM’s statement, Lucknow’s district magistrate Abhishek Prakash set up a four-member committee of ADMs to assess damage to public and private property during the violence in anti-CAA protests. This committee was to arrest alleged rioters through CCTV footage and video, impose a find on them and confiscate their properties in case they failed to do so. While on the face of it, this seems to be in ‘public interest’, there are widespread concerns that this is being used in an extensive and targeted manner to seal hundreds of shops / establishments owned by the Muslims, alleging that they were the ‘rioters’ who had engaged in violence.

It cannot be missed that neither the Chief Minister nor the officials have uttered a word as to how those hundreds of muslims whose properties, houses, shops, vehicles, lives have been damaged during the police violence would be ‘compenasted’! The ‘political economy’ of police violence is an entire unwritten chapter in Uttar Pradesh.

MUSLIMS TARGETED

All the 18 people who have died so far in police firing happen to be Muslims. In addition to these tragic deaths, a whole range of incidents including mass FIRs, arbitrary detentions, custodial torture, police forces barging into homes and destroying properties of Muslims, vandalizing vehicles, intimidation and violence on youth, women, children and elders, midnight raids by police, ‘confiscation’ of property, discrimination and harassment based on religious lines have been surfacing to an extent in the mainstream media, but extensively over social media.

Distrubing stories of police violence have emerged from Muftiganj and Hussainabad where houses have been vandalized. In one of the videos shot clandestinely from the terrace of a house with a mobile phone on December 21st, nearly a hundred police personnel can be seen breaking open the shutter of shops and damaging parked vehicles in Begumganj area. Atrocious instances of police beating up pregnant women, forcing them to open up their veils, stealing their jewellery have been reported, but people are scared to complain.

In Rampur, Farooq Rahmani, a known Muslim face in Rampur and office-bearer of Ittehad Naujawan Committee was arrested and charged with IPC section 147 (rioting) and 307 (Attempt to murder) when he was trying to placate some Muslim youth in Gher Mohella in old city area. Multiple instances of Muslims being terrorized and traumatized by police violence have emerged. The homes of many muslim families in Nehtaur, Bijnore have been ransacked by the police and due to fear many of them have left their homes and fled.

Women have been beaten up by male police and all the house hold belongings have been broken up. Some women also narrated police threats like: “They said we will set the house on fire, and if you make too much noise, izzat utar denge,” “We will dishonour you” – a threat of sexual assault and rape’. Harrowing accounts of children being beaten up by the police have been reported – “They beat us a lot,” he said, using lathis. “They beat us in the street. They beat us in the vans. Then they beat us when we were inside.

Muzzaffarnagar too has reported grim reports of violence with police detaining and torturing children, barging into homes and madrasas, attacking Muslim bastis, sealing hundreds of shops owned by Muslims in a bid to instill fear among the members of the community.

NAPM DEMANDS

NAPM demands that UP CM Adityanath take moral and legal legal responsibility for failing to control the unfortunate and unforgivable violence and deaths of 20 people and immediately step down. The High Court must take suo-moto cognizance of all deaths and injuries and the National Human Rights Commission must pro-actively intervene in the situation. It also demands that the National Commission of Women, National Minorities Commission and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights must visit the affected areas and the state government must uphold the people’s constitutional right to hold peaceful protests. The Govt. of UP and UP police must end the pervasive culture of mass and arbitrary filing of FIRs with thousands of ‘unnamed persons and halt the questionable and vindictive action of seizing the properties of alleged ‘rioters’.

In conclusion it demands that strict action be taken against all hate propagandists, particularly those wielding power. Meaningful peace-building measures must be taken up in consultation with civil society groups, local citizens’ collectives and educational institutions in each district.

The entire report by the NAPM may be read here.

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