Honourable Home Minister,

I am taking the liberty of sending you an open letter on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir written by a group pf academics, retired civil servants and analysts. The letter is attached, but I have also put the full text below.

We would be grateful if you could spare a moment to read our letter and if possible, respond to it.

Yours truly,

Radha Kumar
former member of the Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir

———-

To:     Shri Rajnath Singh
        Honourable Home Minister of India

Dear Home Minister,

We, a group of former government servants, academics, analysts and civil society, many of whom have been associated with Jammu and Kashmir in our individual or official capacities, write to express our deep distress at the continuing and indeed intensifying alienation of Kashmiris from the rest of India. The decision to close the highway to civilian traffic twice a week, and to let it be used only by the forces until the election is concluded, undercuts our democratic credentials and attracts the charge of military rule. It is, moreover, only the most recent of a series of actions that add to disaffection in the valley. Others include banning the JKLF and the Jamaat e Islami, imprisoning their leaders as well as those of the Hurriyat, and denying security to members of political parties.

In these conditions, what kind of a turnout can we expect in the valley? Taken together, the policy of President’s rule, counter-insurgency, crackdowns and arrests, combined with threats to rollback Articles 370 and 35A and alterations to the administrative structure of the state, provide formidable disincentives to vote.

Yet the people of Jammu and Kashmir desperately need to vote – and vote convincingly – for the valley to emerge from its current state of confrontation and siege. Kashmir needs a government that can hold out hope instead of hatred, one that will work to re-establish peace on the ground. These steps will only be taken by an elected government, as the harsh measures that have been taken under President’s rule indicate.

Even at this late stage, your Ministry can minimize the disincentives for Kashmiris to vote. The first step would be to rescind orders for closure of the highway, followed by release of those arrested (unless there is substantive evidence of their being involved in recent terrorist attacks such as on the CRPF at Pulwama), restoration of security to political leaders and return to a policy of defense against attack rather than preemptive action. If your government could initiate a Ramzan ceasefire, then why not one for elections?

It took fifteen years of hard work for Jammu and Kashmir to emerge from the dark days of the 1990s. As the sharp fall in violence between 2005-2012 showed, the most hopeful period for Jammu and Kashmir was when there was a peace process in the state, starting in 2000. Though terrorists made strenuous efforts to disrupt it with high profile attacks, including on Hurriyat members, to which the Vajpayee and Singh administrations responded both militarily and diplomatically,
neither allowed terrorists to bring the peace process to a grinding halt.

In the past four years, most of the hard work of the previous fifteen years has been undone, for reasons that remain unknown because no reasoned explanation has been offered. These elections offer an opportunity to craft a more  conciliatory policy towards the people of the state, including dissidents who have engaged in peace initiatives, such as the Hurriyat M, who have once again held out an offer of talks.

Judging by its election manifesto, the BJP is opposed to conciliation in Jammu and Kashmir. Nevertheless, whether your party wishes to avail of this opportunity or not, surely you would recognize that governance is larger than party interest and a change of course is required, lest the situation in the state worsens to a point of no return. We urge you, even at this late stage, to take the steps mentioned above. Jammu and Kashmir will only then be able to have a free and fair election.

Signed:
1.      Salahuddin Ahmed, former Chief Secretary of Rajasthan
2.      Madhu Bhandari, former Ambassador of India to Belarus, Lithuania and Portugal
3.      Sundar Burra, former Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra
4.      Nitin Desai, former Secretary & CEA Ministry of Finance
5.      MG Devasahayam, IAS (retd)
6.      Gourisankar Ghosh, former Executive Director, UN WSSCC, Geneva
7.      Meena Gupta, former Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests
8.      Sajjad Hassan, former Secretary to the Government of Manipur
9.      Happymon Jacob, Professor of International Relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University
10.     Prem Shankar Jha, author and columnist
11.     Kapil Kak, former Air Vice-Marshal of India
12.     Radha Kumar, former member, GOI’s Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir
13.     Satish Kumar, former Professor of Diplomacy, Jawaharlal Nehru University
14.     Sudhir Kumar, former member, Central Administrative Tribunal
15.     Seema Mustafa, Centre for Policy Analysis
16.     Nagalsamy, former Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu & Kerala
17.     Amitabh Pande, former Secretary to the Government of India
18.     Gopal Pillai, former Home Secretary of India
19.     Badri Raina, author and columnist
20.     Anand Sahay, columnist and commentator
21.     Deepak Sanan, IAS (retd)
22.     Karan Sawnhy, International Centre for Peace Initiatives
23.     Aftab Seth, former Ambassador of India to Japan
24.     Hindal Tyabji, former Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir
25.     Ravi Vira, former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
26.     Shiv Vishwanathan, Professor of Social Sciences, OP Jindal University

April 8, 2019

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Singh had earlier participated in the shastra puja with BSF last year in Joshimath, Uttarakhand.

This year, however, he will not only attend the festival, but also perform the shastra puja or the worship of weapons himself. The report says this is the first time that a minister will perform the puja.

However, this is not the first time that Singh has performed such pujas in places where security tensions have been on the boil.  In 2017, Singh celebrated New Year with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troops, another paramilitary force, in the Nelong valley of Uttarakhand. The valley is also along the Indo-China border and this was just after India and China had managed to end the Doklam standoff on August 28. The standoff had begun on June 16 2016 when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China began constructing a road in an area claimed by Bhutan. The standoff ended after the Indian army withdrew its soldiers and China stopped the construction. Celebrating New Year with the ITBP troops only meant escalating tensions between the two nations instead of fostering peace in the region.

Similarly, relations between India and Pakistan have not been at their best lately. Last month in September, talks between the external ministries of India and Pakistan could not materialise after India decided to pull out. The newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, and former cricketer, Imran Khan tweeted,

 
In such a situation, should the occasion of festivities be used to increase tensions? And, of all the people, should a union minister perform a puja? The central government is known for using Hindu religious practices in matters of government policy.

The Indian and Pakistan armed forces, however, have shown greater wisdom in the past. In 2015, the Indian and Pakistani armies exchanged sweets on Diwali. More recently, in 2018, the two armies exchanged sweets on Id-ul-Azha along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The central government’s attempts to use the army for political gains have not always gone down well with the latter. The Ministry of Defence has given permission to the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to hold its convention from October 23 to October 28 at the Bison Polo Ground in the Secunderabad Cantonment, Hyderabad.

Major D P Singh took to Twitter to condemn this and called it a “degradation of the Indian army”:

 
On another note, the clear choice of a Brahmanical ritual over others by a union minister shows the bias towards Brahmanical Hinduism in a state that is “secular” according to the Preamble of the Indian constitution.

Within the diverse practices of the Hindu religion, the eating customs of Bengali Hindus, Jains and other Hindus in Gujarat came to a collision when Bengalis were disallowed to cook non-vegetarian food in Ahmedabad. The central government has a history of covertly supporting violence against meat  eaters in India. Since 2014, this has given rise to cow protection units across Northern India, members of which have killed many people — the majority of them Muslims— they’ve suspected of killing and eating cows.

The opposition to certain ritualistic practices of the Hindu festival has also come from organisations which see themselves as being outside of Hinduism. The latest manifestation of this opposition has come from the Bhim Army. The Pune unit of the Bhim Army, according to a report published in The Indian Express, has submitted a letter to the Pune City Police, Special Branch, saying that burning Ravan’s effigy, or “Ravan Dahan” as it is more commonly known, hurts the sentiments of those from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of India, who comprise 25.2 percent of the Indian population, according to the 2011 census. They have demanded that the police lodge complaints against those who perform this ritual under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In such a situation, Singh’s decision to perform a Brahmanical ritual in praise of weapons of war shows that the Home minister in particular, and the government of India in general, do not care for building peace in the subcontinent.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

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These remarks acquire significance given the recent inhuman and unprofessional beating of young women students during the protests in the Banaras Hindu University. BHU lies within prime minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency.

Singh made the remarks while addressing the personnel of the blue dungaree-donning Rapid Action Force (RAF) at their base at Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on the occasion of their silver jubilee (25th) anniversary.

Curb Castism and Communalism
Singh urged the security personnel to keep an effective check on the incidents in which attempts are made to break the country on the lines of casteism, religion or regionalism.
“The police of the 21st century cannot be a brute force. It will have to be a civilised force. Patience and control has to be practised and followed by police forces and the personnel on ground while dealing with hard and challenging situations like riots and protesting crowds.

“I understand sometimes police forces have to use slight force but in such situations too, prudence is required,” he said.

Singh said he has already asked the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) to look for “less-lethal” solutions to be used in policing tasks and crowd control.

The head of the countrys internal security mechanism asked the forces to apply “minimum force” and obtain maximum results.

While lauding the efforts of the RAF, he said that five new battalions of the force will be made fully operational from January 1 next year.The RAF, at present, has ten operational battalions and they are based in ten cities that are regarded as sensitive from the communal and the security point of view.

The home minister also declared that personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be granted an annual allowance of Rs 10,000 to get stitched uniforms and the practise of providing them ready-made uniforms has been discontinued.

He said that he was “seriously” thinking about ways to ensure timely promotions to the about 10 lakh personnel of these forces.

The home minister also declared that personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be granted an annual allowance of Rs 10,000 to get stitched uniforms and the practise of providing them ready-made uniforms has been discontinued.

He said that he was “seriously” thinking about ways to ensure timely promotions to the about 10 lakh personnel of these forces.

He also took a dig at those who say that only taking a pledge does not transform the country.

“We took a pledge in 1942 and called it the Quit India movement…we achieved independence in the next 5 years, that is in 1947. This is the power of determination and pledge,” Singh said.
 

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Saluts.

Two things will be remembered about the dark Tuesday, July 11 that saw countrywide outrage at Monday night's cowardly attack on a bus (bearing the registration number of Gujarat) full of Amarnath yatris, was on its way from Baltal to Jammu when the militants opened fire and seven unfortunately even lost their lives. One is the exemplary courage shown by Salim Mirza Shaikh, the driver of the bus, who drove the yatris, and the bus to safety even as terrorists in uniform showered bullets in the dark, dark night. It could have been the scene of a ghastly action movie, the dangerous mountainous roads, the bus riding past in the night (as pilgrim buses are normally prohibited from doing) and then, the dastardly attack clearly meant to fuel the communal poison and polarisation that has overtaken us all. But no, egged on by his colleagues who also took bullets, Salim drove for nearly two kilometres on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway before he reached an army camp. “It was about 8 pm when the bus was surrounded by terrorists. They first fired from the front with the intention to eliminate the driver. I ducked sideways to escape the bullets and drove ahead. I do not know how I got the strength to go on at that time. Maybe Allah helped me and gave me strength,” Salim told The Indian Express as he stepped out of an IAF plane that brought the deceased as well as those injured in the attack to Surat, Gujarat, Tuesday afternoon.

Salim, who also belongs to Gujarat, said he escaped unharmed in the incident while another passenger seated beside him was injured. As a result 50 others who potentially could have lost lives remained unharmed. The families of those lost to us will forever mourn the day but the rest, will remember with horror for what might have been, and then, gratitude the role that Salim played. There are indeed sometimes silver linings when dark clouds threaten us, on our horizons. By early afternoon Tuesday, Salim was our hero and the social media had, for once done an exemplary job, silencing bitterness and hatred expressed through paid trolls.The victims came under the attack late Monday after they were travelling in a Gujarat vehicle, bearing the registration number GJ09Z 9976, on National Highway 1A, the only route connecting the valley to rest of the country, to Jammu after completing Amarnath Yatra.

According to Jammu and Kashmir police, the attack was aimed at the police post. The police said the terrorists had initially attacked a police Bullet Proof bunker near Botengoo locality in the area. “The fire was retaliated and there was no report of injuries,” a police official said. The official added thereafter the terrorists fired on a police post near Khanabal locality in District Anantnag. “The fire was retaliated and a tourist bus was hit by bullets,” he said.
 
 As the day wore on and condemnations on the attack poured in, the high office of India's home minister, Rajnath Singh provided another such dignified silver lining. ‘All Kashmiris are not terrorists’ Rajnath Singh tweeted shutting down one such troll. Singh saluted the people of Jammu and Kashmir who had condemned the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and kept the spirit of Kashmiriyat alive.Describing the terror attack on that killed seven pilgrims returning from Amarnath as a “cowardly act of terror”, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Tuesday that all sections in Kashmir had condemned the attack, which “shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is also very much alive”.

The Home Minister then took to Twitter to react strongly to a tweet from @shuchikalra, who responded to his remark on Kashmiriyat by posting: “Who gives a f*** about the spirit of Kashmiriyat at this moment? It is not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them.”

Singh, whose official handle was tagged in that tweet, posted: “Ms Kalra I certainly do. It is absolutely my job to ensure peace and tranquility in all parts of the country. All Kashmiris are not terrorists.” Following this, the Twitter account, listed under the name Shuchi Singh Kalra, was found deleted.

After a very very long time, the office of the Home Minister of India was restored to the dignity of its office.

The J&K Government has announced an award of Rs 3 lakhs to Salim for his exemplary bravery and chief minister, Gujarat, Vikay Rupani even said that he would recommend Salim Shaik's name for a special award for bravery.

Bomb terror has the ugly potential of polarising neighbourhoods and evoking stark reactions from persons affected by grief. When this fuelled by a cynical politics, that thrives –bread and butter–on hatred and communal polarisation, India, through Salim and Rajnath Singh rose above this. Hopefully and decisively.The #Not in My Name Protests organised in Delhi at India Gate last night, the Mumbai protests at Mira Road –another protest by Muslim and other civil rights organisations has been organised at 4 p.m. at Azad Maidan today, Wednesday July 12, again united Indians in their grief and outrage. This time against bomb terror. 

Condemnations poured in from all quarters against the deadly terror attack in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district in which seven persons died and nineteen others were injured. The J & K government had to, unfortunately resort to shutting down the internet services in the state to avoid any flaring up of the communal situation; traders are now observing a protest shut down in Jammu, the state's winter capital, against the attack on Yatris in the Valley. The authorities also closed all educational institution in Jammu region as a precautionary measure.

Mainstream and separatist politicians have condemned the militant attack on Yatris calling and expressed sorrow over the killings. Expressing deep shock over the killings, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said, “Yatris were esteemed guests of Kashmir and perpetrators of this crime have done a death blow to the ethos and culture of the state.”

The Communist Party of India Marxist issued a press statement condemning the attack. “The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) denounces the dastardly attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag district in Jammu & Kashmir. 7 people, mostly women, were killed and 19 injured in a terrorist attack while returning from the pilgrimage,” the statement read. The general secretary of the party, Sitaram Yechury had earlier in the day, tweeted a query, "How come the last time that the Amarnath yatris were attacked it was during the BJP-led NDA rule in 2000?'

The terror attack was equally strongly condemned by others as well including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of National Conference and Ghulam Nabi Azad of the INC. Prominent citizens and bureaucrats also issued a statement strongly condemning the killing.

The only discordant notes, predictably came from one the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) –Pravin Togadia called for a boycott of Kashmiri products and Muslims –including 'urging the Indian government not to give 'them' jobs in the Army and security forces and Shiv Sena chief in Mumbai asked 'for gau rakshaks' (cow vigilantes) to be sent to fight terrroists. But then, that is probablt to be expected, given that their political 'USP' or 'currency' is a barter of division and hatred.
 
There are some other interesting details to the entire story, including why an Amarnath Yatra, ill advised due to the severe situation in the Valley was allowed at the last minute and the fact, also that, as reported by The Hindustan Times, the Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday had arrested an Uttar Pradesh man who allegedly helped Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) attack army convoys, snatch weapons and loot lakhs of rupees. The man named Sandeep Kumar Sharma moved to Kashmir in 2012 for work and would travel to Punjab during the winter for alternative employment.
 
But, for now, before we ask the usual questions and return to cynical mode, let is savour the day and the victory of the sheer power of decency–displayed in the actions of Salim Mirza and India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Screengrab of Kalra’s tweet which has now been deleted. 
The controversial tweet deleted after the Home Minister's response is reproduced here for the benefit of our readers

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CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat consoles the mother of Junaid, who was lynched by a mob on board a train, in Haryana. Image: PTI

The delegation was part of the protest programme organised at Jantar Mantar today when hundreds of men and women holding placards demanding justice for Junaid sat on dharna. It was organised by the Haryana and Delhi committees of the CPI(M).

Addressing the dharna, Brinda Karat said that the present Government is a joint venture of the BJP- RSS bent on implementing the agenda of Hindutva. Strongly criticising the recent statements of the BJP President, Amit Shah, Karat said that instead of condemning the lynchings he has justified them with his highly objectionable comparison of earlier acts of violence forgetting that even those acts were also by none other than the sangh parivar.

Brinda Karat appealed for unity of all sections against the divisive agenda of the sangh parivar. Hannan Mollah, Polit Bureau member of CPI(M),  strongly condemned the cattle sale notification an instrument to destroy the livelihood of farmers. He expressed support for the demands of the meat sellers association who had come in large numbers to join the dharna from Ghaziabad and Noida.Other speakers included comrades K. M. Tewari, Surinder Malik, Inderjit Singh, Sehba Farooqui. The meeting was presided over by Nathu Parshad.

Memorandum Presented to the Home Minister dated July 4, 2017

Shri Rajnath Singh
Home Minister
Government of India
New Delhi

Dear Shri Rajnath Singh ji,
We write to draw your attention to the increasing cases of violence including lynching, and also false cases against  members of the Muslim, Dalit and adivasi communities in the name of cow protection. Unfortunately in many of the cases, the families of the victims are being further victimized. While it is true that such cases are to be dealt with by respective State Governments, we believe that as Union Minister for Home Affairs a strong intervention is required from your Ministry.

Today July 4,  the NCR and Haryana Committees of the CPI(M) have organised a protest dharna at Jantar Mantar on specific cases given below. Family members of the victims in these cases are also participating in the dharna hoping for justice.

1. In the case of the lynching of 15 year old Junaid on a local train, it is shocking that the main accused have not yet been arrested by the police. On the contrary those involved in this horrific lynching are inciting villages in the area to protest against even the arrests that have been made. They are emboldened by the soft attitude of the State Government which has not sent a single Minister or official to condole the death of Junaid or to enquire about the health of his elder brother Shakir who was badly injured. You will be shocked to know that the State Government has made no arrangements for proper treatment for Shakir. He has been standing in queues at the OPD in Government hospitals in Delhi in great pain. Even after this terrible incident, there are no security forces posted on these train routes. We were informed that communal gangs on these trains  pick on passengers identifiable by their appearance to be Muslim and make extremely provocative and highly objectionable statements against them.

In the case we request you to ensure arrest of all those guilty including the main accused, intervene to stop the communal campaign going on in the area to protect the guilty, ensure treatment for Shakir, adequate compensation for the family and security on the trains.

2. You are no doubt aware of the horrific case in Dingarheri, Haryana last August (August 24, 2016) when two girls of a muslim poor farmer's family were gang-raped, a couple was murdered and other family members injured by a communally charged gang. After strong protests, a CBI inquiry was ordered. Some arrests were made. However although the case has not moved forward in the court, pressure is being put on the family by the accused. Shockingly, a false case of murder has been filed against the victims family to pressure them into coming to a "compromise".  In this case too, the role of the Haryana Government has been in support of the accused.

Two  members of the  victim's family have been arrested under FIR no 49 dated 10-2-2017.  This is a travesty of justice. We request you to intervene in this case and to ensure that the false case against the victim's family is withdrawn.

3. In the case of Pehlu Khan, the dairy farmer from Mewat, who was brutally killed in Ajmer, Rajasthan all the accused have still not been arrested. No compensation has been given to his family or to those who were injured in the attack. On the contrary, an utterly fabricated case of cow smuggling has been filed against the victims.    Their milch cows were impounded and cash snatched from them have still not been returned to them.

In this case we request you to intervene with both the Rajasthan and Haryana Governments to arrest all the accused, to give compensation to Pehlu Khan's family and to those injured, to return the Milch cows and cash and to withdraw the false case against them.

4. In the case of Md. Iqlakh of Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, it is two years since a communally incited mob broke into his home and brutally beat him to death and grievously injured his son Danish. It is shocking that even after two years the court has not framed the charges against the accused. One by one all the accused are out on bail, threatening the family. A false case of cow slaughter against the deceased and his family members was filed in a private complaint by the accused in a local court. This has become the pretext to run a vile campaign against Iqlakh's family to protect the accused. His brother Jan Muhammad has faced many threats and has had to abandon the family house. In spite of repeated pleas to the administration, the house was not protected, the locks were broken and the apprehension is that the accused who have had full access to the house, could have planted evidence to help the false case against the family.

This is to request you to ensure that the murder case is expedited, the false case against the family withdrawn and Danish the son who was sitting for competitive exams but could not do so because of his serious injuries which required brain surgery, should be given Government employment.

5. The fifth case we draw your attention to happened in the heart of the Capital on April 24,  this year. A truck with buffalos was stopped by gangs in three cars near the Kalkaji Mandir. They were badly beaten. An FIR number 0166 dated 23.42017 was filed by Rizwan, the driver of the vehicle. Two of the car numbers were also identified by the victims, but shockingly the accused have not been arrested.

Since the Delhi police are directly under your Ministry, we request you to take direct action and ensure the accused are arrested.

In addition, we urge you to direct Home Ministry officials to collect information about the cases of cow related violence from States which include Haryana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and even Delhi. There is a pattern in the violence which indicates that these are not spontaneous cases of  "mob violence"  but behind each of these cases are organised groups of so-called gau rakshaks owing allegiance to a particular brand of Hindutva ideology.  In almost all these cases, the accused if and when arrested are easily given bail; charges are not framed even after months if not years; on the contrary in most cases victims or their families are faced with false cases; compensation is not given in many of the cases; there is a soft approach in most cases from the Government towards the accused. Our request is to monitor and follow up on each of these aspects so as to bring justice to the victims and also to send a strong message to ensure prevention of such crimes.

Yours sincerely,
(Brinda Karat)                                                                                (Surinder Mallick)

Member, Polit Bureau, CPI(M)              Secretary, Haryana State Committee CPI(M)

(K. M. Tewari)

Secretary, Delhi NCR, CPI(M)
 

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The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was in Aizwal on June 12, was compelled to assert a Constitutional truism: he said that people are free to choose what they want to eat, reported PTI. When asked about protests against the government’s ban on sale of cattle for slaughter, Singh clarified that the Centre will not impose any restrictions on one’s choice of food.

However, even as Singh spoke, scores of people in the Mizoram capital participated in a “beef ban bashing banquet” organised by a local organisation, according to PTI. Thousands braced heavy rainfall to gather at Vanapa Hall where the festival was held by the Zolife Group and other activists.

A writer and a member of the group, Lalrinfela Hauhnar, said a feast in Mizoram was incomplete without beef on the menu. “Beef has strong cultural importance for the Mizos,” He told The Sangai Express. Another member, Lalremruata Varte, clarified that the festival was a symbolic protest and not meant to hurt the sentiment of Hindus.

Other Northeastern states have also protested against the Centre’s new rule. In Meghalaya, two senior BJP leaders and 5,000 workers had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party as a mark of their protest against the ban. On Monday, the Meghalaya Assembly had
passed a resolution against a central government notification.

In March, the BJP had indicated that its call for a ban on beef is not applicable to states in the country’s North East. Party leaders in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland had said that the crackdown on meat shops and slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh would not be replicated in the three north-eastern states that will have their Assembly polls next year.
 

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Last July (2016) was the first time that Ashish Khetan received such a threat when he had in a formal complaint to the Commissioner of Police solicited action to which, unfortunately there was no response. He proceeded with his public responsibilities for the Aam Admi Party (AAP).

Yesterday, the letter dated May 11, 2017 was delivered and the threat was direct and chilling.” You are deserving of Death Penalty in the Hindu Rashtra’ and in case the message was not clear, the four five line missive “This job, with Ishwar (God’s) blessing will be carried out soon.” The missive refers to the CBI’s probe, by officer Nandkumar Nayar of the SS, that included raids of their offices and even arrests of their volunteers, Virendra Singh Tawde.
 
Khetan who has received this direct threat is more, much more than an AAP politician, however. In his investigative work as a journalist for Tehelka, Headlines Today and Gulail he has exposed such forces with documentary evidence. In June 2016, he had in a series of social media posts tweeted on the failure of investigative agencies under the Modi regime to nab the culprits behind the murders of Narayan Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. Ashish Khetan had posted messages on social media and mentioned that Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagruti Samiti had perpetrated the murder of Dabholkar. Khetan added that investigation agencies have identified the culprits responsible for Dabholkar’s murder. He had named four members of the Sanatan Sanstha — Sarang Akolkar, Rudra Patil, Jaiprakash Hegde and Praveen Limkar — behind the murder. All four have been absconding since 2008.
The anonymous letter by this extremist outfit proudly identifying itself as part of the Hindu Rashtra regime and vision was received in Khetan’s office(1233/DDC on 11/5/2017). On the envelope there is a reference to the Hindu calendar, “Jayatu Jayatu Hindu Rashtram.”

 

 
Khetan has addressed a strong letter to Rajnath Singh, Home Minister to which are annexed the two threatening letters.
 
In the letter, he states that ‘Yesterday I received a threatening letter at my office claiming that my killing is imminent. The letter advocates the cause of terror accused Sadhvi Pragya and those who are accused of killing the noted rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, the political activist from Maharashtra, Govind Pansare, the scholar, MM Kalburgi and many other innocent Indians. It then pronounces my death sentence with the threat that it will be carried out soon.
 
‘It is pertinent to mention here that those who are suspected of gunning down Dr Dabholkar and Pansare are still out of the reach of law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the prime accused in terror cases like the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express bomb blasts have been absconding for almost a decade, with our agencies conspicuously failing to bring them to justice. The parent organisations to which these accused belong have also gained in prominence.  
 
‘Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinav Bharat, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, Hindu Rakshak Samiti, Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahini, Sri Ram Sene, Vishwa Hindu Parishad have all been found to be involved in acts of violence and communal riots. Some of these organisations have common members and leaders. They also keep assuming new identities. Evidence collected by agencies and available with the government suggests that they are all part of the same hydra –headed social forces.   
 
‘Many people believe that in the last few years an atmosphere of fear and oppression has built up in the country. The space for critical thinking and free writing has shrunk. Anyone expressing a contrary viewpoint is easily cast as being anti-national. Writers and free thinkers and activists have been repeatedly threatened and in some cases the threats have resulted in ugly violence and even murder. Sadly, the culprits behind some of these killings are still at large and forces inimical to liberty and equal rights are only gaining in strength.
 
He has urged the government of India to take strict action against the culprits and protect democracy and free thought and expression.
 
In July 2016, Ashish Khetan had tweeted, “Right wing group Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliate wing Hindu Janajagruti Samiti are behind the murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar. Agencies have cracked the case. ‘Sadhaks’ of Sanatan Sanstha and HJS behind Dr Dabholkar’s murder have been identified.” Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune in June 2013 when he had gone for a morning walk in Pune. Even though close to four years have passed ever since Dabholkar was murdered but police have failed to crack this case. Then, after the Modi government was sworn in in May 2014, Govind Pansare was killed in February 2015 and Kalburgi in August of the same year.

“Sanatan Sanstha had carried out bomb blasts in Maharashtra and Goa. Even though agencies had demanded for a ban to be imposed on Sanatan Sanstha but the erstwhile Democratic Front government had failed to take action against the organisation,” Khetan had added.

Khetan had then not disclosed the sources from where he received this information and didn’t provide any documentary evidence in support of his claim. Narendra Dabholkar’s son Hamid Dabholkar had said, “Mr. Khetan’s allegations confirm our suspicions which we, along with the kin of Mr. Pansare and Mr. Kalburgi, have been expressing for a long time — that the murders are the handiwork of extreme rightwing elements. The State government ought to wake up at least now and reveal the names of the assailants,” he said.
Around this time, the CBI had searched the house of an alleged Sanatan Sanstha member Sarang Akolkar, wanted by the NIA in the Goa blast case, in Pune, in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. CBI sources said besides Akolkar’s house in Pune, searches were on at the premises of Virendra Singh Tawde in Panvel near Mumbai in connection with the Dabholkar assassination case.

The entire text of the May 13, 2017 letter of Ashish Khetan to Rajnath Singh may be read here:
 
To,
 Shri Rajnath Singh,
Home Minister,
Government of India,
New Delhi
 
Dear Sir,
 
Many people believe that in the last few years an atmosphere of fear and oppression has built up in the country. The space for critical thinking and free writing has shrunk. Anyone expressing a contrary viewpoint is easily cast as being anti-national. Writers and free thinkers and activists have been repeatedly threatened and in some cases the threats have resulted in ugly violence and even murder. Sadly, the culprits behind some of these killings are still at large and forces inimical to liberty and equal rights are only gaining in strength.
 
For the last seventeen years I have written about fundamentalist and anti-national forces undermining our democracy and liberty and how these forces have been behind the orchestrated killings of innocent men, women and children. Some of this work has been done in the face of great risk and danger. And my articles have been used in the courts of law to convict those guilty of mass carnage.
 
 
Yesterday I received a threatening letter at my office claiming that my killing is imminent. The letter advocates the cause of those who are accused of killing the noted rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, the political activist from Maharashtra, Govind Pansare, the scholar, MM Kalburgi and many other innocent Indians. It then pronounces my death sentence with the threat that it will be carried out soon.
 
It is pertinent to mention here that those who are suspected of gunning down Dr Dabholkar and Pansare are still out of the reach of law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the prime accused in terror cases like the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express bomb blasts have been absconding for almost a decade, with our agencies conspicuously failing to bring them to justice. The parent organisations to which these accused belong have also gained in prominence.  
 
Sanatan Sanstha, Abhinav Bharat, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, Hindu Rakshak Samiti, Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahini, Sri ram Sene, Vishwa Hindu Parishad have all been found to be involved in acts of violence and communal riots. Some of these organisations have common members and leaders. They also keep assuming new identities. Evidence collected by agencies and available with the government suggests that they are all part of the same hydra –headed social forces.   
 
The letter sent to me is a chilling reminder of the growing confidence of anti-national and fascist forces who want to exterminate all dissenting voices with violence. The language used in the letter is strikingly similar to many threats that Dabholkar had received immediately before he was brutally killed.
.
I had received a similar threat letter in July last year. I had then sent a complaint to Police Commissioner of Delhi. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a response. I am sure if a similar instance had happened with a BJP or RSS leader or member of RSS parivaar, the response of the police machinery would have been strikingly different.
 
I would urge you not to treat this is as an individual complaint. I am writing this on behalf of scores of journalists, activists, artists, writers and ordinary citizens across the country who have been threatened or attacked by the right wing forces.
 
I the ardent hope that the present government will carry out its constitutional duty of protecting liberty and democracy I am writing you this letter. The two threat letters, the contents of which are self-explanatory, are annexed. ’ 

Annexed to the communication by Ashish Khetan to Rajnath Singh are the letters received and the following:
http://www.sanatan.org/en/a/3429.html

The post ‘You are Deserving of Death Penalty in the Hindu Rashtra & This Penalty will Be Executed Soon’: Extremist Outfit Threatens former Journo Ashish Khetan appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On January 7, 2016, the Modi Regime –NDA II – promulgated an Ordinance. The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance. Within months, on March 10, 2016 the Home Minister, Rajnath Singh –who is increasingly been seen as the new hatchet man of this government –moved a Bill in the Lok Sabha. Typically, this Bill was steamrolled through, ignoring strongly voiced protests by the Opposition. The Bill to amend the Enemy Property Act and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, was passed by a voice vote even as the Opposition suggested that it would not stand the court’s scrutiny.

Source: Muslim Mirror; Cover Image: NDTV

In the Rajya Sabha, however, following the uproar across the board in the Opposition benches,  the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 was referred to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha headed by Bhupender Yadav, M. P., Rajya Sabha. The Select Committee had originally solicited suggestions by April 12, 2016. Now this period has been extended.

Over the past few days, several persons have made detailed submissions before the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha. The Select Committee has 23 members. Journalist and apologist for the Modi regime, MJ Akbar made submissions on behalf of the regime. Among many others, senior advocate of the Supreme Court, Chander Uday Singh made strong submissions against the Bill questioning not just its Constitutionality but arguing how it actually, blatantly transgressed India’s treaty obligations.

What is contained this intended Law?
This new version of the law, that is predicted to affect thousands of Indian citizens –Muslim and non-Muslim—essentially gives the sole right of disposal of property to the custodian, not legal heirs. Hence it concentrates, in a democracy unholy powers in the State. 

The law, if stands the scrutiny of Courts at all, will also be applied retrospectively and debars courts from interfering in the decisions of the custodian of enemy properties, i.e., government, regarding the so-called “enemy” properties… In other words, it is a law that cannot be tested against the principles of natural justice, or violation of citizen’s rights in a Court. That makes it, in the words of critiques, “a jungle law.”

Unconstitutional
It has been argued that amendments will not in any way rectify the situation as the intent behind the proposed law, are patently male fide. If amendments were to be proposed then essentially they would be that the Enemy Property Act, 1968 should stand unchanged. The Ordinance, 2016 (now a Bill passed by the Lok Sabha) unlawfully and adversely affects the rights of lakhs of Indian citizens, both Muslims and non-Muslims, and contains provisions which are not only manifestly unconstitutional but are against the basic principles of natural justice.

The interpretation of the Enemy Property Act 1968 by the Supreme Court in 2005 (8 SCC 696) is consistent with earlier interpretations by various courts. Hence, the impression sought to be given, that something new was done by the Supreme Court in 2005, or that there has been some dramatic change in the judicial approach which necessitates a retrospective amendment, is completely misleading and incorrect. The amendments in the Ordinance cannot possibly stand the scrutiny of judicial review, particularly as they seeks to usurp rights vested prior to the 42nd/44th amendments to the Constitution and expropriate properties from Indian citizens from a time when there was a fundamental right to property.

Additionally, the Bill retrospectively nullifies all transfers and sales made between 1968 and 2015, irrespective of the fact that they were made in accordance with the laws at the relevant time. Furthermore, the Ordinance also amounts to a patently mala fide and colourable attempt to use the President’s legislative powers for the purposes of “declaring” that binding judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court shall retrospectively cease to apply and taking away the jurisdiction of any court to adjudicate on any matter.
Moreover, it is highly unclear what the urgency was to warrant the exercise of emergency legislative powers under Article 123 and indeed the pre-conditions for exercise of powers under this Article seem to be utterly lacking.
 
 In essence, the government has essentially rewritten the law with retrospective effect through the said Ordinance and has now created an alarming situation in which Indian citizens are implicitly included under the definition of an “enemy”.

A comparison between the Original Act, the 2010 Ordinance and the 2016 Ordinance makes it evident that nothing in the current Bill should be retained. It reveals the various sections of the Original Act that have been completely rewritten as a result of which the intention of the Original act has been radically transformed albeit in a sinister manner. The measures in the new Ordinance and indeed current events reflect a dangerous and sinister plan to systematically suppress the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution and to render some Indian citizens as being less Indian or second-class nationals. The only conclusion therefore is that this Ordinance must either be withdrawn or rejected.
A Quick Comparison Between the Enemy Property Act, 1968 and the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill No. 53 of 2016
 
 Salient features of the Enemy Property Act, 1968
I. Under the provisions of the Act, the vesting is temporary (Refer to Sections 5, 6, 8 and 18 of the Act, 1968), which has been the admitted stand of the Central Government thus far before all Courts;
II. The Act honoured the rights of Indian citizens, legal heirs as well as transferees; (Refer to Sections  2 (b), 2(c), 6, 8 and 18 of the Act, 1968);
III. The Act did not take away powers of Courts to deal with the issues relating to enemy property as there was no bar to jurisdiction of Courts;
IV. Under the provision of the Act, 1968, the Custodian had no power to sell the enemy property except under special circumstances namely there was no money with him to pay taxes and/or he had no money for preserving the properties and/or for the maintenance of that individual (enemy) or his family in India; (Refer Sections  8 (1)of the Act, 1968);
V. The role of the Custodian was to preserve, manage and control the properties on behalf of the enemy; (Refer to Sections 8, 10 and 15 of the Act, 1968);
VI. Section 18 of the Act, 1968, refers to “Divesting of Enemy Property vesting in the Custodian”, which only further confirms the temporary nature of vesting. (Refer to Section 18 of the Act, 1968)

The Enemy Property Act, 1968, is a very balanced piece of legislation as it recognises that:
i.          Enmity is not permanent;
ii.         The right to property was a fundamental right in 1968 (which continued until 1979);
iii. Indian citizens should not be deprived of their rights including inheritance;
iv. Succession, which is automatic, cannot be stopped by bringing in any legislation, which is settled law in India and across the Globe;
iii.        The principle of Natural Justice must be upheld;
iv.        The Courts have power to adjudicate on matters related to enemy property.

WHEREAS, the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 has the following salient features:
I. The Bill includes Indian citizens under the definition of an “enemy” (refer to amended/inserted Sections 2 in the Bill, 2016);
II. The Bill bifurcated Indian Citizens into two categories – those who are the legal heirs of people who migrated stand to have no rights of succession and inheritance; (Refer to amended/inserted Sections 2, 2(b) (III) in the Bill, 2016);
III. The Bill stopped the succession of legal heirs in accordance with law; (Refer to amended/inserted Sections 5B, 22, 22A in the Bill, 2016);
IV. The Bill nullifies all judgments by any court; (Refer to amended/inserted Sections 8A, 10A, 18, 18B, 22A in the Bill, 2016);
V. The Bill also retrospectively nullifies every and any transfer made in accordance with law thereby depriving lakhs of bona fide transferees permanently and without any opportunity of hearing which is a breach of the principle of Natural Justice; (Refer to amended/inserted Sections 6, 8A, 10A, 22A in the Bill, 2016);
VI. The jurisdiction of the Civil Court is completely barred and without creating any forum competent to adjudicate the rights of the claimants; (Refer to amended/inserted Sections 18B, 22A in the Bill, 2016);
VII. The sole purpose of the Bill appears to be to grab the properties and sell them thereby aiming to deprive legal heirs/transferees permanently from exercising their rights;
(Refer to amended/inserted Sections 8A, 10A, 18, 22A in Bill, 2016);
VIII. The Bill retrospectively rewrites the original Act, for instance, the properties which were vested temporarily for the purposes of preservation, management and control are now sought to be vested permanently and with retrospectively effect in the Custodian with all rights, titles and interests. (Refer to amended/inserted Sections 2, 5, 18 in the Bill, 2016);
 
Bill Evokes Sharp Responses Against the Government
This move by the government has been widely and sharply criticised.

Kunal Prashan in India Today wrote:
“Is Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan of Mahmudabad, a former lawmaker who chose to remain an Indian citizen even when his father emigrated to Pakistan in 1957, an 'enemy' of the state? Should former Indian cricket captain, the late Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, his wife Sharmila Tagore and their children Saif, Saba and Soha be considered 'enemies'? It may sound bizarre, but if a new Bill tabled by the NDA government becomes an Act, these are just some of the issues it will throw up at a time when the country is engaged in a furious debate over nationalism, sedition and the rights accorded to minorities in secular India.

For, nearly 70 years after Partition and more than 50 years after the 1965 war with Pakistan, the government is trying to rewrite a law that seeks to tackle two sticky subjects at the same time-'enemy' and 'property'. An Ordinance, promulgated on January 7, and converted into the Enemy Property (Amendment & Validation) Bill 2016, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 9 despite issues raised by some leaders from the Congress, BJD, TMC, TRS, AIMIM and RSP, aims to take over any property that was owned by a person who emigrated to Pakistan-even if their legal heirs are Indians.

The Bill, which amends the original Enemy Property Act, 1968, with retrospective effect, will seemingly nullify a 2005 Supreme Court judgement which had specified that the takeover of such properties must not violate the rights of Indian citizens. On March 15, the Rajya Sabha asked for the Bill to be examined by a select committee.”
Reports indicate that, in Bhopal alone, more than 10,000 families are or would be adversely affected by the Bill, if it becomes a law. In other parts of the country thousands more, if not more, are also adversely affected. This number continues to increase as more properties are arbitrarily declared or are in the process of being declared “enemy property”. The statistics reveal that in 2013 there were 2,111 enemy properties, in 2014 there were 12,090 enemy properties and in 2015, there were 14,759 enemy properties.

The Indian Express quoted the reactions of Members of Parliament to the attitude of the government in hastily passing the Bill in the Lok Sabha

BJD’s Pinaki Mishra
“We keep debating in this House that the courts are exceeding their jurisdiction. But if we bring these kinds of legislation to the House, can we blame the courts for intervening? I say this with the greatest respect that whoever has drafted this Bill has sent out a standing invitation to the courts to interfere… and to stay the operation of this Bill…You cannot take away the jurisdiction of civil courts entirely. In 50 years, hundreds of transactions have taken place. You want to nullify all these transactions and you give them no recourse in law. Can this Parliament ever enact this kind of a nonsensical law? This is an invitation for a writ petition to be filed immediately under Article 226 of the Constitution and it is going to be stayed on day one.” Mishra raised objection to Section 18B of the Bill that says that no civil court or other authority shall entertain any suit or other proceeding in respect of any enemy property.

INC’s Shashi Tharoor
“The Bill will, it seems to me, adversely affect the rights of lakhs of Indian citizens and principally — let us call a spade a spade — of the Muslim community. After all, there are not too many Chinese properties at stake. It is essentially properties of those who went to Pakistan, and that tends to be from only one community, and this is, to my mind, not only borderline and unconstitutional — the court should determine that — but also against the basic principles of natural justice….The UPA Bill permits India-born legal heirs to claim such properties on condition that they establish their status to the satisfaction of the government whereas the NDA’s Bill bars all laws and customs governing succession to property from being applicable to so-called enemy property. In the UPA version, the courts have the power to adjudicate on the question of whether a property is an enemy property or not… the NDA, version says, no, the Executive will decide if a property is enemy property. The judiciary will have no say in the matter. The government, in effect, is promoting arbitrariness and interfering with the function of the judiciary.”

AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi
“The Bill is ‘anti-minority’. You are creating two kinds of Indian citizens. This piece of legislation clearly says that anyone who belongs to the minority community will not have recourse to law. This is the message that you are sending if this august House passes this law, whereas the Constitution guarantees me right to equality before law. Your legislation is anti-minority.”

The post The Enemy Property Bill: One More Black Law Proposed by the Modi Regime appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Discussions in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) veer around the extent to which the BJP’s campaign propaganda will go to polarize a fractured electorate; affected by factors around caste and community. The forthcoming state elections are key to the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)’s credibility at the centre, dogged as it is by accusations of authoritarian and majoritarian functioning.
 
Any discussion of bahujan, pichda and ati-pichda politics foregrounds issues of deprivation, denials, structural –both social and economic. The moment, however, that the politics of “othering” pre-dominates, and the Hindu-Muslim divide surfaces in the discourse, perceptions shift that even impact on equations and therefore, votes. Then, the BJP and RSS feels, it is sure to play the winning card.
 
So which card will the saffron party finally throw into the ring?
 
Mid-July this year, after the party’s National Executive Meet at the historic city of Allahabad, the clarion call was sounded by the party president Amit Shah (disproved within days) of the ‘Hindu exodus from Kairana’. ‘Do you want such an exodus’ Shah had demanded, little aware that within days these false claims by the BJP MP Hukum Singh would stand discredited.
 
Shopping for poll planks that do the trick for the party that was humiliated in Bihar and Delhi before that, are other undercurrents can be felt around the districts of western and Uttar Pradesh. Hindu-Muslim or multiple caste assertion and affirmation?
 
Within this, hovers the ghost of triple talaq and Uniform Civil Code deviously collapsed into a bait for the misogynist sections among the minorities by a central government dominated by the RSS. Doubts and questions are being raised and a counter progressive questioning within mosques and localities, led by women and progressive Muslim males and the clergy is slowly beginning, also in Uttar Pradesh.
 
Today, three months after Shah’s controversial remarks on Hukum Singh’s claims, key BJP campaigners, Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah appear to be re-positioning the ‘Kairana exodus’ card.The Indian Express reported today that ‘as the BJP’s Parivartan Yatra rolled into communally sensitive western Uttar Pradesh, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh raised the pitch Monday, saying the “self-respect of mothers and sisters is being looted” in the region. He said if the BJP is voted to power in the state, it will act against “those using muscle power to terrorise people… hum dekhenge ki usne kitna ma ka doodh piya hai”. The video can be heard here.
 
Though silent on the Kairana exodus, the veiled threat was to criminals, and by extension, if the I’s were dotted and ts crossed, to Muslims. Last week, on October 27, Amit Shah’s controversial speech had harked back to the Kalyan Singh’s rule in Uttar Pradesh. He had also condemned the law and order situation in UP associating the same only with leaders with Muslim names—the underlying message, that all criminals are Muslims.

 
Kairana Background
A visit by a team of Hindu seers within days visited Kairana to probe allegations by BJP MP Hukum Singh that 346 Hindu families had fled the small town due to persecution. Swami Chakrapani, one of the five seers who visited Kairana, slammed BJP for playing the "communal card". Swami Chakrapani, president of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Mahasabha, told TOI that Hindus and Muslims alike had been worried about rising crime there.
 
On September 21, the NHRC released the findings of their investigations in Kairana. The investigation was conducted based on a complaint on the alleged “exodus” of Hindu families from the town because of increasing crime. The NHRC report has claimed that the allegations are “serious” and that several Hindu families “migrated” from Kairana because of the “increase in crime” and “deterioration” of the law-and-order situation after victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots settled there. This ‘report’ of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was roundly condemned by activists and even the National Minorities Commission.

There was countrywide condemnation of this report.

A fact-finding team from the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) that visited Kairana on Monday has questioned the recent report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which claimed that there had been an “exodus” of Hindu families from the area out of fear of some Muslims, reports the Times of India."We met some local families and spoke to the local administration. We found that there was no evidence to suggest there had been an exodus of any kind. I don't wish to comment on the NHRC report too much, but some of the findings seem baseless," the NCM team, led by member-in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Farida Abdullah Khan told the Times of India.
 
Last month, an NHRC report had validated the allegation made earlier by the BJP MP from the area, Hukum Singh that 250 Hindu families were forced to move out of Kairana in Shamli district of UP out of fear. "At least 24 witnesses stated that the youths of the specific majority community (Muslims in this case) in Kairana town pass lewd/taunting remarks against the females of the specific minority community in town," the report stated. From mid July through September, the party pushed this card even pushing the National Human Rights Commission to file a report that was condemned for its unprofessionalism.

The post The Myth of the Kairana Exodus: On and Off the BJP’s Poll Plank in UP appeared first on SabrangIndia.