Swami Agnivesh fought a long harrowing battle against the social evils of bonded labour, child labour, communalism all his life. Despite adopting the life of an ascetic, he was deeply involved in socio-political events. He also heavily criticised the manipulation of religion for personal or political gain.

In 1981, he founded the Bandhua Mukti Morcha or BMM (Bonded Labour Liberation Front) to wage a war against the bonded labour system in India. The organisation was established with the view that bonded labour is a contemporary avatar of slavery that should be removed immediately. Accordingly, the BMM identified, released and rehabilitated as many as 1,78,000 labourers from a life of bondage and debt, including 26,000 children.

It may be mentioned that Swamiji was also actively involved in ensuring the rights of children. Thus, among its others responsibilities, the BMM also dealt with child marriage, casteism, discrimination and violence against women, Sati (bride burning,) female foeticide, drug abuse.

As per the organisation’s website, India is still home to an estimated 300 million bonded labourers and 65 million bonded child labourers in spite of the Constitutional rights and prohibitive laws like Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976, Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act 1986 among others.

In 1994, Swami Agnivesh became the Chairperson of the UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. For his dedicated work in this field, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award also known as the ‘Alternate Nobel Prize’ in 2004.

However, his concern was not limited to labourers alone. Following the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984, Swamiji staunchly stood in solidarity with the Bhopal activists who demanded justice from the Government. He was among the many political leaders present when the activists broke their hunger strike in Delhi.

He inaugurated the Sambhavna Trust Clinic building for survivors of the Bhopal Gas disaster on April 27, 2005, said a report on International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. He continued to support the Bhopal survivors’ struggle for justice and a life of dignity.

After the Supreme Court verdict regarding the gas tragedy case, he said the following:

After his demise, people remembered his contribution in the cause.

Sad to hear about Swami Agnivesh. I last interviewed him at Jantar Mantar when he had come to show solidarity with Bhopal gas survivors asking for justice. #RIP

— Gargi Rawat (@GargiRawat) September 11, 2020

While lending his voice to the oppressed, Swamiji also fought an incessant battle against communalism. He led a multi-religious march in 1989 from Delhi to Meerut to protest the communal conflict that resulted in the deaths of 45 Muslim youths. 10 years later, he helped launch the multi-religious ‘Religions for Social Justice’ forum that led as many as 55 religious leaders to where the sleeping Australian Christian missionary Graham Steines and his two sons were burned to death by right-wing Hindu fanatics.

Swamiji along with 72 religious leaders spent five days in the violence-affected areas of Gujarat following the riots of 2002  to decry the Hindu fundamentalist factions responsible for the massacre. Moreover, he launched the Adhyatma Jagaran Manch (Movement for Spiritual Awakening) to prevent another genocide in other States like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. He also vehemently condemned “Hindutva” ideology, which, according to him sought to hijack Hinduism.

Incidentally, he praised the efforts taken by Communalism Combat in their goal to address communal hatred.

“To me, Communalism Combat is not just a publication. It is the instrument of a movement that I deem to be crucially relevant and deeply spiritual, while being religiously neutral. In the last ten years that this inspiring clarion call to peace, communal harmony and social justice has been in existence, it has grown to be the most authentic face of the spirit of resistance to evil and oppression. It is, to me, the secular Gita of our national life, blessed with religious plurality and cultural diversity of a rare kind,” he said.

He also wrote articles like ‘As a religious person, I have no hesitation in recognising that religions have failed human beings’ for the magazine.

In the article he pointed out that social justice is the soul of spirituality; That justice and spirituality are synonymous. He considered both essentially principles of integration required to hold a society together.

“An unjust society must undo itself, sooner or later. It is futile and foolish to clamour for social cohesion and national unity, as long as the divisive and alienating powers of injustice in that society are not contained. The systemic violation of social justice is the primary reason for the endemic disunity in India. It was also because caste injustice was socially legitimised that the spiritual evolution of India got stunted. The same is true also in the history of other religions. As and when Christianity got mixed up with state power and deviated from the paths of justice, it squandered its spiritual substance. Islam too suffered a similar distortion. The rise of materialism has unleashed forces of division and disintegration everywhere. It has aggravated social degradation and communal aggression,” he wrote.

Swamiji’s teachings and efforts will be remembered and revered by all for generations to come.

Related:

The darkest day: Attack on Swami Agnivesh
Canadian South Asians protest against attack on Swami Aganivesh
‘It is, to me, the secular Gita of our time’
Gauri Lankesh has become a symbol of dissent: Swami Agnivesh

The post A Swami, an activist, a human and more: A short recap of Swami Agnivesh’s social endeavours appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Merely hours after the death of spiritual leader and social activist Swami Agnivesh, former IPS officer and CBI Chief Nageshwar Rao had posted a deeply offensive tweet celebrating his demise. After mass reporting against the tweet by several senior journalists and activists, Twitter took it down on Sunday.

Swami Agnivesh had a stellar track record of standing up against social injustices, especially bonded labour. He died of liver disease and complications arising out of multiple organ failure in Delhi on Saturday evening. He had been a thorn in the side of right-wing extremists for decades, and had even been brutally attacked by them in Jharkhand two years ago leading to serious injuries that may have gotten complicated over time leading to his death. But, after his passing, no one expected anything as crass as the tweet by Rao which read:

“GOOD RIDDANCE @swamiagnivesh

You were an Anti-Hindu donning saffron clothes.

You did enormous damage to Hinduism.

I am ashamed that you were born as a Telugu Brahmin.

మేక వన్నె పులి

गोमुख व्याग्रं

Lion in sheep clothes

My grievance against Yamaraj is why did he wait this long!”

His Tweet had drawn criticism from many quarters, including his fellow policemen:

Tweeting such hate messages by a retired officer posing as an IPS officer – he has desecrated the police uniform which he wore and embarrassed the government. He demoralises the entire police force in the country, especially the young officers. https://t.co/qOiI8D6dkO

— Indian Police Foundation (@IPF_ORG) September 12, 2020

Many members of civil society had also openly demanded that it be taken down. The tweet was reported as offensive to Twitter by many users. But Rao had justified the original tweet’s sickening celebration of death in his subsequent tweets:

Why do we celebrate as festivals the days savages were dead? Bcoz they’re pests destroying society &their death is a cause for celebration.
It was also to warn people not to patronise the bad.

Hinduism eschews अपात्र दानं & misplaced sympathy as they destroy giver & sympathiser. https://t.co/0r7cyyjkiP

— M. Nageswara Rao IPS (@MNageswarRaoIPS) September 11, 2020

Many who share Rao’s ideas continued to defend him.

Why did this one tweet by @MNageswarRaoIPS asking Hindus to not mourn death of Agnivesh who only villified hinduism HURT commies, congis, xihadis so much?
Now,together they have got his account blocked
Let’s follow him en mass to give a befitting reply to this terror cabal..! https://t.co/THPBN39YvR pic.twitter.com/mFbAuw5NiL

— Ritu (सत्यसाधक) #EqualRightsForHindus (@RituRathaur) September 12, 2020

So not only Twitter deleted this tweet but also restricted @MNageswarRaoIPS’s account despite the fact it doesn’t violate any of India’s laws. We can’t allow Twitter to be an editor. It should be prohibited by law to censor tweets that its leftist moderators don’t like. pic.twitter.com/gLrebxn57F

— Arihant (@haryannvi) September 12, 2020

But irony died a thousand deaths when, M Nageshwar Rao quoted Voltaire after Twitter took down the Tweet that was clearly in poor taste.

Bedrock of democracy is FoE which Voltaire aptly said:

“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

But of late, it is honoured more in breach due to increasing intolerance of dissent, which is the real danger to democracy anywhere.

— M. Nageswara Rao IPS (@MNageswarRaoIPS) September 13, 2020

It is however, good to see at least one social media giant openly take a stand against hate. After Facebook’s allegedly deliberate blind eye to posts that spread hate and incited violence, the action by Twitter suggests that not all social media companies are either afraid of or in cahoots with a vindictive and hateful regime.

Related:

Former IPS officer’s insensitive comment on Swami Agnivesh’s death: New low for the Right-wing 

Champion of human rights, secularism, Swami Agnivesh, passes away at 81

The post Twitter bids good riddance to bad rubbish! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Fascist sections of society continue to spew venom against social activist Swami Agnivesh on social media platforms mere hours after his death. His work in the field of bonded labour and child rights had earned him many enemies over the years. However, the attempted-chaos of these hate-mongers pales in comparison to the mob-lynchings that Swamiji has had to face over the course of his life.

Some of these lynchings were as recent as August 17, 2018 when the saffron-clad activist was allegedly attacked by BJP workers when he was enroute to pay his respects to late Indian statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

However, the attack on July 16, 2018 was far worse when Swamiji was allegedly brutally assaulted by a BJP mob in Jharkhand. Those close to the activist claimed that the day marked the start of his declining health.

That day Swamiji was to attend a seminar in Pakur, Jharkhand. A crowd of BJP workers outside his hotel protested his visit to the state alleging that he was hand-in-glove with Christian missionaries and worked against sanatan dharma.

The workers attacked him while chanting slogans of “Jai Shree Ram.” What followed was a horrendous incident of mob-lynching where Swamiji was punched, kicked, dragged and verbally abused by the crowd despite his pleadings.

Tigger warning: Visuals of physical assault

Surviving the attack, Swamiji said he had offered to have a dialogue with the angry mob but to no avail. The incident was widely condemned by politicians, civil society and activists alike as ‘an attack on democracy.’ The police detained 20 people on suspicion of a premeditated attack. However, the detained were soon allowed to go.

Later on, it transpired that the workers were provoked by a video wherein Swami Agnivesh ridicules the over-the-top comments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His sharp and direct dismissal of the role of medical science in Hindu mythology (as claimed by Modi) seemed to have offended them. Over the years, Swamiji was known for his no-nonsense and secular attitude towards all religions.

Angered by the horrendous incident, people took to the streets in protest in Mumbai, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Tumkur in Karnataka, Jaipur, Khammam in Telangana as well as in the foreign land of Canada.

The protesters saw the attack as a muzzling of the voice of reason. They insisted that the attack must be taken seriously especially since it followed the killings of Narendra Dahbolkar, Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh by the Hindu extremists.

Despite this traumatic event, Swami Agnivesh continued to fight for the rights of marginalised. He breathed his last at Delhi’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) on September 11, 2020.

Related:

Was it Swami Agnivesh’s attack on the ‘Sacred Games’ of PM Modi that Provoked Bhakts?
Protests against attack on Swami Agnivesh emerge in many parts of the country
Leaders Extend Support to Swami Agnivesh Post Attack, Demand Judicial Inquiry
Social activist Swami Agnivesh assaulted by alleged BJP workers

The post The darkest day: Attack on Swami Agnivesh appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Ever since my wife and colleague, Teesta Setalvad and I started publishing the monthly journal, Communalism Combat in mid-1993, we often received a certain advice from a few of our readers. The root of communalism, they said, lies in religion; so, fight religion if you really want to destroy the spring source of communalism.

Teesta and I however always had difficulty with such a proposition for reasons of principle, lessons from history and our own lived experience. In principle, there is no denying that communalism is about religion-based politics in the pursuit of power. But that does not make communalism a synonym of religion.

In our own context, Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a Muslim, were highly religious persons in their personal lives. But both consistently pursued secular politics. In sharp contrast was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League. Secular in their personal life, both practised communal politics – two-nations theory– to the hilt.

Closer to our time, in our own lived experience, we have had some shining examples of believers from different faiths whose commitment to secular politics has been second to none. Can anyone draw up a list of prominent secular activists in India who have risked their life and limb in fighting the communal demon in the past four decades that does not include the names of Fr Cedric Prakash, a devout Christian and Swami Agnivesh, a devout Hindu?

If I remember right, my first and brief encounter with Swami Agnivesh was sometime in the early 1980s at a Janata Party meet a few hours away from what was then Bombay. Included among the items on the meeting’s agenda was election for the party president’s post. (I was there covering the event for the since defunct The Daily newspaper). Chandrashekhar then was the tallest leader in the Janata Party and his re-election as party president seemed a foregone conclusion. The effort, however, was to have him elected unopposed. That’s when the swami threw his hat in the ring, forcing a secret ballot on the party. This made many party leaders, including Chandrashekhar, very annoyed but the swami refused to budge, pull out of the contest. As he explained to us journalists who rushed to hear his take, his point was simple. Since the Janata Party claims to be a democratic party, it should act as one, elect its office bearers in a democratic fashion. I am not fighting to win, I am fighting for a principle, he added. This insistence on a secret ballot did not make him very popular in the party. Evidently, between popularity and principle, the swami chose the latter.

There was no Internet, no email, no mobile connections then and long distance landline calls were quite expensive. So I lost personal contact with Swami Agnivesh. But I stayed in touch with his activities since he was all over the media for his work among bonded labour. The swami came to be nationally and internationally recognised as the founder chairperson of the Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labourers Liberation Front). In 1994, he was elected chairperson of the UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. Ten years later he was honoured with the Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award).

At the age of 28, a young man born in a Calcutta-based Brahmin family from South India abandoned his name, caste, religion, family and professional career to be henceforth known as Swami Agnivesh. A swami, a sanyasi is normally understood to mean someone who renounces all worldly concerns and undertakes a journey in search of self and God. But the life of a hermit was not for Swami Agnivesh who instead chose the path of what he calls ‘socio-spiritual action’. In other words, he found his God residing amidst the poor, the downtrodden the exploited and the oppressed.

Throughout the 1980s and the early 1990s, I stayed in ‘remote contact’ with the swami  as the mass media regularly reported on his preoccupations, working among bonded labourers, speaking out against child labour, child marriage, discrimination against the girl child, dowry, Sati and all kinds of superstitious beliefs.    

As was only to be expected, a swami such as him would not remain mute witness as a certain brand of politics sought to redefine religion: from a spiritual enterprise to the pursuit of power. For Swami Agnivesh this was nothing short of a “hijack of Hinduism”.  As the growing tide of communalism threatened to swamp secular politics, he found himself in the forefront of the loose coalition of believers, agnostics and atheists in the battle against Hindutva’s hate politics. It was only natural then for me to meet up with Swamiji sooner or later. We did connect sometime in the early 1990s. Since then it has been my privilege to have known him as a dear friend and comrade-in-arms.

Over the years we have shared a common platform on many an occasion. Every time he came to Bombay/Mumbai it was a pleasure exchanging notes on the communal question.  As editors of Communalism Combat, It was our privilege to publish incisive articles that he wrote for our journal from time to time right until late 2012 when financial constraints forced us to cease publication.

Swami Agnivesh’s special contribution to the anti-communal movement lies in the fact that he fought the ‘saffron politics’ of the sangh parivar as a Hindu religious leader dressed up in saffron from head to toe. More important, his battle has been unique because his fight against the mixing up of religion and politics was always part of his larger battle “to rescue God from priestdoms”. Not just Hindu priestdom but all kind of religious orthodoxy and bigotry.

Swami Agnivesh must have addressed Muslim and Christian community gatherings on numerous occasions expressing solidarity, extending support, speaking up against their being targeted by Hindutva. For this reason he continues to be very popular among India’s religious minorities. But this did not mean that he pulled his punches when it came to questioning what is an article of faith for most Muslims and many Christians. I vividly recall that sometime in the 1990s, Swami Agnivesh sent an article for publication in Communalism Combat. It was titled: ‘What kind of a God will burn small children in hell forever?’ We decided to publish it as a cover story in our monthly journal.   

Looking back, I think what brought, and kept, us together over time was our shared understanding that, one, the fight against majority communalism must go hand in hand with fighting minority communalism and, two, fighting communalism must itself be part of the larger battle against orthodoxy, bigotry, intolerance and extremist tendencies in any and every religion.

Also looking back, I suspect that Swami Agnivesh must be harbouring one abiding regret or disappointment. To me he seemed to believe that the battle against the manipulation of Hindu religion by the sangh parivar for political ends was best challenged by a coalition of religious leaders from different communities. For a while he seemed to have found his answer in the common front he formed, comprising of a moulvi a padri and a ‘pandit’: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Rev Valson Thampu and Swami Agnivesh. The triad, alas, did not last for long. The reason I think is this. The swami is as head on in his battle to rescue God from priestdom as he is in the struggle to rescue religion from its hijack by cynical politicians. And that’s what I admire most in Swami Agnivesh.

This article was written recently for a forthcoming publication on the Life and Work of Swami Agnivesh

The post Swami Agnivesh, my friend appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The wicked never rest, and the caustic hate speech of the Hindutva factions continued unabated on September 12, a day after the death of spiritual leader and social reformer Swami Agnivesh. Social media became a cesspool of posts that maligned the name of late Swami Agnivesh, with people using insensitive, even crass language, some even celebrating his death.  

Following an ANI tweet reporting the demise of politician and social activist Swami Agnivesh, many Right-wing hate mongers retweeted the message with hateful comments alleging “damage to Hinduism.”

What is even more deplorable is that these comments came from former IPS officer M. Nageswara Rao as well.

GOOD RIDDANCE @swamiagnivesh
You were an Anti-Hindu donning saffron clothes.
You did enormous damage to Hinduism.
I am ashamed that you were born as a Telugu Brahmin.
మేక వన్నె పులి
गोमुख व्याग्रं
Lion in sheep clothes

My grievance against Yamaraj is why did he wait this long! https://t.co/5g7oKL62pO

— M. Nageswara Rao IPS (@MNageswarRaoIPS) September 11, 2020

In his bio, Rao describes himself as one who lives for “Civilisational Nation and EQUAL RIGHTS FOR HINDUS” making it abundantly clear where his loyalties lie. The former CBI Director has previously tweeted messages describing religious conversion as acts of aggression.

Many senior journalists and activists have even reported Rao’s objectionable tweet. The fact that it comes from someone so high in Indian law enforcement is testimony to the deep biases that have seeped into the Indian establishment.   

As a testament to Swamiji’s legacy, many came forward to criticise Rao for his insensitive comments. However, his tweet emboldened many others to denounce Swami Agnivesh’s good name, resulting in yet another hate-spurned Twitter war.

Good Riddance is the best and minimal articulation for this guy. ???????

— #DivyaBhavyaShresthAkhandSaShaktBhaarat (@ProfBurraPrasad) September 11, 2020

Swami Agnivesh was a vedic scholar and a true Hindu nationalist. But, RSS goons lynched him, abused him, attacked him throughout his life. But, he stood strong for true nationalism.
RIP, a pure soul left his body today.

— GEORGE (@GEORGE52107460) September 11, 2020

Swami Agnivesh gained the affection of many labourers, rights activists through his work against bonded labour. Even while battling liver ailments at Delhi’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) he was concerned about the 48,000 houses of Delhi’s slum dwellers that were to be demolished following Supreme Court orders. 

His contributions were particularly important for the child rights movement in India. He founded the Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labour Liberation Front) which freed as many as 1,78,000 bonded labourers including 26,000 children as per its website.

His death came as a severe blow to many including activist, journalist and close friend Teesta Setalvad.

Swamiji, Agniveshji a true ascetic wth Values of Truth, Non Discrimination Passed left us 6.55 p.m. todayBelieving in Non Violence, Human Rights & Dialogue, above all Constitutional Values he ws violently attacked, & brutally by guess who? #SwamiAgnivesh @JohnDayal @swamiagnivesh

— Teesta Setalvad (@TeestaSetalvad) September 11, 2020

However, his work also garnered many enemies from the far-right wing who wished to uphold age-old oppressive activities.

Om Shanti#SwamiAgnivesh
(a) A Maoist Sympathizer
(b) Anti Hindutva activist
(c) Anti-Ram Temple
(d) Supporter of Kashmir Separatist movement
(d) An active member of Award Wapasi & Tukude Tukude Gang pic.twitter.com/uogaR61Okh

— LambodarPrasadDash (@LambodarPrDash) September 11, 2020

Thnks a ton oh god.. May he rotin hell now https://t.co/UaqSiF9gfZ

— Pipsip45 (@pipsip45) September 12, 2020

A brief glance at both LambodarPrasadDash’s and Pipsip45’s twitter accounts is enough to show their anti-Islamic and pro-Hindutva sentiments. Similarly, other voices of the Right also came to the surface.

truly a despicable soul.

what a wicked man he was

he epitomised what is wrong with Hindus

om shanti . https://t.co/V5qd1aRUqF

— Ajai Kumar (@Hayatokaw) September 11, 2020

not insulting the guy after his death but ANI should definitely not use self Acclaimed Prefix of Swami to a naxal sympathizer and pakhandi . https://t.co/wgT77sYH2R

— परिमल पार्थ (@parimalparth) September 12, 2020

Those who continue to denounce Swamiji and his work indicate that his battle against social evils is still very much a reality.

Related:

Champion of human rights, secularism, Swami Agnivesh, passes away at 81
Protests against attack on Swami Agnivesh emerge in many parts of the country
BJP-RSS goons storm Swami Agnivesh’s event on Gandhi Jayanti, say he’s not Hindu
Leaders Extend Support to Swami Agnivesh Post Attack, Demand Judicial Inquiry

The post Former IPS officer’s insensitive comment on Swami Agnivesh’s death: New low for the Right-wing appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The passing away of Swami Agnivesh on Friday, September 11 has come as a huge shock for secularist and progressive forces. A social justice activist and a well-known liberal spiritual Hindu leader, he died due to liver cirrhosis in Delhi at the age of 80.  

Agnivesh, who had also served as a legislator in Haryana in the past was a vocal critic of religious fanaticism and superstition. As a follower of Arya Samaj, a reformist sect, he was highly opposed to the brutal caste system within society and openly challenged the ideology of the currently ruling right wing Hindutva nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  

Attacks on religious minorities, especially Muslims have grown under the BJP government that wants to turn India into Hindu state. Agnivesh was one of the rare Hindu ascetics who openly spoke against this. It is for this reason that he was viciously attacked by Hindutva fanatics in 2018. We in Canada organised a demonstration to raise our voices in support of Agnivesh.  

Organised by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI), the group we had formed a year before, the rally was attended by people from diverse backgrounds, including Sikhs, Muslims, Dalits and even non-believers. The speakers unanimously condemned the attack on Agnivesh and expressed their solidarity with him.  

We carried the posters bearing his picture alongside our slogan; “An injury to one is an injury to all.”  

I have had several opportunities to interview him over the phone. Soft spoken, but firm Agnivesh always kept himself up to date with global affairs apart from what has been going on in his own country.  

The first time I interviewed him was back in 2008 for Radio India about Kandhamal violence. Innocent Christians were targeted in Odisha following the murder of a controversial preacher Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati by the Maoist insurgents. Even though the Maoists had claimed responsibility for his assassination because of his anti-minority and pro-state activities, the Hindutva fundamentalists supporting BJP organised a pogrom against Christians blaming them for the killing.

Agnivesh pulled no punches in criticising the Hindutva Right. He even went to the extent of saying that they had no role in the movement for freedom of India from British rule. He also revealed that how they were also involved in terrorist activities and often disguised themselves as Muslims using fake beards and prayer caps while planting bombs at the public places to give Muslim community a bad name.  

In fact, this was the time when the terror module being run by Hindutva Right was exposed by some honest police officers.  

Notably, Agnivesh was also critical of the then-ruling Congress party that claims to be a secular alternative of the BJP. He had given an affidavit before one commission of enquiry looking into the massacre of Sikhs following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.  

The Sikhs were targeted all across India by the mobs led by the slain leader’s Congress party activists. The scenario was no different than the Kandhamal violence as in both cases, the minority communities were picked as easy targets for the actions of some other individuals. This was despite the fact that in the latter case Maoists had claimed the responsibility and yet the Christians were given a collective punishment.  

Agnivesh not only witnessed the barbarity against Sikhs, he tried to intervene to get it stopped in Delhi. He had noted his disappointment in his affidavit stating that the authorities did nothing to help the Sikhs. On one occasion, he tried to dissuade the mobs from burning a Sikh business and also took out a peace march in an area hit by violence.  

In another interview on the persecution of Adivasis or the indigenous peoples of India, he brought up the plot in much publicised Hollywood movie Avatar (2009) to make his point.  

Avatar is based on the eviction of Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands sitting on natural resources by the extraction industry with the backing of nation states world over. A similar situation exists in India where Adivasis are being pushed out in the name of war against Maoists. Agnivesh who also raised voice for Adivasis told me that at the root of the so-called war on terror in tribal areas of India was corporate greed.  

Swami Agnivesh has left us to deal with a very challenging political environment. As someone so determined to stand up for the poor and marginalised in a social atmosphere blinded by majoritarianism, he will always be missed.

Although he is physically dead, his legacy as a true defender of secular India will remain alive and has become even more relevant considering a need to rescue his country from the clutches of bigots.  
 

Related:

Champion of human rights, secularism, Swami Agnivesh, passes away at 81 

One of the bravest man I’ve met, Swami Agnivesh: John Dayal

The post India loses a true guiding light under these dark times appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Swami Agnivesh retrieved the sanctity of the ochre/saffron robes from hijackers posing as nationalists, challenged them on their turf, and defeated them more often than not. I’ve known him four decades, perhaps, as a political activist, a minister in Haryana, the campaigner against bonded labour and child rights, as a fighter against the Sangh Parivar. We were together on hundreds of common platforms in India and the world.

We differed too. The man from Srikakulam, now in Andhra, who was also a man from Orissa, taught at a Jesuit institutions in  Kolkata, vigorously opposed evangelisation. He was against conversions, even when challenged and asked if he also opposed freedom of faith of the dispossessed and the so called outcastes. I have a bitter personal experience with him in Gujarat 2002, too.

But who else, clad in the dress once worn by Swami Vivekanand, could argue and answer back everyone from a Shankaracharya down to the knife bearing thug who said he was protecting India?

Of course they attacked him, more than once, grievously injuring him sometimes. This photograph from my archives is when he was recovering from the last vicious attack on him in Jharkhand. Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto, Fr  Felix of the Catholic archdiocese. Commission for Interfaith Dialogue, and I had called on the Swami in his Delhi home.

Saluts Swami Agnivesh.

The post One of the bravest man I’ve met, Swami Agnivesh: John Dayal appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The man who embodied the true meaning of saffron robes, as a symbol of service to the marginalised passed away in Delhi on September 11 at 6.55 pm. On September 21, he would have completed 81 years of age. He succumbed to multiple organ failure, and had been under critical care at Delhi’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), as he had been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. According to his associates a liver transplant had been planned earlier, but his health took a turn for the worse last week and he was put on ventilator support.

Swamiji’s ever smiling visage is how the thousands of labourers he had helped and become the voice of, will remember him. As will all those who ever met him, including journalists who always saw him calm and composed, and armed with facts in answer to the most ignorant questions. He was no typical ‘baba’, he was Swamiji, an activist who spoke his mind, and faced all kinds of attacks.

In fact, as noted in a recent report in the National Herald, he was often called the ‘Secular Swami’ by both his friends and his critics. The social activist and the face of Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labour Liberation Front) Swami Agnivesh has been in critical care for the past few days, with his closest aides, keeping vigil outside the hospital, and praying for his recovery. The news report quotes his friend and general secretary, Rajasthan PUCL, Kavita Shrivastav stating that “his latest concern was the SC order on the demolitions of 48000 houses in Delhi.”

She also reminded everyone that the “erstwhile Jharkhand Government did nothing regarding prosecuting the accused who attacked Swamiji leading to grievous injuries. They did not even apply section 307 IPC, a section that defines the crimes as attempt to murder. They made it a simple Section 323 IPC case.”

Swami Agnivesh’s friends have earlier said that his health had begun to slide after that grievous attack. He had been opposing the “anti-Muslim regime” was beaten up by the right wing affiliated goons at Pankur, Jharkhand in 2017 recalled the NH report. The images of Swamiji’s torn clothes and dazed face after he an unarmed saffron clad man was attacked had gone viral, even in those days. He was then on his way to Litipara to participate in an event organised by the Pahariya tribal community when he was brutally attacked.

Activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad, a close friend and associate of his, recalled, “Swamiji, Agniveshji a true ascetic wth Values of Truth, Non Discrimination Passed left us 6.55 p.m. todayBelieving in Non Violence, Human Rights & Dialogue, above all Constitutional Values he ws violently attacked, & brutally by guess who?”

Swamiji, Agniveshji a true ascetic wth Values of Truth, Non Discrimination Passed left us 6.55 p.m. todayBelieving in Non Violence, Human Rights & Dialogue, above all Constitutional Values he ws violently attacked, & brutally by guess who? #SwamiAgnivesh @JohnDayal @swamiagnivesh

— Teesta Setalvad (@TeestaSetalvad) September 11, 2020

Swami Agnivesh, winner of the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize (the Right Livelihood Award), 2004, is a “cyclonic Swami”, states the bio data on swamiagnivesh.com.  He was just 28, when he quit his job as a professor of law and management in Calcutta and became an activist. Born into a Brahmin famili, in Andhra Pradesh, he shed his name, caste, religion, family, and became an Arya Samaj sanyasi, ascetic. He eventually settled in Haryana and founded a political party, Arya Sabha in 1970. He was elected to the Haryana assembly, in 1977.

Even after his political life, Swami Agnivesh remained the most celebrated leader of the Arya Samaj in recent times. He is known globally for his active campaigns against bonded labour, and was founder-Chairperson of the Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labor Liberation Front). He was elected as the President of the World Council of Arya Samaj (Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha) in 2004.

Always photographed clad in saffron including his wrap around headgear, or pagri he would say, “saffron, is my uniform for socio-spiritual action, a call to battle on behalf of the oppressed.” Saffron for him, was the colour of “sacrifice, and commitment”.

It is a day of mourning for those who are co travellers in the journey of constant activism, and for the lakhs whose lives his work impacted. His friends are remembering and honouring him.

“The demise of Swami Agnivesh is a huge tragedy. A true warrior for humanity&tolerance. Among the bravest that I knew,willing to take huge risks for public good.Was brutalised in Jharkhand by a BJP/RSS lynch mob 2 yrs ago. Liver got damaged. RIP Agnivesh ji”

The demise of Swami Agnivesh is a huge tragedy. A true warrior for humanity&tolerance. Among the bravest that I knew,willing to take huge risks for public good.Was brutalised in Jharkhand by a BJP/RSS lynch mob 2 yrs ago. Liver got damaged. RIP Agnivesh jihttps://t.co/SapzPnRznC

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) September 11, 2020

Swami Agnivesh’s body will be placed at Bandhua Mukti Morcha office, 7 Jantar Mantar Road, Delhi, for the last public tribute from 11am – 2pm on September. “We request all our friends to pay their last tribute at above mentioned address, by following Covid rule,” stated his close associates Swami Aryavesh, Working President Bandhua Mukti Morcha and Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, and  Prof Vithal Rao Arya Former General Secretary Bandhua Mukti Morcha and Secretary of Sarvadeshi Arya Pratinidhi Sabha,

He leaves behind a rich legacy of fighting for social justice, peace, human rights, and above all interfaith harmony. He is credited with undertaking peace initiatives from Kashmir to Palestine, Maoist conflict zones of central India. Swami Agnivesh truly practiced what he preached.

Related

BJP-RSS goons storm Swami Agnivesh’s event on Gandhi Jayanti, say he’s not Hindu: Tiruvananthapuram

The post Champion of human rights, secularism, Swami Agnivesh, passes away at 81 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Even on Gandhi Jayanti, the most notable day for the practice of non-violence, Swami Agnivesh – Indian monk and human rights activist, who has devoted his entire life to Gandhi’s principles was greeted with violence as he launched his social harmony movement, ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’.

“This spiritual, social, economic, ecological and political movement is the need of the hour across the world, including in India, which is festered by social evils like female foeticide and mob lynching, political and religious hatred and narrow interpretation of nationalism,” Agnivesh said while launching the movement in the state capital on Tuesday. He said he chose Kerala to flag off his movement because – “Kerala seemed to be ideal place for its launch considering the inspiration we could draw from this inclusive society. Though dark forces of fanaticism and communal disharmony are trying to make inroads into the state, people here have put up a strong resistance.”

At the event honoring Mahatma Gandhi and his preachings, Swami Agnivesh had just begun addressing the audience about traditional medicine and healing, a group of right wing Hindus, clearly supporters of the BJP and RSS, stormed the stage and threatened Swamiji. One among this mob actually made it onto the stage before the police and security personnel managed to escort Swamiji to safety. However, no arrests were made.
 
When a member of the security team at the event asked one of the men trying to stop the event about what the matter actually was, he answered saying that the auditorium was in the temple premises and since Swami Agnivesh was anti-Hindu should not have been allowed to hold a gathering there. On being asked how he knew if Swamiji was anti-Hindu, the man had no answer.

Saptagiri Iyengar, Co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights who was also part of the security team at the event recounted the event saying that he felt visible tension building up just after Swamiji ‘s introduction. He said there were very loud protest calls by a group of people against Swamiji and people started approaching the stage and a few minutes later there was a person a few feet away from Swamiji threatening him. Comments of asking Swami Agnivesh to go to Pakistan were also passed by the group.

Language being a barrier for the security team, they asked the audience what the group was protesting about. The attendees apprised them that the goons were from the BJP and RSS and disagreed with his ideals. It was fortunate that Swami Agnivesh had been provided with security just a day before this shameful incident. Had this not been the case, matters could have taken a turn for the worse.

Swami Agnivesh has been vocal and persistent in his call for a return to the secular and inclusive India, and his opposition to the Hindu nationalism of the current government. Attacks on Swami Agnivesh by the BJP are not new. In July 2018, the nationally prominent 79-year-old social activist known for his work against bonded labour, was slapped, kicked around and verbally abused in Jharkhand’s Pakur town by a mob, which he said belonged to BJP-affiliated youth groups who accused him of speaking against Hindus.

In August 2018, he was assaulted by BJP workers on his way to pay tribute to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The assault took place at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in New Delhi.
               

The post BJP-RSS goons storm Swami Agnivesh’s event on Gandhi Jayanti, say he’s not Hindu: Tiruvananthapuram appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This attack comes soon after the attack on him in Jharkhand’s Pakhur area.

In the footage that is circulating on social media, Swami who is Saffron clad, can be seen being chased and assaulted by a group. The group also calls him “Deshdrohi” (traitor) as he keeps walking and trying to get away. One man yanks his turban and a woman is seen holding it, in a manner so as to strike him.

 
About the attack, Swami Agnivesh said, “I had gone to pay my respects to Vajpayee ji. Because of the police pickets, I had to walk down the last stretch… suddenly a group of people came and attacked us. There were two-three of us and they were quite a few. They beat us, pushed us around, abused us and knocked off my turban,”

Mr. Vajpayee, who was India’s Prime Minister for three terms from BJP and an RSS ideologue, died yesterday at 93. His body was kept at BJP’s new office in the state, which is located on the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Road for tributes just ahead of his funeral.
No arrests have been made so far for the previous attacks on him on July 17 in Jharkhand.

Reportedly, the BJP denied having any links with the attackers but one of its leaders justified the attack giving reference to Swami Agnivesh’s ‘track record’.  However, in the previous attack clear links of the attackers with BJP and other associated organisations had emerged. The attackers belonged to Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Bajrang Dal, BJP, RSS.

It is speculated that Swami’s mass appeal and his work among Adivasis and women and children, apart from his upfront views on the promises of development by PM Modi are not being appreciated by the BJP supporters. Swami is also a staunch critique of regressive religious practices and has worked to bust many myths.
 

The post BJP workers attack Swami Agnivesh outside BJP’s Delhi Headquarters appeared first on SabrangIndia.