The Chief Minister,
Maharashtra
Dear Mr Ashok Chavan,
Every society gives enough warning signals before turning totally anti democratic and fascist in nature. If we go back in history we will find that even in fascist Germany the first attack came on the freedom of expression of artists and intellectuals. It is very natural as the struggle for peace, democracy, secular thought, justice and communal harmony is waged by sensitive and creative people. The dream of an equal and just society has always been projected by either the mass movements of ordinary poor and marginalized people, secular political forces, human rights activists or has been portrayed by artists, poets, film makers, theatre directors etc. So those people whose agenda and preoccupation is to spread hatred and disharmony always attack the artists, activists, intellectuals and thinkers.
Unfortunately in the past we have ignored these danger signals and violent acts thus allowing the perpetrators of hate mongering not only to go scot free but also to further vitiate the atmosphere.
What has been happening in Maharashtra the past few months is absolutely shocking and is an attack on the democratic rights of the citizens of not only Maharashtra but all Indians.
I am writing to you as a member of the National Integration Council, Ministry of Home Affairs and I request you to immediately take steps to ensure that the goondaism unleashed by the Shiv Sena and MNS is stopped immediately.
I request you to ensure that Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan , whose effigies were burnt in Mumbai and especially Shahrukh Khan, who has received threats in the past few days, are given adequate security, that there is no disturbance when their films are released or screened in theaters. I request you to ensure that no taxi driver or auto rickshaw driver is harassed for not knowing or speaking Marathi (its good that you backtracked on January 20 from a similar unconstitutional stand on the question of issuing licenses to the taxi drivers) and that their constitutional and democratic rights of working or living in any part of India are not violated by Shiv Sena hoodlums on the roads.
The kind of filthy language which is being used and threats which are being issued against the senior leaders of your own party are absolutely unacceptable and need to be condemned strongly.
I request you to urgently arrest and prosecute those who are behind the recent incidents.
Sincerely yours
Shabnam Hashmi
Member, National Integration Council, MHA
Copy: Home Minister, Government of India
Showing posts with label Fascism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fascism. Show all posts
15 November, 2008
Fighting Fascism: a lively and productive convention
By Yoginder Sikand
Countercurrents.org
Last month, the New Delhi-based human rights’ group Anhad, along with some 90 other organizations, held a two-day national convention on the theme, ‘Countering Fascism: Defending the Idea of India’. It was attended by scores of social activists from various parts of the country. Predictably, it received hardly any mention in the so-called ‘mainstream’ Indian media.
The first session of the convention was devoted to discussions about Hindutva. In his introductory remarks, the noted social activist Ram Puniyani dwelt on the ideology and politics of Hindutva, which he, as did many other speakers after him, characterized as the Indian form of fascism. He argued for the need to examine the links between Hindutva terrorism and free-market terrorism represented by Western economic and cultural imperialism, and also to recognize the fact that Hindutva fascism poses a graver danger not just to Muslims and Christians, but in fact, to all marginalized groups in the country, particularly Dalits and Adivasis, since it represents the worldview, interests and agendas of entrenched ‘upper’ caste elites.
He pointed out that in this regard there was little difference between the ‘hard’ Hindutva of the BJP and the ‘soft’ Hindutva of the Congress, and noted the deep inroads that Hindutva forces have made into every pillar of the state, including the bureaucracy and the judiciary, besides in the educational field and the media.
Elaborating further on the theoretical analysis of Hindutva as fascism, noted historian K.N.Panikkar spoke about how the Hindutva agenda is now being advanced not so much by communal riots, as in the past, but by what he termed as ‘organized attacks on Muslims and Christians, amounting to genocide’, often in complicity with agents of the state. Earlier, he said, communal riots were largely localized affairs, but now these organized attacks are happening simultaneously in different parts of the country, particularly in states ruled by the BJP or by coalitions in which the BJP is a major partner. In other words, he said, ‘There is a convergence between the state and Hindutva fascist organizations since the state promotes or allows these attacks’.
These well-planned attacks on Muslims and Christians, Prof. Panikkar pointed out, are characterized by far greater brutality than previously, and no effective action is taken against their perpetrators, whether by the Central or state governments. He indicated that although the present Government in the Centre had come to power on what it had touted as a ‘secular’ platform, it has taken no effective action against Hindutva terrorism. In this way, he argued, ‘There is no fundamental difference between the present UPA Government and the previous BJP-dominated NDA Government vis-à-vis fascism. The only distinction is that while the latter was aggressively communal, the former appears passively communal. But both allow and create spaces for fascism to advance’.
In the last four years of Congress-led rule, he noted, groups like the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and their allied social and cultural outfits have made rapid inroads across the country, ‘so much so that today there is hardly a village in India where they do not operate’. He also argued that many of the terror attacks and bomb blasts that have occurred in India in recent years might have been orchestrated by Hindutva groups in order to justify attacks on Muslims and Christians, whip up Hindu sentiments and thereby consolidate their vote-bank.
Noted academic and legal luminary Prof. Upendra Baxi spoke about what he called the ‘Modi-fication’ of India, a process of ‘regression’, exemplified in the form of the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, which, in his words, ‘represents a totalitarian order and a politics of immunity and impunity’, a situation where those in power ‘can do as they want without any pull of accountability or tug of constitutionality and can practise genocidal governance, a form of governance that continuously destroys democracy’. The ‘Modi-fication’ of India, he added, also signifies a particular relationship between ‘development’ and ‘destruction’, characterised by a close alliance of Hindutva fascism with Western economic imperialism in the garb of ‘globalisation’ that is wreaking havoc with the lives of the poor.
Prof. Baxi demanded that the international convention against genocide should be incorporated into the Indian Constitution and law and that the state’s ‘anti-terrorism’ policy be made ‘ethical and constitutional’. Remarking about the lack of political will to punish perpetrators of violence against minorities, and lamenting that ‘law reforms have become a joke in India’, he insisted on the need for a ‘legal framework through which obstruction of the administration of justice is made a serious and punishable offence’.
‘Hindutva is identical with fascism’, declared the noted social activist and Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh. ‘The RSS is the single major source of strife and danger to the unity and prosperity of India’, he announced. He argued that Hindutva was a formidable threat to the Hindus themselves, and that it aimed not just at the suppression of Muslims and Christians but also of the so-called ‘lower’ castes, who together form the vast majority of the Indian population. Hindutva terrorists, he said, ‘are a blot on the face of India and the Hindu religion’. He also castigated the Congress for providing covert support to Hindutva fascism, and argued the need for a new, united political struggle for social justice and communal harmony and against capitalist depredation and Hindutva fascism.
The same point was made by John Dayal, spokesperson for the Catholic Church. He noted how scores of middle-class Hindus send their children to study in Christian schools but yet passionately support, or else remain silent on, Hindutva fascism. He also pointed out the close alliance between Indian and foreign capitalists and the Hindutva lobby, remarking that it was by no means accidental that the favourite destinations for large investments are now BJP-ruled states, such as Gujarat , Orissa, and Karnataka, where labour and people’s movements have been harshly repressed. He argued the need for the Church to work closely with Muslim groups in the struggle for social justice for religious minorities as they are the common targets of Hindu fascism.
Since Hindutva fascism aims also at the suppression of the ‘low’ castes, and the poor in general, the struggle for social and economic justice must form a central plank of popular mobilization against Hindutva, opined noted social activist and former Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, Rooprekha Verma. She also dwelt at length on what she opined was the growing communalization of sections of the judiciary, which, she warned, posed ominous portents for prospects of genuine democracy and secularism in the country.
Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey pointed out that possible links between Hindutva radicals and certain terror attacks urgently needed to be probed. He critiqued the growing military and ‘counter-terrorism’ collaboration between India, Israel and the United States, as well as the manufacturing of the image of Muslims as ‘terrorists’ which global powers are propagating so assiduously in order, among other things, to boost their weapons industries.
The second session of the convention dealt with ‘Fascist Terror Networks in India ’. In her introductory remarks, Shabnam Hashmi, coordinator of Anhad, spoke about the widespread and deep-rooted communalization of not just the political sphere but also of popular consciousness on what she called a ‘massive and unprecedented scale’. The Congress is equally responsible, she said, for the rise of Hindutva fascism as the BJP, and she minced no words in claiming that certain actions and statements of the present Union Home Minister are no different from what one would expect from an RSS-leader. She came down heavily on the present government for its lack of political will to sternly counter Hindutva terrorism despite there being ample evidence of this, for its targeting innocent Muslims by arresting or shooting them dead in fake encounters in the name of countering terrorism, and for its dismal failure to prevent attacks on Christians.
Well-known journalist Subhash Gatade spoke about the involvement of Hindutva terror groups in various bomb blasts that have taken place in different parts of the country. He lamented the fact that in several such cases no action at all has been taken against the perpetrators, and pointed that intelligence agencies and the police have sought to cover up many of these incidents. He spoke about the ‘media’s conspiracy of silence on Hindutva terrorism’, adding that large sections of the media had failed to highlight the issue at the same time as they are engaged in a concerted campaign to declare scores of innocent Muslims arrested by the police as terrorists. The same view was expressed by the Nagpur-based writer and human rights activist Suresh Khairnar, who claimed that many terror attacks for which the media, the police and the intelligence agencies had blamed Muslims might actually have been the handiwork of fiercely anti-Muslim Hindutva groups, who, by seeking to attribute these attacks to Muslims, have sought to whip up anti-Muslim hatred, consolidate the Hindu vote-bank and, thereby, create a climate whereby oppression and demonisation of Muslims can be easily justified.
Noted senior Supreme Court advocate and head of the Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network Colin Gonsalves argued that it was crucial to examine the direction in which the courts were moving in India on the issue of communalism and secularism as reflected in their judgments. This would indicate both the ideology of the judges as well as what future judgments might be expected. Providing details of various Supreme Court decisions, he expressed his pessimism in this regard, suggesting that several of its recent judgments appeared to be clearly supportive of the Hindutva agenda and ideology. This, he opined, represented a decline of the judiciary’s secular foundations. ‘As a lawyer,’, he remarked, ‘I don’t think the judiciary will help much in our struggle to counter communal violence, and to protect the rights of minorities, Dalits and the working classes. It hasn’t helped much in the past, and it is increasingly moving in the direction of the rich. I don’t say that all, or most, of the judges are pro-Hindutva, only that the doors of the law to uphold the rights of the oppressed are gradually closing’.
This, he suggested, should be seen in tandem with the mounting communalization of the police and of government-appointed commissions. He also noted the total unwillingness of the government to take any action against Hindutva terror groups as suggested by some commissions that it itself had appointed to look into cases of massacres of minorities. In many such cases, the perpetrators of violence against minorities have been left unscathed and complicit police officers protected and promoted, instead of being punished.
Another legal luminary and fellow advocate in the Supreme Court, Prashant Bhushan, referred to the menacing rise of Hindutva fascist forces that have started resorting to terror bomb blasts and are threatening to export what they consider as the ‘Gujarat model’ of genocidal attacks on minorities to the rest of the country. In this regard, he pointed out how scores of innocent Muslims have been arrested and languish in jail for bomb attacks for which they have no responsibility at all, and in this the police, the intelligence agencies and influential sections of the media are in league with Hindutva forces and the state. Hindutva outfits blatantly flout the law of the land by engaging in terror against minorities but yet the state takes virtually no action against them, he regretted. To prevent the hounding of innocent Muslim youth by an increasingly communalised police in the name of fighting terror, Bhushan suggested the need for an independent statutory prosecution body, separate from the police and not amenable to political manipulation, which could prosecute the police if it acts as a silent spectator or a willing accomplice in hounding innocent people who are arbitrarily branded by it as ‘terrorists’. In this regard, he also suggested the setting up of an independent police complaints authority, which had been earlier recommended by the Supreme Court but about which the Government has as yet taken no action.
Bhushan referred to communal bias in sections of the judiciary, in addition to other arms of the state. The judiciary, he said, lacked answerability, it being very difficult to impeach a judge if he was swayed or influenced by communal prejudice. To remedy this, he suggested that an independent judicial complaints authority be set up, which might make it more difficult for judges to be influenced by communal prejudices. He cited in this regard the recent report of the Nanavati Commission, stating that ‘Nanavati did such a bad job that he could be tried for criminal conspiracy’. Bhushan also argued the need for India to sign the treaty of the International Criminal Court, so that if it is feared that judges might be swayed by Hindu communal prejudices in serious cases related to persecution of minorities these could be taken to the International Criminal Court instead. ‘India is one of the very few countries that has not as yet signed this treaty, and if it does so we can take the case of Narendra Modi’s-sponsored genocide of Muslims in Gujarat and other such cases to this court if justice cannot be had here’, he remarked.
The third session of the convention was devoted to the theme ‘Fascism and Neo-Liberal Economic Policies’. To consider Hindutva fascism simply as a religious or cultural or political phenomenon is misleading, suggested medical doctor and social activist Abhay Shukla. Rather, fascism, including in its Hindutva garb, also has to be understood as reflecting a certain economic agenda of entrenched and oppressive local and global elites. It is intricately related to the new ‘global’ face of rapacious ‘neo-liberal’ capitalist exploitation, and, as the case of Gujarat shows, is perfectly compatible with communal violence, which serves it by diverting the attention and wrath of oppressed classes/castes from their real caste/class oppressors onto imaginary and manufactured ‘enemies’, such as Muslims and Christians. The ‘neo-liberal’ development policies adopted by the Indian elite are generating widespread and mounting unemployment and pauperization of the poor, and Hindutva fascism thus serves as a tool to stamp out dissent and resistance of the subaltern classes, he said.
Elaborating on this thesis further, noted development economist and documentary film-maker Jaya Mehta remarked how increasing economic insecurity caused by the ‘neo-liberal’ economic policies leads to social psychological crises, which makes it easy for Hindutva outfits, representing the interests of entrenched elites, to play on these insecurities of the poor and the middle classes and whip up anti-Muslim, and now, increasingly, anti-Christian hatred and violence. In such a climate of economic insecurity, added independent journalist and social activist Satya Shivaraman, obscurantist religious cults flourish, holding out the illusory promise of hope amidst despair, while at the same time further exacerbating the commercialisation and politicization of religion.
Anil Choudhry, co-ordinator of INSAF, a Delhi-based activist group, further elaborated on this argument, stating that fascism, capitalism and war go hand-in-hand and that fascism must be seen as an ‘economic project’. Hindutva fascism, he suggested, must be seen in the context of the current stage of the crisis of global capitalism, where, because global capital has taken over and the Indian state has given up many of its commitments to the poor, the state is now faced with what he termed as a ‘moral crisis about its rationale’. Increasingly, the only rationale that it finds is ‘security’-maintenance in the face of the civil-war-like conditions that the neo-liberal economic policies have themselves generated. It is in this context, he pointed out, that the manufacture of the notion of the ‘Muslim-as-terrorist’ must be examined, for it is on the claim of countering ‘Muslim terrorism’ that today numerous states seek to gain legitimacy and, indeed, their very rationale. Invoking Lenin, Choudhry described the state as the armed wing of the ruling class, and pointed to the symbiotic relationship between state terrorism and other forms of terrorism, neither of which can be understood in isolation.
The lively and immensely productive convention concluded with the announcement of a long list of plans for practical action to be taken to galvanise the struggle against communal fascism. But as to how and when and by whom these well-meaning and certainly very urgent suggestions will be taken up remains to be seen.
Countercurrents.org
Last month, the New Delhi-based human rights’ group Anhad, along with some 90 other organizations, held a two-day national convention on the theme, ‘Countering Fascism: Defending the Idea of India’. It was attended by scores of social activists from various parts of the country. Predictably, it received hardly any mention in the so-called ‘mainstream’ Indian media.
The first session of the convention was devoted to discussions about Hindutva. In his introductory remarks, the noted social activist Ram Puniyani dwelt on the ideology and politics of Hindutva, which he, as did many other speakers after him, characterized as the Indian form of fascism. He argued for the need to examine the links between Hindutva terrorism and free-market terrorism represented by Western economic and cultural imperialism, and also to recognize the fact that Hindutva fascism poses a graver danger not just to Muslims and Christians, but in fact, to all marginalized groups in the country, particularly Dalits and Adivasis, since it represents the worldview, interests and agendas of entrenched ‘upper’ caste elites.
He pointed out that in this regard there was little difference between the ‘hard’ Hindutva of the BJP and the ‘soft’ Hindutva of the Congress, and noted the deep inroads that Hindutva forces have made into every pillar of the state, including the bureaucracy and the judiciary, besides in the educational field and the media.
Elaborating further on the theoretical analysis of Hindutva as fascism, noted historian K.N.Panikkar spoke about how the Hindutva agenda is now being advanced not so much by communal riots, as in the past, but by what he termed as ‘organized attacks on Muslims and Christians, amounting to genocide’, often in complicity with agents of the state. Earlier, he said, communal riots were largely localized affairs, but now these organized attacks are happening simultaneously in different parts of the country, particularly in states ruled by the BJP or by coalitions in which the BJP is a major partner. In other words, he said, ‘There is a convergence between the state and Hindutva fascist organizations since the state promotes or allows these attacks’.
These well-planned attacks on Muslims and Christians, Prof. Panikkar pointed out, are characterized by far greater brutality than previously, and no effective action is taken against their perpetrators, whether by the Central or state governments. He indicated that although the present Government in the Centre had come to power on what it had touted as a ‘secular’ platform, it has taken no effective action against Hindutva terrorism. In this way, he argued, ‘There is no fundamental difference between the present UPA Government and the previous BJP-dominated NDA Government vis-à-vis fascism. The only distinction is that while the latter was aggressively communal, the former appears passively communal. But both allow and create spaces for fascism to advance’.
In the last four years of Congress-led rule, he noted, groups like the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and their allied social and cultural outfits have made rapid inroads across the country, ‘so much so that today there is hardly a village in India where they do not operate’. He also argued that many of the terror attacks and bomb blasts that have occurred in India in recent years might have been orchestrated by Hindutva groups in order to justify attacks on Muslims and Christians, whip up Hindu sentiments and thereby consolidate their vote-bank.
Noted academic and legal luminary Prof. Upendra Baxi spoke about what he called the ‘Modi-fication’ of India, a process of ‘regression’, exemplified in the form of the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, which, in his words, ‘represents a totalitarian order and a politics of immunity and impunity’, a situation where those in power ‘can do as they want without any pull of accountability or tug of constitutionality and can practise genocidal governance, a form of governance that continuously destroys democracy’. The ‘Modi-fication’ of India, he added, also signifies a particular relationship between ‘development’ and ‘destruction’, characterised by a close alliance of Hindutva fascism with Western economic imperialism in the garb of ‘globalisation’ that is wreaking havoc with the lives of the poor.
Prof. Baxi demanded that the international convention against genocide should be incorporated into the Indian Constitution and law and that the state’s ‘anti-terrorism’ policy be made ‘ethical and constitutional’. Remarking about the lack of political will to punish perpetrators of violence against minorities, and lamenting that ‘law reforms have become a joke in India’, he insisted on the need for a ‘legal framework through which obstruction of the administration of justice is made a serious and punishable offence’.
‘Hindutva is identical with fascism’, declared the noted social activist and Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh. ‘The RSS is the single major source of strife and danger to the unity and prosperity of India’, he announced. He argued that Hindutva was a formidable threat to the Hindus themselves, and that it aimed not just at the suppression of Muslims and Christians but also of the so-called ‘lower’ castes, who together form the vast majority of the Indian population. Hindutva terrorists, he said, ‘are a blot on the face of India and the Hindu religion’. He also castigated the Congress for providing covert support to Hindutva fascism, and argued the need for a new, united political struggle for social justice and communal harmony and against capitalist depredation and Hindutva fascism.
The same point was made by John Dayal, spokesperson for the Catholic Church. He noted how scores of middle-class Hindus send their children to study in Christian schools but yet passionately support, or else remain silent on, Hindutva fascism. He also pointed out the close alliance between Indian and foreign capitalists and the Hindutva lobby, remarking that it was by no means accidental that the favourite destinations for large investments are now BJP-ruled states, such as Gujarat , Orissa, and Karnataka, where labour and people’s movements have been harshly repressed. He argued the need for the Church to work closely with Muslim groups in the struggle for social justice for religious minorities as they are the common targets of Hindu fascism.
Since Hindutva fascism aims also at the suppression of the ‘low’ castes, and the poor in general, the struggle for social and economic justice must form a central plank of popular mobilization against Hindutva, opined noted social activist and former Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, Rooprekha Verma. She also dwelt at length on what she opined was the growing communalization of sections of the judiciary, which, she warned, posed ominous portents for prospects of genuine democracy and secularism in the country.
Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey pointed out that possible links between Hindutva radicals and certain terror attacks urgently needed to be probed. He critiqued the growing military and ‘counter-terrorism’ collaboration between India, Israel and the United States, as well as the manufacturing of the image of Muslims as ‘terrorists’ which global powers are propagating so assiduously in order, among other things, to boost their weapons industries.
The second session of the convention dealt with ‘Fascist Terror Networks in India ’. In her introductory remarks, Shabnam Hashmi, coordinator of Anhad, spoke about the widespread and deep-rooted communalization of not just the political sphere but also of popular consciousness on what she called a ‘massive and unprecedented scale’. The Congress is equally responsible, she said, for the rise of Hindutva fascism as the BJP, and she minced no words in claiming that certain actions and statements of the present Union Home Minister are no different from what one would expect from an RSS-leader. She came down heavily on the present government for its lack of political will to sternly counter Hindutva terrorism despite there being ample evidence of this, for its targeting innocent Muslims by arresting or shooting them dead in fake encounters in the name of countering terrorism, and for its dismal failure to prevent attacks on Christians.
Well-known journalist Subhash Gatade spoke about the involvement of Hindutva terror groups in various bomb blasts that have taken place in different parts of the country. He lamented the fact that in several such cases no action at all has been taken against the perpetrators, and pointed that intelligence agencies and the police have sought to cover up many of these incidents. He spoke about the ‘media’s conspiracy of silence on Hindutva terrorism’, adding that large sections of the media had failed to highlight the issue at the same time as they are engaged in a concerted campaign to declare scores of innocent Muslims arrested by the police as terrorists. The same view was expressed by the Nagpur-based writer and human rights activist Suresh Khairnar, who claimed that many terror attacks for which the media, the police and the intelligence agencies had blamed Muslims might actually have been the handiwork of fiercely anti-Muslim Hindutva groups, who, by seeking to attribute these attacks to Muslims, have sought to whip up anti-Muslim hatred, consolidate the Hindu vote-bank and, thereby, create a climate whereby oppression and demonisation of Muslims can be easily justified.
Noted senior Supreme Court advocate and head of the Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network Colin Gonsalves argued that it was crucial to examine the direction in which the courts were moving in India on the issue of communalism and secularism as reflected in their judgments. This would indicate both the ideology of the judges as well as what future judgments might be expected. Providing details of various Supreme Court decisions, he expressed his pessimism in this regard, suggesting that several of its recent judgments appeared to be clearly supportive of the Hindutva agenda and ideology. This, he opined, represented a decline of the judiciary’s secular foundations. ‘As a lawyer,’, he remarked, ‘I don’t think the judiciary will help much in our struggle to counter communal violence, and to protect the rights of minorities, Dalits and the working classes. It hasn’t helped much in the past, and it is increasingly moving in the direction of the rich. I don’t say that all, or most, of the judges are pro-Hindutva, only that the doors of the law to uphold the rights of the oppressed are gradually closing’.
This, he suggested, should be seen in tandem with the mounting communalization of the police and of government-appointed commissions. He also noted the total unwillingness of the government to take any action against Hindutva terror groups as suggested by some commissions that it itself had appointed to look into cases of massacres of minorities. In many such cases, the perpetrators of violence against minorities have been left unscathed and complicit police officers protected and promoted, instead of being punished.
Another legal luminary and fellow advocate in the Supreme Court, Prashant Bhushan, referred to the menacing rise of Hindutva fascist forces that have started resorting to terror bomb blasts and are threatening to export what they consider as the ‘Gujarat model’ of genocidal attacks on minorities to the rest of the country. In this regard, he pointed out how scores of innocent Muslims have been arrested and languish in jail for bomb attacks for which they have no responsibility at all, and in this the police, the intelligence agencies and influential sections of the media are in league with Hindutva forces and the state. Hindutva outfits blatantly flout the law of the land by engaging in terror against minorities but yet the state takes virtually no action against them, he regretted. To prevent the hounding of innocent Muslim youth by an increasingly communalised police in the name of fighting terror, Bhushan suggested the need for an independent statutory prosecution body, separate from the police and not amenable to political manipulation, which could prosecute the police if it acts as a silent spectator or a willing accomplice in hounding innocent people who are arbitrarily branded by it as ‘terrorists’. In this regard, he also suggested the setting up of an independent police complaints authority, which had been earlier recommended by the Supreme Court but about which the Government has as yet taken no action.
Bhushan referred to communal bias in sections of the judiciary, in addition to other arms of the state. The judiciary, he said, lacked answerability, it being very difficult to impeach a judge if he was swayed or influenced by communal prejudice. To remedy this, he suggested that an independent judicial complaints authority be set up, which might make it more difficult for judges to be influenced by communal prejudices. He cited in this regard the recent report of the Nanavati Commission, stating that ‘Nanavati did such a bad job that he could be tried for criminal conspiracy’. Bhushan also argued the need for India to sign the treaty of the International Criminal Court, so that if it is feared that judges might be swayed by Hindu communal prejudices in serious cases related to persecution of minorities these could be taken to the International Criminal Court instead. ‘India is one of the very few countries that has not as yet signed this treaty, and if it does so we can take the case of Narendra Modi’s-sponsored genocide of Muslims in Gujarat and other such cases to this court if justice cannot be had here’, he remarked.
The third session of the convention was devoted to the theme ‘Fascism and Neo-Liberal Economic Policies’. To consider Hindutva fascism simply as a religious or cultural or political phenomenon is misleading, suggested medical doctor and social activist Abhay Shukla. Rather, fascism, including in its Hindutva garb, also has to be understood as reflecting a certain economic agenda of entrenched and oppressive local and global elites. It is intricately related to the new ‘global’ face of rapacious ‘neo-liberal’ capitalist exploitation, and, as the case of Gujarat shows, is perfectly compatible with communal violence, which serves it by diverting the attention and wrath of oppressed classes/castes from their real caste/class oppressors onto imaginary and manufactured ‘enemies’, such as Muslims and Christians. The ‘neo-liberal’ development policies adopted by the Indian elite are generating widespread and mounting unemployment and pauperization of the poor, and Hindutva fascism thus serves as a tool to stamp out dissent and resistance of the subaltern classes, he said.
Elaborating on this thesis further, noted development economist and documentary film-maker Jaya Mehta remarked how increasing economic insecurity caused by the ‘neo-liberal’ economic policies leads to social psychological crises, which makes it easy for Hindutva outfits, representing the interests of entrenched elites, to play on these insecurities of the poor and the middle classes and whip up anti-Muslim, and now, increasingly, anti-Christian hatred and violence. In such a climate of economic insecurity, added independent journalist and social activist Satya Shivaraman, obscurantist religious cults flourish, holding out the illusory promise of hope amidst despair, while at the same time further exacerbating the commercialisation and politicization of religion.
Anil Choudhry, co-ordinator of INSAF, a Delhi-based activist group, further elaborated on this argument, stating that fascism, capitalism and war go hand-in-hand and that fascism must be seen as an ‘economic project’. Hindutva fascism, he suggested, must be seen in the context of the current stage of the crisis of global capitalism, where, because global capital has taken over and the Indian state has given up many of its commitments to the poor, the state is now faced with what he termed as a ‘moral crisis about its rationale’. Increasingly, the only rationale that it finds is ‘security’-maintenance in the face of the civil-war-like conditions that the neo-liberal economic policies have themselves generated. It is in this context, he pointed out, that the manufacture of the notion of the ‘Muslim-as-terrorist’ must be examined, for it is on the claim of countering ‘Muslim terrorism’ that today numerous states seek to gain legitimacy and, indeed, their very rationale. Invoking Lenin, Choudhry described the state as the armed wing of the ruling class, and pointed to the symbiotic relationship between state terrorism and other forms of terrorism, neither of which can be understood in isolation.
The lively and immensely productive convention concluded with the announcement of a long list of plans for practical action to be taken to galvanise the struggle against communal fascism. But as to how and when and by whom these well-meaning and certainly very urgent suggestions will be taken up remains to be seen.
28 October, 2008
National Convention on Countering Fascist Forces: Defending the Idea of India
The following is a report circulated by Shabnam Hashmi on the National Convention on ‘Countering Fascist Forces: Defending the idea of India’ held in New Delhi on October 25 and 26, 2008
The two-day national convention was attended by over 750 activists' and intellectuals from 18 states (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, J & K, Punjab, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh).
POLITICAL RESOLUTION PASSED AT THE CONVENTION
The urgency to intervene in defence of democracy, secularism and justice has never been more pressing than in the conditions prevailing in the country today.
The rise of communal fascism has emerged as a threat not only to its immediate victims but to the very long-term survival of India as a unified nation of diverse religious, linguistic and ethnic groups. The mysterious and condemnable acts of terrorism that have shaken different parts of the country have engendered a climate of fear, insecurity and fuelled the politics of communal division.
In recent months, vicious attacks have been mounted across India against religious minorities by Hindutva fascist organizations and communalism has even become the dominant tenor of public discourse. In Maharashtra the regional chauvinist forces of Bal and Raj Thackeray, both offsprings of the Hindutva politics of hate, has targeted north Indians in a bid to drive them out of the state.
The BJP, RSS and their allies in the Sangh Parivar have mounted a vicious campaign against the Christian community across India. Orissa and over 10 states have seen violent attacks on the Christian community, their institutions, religious places, property and businesses on the basis of fabricated stories and hate campaigns.
Throughout the country Muslim youth are being targeted, without any or little evidence, as responsible for the various bomb blasts taking place in the country. There is a concerted attempt by the Indian police, intelligence agencies and certain political parties to portray all members of the Muslim community as 'terrorists and extremists' - to be arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters. Sections of the media instead of investigating the truth are blindly parroting these sensational and unsubstantiated claims.
Even more disturbingly the accused are being systematically denied their basic right to legal defence by some bar associations themselves which have threatened, expelled and even violently attacked lawyers brave enough to take up these cases. The Indian judiciary has failed to take suo moto cognizance of such attacks as being contempt of court.
All this while hard evidence available against Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Sangh outfits of their direct involvement in terror attacks is not only being ignored but actively pushed under the carpet by the Indian state. The Hindutva terrorist groups like the Bajrang Dal are openly claiming responsibility for this communal violence against Christians and are yet being allowed to go scot-free.
There is a growing feeling among religious minority communities that the Indian state and judiciary is biased against them and unwilling to provide impartial justice even in cases such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid. No action has been taken on the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission report following the anti-Muslim pogrom in Mumbai of 1993. On the other hand some members of the judiciary are now willing to be puppets of communal forces, a dangerous trend set by the Nanavati Commission, which has exonerated the Narendra Modi government of responsibility for the Gujarat Genocide of 2002.
Instead of confronting these fascist forces the Indian state is cracking down hard on 'soft targets' like human rights and social activists. The fundamental rights of life, liberty, freedom of speech, religion and dissent guaranteed to all citizens by the Indian Constitution are being shred to pieces right in front of our eyes.
Entire swathes of the Indian North-East and Kashmir are covered by the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that authorises even the lowest soldier to shoot and kill civilians on mere suspicion of their being 'militants'. In Chhattisgarh, large numbers of citizens continue to be detained using the highly restrictive Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Those defending the rights of the poor, Dalit, Adivasis and other marginalised people are being falsely branded as 'extremists' and 'anti-nationals'. The state sponsored, unconstitutional 'Salwa Judum' campaign, which has unleashed horrific violence on innocent tribal populations over the past four years in the name of countering Maoism, is being justified by none other than the National Human Rights Commission itself.
All this is happening even as the forces of imperialism led by the United States, under the pretext of the so-called Global War on Terror, are busy re-colonising entire nations from Iraq to Afghanistan and are now targeting Pakistan in the immediate neighbourhood of India. The global media is contributing to this politics of hatred by demonizing Muslims worldwide and frightening ordinary citizens into giving up their basic democratic rights everywhere.
Within the country, the pattern of elitist development has turned a vast majority of the population into second-class citizens, reinforcing with misguided policies the apartheid of the ancient and racist caste system. The ghost of the East India Company, buried long ago, is being resurrected in myriad forms and those who run the Indian state are willfully abetting the return of a neo-colonial order.
It is a state of affairs that calls upon all those who value Indian independence, democratic rights and social justice to come forward, take responsibility and resist the onslaught by fascist and imperialist forces on the foundations of our national values and existence. We also urge all anti-communal activists and secular political parties to forge alliance to defeat fascism and communalism. We, the delegates and participants of the National Convention on Countering Fascism: Defending the Idea of India in New Delhi held on 25-26 October 2008 resolve as follows to:
1) Call for the resignation of Shivraj Patil, Home Minister of India for his abject failure to prevent bomb attacks in major Indian cities; take action against Hindutva terrorists despite evidence provided to him by civil society groups; stop the Sangh Parivar's attacks on Christian populations in Orissa, Karnataka and other parts of India; and for using fake police encounters and false evidence against Muslim youth to save his political career;
2) Call for the dismissal of M.K.Narayanan, National Security Adviser for incompetence and all the intelligence lapses leading to rise in to both terrorist and communal violence;
3) Demand prosecution of all members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and ABVP who have links with Hindutva terrorist organisations, such as the ones implicated in the Malegaon bomb blasts.
4) Condemn the UPA government for falling prey to the Hindutva agenda while paying lip service to secularism.
5) Demand the setting up of a time-bound judicial inquiry into the Jamia Nagar 'encounter' headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court;
6) Review major cases of 'terrorist' attacks and immediately release those against whom there is no evidence of any kind; implementation of NHRC instruction regarding independent investigation into all deaths in police custody and in police encounters over the last 5 years;
7) Call for a ban on RSS, the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad for terrorist, anti-national activities and seizure of their national and international assets; a White Paper on the terrorist activities of these organizations;
8) Demand the presentation of a White Paper on the scope of India's "war on terrorism" and the level of its cooperation and collaboration with the US-led war on terror;
9) Enact the Communal Violence Bill after thorough revision in consultation with citizen's bodies, human rights groups and anti-communal organisations across India;
10) Provide immediate relief and compensation to the victims of communal terrorism in Orissa and other states including reconstruction of destroyed private property and restoration of livelihood. Set up a permanent statutory body to deal with such issues in future.
11) Demand the formation of a strong statutory body like election commission (or extend the scope of the EC) to monitor pre-election conduct of political parties and their leaders which generally leads up to polarization of vote banks. Such a body should have a right to disqualify party and/or its functionaries or elected representatives in the legislature in the wake of a breach of conduct;
12) The immediate release of Human Rights Defenders, such as Dr Binayak Sen, who have been arrested for exposing police atrocities and state violence against innocent citizens.
13) Demand a White Paper on misuse of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Kashmir and the Indian North-East and the immediate withdrawal; search for a political rather than military solution to the Kashmir problem;
14) A national commission of inquiry into the misuse of special security laws by the police to arrest members of the minority community in false cases of terrorism
PROMINENT SPEAKERS AT THE CONVENTION
Abhay Shukla, Achin Vanaik , Amit Sengupta, Anil Choudhary, Apoorvanand, Colin Gonsalves, Digant Oza, Dr. Sandeep Pandey, Dr. Sayeda Hamid, Harsh Dobhal, Iftikhar Gilani, Jaya Mehta, John Dayal, Justice A.M. Ahmadi, Kamala Bhasin, Kavita Srivastava, Kshitij Urs, Kuldip Nayar, Manisha Sethi, Neeraj Jain, Poornima Joshi, Prashant Bhushan, Prof KN Panikkar , Prof Mushir ul Hasan, Prof Upendra Buxi, Prof. Rooprekha Verma, Satya Sivaraman, Shabnam Hashmi, Subhash Gatade, Suresh Khairnar, Swami Agnivesh, Tanika Sarkar, Vineet Tiwari, Yusuf Shaikh, Zafar Agha.
Partial List of those who participated
Aanchal Verma,Abdul Salam,Abhay Shukla,Abhimanue Upadhyaya,Achin Vanaik ,Ajay Kumar,Ajay Kumar Soni,AK Malakar,Ambarish Rai,Amit Sengupta,Amitabh Pandey,Amjad Khan,Amrita Nandy-Joshi,Anil Choudhary,Anil Kumar Aind,Anwar Hussain,Apoorvanand,Arindam Jit Singh,Arti,Arun Kumar Maji,Asad Zaidi,Ashim Boral,Asma saleem,Avinash Kumar,Azad Mohd,Azam Khan,Bhawan lal Tutan,Bibhu Prasad Mohanty,Biju Mohan,Brajesh Awasti,Brija Nand,C Sathyamala,Chandra Nigam,Chinnappa,Chitranjan Singh,Colin Gonsalves,D Manjit,Deendayal Vyas,Deepak Bhatt,Dhirendra Panda,Dhruv Narain,Dhruv Sangari,Digant Oza,Dinesh Parmar,DK Roy,Dolly Thakore,DP Singh,DR Alex George,Dr Srivella Prasad,Dr Umakant,Dr. Sandeep Pandey,Dr. Sayeda Hamid,Dushyantbhai Unjhakar,Ein Lall,Elsamma simon,Faisal Khan,Farha Naqvi,Gauhar Raza,Gobind,GS Gahlot,Harsh Dobhal,Harsha Hedge,Hitendra Chauhan,Iftikhar Gilani,Ilmuddin,Ishwar Singh Dost,Jaison Thomas,Javed Anis,Jaya Mehta,Jerome,John Chattanatt,John Dayal,Jugal Kishore Shastri,Jully Hembrom,Justice A.M. Ahmadi,Kalpana Mehta,Kamala Bhasin,Kausar Wizarat,Kaushal Kumar Singh,Kavita Srivastava,Khursheed Anwar,Kshitij Urs,Kuldip Nayar,Lalta Prasad,Leslie Rodericks,Leslie Rodricks,Lysa John,Madhu Chandra,Mahindr Pal Singh,Manisha Sethi,Manisha Trivedi,Mansi Sharma,Mehtab alam,Michelle Chawla,Mohan Kumawat,Mohd Arif,Mohd tasleem Shaikh,Mukesh Kumar,Mukul Manglik,Naim Khan,Nandipati Vinod Kumar,Naval Hans,ND Jayaprakash,Neeraj Jain,Neeraj Jain,Nidhi Makhija,Noor Mohammad,Noorjahan Diwan,Om Mittal,Onngam Haokif,Pankhudi Misra,Parveen Mansuri,Parvinder Singh,Pearl Drego,Piyush Pant,Poornima Joshi,Poorva Bhardwaj,Prasad,Prasant Kumar Bhuyan,Prashant Bhushan,Prof KN Panikkar ,Prof Mushir ul Hasan,Prof Upendra Buxi,Prof. Rooprekha Verma,Qamar Azad hashmi,R Bhaskaran,Raj Kumar Hooda,Rajendra motiyani,Rajesh Jakhar,Rangrez Shahnawaz Sabir Hussain,Rasheeda,Rebecca Kumi,Resham Singh,Rev Dr CK Simon,Rizwan Qaisar,Rumal ,Runu Chakraborty,S Alphonse Selvaraj,Sachin Pandya,Sadre Alam,Safia Akhtar,Sagari Chhabra,Saifuddin Khan,Saiyed Gulzar Fatma,Samiullah,Sandeep Sinha,Sanjay Kumar,Sanjay Sharma,Sarika Srivastava,Satya Sivaraman,Seema Duhan,Shabnam Hashmi,Shah Alam,Shakeel Ahmad Khan,Shiamala Baby,Shri Prakash,Shuchi jBajaj,Siddeq Khan,Sister Gracy D" Souza,SK Pande,Subhash Gatade,Subrata das,Sumshot Kitular,Suresh Khairnar,Suresh Nautiyal,Swami Agnivesh,Syed Shahid Mahdi,Tanika Sarkar,Tanvir Kazi,Tarakeshwari Negi,Than Singh Josh,Udyan Roy,Victor Raj,Vineet Tiwari,Waqar Qazi,Willy,Yogender Yadav,Yoginder Sikand,Yusuf Shaikh,Yusuf Shaikh,Zafar A haq,Zafar Agha,Zahoor Siddiqi,Zayaul Haque,Zoya Hasan, Zulaikha Jabeen and 600 others
Organizers
The Convention was organized by Academy of Public Understanding of Science, All India Christian Council, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, All India Quami Mahaz, All India Secular Forum, Alternatives, Aman Biradari, Aman Samudaya, ANHAD, Antarik Visthapit Hak Rakshak Samiti, Anweshi, Arya Samaj, ASHA Pariwar, Ashraya Adhikar Abhiyan, Asmita Collective, Awaz e- Niswana, Bandhua Mukti Morcha, Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Bihar Social Institute, BUILD, Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, Centre for Youth Development and Activities, Chattisgarh Jan Vigyan Vikas Sangthan, Centre for Information, Training, Research and Action, Commission for Religious Harmony, Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights , Countercurrents.org, Centre for Studies in Society and Secularism, Danish Publishers, Darpana Academy, Disha Social Organization , Ekta, Foundation for Educational Innovations in Asia, Global Gandhi Forum, GRAVIS, Holy Cross Convent, Human Rights Law Network, Indian Social Institute, Indian Social Action Forum ,INSAF Bulletin, Institute for Minority Women, Institute for Social Democracy, Jadugoda, Janadhikar Samuh, Jananeethi, Janvikas, JUDAV, Lok Sangharsh Morcha, Lokshakti Abhiyan, Mahatma Gandhi Foundation, MASUM, Media Action Group, Medico Friend Circle, Minorities Council, Muslim Women's Forum, National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, National Economic Forum for Muslims, Nazareth Mahila Samiti, NCHRO, Nishan, North East Support Centre & Helpline, Orissa Development Action Forum, Orissa Seek, Save & Development Society, Oxfam India, Popular Education & Action Centre ,People's Movement against Nuclear Energy, People's Research Society, People's Watch, PRASHANT, Religious Harmony Commission (CBCI), Roshan Vikas, Saheli, Sahrwaru, Sajhi Duniya, Sama, Samarpan, Sanchetana, Sandarbh, Sangat, Sarva Dharam Sansad, Shambhavi, South Asia Citizens Web, South Asians for Human Rights , SUTRA, Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, Udayan, Urja Ghar, Vikas Adhyan Kendra, Yuv Shakti.
The two-day national convention was attended by over 750 activists' and intellectuals from 18 states (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, J & K, Punjab, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh).
POLITICAL RESOLUTION PASSED AT THE CONVENTION
The urgency to intervene in defence of democracy, secularism and justice has never been more pressing than in the conditions prevailing in the country today.
The rise of communal fascism has emerged as a threat not only to its immediate victims but to the very long-term survival of India as a unified nation of diverse religious, linguistic and ethnic groups. The mysterious and condemnable acts of terrorism that have shaken different parts of the country have engendered a climate of fear, insecurity and fuelled the politics of communal division.
In recent months, vicious attacks have been mounted across India against religious minorities by Hindutva fascist organizations and communalism has even become the dominant tenor of public discourse. In Maharashtra the regional chauvinist forces of Bal and Raj Thackeray, both offsprings of the Hindutva politics of hate, has targeted north Indians in a bid to drive them out of the state.
The BJP, RSS and their allies in the Sangh Parivar have mounted a vicious campaign against the Christian community across India. Orissa and over 10 states have seen violent attacks on the Christian community, their institutions, religious places, property and businesses on the basis of fabricated stories and hate campaigns.
Throughout the country Muslim youth are being targeted, without any or little evidence, as responsible for the various bomb blasts taking place in the country. There is a concerted attempt by the Indian police, intelligence agencies and certain political parties to portray all members of the Muslim community as 'terrorists and extremists' - to be arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters. Sections of the media instead of investigating the truth are blindly parroting these sensational and unsubstantiated claims.
Even more disturbingly the accused are being systematically denied their basic right to legal defence by some bar associations themselves which have threatened, expelled and even violently attacked lawyers brave enough to take up these cases. The Indian judiciary has failed to take suo moto cognizance of such attacks as being contempt of court.
All this while hard evidence available against Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Sangh outfits of their direct involvement in terror attacks is not only being ignored but actively pushed under the carpet by the Indian state. The Hindutva terrorist groups like the Bajrang Dal are openly claiming responsibility for this communal violence against Christians and are yet being allowed to go scot-free.
There is a growing feeling among religious minority communities that the Indian state and judiciary is biased against them and unwilling to provide impartial justice even in cases such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid. No action has been taken on the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission report following the anti-Muslim pogrom in Mumbai of 1993. On the other hand some members of the judiciary are now willing to be puppets of communal forces, a dangerous trend set by the Nanavati Commission, which has exonerated the Narendra Modi government of responsibility for the Gujarat Genocide of 2002.
Instead of confronting these fascist forces the Indian state is cracking down hard on 'soft targets' like human rights and social activists. The fundamental rights of life, liberty, freedom of speech, religion and dissent guaranteed to all citizens by the Indian Constitution are being shred to pieces right in front of our eyes.
Entire swathes of the Indian North-East and Kashmir are covered by the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) that authorises even the lowest soldier to shoot and kill civilians on mere suspicion of their being 'militants'. In Chhattisgarh, large numbers of citizens continue to be detained using the highly restrictive Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA). Those defending the rights of the poor, Dalit, Adivasis and other marginalised people are being falsely branded as 'extremists' and 'anti-nationals'. The state sponsored, unconstitutional 'Salwa Judum' campaign, which has unleashed horrific violence on innocent tribal populations over the past four years in the name of countering Maoism, is being justified by none other than the National Human Rights Commission itself.
All this is happening even as the forces of imperialism led by the United States, under the pretext of the so-called Global War on Terror, are busy re-colonising entire nations from Iraq to Afghanistan and are now targeting Pakistan in the immediate neighbourhood of India. The global media is contributing to this politics of hatred by demonizing Muslims worldwide and frightening ordinary citizens into giving up their basic democratic rights everywhere.
Within the country, the pattern of elitist development has turned a vast majority of the population into second-class citizens, reinforcing with misguided policies the apartheid of the ancient and racist caste system. The ghost of the East India Company, buried long ago, is being resurrected in myriad forms and those who run the Indian state are willfully abetting the return of a neo-colonial order.
It is a state of affairs that calls upon all those who value Indian independence, democratic rights and social justice to come forward, take responsibility and resist the onslaught by fascist and imperialist forces on the foundations of our national values and existence. We also urge all anti-communal activists and secular political parties to forge alliance to defeat fascism and communalism. We, the delegates and participants of the National Convention on Countering Fascism: Defending the Idea of India in New Delhi held on 25-26 October 2008 resolve as follows to:
1) Call for the resignation of Shivraj Patil, Home Minister of India for his abject failure to prevent bomb attacks in major Indian cities; take action against Hindutva terrorists despite evidence provided to him by civil society groups; stop the Sangh Parivar's attacks on Christian populations in Orissa, Karnataka and other parts of India; and for using fake police encounters and false evidence against Muslim youth to save his political career;
2) Call for the dismissal of M.K.Narayanan, National Security Adviser for incompetence and all the intelligence lapses leading to rise in to both terrorist and communal violence;
3) Demand prosecution of all members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and ABVP who have links with Hindutva terrorist organisations, such as the ones implicated in the Malegaon bomb blasts.
4) Condemn the UPA government for falling prey to the Hindutva agenda while paying lip service to secularism.
5) Demand the setting up of a time-bound judicial inquiry into the Jamia Nagar 'encounter' headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court;
6) Review major cases of 'terrorist' attacks and immediately release those against whom there is no evidence of any kind; implementation of NHRC instruction regarding independent investigation into all deaths in police custody and in police encounters over the last 5 years;
7) Call for a ban on RSS, the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad for terrorist, anti-national activities and seizure of their national and international assets; a White Paper on the terrorist activities of these organizations;
8) Demand the presentation of a White Paper on the scope of India's "war on terrorism" and the level of its cooperation and collaboration with the US-led war on terror;
9) Enact the Communal Violence Bill after thorough revision in consultation with citizen's bodies, human rights groups and anti-communal organisations across India;
10) Provide immediate relief and compensation to the victims of communal terrorism in Orissa and other states including reconstruction of destroyed private property and restoration of livelihood. Set up a permanent statutory body to deal with such issues in future.
11) Demand the formation of a strong statutory body like election commission (or extend the scope of the EC) to monitor pre-election conduct of political parties and their leaders which generally leads up to polarization of vote banks. Such a body should have a right to disqualify party and/or its functionaries or elected representatives in the legislature in the wake of a breach of conduct;
12) The immediate release of Human Rights Defenders, such as Dr Binayak Sen, who have been arrested for exposing police atrocities and state violence against innocent citizens.
13) Demand a White Paper on misuse of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Kashmir and the Indian North-East and the immediate withdrawal; search for a political rather than military solution to the Kashmir problem;
14) A national commission of inquiry into the misuse of special security laws by the police to arrest members of the minority community in false cases of terrorism
PROMINENT SPEAKERS AT THE CONVENTION
Abhay Shukla, Achin Vanaik , Amit Sengupta, Anil Choudhary, Apoorvanand, Colin Gonsalves, Digant Oza, Dr. Sandeep Pandey, Dr. Sayeda Hamid, Harsh Dobhal, Iftikhar Gilani, Jaya Mehta, John Dayal, Justice A.M. Ahmadi, Kamala Bhasin, Kavita Srivastava, Kshitij Urs, Kuldip Nayar, Manisha Sethi, Neeraj Jain, Poornima Joshi, Prashant Bhushan, Prof KN Panikkar , Prof Mushir ul Hasan, Prof Upendra Buxi, Prof. Rooprekha Verma, Satya Sivaraman, Shabnam Hashmi, Subhash Gatade, Suresh Khairnar, Swami Agnivesh, Tanika Sarkar, Vineet Tiwari, Yusuf Shaikh, Zafar Agha.
Partial List of those who participated
Aanchal Verma,Abdul Salam,Abhay Shukla,Abhimanue Upadhyaya,Achin Vanaik ,Ajay Kumar,Ajay Kumar Soni,AK Malakar,Ambarish Rai,Amit Sengupta,Amitabh Pandey,Amjad Khan,Amrita Nandy-Joshi,Anil Choudhary,Anil Kumar Aind,Anwar Hussain,Apoorvanand,Arindam Jit Singh,Arti,Arun Kumar Maji,Asad Zaidi,Ashim Boral,Asma saleem,Avinash Kumar,Azad Mohd,Azam Khan,Bhawan lal Tutan,Bibhu Prasad Mohanty,Biju Mohan,Brajesh Awasti,Brija Nand,C Sathyamala,Chandra Nigam,Chinnappa,Chitranjan Singh,Colin Gonsalves,D Manjit,Deendayal Vyas,Deepak Bhatt,Dhirendra Panda,Dhruv Narain,Dhruv Sangari,Digant Oza,Dinesh Parmar,DK Roy,Dolly Thakore,DP Singh,DR Alex George,Dr Srivella Prasad,Dr Umakant,Dr. Sandeep Pandey,Dr. Sayeda Hamid,Dushyantbhai Unjhakar,Ein Lall,Elsamma simon,Faisal Khan,Farha Naqvi,Gauhar Raza,Gobind,GS Gahlot,Harsh Dobhal,Harsha Hedge,Hitendra Chauhan,Iftikhar Gilani,Ilmuddin,Ishwar Singh Dost,Jaison Thomas,Javed Anis,Jaya Mehta,Jerome,John Chattanatt,John Dayal,Jugal Kishore Shastri,Jully Hembrom,Justice A.M. Ahmadi,Kalpana Mehta,Kamala Bhasin,Kausar Wizarat,Kaushal Kumar Singh,Kavita Srivastava,Khursheed Anwar,Kshitij Urs,Kuldip Nayar,Lalta Prasad,Leslie Rodericks,Leslie Rodricks,Lysa John,Madhu Chandra,Mahindr Pal Singh,Manisha Sethi,Manisha Trivedi,Mansi Sharma,Mehtab alam,Michelle Chawla,Mohan Kumawat,Mohd Arif,Mohd tasleem Shaikh,Mukesh Kumar,Mukul Manglik,Naim Khan,Nandipati Vinod Kumar,Naval Hans,ND Jayaprakash,Neeraj Jain,Neeraj Jain,Nidhi Makhija,Noor Mohammad,Noorjahan Diwan,Om Mittal,Onngam Haokif,Pankhudi Misra,Parveen Mansuri,Parvinder Singh,Pearl Drego,Piyush Pant,Poornima Joshi,Poorva Bhardwaj,Prasad,Prasant Kumar Bhuyan,Prashant Bhushan,Prof KN Panikkar ,Prof Mushir ul Hasan,Prof Upendra Buxi,Prof. Rooprekha Verma,Qamar Azad hashmi,R Bhaskaran,Raj Kumar Hooda,Rajendra motiyani,Rajesh Jakhar,Rangrez Shahnawaz Sabir Hussain,Rasheeda,Rebecca Kumi,Resham Singh,Rev Dr CK Simon,Rizwan Qaisar,Rumal ,Runu Chakraborty,S Alphonse Selvaraj,Sachin Pandya,Sadre Alam,Safia Akhtar,Sagari Chhabra,Saifuddin Khan,Saiyed Gulzar Fatma,Samiullah,Sandeep Sinha,Sanjay Kumar,Sanjay Sharma,Sarika Srivastava,Satya Sivaraman,Seema Duhan,Shabnam Hashmi,Shah Alam,Shakeel Ahmad Khan,Shiamala Baby,Shri Prakash,Shuchi jBajaj,Siddeq Khan,Sister Gracy D" Souza,SK Pande,Subhash Gatade,Subrata das,Sumshot Kitular,Suresh Khairnar,Suresh Nautiyal,Swami Agnivesh,Syed Shahid Mahdi,Tanika Sarkar,Tanvir Kazi,Tarakeshwari Negi,Than Singh Josh,Udyan Roy,Victor Raj,Vineet Tiwari,Waqar Qazi,Willy,Yogender Yadav,Yoginder Sikand,Yusuf Shaikh,Yusuf Shaikh,Zafar A haq,Zafar Agha,Zahoor Siddiqi,Zayaul Haque,Zoya Hasan, Zulaikha Jabeen and 600 others
Organizers
The Convention was organized by Academy of Public Understanding of Science, All India Christian Council, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, All India Quami Mahaz, All India Secular Forum, Alternatives, Aman Biradari, Aman Samudaya, ANHAD, Antarik Visthapit Hak Rakshak Samiti, Anweshi, Arya Samaj, ASHA Pariwar, Ashraya Adhikar Abhiyan, Asmita Collective, Awaz e- Niswana, Bandhua Mukti Morcha, Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Bihar Social Institute, BUILD, Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, Centre for Youth Development and Activities, Chattisgarh Jan Vigyan Vikas Sangthan, Centre for Information, Training, Research and Action, Commission for Religious Harmony, Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights , Countercurrents.org, Centre for Studies in Society and Secularism, Danish Publishers, Darpana Academy, Disha Social Organization , Ekta, Foundation for Educational Innovations in Asia, Global Gandhi Forum, GRAVIS, Holy Cross Convent, Human Rights Law Network, Indian Social Institute, Indian Social Action Forum ,INSAF Bulletin, Institute for Minority Women, Institute for Social Democracy, Jadugoda, Janadhikar Samuh, Jananeethi, Janvikas, JUDAV, Lok Sangharsh Morcha, Lokshakti Abhiyan, Mahatma Gandhi Foundation, MASUM, Media Action Group, Medico Friend Circle, Minorities Council, Muslim Women's Forum, National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, National Economic Forum for Muslims, Nazareth Mahila Samiti, NCHRO, Nishan, North East Support Centre & Helpline, Orissa Development Action Forum, Orissa Seek, Save & Development Society, Oxfam India, Popular Education & Action Centre ,People's Movement against Nuclear Energy, People's Research Society, People's Watch, PRASHANT, Religious Harmony Commission (CBCI), Roshan Vikas, Saheli, Sahrwaru, Sajhi Duniya, Sama, Samarpan, Sanchetana, Sandarbh, Sangat, Sarva Dharam Sansad, Shambhavi, South Asia Citizens Web, South Asians for Human Rights , SUTRA, Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, Udayan, Urja Ghar, Vikas Adhyan Kendra, Yuv Shakti.
23 October, 2008
Whither India: Qualitative change In polity
by Ram Puniyani
23 October, 2008
Countercurrents.org
Last six months have been most disturbing on the Indian political scene. As far as the values of integration are concerned they are being attacked very severely by terrorist-communal forces. First, we saw the series of bomb blasts, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Malegaon. It was projected by the authorities that all these acts are due to Jehadi Muslim groups that police have succeeded in cracking the network. One outcome of this was the Batla house encounter in which police, bravely killed the terrorists. It put out a version that now the terror ring has been busted and kingpins have been arrested. It is another matter that later the relevant-uncomfortable questions were raised and satisfactory answers to these were not forthcoming. On the top of this the claim that Malegaon blasts were done by SIMI proved to be false as the investigation showed the possibility of ABVP/Bajrang Dal being involved in same.
During the same time two Bajrang dal Activists got killed while making bomb in Kanpur, two activists of Hindu Jagran Samiti were involved in placing the bombs in Thane due to which seven people got injured. During this time again in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, the bombs went off near RSS office and as usual the cry of wolf was made, but the wolf here had different shades than what RSS wanted to propagate, as most of those planting the bombs turned out to be Hindus, with affiliation, which are not difficult to guess.
During the same time the anti Christian violence was orchestrated and launched in Orissa to begin with, later on spilling to Karnataka. The pretext first was that Christians have beaten Swami Laxmananand (December 2007) and later that Christians have killed the swami. Interestingly a Maoist group claimed to have killed him but the RSS combine stated that they don’t believe in the claim of Maoists, meaning there by that they have the right to decide who the culprit is!
The third tragedy related to the Hindu Muslim violence in Burhanpur, Dhulia and few other places on the slightest pretext of tearing a banner or some such. What is disturbing is the way things are shaping in the country. The anti Muslim hate propaganda, which has been sustained on various myths have gradually been taking he shape of deep rooted perceptions. Earlier lot of planning and bigger pretext was needed to unleash the violence, now even a small pretext suffices to initiate the mayhem. Some of the properties are well marked in advance for destroying. The loss of lives of minorities is many times more than their presence in population.
The stereotyping of Muslim community through reporting of acts of terror has boosted the negative perception of the community in a serious way. At the same time the there is a realization that there are two set of laws, that they will not get justice and that their feeling of insecurity in the society is going up by leaps and bounds. One does not know whether this disturbs the ruling coalition or not. For Muslim minorities to keep faith in the Governemnt in such circumstances is not difficult, it is impossible.
Christian minority was not the target till quite late. As the hate propaganda based on make believe forcible conversions, allurement, insult of our gods, foreign money keep percolating in the society, and a silent sanction for attacking them started building up. Now even a slightest pretext is sufficient to undertake the despicable violence against the community.
This is a clear case as to how already a social mind set has been created, through word of mouth propaganda and media where by the minorities have been demonized and now the violence against them has become the order of the day. Even the global phenomenon of terrorism and local phenomenon has added on to the same and in this case Islamic terrorism, and ‘all terrorists are Muslims’ has been made the fodder of social thinking. As such, starting from Golwalkar, RSS’s formulation that Muslims and Christians are threats to Hindu nation, to the present day, there is a consistent worsening of the level of demonization of minorities.
These entire social phenomenons are raising a deeper question related to our democracy. Democracy not only ensures that are citizens are treated equally it also stands for giving affirmative action for weaker sections of society. As such the litmus test of democracy is the welfare and security of minorities. Here we see that as to how the marginal stream which came up during freedom movement and kept aloof from it, the Hindutva vehicle, RSS, has been successfully working, using the democratic space to abolish, precisely the democratic values which gave it a space to stand. While totally defamed after Gandhi murder by one of its followers, its acceptability began with Jayapraksh Narayan letting it run the movement, which led to emergency and later formation of Janata Party. RSS began by spreading hate against Muslims and Christians, formulated by its founders and penned by its ideologue, M.S. Golwalkar. Golwalkar instructed that Muslims, Christians and Communists are the threat to Hindu nation. The RSS shakhhas kept spreading this ceaselessly and it became a part of social common sense over a period of time.
RSS also planted its swayamsevaks in different walks of social and political life, education, media, police, bureaucracy etc. Once its political child, Jana Sangh became part of Janata party, it ensured that large number of swaymsevaks become part of media establishment. And later during NDA regime, this game of theirs’ had a field day. Capping these efforts through Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, social engineering got intensified in Adivasi areas. With US administration coining the word ‘Islamic terrorism’ and that propaganda that Madrassas are the dens of training terrorists; RSS completed its indoctrination module.
The deadly poison it spread against minorities first spread hate and created divides in the communities, leading to ‘hate other’, which in turn forms the base of communal violence. Communal violence in Indian context gets assistance from the communalized state apparatus, sections of police in particular leading to polarization of communities and rise to political power of the communal party. The conveyer belt begins from demonizing other and leads to the RSS’s political child becoming politically strong. That’s how a political party which managed two seats in parliament in1984 elections has become formidable electoral force today, knocking the democratic values and imposing the religion based nationalism.
Though not in power in center, its machinations are polarizing the society all over, creating divisions in the society, rampaging the rule of law and paving the way for creeping fascism. What is happening today is reminder of how things happened in Germany, with Hitler leading the carnage. Beginning with hate Jews and then Christian minorities, then Communists and trade unionists paved the way for the stifling atmosphere of fascism, authoritarian state with social base. Today we seem to be helplessly watching a similar situation. While RSS combine is behaving like a rampaging bull, Bajrang Dal planting bombs, its workers carrying arms openly, distributing trishuls en masse, the state ruled by so called secular combine, UPA alliance seems to be a helpless observer, as the whole machinery itself seems to be affected by the communal virus.
Where do we go from here? Opposition to this fascist politics, fighting it tooth and nail cannot be postponed by a single minute. The time has come that all those believing in democracy and welfare of all need to come together and put and end to the politics of hate. Popular front at social and political level is the need of the day. The power seeker political formations may not look beyond their personal gains but the social movements need to put the pressure in the right direction for these political people to hang together before we are hanged separately. It is not just a question of opposition to one political formation. The question is can we let the RSS version of Hindusim destroy the Kabir and Gandhi version of Hinduism and religion? The question is can we let the innocent minorities be the scapegoats for the fascist politics to keep on going? Should we let the democratic space be usurped by those wanting to bring in a nation state in the name of religion?
Whether India will nurture the values of freedom movement and strive for human rights of all depends on us, as in no time in the past the very concept of democracy has been stifled as much as we are witnessing today.
23 October, 2008
Countercurrents.org
Last six months have been most disturbing on the Indian political scene. As far as the values of integration are concerned they are being attacked very severely by terrorist-communal forces. First, we saw the series of bomb blasts, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Malegaon. It was projected by the authorities that all these acts are due to Jehadi Muslim groups that police have succeeded in cracking the network. One outcome of this was the Batla house encounter in which police, bravely killed the terrorists. It put out a version that now the terror ring has been busted and kingpins have been arrested. It is another matter that later the relevant-uncomfortable questions were raised and satisfactory answers to these were not forthcoming. On the top of this the claim that Malegaon blasts were done by SIMI proved to be false as the investigation showed the possibility of ABVP/Bajrang Dal being involved in same.
During the same time two Bajrang dal Activists got killed while making bomb in Kanpur, two activists of Hindu Jagran Samiti were involved in placing the bombs in Thane due to which seven people got injured. During this time again in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, the bombs went off near RSS office and as usual the cry of wolf was made, but the wolf here had different shades than what RSS wanted to propagate, as most of those planting the bombs turned out to be Hindus, with affiliation, which are not difficult to guess.
During the same time the anti Christian violence was orchestrated and launched in Orissa to begin with, later on spilling to Karnataka. The pretext first was that Christians have beaten Swami Laxmananand (December 2007) and later that Christians have killed the swami. Interestingly a Maoist group claimed to have killed him but the RSS combine stated that they don’t believe in the claim of Maoists, meaning there by that they have the right to decide who the culprit is!
The third tragedy related to the Hindu Muslim violence in Burhanpur, Dhulia and few other places on the slightest pretext of tearing a banner or some such. What is disturbing is the way things are shaping in the country. The anti Muslim hate propaganda, which has been sustained on various myths have gradually been taking he shape of deep rooted perceptions. Earlier lot of planning and bigger pretext was needed to unleash the violence, now even a small pretext suffices to initiate the mayhem. Some of the properties are well marked in advance for destroying. The loss of lives of minorities is many times more than their presence in population.
The stereotyping of Muslim community through reporting of acts of terror has boosted the negative perception of the community in a serious way. At the same time the there is a realization that there are two set of laws, that they will not get justice and that their feeling of insecurity in the society is going up by leaps and bounds. One does not know whether this disturbs the ruling coalition or not. For Muslim minorities to keep faith in the Governemnt in such circumstances is not difficult, it is impossible.
Christian minority was not the target till quite late. As the hate propaganda based on make believe forcible conversions, allurement, insult of our gods, foreign money keep percolating in the society, and a silent sanction for attacking them started building up. Now even a slightest pretext is sufficient to undertake the despicable violence against the community.
This is a clear case as to how already a social mind set has been created, through word of mouth propaganda and media where by the minorities have been demonized and now the violence against them has become the order of the day. Even the global phenomenon of terrorism and local phenomenon has added on to the same and in this case Islamic terrorism, and ‘all terrorists are Muslims’ has been made the fodder of social thinking. As such, starting from Golwalkar, RSS’s formulation that Muslims and Christians are threats to Hindu nation, to the present day, there is a consistent worsening of the level of demonization of minorities.
These entire social phenomenons are raising a deeper question related to our democracy. Democracy not only ensures that are citizens are treated equally it also stands for giving affirmative action for weaker sections of society. As such the litmus test of democracy is the welfare and security of minorities. Here we see that as to how the marginal stream which came up during freedom movement and kept aloof from it, the Hindutva vehicle, RSS, has been successfully working, using the democratic space to abolish, precisely the democratic values which gave it a space to stand. While totally defamed after Gandhi murder by one of its followers, its acceptability began with Jayapraksh Narayan letting it run the movement, which led to emergency and later formation of Janata Party. RSS began by spreading hate against Muslims and Christians, formulated by its founders and penned by its ideologue, M.S. Golwalkar. Golwalkar instructed that Muslims, Christians and Communists are the threat to Hindu nation. The RSS shakhhas kept spreading this ceaselessly and it became a part of social common sense over a period of time.
RSS also planted its swayamsevaks in different walks of social and political life, education, media, police, bureaucracy etc. Once its political child, Jana Sangh became part of Janata party, it ensured that large number of swaymsevaks become part of media establishment. And later during NDA regime, this game of theirs’ had a field day. Capping these efforts through Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, social engineering got intensified in Adivasi areas. With US administration coining the word ‘Islamic terrorism’ and that propaganda that Madrassas are the dens of training terrorists; RSS completed its indoctrination module.
The deadly poison it spread against minorities first spread hate and created divides in the communities, leading to ‘hate other’, which in turn forms the base of communal violence. Communal violence in Indian context gets assistance from the communalized state apparatus, sections of police in particular leading to polarization of communities and rise to political power of the communal party. The conveyer belt begins from demonizing other and leads to the RSS’s political child becoming politically strong. That’s how a political party which managed two seats in parliament in1984 elections has become formidable electoral force today, knocking the democratic values and imposing the religion based nationalism.
Though not in power in center, its machinations are polarizing the society all over, creating divisions in the society, rampaging the rule of law and paving the way for creeping fascism. What is happening today is reminder of how things happened in Germany, with Hitler leading the carnage. Beginning with hate Jews and then Christian minorities, then Communists and trade unionists paved the way for the stifling atmosphere of fascism, authoritarian state with social base. Today we seem to be helplessly watching a similar situation. While RSS combine is behaving like a rampaging bull, Bajrang Dal planting bombs, its workers carrying arms openly, distributing trishuls en masse, the state ruled by so called secular combine, UPA alliance seems to be a helpless observer, as the whole machinery itself seems to be affected by the communal virus.
Where do we go from here? Opposition to this fascist politics, fighting it tooth and nail cannot be postponed by a single minute. The time has come that all those believing in democracy and welfare of all need to come together and put and end to the politics of hate. Popular front at social and political level is the need of the day. The power seeker political formations may not look beyond their personal gains but the social movements need to put the pressure in the right direction for these political people to hang together before we are hanged separately. It is not just a question of opposition to one political formation. The question is can we let the RSS version of Hindusim destroy the Kabir and Gandhi version of Hinduism and religion? The question is can we let the innocent minorities be the scapegoats for the fascist politics to keep on going? Should we let the democratic space be usurped by those wanting to bring in a nation state in the name of religion?
Whether India will nurture the values of freedom movement and strive for human rights of all depends on us, as in no time in the past the very concept of democracy has been stifled as much as we are witnessing today.
09 October, 2008
Two Conventions against Communalism and Fascism
Plans for two conventions to be held in New Delhi in October have been announced. One is a Convention against Communalism and Assault on Democracy. The other is a National Convention against Fascism.
The CONVENTION AGAINST COMMUNALISM AND ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY is to be held on OCTOBER 18, 2008 from 3.30 PM TO 7PM at MAVLANKAR AUDITORIUM RAFI MARG, NEW DELHI-110001.
The following is a note circulated by the organizers:
It is clear today that our secular and democratic republic faces a challenge regarding its very character. The Bajrang Dal and the VHP, with the open support of the BJP -- and in the states it is ruling with the help of the state machinery -- have mounted a savage attack on the Christians and Muslims. Tens of thousands are in refugee camps
in Orissa and Assam. Churches are being attacked in Karnataka. Communal violence, clashes and hatred between communities are now a preparation for the elections.
The secular forces and the civil society need to intervene if we are to resist these attacks. Towards building a broad initiative on this issue, we are calling for a convention. Convention against Communalism and Assault On Democracy.
The following are listed to speak at the convention:
Shri Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M)
Shri A.B. Bardhan, General Secretary, CPI
Shri Tahir Mehmood, Former Chairman, Minority Commission
Archbishop Vincent Concecao
Shri Mushirul Hasan, Vice Chancellor Jamia Millia Islamia University
Shri H.D. Deve Gowda, President Janata Dal(S)
Shri Yerran Naidu, Telegu Desam
Shri Kuldip Nayyar, Eminent Journalist
Shri S.P. Shukla, Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance.
Kumari Mayavati, Leader of the BSP and Chief Minister of UP is also
being requested to speak. The organizers are awaiting her confirmation.
The following are the organizers:
Seema Mustafa, Anu Chenoy, Kamal Chenoy, SP Shukla, Zafrul Islam Khan, Shahid Siddiqui, John Dayal, Zafar Agha, P.M.S. Grewal, Amarjit Kaur, Valson Thampu, Zakia Jowher, Kamala Bhasin, Asghar Wajahat, Vivan Sundaram, Danish Ali ,Vijender Sharma, Bijulal MV, Benny K, Vimalbhai, Dinesh Varsheny, Sagari Chabra, Vincent Manoharan, Sudhir Kumar, SQ Ilyas, MJ Vijayan Sehba Farooqui, Albeena Shakil, Sidheshwar Shukla, Ravindranathan, Rohit, Ginu Zacharia, Shaswati Mazumdar, Kewal Goswami, Rachpal Kaur, Dheerendra
Sharma, Arjumand Ara, Ramanand, S.S.. Sisodia, Mahesh Rathi, Jaishree, Prabir Purkayastha and others.
The NATIONAL CONVENTION AGAINST FASCISM is to be held on OCTOBER 25-26, 2008 in NEW DELHI
The following is a communication from ANHAD, which is organizing this convention:
The urgency to intervene in defense of democracy, secularism and justice has never been more pressing than in the conditions prevailing in the country today. There is a recognizable change in the general tenor of public discourse; unlike in the past, it is informed more by the communal than by secular ethos. Concerted attacks have been mounted across India by communal fascist organizations by invoking religious symbols and sentiments. There is total apathy and indecisiveness towards confronting this challenge by those in power.
RSS and organizations under its umbrella have mounted a vicious campaign against the Christian community across India. Over 10 states have seen violent attacks on the Christian community , their institutions, religious places, property and businesses during the past one month. The culprits behind the communal violence against Christians in Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and other states are being allowed to go scot-free.
The recent attacks on Christian religious institutions are in fact openly claimed by Hindutva terrorist groups, like the Bajrang Dal, in front of television news cameras and yet no action is taken against them.
Throughout the country Muslim youth are being targeted, without any or little evidence, as responsible for terrorist attacks. There is a concerted attempt by the Indian police, sections of the media and certain political parties to portray all members of the Muslim community as 'terrorists and extremists' - to be arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters.
On the other hand hard evidence available against Bajrang Dal and other Sangh outfits about their direct involvement in terror attacks is not only being ignored but actively being pushed under the carpet by the state.
The spaces uncolonized by the RSS network are decreasing by the day. The threat from the fascist forces is not only to the survival and dignity of India but to the very idea of India.
We feel that there is urgent need to call for a national convention to challenge the forces of fascism. We had sent out sms messages to about 40 organisations to get a response from them about the possibility of organizing a national convention on 25 and 26 October, 2008 in New Delhi.
All those who responded felt the need for this convention.
Please respond urgently to this mail:
1. By endorsing the convention- send the name of your organization/ individual
2. By supporting your own travel and if your organization can support the travel of 5-10 people from your state who are working on these issues.
3. Wherever possible arrange for your own stay in Delhi. Those who can't inform us in advance.
4. Groups in Delhi- Help in sponsoring the breakfast/ lunch and dinner for the convention and stay for the outstation participants.
5. Please inform us how many people from your group will participate and whether any/ all of them will require stay arrangements in Delhi.
The program for the two days is being finalized . Please send suggestions . We will also inform the venue and the final schedule for the convention as soon as it is finalised after hearing from more groups/ individuals.
Shabnam Hashmi
ANHAD
Tel- 23070740/ 23070722
e-mail: anhad.delhi@gmail.com
The following groups have responded to the sms message and already endorsed Anhad's call for the convention:
All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch
All India Quami Mahaz
Aman Samudaya
ANHAD
Antarik Visthapit Hak Rakshak Samiti
ASHA Pariwar
Awaz e- Niswana
Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
CSSS
Darpana Academy
EKTA
ICHRO
Insaf
ISD
Janvikas
Mahatma Gandhi Foundation
National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights
Peace
People's Research Society
Roshan Vikas
Sahrwaru
Sajhi Duniya
Samarpan
Sanchetana
Sandarbh
Urja Ghar
Yuv Shakti
The CONVENTION AGAINST COMMUNALISM AND ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY is to be held on OCTOBER 18, 2008 from 3.30 PM TO 7PM at MAVLANKAR AUDITORIUM RAFI MARG, NEW DELHI-110001.
The following is a note circulated by the organizers:
It is clear today that our secular and democratic republic faces a challenge regarding its very character. The Bajrang Dal and the VHP, with the open support of the BJP -- and in the states it is ruling with the help of the state machinery -- have mounted a savage attack on the Christians and Muslims. Tens of thousands are in refugee camps
in Orissa and Assam. Churches are being attacked in Karnataka. Communal violence, clashes and hatred between communities are now a preparation for the elections.
The secular forces and the civil society need to intervene if we are to resist these attacks. Towards building a broad initiative on this issue, we are calling for a convention. Convention against Communalism and Assault On Democracy.
The following are listed to speak at the convention:
Shri Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M)
Shri A.B. Bardhan, General Secretary, CPI
Shri Tahir Mehmood, Former Chairman, Minority Commission
Archbishop Vincent Concecao
Shri Mushirul Hasan, Vice Chancellor Jamia Millia Islamia University
Shri H.D. Deve Gowda, President Janata Dal(S)
Shri Yerran Naidu, Telegu Desam
Shri Kuldip Nayyar, Eminent Journalist
Shri S.P. Shukla, Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance.
Kumari Mayavati, Leader of the BSP and Chief Minister of UP is also
being requested to speak. The organizers are awaiting her confirmation.
The following are the organizers:
Seema Mustafa, Anu Chenoy, Kamal Chenoy, SP Shukla, Zafrul Islam Khan, Shahid Siddiqui, John Dayal, Zafar Agha, P.M.S. Grewal, Amarjit Kaur, Valson Thampu, Zakia Jowher, Kamala Bhasin, Asghar Wajahat, Vivan Sundaram, Danish Ali ,Vijender Sharma, Bijulal MV, Benny K, Vimalbhai, Dinesh Varsheny, Sagari Chabra, Vincent Manoharan, Sudhir Kumar, SQ Ilyas, MJ Vijayan Sehba Farooqui, Albeena Shakil, Sidheshwar Shukla, Ravindranathan, Rohit, Ginu Zacharia, Shaswati Mazumdar, Kewal Goswami, Rachpal Kaur, Dheerendra
Sharma, Arjumand Ara, Ramanand, S.S.. Sisodia, Mahesh Rathi, Jaishree, Prabir Purkayastha and others.
The NATIONAL CONVENTION AGAINST FASCISM is to be held on OCTOBER 25-26, 2008 in NEW DELHI
The following is a communication from ANHAD, which is organizing this convention:
The urgency to intervene in defense of democracy, secularism and justice has never been more pressing than in the conditions prevailing in the country today. There is a recognizable change in the general tenor of public discourse; unlike in the past, it is informed more by the communal than by secular ethos. Concerted attacks have been mounted across India by communal fascist organizations by invoking religious symbols and sentiments. There is total apathy and indecisiveness towards confronting this challenge by those in power.
RSS and organizations under its umbrella have mounted a vicious campaign against the Christian community across India. Over 10 states have seen violent attacks on the Christian community , their institutions, religious places, property and businesses during the past one month. The culprits behind the communal violence against Christians in Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and other states are being allowed to go scot-free.
The recent attacks on Christian religious institutions are in fact openly claimed by Hindutva terrorist groups, like the Bajrang Dal, in front of television news cameras and yet no action is taken against them.
Throughout the country Muslim youth are being targeted, without any or little evidence, as responsible for terrorist attacks. There is a concerted attempt by the Indian police, sections of the media and certain political parties to portray all members of the Muslim community as 'terrorists and extremists' - to be arbitrarily arrested, tortured and killed in fake encounters.
On the other hand hard evidence available against Bajrang Dal and other Sangh outfits about their direct involvement in terror attacks is not only being ignored but actively being pushed under the carpet by the state.
The spaces uncolonized by the RSS network are decreasing by the day. The threat from the fascist forces is not only to the survival and dignity of India but to the very idea of India.
We feel that there is urgent need to call for a national convention to challenge the forces of fascism. We had sent out sms messages to about 40 organisations to get a response from them about the possibility of organizing a national convention on 25 and 26 October, 2008 in New Delhi.
All those who responded felt the need for this convention.
Please respond urgently to this mail:
1. By endorsing the convention- send the name of your organization/ individual
2. By supporting your own travel and if your organization can support the travel of 5-10 people from your state who are working on these issues.
3. Wherever possible arrange for your own stay in Delhi. Those who can't inform us in advance.
4. Groups in Delhi- Help in sponsoring the breakfast/ lunch and dinner for the convention and stay for the outstation participants.
5. Please inform us how many people from your group will participate and whether any/ all of them will require stay arrangements in Delhi.
The program for the two days is being finalized . Please send suggestions . We will also inform the venue and the final schedule for the convention as soon as it is finalised after hearing from more groups/ individuals.
Shabnam Hashmi
ANHAD
Tel- 23070740/ 23070722
e-mail: anhad.delhi@gmail.com
The following groups have responded to the sms message and already endorsed Anhad's call for the convention:
All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch
All India Quami Mahaz
Aman Samudaya
ANHAD
Antarik Visthapit Hak Rakshak Samiti
ASHA Pariwar
Awaz e- Niswana
Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
CSSS
Darpana Academy
EKTA
ICHRO
Insaf
ISD
Janvikas
Mahatma Gandhi Foundation
National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights
Peace
People's Research Society
Roshan Vikas
Sahrwaru
Sajhi Duniya
Samarpan
Sanchetana
Sandarbh
Urja Ghar
Yuv Shakti
06 January, 2008
American democracy uses fascist methods against critics
Cold War-era files declassified last week reveal that FBI director J. Edgar Hoover repeatedly advised President Harry Truman to arrest "all individuals potentially dangerous" to national security, jail them in military prisons and try them before kangaroo tribunals that "will not be bound by the rules of evidence."
This prompts Ted Rall, author of the book "Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?," to make this observation: "In a country whose legal framework authorizes the government to kidnap, torture and murder them, opponents of U.S. policy must decide whether getting out of line--anything from a letter to the editor to direct action--is worth the risk of getting kidnapped, tortured and murdered."
Ted Rall's essay "An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove" is at countercurrents.org
This prompts Ted Rall, author of the book "Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?," to make this observation: "In a country whose legal framework authorizes the government to kidnap, torture and murder them, opponents of U.S. policy must decide whether getting out of line--anything from a letter to the editor to direct action--is worth the risk of getting kidnapped, tortured and murdered."
Ted Rall's essay "An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove" is at countercurrents.org
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