I am a Muslim and an Indian

I am a Muslim and an Indian

 I am a Muslim and an Indian because my heart cries every time a human is slaughtered in the name of religion

I am in shambles whenever the ‘up holders’ of rule of law use it to justify murders, rapes and pograms.

I am a Muslim and an Indian because my tears do not recognize the difference between an Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Dalit, Tamizhan, Kannadiga, Telugu, Malayali or an Atheist

It pains to witness the Courts being used as the sheltor of merchants of deaths, rapists, murderers instead of as a place to deliver Justice.

I am appalled when judgements, meant to deliver messages of justice, call out for injustice.

I cry when innocent youth - my brothers and your brothers - lose their lives in fake encounters.

I am appalled when ordinary Muslim youth lose their precious years in jails just because they happened to be born as Muslims in India.

I am a Muslim and an Indian because inciting violence in the name of religion, caste, language offends me more than corrupted netas and swindling babus.

I am a Muslim and an Indian because I choose to speak; to question.
I want to ask, why?

Why are merchants of deaths and mass murderers allowed to get away with bails?

I want to ask, what?
What religion, ideology or culture justifies shielding cold blooded murderers and architects of Genocides?

I want to ask, where?
Where are all the promises of peace, co-existence, plurality that were promised by Indian constitution?

I want to ask, how?
How did the pillars of democracy, which were meant to guide us and hold us together in unity, became the tool for discrimination?

I want to ask, who?
Who will put an end to this tragic state of affairs?

I want to ask, when?

When will we realize that injustice feeds injustice?

But I know there would be no answer.
Ignore me. 

Silence me with your silence.

Because, I am a Muslim and an Indian.

Source of Inspiration : Sana Saleem. Here

Unravelling Hindutva Terrorism

When the bombs went off at Malegaon in September 2006, killing about 40 people and injuring many more who had gathered for the Friday afternoon prayer at a local mosque, the first arrests were of Muslim men who were supposed to belong to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The police claimed to have cracked the case. Less than a year later, in May 2007, when a similar bomb exploded in Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid killing nine people, the police claimed that these were "sophisticated" bombs detonated via a cellphone located in Bangladesh and the main culprit was supposed to be a Muslim man affiliated to the Harkat-ul-Jehad al-Islami (HuJI). The police arrested some random young Muslims from the city and tortured them into confessing their "guilt". Six months later, when another bomb went off on the eve of the last Friday of Ramazan, in the Ajmer shrine in Rajasthan, it was again blamed on "jehadi terrorists".

It has taken the courageous, if simple, act by Hemant Karkare, the anti-terrorism squad chief of Maharashtra police, of following the available leads to show the linkages between the Malegaon bomb blasts and Hindutva-linked groups. Without this one single act, all these linkages would, perhaps, have remained hidden behind the lies and half-truths dished out by our security establishment. As is well known now, a group called Abhinav Bharat organised this attack. This group includes some religious figures as well as a serving officer of the Indian Army. There have been other clear instances of Hindutva groups involved in bomb making in Nanded, Kanpur, Bhopal and Goa. Most of these are linked to the Bajrang Dal, which is a front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). There is now a clear linkage between the RSS and its fronts and personnel and a series of bomb blasts. This is apart from the evidence, much stronger, which links this redoubtable organisation, to scores of communal killings, the Gujarat riots of 2002 being the last of its "big" examples.

If terror derived from religious fundamentalism has one headquarter in India, it is the RSS. Their younger siblings, the Islamic, Sikh or Christian fundamentalists, though dangerous in their own ways, cannot match the organisational network, financial muscle or political legitimacy that the RSS – its affiliates and personnel – possess. After all, India’s principal opposition party is a 100% subsidiary of the RSS and it is the shrill communal politics of this "family" which has created that political climate where any terrorist act could be, despite all evidence, linked to Muslims.

Nevertheless, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism among Muslim communities is a serious issue. It has dangerous consequences, not just for its regressive social and political effects on the Muslims themselves, and needs to be fought with vigour. Islamic fundamentalism has also incubated and nurtured terrorist organisations and initiated violent acts, not just in India but also all over the world. None of this can be denied nor can the guard against Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism be lowered.

However, it is now amply clear that our security agencies, government institutions and ministries, specially the home ministry, are deeply compromised by communal prejudice. In each of the cases highlighted above, and in many more, the prima facie evidence, both forensic and circumstantial, pointed to the involvement of Hindutva groups. Yet, unmindful of all evidence, they refused to follow open, clear leads pointing to Hindutva groups, but rather went around building fairy tales about Islamic terrorism’s involvement, picking up random Muslim men (and some women), torturing them till they accepted their "guilt" and finally claiming success in the case. As late as January this year, when the Hindutva terror link to Malegaon had been firmly established, and the Rajasthan police were already questioning the accused of the Ajmer blasts for their links to the Mecca Masjid bombs, the Hyderabad police was merrily arresting Muslims who, they claimed, were linked to the Mecca Masjid blast of 2007. The complicity of the Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh police in the murder of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife, or the killing of Ishrat Jehan and her friends is now clearly established. There is also prima facie evidence of communal prejudice and wrongdoing in police action in cases like the Batla House encounter in Delhi. Unfortunately, the list of cases where communal prejudice by the police and security establishment is evident is so long that it can fill volumes.

While there has been some effort to recognise and address caste and gender prejudices and discriminations, there has been a certain cussedness about not accepting and redressing the discrimination and prejudice against religious minorities, particularly the Muslims. The present United Progressive Alliance government has taken some commendable steps to address this issue, primarily through reports of the Sachar Committee and the Ranganath Misra Commission. These have opened up space to discuss the structural discrimination and prejudice against Muslims in India as well as the measures needed to redress this. It is also true that the criminal link between Hindutva groups and bomb blasts has come to the fore under this regime. Nevertheless, this is not sufficient; urgent steps are needed to disinfect our security establishment of the communal virus. Whether the present Home Minister P Chidambaram can measure up to this task, and whether the Congress Party can find the political will to take on Hindutva inside the administration and state structures, is an open question.

From the editorial of EPW the Economic and Political Weekly

To read in full click here. and here

Who will give back the thirteen years - 4745 days and nights spent in jail? Is this justice?

Kunangudi Haniffa, one of the founders of Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam and the first treasurer of Pattali Makkal Katchi, and 7 others who were languishing in prison for 13 years were acquitted of all the terror and conspiracy charges by the Poonamalle special bomb blast cases court.
Kunangudi Haniffa, Eruvadi Kasim, Abdul Raheem, Mohammad Gani, Mohammad Alikhan, Shamshad Ahamed, Riyadur Rahman, Mohammad Thasthagir and Ashraf Ali were arrested after a series of blasts rocked three trains, killing 10 persons and injuring 70 others way back on December 6, 1997.

After most of the prosecution witnesses turned hostile and the eyewitness account was also considered too feeble to strengthen the prosecution theory, the special judge, Premkumar, had little option but to acquit all the persons.


Background
Three trains, all originating from Chennai, were rocked by blasts on December 6, 1997, on the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary. While a blast occurred on Pandiyan Express at Tiruchi station, the Coimbatore-bound Cheran Express witnessed similar attack at Erode railway station. The Alleppey Express blast occurred just when the train was entering Kerala. All the blasts happened between 5.30am and 6am that day. The police had arraigned a total of 10 accused in the case. Of them, Ashraf Ali is absconding while Mohammad Thasthagir died in 2000 during trial.

The others had been lodged at the Puzhal central prison. Over 156 witnesses were questioned. The accused had been charged for offences under various sections of the IPC, the Explosives Substances Act, the Railways Act etc.

Special Judge Premkumar acquitted the eight men saying that charges against them were not proved beyond reasonable doubt. Six of the eight men were released on Friday (May 21, 2010) while Ervadi Kasim and Ali Abdullah are in prison for their involvement in some other cases.

The acquittal of all the eight persons has raised substantial legal questions. This is a model case of how innocent Muslims including those who have been active political activists are harassed in the name of fighting terror.

Haniffa’s case
Mr. Kunangudi Haniffa was arrested in this case on 15-02-1998 while he was attending the wedding of his daughter in his native village Anumnadagudi (Sivagangai District) in connection with case No. 1229/97 (on the file of the Railway Police, Trichy) and remanded to judicial custody. After prolonged investigation, chargesheet was laid in the year 2001 and the trial commenced in the Special Court for exclusive trial of Bomb Blast cases at Poonamallee. (S.C.No.2 of 2001).


Mr. Kunangudi Haniffa was implicated in this case with a bald allegation of conspiracy and he was in confinement for the last 13 years. He was accused of hatching the conspiracy to blast the trains on the 5th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition. To prove the charge of conspiracy, the prosecution relied only on two witnesses namely Doss (PW25) and Mohamed Ali (PW29). During the trial both the witnesses turned hostile. Except these two witnesses there were no other witnesses in the chargesheet to prove the charge of conspiracy against Mr. Haniffa.

With the evidence of PW25 and PW29, the case against the petitioner by the prosecution had fallen flat. The imaginary allegation of conspiracy against the petitioner has been totally demolished and the prosecution miserably failed to prove the charge of conspiracy against the petitioner.

Bail not granted even after 7 yrs in jail
In spite of numerous bail petitions in the Trial Court and in the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Madras, Mr. Kunangudi Haniffa and all the eight persons arrested along with him were not granted bail. When Mr. Kunangudi Haniffa filed a bail petition in the High Court during October 2009, Mr.Justice Nagamuthu dismissed the petition after the Public Prosecutor promised that the case before the trial court will end within a month.
The denial of bail to Mr. Haniffa and the co accused was clearly against Supreme Court’s judgment in Shaheen Welfare Association Vs Union of India AIR (1996) SC 2957 in which the Hon’ble Apex Court has held that denial of bail after seven years of incarceration would be violative of Article 21 of the Constitution. Besides this judgment, the Apex Court has in a series of judgments ruled against long incarceration, without bail.
In the Sankararaman Murder case for releasing Thiru Jayendra Saraswathi on bail the Hon’ble Supreme Court had fully gone through the materials produced even at the stage of investigation and released Jayendra Saraswathi on bail. However the courts failed to follow this yardstick in the case of Mr. Kunangudi Haniffa, a well known political activist who had to languish in the prison for more than 13 years to breathe freedom though prima facie a strong case has been made out for the grant of bail. Mr Haniffa’s incarceration for 13 long years is clearly violative of Art.21 of the Constitution of India as held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in 2001 (1) Crimes Vol.VII S.C. Page 46 Satya Brat Gain Vs State of Bihar.

Mr. Haniffa’s entire life is ruined and the welfare of the family members was also destroyed. Mr. Haniffa is diabetic and blood pressure patient undergoing treatment.

Date after date for pronouncement of judgement
The long drawn trial of this case in the Poonamallee Special Court is also a specific example of how lethargic the justice delivery system works in the case involving innocent Muslims. Even after the examination of witnesses and all arguments have been completed both by the prosecution and by the defence it took almost six months for the delivery of the Judgement.




Mr. Kunangudi Haniffa’s incarceration and his acquittal in the case are typical example of how in the case of Muslims justice is delayed which tantamount to justice denied. Who can give back to Mr. Haniffa and 7 others the precious 13 years they lost?

From Prof. M. H. Jawahirullah's article in Two circles.

To read the full article click here.

Read  ‘I lost 14 yrs to a lie... I got the verdict, now I hope I get some justice’

Read They call you a 'terrorist' if you are a Muslim, and 'accused' if you are a Hindu

No riots can continue for more than a few hours.....

The assumption of the government drafts is that if only the powers of police and governments are augmented in communally charged times and areas, they would control communal violence effectively and decisively. This assumption flies in the face of the actual experience of successive communal pogroms. Did governments in Assam in 1983, Delhi in 1984, Mumbai in 1992-93, Gujarat in 2002 or Kandhamal in 2008 fail to prevent slaughter and arson because they lacked sufficient powers? Do we really believe that these governments were unable to control violence because they lacked the legal muscle? Or was the truth that they did not want to control the violence; but instead they deliberately enabled the slaughter? That they wanted to reap political advantage from a violently polarised polity, and were assured that they would legally be able to get away with such a crime?

If government officials and political leaders wish to act, the law as it stands is more than adequate to empower police and officials to prevent and control communal violence. No riot can continue for more than a few hours without the active will of the political leadership of governments that violence should persist and indeed spread; and the active abetment of police and civil officials to prolong the slaughter and arson. Communal carnages occur because they are systematically planned and executed by communal organisations, and because governments which are legally and morally charged to protect all citizens, deliberately refuse to douse the fires, and instead allow rivers of innocent blood to flow.

I regard such abetment of slaughter by public officials to be one of the gravest crimes possible in public life. To protect minorities from communal pogroms and mass violence, we do not need a law which adds further to the powers of police, civil authorities and governments. Ironically, such a law will achieve the exact reverse of what it claims to seek. The consistent experience of minorities is that greater powers in the hands of police would only be used against them. There is great unease with declaring regions as ‘disturbed areas': in large swathes of India's North-East and Kashmir, people have lived in the shadows of similar declarations, which give extraordinary powers to security forces. These routinely lead to crushing of people's elementary democratic freedoms. 

From Harsh Mander's article in The Hindu

To read the full article click here

Prosecute the culprits who demolished the Babri Masjid

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) did very little during its first term to re-secularise Indian politics and society emphatically, barring the revamping of the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) to produce non-communal and pedagogically superior textbooks, and the establishment of the Sachar Committee on the status of Muslims.

Today is the right moment to decisively marginalise the BJP and reaffirm secularism. The best way to do so would be for the UPA to seriously pursue the prosecution of the culprits of the Babri demolition and the wave of violence which followed, and above all, the Gujarat pogrom. Simultaneously, the UPA should do all it can to empower the marginalised among the Muslim community by aggressively implementing the recommendations of the Sachar Committee and the Ranganath Mishra Committee.

The testimony of police officer Anju Gupta in the case against Advani and others in a Rae Bareli court is a landmark development, which holds the potential for bringing the perpetrators of the Babri demolition to justice. Anju Gupta’s account of the events of December 6 can and should be richly corroborated by other evidence, including eyewitness accounts and video footage of the inflammatory speeches by Sangh Parivar leaders and the kar sevaks’ actions.

The UPA would do the public a great disservice if it drags its feet on this case. The urgency to end the impunity of Hindutva leaders cannot be overemphasised.

From Praful Bidwai's article in Frontline

To read the full story click here.

What does Maya Kodnani deserve?

Is it the tip of the ice berg?

Meena Menon in a thought provoking, tiring article Nanded case: of lost leads and shoddy investigation in The Hindu asks:

For some time now, there is evidence that all the blasts in the country are not the handiwork of terror groups supported by Pakistan or Bangladesh.

What are the resources of this right wing terror network, its reach and implications?

Only a sustained and meticulous investigation can give results and it is time the government and investigation agencies have learnt some lesson from the slip ups in Nanded. Investigations into the terror activities which seem disparate right now have to be coherent.

Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.

To read the full article, click here.
Also Read : Anatomy of Sangh Parivar by Ram Puniyani
Also read: Communalism and the Myth by Ambrose pinto

Injustice is Terror! Justice is Peace!