Gujarat's Muslim traders complain of "harassment" before National Commission for Minorities: Reports

Modi at 2011 sadbhavna campaign

By A Representative
Gujarat may be claiming to have ushered in a new era of communal harmony, pushing the 2002 communal riots to the backdrop. But reports from Gujarat suggest Muslims traders are angry over alleged efforts to close down their business in different parts of the state. This is happening not just around the Jain religious shrine of Palitana in Saurashtra, where meat and egg shops are banned, but elsewhere in the state as well. Palitana, it may be recalled, is situated just about 60 kilometres from Bhavnagar town, where Vishwa Hindu Parishan leader Pravin Togadia offered advice to Hindus on how to prevent Muslims from buying property in areas where they are in the majority.
Commenting on the development, a minority-controlled website, kohram.in, said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brain child Vibarant Gujarat will be held in the State this time under the leadership of the chief minister, Anandiben Patel, and this time western diplomats and investors are making a beeline to seek favours from Gujarat. But all this is happening ahead of Muslims are not being allowed to do meat business and egg business around Palitana.
The comment further said, “There is a very famous temple. Jains come from all over the country and even from aboard. In the temple vicinity, meat and eggs are not allowed. But in the rest of the town why Muslims are not allowed to do the business of meat?”, It added, even in Ahmedabad city, “all slaughter houses and meat shops were forced to close on account of Jain festival for about a week.”
Meanwhile, reports said, 10 Gujarati Muslim traders have alleged that they were being forced to close down businesses over the past one month. “The latest complaint was been filed on Thursday by hotelier Mustafa Patel, who claims to have shut down his Jyoti Hotel on Viramgam highway, 90 minute drive from Ahmedabad, after receiving threats”, they added. The complaint by Patel said that “despite court orders the police has refused to provide him protection”.
Already, according to reports, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has received several complaints from Gujarat on this. NCM chairman “Wajahat Habibullah sought reports from the Gujarat Government”.
They added, “Earlier the NCM received complaints from nine traders of Chhotaudepur in South Gujarat, alleging their businesses have been ruined. According to the complaint, that sarpanch of village Baroj, Jayanti Rathwa, engineered a riot in the area to take away the luxury transport bus business from his competitor Irfan Abdul Ghani. The region witnessed communal clashes following a minor altercation.”
“Those who have been forced to close down their business are Kasim Ahmed (scrap dealer), Ahmed Arif (minerals), Farooqbhai (power production unit), Yakub Mohammad (mineral production), Saifudin Ali (power production), Ahmed Khoka (power), Shabir Bhai (mineral production), Majid Khan (power) and Harun Abdul Malajher (mines)”, the reports point out.
The reports, however, quote Gujarat government spokesperson and senior minister Nitin Patel refuting the claims. “There are thousands of minority traders and merchants prospering in Gujarat. Hundreds are doing their business in the walled city areas of Ahmedabad”, the minister said.

Comments

Unknown said…

the author can go and protest there supporting the cause of the mullas ! Jainism has the best food habits and everyone should follow jainism w.r.t their food intake....Let them be

September 06, 2014

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857 By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Spirit of leadership vs bondage: Of empowered chairman of 100-acre social forestry coop

By Gagan Sethi* This is about Khoda Sava, a young Dalit belonging to the Vankar sub-caste, who worked as a bonded labourer in a village near Vadgam in Banskantha district of North Gujarat. The year was 1982. Khoda had taken a loan of Rs 7,000 from the village sarpanch, a powerful landlord doing money-lending as his side business. Khoda, who had taken the loan for marriage, was landless. Normally, villagers would mortgage their land if they took loan from the sarpanch. But Khoda had no land. He had no option but to enter into a bondage agreement with the sarpanch in order to repay the loan. Working in bondage on the sarpanch’s field meant that he would be paid Rs 1,200 per annum, from which his loan amount with interest would be deducted. He was also obliged not to leave the sarpanch’s field and work as daily wager somewhere else. At the same time, Khoda was offered meal once a day, and his wife job as agricultural worker on a “priority basis”. That year, I was working as secretary...

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Proposed Modi yatra from Jharkhand an 'insult' of Adivasi hero Birsa Munda: JMM

Counterview Desk The civil rights network, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JMM), which claims to have 30 grassroots groups under its wings, has decided to launch Save Democracy campaign to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vikasit Bharat Sankalp Yatra to be launched on November 15 from the village of legendary 19th century tribal independence leader Birsa Munda from Ulihatu (Khunti district).

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”

Hyderabad Cong leader hospitalized after alleged AIMIM-linked mob attack; party demands justice

By A Representative A group of Congress leaders and activists have written to the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police, urging immediate action over what they describe as a “mob lynching murderous attack” on party functionary Mohammed Hamed at the Congress Party office in New Kishan Nagar, Asifnagar, on July 21.

Counterview

Search This Blog