Skip to main content

Stop harassing human rights defender Teesta Setalvad: Prominent Gujarat citizens to Govt of India, CBI

By Our Representative
Even as the news came in from Delhi that the Gujarat police has “opposed” anticipatory bail application in Supreme Court by top  activists Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand, about two dozen prominent citizens of Gujarat have expressed their “profound dismay and disquiet” at the “continued official harassment” of human rights defender.
The Gujarat police in its affidavit said its probe “supported” the evidence that the amount meant for “the rehabilitation and welfare of the unfortunate victims of riots in Gujarat in 2002” was spent on having dates, consumption of wine, whiskey and rum, purchase of movie CDs of Singham, Jodha Akbar and PAA, buy several pairs of spectacles, wining and dining at some of the best restaurants and fast food outlets of Mumbai.
Even as pointing out that the veracity of the charges will be “decided in the country’s courts”, the statement by 24 politicians, intellectuals and activists said, “The open official bullying of courageous human rights defenders even as persons charged with a range of serious crimes walk free, are brazen official attempts to diminish Indian democracy.”
Pointing out that “bullying” has been going on ever since the BJP led government came to power in India in May 2014, it said, the effort is to “tarnish their reputations and secure their arrests”.
It added, “Fortunately, the interventions of the higher judiciary have protected them so far. However, the latest raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into their home and offices in Mumbai on July 14, 2015 are signs of continuing open misuse of official bodies to harass these human rights defenders.”
The statement reiterated how Setalvad and Anand have fought an “unrelenting battle” not only to bring to book criminals who committed gruesome hate crimes against Muslims in the carnage of 2002, but also to “expose” the role of the Gujarat government in enabling, abetting and even organizing these crimes.
“They have been fearless in charging the then Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, who is currently the country’s Prime Minister, with direct criminal culpability for these crimes. For this, they have assisted the widow of a former MP, who was slaughtered in the carnage, Zakia Jafri, to fight a brave court battle”, it said.
“What we are witnessing is crude and defiant misuse of official bodies to beat down these human rights defenders so as to silence their voices, break their morale and divert them from their unrelenting battles in defence of justice which charge the country’s current leadership with complicity in hate crimes”, the statement said.
Urging the Government of India and the CBI “to desist from employing such deplorable tactics which are inspired by nothing but malice and revenge”, it added, they “should know that democratic forces and the human rights movement in the country stand in support of both Setalvad and Javed.”
Among those who have signed the statement include Suresh Meha, ex-chief minister of Gujarat; Girish Patel, a senior advocate; Fr. Cedric Prakash of Prashant; Prof JS Bandukwala, a human rights activist, Vadodara; Harinesh Pandya of Janpath; Ikram Mirza of Jamate Islame Hind; Pankti Jog of Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel; Dinesh Rabari of Maldhari Vikas Sangathan, among others.

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.