Pehlu Khan murder: Demand to set up SIT to probe "conspiracy" by Sangh Parivar, role of police in cow vigilantism

Protest in Jaipur against murder of Pehlu Khan

By A Representative
An alliance of Left and civil rights organizations, the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan (BAA), has decided to organize a mass dharna in front of Parliament on April 19, 2017 to demand setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) under the direct supervision of Supreme Court to probe the role of the police and the Sangh Parivar in the conspiracy which led to the murder of Pehlu Khan in Alwar early this month.
Formed to bring together organizations fighting for land rights, BAA consist of All-India Kisan Sabha, National Alliance for People’s Movements, All-India Agriculture Workers Union, All-India Union of Forest Working People, Akhil Bhartiya Krishak Khet Mazdoor Sangathan, Jan Sangharsh Samanvaya Samiti, Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Insaf, Kisan Manch, All Kisan Mahan Sabha, Delhi Solidarity Group and others.
Alleging that the Rajasthan under the Vasundhara Raje government is witnessing “complete lawlessness and anarchy”, failing to arrest any of the real culprits of the heinous murder, BAA regretted in a statement ahead of the mass dharna, “The state government has not announced any compensation to the victims.”
Especially criticizing Home Minister Gulam Chand Kataria’s for siding with “criminal elements” by justifying the lynching, BAA said, “The Narendra Modi Government has equated the victims with the culprits and miserably failed to ensure justice on such a sensitive issue.”

“Anybody can kill any person and get scot free in Rajasthan if he shouts slogans of Sangh Parivar”, BAA said, adding, “Cow has become a symbol of communal extremist politics under the Modi raj.”

It added, “BAA considers the heinous attack as part of conscious efforts and conspiracy by the Hindu communal forces led by the RSS to systematically and slowly poison society with communal hatred and intolerance with the aim of dividing the people for narrow political and electoral benefits.”

Rajasthan home minister Kataria

BAA said, “Cattle protection not as an issue of religious belief but an agrarian issue, having severe implication on peasant economy.”
It stated, “26% of the agrarian GDP is from animal husbandry”, adding, “The recent enactments by some of the state governments led by BJP for so called ‘cow protection’ are an infringement on rights of the peasantry on cattle trade.”
“Such laws virtually ban the cattle trade with dire consequences on rural agrarian economy”, it warned adding, “Sangh Pariwar organisations are consistently unleashing violence by raking up sensitive issues like ban on cow slaughter and beef eating especially after Narendra Modi Government assumed power.”
Calling for a Left and democratic alternative at the national level to resist the conscious efforts of Sangh Parivar to perpetuate civil war in the country in the name of extreme religious communal fanaticism”, BAA demanded that the Vasundhara Raje government of Rajasthan must provide Rs 1 crore as compensation to the bereaved family of Pehlu Khan and Rs 25 lakhs each to the other victims.”
At the same time, it added, “The Manohar Lal Khattar government of Haryana must ensure Immediate and free medical treatment to all the victims.”
Those who have signed the statement include Left leaders Hannan Mollah, Atul Kumar Anjan, and Suneet Chopra, and civil rights leaders Ashok Chowdhury, Sunilam, Deep Singh Shekhavat, Anil Chowdhary, Sanjay Singh, Prem Singh, Satyavan, Roma, and Virendra Vidrohi.

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

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.

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

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

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah 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".

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Search This Blog