Skip to main content

India's anti-minority incidents: Legal solution not enough, one must stand up publicly, say 67 top ex-officers

Harsh Mander protests vigilantism off Alwar
By Our Representative
Sixty-seven retired IAS, IFS (foreign) and IPS officers, in an open letter have sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "clear" and "immediate" response to sharp rise in "violence and discrimination" against minorities in India, seeking his "firm action against the perpetrators of such hate crimes against minorities in this country by the respective law enforcement authorities."
Giving details of attacks on minorities, the civil servants have said, "These recent incidents undermine our Constitutional values and weaken the rule of law to create a new normal in society", adding, while the existing laws provide adequate protection if they are implemented with the necessary will and determination", things have reached so far that legal protection alone is "not a solution when the communal virus ha spread far and wide in the society."
The letter, signed among others by several of the ex-IAS officers who have turned into social activists such as Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander, says, there is a need to "reflect on the repercussions of a situation where the present trends could threaten the peace and cohesion that is a fundamental prerequisite for our growth and development", and "stand up, oppose and publicly condemn the communalization of our society and our country."
Significantly, none of the Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officers -- who are witness to the ghastly 2002 anti-minority riots under Modi -- have signed the letter. This is in sharp contrast to at least two Gujarat cadre retired bureaucrats -- CK Koshy and VV Rama Subba Rao -- joining https://www.counterview.net/2017/11/gujarats-two-top-ex-ias-babus-join-four.html four others in sending a letter to Modi government's on what they called "laizzes faire approach" to making aadhaar compulsory for all services.
Register their "deep concern" at the continuing incidents of "mindless violence" in the country, especially those targeting the minorities, and "lackadaisical response of the law enforcement machinery to these attacks", the 67 ex-babus recall how "the killing of Mohammed Afrazul, a migrant worker from West Bengal in Rajsamand, Rajasthan, on the 25th Anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid (December 6) has deeply shaken each of us."
"The recording of the brutal act on video and the circulation of the justification for the killing over the internet cuts at the roots of an inclusive and pluralistic society drawing its inspiration from the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Akbar, the Sikh Gurus, Hindu Sages and Gandhi. The violent incidents in Udaipur in support of the alleged killer are a pointer to how deep the sectarian poison has spread among the population of this country", they add.
Among the signatories of the letter range from those already outrightly stood out against the Modi government such as Julio Ribeiro (ex-IPS), EAS Sarma (ex-IAS), Wajahat Habibullah (ex-IAS); to top foreign service officers Ishrat Aziz (ex-ambassador to Brazil and Saudi Arabia), Sushil Dubey (ex-ambassador to Sweden), KP Fabian (ex-ambassador to Italy), and Aftab Seth (ex-ambassador to Japan).
The incidents enumerated include the killings of Pehlu Khan by near Behror, Alwar; of Zafar Khan in the name of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Pratapgarh, Rajasthan; of 16-year-old Junaid Khan on a train returning after Eid shopping in Delhi following a dispute over seats; of Anwar Hussain and Hafizul Sheikh, both 19, as they were transporting cattle purchased from Dhupguri in West Bengal; and of Umair Khan who was transporting cows from Alwar district.
The letter says, following an outcry, the Prime Minister made a statement that “killing people in the name of ‘Gau bhakti’ is unacceptable”, repeating it a day before the Parliamentary session started on July 15, 2017, yet, "the killings continue without any check", adding, things have gone so far that on December 25 quotes a BJP MLA from Rajasthan -- Gyan Dev Ahuja of Ramgarh -- who said that “if one engages in cow smuggling or slaughters a cow, he will be killed.”
The letter insists, "Such language is an open incitement to violence, acts of which are slowly poisoning the body politic and examples of which are listed above. Such words and actions have no place in a civilized society and fly in the face of established jurisprudence. Vigilantism is let loose upon a hapless group with all its tragic consequences."

Comments

Sheshu babu said…
It is heartening to note that some retired persons from prestigious government services have come forward to denounce anti - minority incidents and call for resentment publicly. They should also mobilise people to protest such incidents and appeal to the rulers to punish the miscreants who are responsible for henious atrocities
January 31, 2018
K SHESHU BABU said…
It is heartening to note that some retired persons from prestigious government services have come forward to denounce anti - minority incidents and call for resentment publicly. They should also mobilise people to protest such incidents and appeal to the rulers to punish the miscreants who are responsible for heinous atroecities
January 31, 2018
Post a Comment

TRENDING

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 
24 comments
»

'Anti-poor stand': Even British wouldn't reduce Railways' sleeper and general coaches

By Anandi Pandey, Sandeep Pandey*  Probably even the British, who introduced railways in India, would not have done what the Bhartiya Janata Party government is doing. The number of Sleeper and General class coaches in various trains are surreptitiously and ominously disappearing accompanied by a simultaneous increase in Air Conditioned coaches. In the characteristic style of BJP government there was no discussion or debate on this move by the Indian Railways either in the Parliament or outside of it. 
Post a Comment
»

Why convert growing badminton popularity into an 'inclusive sports opportunity'

By Sudhansu R Das  Over the years badminton has become the second most popular game in the world after soccer.  Today, nearly 220 million people across the world play badminton.  The game has become very popular in urban India after India won medals in various international badminton tournaments.  One will come across a badminton court in every one kilometer radius of Hyderabad.  
Post a Comment
»

Faith leaders agree: All religious places should display ‘anti-child marriage’ messages

By Jitendra Parmar*  As many as 17 faith leaders, together for an interfaith dialogue on child marriage in New Delhi, unanimously have agreed that no faith allows or endorses child marriage. The faith leaders advocated that all religious places should display information on child marriage.
Post a Comment
»

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.
58 comments
»

Ayurveda, Sidda, and knowledge: Three-day workshop begins in Pala town

By Rosamma Thomas*  Pala town in Kottayam district of Kerala is about 25 km from the district headquarters. St Thomas College in Pala is currently hosting a three-day workshop on knowledge systems, and gathered together are philosophers, sociologists, medical practitioners in homeopathy and Ayurveda, one of them from Nepal, and a few guests from Europe. The discussions on the first day focused on knowledge systems, power structures, and epistemic diversity. French researcher Jacquiline Descarpentries, who represents a unique cooperative of researchers, some of whom have no formal institutional affiliation, laid the ground, addressing the audience over the Internet.
1 comment
»

Article 21 'overturned' by new criminal laws: Lawyers, activists remember Stan Swamy

By Gova Rathod*  The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, organised an event in Ahmedabad entitled “Remembering Fr. Stan Swamy in Today’s Challenging Reality” in the memory of Fr. Stan Swamy on his third death anniversary.  The event included a discussion of the new criminal laws enforced since July 1, 2024.
Post a Comment
»

Hindutva economics? 12% decline in manufacturing enterprises, 22.5% fall in employment

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  The messiah of Hindutva politics, Narendra Modi, assumed office as the Prime Minister of India on May 26, 2014. He pledged to transform the Indian economy and deliver a developed nation with prosperous citizens. However, despite Modi's continued tenure as the Prime Minister, his ambitious electoral promises seem increasingly elusive. 
Post a Comment
»

Union budget 'outrageously scraps' scheme meant for rehabilitating manual scavengers

By Bezwada Wilson*  The Union Budget for the year 2024-2025, placed by the Finance Minister in Parliament has completely deceived the Safai Karmachari community. There is no mention of persons engaged in manual scavenging in the entire Budget. Even the scheme meant for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers (SRMS) has been outrageously scrapped. 
Post a Comment
»