Skip to main content

Attempt to implicate Mahila Ekta Yatra in Delhi riots 'malicious': Judicial probe sought

Counterview Desk

More than a dozen women’s rights leaders*, commenting on the chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police in FIR No 59/2020, which assigns blame for the communal violence in North-East Delhi in February 2020 to not just protestors, activists and students, but also participants in a women’s rally in which they provided leadership, have demanded independent judicial inquiry into the manner in which the investigation is being carried out.
Insisting that “judicial oversight is required to prevent malicious prosecution”, these women’s leaders, belonging different civil rights groups, participated in Mahila Ekta Yatra, visiting some sites of protest against the Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) on February 14, 15 and 16, 2020.
Regretting that the chargesheet, filed in September 2020, also mentions Mahila Ekta Yatra, the leaders said, “As organisers and participants of the Mahila Ekta Yatra, we know that the allegations and insinuations against us are completely false and fabricated” and are part of a “persistent effort to suppress legitimate, peaceful expression of political opinion and opposition by criminalising it through perverse re-scripting of the truth and facts.”
“We shall not be intimidated. We shall not be silenced”, they underlined in a statement.

Text:

The women-led peaceful protests against the CAA, NRC and NPR became a powerful symbol of democratic resistance, inspiring solidarity from across the globe. Women, especially from the Muslim community, expressed their firm opposition to laws and policies that have differential impact and consequences on citizenship of different religious communities and vulnerable groups. To express this view point 24*7, peaceful sit-in protests were held in Delhi and many parts of the country.
To express solidarity with the women who were upholding the spirit and values of the Indian Constitution, the Mahila Ekta Yatra, comprising women from diverse backgrounds and faiths, visited some sites of protest against CAA/NRC/NPR on February 14, 15 and 16, 2020.
At the protest sites, we reaffirmed our commitment to a secular and inclusive India. To safeguard these values, we opposed the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposal to create a National Register of Citizens (NRC) through a National Population Register (NPR).
These measures would disproportionately impact the poorest and vulnerable groups, including migrant labour, homeless, small farmers, adivasis, indigenous communities, Muslim community, Dalit Bahujan masses, women and transgender persons, who would not be able to furnish the necessary documents to prove citizenship as required by the proposed CAA/NRC/NPR combine.
At the protests sites we spoke about women's rights and other democratic rights, including the right to education, food security, social security and the right to information. We collectively read the Preamble of the Constitution and sang songs of peace and harmony.
The chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police in FIR No 59/2020, assigns blame for the communal violence in North-East Delhi in February 2020 to protestors, activists and students who were peacefully opposing the CAA/NRC/NPR. The chargesheet, filed in September 2020, also mentions the Mahila Ekta Yatra.
The chargesheet invokes UAPA to intimidate and silence dissenting voices and curtail personal liberty through long periods of incarceration
As organisers and participants of the Mahila Ekta Yatra, we know that the allegations and insinuations against us are completely false and fabricated. They are part of a persistent effort to suppress legitimate, peaceful expression of political opinion and opposition by criminalising it through perverse re-scripting of the truth and facts. The chargesheet invokes the draconian UAPA to intimidate and silence dissenting voices and curtail personal liberty through long periods of incarceration.
In our work and our struggles, we, as part of the women's movements, have consistently opposed all forms of inequality, injustice and discrimination. The various struggles for human rights and justice we have been associated with, have one thread in common – a deep commitment to constitutional values and principles.
We shall not be intimidated. We shall not be silenced.
Fifty three persons were killed in the communal violence in Delhi. Unfortunately the Delhi Police, which functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has taken no action against persons who made incendiary speeches and called for violence. Recent developments have made it clear that an independent judicial inquiry needs to be conducted into the manner of investigation by the Delhi Police. Judicial oversight is required to prevent malicious prosecution.
We, the participants of the Mahila Ekta Yatra, demand that all steps be taken to ensure that real perpetrators of the Delhi violence are brought to book and the persecution of peaceful dissenters is immediately stopped.
---
*Annie Raja, Anjali Bhardwaj, Dipa Sinha, Shabnam Hashmi, Kamla Bhasin, Navsharan Singh, Vani Subramanian, Poonam Kaushik, Maimoona Mollah, Amrita Johri, Philomina John, Suroor Mander, Aditi, Radha, Suneeta Dhar, Priya Pillai (on behalf of the Mahila Ekta Yatra)

Comments

TRENDING

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha*  The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

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. 

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza*  An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000. 

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.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas*  Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist  Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024. 

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

'Pro-corporate agenda': Odisha crackdown on tribal slum dwellers fighting for land rights

By Our Representative  The civil rights network Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), even as condemning what it calls “brutal repression” on the Adivasi slum dwellers of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneshwar by the Odisha police, has said that the crackdown was against the tribals struggling for land rights in order to “stop the attempts at land-grab by the government.”

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma*  Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some  recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Hazrat Aisha’s age was 16, not 6: 'Weak' Hadith responsible for controversy

Sacred chamber where Prophet and Aisha used to live By Dr Mike Ghouse* Muslims must take the responsibility to end the age-old controversy about Hazrat Aisha’s age at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh) – it was 16, not 6 (minimum was 16, Max 23 per different calculations). The Hadiths published were in good faith, but no one ever checked their authenticity, and they kept passing on from scholar to scholar and book to book.  Thanks to 9/11, Muslims have started questioning and correcting the Hadiths, Seerah, and mistranslations of the Quran. Now, the Ulema have to issue an opinion, also known as Fatwa, to end it and remove those Hadith entries. Mustafa Akyol, a scholar of Islam, implores Muslims to stop deifying “the received traditions” and critically study their religious past, shedding rigid legalism and close-mindedness. Someone else used the phrase “copycat Muslims” to identify scholars who copied what was given to them and passed it on without researching or questioni