Rajasthan cops 'misbehave' with hijab-wearing journalist returning from riot spot Karauli

Counterview Desk
The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), in a statement, has urged the Rajasthan government of Congress to take immediate disciplinary action be taken against a section of the Karauli district administration and police, regarding their crimes of omission and commission during the recent Karauli riot and the aftermath.
A letter signed by Kavita Srivastava, PUCL president, and Anant Bhatnagar, PUCL general secretary, addressed to the State chief secretary Usha Sharma, with copies to home secretary Abhay Kumar Jain and ML Lather, DG Police, says that the riot was provoked by a Hindutva group, shouting abusive slogans, leading to stone pelting and burning of shops, wondering why was permission granted for the rally.

Text:

Shocking stories from Karauli are being continuously shared by journalists and the affected people regarding the crimes of omission and commission by the administration and the police in the context of the communal riots in Karauli which took place on the April 2, 2022.
We are glad that no human life was lost, however, the riot provoked by the rally of the Hindutva group, shouting abusive slogans, leading to stone pelting and then burning of shops, has further filled with hate and mistrust the warp and weft of the society which historically believed in coexistence.
This city has had brickbats between the two communities in the past, but never this kind of a riot, even when the neighbourhood of Hindon and Gangapur city were burning with communal rage in the past.
The people of the State would like to know the following:
1. Why was permission granted for the rally of the Hindutva lot, it was being led by the Bipin Behari Shukla whose affiliations to the RSS are well known, to go through the Hatwara area, where Muslims are in domination? The SDM, ADM and District Collector who must have granted permission, need to be made accountable for this irresponsible decision. It is important to know, under whose pressure did they agree to the route that the rallyists wanted to take.
2. Why was the motorcycle rally of more than 700 motorcyclists with more than one pillion rider, without helmets, carrying big bamboo sticks, shouting hate slogans like, topi wala bhi sar jhuka ke bolega, Jai shri ram, Jai Shri Ram with a DJ playing on high decibel the same slogans, to coincide with Asr namaz at 5.00 to 5.30 pm, allowed to get into the street where Muslims reside. Why were they not stopped when the police and the SDM must have realised that the purpose of the rally is to only verbally abuse and humiliate Muslims?
3. Why was the police almost absent from the area? Videos clearly show that there was no police bandobast and hardly ten policemen are seen. No policemen are posted on terraces, to keep a watchful eye on what was happening around them. This kind of criminal negligence for allowing a rally where people were in a frenzied state, going through the Muslim dominated area, with no senior policemen. Neither the SP nor the Additional SP are seen walking with the rally when it entered the Muslim dominated area, How could they have left it to a Dy SP. Should not the SP and additional SP be made accountable for being so irresponsible?

4. Why was the police a silent bystander when the hate rally was proceeding, or when the stone pelting was carried out by a section of Muslims in the Hatwara area and again silently watching when the Hindu rallyists on their way back from the Hatwara burnt shops of Muslims and Hindus near Phuta Kot?
5. Why was the police allowed to pick up young Muslim men and beat them up, torture them? See the story that the wire.in has published where a 17-year-old minor was beaten up brutally by the police and being forced to say Jai Shri Ram. Strict action needs to be taken against these policemen who indulged in torture. The young men who were tortured need to be given medical treatment.
It was brought to the notice of the PUCL, that Ghazala Ahmad, journalist with the digital news organisation 'The Cognate' and Ahmed Kasim, journalist with 'The Clarion India' when returning, after completing their assignment from Karauli town of Rajasthan at 12 noon, were stopped at several spots by cops and later at Ganesh Gate, the Kotwali ASI Nanua Singh manhandled them. Kasim was even pushed by one of the cops and kept heckling him.

They waited for more than an hour before they were allowed to make their way out of the city. It was obvious that the police misbehaved with Qasim and Gazala as they were Muslims and the latter was wearing a hijab.

The PUCL demands:

Urgent disciplinary action against the DM, ADM and SDM for irresponsibly granting permission to the Hindutva rally, with abusive slogans and DJs. They should be removed immediately from the positions they hold in Karauli district.
Urgent disciplinary action should also be initiated against the senior policemen, the SP and Addl SP to have not stopped the rally when its intention was clear that they wanted to humiliate the Muslims in their own Mohalla. Is this not psychological and mental violence. These police officials need to be removed from their posts.
The police should also be made an accused in the FIR lodged on April 2, where there was hate violence and stone pelting resulting in injuries, with one Amit Sharma in a serious condition in hospital in SMS hospital in Jaipur.
Immediate arrests of the rallyists who led the hate rally, indulged in burning of shops and those who pelted stones and damaged vehicles and the DJ and other properties.
An FIR must be lodged against police officials immediately who indulged in the torture of the minor Muslim boy. Persecution of Muslims should be stopped immediately.
The communal nature of the police must undergo a change. According to the CSDS and Common Cause Status of policing in India report of 2019, One in two police personnel feels that Muslims are likely to be “naturally prone” towards committing crimes, this needs to be dealt with and changed.
Since the next few days have several religious festivals, the Ram Navmi is on April 10 and the Hanuman Jayanti is on April 16, once again the Hindutva groups will demand that they be allowed to organise rallies through Muslim areas, this should be disallowed. No permission should be given of a rally which shouts abusive slogans against another community. The police bandobast should be well organised with armed reinforcements be provided in advance, if these rallies are to be permitted.
April 14, 2022 Ambedkar Jayanti should be celebrated all over the State with an objective of building an inclusive society with all the socially vulnerable and discriminated sections including the SC & ST, Minorities, OBCs, DNT & NTS, LGBTQ!A treated as equals as envisaged by our Indian constitution.

Comments

Tracing roots of Hindutva Zionism: cannon fodder for 'warped' nationalist pretensions

By Shamsul Islam* Those who believe in a world free of hegemonic ethno-nationalism, racism, religious bigotry and hatred have rightly taken note of Zionism and its ally Christian Zionism, major perpetrators of ethnic cleansing of ‘Others’. However, the civilized world with its core belief in multi-culturalism and peaceful co-existence is oblivious to a no less dangerous threat to the present human civilization: the Hindutva Zionism. As the term reads it is part of the Hindutva world-view which stands for an exclusive Hindu India minus Muslims and Christians. The other religions like Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism will have no independent status but treated as part of Hinduism. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS; National Volunteer Organization) is the most prominent flag-bearer of the Hindutva politics whose cadres presently rule India, the largest democracy in the world. RSS was founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889-1940) in 1925 who was disillusioned with the Indian freedom st

'Blatant violation' of law by Central government in making NREGA payments

By Our Representative In September third week, NREGA workers across the country were mobilised for two day so raise their issues and submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister. Organised the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a collective of groups that work with NREGA labourers across the country, workers from 13 states -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -- carried out Kaam Do Abhiyaan, staging demonstrations and rallies against what they called blatant violation of law by the Central government in making NREGA payments. While NREGA has had very positive impacts, it has lately become fruitless, exploiting labour, even though workers who have put in honest hard work have to wait for their wages endlessly, it was suggested. In such a situation, there is a need to firm up NREGA implementation and end systematic corruption to ensure that workers get their basic NREGA entit

Shocking? No Covid vaccine trials conducted on pregnant, lactating women: RTI reply

By Rosamma Thomas* A Right to Information applicant who sought details of safety trials conducted in India on pregnant and lactating women for three Covid vaccines in use in India – Covishield, Covaxin and ZyCov-D -- was shocked to learn from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) that Serum Institute, manufacturer of Covishield, and Cadila Healthcare, manufacturer of the ZyCov-D vaccine, had not sought permission for such trials. Bharat Biotech, manufacturer of Covaxin, had sought permission for trial on pregnant women and later withdrawn its application. This response , provided after the applicant was initially unsatisfied with the response and went in appeal, is from the joint drugs controller, CDSCO. It was dated September 13, 2022. One researcher closely following the vaccine rollout, however, is of the opinion that the lack of a trial on pregnant and lactating women is a blessing; potential trial participants and their unborn babies thus escaped harm. Aruna Ro

Fascism on prowl? Religious meet 'deeply pained' at silence of Church, bishops, priests

Counterview Desk The ‘Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace’which held its 17th National Convention at the Montfort Social Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana from 22 to 24 September 2022 on the theme “Deepening our Identity as Religious: Responding to the Signs of the Times”, has expressed concern “at the deteriorating situation of our nation on every front”, especially stating, “Fascism seems to have come to stay” in India. At the same time, the convention, which took place with the participation of 60 persons from 16 states representing 20 religious congregations, in its unanimously-adopted statement added, “We have reached abysmal depths on every parameter: be it social, economic and political”, underlining, “The poor in India become poorer every day; the rich and powerful continue to profiteer at their expense and amass scandalous amounts of wealth.” Text: We, members (63 women and men Religious, from 16 states representing 20 Congregations) of the Forum of Religious for Justice

Rajasthan cops 'halt' Gujarat Dalit women's rally: homage to untouchability victim boy

By Our Representative In a surprise move, the Rajasthan police stopped a Dalit women's rally from Gujarat on the borders after it crossed Gujarat alleging that it would "disturb peace" in village Surana, Jalore district, where the gruesome incident of death of a Dalit boy took place on August 13 after he was brutally beaten up by his teacher on touching the drinking water pot. Sources said, while the Gujarat government had "no objection" in allowing the rally, which originated from the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), an empowerment-cut-technical institute for teens founded by human rights leader Martin Macwan, on September 24 morning, the Rajasthan police stopped it for two and a half hours before allowing it to proceed to Surana. The decision to take out a women's rally was taken at a DSK meeting on September 5 following a condolence meeting of the NGO Navsarjan Trust, also founded by Macwan, activists committed to work against caste-based discrimination, orga

Introducing non-native cheetahs is 'not equivalent' to restoring pride in the nation

By Bappaditya Mukhopadhyay* The Cheetahs from the African continent has finally been introduced to India by the Indian Prime Minister on his 72nd birthday. The process had started with the previous Government in 2009. However, the Supreme Court clearance was pending owing to the objection by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) plea to reintroduce cheetahs. Finally the clearance was obtained in January 2020 and thereafter Kuno National Park (KNP) was chosen for the reintroduction of first set of Southeast African Cheetahs. In the near future, depending upon the success story of the current reintroduction, more cheetahs from South Africa may also be introduced. This exercise has generated a lot of interest among various stakeholders with opinions on both sides galore. It is important to pose some questions that surround the whole exercise. Let us evaluate some of these arguments. The first set of arguments are quite detached from the issues of conservation as they most

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".

'Military diplomacy': US praises Bangladesh Army for leadership role in UN operations

By Kamal Uddin Mazumder* As the Indo-Pacific region represents the world’s economic and strategic center of gravity, the Indian Ocean today is becoming the centerpiece of all geo-strategic play. Cooperation in the region is crucial to implementing the international community’s global agenda, including achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Major powers like the US have enhanced and deepened their strategic engagement and leadership roles with countries in the region. The Indo-Pacific Army Management Seminar, or IPAMS, is a U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) initiated conference that is aimed at facilitating and enhancing interactions among the armies of the Indo-Pacific region. This year's 46th Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS)-2022, co-hosted by the Bangladesh Army and US Army Pacific (USARPAC), concluded in Dhaka. The objective of IPAMS is to promote peace and stability in the region through mutual understanding, dialogue, and friendship. It is the largest confer

Grave error? Scholar blames ex-Gujarat babu for anti-Christian riots 'citing fake report'

By Rajiv Shah A few days back, I received a message from one of the finest former Gujarat government bureaucrats, PG Ramrakhiani, a 1964 batch IAS official, who retired in November 2000. I would often interact with him in 1997-99, even later, after I was sent to Gandhinagar as a Times of India man to cover Sachivalaya. Those were turbulent times. Shankarsinh Vaghela was the Gujarat chief minister, under attack from two sides – from the BJP, which he had left to form a separate breakaway party, Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP), one one hand, and the Congress, which was supporting him from outside, on the other. Ramrakhiani, in his message, referred to the book authored by Ghanshyam Shah and Jan Breman, both top-notch scholars who have known Gujarat in and out. Called “Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India’s Injurious Frame of Communalism”, I reviewed the book in January 2022. It claims that Muslims in Gujarat have been turned into “new untouchables”, thanks to the Hin

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.

Counterview

Search This Blog