Letter to Delhi police highlights threats to Eid prayers amidst escalating hostility

By A Representative

Civil rights activist Harsh Mander has written to Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha urging urgent intervention to prevent communal violence in Uttam Nagar ahead of Eid. In his letter dated March 18, Mander warns of “a visible and distressing escalation in hate speech, inflammatory mobilisation, and open threats directed at members of the Muslim community in JJ Colony, Uttam Nagar and adjoining areas.”

He cites multiple videos and social media posts where individuals associated with right-wing organisations openly threatened to disrupt Eid prayers, inflict violence, and “play Holi with blood.”

Mander points to speeches such as one by Lalit Sharma of the Hindu Raksha Dal, who declared, “Neither will Eid be celebrated this time, nor will we allow prayers to be offered. Even if we have to play Holi with blood, we will certainly play Holi this Eid.”

Other videos show protesters chanting “Shoot the traitors of the nation!” and threatening to throw pigs in front of Muslim homes during Eid. Posters announcing Holi celebrations on the date of Eid have also been circulated, deepening fears among residents.

Highlighting Supreme Court directives in Shaheen Abdulla v. Union of India and Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India, Mander reminds authorities of their obligation to register FIRs suo motu against hate speech and incitement. He also invokes statutory powers under the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Court’s rulings in Tehseen S Poonawalla v. Union of India that mandate preventive policing against mob violence.

“The consistent judicial position is clear: the law does not suffer from lack of power, but from lack of timely exercise of that power,” he writes.

Mander has requested the police to register FIRs against identified individuals, remove inflammatory posters and flags, impose prohibitory orders if needed, ensure CCTV monitoring, and guarantee peaceful conduct of Eid prayers. He stresses that the responsibility of the state is “not merely to respond to violence after it occurs, but to prevent its very possibility.” The letter concludes with an appeal for “timely, firm, and impartial action” to ensure that Eid is observed in safety and dignity.

This intervention comes amid reports of palpable fear among Muslim residents, some of whom are considering temporary displacement due to threats of violence.

The farmer's burden: How oil, war, and climate are rewriting the price of food

By Vikas Meshram The scorching flames of the Middle East conflict are now slowly reaching the kitchens of ordinary people. The true price of this war is paid in daily markets, vegetable shops, and in the shattered minds of farmers. Expensive crude oil, skyrocketing fertilizer prices, and rising agricultural costs are together creating the conditions for global food inflation — and this crisis is directly tied to what people eat and drink every day.

Economic nationalism under strain as Indian corporates turn to America

By Sandeep Pandey* U.S. federal prosecutors withdrew a criminal case involving allegations that Gautam Adani had bribed officials in India to secure solar energy projects, stating that they lacked sufficient evidence. Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani also settled a civil fraud case with the Securities and Exchange Commission by paying a fine of around ₹180 crore without admitting wrongdoing. In addition, Adani Enterprises reportedly deposited around ₹2,750 crore into the U.S. Treasury to resolve allegations that it had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran through purchases of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

India’s heatwave crisis: How concrete cities are fueling climate emergency

By Rajkumar Sinha* According to recent studies, urban areas are witnessing a much sharper rise in temperatures than rural regions. The planet is currently heading toward an additional 1.9°C of warming — far beyond the target envisioned under the Paris Agreement . A team of climate scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted that India’s average temperature increased by nearly 0.9°C during the decade between 2015 and 2024 compared to the early twentieth century (1901–1930). In western and northeastern India, the hottest day of the year has already become 1.5°C to 2°C warmer since the 1950s.

Counterview

Search This Blog