(2013 in Retrospect)

By Shilpa Raina, IANS,

New Delhi : Non-fiction ruled the roost in 2013, with many revelations the works threw up making for screaming headlines . These juicy tidbits also helped in boosting sales across India.

The writings spanned a variety of genres - politics, history, business and international terrorism, as also memoirs.

Grabbing the most news headlines was former Indian Army chief Gen. V.K. Singh's "Courage and Convictions", an autobiography that revealed that "a very senior bureaucrat" in the Prime Minister's Office was "orchestrating" the age row that marked the last year of his tenure.

This soon grabbed the headlines and Gen. Singh was giving interviews thick and fast to every news channel and print outlet of note.

"If a book gets favourable reviews in the media, it certainly helps the sales nation-wide," Anuj Bahri, CEO of Bahri Sons, a leading Delhi-based publisher and distributer, told IANS.

This was followed by the "The Siege: The Attack on the Taj", based on the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, with authors Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark revealing how the ISI Pakistani intelligence agency used "a super-agent" based in New Delhi and code-named "Honey Bee" to help facilitate the deadaly assault that claimed 166 lives.

The contents immediately caught the news headlines as publishers chose to release the book around the fifth anniversary of the Nov 26-29, 2008, attack.

"In the case of non-fiction, the subject drives the marketing plan. For instance, one would market a travel book differently from a cookbook and a book on current affairs would require a different plan," Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO of publishing house Westland, told IANS.

In a scenario where commercial literature is hitting the bookshelves every other day, publishers feel that non-fiction has a niche audience.

"Non-fiction publishing is a lot safer than fiction as the target audience is very clear and the buying decision is more need-based than compulsive," Padmanabhan explained.

"Publishing commercial fiction is like the movie business on a smaller scale," he added.

According to Bahri, the ration of sales for fiction to non-fiction is 60:40.

"In India, non-fiction is more popular than fiction. Commercial fiction is simply time pass, literary fiction provides stimulus to the mind and non-fiction is pure knowledge," said Bahri.

While good fiction demands great imagination, non-fiction requires more research, observation of facts and history and drawing a few conclusions here and there.

This is what Rajmohan Gandhi's "Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten" had in ample, with the author throwing light on the history of undivided Punjab and the people who ruled it.

He also brought to the forefront the much neglected contribution of Punjabi Muslims in the pre-partition era.

Another interesting book this year was historian and author Ramachandra Guha's "Gandhi Before India", tracing the Mahatma's formative years, his life as a student, his early years in South Africa and people who shaped up his ideology.

Anita Raghavan's true-life business thriller "The Billionaire's Apprentice" chronicled the rise and fall of business tycoon Raj Rajaratnam and financial consultant Rajat Gupta, who were convicted on multiple counts of securities fraud in separate trials in a US court.

Gupta, the former managing director of McKinsey & Co and a board member of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was convicted of passing inside information to Sri Lankan hedge fund billionaire Rajaratnam.

Then, there was Fahad Shah's "Occupation and Resistance" - a compilation of stories by people of the Kashmir Valley about their many joys, sorrows and fears and Gary J Bass's "The Blood Telegram: India's Secret war in East Pakistan" chronicling the break-up of Pakistan in 1971 and India's role in this.

Now, here's a reality check.

Despite making its presence felt amongst serious readers, Bahri feels the non-fiction market is still "untapped".

"This section has still not reaching its true potential. The quality of writing and editing in the non-fiction genre has still to go a long way," Bahri contended.

On that note, let's see how 2014 pans out.

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in)

By IANS,

Thiruvananthapuram : The Congress in Kerala is facing a host of issues as general elections draw near and a leader said an assessment has been done on the "performance of the sitting Lok Sabha members" from the state.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and state party chief Ramesh Chennithala held the first round of their talks in Delhi and their first task is to sort out which all allies to be given seats. The state has just 20 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Over the last many parliamentary elections, the common feature has been the Congress contests 17 seats, the Indian Union Muslim League contests two, which it has won last time, and the Kerala Congress (Mani) contests one, which too won.

But this time it remains to be seen if the same seat sharing formula would continue as the Janata Dal (S), then led by media baron M.P.Veerendra Kumar, which was part of the Left opposition in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, has split. Its Socialist Janata Dal faction has jumped in to join the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

The group quit the opposition Left Democratic Frontafter its demand to retain the Kozhikode seat held by Kumar was turned down by the Left parties in 2009.

Similarly, the IUML and KC (M) also are hoping to bargain for an additional seat as demands within these parties have intensified for an extra seat.

"Each of the allies has its own rationale to demand for more...Very soon we will finalise the intra-party seat-sharing by initiating talks with each ally," said Chandy.

Chennithala added: "We wish to contest more seats and all parties have such thoughts too. Nothing has been finalised as yet and we are confident that we will be able to sort out things amicably at the earliest and hit the campaign trail."

Another problem that Chandy and his colleagues face is about deciding the list of candidates.

This time the Congress is facing a Herculean task as in the 2009 polls 13 of its candidates won the polls, and of them five are ministers. These are: Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram), K.V.Thomas (Ernakulam), Kodikunnil Suresh (Mavelikera), K.C.Venugopal (Alappuzha) and Mulapally Ramachandran (Vadakkara).

"We are told that there has been an assessment done on the performance of the sitting Lok Sabha members of our party by our national leadership. If that be the case, then either one or two of the sitting members would become ineligible," said a senior Congress leader who did not wish to be identified.

"And then we are left with six seats where new candidates would have to be identified. From this, the issue of giving either one or perhaps two seats to women is also likely to come up," he added.

The leader said the selection of candidates will be a tough task as the list of hopefuls is pretty lengthy.

By IANS,

Srinagar : A holed-up foreign guerrilla was killed Thursday in a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district, a senior officer said.

A Pakistani national identified as Umar, operating as a commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, was killed in Hushroo village, 18 km from here, Thursday morning, the officer told IANS.

"The slain militant commander was involved in the murder of station house officer (SHO) Chadura police station early this month," he said.

"The encounter in Hushroo village lasted for 10 hours. Security forces had surrounded a house in the village following a tip-off that the foreign militant was hiding inside," the officer said.

"When challenged to surrender, the holed up militant fired at the security forces triggering an encounter, at the end of which the militant was killed," he said.

Earlier, SHO Shabir Ahmad was killed and two of his security guards were injured Dec 2 this year when a guerrilla fired at them indiscriminately in Chadura market where Ahmad had gone for routine duty in the morning.

Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Ghani Mir then told reporters that the LeT outfit was involved in the police officials' killing.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Shamli: To send warm relief to the Muzaffarnagar riot-victims camped in various camps at Shamli, Shahzad Poonawalla and other responsible intellectuals and activists took an initiative called ‘Blanket of Hope’, the first trip of which was made on December 23 to the Malakpur, Sunhati, Beepur, Mansoora, Dasang, Barnawi and Kairana madrasa camps with approximately 3500 and 800 clothing items for the needy victims.

In Malakpur camps, Blanket of Hope distributed 900 blankets. This camp has by far received most of the relief because of its easy accessibility on the highway. Sunhati camp which exists in three parts had received 600 blankets which have been distributed among 240 families. Beepur Hatia camps which is in the interior and rarely visited, have received 880 blankets which were given to 220 families. In Mansoora camp, 85 families have recived 320 blankets. Dasang camps have received 200 blankets, Barnawi 200 and Kairana madrasa camp have got 100 blankets.

“On an average we tried to ensure that every household gets 3 blankets as there are 4-5 people in a family and they have to take turns at using blankets in this biting cold,” says Shahzad in the word of thanks issued by him for thanking his friends from India and outside for helping with funds for Blanket of Hope.

“Blanket of Hope started off as an effort among friends to collect 200 odd blankets. But we were blessed with over 3500 blankets. The blankets just did not run out last night. It was a miracle. No matter whichever camp we would reach, our trucks would always be full of blankets,” he mentions in this thanking letter.

“Many politicians and officials have visited these camps and insist that the inhabitants go back. But they have no clue of the ground situation. Almost 90percent of the testimonies we recorded from the people we spoke to, the resounding consensus was "We can't go back",” Shahzad mentions the findings of the visit in the thanking letter.

While speaking to TCN Shahzad said, “We had taken the initiative for the camps in Shamli but there are more camps and victims waiting for relief so Blanket of Hope is not stopping here now as soon we will be visiting other places also.”

Blanket of Hope distributed approximately 3500 blankets and 800 clothing items to six camps yesterday. Here is a quick breakup of the camps visited.

Verdict expected today.

Washington DC: A Magistrate's court in Ahmedabad, India is expected to deliver its verdict on the crucial Zakia Ahsan Jafri Criminal Complaint against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 59 others today. The verdict will determine whether or not Modi and other accused will be charge-sheeted for crimes listed further below.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE DECEMBER 26th VERDICT

The Indian Judicial system has a four level court hierarchy through which a complaint can be pursued.

1. Supreme Court
2. State High Courts
3. District and Sessions Courts
4. Magistrate's Courts

A complaint is typically pursued initially at the Magistrate court and appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of India.

The Zakia Ahsan Jafri case is pending judgment in the lowest court of India i.e. the Magistrate Court in Gujarat. Depending on the outcome of the case, either party may appeal the verdict in the Session's Court in Gujarat and may pursue the appeal further through the Gujarat High Court and the Indian Supreme Court.

Alternately, as has been successfully argued in the past with many of the cases relating to the 2002 Gujarat pogroms, the petitioner (Zakia Jafri and CJP) may appeal to the Supreme Court to move this case outside of Gujarat.

FACTS RELATED TO THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATION TEAM (SIT) APPOINTED BY THE SUPREME COURT

The Petitioner had originally appealed to the Supreme Court to move the case out of the state of Gujarat, given the control over the judicial process the accused Modi administration has in the state. Contrary to some prior judgments, the Supreme Court declined this request and in its stead constituted a Special Investigation Team to assist the court with the investigation. It should be noted that Special Investigation Teams are routinely constituted by the Supreme Court to assist lower courts in their investigations.

Unfortunately, the SIT members in the Zakia Jafri case were jointly named to the Supreme Court by the then Amicus Curie Harish Salve and the Gujarat Counsel while Salve was brokering a large business deal with the Modi Administration. The SIT as recommended by Salve itself comprised of several Gujarat cadre officers, who were subordinate to the accused Chief Minister Modi and his administration. Salve was subsequently replaced.pr-te

Several of the SIT officers were either accused in the 2002 violence or were indicted in other criminal cases for compromising the investigations:
1. Geeta Johri - A Gujarat cadre officer in the SIT, has been accused by the Supreme Court of India of sabotaging the investigation of the 'fake encounter' killing of Sohrabuddin [i].
2. Ashish Bhatia - A Gujarat cadre officer who has been accused of inducting officers into SIT who were involved in the extra-judicial 'fake encounter' killing of Ishrat Jahan, an innocent teenage girl shot in cold blood by Gujarat police and later declared to be a dreaded terrorist out to kill Modi. He is also accused of filing incomplete chargesheets in the 2002 violence cases and pressuring the special public prosecutor in the Gulberg case of tilt the prosecution against the eye-witnesses [ii].
3. YC Modi - member of SIT that led the controversial investigation in the murder of Minister Haren Pandya under the Modi administration. The investigation was criticized for scapegoating Muslim youth while the family of Haren Pandya continue to accuses CM Narendra Modi of being the person who ordered the murder of Pandya. Pandya's family maintains that he was killed because he testified at the concerned citizen's tribunal accusing CM Narendra Modi of urging his administration to "Allow Hindus to vent their anger".

CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST MODI

Judgement awaited on December 26 2013

The Zakia Jafri (supported by Citizens for Justice & Peace) Criminal Complaint against Narendra Modi and 59 Others was ordered to be investigated by the Supreme Court. Zakia Jafri & CJP have been attempting to get serious criminal charges registered and investigated since 8.6.2006. The Special Investigation team (SIT) originally asked to further investigate Nine Major Trials was assigned the task (27.4.2009). An Amicus Curiae was also appointed to assist the Court. The SIT in its reports from 2010 onwards arrived at the conclusion that while several of the allegations were found to be correct, there was not sufficient material to prosecute the accused.

In stark contrast, the Amicus Curiae senior advocate Raju Ramachandran looking at the same evidence collected by the SIT, came to a contrary conclusion, stating clearly that there was evidence enough to prosecute Narendra Modi. Faced with this dilemma of two contrary assessments, the Supreme Court remanded the matter to a lower Court directing SIT to file its Final Report there. The SC specifically directed that if the SIT filed a closure report, the Complainants were fully within their legal rights to file a Protest petition and access all Investigation papers/documents. (This is a right under Indian law but was specifically outlined by the Supreme Court in its final judgement dated 12.9.2011).

Predictably, the SIT filed a closure report on 8.2.2012 and remained adamant against making Investigation papers available to the Complainants in contempt of the Supreme Court order. The Magistrate granted the Complainant her right to the Investigation Papers on 10.4.2012 but it took Zakia Jafri & CJP another year to access all the Investigation reports of the SIT submitted to the Supreme Court. The SC directed this on 7.2.2013 after which the Protest Petition was filed on 15.4.2013.

From June 24-August 29, 2013 rigorous arguments in support of the Zakia Jafri Protest Petition were made before Judge Ganatra, 11th Metropolitan Magistrate, Ahmedabad.

A committed band of lawyers including Sanjay Parikh, Mihir Desai and Aparna Bhat argued the matter and submitted detailed Written Arguments on 18.9.2013.
The Judgement of the Magistrate is now awaited.

Narendra Modi faces Fifteen Serious Charges of :-

1. Willfully Ignoring Messages from State Intelligence about the Violent Repercussions of the RSS-VHP called 'Mahayajna' before the tragic Godhra incident on 27.2.2002 and deliberately not initiating precautionary measures that are imperative under Standard Operational Procedure; messages from 7.2.2002 to 25.2.2002, including specific ones that stated that batches of 2,800 and 1,900 kar sevaks had left for Faizabad-Ayodhya and had been behaving provocatively and aggressively against minorities on the way. As cabinet minister for home and chief minister, he is directly responsible MOS Home Gordhan Zadaphiya is a constant Co-Conspirator. Co-accused, ACS Home Ashok Narayan has admitted these messages were received by the GOG Home department.
Evidence:- Official Documents Including over one dozen messages of the State Intelligence Bureau to the political head of the home department, Narendra Modi, other senior bureaucrats named as co-conspirators in the Zakia Jafri Complaint including accused former Director General of Police, K Chakravarthi; Tehelka's Operation Kalank that was authenticated by the CBI following an Order of the NHRC dated 5.3.2008 also contained direct evidence of collection of arms, ammunition including dynamite by several VHP and RSS men before 27.2.2002. All these messages are part of the SIT Investigation Papers at Annexure III, File XXXIV D-176.

2. Deliberately concealing knowledge of the provocative, anti-Muslim sloganeering by kar sevaks at the Godhra station when the Sabarmati Express reached five hours late on 27.2.2002, which information had been sent to him directly by DM/Collector Jayanti Ravi and willfully failing to take stern action and allowing violent incidents to escalate after the train left Godhra by about 1.15 p.m. especially at Vadodara station where a Muslim was attacked and killed and at Anand where the train stopped hereafter ensuring that the state allowed a hate-filled and threatening atmosphere against Muslims build right up to Ahmedabad where the train finally reached around 4 p.m. and where bloodthirsty slogans were being shouted. FIRs in 19 brutal incidents against Muslims are recorded on 27.2.2002 in Ahmedabad itself. Curfew was not imposed despite these incidents resulting in deaths breaking out.
Evidence:- Fax Message Sent by DM Jayanti Ravi and Message of the SIB are available @ .Annexure III, File XLI at Serial Nos 1 and Annexure IV, File IX, Serial Nos 241-in the SIT record.

3. Conspiring with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to plot and allow reprisal killings all over Gujarat. The first phone call that Modi makes after DM Ravi's fax reaches him is, not to appeal for peace and calm, but phone secretary VHP, Gujarat, Dr Jaideep Patel and direct him to Godhra. The Conspiracy between Modi and the VHP is hatched and unfurled to cynically ensure state-wide reprisal killings. Phone call records show these phone calls between PA to Modi AP Patel and Jaideep Patel immediately after the chief minister receives news of the Godhra tragedy. Phone call records made available by Rahul Sharma (IPS, Gujarat) also show that Powerful Accused were in touch with the chief minister's office (CMO) and the landline numbers of the chief minister.
Evidence:- Page 5-6, Annexure Volume IV to Protest Petition contains AP Patel's Phone Records and atAnnexure IV, File V and VI in SIT Papers; Conspicuously, the SIT records statements of all officials of the chief minister's office (CMO) following CJP's submission of the phone records to the Supreme Court but does not record A.P. Patel's.

4. Brazenly supporting the Bandh call called by the VHP and allowing the streets and public spaces of Gujarat to be used for mass attacks and violence. By 12 noon on 27.2.2002, state intelligence and the police were aware of the Bandh call; Yet deliberately no preventive steps were taken; the bandh was uses by the police machinery to clear the streets of ordinary citizens so that aggressive mobs could target minority populations and their establishments.The first message directing preventive measures that comes from the GOG home department against Modi is past 10 p.m. on 28.2.2002 when over 200 persons have been massacred in broad daylight in Ahmedabad alone. Only two Preventive Arrests in Ahmedabad on 27.2.2002 that two of persons belonging to the Minority Community despite the fact that over 2 dozen attacks had taken place on Muslims all over the state on 27.2.2002 itself. Only two Preventive Arrests in Ahmedabad on 27.2.2002 reveal that of the two of persons arrested on 27.2.2002 from Astodia, both belonged to the Minority Community. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) commented on the state's dubious response vis a vis preventive measures in general and preventive arrests in particular.
Evidence:- Message from the State Intelligence warming of the serious implications of the VHP bandh is available @ (Annexure IV, File XX, Serial Nos 374, Page Nos 8289 I the SIT Papers/ Record and the message from the GOG home department sent out at 10.15 p.m. on 28.2.2002 is available @ Annexure III, File XLI, Sr Nos 15 SIT Papers/Records; Statistics of Preventive Statistics of Preventive Arrests are available @ Annexure III, File I, D-2, Pages 254-255, SIT Record/Papers).

5. Cynically and illegally allowed Post Mortems out in the open at the Railway Yard, Godhra where the burnt and mutilated corpses were laid in full view of an aggressive and irate crowd of RSS and VHP men and women, who were gathered there in violation of Curfew Orders @ Godhra. Deliberately allowing photographs of the burnt corpses to be taken and widely circulated by the RSS-VHP and media in general, despite it being prevented under law; Modi dispatching Accused Nos 2-Ashok Bhatt to oversee illegally conducted post-mortems; Modi was himself present when these post-mortems were conducted out in the open @ the railway yard in front of a mob of RSS and VHP men;
Evidence:- Phone call records between Modi and Bhatt, former health minister (since deceased) are evidence of how the latter was dispatched to Godhra; the Godhra Sessions Court judgement 69/2009/ 86/2006. 204/2009 @ Page 105; This was handed over to the Court on 29.8.2012 comments on the illegality of the post mortems and also has a vivid photograph showing the bodies lying in the open in the Railway Yard at Godhra; Section 223, 4(vi), Volume III Gujarat Police Manual lays down specific legalities to be followed for post mortems that specifically direct no photographs of gory bodies being allowed.

6. Personally instigating individual RSS-VHP men and women at the railway yard at Godhra assuring them that enough time will be allowed by the Modi-led government and administration to extract a revenge for Godhra.
Evidence:- Excerpts of the authenticated Tehelka Transcripts of Ramesh Dave, Rajendra Vyas of the VHP Haresh Bhatt of the BJP and Bajrang Dal. Anil Patel of the VHP, Dhimant Bhatt of the RSS,, Dhawal Patel and Arvind Pandya from the Tehelka Transcripts available @ Annexure III, File XIII, D-129 in SIT Records and statements available at Annexure I Volume I and II of the SIT record.

7. Directing that the unidentified bodies of Godhra train victims should be handed over to Jaideep Patel, a non-governmental person, that too belonging to a supremacist and communal VHP to be brought to Ahmedabad where aggressive funeral processions in full public view were allowed. Modi directed this at a meeting at the Collectorate in the evening of 27.2.2002 before he returned to Gandhinagar. Jaideep Patel was allowed to be present at an official meeting at the Collectorate. Jaideep Patel is a co-conspirator and also facing trial for mass crimes in the ongoing Naroda Gaam case. Modi is specifically guilty of allowing the escalation of violence from Godhra to other parts of Gujarat and taking decisions contrary to law.
Evidence:- DM Jayanti Ravi's statement to the SIT dated 15.9.2009 @ Annexure I Volume I, Sr Nos 19 in the SIT record, clearly states Jaideep Patel was present at the meeting at the Collectorate though Modi and Jaideep Patel, both denied it.

8. Specifically instructing his top policemen and administrators not to act evenhandedly in the days to follow and "allow Hindus to vent their anger." Two senior bureaucrats present at the meeting have stated that cabinet ministers were present at a meeting that went on well past midnight. Haren Pandya, a minister in Modi's cabinet in 2002 had given evidence of this to the Concerned Citizen's Tribunal headed by Justice Krishna Iyer and PB Sawant in 2002 itself. Later in 2009 a serving officer from the state intelligence, Sanjiv Bhatt also gave the same evidence before the SIT and the Supreme Court.
Evidence:- (i) Statement of Haren Pandya to the CCT dated 13.5.2002 @ Internal Page 82 Volume II of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal Report in section on State Complicity @ Annexure III, File, I, D-2, D-3, D-4 of the SIT Record/Papers.; (ii) On 27.10.2005, in the Fourth Affidavit, R.B. Sreekumar before the Nanavati Commission dated 27.10.2005 stated that K. Chakravarthi, DGP Gujarat (A-25) had given information of the same words being uttered by A-1 Modi at the meeting on 27.2.2002 ; (iii) On 11.07.09 Statement of Shri R.B. Sreekumar, formerly Addl.DG (Int.), Gujarat to the SIT (Annex I, Vol I Sr. No.5, SIT Papers/Record) where he confirmed this; (iv)On 12.08.2009,Statement of Shri Vitthalbhai Pandya, father of Late Haren Pandya, R/o, Paldi, Ahmedabad (Annex I, Vol I Sr. No.12, SIT Papers/Record) where he stated that his son Haren Pandya had told him about attending the meeting at the residence of A-1 on 27.2.2002 in the late evening as also of the provocative instructions given by A-1; (v) On 28.8. 2009, Justices P.B. Sawant and Justice Hosbet Suresh gave two separate statements. Both eminent Judges, retired Supreme Court and High Court respectively, also stated that three serving IPS officers, Sami Ullah Ansari, Himanshu Bhatt and Vinod Mall also deposed before them in person requesting anonymity but confirming that such illegal instructions were issued.(Annexure I Volume I Sr.Nos 16 & 17 of the SIT Record/Papers); (vi) On 30.10.2004,Mr. Rahul Sharma stated in his deposition on oath before the Nanavati Commission that when he spoke to his superior officer DGP, Gujarat, A-25 Chakravathi on 1.3.2002 at about 10:22 p.m. to request to make more force available for him at Bhavnagar, the DGP told Mr. K Chakravarti also told him that "the bureaucracy had been completely neutralised".

Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran has clearly stated in his Interim and Final reports before the Supreme Court (20.1.2011 & 25.7.2011) that Evidence regarding the unlawful and incendiary words spoken at the meeting of 27.2.2002 should be tested in a trial.

9. Preventing the Imposition of Curfew. Curfew was deliberately not imposed at Ahmedabad while over 3,000 RSS workers were allowed to gather at the Sola Civil Hospital where Jaideep Patel arrived with the bodies of the Godhra victims at about 4 a.m.The crowd was aggressive and violent as proved from the police control room records. No steps were taken to disperse the crowd that attacked the hospital staff and doctors, a High Court judge, Violent funeral processions were allowed to wind through the streets of Ahmedabad for several hours at two locations; worst Acharya Giriraj Kishore was given police escort to come and further provoke the aggressive mob; the cremations took place only in the evening and attacks on Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gaam and Gulberg Society where over 200 persons were massacred (and rapes allowed) in broad daylight on the same day, 28.2.2002, while violent and aggressive funeral processions were willfully allowed by Modi and the police and administration.
Evidence:- Messages from the Police Control Room records that were first denied to SIT but thereafter produced in a CD by former Commissioner of Police, PC Pande, after the Supreme Court ordered further investigation on 15.3.2011 show a slew of such messages:- Page No. 5794, 5796-97 & 5826, Annexure IV, File XIV of the SIT record.

10. Making a pretence of verbally calling in the Army on the late evening of 28.2.2002 but not actually allowing its deployment in Ahmedabad, Godhra and Bhavnagar and Varodara until 2.3.2002 and 3.3.2002. Worse badly affected districts like Mehsana, Panchmahals, Dahod, Anand, Kheda were not given an Army or Paramilitary at all.
Evidence:- Documents related to the Correspondence of the GOG Home department available in the SIT Papers.

11. Fourteen out of Gujarat's 25 districts were allowed to burn as Ministers were specifically deployed by Modi to interfere with Police functioning and sit in the State Control Room and Ahmedabad City Control Room; in Eleven Districts where Violence was controlled, the Police Officers in Charge were given Punitive Transfers to send a Political Message. Modi heads the Home department that bends the Police Bureaucracy and Police to his will.

12. Modi allowed violence to continue unabated until early May 2002 when KPS Gill was sent by PM Vajpayee to the state; the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), April and July 2002 and Central Election Commission (CEC) were misled about the spread and intensity of violence. This was willful subversion of the justice system. The Subversion of the Home Department under A-1 in which co-accused, Gordhan Zadaphiya, MOS Home, A-5, Ashok Narayan, ACS Home, A-28, and K Nityanandam, Secretary, Home, A-34 played an active part included deliberately misinforming the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India about the extent and spread of violence:- Correspondence exists to reveal how senior VHP and RSS men were being kept out of the FIRs and charge sheets related to serious massacres being filed by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch; how violence was recurrent and was being allowed with even ministers like Bharat Barot directly involved.
Evidence:- the NHRC and CEC Reports as also the correspondence between the NHRC and chief secretary Subha Rao, also an accused (Accused Nos- 27) are clear testimony of this subversion; ACS Home Ashok Narayan's letters to DGP available in SIT record show the subversion in keeping names out of FIRs etc.

13. Partisan prosecutors belonging to the RSS-VHP were appointed to ensure that cases were killed in their infancy; bail was easily granted to powerful accused until the Supreme Court stepped in, in 2003 and 2004. Two trials, the Best Bakery trial and the Bilkees Bano cases were transferred out of the state.
Evidence:- Judgements of the Supreme Court on 12.4.2004 and 1.5.2009.

14. Hate Speech was indulged in by Modi himself, on 27.2.2002 and right until the infamous Becharaji speech made top set off his election campaign on 9.9.2002 and also cynically permitted by the Home Department under him to spread poison and incite violence against Muslims and Christians. The State Intelligence under ADGP-Int RB Sreekumar had specifically recommended prosecution of the VHP for a series of incendiary pamphlets but this was ignored. SP Bhavnagar, Rahul Sharma too had recommended the prosecution of Sandesh, the Gujarati mainstream newspaper for publishing false and provocative photographs and reports. Both the NHRC and Editor's Guild had also strongly recommended prosecution of those guilty of hate speech. Modi had, instead sent congratulatory letters to those newspapers who had spread lies and venom. RB Sreekumar, Rahul Sharma and Sanjiv Bhatt are among the officers persecuted by the Gujarat government under Modi (home minister).
Evidence:- Modi's speech and its transcript is clearly communal; Gujarat's Intelligence department responding to the National Commission for the Minorities (9.9.2002) clearly assessed the deleterious impact of the speech ; Official letters of then ADGP Sreekumar dated 16.4.2002, then SP Bhavnagar, Rahul Sharma and then CP Vadodara all strongly recommending prosecution of VHP's hate pamphlets and the Sandesh newspaper -all part of the SIT record--were ignored by the political head of the GOG Home department, Modi.Ashok Narayan's statement to SIT dated 13.12.2009 available in the SITRecord @ Annexure I Volume I states that Modi was extremely dismissive of these repeated requests for prosecution.

15. Modi is guilty of ordering the Destruction of Crucial documents including Wireless Intercepted Messages, Vehicle logs, Police Control Room records and others on 30.3.2008, four days after the Supreme Court appoints the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on 26.3.2008. He has headed the Home ministry portfolio since that date.
Evidence:- Pages 70-77 of the Compilation that consists of documents from the SIT Record; Annexure IV, File I Sr Nos 23.

REFERENCES:
Who is Geeta Johri?

Sitting on the truth: The several failures of the Special Investigation Team appointed to reinvestigate nine major cases of violence that occurred in Gujarat 2002

CONTACT:
Indian American Muslim Council
phone/fax: (800) 839-7270
email:info@iamc.com
address: 6321 W Dempster St. Suite 295, Morton Grove, IL 60053

By IANS,

New Delhi : The cabinet Thursday ordered a probe into the alleged snooping on a young woman by Gujarat Police in 2009 at the behest of former state home minister Amit Shah, provoked an angry BJP to dismiss the decision as "politically motivated".

The cabinet decision was welcomed by Congress leaders. But the Bharatiya Janata Party saw it as an attempt to target its prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The move came even as an Ahmedabad court rejected a plea from Zakia Jafri, widow of a slain Congress MP, against the clean chit given to Modi by a Special Investigation Team in a 2002 case of Gujarat riots.

The court order prompted BJP leader Arun Jaitley to claim that the "conspiracy" to implicate Modi had been exposed.

"The Congress and its sponsored NGOs are unable to fight Narendra Modi politically. They used falsehood in court against him but failed," Jaitley tweeted.

The commission of inquiry approved by the cabinet will look into the "physical/electronic surveillance" in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi "allegedly without authorisation", an official statement said.

A retired Supreme Court judge could head the inquiry and may be asked to submit a report in three months, said government sources.

The snooping issue came into focus after two investigative news portals -Cobrapost and Gulail - claimed last month that Shah ordered the illegal surveillance of a woman at the behest of a "saheb" -- widely believed to be Modi.

Recently, Gulail.com released a set of 39 new tapes, purportedly of telephonic conversations which, it said, showed that the alleged illegal surveillance of the architect occurred even beyond Gujarat.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, a bitter critic of Modi, welcomed the cabinet move: "Congratulations to central government. This should have happened earlier."

The Congress had earlier alleged that the woman was close to Modi and was put under surveillance by Shah in 2009, after Modi suspected he of being close to an IAS officer.

A group of women activists had approached President Pranab Mukherjee to seek a judicial probe into the alleged snooping.

No more a minister in Gujarat, whose government has already ordered a probe into the case, Shah is now in-charge of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP said Thursday that Modi was the real target of the investigation into the alleged snooping.

"The centre's decision to institute a fresh commission of inquiry into the alleged snooping case is an attempt to tarnish the image of the Gujarat government," BJP president Rajnath Singh said.

Added BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman: "The Congress is trying to hit at the principal opposition party's prime ministerial candidate. It is a clear case of political vindictiveness coming into play."

Jaitley called the cabinet decision "a step against the federal structure of our constitution. I am sure it will be legally challenged in courts".

Law and Communications Minister Kapil Sibal mocked at him.

"Ironically, those who wanted immediate action against individuals allegedly accessing their call detail records CDRs are opposing the snoopgate actions," Sibal tweeted, referring to a case when Jaitley's phone was allegedly tapped.

By IANS,

Muscat : Indian schools in Oman will go online with their admission process for the academic year 2014-2015, a media report Thursday said.

The website related to admissions, www.indianschoolsoman.com, will go online with updated information and online registration forms from Jan 1, Times Of Oman reported.

The Board of Directors (BoD) of Indian schools in Oman - the apex body of the 19 Indian schools in the country with more than 37,000 students - is finalising the admission process for the academic year.

According to the report, the Centralised Admission System (CAS) for the six capital area schools, and a computerised random draw system introduced in 2011 had worked well.

Due to a large number of children seeking admission in Indian schools, the demand generally outstrips the total number of available seats, the report said.

The Indian Schools, which are established primarily to impart education to the students of the Indian community residing within the country, operate as a non-political, secular, and non-profit making self-sustaining institutions.

By IANS,

Ahmedabad : In a major relief for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a local court Thursday dismissed a petition by a killed Congress leader's widow, challenging the SIT's closure report giving a clean chit to him and 58 others in a case relating to the 2002 communal riots.

Expressing disappointment over the ruling by Metropolitan Magistrate B.J. Ganatra, Zakia Jafri and her supporters, including activist Teesta Setalvad, said they would challenge it before a higher court.

The petition challenging the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team's closure report, was filed by Jafri, the widow of slain former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was among the 69 people killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre here Feb 28, 2002 during the bloody riots in the wake of the Godhra train incident.

In her petition, Jafri had alleged that the SIT had shielded Modi and others by discarding the statements of police officers and other available evidence.

She further accused the SIT of having done incomplete and frivolous investigations and playing the role of a court by adjudging the truth about the available evidence.

Before closing the matter, the SIT had said there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute Modi and the incident alleged (the Gulbarg massacre) was beyond the ambit of its probe.

The investigating agency further said that it could not find any prosecutable evidence against the accused regarding their involvement in the alleged larger riots conspiracy.

The SIT declined to consider Indian Police Service officers R.B. Sreekumar, Sanjiv Bhatt and Rahul Sharma as witnesses or treat their statements as evidence on grounds that these were "hearsay evidence".

In 2006, Jafri had sought to lodge a complaint about the alleged larger conspiratorial role of Modi and 62 others during the 2002 riots.

After the Gujarat Police failed to register her complaint, she petitioned the Gujarat High Court which directed her to a magisterial court. However, she decided to move the Supreme Court.

The apex court had directed the SIT to look into the issue and later directed it to file its report before the concerned magistrate court.

In February last year, the SIT filed its closure report virtually exonerating all the accused, including Modi and others, which was challenged by Jafri through her lawyer Mihir Desai.

By IANS,

Dubai : A 23-year-old Indian drowned while swimming in the Arabian sea in Fujairah, UAE, police said.

The man, identified only by his initials A.M.M., was swimming along with two other friends near a hotel Wednesday when the incident happened, Khaleej Times reported Thursday.

Rescue personnel and policemen rushed to the sea and fished out the man's body.

Police are investigating the incident while the body has been kept in the hospital morgue for post-mortem.

Fujairah Police has urged all sea-goers to be extra cautious.

By TCN News,

Aligarh: Professor Mohammad Afzal Khan, Dr Roohi Abida Ahmed and Dr. Hassan Imam from the Centre of Advanced Study, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University participated in the First International Conference on Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCS-2013) at Singapore and presented their research papers.

Professor Afzal Khan in his paper, “Cultural Linkage between India and Iran: A Study of Mughal Art and Architecture”, tried to establish a cultural link between India and Iran by narrating the architectural features of the Mughal style that was taking shape and developing in India under the influence of Iranian nobles.

Dr. Hassan Imam delivering the lecture at International Conference, Singapore.

His study shows that India and Iran were linked together by ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural bonds since time immemorial that can be found in its cultural values, traditions and ideas. He emphasised that Iran being one of the great centres of art, literature and science, has very prosperous traditions.

Dr Roohi Abida Ahmed, Associate Professor in History (WC) presented paper on “Encountering the Mongol: The Delhi Sultanate during 13thCentury”. She tried to look Mongols problem from different perspectives. Her paper analysed the positive aspects of Mongol invasions under Chengis Khan in the context of cultural and intellectual developments in the Sultanate period. As a result of the destruction caused by Mongols, a large number of refugees belonging to distinguished families from Muslim centers migrated to India, along with their art and tradition that helped Delhi Sultanate in process of its cultural formation.

Dr. Hassan Imam talked on “From Mahatma to God: Understanding Gandhi in Cultural Perspectives of the Indian National Movement”. He drew largely from the sources that had been banned by the British. Dr. Imam focused on the subaltern concept of history writing and tried to examine Mahatma Gandhi’s picture from subaltern perspectives. He raised a number of issues relating to Mahatma Gandhi as to how he acquired a position of ‘God’ in popular imagination. His paper was appreciated by Prof. Douglas Francis of Canada, Prof. King Sang Ricardo Mak and others present in the CCS Conference at Singapore.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The National Commission for Minorities Thursday admitted a petition seeking action against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh for saying that not one of the Muzaffarnagar riot victims now lives in any relief camp.

The petitioner cited remarks made by Mulayam Singh while addressing a party gathering in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow Dec 23, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of late prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh.

"There are no riot victims at all in the (Muzaffarnagar) camps. You can check. These are people who are conspirators. BJP and Congress have conspired. They have asked people to stay there at night and sit on dharnas," the petitioner quoted Mulayam Singh as saying.

The petitioner, Shehzad Poonawala, a lawyer by training who has delivered over 3,000 blankets donated by people to the camps, listed 31 children who have died of cold at the relief camps.

He also listed the number of people in at least 13 camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts of western Uttar Pradesh.

The inhabitants of the camps fled their homes after the riots in early September, and many of them are now unwilling to return to their villages.

The petitioner has sought that besides taking action against the Samajwadi Party chief, the commission should also direct the state government to make an honest and accurate assessment of the people displaced in the riots, and provide ration and relief material to those in the camps.

Poonawala told IANS that Minorities Commission chairperson Wajahat Habibullah has promised to take up the matter.

By IANS,

Ahmedabad : As a local court upheld the closure of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report probing the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, state Chief Minister Narendra Modi said it represented the "triumph of truth".

"Truth alone triumphs," Modi tweeted after the verdict came.

"Truth by nature is self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear," Modi said, borrowing the words of Mahatma Gandhi.

In a major relief for the Gujarat chief minister, who is also Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections, a local court Thursday dismissed a petition by Zakia Jafri, widow of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002 riots, challenging the SIT's closure report.

That report had given a clean chit to Modi and 58 others in the communal violence.

The SIT was appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the riots.

In February last year, the SIT filed its closure report virtually exonerating all the accused, including Modi and others. That closure was challenged by Jafri through her lawyer Mihir Desai.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The BJP Thursday welcomed the Ahmedabad court decision to dismiss a plea challenging the clean chit to Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots case, and said truth has prevailed and a conspiracy to implicate the Gujarat chief minister has been exposed.

Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, himself reacted to the ruling and said "truth alone triumphs".

"Truth by nature is self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear - Mahatma Gandhi," Modi said in a tweet.

BJP president Rajnath Singh, who spoke to Modi after the ruling and congratulated him, said the verdict was on the expected lines.

"It vindicates our stand that the campaign against Modiji was politically motivated," Rajnath Singh posted on Twitter.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said: "Congress party and its sponsored NGOs are unable to fight Narendra Modi politically. They used falsehood in court against him but failed."

"Modi goes into the 2014 campaign untainted by propaganda, the verdict has proved that propaganda can never be a substitute for truth," he said on the microblogging website.

"Truth has prevailed. The conspiracy and falsehood to implicate Narendra Modi in an offence stands exposed," Jaitley said.

A court in Ahmedabad dismissed a petition filed by a Congress leader's widow challenging the closure report of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team giving a clean chit to Modi and 58 others.

The petition was filed by Zakia E. Jafri, widow of slain former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was among the 69 people killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre in Ahmedabad, Feb 28, 2002, following the burning of the Sabarmati Express coaches in Godhra.

Jafri said in her petition that Modi and others should be tried for their role in the riots conspiracy which had triggered violence across the state.

Jaitley said Thursday's court ruling was a moral victory for Modi and the BJP.

"There is a fundamental difference between truth and falsehood. Truth holds together. Falsehood is full of contradictions. It falls apart. This is exactly what has happened to a conspiracy of falsehood hatched by Narendra Modi's opponents in relation to the 2002 Gujarat riots," Jaitley told reporters.

The BJP leader said the Gujarat riots "were a painful chapter".

Jaitley, a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, said accusations were made against the Modi-led government that it was responsible for the conspiracy behind the riots.

"The truth is otherwise. The total number of people arrested both for preventive and punitive actions are 1,00,488. This is more than the number of people arrested in any other caste or religious tension in India. More people died in police firing during disturbances than in any other riot. This negates the allegation of police connivance," Jaitley said.

He said 4,272 cases were registered and 1,168 of these had been decided and hundreds of accused have been convicted.

Jaitley said nine major cases were referred to the SIT, and complimented it for its fairness.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Thursday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and district magistrates of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli on reports of children's death due to cold in relief camps.

"NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports that at least 40 children died in riot relief camps due to extreme cold," the commission said in a statement.

"It is also reported that there were not enough blankets for inmates of these camps, resulting in the death of infants and young children in Shamli and Muzaffarnagar districts," the statement added.

The commission also said that the contents of the press reports, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of infants and children.

By IANS,

Jammu : Jammu and Kashmir has set up control rooms to promptly intervene in case of man-animal conflict in the state. Victims of such conflicts will also get enhanced compensation, Forest Minister Mian Altaf Ahmad said.

Ahmad was speaking at Udhampur town of Jammu region, 64 km from the state's winter capital.

"The primary concern of the department is to save human lives. Swift action control rooms have been set up across the state to act promptly on receiving information about the appearance of wild animals in human habitations. The state government has enhanced the compensation to Rs.3 lakh from the existing Rs.1 lakh for the families of those who lose their lives in such a conflict, while Rs.25,000 will be paid to each of those who suffer injuries in such incidents," the minister said.

There has been an alarming increase in man-animal conflict in the state in recent years. Experts attribute this to human encroachment of forest land.

The shrinking natural habitat of wild animals like bears, leopards and jackals has been forcing them to enter human habitations, where they come in conflict with human beings competing for space and food.

Mian Altaf Ahmad instructed officials of the forest department Thursday to launch massive afforestation on areas along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway so that damage caused to environment by smoke-emitting vehicles is checked. He also told officials to fence all forest land to avoid any encroachment.

As the minister took stock of the Manhoor nursery in Udhampur district, he was told that 10,000 plants had been planted in the district. In the previous season, 11,000 saplings were distributed among people for plantation. The minister was also told that 13,000 plants were ready for plantation in the next season.

Talking to reporters, the minister said conservation of forests and environment was the priority of his department. He added that the aim of his visit was to see progress of projects implemented in the district.

"A lot has been done, but much still needs to be done" he said.

By IANS,

Srinagar : In a significant development, a group of Islamic scholars Thursday ruled that "half-widows", or women whose husbands had disappeared during the over 20-year-long conflict in Jammu and Kashmir and whose whereabouts are since unknown, can re-marry after four years of waiting for their spouses.

A civil society initiative had organized a round of consultations among the local Islamic scholars to deliberate on the future of woman whose husbands had disappeared during the over 20-year old conflict in the state.

Such women have come to be known as "half widows" because the fact of their husbands being alive or dead has remained shrouded in an unresolved mystery over the years.

The group of Islamic scholars also said that the issue of inheritance of properties of missing husbands by the half widows should be resolved in light of the relevant Quranic decrees.

As regards their consensus decision on the re-marriage of half widows after four years, the group said a detailed decree or fatwa would be issued by them soon.

As per the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act 1939 also, a married Muslim woman is entitled to obtain a decree for the dissolution of her marriage if the whereabouts of the husband are not known for a period of four years.

This remedy is also available if the husband has neglected or failed to provide for her maintenance for a period of two years or the husband has been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of seven years and more and finally if the husband has failed to perform, without any reasonable cause, his marital obligations for a period of three years.

Till now there had been no consensus among the local Islamic scholars over the re-marriage rights of the half widows here.

By IANS,

Srinagar : A woman and her two daughters died of suffocation after inhaling cooking gas leaking from a cylinder in their house in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district Thursday, police said.

The woman identified as Sonia, wife of Khursheed Ahmad Dar, and her daughters, Rahie, 6, and Tanveera, 8, were found dead in their kitchen at village Ladgoo in Kulgam Thursday morning, a senior police officer said.

"Police reached the spot and found leakage from the gas cylinder in the kitchen where the trio was sleeping," said the officer.

"The deceased died apparently of suffocation due to the gas. Proceedings under section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code were initiated to ascertain the cause of the death.

"After the completion of post mortem at district hospital and other legal formalities, the bodies were handed over to their relatives for last rites," added the official.

By TCN News,

New Delhi: Family members, friends and co-workers of the recently deceased Executive Director of the Institute for Social Democracy, Khurshid Anwar have come together to press for a thorough investigation into events leading up to his death, particularly what they consider an unfair ‘trial by media and social media’ that the late activist was subjected to.

It may be recalled that Anwar, a well-known name in activist circles in Delhi, allegedly committed suicide on the morning of the eighteenth of this month, after being accused of rape by a fellow activist.

Members of Anwar’s immediate family, including his elder brother, Delhi University professor Ali Javed, and friends have banded together as the Campaign for Khurshid Anwar. They allege that the late activist was forced to take the extreme step due the mental trauma and public humiliation caused by a targeted vilification campaign on Facebook and certain TV programmes broadcast on the days immediately leading to his death.

“He was convicted, tried and hanged without any process of law. For over three months, no FIR had been filed against him. The complainant was not subjected to a medical test. Dr. Anwar had challenged those accusing him on Facebook to go through these elementary steps, but nothing was done” says Ankita Chandranath, spokesperson of the Campaign.

“Dr Anwar was one of the leading women’s rights activists of the country. He was a genial figure, an elder brother and it is unthinkable that such allegations are being brought against him” said Shruti Chaturvedi, programme in-charge at the Institute for Social Democracy, the NGO headed by Anwar.

The Campaign is keen to tap into social media to take its message far and wide. A Facebook page ‘Justice for Khurshid Anwar’ has been created, and activity has also started on twitter. A WordPress blog has been started. “Dr Anwar’s condolence meeting saw leading academicians and activists come together to express shock and dismay at his untimely death and the events that precipitated it. Saeed Naqvi, Teesta Setalvad, Purushottam Agrawal, Narendra Singh and other leading figures raised pertinent questions and pressed for thorough investigations. We are circulating videos of these figures and other multimedia material through our web campaign”, said Ritambhara Agrawal, a team member.

Related:

Activists, intellectuals criticize vilification, media trial that forced Khurshid Anwar to commit suicide

By Tanvir Salim,

Gorakhpur: A seminar on Pasmanda Muslim issues was held in Gorakhpur on December 22, 2013 in remembrance of late Ashfaq Husain Ansari by the social organization Ashfaq Husain Ansari Memorial Society which was named after him. This seminar was attended by hundreds of people from Gorakhpur and other neighboring districts. The theme of the seminar was “Pasmanda Aandolan- Dasha aur Disha.”

In this seminar rich tributes were paid to late Ashfaq Husain Ansari who passed away in 2008, leaving the unfinished agenda of the Pasmanda Movement. Speakers after speakers spoke about the deteriorating conditions of the Pasmanda Muslims in every sphere of life. There was a general consensus that education is the only tool that will help the marginalized and down trodden sections of the society to improve their living conditions. Almost all the political parties were blamed for being unfair to the Pasmanda Muslims. It was pointed out that the top posts in every political party are dominated by the upper echelons of the Muslim society. Somebody rightly questioned about the diminishing number of Pasmanda Muslims in the Parliament and State Assemblies.

After careful and lengthy deliberations the following were decided:

1-Pasmanda Muslims will go for the contestation of the ‘Total Muslim Reservations’ (TMR) campaigns, which are launched by the Ashraf classes among Muslims. The Pasmanda Muslims are covered within the existing reservations policy. The point is not about chalking a separate quota for all Muslims, but rather the deepening of existing reservation policy so that an adequate share for Dalit and backward caste Muslims is secured. The Ashraf Muslims are not ‘socially’ backward, and hence cannot be considered for reservations. The exclusion of forward Muslims from the Central OBC list is the main driving force for TMR campaigns.

2-Chalking out of a sub-quota for Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) within OBC quota at the Central and State levels (the Bihar formula), where the backward caste Muslims could be clubbed together with similarly placed Hindu caste groups. This is a more judicious and non-communal demand than the 4.5% sub-quota for OBC-Minorities moved by the Congress Party before last Lok Sabha elections.

3-Scrapping of Presidential Order, 1950 (Clause 3) so that Dalit Muslims and Christians are duly included in the SC list.

4-State support to the artisans, crafts-persons, agricultural laborers and other cottage and small-scale industries through effective subsidies, credit and loan facilities, marketing support, skill up gradation.

5-Provide adequate representation of Pasmanda Muslims in ticket distribution in political parties.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Hyderabad: Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) has condemned the ‘moral policing’ by police inspector Syed Nayeemuddin Javed. CLMC has now written to the National Commission for Women urging them to intervene and take appropriate action.

Police Inspector Syed Nayeemuddin Jawed in a self-promotional video was caught chasing down ‘Muslim couples’ and punishing them at Seven Tombs Park. Golconda station head Inspector claimed that those youngsters were indulging in indecent acts at Public Park. In the video which has got widely circulated over social media Inspector Jawed and plainclothes police men with Lathis in hand were seen manhandling adult males and forcing girls clad in Burkhas to do sit ups on running camera and on even occasions allowed other passers-by to film in their mobile phones.

Mr. Jawed in barely 30 min self-promotion video programmed by a newly launched local YouTube channel was also heard making remarks against Muslim girls using mobile phones and wearing jeans inside their burqas. According to his assessment in the video, generally those kinds of girls are ‘prostitutes’ using burqas to hide their identity. He is even heard saying, “This is India not London, Paris where you can do immoral acts. It is a religious country; there are religious laws here which don’t allow this kind of obscenity.”

Terming his actionlike Shiv sainik’ and a ‘Talibanic,’ CLMC has called the action illegal, adding this act of officer cannot be justified in any sense.

CLMC has alleged that according to latest information received, Inspector of Golconda using mafia groups to suppress the voice of those people who raised objection on action against girls.

CLMC has demanded stern action against the police officer for taking law into his own hands.

Related:

Police & Media colludes in ‘Muslim Moral policing’, inquiry ordered