By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: A number of civil rights activists have together criticized the withdrawal of ‘saffron terror’ remark by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde calling it "Congress’ cowardly capitulation to the RSS and BJP."
A joint statement signed by 36 civil rights advocates, lawyers and academicians said, “By making this apology Mr. Shinde has sent a dubious message to agencies investigating the activities of terrorists linked to the RSS and its associated organisations such as the Sansathan Sanstha, Jai Vande Matram Kalyani Samiti and Abhinav Bharat.”
“His apology will only serve to strengthen current prejudice and institutional bias against the minority community in terror investigations,” they added.
Amongst other the joint-statement is signed by senior journalists Amit Sengupta, Iqbal Ahmed, Editor of the The Milli Gazette, Dr Zafrul Islam, Manisha Sethi of JTSA, Bhavna Sharma of ANHAD and civil rights activist Mahtab Alam.
Below is the full text of the joint statement:
Statement on Home Minister’s Apology: Congress’ Cowardly Capitulation to the RSS and BJP
21.02.2012
After frankly acknowledging the organizational role of the RSS and BJP in spawning terrorism in the country Home Minister Mr Sushil Kuamr Shinde has suddenly backtracked, buckled under pressure and apologized to the BJP.
Mr. Shinde’s statement at Jaipur about ‘training camps of both BJP and RSS promoting Hindu terrorism’ were factually correct given the political and religious identity of those involved in the Samjhauta, Malegaon and Mecca Masjid blasts. His clubbing the term ‘ Hindu’ with ‘terrorism’ is nothing to apologise for in a country where state agencies, politicians and the media routinely refer to ‘jihadi terrorism’ without any compunction.
By making this apology Mr. Shinde has sent a dubious message to agencies investigating the activities of terrorists linked to the RSS and its associated organisations such as the Sansathan Sanstha, Jai Vande Matram Kalyani Samiti and Abhinav Bharat. His apology will only serve to strengthen current prejudice and institutional bias against the minority community in terror investigations. Whileterror may haveno religion, as Congress and BJP agree with TV anchors, ‘the fact remains that Indian police and other agencies routinely target and vilify the Muslim community whenever a terrorist attack takes place.
With Mr Shinde’s apology coming as it does just days after the secret execution of Afzal Guru, another condemnable act of cowardly capitulation by the UPA government we can only wonder how far the Congress will go to adopt the fascist and communal agenda of the RSS as its very own?
1. Adv.Mohd Shoaib, Rihai Manch
2. Amit Sengupta, Senior Journalist
3. Anivar Aravind, Activist, Bangalore
4. Bhavna Sharma, Anhad
5. Dr Zafrul Islam, Editor, The Milli Gazette
6. Mahtab Alam, Writer & Activist
7. Manisha Sethi, and Saghamitra Misra, JTSA
8. Mansi Sharma, Activist
9. Masihuddin Sanjari, Rihai Manch
10. Musab Iqbal, Journalist, Banglore
11. N. Jayaram, Independent Journalist, Bangalore
12. Navaid Hamid, Member, National Integration Council
13. Nilofer Bhagwat, Lawyer and Activist, Mumbai
14. Rajeev Yadav,Rihai Manch
15. Ram Puniyani, All India Secular Forum
16. Satya Sivaraman, Senior Journalist
17. Seema Mustafa, Senior Journalist
18. Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad
19. Shahnawaz Alam,Rihai Manch
20. Syed Zafar Mehdi, Journalist & Blogger
21. Wilfred D'Costa, INSAF
22. Kavita Srivastava, National secretary, PUCL
23. Vineet Tiwari, Secretary, MP PWA
24. Rimmi Sharma, Journalist
25. Sukumar Murlidharan, Senior Journalist
26. Subhash Gatade, Writer and Activist
27. Kiran Shaheen, Senior Journalist
28. Jamal Kidwai, Activist, Delhi
29. Sandeep Samwad, Activist, Delhi
30. Dilnawaz Pasha, Journalist
31. Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Activist, delhi
32. Shahnawaz Malik, Journalist
33. Mathew Jacob & Anupam Kishore, HRLN
34. Syed Hassan Kazim, Journalist
35. Xavier Dais, Activist, Ranchi
36. Iqbal Ahmad, Journalist and many others.