GUWAHATI, Dec 11: The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) today raised the demand for a separate Bodoland State to be carved out of Assam in the State Assembly today following the Centre’s nod to the proposed Telangana State to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, however, rejected the demand outright. The stand of the State Government was also supported by the AGP.
After the Question Hour, Karendra Basumatary of the BPF raised the demand for a separate Bodoland State, and said: “If the Central Government can carve out a separate Telangana of Andhra Pradesh, what prevents it from carving out a separate Bodoland of Assam?”
Basumatary demanded of the House to send a message in favour of a separate Bodoland State to the Centre today itself. He said the BPF has no alternative but to press for a separate Bodoland State.
AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary then said that the BPF had initiated a new chapter in Assam’s politics by raising the demand for a separate Bodoland on the floor of the House. “Since the BPF is a coalition partner of the Congress in the State Government, the Government should clarify its stand on the issue,” Patowary said.
In his reply, Gogoi said: “There have been demands for separate Kamatapur, Bodoland, Dimaraji and Karbi Anglong from the respective ethnic groups, but we want to stay together. The State Government doesn’t want further division of the State. If the ethnic groups demanding separate States have any problems, the government is ready to solve them.” The AGP supported the stand of the Chief Minister in what may be called a convergence of the ruling Congress and the principal opposition to prevent the State from being divided further.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
AGP MLA demands ‘separate Muslim land’!
Guwahati, Dec 11: AGP MLA Abdul Ajij, demanded a ‘‘separate Muslim land’’ in Assam in the State Assembly today. He said such ‘‘separate Muslim land’’ will cater to the needs of the ‘‘2.5 millions Muslims of the State’’.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Massive Dalit rally demands separate electorate for Dalits
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), which has about 1200 Dalit groups under its umbrella, has demanded the Central Government to introduce separate electorate for Dalits, Adivasis and women to ensure their real representation in Lok Sabha.
At a massive rally organized in New Delhi on December 5 NACDOR also demanded constitutional amendment “to introduce reservation in Rajya Sabha and make this mandatory to elect members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as per their share in population in the state.”
At the end of the daylong rally at Jantar Mantar, the group presented a charter of demands to the Prime Minister.
Some major demands in the charter include 15% and 7.5% quota for SCs and STs respectively in public sector undertakings, corporate and private sectors; establishment of monitoring and vigilance committee in each district to ensure proper implementation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989); publication of annual report by NHRC on violation of human rights of SCs and STs; establishment of grain banks for food security in all Dalit and adivasi villages; special housing scheme for Dalits all across the country and representation of Dalits in Radio, TV and print media through modifications in HR policies.
The NACDOR opposed restrictions on conversion and demanded religious freedom to Dalits as well as all citizens of the country. “Religious freedom is the corner stone of India’s constitution and citizens are free to choose any religion as and when they like. This fundamental right of the people must be protected and all laws made to nullify this freedom by different states must be repealed.”
Another major demand of the group is proper compensation to SCs and STs affected by climate change including changing patterns and reduction of rainfalls, floods, droughts etc.
Mashkoor Alam, a youth from a Dalit Muslim community in Bihar and attached with NACDOR for years, talks to TCN about his views on Dalit issues.
“We are here to demand rights for Dalit communities in India irrespective of their religion,” says Mashkoor at the rally.
Asked if as a member of a Dalit Muslim community he demands reservation for only Dalit Muslims or for the entire Muslim community, Mashkoor says: The Sachar Report has already pointed out that the whole Muslim community is marginalized but it is also true that a section of the community has developed themselves. So what we are demanding is that Dalit Muslims who have same profession as Dalit Hindus, should also be given the status of Scheduled Castes – the status enjoyed by Dalit, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec08/massive_dalit_rally_demands_separate_electorate_dalits.html
New Delhi: The National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), which has about 1200 Dalit groups under its umbrella, has demanded the Central Government to introduce separate electorate for Dalits, Adivasis and women to ensure their real representation in Lok Sabha.
At a massive rally organized in New Delhi on December 5 NACDOR also demanded constitutional amendment “to introduce reservation in Rajya Sabha and make this mandatory to elect members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as per their share in population in the state.”
At the end of the daylong rally at Jantar Mantar, the group presented a charter of demands to the Prime Minister.
Some major demands in the charter include 15% and 7.5% quota for SCs and STs respectively in public sector undertakings, corporate and private sectors; establishment of monitoring and vigilance committee in each district to ensure proper implementation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989); publication of annual report by NHRC on violation of human rights of SCs and STs; establishment of grain banks for food security in all Dalit and adivasi villages; special housing scheme for Dalits all across the country and representation of Dalits in Radio, TV and print media through modifications in HR policies.
The NACDOR opposed restrictions on conversion and demanded religious freedom to Dalits as well as all citizens of the country. “Religious freedom is the corner stone of India’s constitution and citizens are free to choose any religion as and when they like. This fundamental right of the people must be protected and all laws made to nullify this freedom by different states must be repealed.”
Another major demand of the group is proper compensation to SCs and STs affected by climate change including changing patterns and reduction of rainfalls, floods, droughts etc.
Mashkoor Alam, a youth from a Dalit Muslim community in Bihar and attached with NACDOR for years, talks to TCN about his views on Dalit issues.
“We are here to demand rights for Dalit communities in India irrespective of their religion,” says Mashkoor at the rally.
Asked if as a member of a Dalit Muslim community he demands reservation for only Dalit Muslims or for the entire Muslim community, Mashkoor says: The Sachar Report has already pointed out that the whole Muslim community is marginalized but it is also true that a section of the community has developed themselves. So what we are demanding is that Dalit Muslims who have same profession as Dalit Hindus, should also be given the status of Scheduled Castes – the status enjoyed by Dalit, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec08/massive_dalit_rally_demands_separate_electorate_dalits.html
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Justice Liberhan Report – Half Truthful and Half Untold
Will Government Ban RSS & VHP?
By Syed Shahabuddin,
Historians will indeed take a poor view of the national leadership in the critical days of 1992: a Prime Minister who was either naïve or incompetent and least interested in performing his Constitutional and legal duties: an opposition leader, who was, to say the least, a hypocrite, who had conceptualized and mobilized the people through his Rath Yatra and incited their fanaticism and then called 6 December, the saddest day of his life: a senior colleague of his who was not only a practitioner of ambiguity but a master of double talk; a Chief Minister who swore false affidavits; a political party which planned to build its fortunes by inventing and organizing a movement to undermine the Constitution and the Rule of law: a Government whose ministers, with one honourable exception, were a pack of spineless courtiers: political parties, which called themselves secular but which remained silent spectators of the unfolding drama.
Under the Shariat, while no masjid can be constructed on usurped land, a masjid once consecrated cannot be alienated in any manner-sold or leased or gifted. Even after, the Demolition, the Babri Masjid exists. Because the masjid is the site, the land which has been consecrated for worship, and not the stones and bricks or the structure. And the site cannot be destroyed!
Indeed, the question of title to the site is under judicial examination by the Special Bench of Allahabad High Court under Supreme Court’s Order. After the verdict the road map charted by the Supreme Court comes into operation. Under it a place of worship shall be built on the disputed site by the party which has the title but the other party may also construct a place of worship nearby within the Acquired Area.
While the Muslim community has reiterated its commitment to accept the final judicial verdict, whatever it may be, the Sangh Parivar and its associates have taken the stand that they will accept it, only if it is in their favour. This has been repeated by practically all the top leaders of the BJP and the VHP. Unfortunately, the Central Government has not taken so far a clear-cut stand that under the Constitution it has no option but to accept the final judicial verdict and implement the road map.
Negotiated Settlement
The Hindu organizations continue to harp on a negotiated settlement; there have been many spells of negotiations before and after the Demolition. Many compromises were offered by the Muslim side and many alternatives were considered but all negotiations failed because of the demand of the Hindu leadership that the Muslims in any case must surrender the Babri Masjid site to build a Temple on its site , even if there is no evidence to support the myth of Ayodhya being Ram’s janambhoomi or the Babari Masjid site being his janamsthan, or the existence of a Ram Mandir on the site in 1528 and its deliberate destruction by Mir Baqi, Babar’s commander, to build the Babari Masjid in its place. None of these inter-linked propositions bear any historical scrutiny. Moreover, the Hindutva forces make similar demands on thousands of other Masjids but, very generously for the present, claim only two in Mathura near the Krishnajanmabhumi temple (despite the earlier agreement) and in Varanasi near the Viswanath temple. This means that even if the Muslims concede the VHP’s demand in Aydhya they have to face a protracted battle on other masjids.
Sangh Parivar – The Main Culprit
The Liberhan Report on the Demolition in brief brings out the criminal culpability of the Sangh Parivar in clear terms, even though it fails to identify the leaders or the members of the Special Demolition Squads organized by it, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The Report only indicts some leaders of the Ramajanmabhmi Movement/Sangh Parivar present in Ayodhya as well as the bureaucrats stationed in Faizabad and Ayodhya who failed to do their duty. Some of them have died or retired. Some others are already under prosecution. Two FIR’s filed on 7 December, 1992, have made little progress because of change of Governments; not much is expected to emerge from these two cases which are now pending before the Special Courts in Lucknow and Raebareli, even if the Government now agrees to expedite them as well as to investigate possible case against the others.
Clean Chit to Arch Villain – Narshimha Rao
The Report totally and absolutely exonerates the Arch Villain of the Demolition, the then Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao. This omission needs to be examined in detail because the Report tries to whitewash him and endorse his false defence.
But, before we come to his guilt a word about the Congress role would be in order. Although it did not disown or remove him as it should have done, it refused him the party ticket and the honour of leading it in the next General Election in 1996. But Congress role, right from 1949, right up to 1992 is an anathema. It may be recalled that with a Congress Chief Minister in the state and Prime Minister at the Centre, the Masjid was desecrated in December 1949 and the idols were ‘surreptitiously and illegally introduced’ therein, the Central directives from Nehru and Patel were ignored, the Masjid was placed out of bounds for the Muslims and a pujari was appointed to service the idols, thus turning a standing, ancient masjid into a ‘de facto mandir’. The criminal cases crawled for 30 years; in 1986, the doors of the Masjid were opened for public darshan, converting the de facto mandir into a ‘de jure mandir’ under a politically manipulated and government backed Order of District Judge of 1.2.86. All along the VHP had enjoyed full freedom to propagate its mission. In 1989, it was permitted to perform the Shila Nyas of the proposed Mandir in the disputed area, blatantly against the High Court Order. It was also allowed to establish a workshop for sculpting architectural elements for the proposed mandir-an illegal enterprise. In order to secure political benefit from its oversight and indirect association, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched the electoral campaign from Ayodhya . In this historic perspective, it will not be fair to place the entire blame on Narasimha Rao as he only tried to carry on the traditions and perhaps the real intent of his party. But he was the Prime Minister in 1992 and had repeatedly assured the Muslims and others of protecting Masjid against Demolition and haste bear responsibility.
Rule of Rao
Despite Muslim request, he did not declare the Babari Masjid a National Monument of Historical Importance and thus assume full responsibility for its protection.
While the Kar Sevaks were moving to Ayodhya, Government did not instruct any state government or ask the Supreme Court to stop the movement of kar sevaks or even ban the Kar Seva or to restrict them to approach the Masjid in small groups. The Chief Minister had been questioning the placement of Central Forces in the vicinity of Ayodhya, but Rao failed to put him under notice under Article 355 of the Constitution. Rao never asked the Governor for a formal situation report; on the other hand, he asked him not to send a report. Liberhan defends him on the ground that the Governor did not advise him to place UP under President’s Rule. This was not mandatory as the Prime Minister had many sources of information.
Rao ignored the daily IB briefings, and did not ask any other sources like the Defence Intelligence. He ignored warnings from other parties. Though, he was given full powers to protect the Masjid by all political parties (except BJP) in the National Integration Council in November, 1992, even to apply Article 356, he did not take any effective steps.
Rao simply pushed aside the Cabinet Note prepared by the Home Secretary for imposition of President’s rule and went away to Africa at the critical time.
On 6 December, 1992, even after the attack had begun in the presence of the top leaders of the BJP and the VHP and the solemn assurances by the Chief Minister and top BJP leaders to the High Court and the Supreme Court stood nullified, he did not dismiss the Chief Minister, not even after the first dome had fallen. He did not accept the CM’s resignation submitted at 1 p.m. He convened the Cabinet meeting, after all domes had fallen, and the Mosque had been reduced to rubble and then imposed the President’s Rule.
Even after the President’s rule was imposed, he refused to order central para-military forces to forcibly disperse the kar sevaks who were engaged in levelling the debris and constructing a makeshift temple. Indeed, this was allowed to go on for 36 hours, till it was completed and the idols which had been removed from Babari Masjid were re-installed. Thus, a new fact was created. Rao never took a clear stand on the legality of the makeshift mandir though it was a clear violation of the judicial order.
Subsequently, Rao went back on his promise to rebuild the Masjid. He refused to assure the Parliament that his government will execute the final judicial verdict and implement the roadmap of 1994.
Rao’s behaviour before, during and after the Demolition leads to only one conclusion that for his own reasons, he was a part of the conspiracy, hand-in-glove with the Demolishers. He was in regular touch with the RSS chief Deoras as well as with the BJP leader Advani and acting in collusion with them.
The whole world knew of the intentions and the programme of the Sangh Parivar. They had placed their cards open on the table right from the beginning, particularly after 1985 when the BJP extended its open political support. But the Prime Minister who was the custodian of the Constitution, sworn to maintain the rule of law, who had complete authority and full power to intervene, who had full knowledge of hour-to-hour developments, deliberately undermined the Constitution. That the Report not only gives him a clean chit but absolves him of all responsibility is indeed amazing.
History will one day reveal what transpired between Narasimha Rao and the Sangh Parivar. Even today, we have VHP leader Singhal’s testimony that Rao was sympathetic to their cause!
The Report itself was ready soon after the hearings were completed. But apparently the draft was under ‘negotiations’ with successive governments. This alone explain why Liberhan was given 48 extensions by both NDA & UPA governments and why he took 17 years to submit the Report. It has been suggested that he introduced the Vajpayee factor to save Advani from bearing the full responsibility. To save Rao, he merely reproduced what the former had said in his own defence in his book on Ayodhya. It ignores all the circumstantial evidence which taken together point only in one direction that Narasimha Rao for his own reasons wanted the Masjid to be demolished. Perhaps, he thought that once the Masjid was demolished, the Muslims will forget about it and he would harvest Hindu votes.
Aspersions on Muslims
Liberhan did not summon key witnesses like Vajpayee or Chandrashekhar, or Rao’s colleague Fotedar. He did not summon any Muslim leader, though both the BMMCC and AIBMAC had submitted their affidavits. The BMMCC Convener (Syed Shahabuddin) voluntarily deposed before the Commission and was cross examined. But without citing any evidence Liberhan has criticized and abused Muslim leadership as a whole in general terms. Perhaps having blasted the Sangh Parivar, in order to escape the charge of Muslim ‘appeasement’, he had to malign the Muslim leadership to maintain a balance.
The fact is that the Babari Masjid Movement had never claimed that it would raise an army or call upon Muslim community to defend it against the attack by the kar sevaks. Nowhere on their way to Ayodhya, their movement was disrupted by the Muslim; nowhere was Advani’s Rath Yatra blocked; nowhere the Muslim community organized any counter-resistance.
Muslim leadership put their faith in the Constitution and depended entirely on the Government of the day which had the undeniable responsibility to protect the Masjid and to stop the gathering elements with crime in their mind and heart and on their lips.
From February 86 to December 92 Muslims submitted innumerable memoranda to the Government, placed their views before the political parties, the members of Parliament and issued statements and wrote letters to the media, pleading for a peaceful settlement. They approached the Kamakoti Shankaracharya as well as the Paramacharya to request them to intervene. Some of them offered to permit the Hindu side to build a temple with Ram Chabutra situated in the outer campus of the Babari Masjid as its base or to construct a temple just next to the Masjid.
In public discourse, the Muslims leadership refrained from using any inept language. Whenever, they spoke of Ram; they did it with reverence and respect. But, they consistently refused to surrender even one square inch of the Masjid proper.
One wonders what Liberhan wanted the Muslims to do. Perhaps he expected them to take the law in their hands, to fight it out it out in the streets, to create law and order problems. But they did not. Liberhan does not offer any evidence in support of his thesis that ‘Muslim action created fear in the mind of the Hindus’. Fear of what?
In any case, in many places the Report goes beyond the terms of reference. On one hand he has not recommended specific action against the actual culprits and named only some RSS, BJP and VHP leaders. On the other, he has made generalized recommendation related to administrative, judicial, electoral and police reforms. The Report is thus lost in irrelevancies. It was perhaps doctored in 2 stages. It has been called a pointless report with nothing that competent journalists covering the Demolition could not have penned the day after.
The ATR submitted by the Government is equally pointless except on one point, the possibility of expediting the ongoing prosecution of some, and investigating the cases against the others, though one wonders what will come out of it.
Surprisingly the Report does not take note of Supreme Court’s Order of October 1994 or of the Road Map. Nor does he suggest any alternative formula for further negotiations between the Sangh Parivar and the Muslim community, having left out all negotiations between ’86 and ’92 and thereafter.
Some people have given much importance to the leakage of the Report a few days before it was to be tabled in the Parliament. The leakage is not the real issue because it did not create any new situation. The real issue is why it took 48 extensions and 17 years and hundreds of hearings, not to speak of 8 crores of public money.
Political Fall-out
Some journalists are speculating that the Report will help liberate the BJP from total control by the RSS and it may bring back the non-RSS leadership of the BJP into focus. Some are saying it may help Advani to re-emerge as the supreme leader as he alone has the reputation and experience to defend, if the Government decides to take action against the RSS.
Whatever they may say, the RSS/BJP are not in a position to revive the Ayodhya question. India has undergone tectonic shifts since 1992 and they will not be able to secure public support for a religious cause when perspectives have changed, aspirations have changed and the next generation and the middle classes, though communalized more than ever before, do not care for religion to dominate politics or the community to get a bad name by staging another Ayodhya. Moreover, the same political card cannot be played again. The Congress has emerged stronger and is prepared to indulge in politics of pale saffron in order to attract the Hindu votes when it needs. The bureaucracy or the elite will turn away from the Sangh Parivar, while Congress caters to the national ambition of India of getting a seat on the high table of international diplomacy and global economy.
What Next?
The Demolition is part of history. Even if the final judicial verdict on title to the disputed site goes in favour of the Muslism, they will not have the strength, numerically or politically, to force the Government to take it to its logical and legal conclusion. The Muslims will have no alternative but to accept the fact of the Demolition and the disinclination of the secular forces to make the reconstruction an issue.
The Hindu extremists also have no alternative. In fact, they face a double jeopardy. It is doubtful whether the masses will associate themselves with a re-run of Ayodhya or kar seva or a project to build a temple on the Babari Masjid site. However, out of anger and frustration, the other historic Masjids, particularly those at Mathura and Varanasi, may be targetted even in low key just to keep the fires of Hindutva burning.
Seventeen years later, the shoddy, inconsistent, ill-drafted Report has little relevance, in today’s circumstances and low credibility. But it can still save our Democracy from becoming a Theocracy, if the Government has the political will and takes effective steps to protect the country from the evil designs of those who are preparing for more Ayodhyas. In the light of the Report, the Government must;
1. Ban the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal which stand indicted
2. Ban all extremist organizations which mentally prepare and physically train volunteers in the use of arms and to take law in their hands.
3. Ban all militant outfits, Senas, Dals, Vahinis etc.
4. Amend the electoral law to deny recognition to a political party which challenges the basic features of the Constitution or seeks to replace the secular state by a theocratic state, based on the supremacy of a particular religion or the dominance of a religious community.
But will it have the will and the guts?
(The writer is former Lok Sabha Member and convenor of Babri Masjid Coordination Committee)
http://twocircles.net/2009dec04/justice_liberhan_report_half_truthful_and_half_untold.html
By Syed Shahabuddin,
Historians will indeed take a poor view of the national leadership in the critical days of 1992: a Prime Minister who was either naïve or incompetent and least interested in performing his Constitutional and legal duties: an opposition leader, who was, to say the least, a hypocrite, who had conceptualized and mobilized the people through his Rath Yatra and incited their fanaticism and then called 6 December, the saddest day of his life: a senior colleague of his who was not only a practitioner of ambiguity but a master of double talk; a Chief Minister who swore false affidavits; a political party which planned to build its fortunes by inventing and organizing a movement to undermine the Constitution and the Rule of law: a Government whose ministers, with one honourable exception, were a pack of spineless courtiers: political parties, which called themselves secular but which remained silent spectators of the unfolding drama.
Under the Shariat, while no masjid can be constructed on usurped land, a masjid once consecrated cannot be alienated in any manner-sold or leased or gifted. Even after, the Demolition, the Babri Masjid exists. Because the masjid is the site, the land which has been consecrated for worship, and not the stones and bricks or the structure. And the site cannot be destroyed!
Indeed, the question of title to the site is under judicial examination by the Special Bench of Allahabad High Court under Supreme Court’s Order. After the verdict the road map charted by the Supreme Court comes into operation. Under it a place of worship shall be built on the disputed site by the party which has the title but the other party may also construct a place of worship nearby within the Acquired Area.
While the Muslim community has reiterated its commitment to accept the final judicial verdict, whatever it may be, the Sangh Parivar and its associates have taken the stand that they will accept it, only if it is in their favour. This has been repeated by practically all the top leaders of the BJP and the VHP. Unfortunately, the Central Government has not taken so far a clear-cut stand that under the Constitution it has no option but to accept the final judicial verdict and implement the road map.
Negotiated Settlement
The Hindu organizations continue to harp on a negotiated settlement; there have been many spells of negotiations before and after the Demolition. Many compromises were offered by the Muslim side and many alternatives were considered but all negotiations failed because of the demand of the Hindu leadership that the Muslims in any case must surrender the Babri Masjid site to build a Temple on its site , even if there is no evidence to support the myth of Ayodhya being Ram’s janambhoomi or the Babari Masjid site being his janamsthan, or the existence of a Ram Mandir on the site in 1528 and its deliberate destruction by Mir Baqi, Babar’s commander, to build the Babari Masjid in its place. None of these inter-linked propositions bear any historical scrutiny. Moreover, the Hindutva forces make similar demands on thousands of other Masjids but, very generously for the present, claim only two in Mathura near the Krishnajanmabhumi temple (despite the earlier agreement) and in Varanasi near the Viswanath temple. This means that even if the Muslims concede the VHP’s demand in Aydhya they have to face a protracted battle on other masjids.
Sangh Parivar – The Main Culprit
The Liberhan Report on the Demolition in brief brings out the criminal culpability of the Sangh Parivar in clear terms, even though it fails to identify the leaders or the members of the Special Demolition Squads organized by it, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The Report only indicts some leaders of the Ramajanmabhmi Movement/Sangh Parivar present in Ayodhya as well as the bureaucrats stationed in Faizabad and Ayodhya who failed to do their duty. Some of them have died or retired. Some others are already under prosecution. Two FIR’s filed on 7 December, 1992, have made little progress because of change of Governments; not much is expected to emerge from these two cases which are now pending before the Special Courts in Lucknow and Raebareli, even if the Government now agrees to expedite them as well as to investigate possible case against the others.
Clean Chit to Arch Villain – Narshimha Rao
The Report totally and absolutely exonerates the Arch Villain of the Demolition, the then Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao. This omission needs to be examined in detail because the Report tries to whitewash him and endorse his false defence.
But, before we come to his guilt a word about the Congress role would be in order. Although it did not disown or remove him as it should have done, it refused him the party ticket and the honour of leading it in the next General Election in 1996. But Congress role, right from 1949, right up to 1992 is an anathema. It may be recalled that with a Congress Chief Minister in the state and Prime Minister at the Centre, the Masjid was desecrated in December 1949 and the idols were ‘surreptitiously and illegally introduced’ therein, the Central directives from Nehru and Patel were ignored, the Masjid was placed out of bounds for the Muslims and a pujari was appointed to service the idols, thus turning a standing, ancient masjid into a ‘de facto mandir’. The criminal cases crawled for 30 years; in 1986, the doors of the Masjid were opened for public darshan, converting the de facto mandir into a ‘de jure mandir’ under a politically manipulated and government backed Order of District Judge of 1.2.86. All along the VHP had enjoyed full freedom to propagate its mission. In 1989, it was permitted to perform the Shila Nyas of the proposed Mandir in the disputed area, blatantly against the High Court Order. It was also allowed to establish a workshop for sculpting architectural elements for the proposed mandir-an illegal enterprise. In order to secure political benefit from its oversight and indirect association, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched the electoral campaign from Ayodhya . In this historic perspective, it will not be fair to place the entire blame on Narasimha Rao as he only tried to carry on the traditions and perhaps the real intent of his party. But he was the Prime Minister in 1992 and had repeatedly assured the Muslims and others of protecting Masjid against Demolition and haste bear responsibility.
Rule of Rao
Despite Muslim request, he did not declare the Babari Masjid a National Monument of Historical Importance and thus assume full responsibility for its protection.
While the Kar Sevaks were moving to Ayodhya, Government did not instruct any state government or ask the Supreme Court to stop the movement of kar sevaks or even ban the Kar Seva or to restrict them to approach the Masjid in small groups. The Chief Minister had been questioning the placement of Central Forces in the vicinity of Ayodhya, but Rao failed to put him under notice under Article 355 of the Constitution. Rao never asked the Governor for a formal situation report; on the other hand, he asked him not to send a report. Liberhan defends him on the ground that the Governor did not advise him to place UP under President’s Rule. This was not mandatory as the Prime Minister had many sources of information.
Rao ignored the daily IB briefings, and did not ask any other sources like the Defence Intelligence. He ignored warnings from other parties. Though, he was given full powers to protect the Masjid by all political parties (except BJP) in the National Integration Council in November, 1992, even to apply Article 356, he did not take any effective steps.
Rao simply pushed aside the Cabinet Note prepared by the Home Secretary for imposition of President’s rule and went away to Africa at the critical time.
On 6 December, 1992, even after the attack had begun in the presence of the top leaders of the BJP and the VHP and the solemn assurances by the Chief Minister and top BJP leaders to the High Court and the Supreme Court stood nullified, he did not dismiss the Chief Minister, not even after the first dome had fallen. He did not accept the CM’s resignation submitted at 1 p.m. He convened the Cabinet meeting, after all domes had fallen, and the Mosque had been reduced to rubble and then imposed the President’s Rule.
Even after the President’s rule was imposed, he refused to order central para-military forces to forcibly disperse the kar sevaks who were engaged in levelling the debris and constructing a makeshift temple. Indeed, this was allowed to go on for 36 hours, till it was completed and the idols which had been removed from Babari Masjid were re-installed. Thus, a new fact was created. Rao never took a clear stand on the legality of the makeshift mandir though it was a clear violation of the judicial order.
Subsequently, Rao went back on his promise to rebuild the Masjid. He refused to assure the Parliament that his government will execute the final judicial verdict and implement the roadmap of 1994.
Rao’s behaviour before, during and after the Demolition leads to only one conclusion that for his own reasons, he was a part of the conspiracy, hand-in-glove with the Demolishers. He was in regular touch with the RSS chief Deoras as well as with the BJP leader Advani and acting in collusion with them.
The whole world knew of the intentions and the programme of the Sangh Parivar. They had placed their cards open on the table right from the beginning, particularly after 1985 when the BJP extended its open political support. But the Prime Minister who was the custodian of the Constitution, sworn to maintain the rule of law, who had complete authority and full power to intervene, who had full knowledge of hour-to-hour developments, deliberately undermined the Constitution. That the Report not only gives him a clean chit but absolves him of all responsibility is indeed amazing.
History will one day reveal what transpired between Narasimha Rao and the Sangh Parivar. Even today, we have VHP leader Singhal’s testimony that Rao was sympathetic to their cause!
The Report itself was ready soon after the hearings were completed. But apparently the draft was under ‘negotiations’ with successive governments. This alone explain why Liberhan was given 48 extensions by both NDA & UPA governments and why he took 17 years to submit the Report. It has been suggested that he introduced the Vajpayee factor to save Advani from bearing the full responsibility. To save Rao, he merely reproduced what the former had said in his own defence in his book on Ayodhya. It ignores all the circumstantial evidence which taken together point only in one direction that Narasimha Rao for his own reasons wanted the Masjid to be demolished. Perhaps, he thought that once the Masjid was demolished, the Muslims will forget about it and he would harvest Hindu votes.
Aspersions on Muslims
Liberhan did not summon key witnesses like Vajpayee or Chandrashekhar, or Rao’s colleague Fotedar. He did not summon any Muslim leader, though both the BMMCC and AIBMAC had submitted their affidavits. The BMMCC Convener (Syed Shahabuddin) voluntarily deposed before the Commission and was cross examined. But without citing any evidence Liberhan has criticized and abused Muslim leadership as a whole in general terms. Perhaps having blasted the Sangh Parivar, in order to escape the charge of Muslim ‘appeasement’, he had to malign the Muslim leadership to maintain a balance.
The fact is that the Babari Masjid Movement had never claimed that it would raise an army or call upon Muslim community to defend it against the attack by the kar sevaks. Nowhere on their way to Ayodhya, their movement was disrupted by the Muslim; nowhere was Advani’s Rath Yatra blocked; nowhere the Muslim community organized any counter-resistance.
Muslim leadership put their faith in the Constitution and depended entirely on the Government of the day which had the undeniable responsibility to protect the Masjid and to stop the gathering elements with crime in their mind and heart and on their lips.
From February 86 to December 92 Muslims submitted innumerable memoranda to the Government, placed their views before the political parties, the members of Parliament and issued statements and wrote letters to the media, pleading for a peaceful settlement. They approached the Kamakoti Shankaracharya as well as the Paramacharya to request them to intervene. Some of them offered to permit the Hindu side to build a temple with Ram Chabutra situated in the outer campus of the Babari Masjid as its base or to construct a temple just next to the Masjid.
In public discourse, the Muslims leadership refrained from using any inept language. Whenever, they spoke of Ram; they did it with reverence and respect. But, they consistently refused to surrender even one square inch of the Masjid proper.
One wonders what Liberhan wanted the Muslims to do. Perhaps he expected them to take the law in their hands, to fight it out it out in the streets, to create law and order problems. But they did not. Liberhan does not offer any evidence in support of his thesis that ‘Muslim action created fear in the mind of the Hindus’. Fear of what?
In any case, in many places the Report goes beyond the terms of reference. On one hand he has not recommended specific action against the actual culprits and named only some RSS, BJP and VHP leaders. On the other, he has made generalized recommendation related to administrative, judicial, electoral and police reforms. The Report is thus lost in irrelevancies. It was perhaps doctored in 2 stages. It has been called a pointless report with nothing that competent journalists covering the Demolition could not have penned the day after.
The ATR submitted by the Government is equally pointless except on one point, the possibility of expediting the ongoing prosecution of some, and investigating the cases against the others, though one wonders what will come out of it.
Surprisingly the Report does not take note of Supreme Court’s Order of October 1994 or of the Road Map. Nor does he suggest any alternative formula for further negotiations between the Sangh Parivar and the Muslim community, having left out all negotiations between ’86 and ’92 and thereafter.
Some people have given much importance to the leakage of the Report a few days before it was to be tabled in the Parliament. The leakage is not the real issue because it did not create any new situation. The real issue is why it took 48 extensions and 17 years and hundreds of hearings, not to speak of 8 crores of public money.
Political Fall-out
Some journalists are speculating that the Report will help liberate the BJP from total control by the RSS and it may bring back the non-RSS leadership of the BJP into focus. Some are saying it may help Advani to re-emerge as the supreme leader as he alone has the reputation and experience to defend, if the Government decides to take action against the RSS.
Whatever they may say, the RSS/BJP are not in a position to revive the Ayodhya question. India has undergone tectonic shifts since 1992 and they will not be able to secure public support for a religious cause when perspectives have changed, aspirations have changed and the next generation and the middle classes, though communalized more than ever before, do not care for religion to dominate politics or the community to get a bad name by staging another Ayodhya. Moreover, the same political card cannot be played again. The Congress has emerged stronger and is prepared to indulge in politics of pale saffron in order to attract the Hindu votes when it needs. The bureaucracy or the elite will turn away from the Sangh Parivar, while Congress caters to the national ambition of India of getting a seat on the high table of international diplomacy and global economy.
What Next?
The Demolition is part of history. Even if the final judicial verdict on title to the disputed site goes in favour of the Muslism, they will not have the strength, numerically or politically, to force the Government to take it to its logical and legal conclusion. The Muslims will have no alternative but to accept the fact of the Demolition and the disinclination of the secular forces to make the reconstruction an issue.
The Hindu extremists also have no alternative. In fact, they face a double jeopardy. It is doubtful whether the masses will associate themselves with a re-run of Ayodhya or kar seva or a project to build a temple on the Babari Masjid site. However, out of anger and frustration, the other historic Masjids, particularly those at Mathura and Varanasi, may be targetted even in low key just to keep the fires of Hindutva burning.
Seventeen years later, the shoddy, inconsistent, ill-drafted Report has little relevance, in today’s circumstances and low credibility. But it can still save our Democracy from becoming a Theocracy, if the Government has the political will and takes effective steps to protect the country from the evil designs of those who are preparing for more Ayodhyas. In the light of the Report, the Government must;
1. Ban the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal which stand indicted
2. Ban all extremist organizations which mentally prepare and physically train volunteers in the use of arms and to take law in their hands.
3. Ban all militant outfits, Senas, Dals, Vahinis etc.
4. Amend the electoral law to deny recognition to a political party which challenges the basic features of the Constitution or seeks to replace the secular state by a theocratic state, based on the supremacy of a particular religion or the dominance of a religious community.
But will it have the will and the guts?
(The writer is former Lok Sabha Member and convenor of Babri Masjid Coordination Committee)
http://twocircles.net/2009dec04/justice_liberhan_report_half_truthful_and_half_untold.html
Babri demolition: A symbol of injustice
By Abdul Hannan
Once again, nation on alert on the eve of 6th December, the day when a historical Mosque was brought down by the powers and by the organizations who intend to implement their own curriculum on India. Secular India remained always hurdle in their eyes. Believing on secular systems and understanding of other communities’ rights to live freely in India are not in their dictionary. They have other vision for India.
Accepting their vision will allow people of India to live in their own Hindutva constituted India and stern consequences for those who will oppose it, as it seen in Gujarat, in Ayodhya, in Bangalore, in Maharashtra, in Orissa. Even in Maharashtra assembly, when Mr. Abu Asim Azami was attacked for taking oath in Hindi which is national language.
From last few weeks, so many events and incidents came in light. Liberhan report was leaked and exposed half truths. UPA government’s reaction on Liberhan report and unwillingness to take action against those who were indicted in Liberhan report shows that everyone in this hammam is naked. It was hoped that central government will react similarly when the matter will come for punishment of those who openly played their role in this game. Providing shelter to powerful perpetrators or assisting them through political manipulations is an old system of Indian politics. Here is the proof that when saffron fascist powers were found waging the war against the country, political parties and media were the first to come forward to defend them or to cover them by hiding the truth.
It is known to everyone that, destroyers of Babri Mosque will not be punished. May the court deliver its judgment against them, but the result after 17 years is before us, planners and demolishers are openly moving in every corner of India, media and other channels are promoting and highlighting them, it seems that neither razing of Babri Mosque is a crime nor honoring its offenders is an unlawful act.
To divert the attention from the real facts, voices are being raised from various corners that negotiation and dialogue is the only solution of Babri Mosque issue. How negotiations could be the solution to resolve Babri Mosque dispute, while it failed before December 6th, 1992.
Movements were organized, Rath Yatras moved in every part of the country, by untrue statements and by provocative speeches, common Hindus were emotionally manipulated and used against Muslims in each rally organized to assemble Hindutva cadres to demonstrate their power and their fascist might in Ayodhya.
Today, while there is no more mosque, temporary temple is installed, only Hindus are allowed to offer prayer there, and tight security have been arranged to prevent Muslims to enter the site, congress, BJP and other Hindtuva organizations are talking of talks to solve this dispute, but Muslims and Muslim demands are completely driven out from the said site.
Before coming on to the table of negotiation, it should be clear for all parties and for all corners that Babri Mosque before 6th December 1992 was a Mosque and destroying any religious places of any community is a criminal offense and those who participated in such cases, according to Indian laws are culprits and they should have to surrender before the court for their crimes. Their failure in appearing before court, government whether is central or state should have to arrest them and put them before law to receive what they did.
How negotiation can bring an acceptable solution of Babri Mosque when both Congress and BJP didn’t stand on their promises? The then late congress Prime Minister Narsimha Rao had promised to Muslims of reconstruction of Babri Mosque on same place where it was before 6th December 1992 but after having been passed of 17 years of this incident, which is a blot on Indian democracy, the nation is still waiting for the rebuilding of said Mosque.
The site of Babri Mosque should be given to Muslims without any condition. Those who openly or secretly played their role in Babri Mosque, they are trying to cover their face from common Hindus because in these 17 years they failed to deliver any proof which shows that Babri Mosqe where it was built was the place of a temple, let alone the place of birth of Lord Rama. Let their punishment be a lesson for the future generation that India though did fail to protect the historic mosque but did not fail to punish those who were guilty of this aggression against Indian constitution.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/babri_demolition_symbol_injustice.html
Once again, nation on alert on the eve of 6th December, the day when a historical Mosque was brought down by the powers and by the organizations who intend to implement their own curriculum on India. Secular India remained always hurdle in their eyes. Believing on secular systems and understanding of other communities’ rights to live freely in India are not in their dictionary. They have other vision for India.
Accepting their vision will allow people of India to live in their own Hindutva constituted India and stern consequences for those who will oppose it, as it seen in Gujarat, in Ayodhya, in Bangalore, in Maharashtra, in Orissa. Even in Maharashtra assembly, when Mr. Abu Asim Azami was attacked for taking oath in Hindi which is national language.
From last few weeks, so many events and incidents came in light. Liberhan report was leaked and exposed half truths. UPA government’s reaction on Liberhan report and unwillingness to take action against those who were indicted in Liberhan report shows that everyone in this hammam is naked. It was hoped that central government will react similarly when the matter will come for punishment of those who openly played their role in this game. Providing shelter to powerful perpetrators or assisting them through political manipulations is an old system of Indian politics. Here is the proof that when saffron fascist powers were found waging the war against the country, political parties and media were the first to come forward to defend them or to cover them by hiding the truth.
It is known to everyone that, destroyers of Babri Mosque will not be punished. May the court deliver its judgment against them, but the result after 17 years is before us, planners and demolishers are openly moving in every corner of India, media and other channels are promoting and highlighting them, it seems that neither razing of Babri Mosque is a crime nor honoring its offenders is an unlawful act.
To divert the attention from the real facts, voices are being raised from various corners that negotiation and dialogue is the only solution of Babri Mosque issue. How negotiations could be the solution to resolve Babri Mosque dispute, while it failed before December 6th, 1992.
Movements were organized, Rath Yatras moved in every part of the country, by untrue statements and by provocative speeches, common Hindus were emotionally manipulated and used against Muslims in each rally organized to assemble Hindutva cadres to demonstrate their power and their fascist might in Ayodhya.
Today, while there is no more mosque, temporary temple is installed, only Hindus are allowed to offer prayer there, and tight security have been arranged to prevent Muslims to enter the site, congress, BJP and other Hindtuva organizations are talking of talks to solve this dispute, but Muslims and Muslim demands are completely driven out from the said site.
Before coming on to the table of negotiation, it should be clear for all parties and for all corners that Babri Mosque before 6th December 1992 was a Mosque and destroying any religious places of any community is a criminal offense and those who participated in such cases, according to Indian laws are culprits and they should have to surrender before the court for their crimes. Their failure in appearing before court, government whether is central or state should have to arrest them and put them before law to receive what they did.
How negotiation can bring an acceptable solution of Babri Mosque when both Congress and BJP didn’t stand on their promises? The then late congress Prime Minister Narsimha Rao had promised to Muslims of reconstruction of Babri Mosque on same place where it was before 6th December 1992 but after having been passed of 17 years of this incident, which is a blot on Indian democracy, the nation is still waiting for the rebuilding of said Mosque.
The site of Babri Mosque should be given to Muslims without any condition. Those who openly or secretly played their role in Babri Mosque, they are trying to cover their face from common Hindus because in these 17 years they failed to deliver any proof which shows that Babri Mosqe where it was built was the place of a temple, let alone the place of birth of Lord Rama. Let their punishment be a lesson for the future generation that India though did fail to protect the historic mosque but did not fail to punish those who were guilty of this aggression against Indian constitution.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/babri_demolition_symbol_injustice.html
Arrest “Liberhan 68” demands TMMK
By Shafee Ahmed Ko, TwoCircles.net
Chennai: Addressing the Press Conference at Chennai Press Club on Saturday, Professor M.H.Jawahirullah, and President of Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagam said:
The report of Manmohan Singh Liberhan Commission of Enquiry, constituted after 10 days of the demolition of the Babri Masjid has been made public after a long wait of 17 years and costing around Rs.18 crores, requiring 48 extensions.
Jawahirullah deplored that “the disruptive forces behind the assassination of Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi” have been reported in the Liberian’s Commission as the key hands of the pulling down the Babri Masjid. He further stressed that,” It was nothing spontaneous as the Sangh Parivar’s wrong propagation and the Commission has very clearly stated such malice and vindictive nature of gossips.
Jawahirullah further went on to say that, “Liberhan’s Commission has opened the clear truth that the act of demolition is an orchestrated act of vandalism.”
He further said that,” The man who has been so far enjoying as Mr. Clean, and fair minded politician Atal Bihari Vajpayee” and only a puppet under the hands of goon and gawk politicians, has lost such banner and confidence among the people, since he (Vajpayee) also played similar spiteful and unforgiving roles in the demolition course, as per the report of the Commission.
Jawahirullah was emphatically stressed that,” It was RSS the parent body who took to their bosom all the politicians including the bureaucratic and Government machinery to conduct such evil schemes.
Jawahirullah was also very fervently retorted that the then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s Government was highly influential in the act of willful wanton mischief, and the Commission has indicated all such events.
Jawahirullah deplored, “Why the commission has been indifferent in disclosing the imbecile failure of the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, who actually was having a content sleep while the whole nation mourned and wailed the “Black Sunday” Dec.6, the day Babri Masjid being demolished ignoring the Supreme Court’s Rulings?”
“Was it not Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then President usurped the situation and cautioned Narasimha Rao to address the Nation in Doordarshan? The promise of reconstruction of a mosque came only then?,” asked Jawahirullah.
While the then Congress President Sitaram Kesari and Sonia Gandhi tendered an open apology for an act of sabotage, Jawahirullah wondered why the Liberhan was silent in such disclosure of the facts pertaining to Narasimha Rao.
Jawahirullah reiterated that his party TMMK welcomes the decision of the Union Government to present the copy of the report to the CBI for probing and further investigation. He also emphasized that the Union Government to approach the Supreme Court to constitute a fast track court under its purview to conduct the speedy trial. The “Rae Bareli court has been very slow taking around 17 years” he said. He said a justice has to be speedy to be effective. Among various wise demands the party leader appealed that all those charged as accused may not enjoy bail terms and all indicted, including Vajpayee to be inside cells till the demolition case is disposed off.
To the questions of reporters, he said on 6 December 2009 (Sunday) the TMMK has organized condolence meetings in the 36 district head quarters to be held in a most peaceful manner.
S.Hyder Ali, General Secretary, O.U.Rahmathullah Treasurer, and J.S.Rifayee Deputy General Secretary were also present at the press conference.
[Photos by Shafee Ahmed Ko, TwoCircles.net]
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/arrest_liberhan_68_demands_tmmk.html
Chennai: Addressing the Press Conference at Chennai Press Club on Saturday, Professor M.H.Jawahirullah, and President of Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagam said:
The report of Manmohan Singh Liberhan Commission of Enquiry, constituted after 10 days of the demolition of the Babri Masjid has been made public after a long wait of 17 years and costing around Rs.18 crores, requiring 48 extensions.
Jawahirullah deplored that “the disruptive forces behind the assassination of Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi” have been reported in the Liberian’s Commission as the key hands of the pulling down the Babri Masjid. He further stressed that,” It was nothing spontaneous as the Sangh Parivar’s wrong propagation and the Commission has very clearly stated such malice and vindictive nature of gossips.
Jawahirullah further went on to say that, “Liberhan’s Commission has opened the clear truth that the act of demolition is an orchestrated act of vandalism.”
He further said that,” The man who has been so far enjoying as Mr. Clean, and fair minded politician Atal Bihari Vajpayee” and only a puppet under the hands of goon and gawk politicians, has lost such banner and confidence among the people, since he (Vajpayee) also played similar spiteful and unforgiving roles in the demolition course, as per the report of the Commission.
Jawahirullah was emphatically stressed that,” It was RSS the parent body who took to their bosom all the politicians including the bureaucratic and Government machinery to conduct such evil schemes.
Jawahirullah was also very fervently retorted that the then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s Government was highly influential in the act of willful wanton mischief, and the Commission has indicated all such events.
Jawahirullah deplored, “Why the commission has been indifferent in disclosing the imbecile failure of the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, who actually was having a content sleep while the whole nation mourned and wailed the “Black Sunday” Dec.6, the day Babri Masjid being demolished ignoring the Supreme Court’s Rulings?”
“Was it not Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then President usurped the situation and cautioned Narasimha Rao to address the Nation in Doordarshan? The promise of reconstruction of a mosque came only then?,” asked Jawahirullah.
While the then Congress President Sitaram Kesari and Sonia Gandhi tendered an open apology for an act of sabotage, Jawahirullah wondered why the Liberhan was silent in such disclosure of the facts pertaining to Narasimha Rao.
Jawahirullah reiterated that his party TMMK welcomes the decision of the Union Government to present the copy of the report to the CBI for probing and further investigation. He also emphasized that the Union Government to approach the Supreme Court to constitute a fast track court under its purview to conduct the speedy trial. The “Rae Bareli court has been very slow taking around 17 years” he said. He said a justice has to be speedy to be effective. Among various wise demands the party leader appealed that all those charged as accused may not enjoy bail terms and all indicted, including Vajpayee to be inside cells till the demolition case is disposed off.
To the questions of reporters, he said on 6 December 2009 (Sunday) the TMMK has organized condolence meetings in the 36 district head quarters to be held in a most peaceful manner.
S.Hyder Ali, General Secretary, O.U.Rahmathullah Treasurer, and J.S.Rifayee Deputy General Secretary were also present at the press conference.
[Photos by Shafee Ahmed Ko, TwoCircles.net]
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/arrest_liberhan_68_demands_tmmk.html
Liberhan report: 17 years and Rs. 8 Crore later
By Dr. Manzoor Alam
Think for a while what is possible in 17 years. A country can rise from the ashes, like Japan and Germany did after the World War-II. Or, backward countries can surge ahead to emerge as economic powerhouses, like the South East Asian countries did between the late 60s and mid-80s, or like China did in mid-80s and continues to do now. On an individual level, a child that has joined class 1 would be an engineer and employed, ready for marriage in those 17 long years.
Now let us think for a while what could have been done with the Rs. 8 crore of public money spent by Liberahan Commission. Suppose it takes Rs. 5 lakh to build a two-room primary school building in a village, we could have built 160 primary school buildings in the countryside. If it was spent on making safe drinking water available to a hundred villages, the funds would have sufficed.
Instead, we got the Liberahan Commission report at the same cost. And, yes, we also got a 13-page sarkari document called Memorandum of Action Taken as a bonus. So let us be content (for now, at least) and see what it all adds up to.
The Memorandum of Action Taken on the Report of the Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Enquiry is a depressing document. It does not show any official inclination to bring the conspirators of Babri Masjid demolition and the ensuing massacre of Muslims to justice.
This eyewash of an official document would have been comical if it was not tragic. See some of the “actions taken”. Against No. 1.1 and 1.2 of recommendations: on the former the government says, “Noted”, and on the latter, “Agreed”.
On the No. 1.3, it says. “Accepted”, before going on to add, “One of the measures contemplated is Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill”.
This same point is made by the government on a couple of other recommendations as well, while the fact remains that the Bill will further empower a corrupt and communalised police force to victimise the victims.
The alleged actions have been taken on issues under categories, (1) General (2) Civil Services (3) Riot Control (4) Intelligence Agencies (5) Centre-State Relations (6) Religious and Cultural Sites (7) The Press or Media.
Although the Memorandum of Action Taken is largely proforma and cursory, there is still some hope that things can improve if the government is serious about improvements in public life. One recommendation is that the misuse of religion, religious places and religious agenda by a political party should be brought to the Elections Commission’s notice for action and possible disqualification. However, no such action was ever taken against the people fighting election in the name of Ram temple and doing hate politics. It is important to note that the EC under TN Seshan had categorically said it did not have powers to disqualify any party.
The government has cited examples of cases in UP courts against the accused. But the victims of killings in Ayodhya have not got justice, nor have their kin been compensated. There is no mention of those forgotten people. The police say the victims’ kin did not lodge FIRs. Hence nothing can be done about it. The fact is that the survivors were hiding from murderous goonda mobs and the police were seen protecting the goondas rather than the victims. No sane person would risk going to the police stations at such a time.
The tone and tenor of the Memo of Action Taken suggests that the UPA government is not going to confront the Sangh bully. The rising stature of law-breakers has dwarfed law and humiliated the spirit of the Constitution. This is an abnormal situation and must be rectified quickly.
Sangh organisations found to have conspired to destroy the Babri Masjid and unleash nationwide killings must be banned. BJP, which was part of the conspiratorial team, is a political party. Hence, instead of banning it, the EC should confiscate its election symbol till it begins to respect the law of the land.
The over five dozen Sangh leaders identified by the Commission for their participation in criminal activities on December 6 and for hatching the well-thought out conspiracy must be booked for criminal conspiracy, mass murder, spreading anti-Muslim hysteria, destruction of a national heritage (Babri Masjid was a UNESCO World Heritage site also) and demolition of 25 mosques and mazars in Ayodhya besides damage to other property on December 6, 1992.
Their prosecution under Nuremberg Principles is more important than any other action. If the country allows them to go scott free, it will have no moral right to prosecute other terrorists and criminals. Leaving them unpunished will encourage repetition of such crimes in future.
---
Dr. Manzoor Alam is the Chairman of the Institute of Objective Studies, Delhi.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/liberhan_report_17_years_and_rs_8_crore_later.html
Think for a while what is possible in 17 years. A country can rise from the ashes, like Japan and Germany did after the World War-II. Or, backward countries can surge ahead to emerge as economic powerhouses, like the South East Asian countries did between the late 60s and mid-80s, or like China did in mid-80s and continues to do now. On an individual level, a child that has joined class 1 would be an engineer and employed, ready for marriage in those 17 long years.
Now let us think for a while what could have been done with the Rs. 8 crore of public money spent by Liberahan Commission. Suppose it takes Rs. 5 lakh to build a two-room primary school building in a village, we could have built 160 primary school buildings in the countryside. If it was spent on making safe drinking water available to a hundred villages, the funds would have sufficed.
Instead, we got the Liberahan Commission report at the same cost. And, yes, we also got a 13-page sarkari document called Memorandum of Action Taken as a bonus. So let us be content (for now, at least) and see what it all adds up to.
The Memorandum of Action Taken on the Report of the Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Enquiry is a depressing document. It does not show any official inclination to bring the conspirators of Babri Masjid demolition and the ensuing massacre of Muslims to justice.
This eyewash of an official document would have been comical if it was not tragic. See some of the “actions taken”. Against No. 1.1 and 1.2 of recommendations: on the former the government says, “Noted”, and on the latter, “Agreed”.
On the No. 1.3, it says. “Accepted”, before going on to add, “One of the measures contemplated is Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill”.
This same point is made by the government on a couple of other recommendations as well, while the fact remains that the Bill will further empower a corrupt and communalised police force to victimise the victims.
The alleged actions have been taken on issues under categories, (1) General (2) Civil Services (3) Riot Control (4) Intelligence Agencies (5) Centre-State Relations (6) Religious and Cultural Sites (7) The Press or Media.
Although the Memorandum of Action Taken is largely proforma and cursory, there is still some hope that things can improve if the government is serious about improvements in public life. One recommendation is that the misuse of religion, religious places and religious agenda by a political party should be brought to the Elections Commission’s notice for action and possible disqualification. However, no such action was ever taken against the people fighting election in the name of Ram temple and doing hate politics. It is important to note that the EC under TN Seshan had categorically said it did not have powers to disqualify any party.
The government has cited examples of cases in UP courts against the accused. But the victims of killings in Ayodhya have not got justice, nor have their kin been compensated. There is no mention of those forgotten people. The police say the victims’ kin did not lodge FIRs. Hence nothing can be done about it. The fact is that the survivors were hiding from murderous goonda mobs and the police were seen protecting the goondas rather than the victims. No sane person would risk going to the police stations at such a time.
The tone and tenor of the Memo of Action Taken suggests that the UPA government is not going to confront the Sangh bully. The rising stature of law-breakers has dwarfed law and humiliated the spirit of the Constitution. This is an abnormal situation and must be rectified quickly.
Sangh organisations found to have conspired to destroy the Babri Masjid and unleash nationwide killings must be banned. BJP, which was part of the conspiratorial team, is a political party. Hence, instead of banning it, the EC should confiscate its election symbol till it begins to respect the law of the land.
The over five dozen Sangh leaders identified by the Commission for their participation in criminal activities on December 6 and for hatching the well-thought out conspiracy must be booked for criminal conspiracy, mass murder, spreading anti-Muslim hysteria, destruction of a national heritage (Babri Masjid was a UNESCO World Heritage site also) and demolition of 25 mosques and mazars in Ayodhya besides damage to other property on December 6, 1992.
Their prosecution under Nuremberg Principles is more important than any other action. If the country allows them to go scott free, it will have no moral right to prosecute other terrorists and criminals. Leaving them unpunished will encourage repetition of such crimes in future.
---
Dr. Manzoor Alam is the Chairman of the Institute of Objective Studies, Delhi.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/liberhan_report_17_years_and_rs_8_crore_later.html
Rebuild Babri Masjid, punish the guilty: IMC-USA
By TwoCircles.net news desk
Washington D.C.: Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA) demands the Indian government to bring the criminals to justice involved in the demolition of the 16th century Babri Mosque in the city of Ayodhya in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India as identified in the Report of the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry that was released recently.
Indian Muslim Council-USA further demands that the Indian government honor the promise given by the former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to re-build the mosque on its original site.
On December 6th, 1992 defying the orders of the Supreme Court of India and their own promise to the nation, the Hindutva fascist forces demolished the historic Babri Mosque in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This 16th century Muslim place of worship was destroyed by a frenzied mob of kar-sevaks in spite of assurances from the Hindutva Leaders and the State Administration officials that only symbolic prayers will be performed and that the structure of the Babri Mosque will be safe.
The Liberhan Commission appointed by the Indian government to investigate the destruction of the Babri Mosque submitted the report earlier this year that took more than 16 years of proceedings and recording statements of politicians, bureaucrats and police officials. Led by Indian Supreme Court Judge M S Liberhan the commission identified key individuals and organizations who played a direct role in planning what the commission termed as a "joint common enterprise" that lead to the destruction of the Babri Mosque.
"The Liberhan report is another testimony to the sad state of communal affairs in India and a clear verdict on deep seated resistance towards speaking the truth" said Rasheed Ahmed National President of IMC-USA. Ahmed further stated that "It took 17 years to document the two obvious facts, first that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was a premeditated criminal act by Hindutva leaders and second that BJP is simply a means for RSS to impose fascist regime in India"
Liberhan Commission named 68 individuals as the leading planners and participants directly or indirectly involved in the destruction of the Babri Mosque. Most of the perpetrators listed in the Commission report are associated with Hindutva-fascist groups such as the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal, all of whom are closely allied with the political Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, in alliance with several other parties, was in power from 1998 to 2004. These religious extremist groups garner significant support from Non-Resident Indians living in the United States.
Dr. Hyder Khan, National Vice President of IMC-USA said that "I am hopeful that current leadership in India will take moral and bold decisions to check the criminalization of politics through regional tribunals as proposed by the Liberhan Commission and not allow the Hindutva extremist groups propagate intolerant agenda and sectarianism"
After 17 years the Muslims of India who still feel aggrieved at the criminal destruction of the mosque demand that Indian Government immediately initiate criminal and civil action against all accused in the Liberhan Report and that all politicians, individuals, and organizations involved in the crime are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Indian Muslim Council-USA is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States with 10 chapters across the nation.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/rebuild_babri_masjid_punish_guilty_imc_usa.html
Washington D.C.: Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA) demands the Indian government to bring the criminals to justice involved in the demolition of the 16th century Babri Mosque in the city of Ayodhya in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India as identified in the Report of the Liberhan Commission of Inquiry that was released recently.
Indian Muslim Council-USA further demands that the Indian government honor the promise given by the former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to re-build the mosque on its original site.
On December 6th, 1992 defying the orders of the Supreme Court of India and their own promise to the nation, the Hindutva fascist forces demolished the historic Babri Mosque in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This 16th century Muslim place of worship was destroyed by a frenzied mob of kar-sevaks in spite of assurances from the Hindutva Leaders and the State Administration officials that only symbolic prayers will be performed and that the structure of the Babri Mosque will be safe.
The Liberhan Commission appointed by the Indian government to investigate the destruction of the Babri Mosque submitted the report earlier this year that took more than 16 years of proceedings and recording statements of politicians, bureaucrats and police officials. Led by Indian Supreme Court Judge M S Liberhan the commission identified key individuals and organizations who played a direct role in planning what the commission termed as a "joint common enterprise" that lead to the destruction of the Babri Mosque.
"The Liberhan report is another testimony to the sad state of communal affairs in India and a clear verdict on deep seated resistance towards speaking the truth" said Rasheed Ahmed National President of IMC-USA. Ahmed further stated that "It took 17 years to document the two obvious facts, first that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was a premeditated criminal act by Hindutva leaders and second that BJP is simply a means for RSS to impose fascist regime in India"
Liberhan Commission named 68 individuals as the leading planners and participants directly or indirectly involved in the destruction of the Babri Mosque. Most of the perpetrators listed in the Commission report are associated with Hindutva-fascist groups such as the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal, all of whom are closely allied with the political Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, in alliance with several other parties, was in power from 1998 to 2004. These religious extremist groups garner significant support from Non-Resident Indians living in the United States.
Dr. Hyder Khan, National Vice President of IMC-USA said that "I am hopeful that current leadership in India will take moral and bold decisions to check the criminalization of politics through regional tribunals as proposed by the Liberhan Commission and not allow the Hindutva extremist groups propagate intolerant agenda and sectarianism"
After 17 years the Muslims of India who still feel aggrieved at the criminal destruction of the mosque demand that Indian Government immediately initiate criminal and civil action against all accused in the Liberhan Report and that all politicians, individuals, and organizations involved in the crime are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Indian Muslim Council-USA is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States with 10 chapters across the nation.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/rebuild_babri_masjid_punish_guilty_imc_usa.html
CIM demands “Liberhan 68” banned from entering Britain
By TwoCircles.net news desk
London: The heat on 68 persons identified by Liberhan Commission as guilty of demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6th, 1992 got turned up a bit higher. British Indian Muslims have urged British Government to declare the 68 indicted people persona non grata found guilty by the Justice Liberhan Commission.
In a statement issued to mark the 18th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Mosque, Chairman of Council of Indian Muslims—UK (CIM) Mr Mohammad Munaf Zeena said, “Although the role in the demolition of the historic mosque of these people, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani, was no secret, Justice Liberhan Commission has established their guilt beyond doubt. Not only are they responsible for the demolition of a religious historic monument, they are also guilty of inciting anti-Muslim riots over the country and the killings of thousands of innocent people. Therefore, in view of not only putting an end to any possible support from British soil to these fascists in India but also to prove that it is against fascism in any form, the British Government must declare these 68 people persona non grata and never allow them enter into the UK.”
Zeena also demanded that the Indian Government must also take without any delay all the necessary steps to prosecute and punish these guilty people and hand over the Babri Mosque site to Indian Muslims.
Babri Mosque was built in 1528 by Baqi Beg Tashqandi, the Governor General of Mughal Emperor Babar to mark the victory of Mughal army over a Pathan Muslim King, Sikandar Lodhi. There is no historic or archaeological evidence to prove either of Babar’s going to Ayodhya or any existence of a Hindu temple on Babri Mosque site. With the connivance of the administration the Mosque was closed to Muslims in 1949 and converted into a de facto temple after the statues of Rama and his consort Sita were smuggled and planted there. However, in order to gain political mileage and financial gains in the 80s BJP leaders suddenly turned their politics towards what they call the liberation of the birth place of Hindu deity Rama and on 6 December 1992 destroyed the mosque in full un-ashamed media glare.
Link:
http://www.coimuk.org/
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/cim_demands_liberhan_68_banned_entering_britain.html
London: The heat on 68 persons identified by Liberhan Commission as guilty of demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6th, 1992 got turned up a bit higher. British Indian Muslims have urged British Government to declare the 68 indicted people persona non grata found guilty by the Justice Liberhan Commission.
In a statement issued to mark the 18th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Mosque, Chairman of Council of Indian Muslims—UK (CIM) Mr Mohammad Munaf Zeena said, “Although the role in the demolition of the historic mosque of these people, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani, was no secret, Justice Liberhan Commission has established their guilt beyond doubt. Not only are they responsible for the demolition of a religious historic monument, they are also guilty of inciting anti-Muslim riots over the country and the killings of thousands of innocent people. Therefore, in view of not only putting an end to any possible support from British soil to these fascists in India but also to prove that it is against fascism in any form, the British Government must declare these 68 people persona non grata and never allow them enter into the UK.”
Zeena also demanded that the Indian Government must also take without any delay all the necessary steps to prosecute and punish these guilty people and hand over the Babri Mosque site to Indian Muslims.
Babri Mosque was built in 1528 by Baqi Beg Tashqandi, the Governor General of Mughal Emperor Babar to mark the victory of Mughal army over a Pathan Muslim King, Sikandar Lodhi. There is no historic or archaeological evidence to prove either of Babar’s going to Ayodhya or any existence of a Hindu temple on Babri Mosque site. With the connivance of the administration the Mosque was closed to Muslims in 1949 and converted into a de facto temple after the statues of Rama and his consort Sita were smuggled and planted there. However, in order to gain political mileage and financial gains in the 80s BJP leaders suddenly turned their politics towards what they call the liberation of the birth place of Hindu deity Rama and on 6 December 1992 destroyed the mosque in full un-ashamed media glare.
Link:
http://www.coimuk.org/
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/cim_demands_liberhan_68_banned_entering_britain.html
Arrest Advani, other Babri culprits: All India Babri Masjid Re-building Committee
By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
New Delhi: The All India Babri Masjid Re-building Committee (AIBMRC) has demanded the Central Government to arrest to arrest L K Advani and others found guilty for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Liberhan Commission Report.
The AIBMRC will hold a demonstration on 6th December at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding rebuilding of Babri Masjid at its original site in Ayodhya.
“The AIBMRC will also submit a memorandum to President of India demanding arrest of Advani and others found guilty for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Liberhan Commission Report,” said Mohammed Younus Siddiqui, president, AIBMRC.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/arrest_advani_other_babri_culprits_all_india_babri_masjid_re_building_committee.html
New Delhi: The All India Babri Masjid Re-building Committee (AIBMRC) has demanded the Central Government to arrest to arrest L K Advani and others found guilty for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Liberhan Commission Report.
The AIBMRC will hold a demonstration on 6th December at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding rebuilding of Babri Masjid at its original site in Ayodhya.
“The AIBMRC will also submit a memorandum to President of India demanding arrest of Advani and others found guilty for the demolition of Babri Masjid in Liberhan Commission Report,” said Mohammed Younus Siddiqui, president, AIBMRC.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/arrest_advani_other_babri_culprits_all_india_babri_masjid_re_building_committee.html
Observe 6th Dec as Prayer Day: Muslim Students Organization Of India
By TwoCircles.net News Desk,
New Delhi: The Muslim Students Organization of India (MSO) has appealed to all Muslims through out the country to observe 6th December as Prayer Day. On the same day 17 years ago, Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished by Hindutva extremists led by BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders including L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.
“Demolition of Babri Masjid was a black day in the history of secular India and it is challenge for all secular Indians to not tolerate anymore the anti Indian forces involved in disintegrating our beloved country,” Shahnawaz Warsi of MSO said in a statement today.
The students group has demanded punishment to the culprits indicted for the demolition.
“The hatred spread by these forces has been uncovered by the Liberhan Commission. Those involved must be punished. We the Muslims are watching the action of this Congress government very closely whether it is interested in punishing the guilty or not?” Warsi said.
MSO will observe this day as Prayer Day and will arrange Prayers at various places in different states, he announced.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/observe_6th_dec_prayer_day_muslim_students_organization_india.html
New Delhi: The Muslim Students Organization of India (MSO) has appealed to all Muslims through out the country to observe 6th December as Prayer Day. On the same day 17 years ago, Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished by Hindutva extremists led by BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders including L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.
“Demolition of Babri Masjid was a black day in the history of secular India and it is challenge for all secular Indians to not tolerate anymore the anti Indian forces involved in disintegrating our beloved country,” Shahnawaz Warsi of MSO said in a statement today.
The students group has demanded punishment to the culprits indicted for the demolition.
“The hatred spread by these forces has been uncovered by the Liberhan Commission. Those involved must be punished. We the Muslims are watching the action of this Congress government very closely whether it is interested in punishing the guilty or not?” Warsi said.
MSO will observe this day as Prayer Day and will arrange Prayers at various places in different states, he announced.
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/observe_6th_dec_prayer_day_muslim_students_organization_india.html
Punish Sangh, BJP leaders for Babri Masjid demolition: Kavita Krishnan
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: On the eve of the 17th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, the CPI (ML), All India Students Association (AISA) and several other groups took out a protest march on the Parliament Street today demanding punishment to the Sangh Parivar and BJP leaders indicted in the Liberhan Commission Report for the demolition.
“I don’t think the government wants to punish the culprits and that’s why they have deliberately delayed the whole thing for an opportune time. Today when Advani is no longer a political threat the report has come out indicting him. But the secular and democratic people of India hold the BJP and Sangh Parivar to be responsible for the demolition and want action against them,” Kavita Krishnan, secretary, CPI (ML), told TwoCircles.net when asked how much time the government will take to punish the Babri culprits.
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On why the government did not assure strong action in the ATR against the indicted Babri culprits, Krishnan said: “The Congress party for a long time has habitually had opportunist approach towards communalism. Rather than ensuring justice and secularism, they have used it to the extent that it was in their favor. Which is why in 1992 they allowed the demolition to take place. And now again their inaction is allowing the BJP leaders to get away with the crime they committed.”
“Culture of impunity should stop. The Liberhan report with all weaknesses is out and has just established the fact that the Sangh and BJP leaders planned the demolition of the Babri Masjid. We demand that they must be punished,” she said.
The CPI (ML) and AISA hold the protest march from Mandi House to Parliament Street wherein students from Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, cultural activists under the banner of Jan Sanskriti Manch took part.
Addressing the marchers, Tanweer Fazal, Convenor, Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association, said History will hold the Sangh-BJP leadership responsible for the fascist act of demolition of the Babri Masjid and the communal trail of blood that preceded and followed it. History will also not forgive the Congress Government at the Centre for its culpability – through criminal inaction – for the demolition.”
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/punish_sangh_bjp_leaders_babri_masjid_demolition_kavita_krishnan.html
New Delhi: On the eve of the 17th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, the CPI (ML), All India Students Association (AISA) and several other groups took out a protest march on the Parliament Street today demanding punishment to the Sangh Parivar and BJP leaders indicted in the Liberhan Commission Report for the demolition.
“I don’t think the government wants to punish the culprits and that’s why they have deliberately delayed the whole thing for an opportune time. Today when Advani is no longer a political threat the report has come out indicting him. But the secular and democratic people of India hold the BJP and Sangh Parivar to be responsible for the demolition and want action against them,” Kavita Krishnan, secretary, CPI (ML), told TwoCircles.net when asked how much time the government will take to punish the Babri culprits.
/>
On why the government did not assure strong action in the ATR against the indicted Babri culprits, Krishnan said: “The Congress party for a long time has habitually had opportunist approach towards communalism. Rather than ensuring justice and secularism, they have used it to the extent that it was in their favor. Which is why in 1992 they allowed the demolition to take place. And now again their inaction is allowing the BJP leaders to get away with the crime they committed.”
“Culture of impunity should stop. The Liberhan report with all weaknesses is out and has just established the fact that the Sangh and BJP leaders planned the demolition of the Babri Masjid. We demand that they must be punished,” she said.
The CPI (ML) and AISA hold the protest march from Mandi House to Parliament Street wherein students from Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, cultural activists under the banner of Jan Sanskriti Manch took part.
Addressing the marchers, Tanweer Fazal, Convenor, Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association, said History will hold the Sangh-BJP leadership responsible for the fascist act of demolition of the Babri Masjid and the communal trail of blood that preceded and followed it. History will also not forgive the Congress Government at the Centre for its culpability – through criminal inaction – for the demolition.”
http://twocircles.net/2009dec05/punish_sangh_bjp_leaders_babri_masjid_demolition_kavita_krishnan.html
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