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Karnataka police circular asks officers to scrutinize passports of Muslims and Christians

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Muslims-in-India

Bengaluru: A police circular asking officers to scrutinize deeper passport applications from Muslims and Christians has stirred a controversy in Karnataka.

Amar Kumar Pandey, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of the Internal Security Wing, faxed the circular to police commissioners of Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum, all major cities in the state with sizeable population of minority groups.

The circular states “Apart from verifying the nationality of applicants clearing passport applications, police should find out religion and sub-sect details. In case of Muslims, they should find out if the applicant is Sunni or Shia. If s/he is Sunni, then delve deeper and find out if the applicant belongs to Deobandi or Barelvi or Ahle-Hadith sub sect. Similarly, if an applicant hails from the Christian community, details like Roman Catholic or Protestant etc should be collected.”

When quizzed by a city newspaper, Pandey defended himself saying he did it in the interest of national security by focusing on “developments across the world.” He refused to divulge further reasons for his issuing the circular saying it was in the interest of ‘security.’

Later he retracted on the circular saying it is “temporarily” withdrawn adding “at this moment, the circular issued by me is null and void. We will take a fresh call on it after remaining it after reexamining the matter. It may take three or four days.”

Though the circular is scrapped “temporarily,” the motivation behind Pandey’s action is still uncertain. When the media questioned him why Hindus have not been named, he gave an evasive reply, saying, “There are so many sub-castes. We are doing it.” But he had no substantive explanation to back his claim.

PILER condemns killing of brick kiln workers in Kot Radha Kishan in Pakistan

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brick kiln workers Kot Radha Kishan

Karachi: Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research has vehemently condemned the brutal killing and then burning of bodies of Shahzad and Shama, the worker couple in Kot Radha Kishan Punjab.

In a statement here Wednesday, the PILER Chief Executive Karamat Ali demanded the provincial government of Punjab to arrest the owner and other responsible staff and try them in Anti-Terrorism court.

In a recent addition to the rapidly rising list of attacks on religious minorities, the Christian couple was reported to be beaten and their bodies were put in a burning brick kiln in Kot Radha Kishan area of Punjab on November 4. The couple was alleged of desecrating the Holy Quran however some news reports contradicted the allegation by claiming that there was some dispute between the couple and the kiln owner.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also reported rise in attacks against minorities groups during the last year and mentioned 2013 as one of the darkest years for the Christian community in Pakistan. Attacks on churches, Christian populations and forced conversions are some of the highlights of the year.

The case of Kot Radha kishan appears to be another outcome of blasphemy law, which has already resulted in many innocent deaths in the past. Any call for the review of this law has always been replied with threats, attacks and at most, death. None of the governments had a courage to revisit this law. Salman Taseer, former Governor of Punjab (2008-2011), had labeled the blasphemy law as ‘black law’ and soon after, he was killed by his own gunmen. The killer is now behind tge bars but was reported to have been inciting the fellow prisoners and even those on duty to kill the blasphemy convicts in the jail. Despite a number of reports which appeared in media recently, no action was taken by the jail authorities or the government of Punjab.

Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its recent landmark verdict in a suo motu case has directed government to form a National Council for minorities’ rights with the mandate to tailor policy recommendations for safeguarding and protecting minorities’ rights. Also following the kidnappings of Hindu community members in Sindh, National Assembly had agreed to form a fact-finding committee on attacks against minorities. Any progress on both the mentioned reports never appeared anywhere.

Christians attacked allegedly by right-wing activists in Bastar

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In this file photo, villagers of Sirisguda at the Special Gram Sabha to ban the entry of non-Hindu religious missionaries. Photo: The Hindu

In this file photo, villagers of Sirisguda at the Special Gram Sabha to ban the entry of non-Hindu religious missionaries. Photo: The Hindu

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh Christian Forum (CCF) has alleged that 12 people from the local Christian community, were attacked by members of the right wing Bajrang Dal in Bastar district’s Madota village on Saturday. District officials have registered an FIR.

“An announcement was made through drum beats that residents of Kotwar village should assemble at 9am on Saturday to meet the sub-divisional magistrate, deputy superintendent of police and town inspector to discuss ways to douse tension between the two communities. They waited till evening, but nobody turned up. By evening, right-wing activists came in a truck and attacked Christians, accusing them of promoting religious conversion,” charged Arun Pannalal, president of CCF.

Quoting local Christians, Pannalal said, a week ago BJP MP Dinesh Kashyap had visited Bhanpuri village and me gram sabha t local Christians. The MP washed their feet and then made a public announcement that they had completed the process of “ghar wapsi” or home-coming to the Hindu fold. Since then tension has been brewing between Hindus and Christians over prayer meetings at the local church.

While CCF has accused the district authorities of being “hand in glove” with the “right-wing elements,” the Bastar district collector however, refuted the CCF’s allegations saying that there was a clash between two groups in the village and added that a FIR has been registered against the accused persons.

The present controversy is rooted in an attempt by Hindutva organisations to convert Christian tribals to the Hindu fold. A campaign launched in July this year by Vishwa Hindu Parishad had led to a ban on the entry of and alleged “propaganda” by non-Hindu missionaries, especially Christians, in more than 50 villages of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region.

With input from Agencies

Upholding blasphemy death sentence against Asia Bibi 'a grave injustice': Amnesty International

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asia-bibi-protesters

A Pakistani court’s decision to uphold the death sentence against a Christian woman convicted on blasphemy charges is a grave injustice, Amnesty International said.

The Lahore High Court today rejected the appeal against the death sentence imposed on Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with a Muslim woman.

“This is a grave injustice. Asia Bibi should never have been convicted in the first place – still less sentenced to death – and the fact that she could pay with her life for an argument is sickening,” said David Griffiths, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

“There were serious concerns about the fairness of Asia Bibi’s trial, and her mental and physical health has reportedly deteriorated badly during the years she has spent in almost total isolation on death row. She should be released immediately and the conviction should be quashed.”

Asia Bibi’s lawyer said after today’s verdict that he will file an appeal to the Supreme Court.

The story does not end here

An editorial in Pakistan’s The Nation opines that the, “courts in Pakistan must start recognising the fallibility of sworn testimonies. Asia Bibi was convicted on the basis of the testimony of a cleric and other women in the village, even though charges should also be leveled against her accusers for first marginalizing her and then using courts to settle their personal scores against a mother of five. The lack of proper investigative techniques means that evidence is often doctored, and witnesses coerced for personal or ideological reasons in order to spin the case one way or another.”

The Daily Times writes that,”the story does not end here as a series of violent events ensued from this case and continue to haunt us, with some high profile figures like Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti — the then Punjab governor and the federal minister of minorities respectively — having lost their lives for standing up for the victim and voicing against the abusive use of the blasphemy law. The fact that attempts to repeal it have been thwarted, with some paying for it with their lives or receiving life threats, logic demands alternate ways to provide justice. Is there any law that can save a person who has been falsely accused? And is there is any punishment for the one who falsely accuses someone? Or will the clouds of such travesties of justice permanently loom over our heads? One can find plenty of cases where witch-hunts, vigilante mobs, land grabs and assassinations have been carried out under the umbrella of this law.

The Gojra, Badami Bagh, Gujranwala incidents, the recent killing of one blasphemy accused and wounding of another in Adiala Jail and many other similar events are blatantly scars on the face of our history and no one accused of blasphemy, rightly or wrongly, is safe. It is more than shameful for this increasingly intolerant and bigoted society that the perpetrators behind such heinous crimes are treated as heroes while the principles of justice stand paralysed. Parliament needs to take steps to save society from an incremental breakdown of justice because of the blasphemy law while providing safeguards for the falsely accused, whose number is growing, to our permanent shame and ignominy.”

Jerusalem Archbishop: Israeli aggression on Al-Aqsa targets Muslims and Christians

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The Bishop stressed that the continuous Zionist aggression is targeting 'both Muslims and Christians, as well as all formations of the Arab nation'

The Bishop stressed that the continuous Zionist aggression is targeting ‘both Muslims and Christians, as well as all formations of the Arab nation’

– by Middle East Monitor

Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem Atallah Hanna said on Tuesday that the Israeli aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque is an aggression on both Muslims and Christians, Jordanian newspaper Addustour reported.

In a recorded speech broadcast during a celebration in Jordan entitled “Resistance is the way to liberate land and return” organised to celebrate Gaza’s “victory”, Atallah said: “It was planned that I be with you here, but the Israeli occupation prevented me.”

He added: “Targeting the Gaza Strip means targeting Jerusalem and all the Palestinian lands.” He hailed the Palestinian unity and called for more harmony among Palestinians in order to be able to face the occupation’s policies which are aimed at Judaising Jerusalem and erasing the Palestinian identity.

The Bishop stressed that the continuous Zionist aggression is targeting “both Muslims and Christians, as well as all formations of the Arab nation.”

Atallah reiterated the importance of solidarity with the Gaza Strip, Amman, Jerusalem and all Arab cities, noting that “all wounds are the same and all suffering is the same as long as the aim is the same.”

Imad Momani, head of Al-Zarqa city where the celebration was held, said that the “Gaza Battle” was a “lesson” for the Zionists. Gaza, which represented the “most wonderful legend in the history”, was a “burial” site for the Zionists.

He hailed the Jordanian staff at the Jordanian Field Hospital which was setup in Gaza at the end of the Israeli assault on the Strip in 2008/2009. He also hailed the King of Jordan who asked for the hospital to be setup.

Momani called on all Jordanians to take the Gazans as an example as to how to fight the “monstrous” Israeli occupation.

Eleven Congresspersons urge Obama to discuss protection of religious minorities with PM Modi

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Increase in violence against Christians and Muslims cited as concern, while Congressional panel holds a briefing on 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom.

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Washington D.C: Coalition Against Genocide (CAG), a broad alliance dedicated to justice and accountability for the Gujarat pogroms of 2002 and to defending India’s secular tradition, has welcomed a letter to President Obama by eleven members of Congress, urging him to discuss “religions inclusion and the protection of religious minorities in India,” during his meeting with Prime Minister Modi on Monday, September 28.

The letter draws the President’s attention to the fact that “there has been an increase in violence against Muslims and Christians in the first hundred days of Prime Minister Modi’s term,” and that such violence “echoes the deadly 2002 riots in Gujarat, which happened while Prime Minister Modi was chief minister of the region.”

In a separate development, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will hold a briefing on the 1984 anti-Sikh massacres in Delhi, in which over 3,000 Sikhs were killed and thousands more injured. Titled “Thirty Years of Impunity: The November 1984 anti-Sikh Pogroms in India,” the hearing will be held onSeptember 30, 2014, and will discuss “India’s failure to prosecute the architects of the pogroms.”

The lawmakers’ letter to President Obama also comes on the heels of massive protests outside Madison Square Garden organized by the Alliance for Justice and Accountability, during Mr. Modi’s speech to Indian Americans. These developments reflect continued concerns in the US and across the world, about the state of human rights and religious freedom in India.

In addition to the 11 member letter by Congress released today, Congressman Mike Honda had earlier written to Secretary of State John Kerry, urging him to support the inclusion of human rights and religious freedom in the US-India Strategic Dialogues where Mr. Modi is to meet with the President today. Quoting the US Commission for International Religious Freedom 2014 Annual Report, Rep. Honda had noted the increase in religiously motivated violence in India. Acknowledging that some positive steps had been taken towards religious minorities, the letter noted that “periodic outbreaks of large-scale communal violence continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable religious minorities in India; especially impacting women and girls.”

“All of us who cherish India’s traditionally inclusive society, understand the level of concern about the threats to secularism and pluralism in India, ” said Dr. Raja Swamy, a CAG spokesperson. “The first 100 days of Mr. Modi’s tenure as PM have shown that such concern is justified and has gained added urgency, ” added Dr. Swamy.

Reflecting the growing intolerance, both in India as well as the diaspora, reports indicate veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was assaulted by a mob of Modi supporters outside Madison Square Garden on Sunday, September 28. The provocation was Mr. Sardesai’s willingness to pay attention to a protester who wished to express his views, and clarify reasons for protesting.

“India can be a strong democracy only when dissent is given its space, and the freedom of the press is respected,” said Dr. Shaik Ubaid, another CAG spokesperson.

CAG appeals to President Obama to respond to the concerns expressed by the eleven Congresspersons as well as Rep. Honda, and to accept their recommendation on his imminent meeting with PM Modi. Without international attention on the growing intolerance in India, millions of Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits and other minorities will continue to see a steady erosion of their religious freedom and civil liberties.

CAG is a broad-based coalition representing a diverse cross section of the religious and political spectrum of the Indian diaspora, including Hindu and other faith-based organizations. The coalition is committed to democracy, pluralism and to the preservation of the idea of India.

100 days under the new regime: The state of minorities

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'Minorities Under Attack',a Public Meeting on the 27 Sep 2014, Delhi. Photo: Mukul Dube

‘Minorities Under Attack’,a Public Meeting on the 27 Sep 2014, Delhi. Photo: Mukul Dube

New Delhi: Civil society activists and representatives of religious minorities have called upon the Central and State Governments to take urgent action to end the orchestrated and motivated campaign of hate and violence which targets and coerces minorities, and impacts on communal harmony in towns and villages in many parts of the country.

The hundreds of incidents of “Shuddhikaran” and “Ghar Wapsi” against Muslims and Christians specially in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the mobilisation against the so-called “love jihad” has terrorised youth in these regions. The blatant support from central and local political leaders to these anti social groups has triggered violence in many places. The media has recorded over 600 incidents of violence against minorities since the results of the General elections were declared on 16th May 2014. State governments had been tardy in taking action against the guilty. This impunity had further encouraged the unlawful elements.

A public protest against Attacks on Minorities, was held at Jantar Mantar today to focus attention on the rapidly deteriorating situations. Speakers impressed upon the Prime Minister and Union and State Governments and the Union Government to take action under the law of the land against those creating disharmony and polarising the people.

A Report on Attacks on Minorities was released at the public meeting endorsed by over 30 civil right and constitutional right groups and minority right to raise the issue of defence of minority rights, the right to live with dignity as equal citizens of India. The country, several speakers said, needed a Zero Tolerate against Communal and Targetted Violence, and not just a moratorium for some years.

Speakers noted that the situation had become so critical that even a person of the eminence of jurist Mr. Fali Nariman went on record to voice his concern,

“We have been hearing on television and reading in newspapers almost on a daily basis a tirade by one or more individuals or groups against one or another section of citizens who belong to a religious minority and the criticism has been that the majority government at the Centre has done nothing to stop this tirade,” …

“And how does one protect the interest of minorities who (or a section of which) are on a daily basis lampooned and ridiculed or spoken against in derogatory language?” Mr. Fali Nariman said at function organised by the National Commission for Minorities at which the Union Minister for Minority Welfare, Dr. Najma Heptullah, was present.

We had hoped that the acrid rhetoric of the election campaign would end with the declaration of the results, and the formation of a new government at the centre. The first 100 days of the new regime have, however, seen the rising pitch of a crescendo of hate speech against Muslims and Christians. Their identity derided, their patriotism scoffed at, their citizenship questioned, their faith mocked. The environment has degenerated into one of coercion, divisiveness, and suspicion. This has percolated to the small towns and villages of rural India, severing bonds forged in a dialogue of life over the centuries, shattering the harmony build around the messages of peace and brotherhood given us by the Sufis and the men and women who led the Freedom Struggle under Mahatma Gandhi. The attacks have assumed alarming proportions. Over 600 incidents of targeting religious minorities have taken place from May to September 2014 in several parts of the country, but especially which have seen, or will soon see, by-elections or elections to the Legislative Assemblies.

The hate campaign, the violence, the open threats have stunned not just the religious minorities, but civil society, jurists and academics. Many of them articulated their concern not just at the violence but at the silence of the Government.

Many of the incidents of violence were directed against individuals and places of worship of the Muslim community, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. These incidents of violence include at least 36 recorded incidents against the tiny Christian community in various parts of the country. The Christian community, its pastors, congregations and churches, were targets of mob violence and State impunity in dozens of cases in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Target dates, one of them coinciding with Christmas 2014, have been set to “cleanse” various areas of Muslim and Christian presence. The state apparatus and specially the police often became a party arresting not the aggressors but the victims to satisfy the demands of the mob. There have attempts at religious profiling of Christian academic institutions, and their students in the national capital.

There has been a well planned shift the locus of violence and mobilisations from the urban centres to small towns and rural areas; another course is to keep the “dead-count” low and use variants of everyday, “routine” violence to spread tensions and create panic. Yet another scheme is to convert India-Pakistan relations into a subset of the Hindu-Muslim relations within India. The most prominent method deployed in recent weeks has been the issue of “Love Jihad”.

While the Southern University System of Louisiana in the United States has decided to offer Prime Minister Narendra Modi an honorary doctorate for his work in inclusive growth and in recognition of Mr. Narendra Modi’s contribution towards social transformation, especially for empowering women and minorities in Gujarat, the facts on the ground are very different.

The people and organisations gathered at the Public meeting demand:

Zero Tolerance against Communal and Targeted Violence, including Hate crimes, profiling and attacks on Freedom of Faith as enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Govt of India and State governments should swiftly take action against those who create tension among minorities through their utterances, by immediately arresting them and filing cases against them.

The Union Home Ministry and State Home Ministries should issue a directive to all Police Posts across the country to treat all citizens equally and not come under pressure from certain groups and harass minorities.

Govt should set up a mechanism to provide conducive environment to all citizens of our country and to ensure defence of minority rights, the right to live with dignity as equal citizens of India.

Those Who Spoke Included: Ali Anwar-JDU, Amarjeet Kaur-CPI, Apoorvanand, Archbishop Anil Jt Couto, Archbishop Kuriakose Bharnikulanghara , Bishop Simon John, Colin Gonsalves, Dr Zafarul- Islam Khan, Harsh Mander, Harvinder Singh Sarna, John Dayal, Kiran Shaheen, Kunwar Danish-Jds, Manish Tiwari-Congress, Manisha Sethi, Maulana Niaz Farooqui, Mohd Naseem, Navaid Hamid, Noor Mohd, Paul Divakar, Sehba Farooqui, Shabnam Hashmi, Syeda Hameed, Zakia Soman.

The Meeting Was Jointly Organized By: All India Christian Minority Front, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (Aidmam), All India Democratic Women’s Association (Aidwa), All India Catholic Union, All India Milli Council, All India Muslim Majlis-E-Mushawarat, Alliance Defending Freedom, Aman Biradari, Anhad, Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (Bmma), Cbci Office For Sc/Bc , Christian Legal Association, Federation Of Catholic Associations Of Delhi, Human Rights Law Network, Indian Social Institute, Jamia Teacher’s Solidarity Association, Jamiat Ulema-E-Hind , Jesuits In Social Action (Jesa), Jpd Commission, Cbci Centre, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Moemin, Muslim Women’s Forum, National Campaign On Dalit Human Rights (Ncdhr), National Forum For Housing Rights (Nfhr), Office For Justice, Peace And Development – Cbci, People’s Alliance For Democracy & Secularism (Pads), Religious Liberty Commission , South Asian Minorities Lawyers Association (Samla), Shahri Adhikar Manch: Begharon Ke Saath (Sam:Bks), Standing Together To Enable Peace Trust, Wing India (Women In Governance), Wss (Women-Against-Sexual-Violence & State Repression), YWCA India.

Click here to read the full Report on Attacks on Minorities, edited by John Dayal, published by ANHAD.

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