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After skullcaps, Gujarat Police make ‘dummy terrorists’ shout Islamic slogans during mock drill

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gujarat-police-mock-drill

Ahmedabad: A video of police mock drill showing dummy militants shouting pro-Islamic slogan emerged on Thursday in Gujarat, a day after controversy erupted over men, playing the part of terrorists, being made to wear skullcaps in a similar exercise in Surat.

Reacting to the Surat episode that came to light on Wednesday, Chief Minister Anandi Patel admitted it as a “mistake” to show people posing as terrorists in the drill in skullcaps.

The latest video is of another anti-terror mock drill at Narmada dam site in Kevadia area of Narmada district. It shows policemen holding two dummy terrorists who were shouting “take our lives, if you want. Islam Zindabad (long live Islam)”.

When contacted by PTI, Narmada Superintendent of Police Jaypalsinh Rathore said an inquiry will be conducted into the issue.

“I came to know about this incident (of projecting terrorists as Muslims) through media. If such an incident has happened, we will conduct an inquiry and take necessary actions against those responsible,” he said.

“The mock drill was a routine police exercise which was conducted a week ago in Kevadia area,” Rathore added.

As the Surat episode generated controversy and invited criticism from several quarters, including from the chief of Gujarat BJP Minority Cell, Patel told a TV channel it is wrong to link religion with terrorism.

“It’s wrong to link religion with terrorism. The issue has been resolved and the matter should be put to rest now. The mistake has been rectified,” she said.

The anti-terror drills were conducted ahead of the two high-profile events being held in the state – Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (January 7 to 9) and Vibrant Gujarat Investors Summit (January 11 to 13) – both in Gandhinagar.

(PTI)

Gujarat police make dummy 'terrorists' wear Muslim skullcaps in mock anti-terror drill

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Policemen posing as terrorists were told to wear skullcaps during an anti-terror drill in Surat

Policemen posing as terrorists were told to wear skullcaps during an anti-terror drill in Surat

Surat: According to the Gujarat Police, two high-profile events in the state – Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and the Vibrant Gujarat Investors Summit – could be a target of terror attacks, and in order to be prepared against any disruptive incidents, mock anti-terror drills are being carried out across Gujarat.

However, it looks like for the police, terrorists and terrorism are quintessentially Muslim.

In the diamond hub of Surat, the drill to check the preparedness of the force ran into controversy on Tuesday, when dummy terrorists in the drill were shown wearing Muslim skullcaps.

A video of the drill shows five policemen holding three dummy terrorists who are wearing Muslim skullcaps. The trio were also shown lying down, while policemen keep a watch on them. The video ends with the men posing as terrorists being bundled into a police jeep after being captured alive.

Surat (Rural) Superintendent of Police Pradip Shejul said the situation could have been avoided by the police but said it should be taken as a “pretty normal thing”.

He said: “We have been conducting mock drills at several locations to check the preparedness ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. Today, it was held in a coastal location where a policeman posing as a terrorist was wearing a skullcap.”

He added that the incident was “avoidable” and said the intention was not to stereotype any community.

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: “Unfortunately, the hallmark, the identity of this government, is fast becoming a government which is using symbolic gestures, images, comments to create division… It is marked by intolerance which is another reason why the government is a failure. It’s a failed administration.”

Gujarat BJP’s Minority Cell president Mehboob Ali Sufi Baba strongly objected to the portrayal of terrorists in this manner.

“This type of act sends a wrong message to the masses,” Baba said.

(With PTI inputs)

A Muslim scholar with a passion for Sanskrit

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Pandit Dastagir

Mumbai: In downtown Worli, it is common to hear the strange greeting of ‘Assalamu-Alaykum, Guruji’ whenever an 80-year-old Muslim man steps out of his modest home. He is none other than renowned Sanskrit scholar Pandit Gulam Dastagir, who over six decades has impressed the Shankaracharyas, late prime minister Indira Gandhi, RSS leaders and Islamic scholars, all with equal elan.

Armed with a deep knowledge of both Islam and Sanskrit, Pandit Dastagir can speak with authority on any religious topic — and earn their unabashed admiration.

Born in Chikhali village in Solapur district, Pandit Dastagir completed his schooling before joining a government Sanskrit institution.

“I was the only Muslim student in a class of around four dozen Brahmins. My Brahmin Guruji developed a special liking for me and encouraged me. I acquired my entire Sanskrit knowledge of the scriptures, Vedas and other texts there,” Pandit Dastagir told IANS.

Around mid-1950s, he shifted to Mumbai and joined the Maratha Mandir Sansthan’s Marathi-medium Worli High School as a Sanskrit teacher for all classes.

Two decades later, to comply with professional requirements, he appeared directly for a Master’s degree in Sanskrit from Mysore University.

After the Emergency, when the Janata Party ruled India, Pandit Dastagir was suddenly targeted. “They suspected I was a namesake Muslim propagating the RSS and Jana Sangh ideology through Sanskrit. It was only after a long investigation that they were proved wrong,” the man chuckled.

When Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, she summoned him and was surprised to discover that Pandit Dastagir was actually a ‘Syedvanshi’, or belonging to a clan considered the direct descendents of Prophet Mohammed.

“She met me several times and appreciated my knowledge and love for Sanskrit. In 1982, she told the education ministry to appoint me as a ‘Rashtriya Sanskrit Pracharak’,” Pandit Dastagir said.

When baffled officials asked Gandhi how should his duties be classified, she reportedly shot back: “He will teach us what needs to be done. Let him function independently.”

For two years, he toured India extensively and propagated Sanskrit in government and private institutions. He quit the post after Gandhi’s assassination in 1984.

“I acquired MA in Sanskrit only in 1987 when I was around 50 years old although I was proficient in the language long before.”

Since his retirement, Pandit Dastagir lectures on the similarities between Islam and Hinduism with reference to various aspects of one of the world’s oldest and richest languages, Sanskrit.

“Sanskrit is not only for Brahmins. But this perception made the masses reluctant to study it. I create awareness about Sanskrit all over India among different castes and religions,” he said.

Pandit Dastagir explained that Hinduism does not recognize ‘conversions’ or the caste system. “The current craze for ‘conversions’ has no basis in Hindu scriptures. It is not recognized. At best, you can change a person’s name, not his soul from the religion of his/her birth,” he said.

An old darling of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Pandit Dastagir credits the group with giving him full encouragement to pursue his vocation without having to change his religion.

He feels the RSS was not against any religion. “But if anybody threatens Hinduism, they will hit back, irrespective of the opponent’s religious beliefs,” Pandit Dastagir said.

He has also never encountered objections from fellow Muslims over his passion for Sanskrit. “Comparative study of different religions makes you more reasonable. I am not a fanatic, just an ordinary Muslim.”

His love for Sanskrit has not made him lose Islamic identity. He prays daily at the mosque. “I have built up a huge library of thousands of books on Sanskrit and Islam which I study and propagate,” Pandit Dastagir said.

He laments that there are many other Muslim Sanskrit scholars in the country but financial constraints prevent them from propagating the ancient Indian language.

Pandit Dastagir’s wife Vahida is a supporting housewife. Their son Badiujjama is a Sanskrit scholar but runs a shop, elder daughter Gyasunissa Shaikh runs a Sanskrit research centre in Solapur, and their other daughter Kamrunnisa Patil never pursued her father’s passion.

(IANS)

K M Shareef re-elected as Chairman of Popular Front of India

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K M Shareef

Calicut: Mr K M Shareef has been re-elected the Chairman of Popular Front of India by the National General Assembly of Popular Front of India which was held at Malabar House, Puthanathani in Malappuram district on 27-29 December 2014. The Assembly concluded with the election of National Executive Council members and National Functionaries for the next two year term. The other National Functionaries are E M Abdul Rahiman (Kerala Vice Chairman, M. Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Tamil Nadu) General Secretary and Muhammad Khalid (Manipur) Treasurer.

In addition to the above, the members who constitute the new National Executive Council are as follows: O M Abdul Salam, C Abdul Samad, M Abdul Samad, Abdul Vahid Sait, C K Afsal, Anis Ahmed, Ashraf Moulavi Karamana, Hamid Muhammad, Prof P Koya, Muhammad Roshan, Adv Muhammad Yusuf.

The Assembly started with the introductory speech by the chairman K M Shareef. The annual report was presented by the General Secretary O M A Salam. The members reviewed the report and submitted suggestions for next term.

During past one year the organisation has shown considerable increase in number of members and units across the country. At present the organisation has around 80,000 cadres along with more than 3 lakh associates. In addition to 11 states where the organisation has full-fledged network, it has registered expansion and growth in another 7 states.

During the current one year, Popular Front has intervened in different social, political and international issues. A nationwide campaign was held demanding the repeal of the draconian law UAPA. The organisation has taken steps to build a broad based alliance of different minority and civil rights leaders and groups against growing authoritarian and communal tendencies. The national movement against UAPA, the Sikh-Muslim mission for communal harmony, the joint platform that has commemorated anti-Sikh riot of 1984 and Babri Masjid demolition of 1992 are a few among such steps. In the context of Israel’s attack on people of Gaza, Popular Front held nation-wide solidarity campaign captioned ‘I am Gaza’.

In the community development and social welfare areas, the organisation has undertaken the School Chalo campaign cum service programmes during the current year also. 78,889 school kits were distributed in 16 states at a cost of Rs. 2,54,59,116. An amount of 94,17,802 were spent for scholarships. 2047 students got the benefit of this scheme. In addition it was reported that around Rupees 8 crore were locally mobilized and utilized in different activities such calamity relief, medical support, home to homeless, drinking water and self employment. Immediately after the flood in Kashmir, the organisation has launched a relief and rehabilitation project. Along with the distribution of food and clothing, 347 winter homes were constructed and handed over to stranded families in 35 villages. This task was completed within 3 months by spending around Rs 2 crores collected from public.

A set of resolutions pertaining to various social and political issues were adopted after discussions. The Assembly renewed their pledge to stand in the forefront to empower Muslims and all other deprived and targeted classes and take them to a bright future in spite of all adversaries. The NGA has also resolved to strengthen the struggles against the communal, fascist, anti-people, anti-democratic and anti-national challenges increasingly engulfing the nation. Moulana Usman Baig, Prof P Koya and Anis Ahmed addressed different sessions. Around 200 delegates from 11 states participated in the NGA. The programme was concluded with address by relieving general secretary O M A Salam and re-elected chairman K M Shareef. The programme director Adv Muhammad Yusuf proposed vote of thanks.

Four ways to portray Muslims as India's biggest threat

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These four separate incidents in two states – Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh – were driven by just one motive: sparking communal disharmony through false information.

Muslims-in-India

by Aditya Menon, @adityamenon22

1. Abdul Khan, the fictitious ISIS Bangalore bomber: Until a day ago, the Twitter handle @LatestAbdul that ran tweets claiming responsibility for the Church Street blast in Bangalore, was speculated to belong to one of the radicalised Indian Muslim cadres of the ISIS. Now it turns out that the person behind the terror threats is a 17-year-old and reportedly not a Muslim. The police claims the teenager Satish (name changed) was mentally stressed. Going by the name Abdul Khan, Satish had been had been threatening to bomb a college for a while and had tagged members of the police force and politicians in his tweets.

On his Twitter timeline, Satish/Abdul had hurled abuses at a wide range of people such as Bangalore police commissioner MN Reddi, DCP (crime) Abhishek Goyal, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had threatened to bomb the Alvas College in Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada if police did not release alleged ISIS sympathiser Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who ran the pro-ISIS Twitter handle @ShamiWitness.

On December 22, “Abdul” had tweeted to commissioner Reddi, “Let’s start the game, Karnataka Police cannot catch us.” He threatened that he would kill at least a thousand people. He had also claimed that he and ISIS members were seeking funds, to “blast all of India” if needed.

2. Desh Raj Singh the “professional riot-manufacturer”: On December 15, a buffalo carcass was found on the premises of a temple in Parsauli village in Budhana block of the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Also inscribed on the temple wall was an inflammatory message in support of the Islamic State. On December 20, parts of a buffalo carcass were found inside another temple in the area and an idol of Nandi was reportedly found missing. Budhana had witnessed communal violence during last year’s riots in Muzaffarnagar and the two incidents sparked tensions yet again. Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan, who is accused of instigating the riots, also visited the area.

The Uttar Pradesh police’s investigation revealed that this was the handiwork of 35-year old Desh Raj who wanted to instigate riots in the area. Apparently, Raj even confessed that he killed a dog and left its corpse hanging in a mosque to fuel tensions. According to the police, Raj claims that his aim was to ensure that “koi masjid na rahe, sirf mandir rahe (no mosques should remain, only temples should remain)”. Many Muslims who were displaced during the riots last year were settled near Parsauli village. Apparently, this demographic change in the area upset him. Desh Raj would have succeeded had the police not caught him and exposed his plan in time. Looking to fish in troubled waters, the UP unit of the Shiv Sena had threatened to hold a Hindu mahapanchayat in the district if the culprit was not caught.

3. A gang-rape that wasn’t: In August this year, we heard of the ghastly gang-rape of a Hindu girl at a madrassa in Meerut. With each passing day, more and more sordid details of the case started coming out: that the girl was gangraped and forcibly made to convert to Islam; that a flesh trade racket was being run from the madrassa, where she was an employee; that many women were held captive there and then sold off to rich men in Gulf countries. The allegations sparked an outrage and understandably so. Western Uttar Pradesh, which was already a communal tinderbox, came on the verge of another riot.

Two months later, the victim filed a report denying that she was gangraped or forcibly made to convert. She claimed that she had actually eloped from home with a Muslim boy. She wrote in the statement, “I was staying with my parents, but I ran away from home because I feel a threat to my life from my parents and relatives… I went with the boy belonging to a different community out of my own will”. Hindutva groups spared no effort in raking up the “Meerut gangrape” especially as it also came on the eve of crucial by-elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Each and every aspect of the entire tale – from the “forcible conversion” to the “madrassa gangrape”, and of course, “girls being sold in the Gulf” – were straight out of a Hindutva hate-monger’s playbook. Of course, no story involving a Muslim villain is complete without women being forcibly converted to Islam and sold to an Arab shaikh!

4. Pakistani flag, Hindutva flag bearers: In January 2012, six activists of the right-wing Sri Ram Sene were arrested for trying to instigate communal violence in the north Karnataka town of Sindhagi. Their modus operandi was unique. They hoisted the Pakistani flag on the mini Vidhan Soudha premises, blamed the act on the Muslims and, on the very next day, staged demonstrations in the town protesting against the delay in arresting those responsible! Like the young Satish, the Sene cadres were all aged between 18 to 20. The men, who saw themselves as defenders of Indian nationalism, actually took the trouble to stitch the Pakistani flag at their homes. Of course, this act of mischief hardly came as a surprise as Sene chief Pramod Muthalik was himself caught in a sting operation in 2010, discussing how his outfit could instigate a riot for a price.

These four separate incidents in two states – Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh – were driven by just one motive: portraying Muslims as the biggest threat to India.

Now, it is fortunate that the people responsible were caught in these four occasions and the respective state administrations deserve full credit for their work. But there could be numerous cases in which Muslims have been wrongfully accused. We know of the Malegaon, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta attacks because of the investigation by the late Hemant Karkare and his team. But what about cases where the administration is not unbiased and where the investigation officers aren’t someone like Karkare?

This article first appeared on daily O.

Saiyid Hamid was like 'Second Sir Syed' to Indian Muslims

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saiyid-hamid

by Kaleem Kawaja

Washington: It is with profound sadness that Indian Muslims in North-America have learned of the passing away of Saiyid Hamid, renowned educationist, reformer and a top leader of Muslims in India.

After completing a very distinguished Indian Administrative Service (IAS) career, Saiyid Hamid, who was originally from Bulandshahar (UP), embarked on a 30 year second career as an educationist, working with much dedication to improving education in the Muslim community in India.

He served as vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, and chancellor of Hamdard University New Delhi. He spent nearly 30 years motivating many senior government officials and senior Muslims to build projects to improve education in the Muslim community in India.

He was the prime mover behind persuading the Indian government to form a committee headed by Justice Sachar to conduct research and to document the socio-economic-educational backwardness of Indian Muslims and to build programs for their uplift.

I was fortunate to get acquainted wih Saiyid Hamid on a personl level and to co-host his visit to USA in 1996 to motivate Indian Muslims in US to help in the establishment of educational institutions in India and an English language magazine/newspaper.

Following his visit to USA, as he established a postgraduate college of management and information technology in New Delhi and the monthly magazine ‘The Nation & the World’, I had an opportunity to work with him on these projects for many years.

A conversation with Saiyid Hamid was a pure delight. He was so erudite, so full of knowledge and such a practical visionary, so highly accomplished in both English and Urdu literature that it was difficult to understand how he acquired such broad accomplishment.

Indeed such was the strength of his personality and intellect that no matter who you were it was impossible not to be impressed with him or not to get motivated by his ideas. It was in the fitness of things that many people called him the “Second Sir Syed”, that he truly was.

Indian Muslims will miss him for a very long time as he was a very rare individual who fully epitomized the following verse of renowned Persian poet Hafiz Shirazi, that he once told me in conversation.

“When you travel through a desert, you see all types of creatures, small reptiles, birds, big animals etc travelling towards the oasis to fill their thirst. We should try to be that oasis”. Indeed Saiyid Hamid was an oasis towards whom we all looked up to, to satisfy our thirst to improve ourselves and our institutions.”

Kaleem Kawaja is Executive Director, Association of Indian Muslims of America, Washington DC.

Recalling his role in 2002 riots, Economist says Modi is follower of Savarkar, an "immensely divisive" figure

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Narendra Modi pays homage to Hindutva ideologue Savarkar on his birth anniversary at Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Narendra Modi pays homage to Hindutva ideologue Savarkar on his birth anniversary at Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

by Counterview

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a gap of about six months, top British journal, The Economist’s latest issue (December 20) has once again reminded its readers that Modi remains a controversial leader for his “failure” in 2002, when as chief minister of Gujarat, he failed to “avert a massacre of Muslims.” Insisting that the hostility is born of the ideology that militant freedom fighter Vinayak Savarkar “spawned”, the influential British journal says, Modi “has never apologised for the massacre.” Taking a dig at Modi, the journal recalls how he sought to “regret” the riots once – telling a news agency interviewer that he is as sorry for the killings as he is while “seeing a puppy run over in the street”.

Pointing out that Modi is inspired by Savarkar, the journal suggests, after Modi came to power, RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat has become more aggressive by increasingly referring to Savarkar for inspiration. Like Savarkar, Bhagwat now says that “all who live in Hindustan are in fact Hindus, whatever Muslims, Christians or secular Hindus might say”, the journal says, underlining, “The group has become an enthusiastic and effective actor within (the BJP). The RSS’s millions of members and volunteers played a big role in electing the BJP by a landslide in 2014. At least 19 ministers in government, including Modi, have a background in the RSS.”

Even as saying that Modi is “India’s strongest leader since Indira Gandhi”, the journal contends, the Prime Minister has made no attempt to “distance himself from the RSS”. It adds, “Those who promote Hindutva and echo Savarkar whip up stories of ‘love jihad’, alleging, Muslim men convert large numbers of Hindu women by seducing them.” Pointing out how earlier this month “a BJP parliamentarian praised Godse as a ‘patriot’ equal to Gandhi”, it says, things have gone so far now that “members of the increasingly influential RSS feel emboldened” and are promoting “majoritarian politics” in order to “absorb or flatten a minority” in “utterly destructive” way.

Pointing out that “India’s tolerance and moderation” may be “at risk”, the journal notes, this is clear the way Modi has been promoting Savarkar. “In 2008 Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, inaugurated a website (savarkar.org) that promotes a man ‘largely unknown to the masses because of the vicious propaganda against him and misunderstanding around him that has been created over several decades’.” While a “previous BJP-led government put Savarkar’s portrait in parliament… on Savarkar’s birthday this year, May 28, the Prime Minister paid homage to him there. Modi tweeted about Savarkar’s ‘tireless efforts towards the regeneration of our motherland’.”

While calling Modi a firm follower of Savarkar, the journal refers to how Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi differed from each other ever since they met for a meal in England in 19065. “Savarkar offered Gandhi some of his meal; Gandhi, a vegetarian, refused. Savarkar allegedly retorted that only a fool would attempt to resist the British without being fortified by animal protein”, The Economist says, adding, “The meeting is said to have begun hostilities between the two young Indian nationalists. Gandhi was a pacifist with an inclusive attitude towards Muslims and Christians. Savarkar, who would lead the Hindu Mahasabha, was a right-wing majoritarian who spawned the idea of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness…”

Pointing towards how “Savarkar remains immensely divisive”, the journal recalls how he called Gandhi a weak, a “sissy”, and far too willing to collaborate with Britain. “Gandhian talk of man’s common humanity he regarded as utopian to the point of naivety. In articles from the 1920s to the 1940s Savarkar lambasted Gandhi as a ‘crazy lunatic’ who ‘happens to babble…[about] compassion, forgiveness’, yet ‘notwithstanding his sublime and broad heart, the Mahatma has a very narrow and immature head’. Gandhi promoted ahimsa, a Buddhist rejection of violence which Savarkar called “mealy-mouthed”.

How is Ghar Wapsi different from forcible conversions?

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conversion-Aligarh

Propaganda around conversions has been one of the major political tools during last few decades. It was Niyogi Commission report which investigated the conversions in Adivasi areas in 1950s, then the Meenaxipuram conversions of Dalits into Islam, and then the gruesome murder of Pastor Graham Stewart Stains on the charges that he was doing conversion; these are a few amongst the big spectrum related to the phenomenon of conversions. As such the regular propaganda by communal forces that Muslim Kings converted people into Islam by sword has been made the part of ‘social common sense’ by now. On regular basis around Christmas time one saw the anti Christian violence in Adivasi areas a decade ago, and in that context rather than focusing on the violence against religious minorities, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee called for a National debate on Conversions.

In the recent conversions to Hinduism in Agra (10 December 2014) nearly 350 pavement dwellers-rag pickers and other destitute sections were promised that if they participate in the religious function they will be given the ration card and BPL cards. This was done by the Bajrang Dal activist and the Hindu Janjagriti Samiti both outfits affiliated to RSS. The only difference is that this process has been called as Ghar Vapasi and not conversion. On one hand this is being projected as a great valorous achievement by the RSS leaders like Yogi Adiytnath, on the other it is being labeled as a master stroke by RSS by other RSS ideologues. According to one ideologue of RSS, they had been calling for a ban on conversions, which was being opposed by the secular elements and religious minorities. This conversion nay Ghar Vapasi will bring to fore the debate to bring in the strict law against any conversion. If, as reported, the conversion of 350 odd Muslims in Ved Nagar in Agra to Hinduism is the work of RSS, it is clear that the RSS has grown strategic, according to RSS ideologue.

[pullquote]Do we need laws to ban conversions? We have laws to punish those who indulge in force, fraud and allurement. What we need is to distinguish between voluntary conversion and forced one’s. Ghar Vapasi is a shrewd name for forcible conversions. So what we need is the political and moral will to promote freedom of religion and punish the guilty, using illegal means to achieve the change of faith. The so called ‘Freedom of Religion’ bills are there not to provide freedom of conscience but to curb the same by legal means.[/pullquote]

As per this ideologue this move of RSS is a smart one too. It seems to have triggered a debate on conversions which it has been asking for decades but was evaded by its critics. While communal elements are crying hoarse that Meenaxipuram has been the act of conversions through petro dollars and the Christian missionaries are doing conversion though foreign money, the truth of the matter is somewhat different. Meenaxipuram conversion was triggered by humiliation of the dalit youth by the upper caste. While the propaganda that Christian missionaries are doing forcible conversions is on the peak the fact is that no evidence of the application of force has been generally reported. It is also true that while some sects of Christian do claim that they are converting; the majority sects affirm that when the conversion is sought by someone in the society and only under that voluntary request the conversion if at all takes place. Interestingly as many people have started believing that the missionaries are converting the population of Christians has been shown a marginal decline during last few decades as per census figures (1971-2.60, 1982-2.44. 1991-2.34, 2001 -2.30 and probably 2.20 in 2011) The Wadhwa Commission, which was appointed by the then home minister L.K.Advani in the after math of the burning of Pastor Stains points out that Pastor was not involved in the work of conversions and that in Keonjhar in Manoharpur of Orissa, the percentage of Christians has shown fair stability, or an statistical insignificant rise in the percentage of Christian population during the time Pastor Stains was working there.

How have conversion taken place in India? We can examine this in two stages. In medieval period as far as conversion to Islam is concerned it took place mainly due to the caste oppression, as pointed out by Swami Vivekananda “Why amongst the poor of India so many are Mohammadens? It is nonsense to say that they were converted by the sword. It was to gain liberty from Zamindars and Priests…..” (Collected Works- Vol. 8- Page 330). Surely a small section did convert to Islam due to anticipation for reward by Muslim kings, a smaller section due to fear and a substantial chunk due to the social interaction as seen in the Muslims of Malabar coast and the Muslims of Mewat. Major conversion to Islam during medieval time was due to the influence of Sufi saints, at whose Dargaha the untouchables could also visit. Since even today one fourth of the population holds to the norms of untouchablity, it is not surprising that some dominated castes do keep deciding to leave the fold of Hinduism, as was proclaimed by Dr. Ambedkar, who left Hinduism with proclamation that ‘I was born a Hindu; that was not in my hands, but I will not die a Hindu.”

The conversions to Christianity did not begin with the coming of British as propagated by some. Christianity is centuries old, entering India with the coming of St Thomas in the first century. Some doubt this version and hold that Christianity came here in fifth century. The Christian missionaries have been working here in the neglected Adivasi areas providing the health and educational services, the appeal of which prompted many Adivasis-Dalits to embrace this religion. It is only from last six decades that communal forces have been showing their discomfort of Missionaries working in the Adivasi-village areas violence has been more in those areas. Not to forget here is the point that many Christian institutions are located in cities, where all sections of society vie to send their children. One can also concede that a few of these missions may be aiming for conversions through their prayer and healing services. The question of allurement and fraud, if at all, may be a small component of the phenomenon of conversion to Christianity. Most of the attacks and accusations which took place against Christian missionaries were when they were holding prayer meetings. The money they receive comes through proper FCRA channel, and many NGOs including the organizations like RSS also receive foreign funds to be sure.

Now the assertion is that what RSS affiliates do is a Ghar vapasi! They claim so many things which are a pure political concoction. The voluntary conversions have very much been a part of caste ridden Indian society. It is another matter that even the Christian and Muslim communities could not remain free from this caste virus, but the hope of the dominated castes to get social justice has played a major role in changing one’s faith. The RSS claim that the ancestors of all these converts are Hindus has no relevance in the debate. How is ancestry important in one’s faith and the citizenship today? Do we have to trace our ancestry to decide today’s faith? Where will this lead us? The theory of evolution apart from the latest DNA studies show that human’s beginning is from South Africa. The coming of Aryans to India from Arctic zone (Lokmanya Tilak ) to that Aryans were original inhabitants of India is a perpetual debate, with more heat than light in it.

What was the religion of Nomads-Pagans? Some social scientists call it Indigenous culture, rather than religion for the phenomenon which was and is practiced by indigenous (Adivasi) people all over the World. Society is always changing. As caste system has been the central part of religion in India many of the dominated castes regularly kept leaving Hinduism to opt for other religions, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. People felt that they are not getting equality and so kept leaving the Hindu fold and embracing other religions. After Lord Buddha’s teachings a large chunk of people became Buddhists in the sub continent. It is another matter that later in the Brahminical reaction, Buddhism was wiped out from here. Many felt that the missions are doing service to their community so they changed their faith.

The problem, which RSS projects is due to its being hung up to the values and system of past; pastoral, agricultural-feudal societies. The changes in social system accompany the changes in systems of production and education in particular; are totally missing in its world view. India came into being through the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi, who could unite the people of all religions as he treated all religions on equal ground. For him, there is no distinction between foreign and Native religions. Three types of Nationalisms competed with each their during freedom movement. On one hand was the concept of Indian Nationalism and the accompanying concept of ‘India as a nation in the making’, this is what was followed by most of the people. The other was Muslim Nationalism, which located its beginning from the time of Muhammad bin Kasim’s victory in Sindh in eight century. And the third one was Hindu nationalism, ‘we are a Hindu nation from times immemorial’, held by the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS. Both these latter nationalisms derived their legitimacy from identity of religion had miniscule social support.

Unfortunately Gandhi is quoted extensively by Right wing forces to oppose conversions; but his quotes which are taken support are fragments of what he said. His major quote on conversion is from collected works, Volume XLVI p. 27-28. In an interview dated 22nd March 1931, given to The Hindu, Gandhi apparently stated that “if in self governing India, missionaries kept ‘proselytizing’ by means of medical aid, education etc., I would certainly ask them to withdraw. Every nation’s religion is as good as any other. Certainly India’s religions are adequate for her people. We need no converting spirituality.” This is the first part of the quote and the lines that follow give the totally opposite idea, the ideas, which Gandhi held. Gandhi goes on to write, “This is what the reporter has put in my mouth… All that I can say is that it is a travesty of what I have always said and held.” He goes on to explain, “I am, then, not against conversion. But I am against the modern methods of it. Conversions nowadays have become a matter of business, like any other… Every nation considers its own faith to be as good as that of any other. Certainly the great faiths held by the people of India are adequate for her people. India stands in no need of conversions from one faith to another.” And then he goes on to list the faiths of India, “Apart from Christianity and Judaism, Hinduism and its offshoots, Islam and Zoroastrianism are living faiths.”

As Gandhi opposed the divisive agenda of communal forces, which were using identity of religions for political purpose, Gandhi in contrast was harping on ‘morality’ of religions to unite the people. So while he was leading the anti colonial struggle the communalists were spitting fire against the ‘other community’ and ‘Shuddhi’ (Arya Samaj) and Tanjim (Tablighi Jammat) was part of their political agenda in the early part of twentieth century. The Hindu religion is not a prophet based religion, so the concept of conversion is not there. In most prophet based religions the call for spreading the divine word is there. So earlier Arya Samaj coined the word Shuddhi, which was for forcible conversion into Hinduism. RSS improvised on that and has coined the word Ghar Vapasi as a clever move to hide its ‘forcible conversion drive’. Its claim that it is undertaking Ghar vapasi to bring the religious minorities in the mainstream is again a hoax as minorities had been equal participants in the movement for India’s freedom, a struggle from which RSS remained aloof, barring one exception. To claim that adivasis are Hindus, is again does not hold water as Adivasis are animists, believing in nature worship, and in the spirit of their ancestors and spirit of Nature. All over the World indigenous people hold similar belief and have similar practice. This is unlike Hinduism where Gita, Ram and Acharya are the core part of it belief today.

The central point is that RSS does not recognize Indian nationalism and holds to Hindu nationalism so the whole maneuver for this ‘forcible conversion’ is being passed off as ‘Ghar Vapasi’ while dubbing other conversions as forcible. Rather than recognizing the qualitative change in the formation of India as the nation state, it is stuck to the pastoral-feudal-preindustrial society with the values of caste and gender hierarchy. The ‘Ghar vapsi’ is being planned at larger scales. And an intimidating and fraudulent atmosphere is being created to execute the forcible conversions. This is a frightening message to religious minorities. This is a clever manipulation of political power to violate the norms of Indian constitution.

Then how do we distinguish between a forcible conversion and adoption of a new religion. In the present scheme of things if one leaves Hindu fold to embrace Buddhism-Jainism-Sikhism, it is OK, as they are ‘Indian religions. For communalists problem seems to be only with Islam and Christianity! The basic shrewdness is to call religions as national or foreign. As such religions are basically universal not bound by national boundaries.

Constituent Assembly had discussed this thread bare and so the right to practice and propagate one’s religion is very much there. In the debate the word used is ‘converting’ others. Where is the place for people volunteering and adopting another religion, like Ambedkar and so many others? In a way it is a way to undermine the conscience of people that somebody is converting them. Where is the place for choice of one’s religion in a democratic society believing in ‘freedom of religion and conscience’?

With RSS plans for a bigger conversion nay Ghar vapasi in Aligarh this Christmas (2014) the attempt to polarize the society are being taken to a higher pitch. The heroes of RSS parivar like Yogi Adityanath are saying that those being subjected to ghar vapasi will be given the Gotra and caste from which they converted! So come what may the caste structure and rigidities remain and thrive. That’s what the agenda of nationalism in the name of Hinduism is!

Do we need laws to ban conversions? We have laws to punish those who indulge in force, fraud and allurement. What we need is to distinguish between voluntary conversion and forced one’s. Ghar Vapasi is a shrewd name for forcible conversions. So what we need is the political and moral will to promote freedom of religion and punish the guilty, using illegal means to achieve the change of faith. The so called ‘Freedom of Religion’ bills are there not to provide freedom of conscience but to curb the same by legal means.

Christmas Day conversion: Hindu outfit calls off ceremony

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conversion-Aligarh

Aligarh: Satya Prakash Nauman, district president of the outfit, on Tuesday said over phone,”The proposed ‘ghar wapsi'(conversion ceremony) planned for December 25 has been called off”.

However, he did not elaborate the reason behind the outfit’s u-turn.

A controversy had erupted after the outfits announcement that it will conduct a mass conversion ceremony at a local college here on December 25– Christmas.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were clamped in the city two days ago.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath had also announced his plans to attend the proposed ceremony, saying there was nothing wrong if people re-convert to Hinduism if they are doing it willingly.

However, BJP had adopted a cautious approach on the potential face-off between the district authorities and the other saffron organisations.

“We are not organising this ceremony but if the organisers including the Bajrang Dal seek our help on this score, we will certainly do whatever we can to help them,” BJP’s district president Devraj Singh had told reporters.

Report on incidence of communal violence in Patan-Somnath town in Gujarat

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Representational Image

Representational Image

Alliance for Peace and Justice and All India Secular Forum decided to investigate the incidence of communal violence that occurred on 25th November 2014 in Patan-Somnath town in Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims and was reported in the press.

A team of Adv. Irfan Engineer, All India Secular Forum and Rafi Malek, Alliance for Peace and Justice (APJ) and Jagdish Bamaniya (APJ) was constituted. The team visited Somnath-Patan on 7thand 8th December 2014. They met Assistant Sub-Inspector of Shiv Police Chowki, Shri Babariya, Yusuf Hussain Kachara, President, Patan Ghanchi Samaj, Dadabhai, Secretary of Patan Ghanchi Samaj, Mohammed Haji Yakub, Treasurer of Patan Ghanchi Samaj, Suleman Kapadia, victim whose shop was attacked, Sarman Solanki, Presidant, Veraval Taluka President of BJP and Nusrat Panja. The team also tried to meet Hindu Victims and their representatives but they were not prepared to talk to the team officially. We also tried to meet Kanabhai, leader of the Koli community but he refused to meet us and even scolded the member of the team contacting him stating that he was under pressure and could not talk to the team.

Background:

Patan is a small town in Southern Saurashtra. Patan and Veraval are under a joint municipal body called Patan-Veraval Sanyukta Nagar Palika. Somnath temple in Patan is well known for two reasons – 1) it is one of the Jyotirling of Lord Shiva and therefore auspicious for Hindus, and 2) in 1992 L. K. Advani, the then president of BJP commenced his campaign against Babri Masjid on a rath yatra from this temple town which ultimately led to the demolition of the Masjid in Ayodhya. The Hindu nationalists use Somnath temple as a symbol of “aggression of Muslims” over Hindus as Mohammad Gazni, a Muslim warlord attacked the temple several times for looting its wealth. The Hindu nationalists represent the aggression as Muslim rulers desire to attack Hindu faith and idol worship.

Total population of Patan is around 60,000 with Muslim communities constituting roughly about 25-30% of the population. The two major communities that inhabit Patan are the Ghanchi (Muslims) – about 1,000 to 1,200 houses and Koli (Hindu) – about 1,500 to 2,000 houses. Besides the Ghanchis, there are other communities as well. The other Muslim communities are Patnis, Syeds, Pathans, Sheikhs, Memons etc. There are about 14 Muslim Jamats (communities). The Ghanchi and Koli communities are backward educationally and socially. Literacy rates are lower than the national average and dropout rates high. Roughly on 5% of them complete schooling. There aren’t three professionals – lawyers, doctors or engineers in both the communities. The other dominant communities in the Gir-Somnath and Junagadh are Kharwas, Karadia, Ahir and Patel.

Large number of people inhabiting Patan town are daily wage earners employed in Patan GIDC, in the fishing industry, port, ice factories etc. Every morning, labourers largely belonging to the Ghanchi and Koli communities travel in shared auto rickshaws hailed from Shiv Police Chowki junction to work. Ghanchis and Kolis live in wadis (residential neighbourhoods). The wadis belonging to both the communities are peculiarly interspersed and to reach any destination, they have to pass through each other’s wadis. The wadis are linked through common roads that are poorly illuminated and extremely narrow. We were told that one of the reasons why there were no communal riots in Patan is that any access to the town is passage through each other’s wadis.

The only communal incidence that occurred was in 1983 which began in Veraval between the Sindhis and Muslims and Patan was also affected. Hussain Kasam Kachra, the then Vice-President of Municipal Council had sustained 7 fractures. Other than the 1983 incident, there is no history of communal violence in Patan. People of Patan live peacefully in wadi area and share common culture and identity, exchange of food and participate in each other’s functions and festivals. The Hindu Muslim fabric was strong in this town but in last couple of years the bonds seem to have weakened.

The Ghanchi community leaders told us that the community did not take political stance either way. Both parties – Congress as well as BJP had opened their electoral offices with the help of members of the community to campaign within the community. They gave liberty to their members to vote for any candidate of their choice. However, informally the leaders preferred to ally with the BJP, particularly as the BJP candidate was Jasabhai Barad who was formerly from the Congress. The Ghanchis, in order to get even their routine and easiest work done, have to align with the ruling party without which they have to suffer. Kolis and Ghanchis – both are politically with BJP.

Port, fishing and allied industries, particularly ice factories and ship building are the major industries in Veraval and Patan. There are two gangs of anti-social elements operating in these areas – the Magra Gang and Farookh Maulana gang. They often compete with each other.

The Koli community leaders in Gujarat have been asserting and organizing themselves with the objective of increasing their political representation. The dominant community in Gir-Somnath and Junagadh Districts are Kolis. Until recently they were with the Congress. Their strong organization and political assertion led to bagging large number of tickets from the BJP. In the last state assembly election unprecedented number of Koli MLAs had been elected. The Kolis are demanding 95 tickets for their community members and should that happen, they would decide the Chief Minister of Gujarat, however, that does not seem probable. BJP for the first time gave MP ticket to a member of Koli community – Rajesh Chudasama – elected in the 16th general election from Junagadh constituency in which Patan town falls. The renewed assertion Kolis is impacting on their social interactions. Every two or three months, there have been disputes between members of Koli and Ghanchi community over petty issues of payment to a rickshaw drivers etc. with potential of widening the conflict. However, the leaders of both the communities immediately intervened in the past and settled the dispute amicably. Mostly the Ghanchis would be made to pay some minor compensation.

Incident:

The team did not find material difference in the narration of the incidence of communal violence that had occurred on 25th November 2014 by various people they talked to. The ASI Babariya was present during the communal incidence on 25th November as the violence broke out near Shiv Police Chowki at about 8.30 am. The Police personnel of the Chowki had just resumed their respective duties when the violence occurred and they were completely unprepared. According to the ASIthere was a dispute about a Rs. 10 currency note belonging to a “Mohammedan” which was claimed by a Koli.

According to Yusuf Kachara, Muslim passengers were sitting in an auto rickshaw being driven by a Muslim. A Rs. 10 currency note belonging to Muslim passenger fell down, but was claimed by a Koli. According to Suleman Kapadia, who owns several shops, including a cold drink shop, youth had written his cell number to pass it on to his girl friend for her to call him. Girls are not allowed to keep cell phones with them so they exchange cell numbers in this way and use someone else’s phone to call. When the currency note was claimed by a member of Koli community, there was heated argument.In the scuffle, the Muslim passenger was hit bya tiffin box.This injured the Muslim youth and his head and started bleeding. SulemanKapadia further informed the team that the wound was deep and there were three stitches. The Ghanchi neighbourhood and the Koli neighborhood is separated by Veraval-Una Highway and the Shiv Police Chowki too issituated on the Highway. According to the ASI and all others the team talked to, elders of both the community intervened and separated those fighting.

However, after about half an hour, the Kolis from Shanti Nagar reassembled and started pelting stones on Muslim neighbourhood across the highway. We observed the shop facing the road located on the Muslim side had been damaged. ASI further informed the team that the bikes on the road were also burnt.In the attack by Koli youth, one fruit stall, and two refrigerators of cold drink shop owned by SulemanKapadia were damaged. They looted the chocolates, biscuits and other eatablesin the shop. SulemanKapadia claims that he suffered a loss of about Rs. 4-5 lakhs and has no insurance. One motorbike(pulled out from house by breaking doors) and two fruit stalls and a fruit shop were damaged in the attack led by the Koli youth.

Muslim youth too gathered and retaliated by pelting stones from the roof top. They burnt 8 motorbikes, damaged two fruit stallsand one fruit shop and 10 to 15 Kolis suffered minor injuries while 8-10 Muslims also were injured.

Yusufbhai informed the team that once every 2 – 3 months such scuffles happen over some minor issue or another, including payment of rickshaw fare. Elders of both sides intervene and do not let the violence escalate even if sometimes they have to compensate in order to settle the dispute. However, this time the Muslim youth did not listen to them. Yusufbhai along with the ASI and his team of two constables that were available at the time were trying to keep stone pelting mobs separate. The ASI was injured too as a stone hit him behind his right year causing swelling. Yusufbhai too was injured. The police team of three was hopelessly outnumbered and ill equipped, without even helmets for their protection. Half an hour later, police reinforcements came along with Dy. SP and Mamlatdar and they brought the situation under control. The police had to burst teargas shells near Vadli to disperse the Muslim mob. In the melee, someone snatched a mobile worth Rs. 500/- (five hundred only) of a policeman.

None from any community lodged any complaint with the police pertaining to the incident. Police suomoto registered an FIR. Later, the police arrested 42 Muslims and 14 Koli youth who were still in their custody. The police have charged all the 56 persons, amongst other sections for rioting, with S. 395 of IPC (dacoity) for loss of a mobile of the policeman.Ghanchi community members told the team that police arrested by-standers and innocents who happened to be there during the incident on both sides – Muslims as well as Hindus. The Ghanchi Community was taking care of all the expenses of the Muslims who were arrested and providing them food from a hotel. They also paid the family of the poor among the 42 who were arrested as their earning members were in police custody. The office bearers of the Patan Ghanchi Muslim Samaj were appreciative of the role of the BJP MLA Jasabhai Barad who promptly intervened when the police were arresting large number of Muslims. This stopped the police from being hostile to the community. Jassabhai Barad crossed over to BJP from Congress as he could not get any work done while in his former party. Jassabhai had polled votes from Muslims too.

A Hindu shopkeeper on the Muslim side of the Highway, who was sympathetic to RSS, talked to a team member but did not want to be identified. He derived satisfaction from the police action arresting large numbers of Muslims compared to Hindus.

Shops in the Patan area were closed on the day of the incident. However, the leaders of both the community met and decided to open their shops next day. Hindus were still afraid of opening their shops though Muslim shops had opened. Yusufbhai then called Kanabhai, leader of Koli community to open their shops as well. Similarly, the workers working in the GIDC from both the communities were afraid of getting out of their homes and travel to the GIDC area where factories are situated as they would have to negotiate “hostile” territories. However, here too, the elders of both the communities got together to persuade the workers to come out and go for work.

Our Findings and observations:

The communal riots in Patan seem to be spontaneous however, the root cause of the riots is continuous communal discourse in media and by communal organizations that is deepening communal consciousness. The Hindu communal forces have considerably succeeded in deepening Hindu communal identity based on “othering” of Muslims who are at best perceived as a problem to be tolerated and from time to time reminded that they are second class citizens living at the sweet will of Hindus. It is because of this that smallest and most insignificant conflict of daily occurrence takes communal turn and mobilizes non-Muslims against them. Patanriots is an excellent example of that. Why should ordinary dispute over payment of rickshaw fare or anything else become a cause for communal mobilization? The state and civil society both will have to do a lot neutralize these communal feelings, particularly, the “othering” of Muslims. Such propaganda are also an offence under s. 153A of IPC but the section has remained mute witness to offences committed against Muslims in Gujarat and indeed in India without being invoked ever. This time the riots could be easily controlled, but the violence may escalate and may be uncontrollable in future.

As we were tracking through the narrow lanes of Patan, on the surface peace seems to have been restored and everything normal. Women belonging to the Ghanchi community and Koli community were treading on the street together and conversing with each other. Women belonging to both the communities were sitting next to each and hawking fruits and vegetables. However there is a deeper division below the surface and communal divisions are widening with each such incident. RSS affiliated organizations are active in the area resorting to communal discourse which “others” Muslims. Though the Muslims had voted for the BJP in the last elections, but as the BJP Taluka President SarmanSolanki told the team, they (the BJP) would not change their ideology and Muslims could not be trusted just because they voted for them. Solanki said he personally did not believe in casteism of communalism.

Though the police could control communal violence this time, their post riot action of arresting 42 Muslims and 14 Hindus seems to be arbitrary. We were told that the Muslims in custody were sharing their food with the Hindus. The real culprits may still be free on both sides. Police need to do thorough investigation of the incident and marshal evidence to see that the guilty of violence on both sides are punished as a deterrence for future such escalations. It appears that police are not investigating the offence with the degree of seriousness it requires. The signals it is sending to both the communities is that the police are taking some action for records and soon everybody will be out of the custody and go scott free. Community members too seem to be relieved that no one from “their” community would be punished, and indeed innocent bystanders seem to have been arrested. The real instigators of the riots and stone pelters should not be allowed to go unpunished.

Civil Society organizations would have to promote harmony and understanding between various communities respecting differences and learning and benefiting from the rich diversitythat prevails in India. Urgent and serious attempts are needed here.

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