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print versionNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS
A Wing First Floor, Haji Habi Building, Naigaon Cross Road
Dadar (E), Mumbai-400 014 Ph. No-2415 0529
Date: 23-09-2008
• Condemn gross human rights violations by fanatical forces
• Govt. of India and State Governments must address all constitutional rights violations
Even before one adequately respond to the brutal violence and violation of all human rights in Khandamal and Mangalore, there have been shocking reports of four more attacks on Churches in Bangalore. We are shocked and dismayed to say the least, and are at pains to know if we are really living in a nation that claims itself to be secular. The systematic violence unleashed against Christians in Kandhamal and other Districts of Orissa after the murder of Swami Lakshmianand Saraswathi and four of his associates on August 13, 2008 is now spreading to Bangalore, Kanpur, Mangalore, Udipi, South Kanara and even North Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This is in tune with the rise of communalism and fundamentalism, which has also been built up systematically over recent months around the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir. This unnecessary communalization of the Yatra now threatens to tear apart the secular political fabric of Jammu and Kashmir irretrievably, despite the fact that the Yatris have always been welcomed by the Muslim communities along the yatris route. The same fanatical trend has also found expression in the bomb blasts in Delhi markets on 13/09/08, which have caused enormous sufferings due to casualities, injuries and loss of property. Rising fascism has been thriving under globalisation’s neo-liberal economic policies since the early nineties. The destruction of livelihoods is driving people into fierce battles of identity politics. After 9/11, the "war on terrorism" has successfully deflected attention from the neo-imperialist shock syndrome.
The murder of Swami Lakshmianand Saraswathi has been claimed by a Maoist group, and the Orissa police is inclined to believe and pursue this version. However, the State government has refused to hand the case over to the CBI, despite vast sections of civil society demanding such an investigation. What is the State Government trying to hide by refusing a central investigation? Instead, the claim of VHP and the Bajrang Dal that the Swami was killed by Christians for his interventions to counter the massive "forced conversion" by the Christians in Khandamal District, has given the green light for unrestrained harassment of Christians. This has lead to massive loss of life, looting and burning of houses and places of worship and tremendous sense of insecurity among Christians, who are mostly Dalits, while the Adivasis have been in the hands of the Bajrang Dal. We also hear of forced conversion of Dalits to the VHP’s brand of Hinduism, if they want to stay in this area.
We condemn the murder of Swami Lakshmianand Saraswathi and his associates and demand a CBI inquiry into the same. At the same time, the violence against Christians should also be dealt with as what it is, namely organized crime. The fact that this has not been done speaks volumes of the collusion between the Orissa State Government, the police and the communal forces. We demand a thorough CBI inquiry into the murder of the Swamiji and all the ensuing violence. We demand a ban on the Bajrang Dal, which violates the constitution with impunity and earlier incited the murder of Missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons.
We denounce the hoax of "mass conversions" as a lie. The number of Christians has gone down in Orissa over recent years. We uphold article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the freedom to profess and propagate one’s religion and includes the right of any citizen to change his or her religion. There are no cases of "forced conversion" among Christians in India. If poor Dalits or Adivasis acquire a sense of dignity and social justice, the vested interests in the local power structure interpret this as a form of incentive and try to use outdated anti-conversion laws, which are themselves a violation of Article 25 of the Constitution. We demand the scrapping of anti- conversion laws and strict implementation of Article 25 freedom of religion and adherence to the preamble of the constitution of India as a secular, democratic, socialist republic, in while nobody can be discriminated on grounds of caste, race, language, sex and religion.
We are deeply shocked by the indifference of the Orissa State Governement and cynicism which prevails in the BJP ruled states, who are trying to extend the laboratory of Gujarat to Orissa and Karnataka. We are outraged at the incompetence of the Central Government, which first escaped into promises to bring about more draconian laws to curtail terrorism, and then left it to the States to do this dirty work. Our experience with POTA and similar laws has proven that innocent people get framed under them on a large scale, mostly Dalits and Muslims, while the real culprits often go scot-free.
What ’confidence building measures’ the State Government would initiate, one does not know, the State must first of all stop acting in a confidence eroding manner. by violating and not containing the transgression of constitutionally guaranteed and rights time and gain, with impunity.
These series of incidents also bring to the fore, the legislative lackadaisicalness in India, in as much as two basic legislations for Witness Protection, which is meant to ensure that those who speak out against any unlawful activity or any perpetrator of an illegal or criminal act will be guaranteed adequate protection from the State to depose before any Court of law and testify and the legislation against Communal Violence , which not just prescribes punishment for the guilty, but also ensures adequate socio-economic relief and rehabilitation for victims and survivors of fanatical violence are yet to see the light of the day.
However, notwithstanding the fact that such legislations are not in place, all the guarantees envisaged in them, including adequate compensation, relief and rehabilitation to all the victims of communal violence and full security and protection must be ensured to all the victims/survivors/witnesses. Particularly women, elders and children, who have been deeply scarred and marred by the violence fanatic attacks and charged climate need adequate support.
The National Minorities Commission, we also feel, should be strengthened and given more statutory and operational teeth to act swift and stern in such situations, beyond the recommendatory powers that they now possess. We demand that the Government of Karnataka ensure that the Commission headed by the Retired High Court Judge functions in an independent and prompt manner and its Report is acted upon at the earliest, by bringing all the guilty to book and rendering full justice to the violated and restoring the faith of the minorities in the Indian State.
— Medha Patkar, Sandeep Pandey, Prafulla Samantaray, Anand Mazgainkar, D. Gabriela, Swati Desai, P. Chennaiah, Aruna Roy, Mukta Srivastava, P.T. Hussain, Geeta Ramakrishnan, Rajendra Ravi
