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Friday, May 05, 2006

Vadodara violence an extension of Hindutva politics - fact-finding visit reports 

1.

Ahmedabad Newsline
May 05, 2006

VADODARA VIOLENCE AN EXTENSION OF HINDUTVA
POLITICS: ACTIVISTS TEAM ON FACT-FINDING VISIT
HOLDS MAYOR, VMC CHIEF, POLICE RESPONSIBLE FOR
VIOLENCE; WANT ARTICLE 355 IMPOSED.
Express News Service

Ahmedabad, May 4: A TEAM of human rights
activists from Delhi and Vadodara said the
violence in Vadodara shouldn't be seen in
isolation from the 2001 riots and said there was
an agenda to raze structures belonging to a
particular community. Activists, including
Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad, Harsh Mander and Prasad
Chacko, who went on a fact-finding mission in the
city, called for the resignations of those
responsible and also demanded the imposition of
Article 355 in Vadodara. They held the city's
mayor, municipal commissioner and the police
responsible for the violence following the dargah
demolition on Monday.

''The demolition was not out of the blue. It was
a systematic agenda to demolish the cultural
sites and heritage buildings of a particular
community. The fact that the dargah was present
even in the map of 1912 itself shows that it was
there even before the road was constructed,''
alleged Hashmi of Anhad. She added, ''This is an
extreme example where the administration,
including police officials, has completely
surrendered to the Hindutva forces."

The activists also termed the violence, that
erupted after the 200-year-old dargah in
Champaner Darwaza was razed, an "extension of
Hindutva politics''. The politics was being
played out by the police, Vadodara Municipal
Corporation (VMC) and the State Government
against a particular community, the group said.
They said this incident should not be seen in
isolation from the 2001 riots as the same modus
operandi was being followed as for the past
several years.

Mander said, ''The outcome was subservient to
Hindutva politics and if this continues we will
see worse times ahead.'' Referring to Mohammed
Rafiq Vora who was burnt alive by a mob, Hashmi
said that though the FIR has been registered
against 12 people no arrests have been made so
far.

The group visited the residence of Vora and met
the family. Asked whether they would meet the
family of Biren Shah, who was stabbed to death by
a mob, Hashmi said, ''We will go to his place as
well and also to people injured during the
violence.'' Chacko said, ''The policy of hate and
divide will further aggravate the condition.''

2.

On the Recent Riots in Baroda, Gujarat

Times of India,
May 15, 2006

EMBOLDENED IN BARODA, GUJARAT'S FASCISTS BASK IN THE SUN

Shabnam Hashmi

Three fragile looking women wearing sarees, with
their colourful bindis shining in the sun,
tugging their children along, were rushing
towards Yakutpura. There was a feeling of urgency
in their whole mannerism, the way they walked,
the way they conversed with each other, the way
they carried the flowers, which kept slipping
down. It was the last week of April, 2006. There
was enough tension in the atmosphere and any
sensible person would have avoided going to that
sensitive area.

They stopped a few yards away from the Chapaner
Gate, near a small light blue structure, which
stood on the footpath. They lit candles, offered
flowers and tied some threads to the beautiful
carved lattice. They sat there with their
children for 15-20 minutes, prayed and before
leaving requested the 81 year old Sultan Mian
Mallik to bless their children. There was a
strange melancholy in their expression, their
eyes were wet, when they bid farewell to Sultan
Mian. It seemed that they had the premonition
that they were leaving never to return again.
They could sense that in a few days time
bulldozers would ruthlessly turn the beautiful
little structure into rubble. The symbol of love
and humanity, which had witnessed the city grow,
which knew more history than the inhabitants of
the area themselves.

The notice to demolish the centuries old Hazrat
Rashiduddin Chishti's dargah was left on the
mazar about a month ago. Baroda's Mayor Sunil
Solanki had declared that if he does not get
enough forces, he would demolish the dargah with
the help of the bhajpa karyakartas (BJP
supporters). Representatives of the Muslim
community were meeting the authorities and
finding ways to diffuse the tension. Rashiduddin
Chishti is supposed to have come to Baroda during
the Babi dynasty, which ruled Baroda till 1732
before the Geakwads. His dargah was perhaps the
only space in that area where people from both
the communities interacted with each other. All
such spaces were like thorns in the eyes of the
Sangh Parivar.
Syed Kamaluddin Refai, a soft spoken, learned
gentleman, inheritor of the famous Refai Sufi
tradition, whose great grandfather was invited by
Maharaja Khande Rao Gaekwad (1856-1870) to
establish a Sufi shrine in Baroda, was leading
the negotiations. He even offered the authorities
to move the outer wall by three feet on all the
sides and remove the canopy. On May 1, the
meeting was again called at 9 am and it continued
till about 10.20am.The authorities were adamant.
Refai pleaded with them asking for a month's
time, to convince the community and move the
dargah to another place. The commissioner got up.
Negotiations broken for ever. Almost
simultaneously as the delegation came out of the
Baroda Municipal Corporation's building the
bulldozers reached Yakutpura.
13 BJP municipal counsellors present at the site,
gave instructions to the Police, while the police
fired indiscriminately, the VHP, Sangh Parivar
mobs threw stones at hundreds of people who were
sitting on a peaceful dharna, as the last attempt
to save the Dargah. The police did not find it
necessary to use safer methods to disperse the
crowd.

Most of the people who refused to see the larger
designs during the first few days, fell pray to
the official version: 'religious places
encroaching the roads are being removed'. The
mayor added fuel to the fire by saying that only
Muslims are objecting to the removal of their
places of worship. The Baroda City survey map of
1921 showing the dargah had no significance for
them. The difference between removing a few
years old encroachments and demolishing a
centuries' old Dargah, which stood at that spot
even before the road came into existence, became
blurred.

Emboldened by successfully selling their story to
the nation, the Sangh planned the next step.

Residential colonies were surrounded, well
equipped mobs, hurling abuses, shouting slogans,
brandishing weapons torched shops, handcarts,
homes and factories situated near the 'borders'.
A young man Mohd Rafiq Vora while returning home
in his Tata Siera, was surrounded by a mob and
burnt alive in his car on Ajwa Road. The first
round of burning killed Rafiq and destroyed the
car but the tiers were too stubborn. The crowd
collected again on the second day and burnt the
car again, this time the tiers also turned into
ashes. Rafiq's sister crying inconsolably
narrated that while her brother was burning, the
crowd clapped and danced. The police crane
brought the charred remains of the car and dumped
it in front of Rafiq's house in front of us.

Rafiq had recently built the Navjeevan Bus Stand
with his own money so that passengers who wait
for the bus are saved from the scorching heat.
Would his killers burn the bus stand too to wipe
off his memory from the minds of those who might
use the shade?

Mohd Mian Haji Mian Shaikh, Arif Yaseen Khan
Pathan, Salim Khan Pathan and Sarfraz while
deposing, from their hospital beds, before the
Citizen's Fact Finding Team on May 4, 2006 (Fact
Finding Team- Harsh Mander, Shabnam Hashmi,
Prasad Chako) narrated similar stories. The
policemen asked their names and then fired at
them point blank. The VHP cadre can take a back
seat now. We have our police to identify,
attack, kill and maim minorities.

In the middle of all the mayhem and further plans
of spreading violence to more areas, there were
hundred of phone calls, fax messages from across
the world asking the UPA government to take
action, activists, national media worked through
the night. The UPA Government told Modi in no
uncertain terms to stop the violence or face
consequences.

After a hectic day of meeting hundreds of
victims, administration, police, witnessing again
the broken stories of people's lives, we started
our journey back to Ahmedabad. Harsh, who has a
wonderful voice did not sing this time. I wish I
had the courage and hope to sing:

In kali sadiyon ke sar se, jab raat ka aanchal dhalkega
Jab dukh ke badal pighlenge, jab sukh ka sagar chalkega
Jab ambar jhoom ke nachega, jab dharti nagme gayegi
Woh subah kabhi to ayegi, woh subah kabhi to ayegi

3.

Tehelka
May 20 , 2006

HATING MUSLIMS IS A NATURAL THING IN GUJARAT

GN Devy

This is probably the only state that has a
sizeable number of Muslims but no Urdu paper
Gujarat has become an intolerable place; at least
that is how I find it. Today, there are very few
people I can talk to in Gujarat because they
simply do not understand basic things, or don't
want to. I can make myself a very comfortable
citizen of Vadodara. But the problem is, I cannot
talk to the people of this city; it is like
walking in the desert. I find the popular myth of
Gujaratis being peace-loving people impossible to
believe. How could all the riots, so many of them
since 1969, have happened if this were true? I
have thought about this deeply and my sense is
that violence is an attribute of their
acquisitive nature. Gujaratis are extremely
acquisitive people. They will do anything to
acquire. The most decent people here, people I
would otherwise respect, would do anything to get
a visa to the United States, even resort to
cheating and dishonesty. They are hungry to
acquire. Even Gujarati devotion is about
acquiring. They have an exchange relationship
with God - I give you devotion, you give me
riches.

The Muslim hatred practiced here is not conscious
or learnt. It is just somehow normal, as nature
would have meant it to be. There is no bitterness
of Partition here, as is the case with Punjab.
There is only the deep, almost genetic, knowledge
of Somnath and the invasions and an accumulation
of prejudices. Then there is a huge void in their
memory until Gandhi arrives.

Gandhi, I have to say, is not a popular man in
Gujarat; they merely pay him lip service. You do
not become a bad man in Gujarat if you hate
Muslims; you are normal. Decent people hate
Muslims. And it is not a city phenomenon alone;
this is true of villages as well. If a Muslim is
traumatised, it is a normal thing. Just to give a
sense of how Gujarati Hindus relate to Muslims, I
will come to the Narmada issue. Gujarat is
extremely pro-dam and, therefore, extremely
anti-Medha Patkar. Gujaratis will call all
pro-Medha people Muslims. Intolerance in Gujarat
is unanimous. If Muslims are hated, entire
Gujarat will hate them. If Medha is seen as an
'enemy', all of Gujarat will look at her as an
enemy. In that sense, Gujarat has treated Medha
as much an 'enemy' or a 'fundamentalist' as
Muslims are treated. The minds have got locked
here. The culture of disagreement and dissent is
pervasively shunned. This is so even when Gujarat
is not a feudal state in terms of its economic
makeup.

Some years ago, Habib Tanvir wanted to come and
stay and work in Vadodara. He did not find a
house for six months. Eventually, he went back.
Some of us tried to find him a place to stay, but
nobody was willing. My own landlord at the time,
a perfectly decent man otherwise, refused. Raoof
Valiullah, an honest and purposeful Congress MP
was killed by gangsters in the centre of
Ahmedabad a few years ago. Not even the Congress
party made a noise about it. I think because
Raoof was a Muslim. There was no sense of loss or
outrage when Ehsan Jafri was killed. There is no
political or ideological divide in Gujarat on the
Muslim question; even the Congress hates Muslims.

I have a young Muslim associate who has been
pursuing post-graduate studies. After the 2002
violence, I suddenly noticed that he was having a
problem trying to form his sentences while
speaking. He used to write clearly but I saw that
his writing too was breaking up. In fact, he
wasn't able to write. This was a typical case of
aphasia, which is a condition of loss of speech
and articulation caused by external trauma.
Gujarat is probably the only state that has a
sizeable Muslim population but no Urdu paper. I
wonder if there is something to it, a state of
collective aphasia. I often wonder how it must
feel to be a Muslim in Gujarat. I shudder to
think what it must require to live at the wrong
end of so much hatred, contempt and threat. Do
they have a strategy of reaction? Is something in
the process of evolving? I do not know.

A Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Devy is
founder-director of the Tribal Academy in
Tejgarh, Gujarat.
(As told to Sankarshan Thakur)

Thursday, May 04, 2006

1. Why the killings in Kashmir? 2. End Communal Violence in Gujarat, Kashmir 

1.

Hindustan Times
New Delhi, May 4, 200610:52 IST

Why the killings in Kashmir?

Meenakshi Iyer

It all began in August 1993, when 16 Hindus were shot dead near Kishtwar in
Doda. Since then the story of blood and gore in the Valley has continued.

Kashmir remains as it was - the road less travelled.

The recent massacre of 35 Hindu villagers is another addition to the
chronology of militancy in the region and.

.Perhaps a cruel reminder of the fact that the recent confidence building
measures, peace initiatives and people-to-people contacts are just not
yielding any results.

As Pak observer puts it: "The normalcy (in relations) is proving to be an
illusion because of dragging of feet by India on the core issue of Jammu and
Kashmir".

"The freedom fighters are perhaps losing faith in the peace process and
prospects of any solution. That is why they have once again started
resorting to such tactics," the Observer says.

Also, Pakistan has been complaining of the slow progress in peace talks and
also 'India's reluctance to address the 'core issue' of Kashmir.

Perhaps, New Delhi's outright rejection of proposals offered by Islamabad
has not gone down well with the country.

The neighbour's recent proposal to remove all heavy weapons from Kashmir was
also put down by India.

"The latest incident.as Daily Times says, "could be an Indian intelligence
agency's tactic to get Pakistan into more trouble with the rest of the world
and blunt its drive to pressure India into sorting out the bilateral
equation".

Further, describing New Delhi's Kashmir policy as "evasive", Observer says
that India should "engage into meaningful discussions with Pakistan and
Kashmiris for settlement of the problem".

All this apart, now the recent violence may further apply brakes on the
peace bus.

"Such incidents could put a monkey-wrench in the process of normalisation of
relations underway between India and Pakistan.Both sides will adhere to
their separate 'narratives' over Kashmir," says Daily Times.

The killing of Hindus, who comprise slightly over 40 per cent of the state's
population of 11 million, comes three years after the 2003 massacre of 24
Kashmiri Pundits in Nadimarg.

While Pakistan has not, for once, flinched from taking India to task, and is
parroting the Musharraf line of "no action by India", the core issue -- the
curbing of Lashkar or its ilk along the border as demanded by India --
remains to be addressed.

This, in addition to the Kashmir propaganda launched by Pakistan, which
continues unabated. All this must be addressed at the earliest.

Sooner the better, without which the peace to the Kashmiris, and the Hindus
in this case, will remain a pipedream.

2.

Human Rights Watch

India: End Communal Violence in Gujarat, Kashmir
Investigate Perpetrators of Attacks
(New York, May 4, 2006)

The possibility of a return to massive sectarian violence in Gujarat must be
forestalled with prompt action by government authorities, Human Rights Watch
said today.

These incidents show the extreme vulnerability of religious minorities in
different parts of India. Instead of allowing this violence to deepen
religious hatred, the authorities should launch an immediate, thorough and
transparent investigation to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted
and punished.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.


Recent anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat have left six dead and have coincided
with violence in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, where militant groups
massacred at least 35 Hindus on April 30 and May 1. Human Rights Watch urged
the Indian government, the state governments of Gujarat and Jammu and
Kashmir, and the Pakistani government to take all steps possible to protect
religious minorities in the two regions.

"These incidents show the extreme vulnerability of religious minorities in
different parts of India," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights
Watch. "Instead of allowing this violence to deepen religious hatred, the
authorities should launch an immediate, thorough and transparent
investigation to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted and punished."

Human Rights Watch said the police and prosecutors at the national and state
levels should launch criminal investigations and initiate appropriate
prosecutions against the perpetrators and organizers of the attacks in
Gujarat. The National Human Rights Commission should launch its own,
independent investigations. The same steps should be taken to address the
massacres in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan should also investigate the
possible responsibility of militant groups operating from its territory.

In Gujarat, violence in Vadodara began with the demolition on May 1 of an
ancient Muslim shrine by municipal authorities. Riots broke out as Muslims
protested the demolition. At least five people died, including a Muslim and
a Hindu, who were killed by police who shot at rioters. Tension built up
over the following day and, during the night of May 2, avenging Hindu mobs,
often led by members of the fundamentalist Hindu groups Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), surrounded and
threatened Muslim neighborhoods. One Muslim man was burnt alive in his car.
In other areas of the city, there were incidents of arson. The situation is
still tense and Muslim residents are terrified, fearing a repeat of the 2002
state-backed riots. The army has been called in to prevent an escalation of
violence.

The violence follows the 2002 communal violence which swept Gujarat after 59
Hindus died in Godhra when their train carriage caught fire. Blaming their
deaths on Muslims, Hindu mobs slaughtered hundreds of Muslims. Tens of
thousands were displaced and their property destroyed. The police stood by,
refusing to act against a mob which had the protection of the state
government. There are allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
state government under Chief Minister Narandra Modi was involved in planning
and carrying out the attacks.
Human Rights Watch has repeatedly noted the failure of the authorities to
identify and prosecute those who planned and executed the attacks. In cases
where witnesses and their lawyers have pursued justice, they have received
anonymous threats from supporters of the VHP, RSS, and the Bajrang Dal, and
have been persecuted by the state administration. Four years later, many
Muslims still live in fear because the attackers remain free and continue to
make threats, particularly against those involved in prosecutions. Instead
of pursuing the perpetrators of violence, the state government has nurtured
a climate of fear.

"In light of the 2002 violence which was sanctioned by some officials, the
Gujarat government must be vigilant against extremist violence against
helpless civilians," said Adams. "Arresting the perpetrators and bringing
them to a speedy and fair trial would allow the BJP to show that it is
willing to act against its political allies when they break the law."

In Jammu and Kashmir, horrific recent attacks by militant groups left as
many as 35 Hindus in Udhampur and Doda districts dead on April 30 and May 1.
According to the police, during the night of May 1, at least 10 heavily
armed members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, some dressed in army uniforms, ordered
villagers out of their homes in Doda district and then shot them at close
range, killing 22. Several others were injured. Earlier, police recovered
the bodies of 13 Hindus who had been abducted by militants in Udhampur
district; some are still missing. The killings have been condemned by all
political, nationalist and separatist leaders in Kashmir, as well as by some
Kashmiri militant groups in Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Toiba, who say
they are not involved.

"A transparent and credible investigation is crucial to identify those
responsible for the killings in Jammu and Kashmir," said Adams. "All too
often, the security forces and the militant groups blame each other, while
justice eludes the victims."

Human Rights Watch called upon the Indian and Pakistani governments to bring
to account all those responsible for orchestrating violence against
religious and ethnic minorities, whether militants in Jammu and Kashmir or
members of the VHP and RSS in Gujarat. At the same time, the national and
state governments should launch a high-profile media campaign that includes
public service announcements aimed at raising awareness of minority rights
and unequivocally condemning religious violence and extremism of all
stripes.

Army sent in as Vadodara burns 

Times of India
Army sent in as Vadodara burns
[ Thursday, May 04, 2006 12:28:03 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]


RSS Feeds SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

VADODARA: With the police having clearly failed to stop marauding
mobs rampaging for the third successive
day in Vadodara, the Army was called out for a flag march in the
worst-hit neighbourhoods stained by the blood from communal violence
and police firing. The decision on military deployment was taken
after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi spoke to Union home
minister Shivraj Patil.

Two additional companies of the State Reserve Police, Rapid Action
Force and Central Reserve Police Force were also deployed in areas
where rioting has continued unabated right under police noses.

Meanwhile, curfew continued in six police station areas. The
relaxation declared for Wednesday was withdrawn after violence
erupted afresh late on Tuesday night and Rafiq Abdulgani Vohra, a 30-
year-old chemical trader and father of two, was burnt alive in his
car. While his family complained that police refused to heed their
distress calls and even attempt to stop the mobs, other residents in
Muslim-dominated areas said their calls to the police control room
were met with the response, "Go to Pakistan for help."

The violence that started on Monday after the demolition of
a `mazaar' near the Champaner Darwaza has left six persons dead so
far and at least 40 injured.

Even on Wednesday morning, Gujarat police, now headed by P C Pande,
a man tainted by accusations that he did nothing to stop riots in
Ahmedabad in 2002, seemed quite lost as arsonists went on the
rampage in the Sardar Estate on the Ajwa Road. Four sheds were
burned by the mob. In Raopura, a shoe store and a roadside kiosk
were set ablaze. Rioters also set ablaze a cycle shop on the Madan
Jhampa Road, two houses in Kotyarknagar, a couple of godowns near
the Ajabdi Mill along with some handcarts, two-wheelers and shanties
in other areas.

After pitched battles between mobs from both faiths the previous
night, groups of rioters, armed with sticks started pelting stones
and burning property in Bavchavad area under the precincts of the
Panigate police station. Police lobbed teargas shells to contain the
violence.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

J&K Revenge killings? 

Times of India

Revenge killings?
Pradeep Thakur
[ Tuesday, May 02, 2006 01:31:14 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

NEW DELHI: Just before the jehadis slaughtered innocent Hindu
villagers in Doda district of J&K on Sunday night, Lashkar-e-Taiba
the terrorist outfit believed to be behind the massacre had hit out
at India holding it responsible for the ban on two of its offshoots.

The acerbic statement issued by Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed accused
India of carrying out a campaign of "lies" to get Jamat-ud-Dawa
(JuD) and Idara Khidmat-e-Khalak banned by the US.

The outburst is significant. While the authorities believe that the
timing of the attack may have to do with the meeting PM Manmohan
Singh is to hold with the Hurriyat and the jehadi frustration over
the impressive turnout in the just-held bypolls, they also feel that
anger over the banning of JuD could may have been one of the
triggers for the Doda carnage.

JuD was floated by Saeed to get around the ban imposed on Laskhar by
US in 2002 when it was declared a "foreign terrorist organisation".
JuD is suspected of collecting funds in the name of quake relief,
but actually using it to support terrorism in J&K.

In his statement, a defiant Saeed said that the ban on JuD on the
ground that it was a terrorist organisation was actually meant to
prevent it from preaching Islam, and declared that Laskhar would
carry on with its campaign.

Ironically, the rabble-rousing Laskhar head who has repeatedly
declared that he was bound only by Islamic law, threatened to take
the US to the International Court of Justice to challenge the ban.

The ban on JuD and Idara Khidmat came in the light of evidence that
the two had been floated just to circumvent the ban which prohibits
Laskhar from raising funds.

After the October earthquake in Muzaffarabad, JuD set up many camps
350 in all and collected millions of dollars allegedly for relief
work by exploiting sympathies for the quake victims.

While the funds were also used for supporting the 'jehad' in J&K,
its involvement in the relief effort helped Lashkar reach out to the
educated and upwardly mobile section of the population in PoK a
breakthrough for a group which drew its cadre largely from madrasa
students and the illiterate unemployed.

By spreading its appeal in new sections, Lashkar was also able to
overcome the cadre constraint it was facing since US pressure forced
Pakistan to clamp down on madrasas. The ban, therefore, came as a
major blow to LeT's expansion plans.

PUCL on Vadodara flareup 

PRESS RELEASE
Vadodara, May 2 2006

· PUCL severely condemned the way the Mayor, the
Police Commissioner and Municipal Commissioner of
the city handled the issue of “demolition” of the
Fatehpura dargah on Monday May 1, 2006.

· Even the role of the Police in handling a
restless public was totally at variance with
norms to be followed in such situations; the
Police went out of the way to instigate the
people by directly aiming to fire upon and hurt
sections of the people milling around.

· PUCL condemns unruly and inhuman behavior of
the Police, ignoring and bypassing all guidelines
and norms for acting in such situations.

· It must be kept in mind that in handling such
situations nothing should be done at the expense
of peace, harmony and justice in society at a
time when the people are tense and sensitive about the issue.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A meeting of the PUCL held here today severely
condemned the way the Mayor, the Police
Commissioner and Municipal Commissioner of the
city handled the issue of “demolition” of the
Fatehpura dargah on Monday May 1, 2006.

The meeting was attended by Kirit Bhatt, Dr. J.
S. Bandukwala, Jagdish Shah, Trupti Shah, Chinu
Srinivasan, Rohit Prajapati, Raj Kumar Hans,
Shobha Shah, Maya Valecha, Dipti Bhatt, Rita
Choksi, Bina Srinivasan, Shubhra, Sameena, Jaimina and Nagin Patel.

It was a well known fact that the provocative
utterances of the city Mayor, Sunil Solanki, had
already vitiated the atmosphere and created
apprehensions among the minority community of the
city. For instance the Mayor had taken exception
to the reported stand of the Police Commissioner
that if they (the Police) are informed at the
last moment, the Police would not cooperate. In
response, the Mayor had allegedly threatened to
launch the demolition of the dargah (mazhar) with
the help of an “army” of VHP and BJP workers.

This had spread a wave of terror among the
minority community. Knowing the communally
charged atmosphere built up by such immature and
unwarranted statements of the Mayor, the
Municipal Commissioner should have conducted a
prolonged dialogue with the concerned community;
instead he let the situation get out of hand by
sending his demolition squad as well as the
machinery for laying a fresh road over the
demolished mazhar. This was done even as a
dialogue was on between the concerned community
leaders and the VMC authorities. Any mature
government would have put a restraint on such a
loose-talking Mayor. The State Government on the
contrary seems to have given a green signal to
the Mayor to go ahead. The statements of
well-known BJP leaders of the city and the State
regarding the demolition and the subsequent
police firing exposed the Government’s intentions
of creating a vertical split among the people.

Irrespective of the pressure by the political
wings of the ruling party, it was imperative on
the part of the bureaucracy to maintain total
impartiality in the interests of peace and justice.

Even the role of the Police in handling a
restless public was totally at variance with
norms to be followed in such situations; the
Police went out of the way to instigate the
people by directly aiming to fire upon and hurt
sections of the people milling around. The PUCL
condemns such unruly and inhuman behavior of the
Police, ignoring and bypassing all guidelines and
norms for acting in such situations. It must be
kept in mind that in handling such situations
nothing should be done at the expense of peace,
harmony and justice in society at a time when the
people are tense and sensitive about the issue.
Such repeated behavior demands complete
reorientation of the methods of the Police.

We demand the resignation of the Mayor and the
Municipal Commissioner who have no vision of
maintaining calm in the city even as they are
bent upon justifying their actions totally
ignoring people’s sentiments in the matter.
Action needs to be taken against the Police
Commissioner and his officers who failed in their
duty to maintain the security and to follow set norms of functioning.

We appeal to the people of Vadodara to exercise
restraint and note the mischievous strategy of
dividing people, especially poor people, on
communal lines. This is, among other things, an
exercise to gain legitimacy over the recent spate
of illegal demolitions of many slums and hutments
in the city even as the ruling party “prepares” for the coming Assembly polls.

If the Vadodara Municipal Corporation was
sincere, it would develop priorities in
consultation with all segments of society and lay
bare their plans of how they propose to use the
Urban Renewal Mission funds in a transparent manner.

We appeal to concerned people and progressive
groups to fax protest letter to the Mayor of
Vadodara (0265-2433060), the Municipal
Commissioner of Vadodara (0265-2433060), the
Police Commissioner of Vadodara (0265-2432582),
the Chief Minister of Gujarat (079-23222101), the
Union Home Minister of India (011-23093750) and
the National Human Rights Commission (011-23384863).

Kirit Bhatt
Rohit Prajapati
Chinu Srinivasan
People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Gujarat

Monday, May 01, 2006

1. Killings in Kashmir 2. Violence in Vadodara 3. Urgent Action Alert 

1.

Times of India
Attacking minority: Terrorists kill 20 Hindus in Kashmir
[ Monday, May 01, 2006 09:12:46 amIANS ]

RSS Feeds SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

JAMMU: At least 20 Hindus are feared been killed by terrorists in Kulhan
area of Bharat in Doda district, about 200 km north-east of Jammu late
Sunday night, according to reports reaching here.

Women and children were among the victims, initial unconfirmed reports said.
The terrorists showered bullets and also used sharp-edged weapons to kill
the victims, the reports said.

The police have confirmed the incident, on the basis of the reports of
terrorists having shot dead some people belonging to the minority community
in the hill villages of Jammu region, but did not have exact details on the
number of the killed.

"We have sent parties to verify the details. The areas is hilly and far off,
it will take a while to confirm the exact details," Deputy Inspector General
of Police L D Mohanty said.

Mohanty said initial reports suggested the victims were Hindus, though their
exact number was not known.

These killings have come close on the heels of the killings of four Hindu
shepherds in Lallalan Galla, a mountainous pass in Udhampur district on
Sunday. The fate of three other shepherds is still not known .

"We are on the job," Inspector General of Police S P Vaid said.

No militant outfit has claimed responsibility. They have never taken
responsibility for the killings of minority Hindus in Muslim-majority Jammu
and Kashmir.

The killings of Hindus started in Jammu region in August 1993, when for the
first time 16 Hindu bus passengers were segregated from others, and shot
dead near Kishtwar in Doda district. This trend continued till late 2002.
Thereafter, there were a few isolated incidents, till the back-to-back
killings this weekend.

The Hindu, 3 May 2006

Social groups, rights activists condemn Kashmir killings

Special Correspondent

Centre must examine issues of minorities in different parts of the country

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

Terror acts aimed at dividing people
Government should conduct public hearings in the State
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil addressing the media in Jammu on Tuesday
with Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal (left) and J&K Chief Minister Gulam
Nabi Azad. - PHOTO: PTI

NEW DELHI: Several social groups and human rights activists have condemned
the killings in Jammu and Kashmir late on Sunday night.

Such motivated communal terror acts were aimed at dividing people and
societies, besides posing a threat to the secular fabric of the country, a
joint statement said.

"We immediately urge that the Government, through the Minorities Commission,
conduct public hearings in different parts of the State where minorities and
other citizens can depose about their daily conditions. Steps can then be
initiated to assist them," it said.

The statement was signed by Communalism Combat, the Citizens for Justice and
Peace, SAHMAT, Prashant, SAHEWARU, the People's Union for Human Rights, the
All-India Catholic Union, adivasis and Muslims, and the Centre for Dialogue
and Reconciliation.

"The terrorists' bullets are aimed at innocents who come in their way and
other vulnerable people of the State. But when such communal terrorist acts
are committed on the eve of peace talks, special steps need to be taken by
the administration," the statement said.

"We also urge that the Centre examine the issues of all minorities in
different parts of the country, especially in sensitive States such as Jammu
and Kashmir, Manipur and Assam, and Gujarat," it said.

The statement recalled the meeting of a forum of over 15 individuals and
representatives of the Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir, Muslims, Christians, and
other minority communities, with the Minority Affairs Minister, A.R.
Antulay.

A memorandum submitted to him said minorities were vital to a rich and
vibrant democracy, and that religion must not be the only basis of
categorisation.

2.

The Hindu, 3 May 2006

Fresh violence in Vadodra, one burnt alive
Vadodra, May 3 (PTI): An unruly mob late on Tuesday night set ablaze a car,
burning alive a person, as sporadic clashes continued in the city, where the
demolition of a dargah left six dead in two days of violence.

One person was charred to death when a mob set on fire a car in
curfew-clamped Arjuwa road at around Tuesday midnight, Vadodra Police
Commissioner, Deepak Swaroop, said.

He said police were ascertaining reasons that led to the fresh flare-up.

Earlier in the day, one person was killed when police fired at rioters in
Moti Vohrawaad area in the wee hours.

With these two deaths, the toll in two days of violence in the city has
risen to six - three were killed in police firing, two were stabbed to death
and one was burnt alive.

A total of 40 people were arrested in connection with the violence.

Police also fired warning shots in the air at Nalbandh Vada area to scatter
a stone-pelting mob during the funeral procession of a person killed in
police firing.

The protesters also threw acid bottles injuring five policemen.

3. PLEASE POST WIDELY

>Hi all:
>
>I have received several phone calls from India in the last few hours
>about a fast deteriorating situation in Gujarat. To prevent a
>post-Godhra type of pogrom (which several folks say is possible) it is
>crucial the Central government take a more aggressive stance and act to
>prevent the same. Enclosed below is a quickly drafted statement
>detailing some of what has been happening in vadodara and the telephone
>and fax numbers of the PM, HM and Sonia Gandhi. Please take a moment to
>send out a fax or make a phone call. For those of us who dont have
>immediate access to a fax machine or a phone, it would also be good if
>somebody can post the email addresses for the Prime Minister and the
>Home Minister.
>
>Please forward this mail to as many lists and individuals as is
>possible.
>
>The phone /fax numbers are as follows:
>
>Prime Ministers office
>Telephone: 91-11-23012312.
>Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857.
Email address of PM: manmohan@sansad.nic.in, pmosb@pmo.nic.in Home
minister: svpatil@sansad.nic.in

>
>National advisory council (Sonia Gandhi)
>23018651 (FAX)
>
>
>Home ministry
>Phone: 23092011, 23092161 Fax: 23093750, 23092763
>
Email address of Home minister: svpatil@sansad.nic.in

>
>------------draft letter - modify as u see fit ----------------
>
>Mr. Manmohan Singh
>Prime Minister of India
>
>Mr. Shivraj patil
>Home Minister of India
>
>Ms. Sonia gandhi
>Chair, national Advisory Council
>
>I am writing to you today with a deep sense of urgency and anguish at
>the fast developing situation in Vadodara, Gujarat. In the past several
>hours the forces of Hindutva (VHP/Bajrang Dal) and the State machinery
>of Gujarat government have been involved in mass violence and attacks
>on the Muslim community in various parts of the city. For several of us
>here, 10,000 miles away we have already received details of major
>attacks at the Sabina and Bahaar colonies, at Pani gate and at Haathi
>Khana/Mansoori Khabaristan. News that we have received indicates that
>in both Sabina and Bahaar Colonies the police have been standing by
>while the VHP mobs have encircled the said colonies. At Haathi Khana,
>which is one of the poorest Muslim neighbourhoods in Baroda,, we have
>received calls that the police has forcibly entered homes and taken
>away several male members of households. While we have already received
>such news, the government of India has this far only issued a brief
>statement of caution aimed at the Gujarat government.
>
>Given the record of the Narandra Modi government, the Central
>Government should be very clear that its active intervention in the
>situation is critical. No effort must be spared to ensure that a
>post-Godhra like situation is not created where pogromatic violence
>carried out. We urge the Prime Ministers office and the Home Mionistry
>to act immediately and prevent any further deterioration of the
>situation.

Kamala Visweswaran
Associate Professor,
Anthropology Department
University of Texas, Austin
Austin, TX 78712

(512)471-0061