By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Hyderabad: The politics of terror should be stopped and immediate steps should be taken to rehabilitate acquitted Muslim youths. That was the demand echoed from the third national convention of the Peoples Campaign against Politics of Terror (PCPT).
Speaking in the meeting titled ‘Politics of terror targeting Muslim youths,’ former union petroleum minster and Rajya Sabha MP, Mani Shankar Aiyar said lack of accountability in the police force has perpetuated politics of terror. And due to lack of answerability numerous Muslim youths are languishing in different jails of the nation just on mere suspicion, he added.
Mani Shankar Aiyar
He said in terror cases police is arresting innocent Muslim youths and destroying their lives. He held that there are many cases in which accused Muslim youths in terror cases were acquitted and even at times police were unable to file even acharge sheet due to lack of evidence.
Aiyar said that government is directly responsible for the rehabilitation of those acquitted youths whose lives are virtually shattered by tagging them as terror accused. He demanded that the Central Government allot a ‘certificate of innocence’ to the terror acquitted Muslim youths.
According to him, it will help them to resettle and to remove the tag of terror accused. He even mocked the government on its social policies and said that rather than exempting billion dollar taxes to corporate, government should work for the betterment of poor.
Aiyar also said that his definition of majority and minority in India is different from others. He said there is only two communities living in India one is secular and other is anti-secular.
To support his argument on the politics of terror and target of Muslims, senior Congress leader gave the reference of study carried out by Tata Institute of Social Sciences on prisons in Maharashtra. In his speech he said study shows that Muslims constitute about 10 per cent of the total population in Maharashtra; yet, they constitute about 36 per cent in jail inmates and majority of them is between the age group of 18-30.
He also added that about 89.6 percent youth arrested by the police on terror charges are illiterate and poor, and moreover 25 per cent of them are incapable of hiring an advocate. In this he said 75 per cent of terror accused had no criminal background.
Also speaking on the occasion, Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, Mohammed Adeeb criticized intelligence agencies for creating vague picture of Indian Mujahedeen. He said nearly 200 Muslim youths are arrested under the charge of being affiliated to IM but intelligence agencies and police till now have failed to provide exact and un-conflicting details of the organization.
Adeeb said he believes that the arrest of Muslim youths under ambiguous terror organizations is part of a larger conspiracy to create confusion and suspicion about Muslim community in the minds of secular Hindu population of India.
He also criticized the Congress led UPA Government for enacting Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which he termed dangerous and more draconian in nature than its predecessor enacted by BJP-led NDA Government. Adeeb furthermore said if justice is being denied to the victims and offenders are pampered then idea of India will be affected and it will transform into a beastly state.
Echoing Adeeb on newly enacted UAPA was noted journalist Ajit Sahi and Manisha Sethi of Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association. Both of them made their fear clear to the audience on some newly inserted provisions in UAPA. They were particularly apprehensive about the money transfer provision which they believe could be used against NRI Muslims.
Kisan Sabha President and communist leader Atul Kumar Anjan said that government is resorting to double standards in dealing with terrorism. He said due to this double standards terrorism of RSS and its sister organizations are overlooked and innocent Muslim youths are getting targeted to solve terror cases. He also added that because of this double standard of government minority community is developing suspicion regarding constitution and judiciary. He urged Indians to keep faith in the Constitution and judiciary.
In his presidential address CPI leader, AB Bardhan urged minorities, Dalits and tribals to get united under one umbrella to fight injustices meted on them. Bardhan said recent events showed justice cannot be acquired from the courtrooms but only from the streets. He urged for a massive movement to stop this politics of terror. He said this movement should reach on the streets of Delhi and Jantar Mantar should be converted into Tahrir Square.
The convention was also addressed by Siasat Urdu daily Editor Zahid Ali Khan who highlighted the need of a movement to finish injustices which he believe Muslims are suffering since independence. He also applauded Moahhemd Adeeb for organizing this convention.
Others who spoke on this occasion were, former MPs from CPI and CPIM Aziz Pasha and P. Madhu, Advocate Ravichandran, Syed Mazhar Hussain of COVA, Editor Sahara Group Syed Faisal Ali, CPM and CPI state presidents BV Raghuvulu and K Narayan, and MPJ president Hamid Mohammed Khan.
PCPT, through this convention demanded that those persons implicated in terror related cases should be tried in fast track courts without any adjournments.There should be rehabilitation machinery for acquitted innocents in the terror related cases. Most important demand PCPT made is the need of a mechanism to suspended and punish those officials who have been found guilty for fabricating evidence to implicate innocent youths. PCPT also announced that next, 4th national convention will be held in Lucknow.