By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: The Sadbhav Mission, an NGO, in collaboration with some other social organizations and civil rights groups, organized today a Peace March from Red Fort to Jamia Nagar, the Muslim dominated area which remained in news last month due to the Batla House shootout and arrest of some students of Jamia Millia Islamia for the Delhi serial blasts.
The purpose of the march was to show solidarity with the masses suffering under the terrorist and communal violence and biased response of the state and media.
“We have walked 15 kms to oppose that the entire Muslim community is being targeted in the garb of terrorism. Muslims are being victimized by the police-media coalition,” says Md. Shakeel from Aman Beradari.
“Why isn’t the killer of Gandhiji called terrorist, why aren’t the killers of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi called terrorists, but after every blast some Muslims are picked up and projected as terrorists even when they are just accused and they have not been proved guilty?” asks Shakeel who has been walking all through 15 kms.
The march began at 8 AM from the Red Fort and passed through Darya Ganj, ITO, Pragati Maidan, Zoo, Nizamuddin, Ashram, Maharani Bagh, New Friends Colony, Jamia Millia Islamia and ended after a public address at Okhla Head around 4:30 PM.
Addressing the gathering at Okhla Head, Prof. V K Tripathi of IIT, Delhi, said, “The biggest terrorist attack in the Independent India was the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992 and then the Gujarat 2002 pogrom.” But how many people have been punished for these crimes, he asked.
On the other hand, “After every blast some innocents are picked up and projected as terrorists and some other innocents are killed in encounters,” Prof. Tripathi said. He demanded judicial enquiry into the Batla House encounter.
While condemning the Muslim leadership for not coming to fore in this time of crisis, Zulekha Jabeen of Bharat Muslim Mahila Andolan said what is happening in India against Muslims is part of worldwide conspiracy against Muslims.
“Police and RSS are trying to break the country and it is clear from the fact that Hindutva fundamentalists have been found involved in several bomb blasts in the country,” she said adding that Muslims are integral part of this country and will remain so.
Simranjit Singh Mann, MP and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar, said the Batla House encounter was fake and the government should order judicial enquiry into it.
“Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi should openly condemn the killing of innocent people in the encounter but they are not gathering courage to do so for political reasons,” Mann said, adding that Shiromani Akali Dal is with Muslims who are being targeted.
On September 19, one week after the Delhi serial blasts, an encounter took place at Batla House area in which two alleged suspected terrorists were killed. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma who was leading the encounter team had bullet injuries to which he later succumbed.
Since the day one locals have been of the view that the shootout was fake and innocents were killed. Similar is the view of Syed Azimul Huda, a 25-year-old youth who was in the peace march and listening to the speeches.
“As the entire locality is not buying the police view on the Batla House encounter, there should be a judicial enquiry,” says Huda adding that the blasts taking place at regular interval in the country sound politically motivated.