By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
The Congress-led UPA government at the centre has admitted that the violations of human rights of minorities in the county have increased, with Muslims, India’s largest minority, being the prime victim. TwoCircles.net has talked to human rights activists in Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. They say minorities’ human rights violations have increased in recent years in the garb of terrorism.
Muslim youths are being killed in encounters, hundreds of innocents have been arrested in terror blasts, Christians have faced, and still facing, hostile situations in Orissa and Karnataka, and now Muslims are being targeted in the lone BJP-ruled southern state. But governments run by so-called secular parties have also failed in protecting minorities. Situation in last two years in Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and BSP-ruled Uttar Pradesh has just deteriorated, the rights activists say.
The central government has informed Parliament that cases of human rights violation against minorities in the country have increased in the last two years. Union Minister of State for Home Dr Shakeel Ahmad has told the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Parliament session that 12,794 out of a total of 32,965 cases registered with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 2007-08 pertained to minorities as compared to 9,603 during 2006-07.
In 2006-2007, while 8,390 cases of human rights violations pertained to Muslims 851 cases related to Sikhs and 362 to Christians. However, during 2007-2008, the figures for Muslims, Sikhs and Christians increased to 11,178; 1,003; and 613, respectively.
The final figure for 2008-09 is not available. However, the figures compiled till February 11, 2009 show that a total of 10,568 cases have been filed with Muslims (9,248) followed by Sikhs (877) and Christians (412).
Being coordinator of Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) Mahtab Alam has been crisscrossing the country. He has addressed legal training camps organized by APCR in several states in the wake of rise in human rights and civil rights violations. Talking to TwoCircles.net he says situation is very bad in Karnataka, UP and Maharashtra. Singling out Karnataka he says illegal detentions are on rise, lawyers are boycotting cases of terror suspects and communal witch hunt is just getting intensified in coastal districts of the state like Udupi and Bhatkal and also in Bangalore.
Karnataka
Karnataka High Court Advocate and human rights activist Akmal Rizvi says the attitude of police towards minorities, particularly Muslims, is very biased in the coastal region of the state. Policemen in coastal areas are resorting to excessive force even in small cases. There is a tense situation in Mangalore, Udupi and Bhatkal. Of late, Rama Sene has further vitiated the situation against minorities.
Among districts in coastal region, situation in Bhatkal is worse. The district with 40% Muslim populations is completely polarized on communal lines. People having even remote connection with those accused in serial blasts like Reyaz Bhatkal are being picked up. Doctors where Reyaz Bhatkal went for treatment in the past, and those who had tea with him once are also being picked.
The nexus between police and BJP men has terrified Muslims. In the garb of terrorism they are being harassed. Police approach against minorities in coastal areas is very bad. In the last one year there has been rise in violations against minorities that include Christians and Muslims. Police officers who have biased attitude and whose integrity is doubtful as they support fascism are staying in one place for several years.
Gujarat
Dr Shakeel Ahmad, administrator of Islami Relief Committee of Gujarat and executive member of Association for Protection of Civil Rights, says indiscriminate arresting of people in the garb of terrorism is still on. The police are terrorizing people. They are getting confessions by torturing the accused. The situation is bad in Ahmedabad, Sabarkantha, Surat and Baroda districts.
For each Ahmedabad serial blast case charge sheet has been filed. Some accused have been arrested and some have been shown absconding. The police have kept cases open deliberately. Now they can implicate any one in blast cases. They are terrorizing those already arrested not to speak against the police. They have been warned that if they opened their mouth against police in court, their family members will be arrested. That’s why none of those arrested in blast cases have yet complained about police atrocities before the magistrate.
Christians have also faced hostility in Dang district. A Muslim pocket there was also pressurized to convert or they will be deprived of their lands. When they did not bend, police have disturbed them and lodged several false cases against them.
Besides, the 2002 Gujarat riot victims are yet to be rehabilitated. There are about 50 thousand people still in relief camps. Many want to go home but they have not been facilitated to go home.
Maharashtra
Though there has been a so-called secular government in Maharashtra, minorities’ human rights violations have been on rise. Not only in Maharashtra, there has been rise in violations of human rights and civil rights of Muslims and other minorities in the entire country, says noted human rights activist Suresh Khairnar.
Police’s attitude towards minorities is biased. First they are Hindu then police, first they are Hindu then army men, says Khairnar. We cannot say Maharashtra police is secular. Their mindset is communalized. They are not given secular discourse in police training schools. Picking of youths in the garb of terror cases is now old in Maharashtra. Muslims have never felt more insecure in the last 60 years than today. He affirmed union minister’s views that minority rights violations are on rise.
Khairnar has just concluded his visit to several states to know about the ground situation of the minorities. He says situation is not good in Gujarat, UP, and Karnataka. I had to face police interrogation in Bhatkal – first time after emergency.
After BJP came to power in Karnataka, communal harmony has just deteriorated. Bhatkal is worse than Malegaon today. In Bhatkal Muslims are living since the advent of Islam in India. They do not look like other Indian Muslims. At least one member of every Bhatkal Muslim family is living abroad to earn money. For these factors also, they are being harassed, says Khairnar.
Lateef Muhammad Khan of CLMC
Andhra Pradesh
Lateef Muhammad Khan, president of Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) says Muslims in the state are facing there types of terrorism: bomb terrorism, state terrorism, mob terrorism. While bombs are killing both communities, in state terrorism and mob terrorism Muslims are being singled out. Hundreds of Muslim youths have been detained in terror cases and other conspiracy cases.
The violations of human rights of minorities are on increase in the Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh.
Muslims were arrested in blast cases, but after exposure of illegal detention, they were made accused in other cases and for lack of evidence, they were acquitted.
Many have been declared absconding in terror cases, and so there is fear in the community. Mothers fear while sending sons out of home as they fear missing or disappearance which is on rise in the state.
After Makka Masjid blast police had opened fire at protesting namazis and 9 were killed. The police have those dead in police firing as accused under Article 307. The police say they were attacking them to kill. Lateef Muhammad Khan has filed a case in High Court against the policemen under 302. The court has issued notice.
Many Muslims have been killed declaring them as naxalite or criminal. Khan says he is taking up their cases. The High Court has recently passed an order that every encounter should be taken as a murder and policemen involved should be made accused.