By TCN News,
New Delhi: Eminent personalities from different walks of life are organizing a public meeting to raise awareness against targeting of Muslims in the name of terror probes. The meeting entitled “Politics of Terror: Targeting the Muslim Youth” will be held at 3 pm on 9th July at Deputy Speaker’s Hall, Constitution Club in New Delhi.
“Citizens concerned about the increasing intolerance and authoritarianism of the Indian state where the minorities no longer feel safe in their own homes have decided to come together to organise a Public Meeting to raise a voice against injustice and what amounts to state terror,” reads a statement from the organizers.
There is rising concern across the country about the large scale arrests and harassment of Muslim youth by the security forces of the state. Young men are being picked up without explanation, taken into police custody, beaten and tortured and eventually thrown into jail awaiting trial for years on end. Several have died in custody, the latest case being of Qateel Siddiqui who died in mysterious circumstances in the Yerwada Jail, Pune. He was arrested last November and killed in a high security prison for a case in which his complicity had still not been established. There has been silence about the disappearance of Fasih Mahmood, the engineer picked up in Saudi Arabia on 13th May. Except for denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, there has been no response from the UPA government about efforts to trace an Indian citizen whose family is now running from pillar to post in search of Justice.
The meeting is expected to be addressed by Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party’s Chief), AB Bardhan (General Secretary, CPI) HD Devegowda (Former PM and Chief, JD-Secular), Sharad Yadav (Chief, JD-U), Prakash Karat (General Secretary, CPM), D.Raja (MP-CPI), Gurudas Das Gupta (Veteran Trade Union Leader) , Mani Shankar Iyer (Senior Congressman and former Diplomat) , Hanumant Rao (MP and General Secretary, AICC), Ram Vilas Paswan (Chief, Lok Janshakti Party) and senior representatives of civil society organisations.
Eminent people supporting the program are:
Mohammed Adeeb, MP, Rajya Sabha
Seema Mustafa, Senior Journalist
Prof.Anuradha Chenoy,JNU
Ajeet Sahi, Journalist
Iqbal Ahmad, Journalist
Ameeque Jamei, Activist