Month: October 2022

Babri Demolition: HC Reserves Order on Maintainability of Plea Against Acquittal of Advani, Others

The petitioners said they were witnesses in the trial against the accused and “victims” of the demolition of the disputed structure.

Lucknow: The Allahabad high court on Monday reserved its order on the issue of maintainability of an appeal challenging the acquittal of all 32 accused, including former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, in the Babri mosque demolition case.

A Lucknow bench of justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav passed the order on the appeal by two Ayodhya residents Haji Mahmood Ahmad and Syed Akhlaq Ahmad.

The other leaders whose acquittal has been challenged are the then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, senior BJP leaders M.M. Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and Sadhvi Ritambhara.

The duo alleged in the petition that they were witnesses in the trial against the accused and “victims” of the demolition of the disputed structure.

In its objection, the state government and the CBI had stressed that the two appellants were not complainants or victims in the case and as such they cannot appeal as a stranger against the verdict of the trial court.

After hearing the arguments of the parties, the bench reserved its order.

The Babri mosque was demolished by ‘karsewaks’ on December 6, 1992. After a long legal battle, the special CBI court on September 30, 2020 pronounced the judgment in the criminal trial and acquitted all the accused.

The trial judge had refused to believe newspaper cuttings and video clips as evidence as the originals of the same were not produced, while the entire edifice of the case rested on these pieces of documentary evidence.

The trial judge had also held that the CBI could not produce any evidence that the accused had a meeting of mind with karsewaks who demolished the structure.

Assailing the findings of the trial court, the appellants have pleaded that the trial court committed an error in not convicting the accused persons, whereas ample evidence was on record.

In the appeal, the appellants have urged that the judgment of September 30, 2020 be set aside.

On September 5, the CBI had filed a written preliminary objection against the maintainability of the appeal. The appellants filed their rejoinder in the court on Monday and concluded their arguments.

Nine Arrested for Morbi Bridge Collapse; FIR Cites ‘Callous Approach’ by Firm That Carried Repair

Among the arrested are managers of Oreva, the company that renovated the bridge, ticket collectors, bridge repair contractors and three security guards. None of the top bosses of the firm have been held.

New Delhi: A day after over 130 people died in a bridge collapse in Gujarat’s Morbi, nine people have been arrested, and a case has been filed against firms tasked with the maintenance and operation of the British-era structure.

Among the arrested are managers of Oreva, the company that renovated the bridge, ticket collectors, bridge repair contractors and three security guards whose job was to control the crowds. According to NDTV, none of the top bosses of the firm has been arrested so far, even as the firm faces multiple allegations of violating requisite safety norms.

“We won’t let the guilty get away, we won’t spare anyone,” the news channel quoted Morbi police chief Ashok Yadav as saying hours before the arrest.

Video footage emerged of the moments before Sunday evening’s deadly collapse, showing the bridge snapping in a few seconds, taking down scores of visitors seen walking on the swaying British-era structure which reopened five days ago after extensive repair but sans a fitness certificate.

The death toll in the bridge collapse has mounted to 134, he said.

Police have registered an FIR (first information report) on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and attempt to commit culpable homicide against agencies given the task of maintenance and operation of the bridge.

In the FIR lodged at the Morbi ‘B’ division police station on Sunday night, police have shown “agencies responsible for maintenance and management of the hanging bridge” as the main accused.

The FIR, lodged by ‘B’ division police inspector Prakash Dekivadia, stated that the bridge over the Machchhu river was not in use for nearly eight months as the local administration had roped in a “private agency” for its maintenance.

After completion of the maintenance, the agency opened the bridge for the public on October 26, the FIR said.

As per the FIR, the incident took place because of the “callous approach” of the agency people.

The FIR further stated that persons concerned or agencies did not pay attention to the quality of maintenance as well as repair work of the bridge.

The bridge was opened for tourists by the agency despite knowing that their “callous approach” in the maintenance and management of the bridge may lead to human deaths, the FIR stated.

“We have lodged an FIR and are trying to establish contact with the Oreva company’s staff who were on duty at the bridge yesterday,” SP Rahul Tripathi said.

A day after the bridge crammed with visitors came crashing down, sending people tumbling into the river below, rescue operation continued as authorities looked for survivors.

According to Indian Express, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in Morbi, at Gujarat Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. Modi, who is on a three-day tour to election-bound Gujarat, will be visiting Morbi on Tuesday, November 1.

Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel and minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi remained in Morbi during the night to oversee the rescue operation being conducted by multiple agencies.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel at the site to take stock of the situation after an old suspension bridge over the Machchhu river collapsed on Sunday, in Morbi district, Monday, Oct. 31, 2022.

The more than a century-old bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, collapsed around 6: 30 pm on Sunday.

The state information department said five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), six platoons of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), a team of the Air Force, two columns of the Army, and two teams of the Indian Navy apart from local rescue teams were involved in the operation.

Sanghavi told reporters the state government has formed a committee to conduct a probe into the bridge collapse.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a tour of poll-bound Gujarat, remembered those who died in the tragedy.

He paid tributes to India’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary at the Statue of Unity at Kevadia in Narmada district.

“I am in Kevadia, but my heart goes out to those who died in the Morbi Bridge collapse tragedy,” the PM said as he got emotional.

After the collapse, all that remained of the bridge was part of the metal carriageway hanging down from one end into the river water, its thick cables snapped in places.

At the local hospital, people formed a human chain to hold back crowds and keep the road clear for ambulances which brought those rescued.

Oreva had carried out the repair work of the bridge for nearly seven months before it was reopened for the public on the Gujarati New Year day on October 26.

The bridge was reopened after a private inaugural event and was yet to receive the municipality’s “fitness certificate,” a civic official said.

Following the accident, Modi cancelled his road show scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad on Monday ahead of the state Assembly polls.

(With PTI inputs)

Note: This is a developing story. It will be updated as new information trickles in. 

With Delhi’s Bad Air Days To Continue, Govt Bans Construction Activities

Slow winds and increased stubble burning mean that Delhi’s air quality will remain in the ‘Very Poor’ to ‘Severe’ categories for the next six days, according to a government warning system.

New Delhi: On October 29, Delhi’s Air Quality Index breached 400, putting it in the ‘Severe’ category. When air quality touches the ‘Severe’ level, it can not only seriously impact people with existing diseases, but also affect healthy people. Though air quality has improved marginally and is now in the ‘Very Poor’ category, the national capital will continue to struggle with poor air quality due to factors including increased stubble burning in neighbouring states, according to government reports.

In light of such deteriorating air quality, the Delhi government implemented Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) on October 29. This means that more restrictions are now in place – such as a strict ban on construction and demolition except in some cases – to ensure that such activities do not worsen pollution levels.

Stubble-burning and slow winds

According to SAFAR, the Indian government’s System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research, stubble burning contributed to just 7% of Delhi’s fine particulate matter levels (PM2.5, an air pollutant emitted during construction and fossil fuel combustion) on October 28. This, however, jumped to 26% on October 30. This is a higher level of contribution to PM2.5 levels when compared to the same day last year.

Stubble burning – when farmers burn crop residue in fields to prepare for the next sowing season – is one of the main reasons why Delhi experiences poor air quality in the winter months starting from October. Punjab alone recorded 1,761 cases of fire on October 30, as per the bulletin. On the same day, the Punjab government also suspended four agriculture officers for dereliction of duty, and not ensuring the prevention of stubble burning on the ground.

A farmer burns paddy stubble, as pollution levels rise across Delhi NCR due to Diwali celebrations, on the outskirts of Jalandhar, October 25, 2022. Photo: PTI

Along with increased stubble burning, slow wind speeds are also contributing to the worsening air pollution levels in the city. A bulletin released by the government’s Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi on the morning of October 31 said that wind speed across the day in the city is at around 4-8 km per hour. Wind speeds less than 10 km per hour combined with other factors is “unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants”, the bulletin noted.

As per the bulletin, Delhi will therefore continue to experience poor air quality. It warned that air quality in the city is “likely to deteriorate” and remain in the Very Poor to Severe category on November 1. That’s the outlook for the next six days too. As per the System, the Air Quality Index in Delhi on October 31 was 349 (at 12:52 pm), in the ‘Very Poor’ category.

Earlier, air quality in the city dropped to ‘Severe’ levels in mid-September but this was primarily due to the lack of winds, which traps pollutants and prevents them from dispersing away, air pollution researchers had told The Wire. 

After the city’s Air Quality Index breached 400 on Saturday and the Early Warning System predicted a further deterioration in air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM) decided to implement Stage III of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) after an emergency meeting on October 29.

More measures in place

This means that several additional restrictions will now be in place to ensure that certain activities which can worsen pollution levels are not allowed. This includes a strict ban on construction and demolition activities in the whole of the National Capital Region (NCR). Exceptions include activities in essential service systems such as at rail and metro stations and hospitals.

Other activities that are banned as part of deploying Stage III of the GRAP include movement of vehicles on unpaved roads, and cutting and fixing tiles, stones and other flooring materials. There is also a strict ban on the operation of industries that are not using permitted, cleaner fuels (as per the standard list of approved fuels for NCR). Some in this category, such as rice processing units, can operate only for five days a week till December 31.

The CAQM advised various agencies responsible for implementing these measures under the GRAP, as well as the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and Pollution Control Boards in the NCR, to ensure strict implementation of these measures. The CAQM directive also advised citizens to use public transport or share rides to work, work from home if possible and not use coal and wood for heating purposes. It also recommended that individual house owners provide electric heaters to security staff for the coming winter to avoid open burning.

A metro train runs on a track as vehicles ply amid low visibility due to a thick layer of smog, in Gurugram, October 29, 2022. Photo: PTI

Meanwhile, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said on Sunday that the government has set up 586 teams to ensure strict implementation of the ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi.

“We have held a meeting with all construction agencies in the capital and government departments concerned, including the PWD, MCD, Railways, DDA and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. We have decided to implement the ban on construction and demolition activities in the city,” the minister said.

The Delhi Fire Services also said on October 30 that it has begun sprinkling water at 13 hotspots – including Dwarka, Mundka, Anand Vihar and Okhla – to combat the rising air pollution. 

On the advice of the CAQM, Stage I of the GRAP had first come into effect on October 5, and Stage II, on October 19.

Assam Govt Considering Lifting AFSPA from Lakhipur, Karbi Anglong: CM Sarma

“Peace has returned to Assam and Northeast. Today, AFSPA is withdrawn from 65% areas of the state. In the future, we are considering withdrawing it from Lakhipur of Cachar and the entire Karbi Anglong district,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said his government is considering withdrawing AFSPA from two more locations in the state.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) was extended for six months from October 1 with the continuation of the ‘Disturbed Area’ tag for Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts along with Lakhipur sub-division of Cachar in the Barak valley.

The government had withdrawn the controversial law from West Karbi Anglong district as the situation “considerably improved” there.

The Armed Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone without any prior warrant besides giving immunity from arrest and prosecution to the security forces if they shoot someone dead.

“Peace has returned to Assam and Northeast. Today, AFSPA is withdrawn from 65% areas of the state. In the future, we are considering withdrawing it from Lakhipur of Cachar and the entire Karbi Anglong district,” Sarma said.

Following the withdrawal of two more areas from the ambit of the AFSPA, only six districts in Upper Assam will remain under the law’s purview, he added.

Speaking at a function to offer financial support to surrendered militants for their rehabilitation, Sarma stated that the ‘Disturbed Area’ tag under the AFSPA has also been removed from different areas of Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur.

“Assam has seen a lot of bloodshed. It is our duty to stop it and develop our state. We are planning to launch a big scheme to offer employment opportunities to the unemployed youths of the state,” he added.

The chief minister handed over demand drafts to 318 former militants, who had laid down arms in the past, in presence of the state DGP and other senior officials of Assam Police, Army and paramilitary forces.

A one-time grant of Rs 1.5 lakh each was offered to the surrendered cadres of United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), United Gorkha People’s Organisation (UGPO), Tiwa Liberation Army (TLA), Kuki Liberation Front (KLF), Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) and Kuki National Liberation Army (KNLA).

“In the last one-and-half years of our government, all militant organisations, except the ULFA(I), in Assam have returned to the mainstream. I again appeal to the ULFA(I) chief Paresh Barua to take the society forward by peace and not by bloodshed,” Sarma said.

He told the gathering that over 6,780 cadres of various groups have laid down their arms since he assumed charge in May last year.

Odisha: 20 Houses Demolished in Village Where Jindal Steel Plant To Be Setup

“They are claiming that our house is on Jindal’s land, but we have been living on this land for the past 20 years. This is our jal (water), jangal (forest) and zameen (land),” said Charana Samal.

New Delhi: At least 20 houses of residents of Odisha’s Dhinkia village – where a steel plant is proposed to be set up – have been demolished in an apparent bid to hand over the land to a Jindal company that will set up the plant.

The village is home to over 4,000 people, a majority of whom belong to the Dalit community and also members of the Santhal tribe. It is inhabited by betel leaf farmers and fisherfolk.

For nearly a decade, the village has been at the centre of land disputes. First, the people of Dhinkia led a successful protest against the South Korean behemoth POSCO’s plan of setting up a steel mill in the region. And, now they are fighting against the transfer of around 1,174 hectares of land for JSW’s 65,000-crore steel plant.

Activists say that rampant arrests and demolitions are ongoing in a bid to hand out the land to the company.

Prashant Paikray, the spokesperson of the anti-Jindal, anti-POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, told The Wire, “On October 22, a few officials of the proposed JSW Utkal Steel Limited project, led by human resources manager Subash Parida, and some local goons with the help of eight-ten police officials forcefully demolished the houses of Dhinkia villagers, who were not even provided the opportunity to take their belongings  including – their food supplies or rations.”

“The people whose houses were demolished have been living in the forest for ages as they are landless people. These forests are their only source of livelihood,” he said.

Charana Samal, a resident whose house was demolished, told The Wire, “Close to 20 houses have been forcefully demolished. All our belongings are still there in the house. They are claiming that our house is on Jindal’s land, but we have been living on this land for the past 20 years. This is our jal (water), jangal (forest) and zameen (land).”

Also read: Odisha: Déjà Vu in Dhinkia as People Renew Protests Against Jindal’s Steel Project

“I am a betel leaf farmer, my field has been destroyed. After my field was destroyed, I was detained and taken to the police station. They were trying to use force to remove us. They even shooed away mediapersons and were trying to snatch phones if someone was trying to document the demolition,” he said.

Paikray told The Wire that a young boy named Nilu Mohapatra was detained by the police because he took a video of the incident and later shared it with others. He was allegedly physically assaulted and has been threatened with dire consequences by the local police, he added.

In a statement, the Pratirodh Committee said that the UN guidelines on “development-based evictions” were not followed in this case.

Moreover, the Dhinkia villagers also complained of a lack of access to information on their rights, and said that no notice was issued to them on the evictions.

The statement added, “Due to the lack of information and legal advice, many villagers are already evicted and do not know where to turn for redress.”

Earlier, POSCO had planned to set up a 12 million-tonne capacity steel project at the site with an investment of Rs 52,000 crore. The project faced stiff resistance from villagers, and in 2017, the South Korean steel major pulled out of the project.

In January this year, police lathi-charged residents and arrested activists who protested against the proposed JSW Steel project at Dhinkia. Over the year, several activists, including Debendra Swain, who have been protesting against the continued oppression in Jagatsinghpur’s Dhinkia region, continue to remain behind bars.

How a Missing Stray Dog Led to the Withdrawal of a Caribbean High Commissioner to India

A year after it was shot, a video of Charrandas Persaud abusing an animal rights activist in Delhi gained traction in Guyana.

New Delhi: On an August evening in 2021, a 63-year-old English professor at a Delhi University college, Sonya Ghosh, was following her daily routine of feeding stray dogs in Vasant Kunj.

She was unable to find one of the old dogs she regularly fed, so she rang the bell of the house the dog lived in the compound of. The ensuing interaction led directly to the premature withdrawal of Guyana’s top diplomatic representative to India, Charrandas Persaud, 14 months later.

Uploaded on social media, a grainy dimly-lit video apparently shows the night-time confrontation. A man, speaking English with an accent, stands outside the gate of a residential compound and tells a mask-wearing woman, “You want the dog, take it, put it between your legs, you probably want the dog to f… you, that’s what you want.”

Startled, the woman also uses an abuse against him and says he is drunk. “I don’t care who you are,” she said. “F… you,” replied the man, before turning to the person holding the camera – and the video ends.

Speaking to The Wire, Ghosh, an animal rights activist, said she had been feeding a blind, old dog living inside the compound for years. The new tenant of the house, Charrandas Persaud, had only arrived in India in March 2021.

Searching for the dog, she learnt its fate from a worker at the residence. “I came to know that his driver had told people that the dog had been taken away and dumped on the highway,” said Ghosh.

She claimed that more than the abuses, she was struck first by the “lack of repentance or guilt about the dog”.

A day later (on August 2, 2021), she filed a complaint with the local police “more for the recovery of the dog and also about the abusive conduct of this guy who is supposed to be representing his country”.

The complaint was sent by email to the deputy commissioner of police of the south-west district and the station house officer of Vasant Kunj (south) police station.

The video, which Ghosh said was taken by her driver, was also attached to the email. “I was talking to the guy, and my driver was taking the video. He didn’t realise that he was being taped, and when he saw that he was being taped, he got annoyed.”

Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR), Persaud enjoyed immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the “receiving state”, which is India in this case. This means that he cannot be prosecuted, nor can he be “obliged to give evidence as a witness”.

According to Narinder Singh, who retired as the Ministry of External Affairs’s legal adviser, if the accused in a complaint claims to be a diplomat with immunity, “then the local police will get in touch with MEA, and then it depends on how the MEA considers the seriousness of the matter”.

Ghosh said that the investigating officer had called her once on the phone but focused more on reassuring her that the dog would be recovered.

However, with no progress discernible in her complaint, Ghosh filed a Right to Information application with Delhi Police in September 2021.

In the RTI reply, the IO named three ‘witnesses’ who reportedly denied the allegations. Further, the written report mentions that no one is allowed to enter the farmhouse without permission. “High commissioner came in and out of his car, which is also not allowed to stop on way by his driver. So, in these circumstances, allegations of sexual abusive words to complainant has not been substantiated.”

Since the allegation had “not been substantiated”, the IO suggested that the “present complaint may kindly be filed accordingly”.

Also read: Can Rishi Sunak Keep Passing the Trevor Noah Test?

“They closed the case without examining any witnesses… The IO spoke to me once on the phone and that was the end of that,” said Ghosh. She noted that her driver, who had shot the video, was not examined. Neither did the IO’s report mention the existence of a video, as per the excerpt seen by The Wire.

Convinced the police had closed the case, Ghosh, a former member of the Delhi state advisory board for animal welfare, decided that it was not worth pursuing. “(From the RTI reply) I knew what had happened… the dog must have obviously died on the highway. I thought, let it be. Let me get on with my life.”

Over a year later and 14,000 kilometres away, the video, taken on August 1, 2021, suddenly surfaced in Guyana last week, which led the political opposition to call for Persaud’s firing.

It snowballed into a major controversy, as Persaud, a political appointee, had long been in the cross-hairs of the opposition Alliance For Change (AFC). Persaud’s vote against his government as an AFC lawmaker in a 2018 non-confidence motion triggered the removal of the coalition known as ‘APNU+AFC’ from power.

After the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) won in the 2020 elections, Persaud was eventually appointed as Guyana’s high commissioner to India.

The diplomatic posting is important, as over 40% of Guyana’s population trace their ancestry to indentured labourers transported during the colonial period. For India, Guyana is an important regional link, with the capital Georgetown hosting the headquarters of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

After Guyanese media reported on the contents of the video on October 25, Guyana’s foreign ministry issued a statement admitting that an incident had occurred a year ago but that Persaud was exonerated after an Indian investigation.

“The matter, brought to the attention of the Ministry of External Affairs of India by High Commissioner Persaud, was fully investigated by the relevant authorities and a formal response to the High Commissioner dated September 3rd, 2022 indicates that ‘allegation of sexual abusive words to complainant has [sic] not been substantiated’,” said the statement.

It seemed that the matter was settled. But a day later, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali said that he spoke with Persaud after watching the video sent to him by journalists. Ali stated that Persaud told him that the “video was not complete in demonstrating exactly what took place” and also that the Indian authorities gave him a clean chit.

“Notwithstanding all of this, Mr Charrandas has agreed with me that in keeping with the best interest of Guyana, and the image of Guyana, that he would return home from his posting in India,” President Ali said during a Facebook live video on October 26.

After the announcement, The Wire asked Ghosh whether she had any notion about how the video resurfaced a year later. “No… I have no idea. Maybe somebody may have discovered it,” she said.

Ghosh said that she only learnt about the recall after receiving a link to the Facebook post.

Welcoming the development, she observed, “It seems that the president of Guyana has got a conscience, unlike our police.”

A year after the incident, she remains concerned that the local police did not seem to have made efforts to conduct a thorough investigation or find the dog.

“You know, the whole argument came about when I was asking him where the dog is. It would have cost him nothing to say that it is at this place. But he still did not do it,” she said.

Also read: Guyana Recalls Envoy to India After Video of Him Allegedly Verbally Abusing Woman Surfaces

The DU professor stated that she had been contacted by women’s organisations in Guyana to express solidarity, but indicated that she would not take any more steps as Persaud had returned home.

In Guyana, President Ali was interrogated by the media as to why the Guyanese foreign ministry had initially cleared Persaud of any wrongdoing and closed the matter.

“They deemed it closed based on what Indian authorities said, that they have no evidence of anything. We have to rely on the Indian authorities. They said that there is no evidence. As soon this video came, which was a visual evidence, you saw the action we took,” he told reporters on October 29.

The Wire contacted Delhi Police with queries on the circumstances around the police claiming that the complaint was “unsubstantiated”, despite the video having been sent by Ghosh in her initial complaint. This report will be updated once a comment is received.

There has been no official response from the Ministry of External Affairs on the withdrawal of the Guyanese high commissioner.

Gyanvapi Mosque Case: Allahabad HC Extends Stay on ASI Survey Order

Justice Prakash Padia extended till November 30 the interim stay on a Varanasi court order directing the ASI to conduct a survey at the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex.

Prayagraj (UP): The Allahabad high court, which is hearing a petition in connection with a 1991 Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque suit in Varanasi, was on Monday informed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that it will obey the court’s direction in the matter.

Justice Prakash Padia also extended till November 30 the interim stay on a Varanasi court order directing the ASI to conduct a survey at the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex and further proceedings in this case.

Following a court order on October 18, an affidavit was filed by the director general of the ASI.

It stated that the ASI is ready to obey the court directions, according to sources.

Justice Padia fixed the next hearing on November 11, 2022 on the petition of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid, the Gyanvapi Mosque management committee of Varanasi and others challenging the maintainability of an original suit filed in 1991 in the Varanasi district court.

The original suit sought restoration of the ancient Kashi Vishwanath temple at the site where the Gyanvapi Mosque currently stands.

The petitioners claimed in the suit that the mosque is a part of the temple.

(PTI)

Why is the Anniversary of the 1984 Massacre of Sikhs Not a Time of Remembrance For Us All?

There can be no justification for the mass killing of Sikhs in 1984. But the country’s collective refusal to hold fast to that memory also has no justification.

Today is October 31. Since we are turning into a community of memory, it is not out of place to ask ourselves how we should remember this day. As the day of the assassination of Indira Gandhi? Or Sardar Patel’s birthday? Or the day of the beginning of the massacre of Sikhs in India in 1984? How would we like to tell the story of this day to those who have not lived it? 

The Narendra Modi government has started celebrating October 31 as Ekta Diwas. But this unity refers to the integration of princely states in India after independence from colonial rule. It is about the geography of India. Not about its people. This government wants everyone to remember August 14 as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ so that people do not forget the violence of Partition but does not want to remember October 31 as the day of the massacre of the Sikhs. It’s not useful for its brand of memory politics.

I glanced through the newspapers today. On this date, it was not felt necessary to remind readers of this horror. The omission is odd because it is a day which one community in India remembers as the day when it was threatened with elimination. A day of the beginning of genocidal violence against it. Why do we not want to share this memory? The violence was committed by ordinary Hindus against a religious community they had been calling their ‘protector’ for ages. It is not only the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that claims Sikhism to be a  branch of Hinduism, but most Hindus have also grown up believing this. Then why the violence against ‘our own people’?

Some Hindus are quick to rationalise violence against Muslims by saying ‘they divided India and created Pakistan, they ruled over us, oppressed us, destroyed our temples’. Such arguments are cited to justify any ‘punishment’ Muslims in India are subjected to from generation to generation. Sadly, many also accept this reason as valid and thus anti-Muslim violence is also accepted as natural. But what is the justification for the mass killing of Sikhs in 1984, and for our collective refusal to hold fast to that memory?

Also Read: India’s Justice System Has Failed Victims of the 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre

Thirty-eight years ago, I was a student in Patna. The news that Indira Gandhi was killed appeared on news boards outside the offices of the Indian Nation and Aryavarta newspapers and quickly spread throughout the city. The news left us shocked. All of us who were opposed to Indira Gandhi were also left numb. Something was bound to happen. But what? We had no idea. There was an inexplicable apprehension in the air. We knew that the guards who had killed Indira Gandhi were Sikhs.

After some time, a small group was seen on the road with the slogan ‘Khoon ka badla khoon se lenge’ (we will avenge blood with blood). The news came that a liquor shop was being robbed near the Dak Bungalow. Then stories of looting and destruction of shops run by Sikhs started coming from other parts of the city too.

On Ashok Rajpath, opposite Patna Medical College and Patna University, there were some Sikh establishments – a cycle shop, a tent house, etc. These shops were attacked. The locks were broken. People were seen running away with whatever they could grab. Someone was running with what looked like a stack of bowls in his hand, balancing it like a circus juggler. Someone was running with a bundle of bicycle handles. Some with cycle frames. On a rickshaw! Some people were taking a  fridge when there was a fight amongst themselves about who would keep it. And then all of them smashed the fridge with stones.

There was a strange gaiety in this marauding mob. It is hard to forget that scene of mass robbery in which everyone’s face could be seen by their fellow robbers. It was cooperative violence. Everyone was cooperating with each other in ‘teaching a lesson’ to the Sikhs. But there was competition for the spoils. In this violence taking place in broad daylight, the police weren’t silent bystanders. They were lending a helping hand to the looters. Since we were activists of a student organisation, we knew the personnel of the local police station. We went and asked them to control and disperse the crowd. We got a warning to move away from the road. We could not intervene.

News of violence had started coming from other cities as well. In Patna, as far as I remember, there was no word of any murder. But accounts of murders started reaching us from Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro and above all, Delhi. That Sikhs were being identified and lynched in trains.

In Patna, the violence continued for three days. We need to stress that the police were an accomplice in this violence. The looting stopped when the police wanted it to stop. Three days later, we suddenly heard that the police were conducting raids to recover what had been taken. Then we saw people throwing stolen items in the Ganga, which flowed along the length of Ashok Rajpath.

We did not hear of any arrests. I don’t remember if any criminal case was registered. I can say as an eyewitness that the ‘educated’ section of the city was as involved in this violence as those whom we consider violent because they are ‘uneducated’.

Much later, we learnt that a Sikh teacher at the Patna Science College had to cut his hair to hide his identity. When this wave of violence subsided, we went to the Patna Sahib Gurdwara with relief materials for those who had to take shelter there. I still remember the Sardarji who used to run the canteen of Rajendra Surgical Block sitting there with his gaze fixed on the ground. I couldn’t even greet him. We could not muster the courage to console anyone. This city, Patna, was their city. Today, they were refugees in a gurdwara there. No temple had opened its doors to the ‘protectors’ of Hinduism. The violence was against the Sikhs but the Sikhs did not want to show their faces. It was then that I understood for the first time how violence takes away the self-respect of the community which is its victim. The status of victims is also testimony to their powerlessness. They become an object of pity.

After a week or so, public life in Patna returned to ‘normal’. But the cycle shop in front of Patna College remained closed for a long time. Many other shops remained shut too. There is no evidence that the neighbouring shopkeepers tried to find out about the well-being of their neighbours or did anything to help them. A similar lack of concern would have played out in other cities as well.

File photo of a demonstration seeking justice for the anti-Sikh massacre of 1984. Photo: Reuters/Files

Delhi, however, was very different. This was a city which the Sikh refugees had made their own after they were forced to leave their homes in the newly created Pakistan. Hindus and Sikhs were brothers at that time. This fraternity was useful then, in violence against Muslims on the Indian side of Punjab and Delhi. All this was forgotten in 1984.

I want to understand how a city can go on living peacefully even after the killing of nearly 3,000 Sikhs. How does it explain the massacre to itself? How many people would it have taken to kill 3,000? All those who were involved in that massacre or knew those who did went on living their lives as if nothing had happened. Even after participating in this mass murder and violence. Some of them would have died natural deaths by now. But imagine a city in which thousands of murderers and their relatives and friends live with the intimacies of their relationships as father, mother, brother, sister and grandparent intact after destroying the possibility of such relationships among their neighbours.

What kind of society is that, what kind of family is that which is a safe haven for murderers? Which society just moves on, as if the mass murder committed by it was a ‘natural accident’? Who gets angry when reminded of this collective injustice?

With the conviction of senior Congressman Sajjan Kumar and others, It is now a firmly established fact that leaders and members of the party were involved in the killings. The unwillingness of the then Congress government to intervene and stop the violence, and punish the guilty, is well recorded. Rajiv Gandhi’s insensitive and tone-deaf statement is rightly remembered. But let us ask this question: didn’t a large part of the city’s Hindu population actively participate in this violence against the Sikhs? Has there been any discussion about it in the Hindu samaj? 

This is why I believe October 31 and the days which followed should be a time of introspection for Hindus in India and abroad. A day should come when ordinary Hindus achieve the ability to recognise the reality of this violence and take responsibility for it. That would be a far more important day for the Hindu community – and India – than the consecration of a temple or the celebration of some abstract notion of national unity.

The headline of this article was changed on November 2, 2022 and the last paragraph subjected to minor editing

Watch | Another Demolition in Drive in Delhi: Here’s What Happened at Kharak-Satbari

Residents have alleged that DDA officials stormed into their locality without prior notice.

As many as 25 houses were demolished in Delhi’s Kharak-Satbari region recently, with residents alleging that DDA officials stormed into their locality without prior notice.

Most residents of Kharak hail from working class communities, manage small businesses, or are engaged in domestic and construction work. Many are self employed.

Locals, most of whom are Muslims, have also alleged police brutality amid the demolition drive.

We bring you their testimonies from the ground to understand what transpired.

Telangana Bypoll: Election Commission Asks BJP Candidate to Explain Rs 5-Crore Transfer

In a letter to K. Rajagopal Reddy, the poll panel also asked him to ensure that the Rs 5. 24 crore in question is not used to induce voters.

New Delhi: Ahead of the November 3 Munugode assembly bypoll, the Election Commission Sunday asked BJP candidate K Rajagopal Reddy to explain the transfer of over Rs 5 crore from his family-owned firm’s account to 23 people and entities within the constituency.

In a letter to Reddy, the poll panel has also asked him to ensure that the Rs 5. 24 crore in question is not used to induce voters.

Reddy has been asked to explain the fund transactions by 4 pm on October 31. The decision to seek clarification from Reddy was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

The TRS had approached the poll panel over the transactions. It had alleged that the amount was meant to induce voters by withdrawing cash from these transferee accounts.

“As a transferee, if done by you or under your direction by a family-owned company as alleged, it is a duty cast on you to ensure that this fund transferred to different 23 bank accounts are not used for voter inducement, as alleged, which is a corrupt practice,” the EC letter said.

The poll panel also reminded the BJP candidate of the provisions of the model code relating to corrupt practices during campaigning.

“You are directed to clarify the position and status covering all aspects as mentioned in the representation about the alleged transaction purported to be done to induce voters in Munugode AC, on or before 31 October 31, 4:00 pm to enable the commission to take appropriate decision,” the letter read.

The bypolls, to held on November 3, have seen its fair share of drama and claims of incentive transfer in the past few days. They were necessitated by Congress MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy’s move to BJP.

On October 27, The Hindu reported that former MLA from Congress Gone Prakash Rao has requested the Election Commission to cancel the by-election citing the splurge of money by parties across the board. Rao had termed it “vulgar and obscene”.

(With PTI inputs)