IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – August 17th, 2009

by on August 16, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMUNAL HARMONY

NEWS HEADLINES

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

BOOK REVIEW

ANNOUNCEMENTS

IMC-USA CELEBRATES INDIAS INDEPENDENCE DAY, TURNS SEVEN ON AUGUST 15TH

August 15, 2009

 

Indian Muslim Council – USA (IMC-USA: http://www.imc-usa.org/), an advocacy group working toward safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, extends its best wishes to all Indians on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of India’s independence. IMC-USA calls on all Indians to renew their commitment to make India a nation that is a beacon of freedom and prosperity for all.

 

August 15th, 2009 also marks the seventh anniversary of the Indian Muslim Council – USA. In the last seven years, IMC-USA has worked with various Indian organizations of different persuasions to advance the cause of social justice and communal harmony.

 

On this occasion, Indian Muslim Council renews its pledge to prevent hate-filled ideologies from threatening the secular fabric of the nation and to promote pluralism, tolerance and respect for human dignity. IMC-USA has scheduled a series of events to celebrate and will also participate in the Independence Day festivities across the United States.

 

Indian Muslim Council-USA is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States with 10 chapters across the nation.

CONTACT:
Dr. Hyder Khan
phone/fax: 1-800-839-7270
email: media@imc-usa.org

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COMMUNAL HARMONY

FR EMMANUEL GETS GOVTS NATIONAL COMMUNAL HARMONY AWARD (AUG 14, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)

Stories of Partition, and of trains full of bodies pulling into railway stations, was Fr Dominic Emmanuel’s introduction to communal violence and its consequences. But living in an Ajmer neighbourhood where the sounds of temple bells and the call of the muezzin were a part of life, and where he spent his evening listening to stories from his Muslim and Sindhi neighbours, Fr Emmanuel saw how co-existence was also possible.

And so he worked towards national integration, writing books, making films and doing peace marches for more than two decades. On Wednesday, he received the government’s Communal Harmony Award for 2008 from President Pratibha Patil, for his work to promote harmony and bridge misunderstandings between communities. "The reality of India is that we have lived together and we have to live together. We have to live in peace. We should not just be tolerant towards one another but we must live in harmony and grow in love," he said.

Fr Emmanuel has worked across the country and has actively promoted inter-religious dialogue. As a radio broadcaster before he joined the Archdiocese of Delhi as its spokesperson, Fr Emmanuel hosted talk shows on communal harmony for five years. Social activist Ram Puniyani and NGOs Setu Charitable Trust and Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan were other recipients.The award carries Rs 5 lakh for organisation and Rs 2 lakh for individual recipients.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/501835/

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NEWS HEADLINES

ONE DIES, 3 INJURED IN AZAMGARH AS MPS MEN OPEN FIRE AT YOUTHS (AUG 13, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)

Tension prevailed in the Azamgarh district on Wednesday afternoon after a youth died and three others suffered gunshot injuries in a clash with local BJP parliamentarian Ramakant Yadav and his men. The MP and his men had allegedly opened fire in Phoolpur after his cavalcade got involved in a road accident. The president of the Rashtriya Ulema Council, Amir Rashadi, on whose complaint an FIR of murder was lodgerd against the MP and his men, claimed that the accused had fired at him and the victims were members of his party. Ulema Council spokesman Tahir Madni said the incident took place around 2.45 pm, when Yadav’s fleet of four vehicles was passing by the Barauli village in Phoolpur. One of the SUVs had hit two local youths on a motorcycle.

The youths were escorting the fleet of Amir Rashadi, who was on way to attend a party meeting in the area. Yadav’s armed men pulled up the youths for not driving properly. A crowd of locals who had gathered then began pelting stones on the MP’s fleet. In response, Yadav’s men opened fire, injuring four youths – Abdul Rehman, Zahid, Farhan and Imran. The MP and his men then sped away. The injured were taken to the hospital, but Rehman died on the way. Others are undergoing treatment at the district hospital. The Deputy Inspector General, Azamgarh, KK Tripathi, said efforts are being made to arrest Yadav and the other accused. The DGP’s Public Relations Officer GN Khanna said Yadav’s cavalcade had been denied a pass to overtake the Ulema Council rally, hence the clash.

Immediately after the incident, members of Rashtriya Ulema Council and locals blocked roads in and around Azamgarh, restricting traffic movement even on highways. It took over three hours for Azamgarh Superintendent of Police Ramit Sharma to reach the spot. Later in the evening, stray incidents of arson and violence were reported from various parts of Azamgarh in protest against the shootout. Members of a community set a police booth on fire and engaged in brickbatting with the traders of another community in Sarai Mir, forcing them to down shutters of their shops. The protestors also pelted stones at the police and damaged buses and other vehicles in Mubarakpur and Phoolpur. The ADG (Law & Order) Brij Lal has reached Phoolpur. Five additional companies of PAC and the Varanasi Range IG Gurdarshan Singh also reached the area to control the situation.The blockade at various spots have been removed and the PAC have been deployed at sensitive areas.

Ramakant Yadav, who won the election from Azamgarh on a BJP ticket after defeating BSP’s Akbar Ahmad Dumpy by around 1 lakh votes, is a historysheeter. Over 30 cases – including some under the Goonda Act and the Gangsters Act – are registered against him in Azamgarh, Jaunpur and Gorakhpur. He had switched from the SP to the BSP before finally landing up in the BJP. Yadav was one of the accused in the attack on Chief Minister Mayawati at the state guesthouse in Lucknow in 1995. His younger brother Umakant Yadav is a former BSP parliamentarian and is currently in jail. He was arrested on charges of razing shops and houses to grab a plot of land in Azamgarh.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/501431/

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KANDHAMAL, GUJARAT RIOTS STILL RESONATE IN AMERICA (AUG 14, 2009, ECONOMIC TIMES)

A US government body has put India on a watch list for failing to protect religious minorities, citing the Kandhamal attacks on Christians in 2008 and the Gujarat communal riots of 2002. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which makes policy recommendations to the US government, said in a statement that India earned the ‘Watch List’ designation due to the increase in communal violence against religious minorities. The body has referred to the attacks against Christians in Orissa in 2008 and the Gujarat communal riots, and the "largely inadequate" response from the Indian government to protect the rights of religious minorities.

"It is extremely disappointing that India, which has a multitude of religious communities, has done so little to protect and bring justice to its religious minorities under siege," USCIRF chair Leonard Leo was quoted as saying. Incidentally, USCIRF members, who wanted to visit India for their report and make a personal evaluation, were not granted a visa. The move elicited a strong response from the government, with the ministry of external affairs terming the move "regrettable". Denying that India had failed to protect minorities, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson said: "The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of religion and equality of opportunity to all its citizens, who live and work together in peace and harmony."

He added: "Aberrations, if any, are dealt with promptly within our legal framework, under the watchful eye of an independent judiciary and a vigilant media." The organisation noted that murder of Swami Saraswati by Maoist rebels in Kandhamal last year sparked a destructive campaign against Christians, resulting in attacks against churches. "India’s democratic institutions charged with upholding the rule of law, most notably state and central judiciaries and police, have emerged as unwilling or unable to seek redress for victims of the violence. More must be done to ensure future violence does not occur and that perpetrators are held accountable," Mr Leo was quoted as saying.

According to the US commission, any country that is designated on USCIRF ‘Watch List’ requires "close monitoring due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government". Other countries on the Watch List include Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Laos, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Cuba, Somalia and Venezuela. USCIRF, which is described as an independent and bipartisan federal government commission, reviews facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and makes policy recommendations to the US President, secretary of state and the Congress.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4892315.cms

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GUJARAT HC FOR FRESH PROBE INTO ENCOUNTER KILLING (AUG 14, 2009, THE TRIBUNE)

In the second case where an encounter involving the Gujarat police during the Narendra Modi rule will be probed again, the state High Court today ordered that a three-member committee of top police officers would further investigate the killing of alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) woman activist Ishrat Jahan in 2004. Acting on a petition filed by Ishrat’s mother Shamina, who alleged that her daughter was killed in a fake encounter by the Gujarat police, Justice Kalpesh Jhaveri said the committee would be headed by state Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Pramod Kumar.

The other two members of the committee were Inspector General Mohan Jha and Deputy Inspector Genearal JK Bhatt, the court said. After the Soharabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, this is the second case where courts have ordered further probe on veracity of encounters carried out by the state police. Mumbai-based Ishrat Jahan was killed in an encounter along with three other men by the Detention of Crime Branch (DCB) of Ahmedabad police in June 2004.The DCB, headed by then DCP DG Vanzara, who is a prime accused in the Sohrabuddin encounter case, had claimed that all four had links with Pakistan-based terrorist outfit, the LeT, and they were on a mission to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides Ishrat, Javed Ghulam Sheikh, alias, Pranesh Kumar Pillai, Amjad Ali, alias, Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani were also killed in the encounter carried out near Kotarpur waterworks, in the outskirts of the city. The committee has been asked to submit its report on or before November 30. Shamina, in her petition, has sought CBI investigation into the case. She has also demanded compensation for the killing of her daughter in the alleged fake encounter.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090814/nation.htm#6

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FAKE ENCOUNTER: FIR AGAINST COPS (AUG 11, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)

The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Lucknow has ordered an FIR against unidentified policemen involved in death of Shakeel alias Abrar, who was gunned down in an encounter in January in Lucknow. Shakeel’s wife Shama Parveen had filed an application before the court, stating that her husband was murdered by cops after he failed to fulfil their demands for money. On August 6, the court directed the Hazratganj police to lodge the case. Besides Shakeel, his brother Ghulam Ghaus Khan and Shamshad, a resident of Allahabad, were also gunned down in the encounter, which took place in Shaheed Path, Sarojini Nagar, on January 4. "We moved court after no police officer gave us a hearing," said Shama Parveen’s lawyer Sayed Waqar Hussain. They filed the application in the court on April 13, requesting a case against the policemen.

According to Waqar, they informed the court that on January 3, Shakeel came to Lucknow in connection with a case. He took part in the court proceedings and signed on the court record and left around 2 pm. While on his way to Barabanki, he was kidnapped from near Clark Awadh Hotel in Wazirganj. The police, Waqar said, switched off his mobile. When Shakeel did not return the next morning, his family contacted the policemen attached with the Sarojini Nagar police station in Lucknow, who said that no person was brought in for questioning. Two officers posted there knew Shakeel and often called him to demand money, said Parveen. She also mentioned in the application that then in-charge of the Talkatora police station in Lucknow had also demanded money from Shakeel.

The application stated that Parveen’s brother-in-law was also killed to make the situation appear like an encounter. The bodies, she alleged, were not handed over to the family. On their part, the Lucknow police claimed that the three persons killed in encounter were members of Hawa Singh gang and were wanted in several criminal cases. According to the police, on January 4, they spotted a Maruti van with a blank registration number plate in Hussainganj. Though Station House Officer signalled the car to stop, it sped away.

The officers chased the car for about 15 kms before teams from Hussainganj, Ashiana, Banthra, Manak Nagar and Sarojini Nagar police stations managed to encircle it. Struck between the police teams, the criminals moved towards an under-construction road at Shaheed Path. When the car reached a dead end, the miscreants tried to flee. The police then tried to stop them and engaged in an exchange of fire, in which three persons died. Three countrymade pistols and several cartridges were recovered from their possession.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/500483/

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3 COPS SUSPENDED FOR PARADING TEENAGER HALF-NAKED (AUG 11, 2009, HINDUSTAN TIMES)

Three policemen in Uttar Pradesh were on Tuesday suspended for assaulting a 16-year-old school student and parading him half-naked on the streets of Baraut town in Baghpat district, an official said. Two sub-inspectors and a constable were placed under suspension after they beat up the boy, wrote insulting remarks on his chest and back and paraded him half-naked on Sunday on the streets of Baraut town in Baghpat, some 350 km from state capital Lucknow.

"We on Tuesday suspended three policemen with immediate effect for their role in an incident in which a teenager, who was accused of sexual harassment, was manhandled by a police team," district police chief Deepak Kumar told IANS on phone. The class 11 student had a nightmarish experience with the police when his motorcycle accidentally hit a woman’s car. He was injured and had a heated argument with the young woman in the car.

The boy claimed he was accused of sexual harassment by policemen standing nearby and was paraded half-naked on the streets by them. "They forcibly removed my shirt, tied my hands with it and wrote insulting remarks on my chest and back. Then I was forced to parade through various localities," the teenager told reporters. The policemen have been accused of taking his shirt off and writing "Main ladkiya cherta hun" (I molest women) on his back and chest. It was only after some local journalists intervened that the policemen set the teenager free.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=3d73bd22-c2de-493d-b8af-b55b6d38336b

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MODI DEPRIVES POOR MUSLIMS OF SCHOLARSHIP (AUG 8, 2009, IBN)

More than 50,000 poor minority students in Gujarat have been reportedly denied central scholarship. This report has once again put Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in a spot. His is the only state government in the country which is not willing to bear 25 per cent share of the central-sponsored pre matric scholarship scheme for the minorities. The Centre gives around Rs 22 lakh scholarships for poor Muslims students, of which more than Rs 57,000 is earmarked for Gujarat alone.

Every child whose parents earn less than Rs 1 lakh per annum is entitled to this scholarship and can get an amount between Rs 800 to Rs 1500. Last year the Gujarat government wrote to the Centre that such schemes based on minority status of a community will not help in the country’s development.

This year again, despite of repeated reminders, the state government has not earmarked any money which means the minority students will remain deprived of their due. "This is unconstitutional," says Congress spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi. This scholarship scheme is a part of Prime Minister’s 15 point programme for minorities and Gujarat is the only state opposing it.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/exclusive-modi-deprives-poor-muslim-students-of-scholarship/98808-37.html

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THERE IS SENSE OF UNEASE ABOUT WORKING OF RULE OF LAW: ANSARI (AUG 9, 2009, THE HINDU)

The contributions of the common law tradition, the Constitution and the judiciary to consolidating the rule of law in India have been more than negated by unfair and lax enforcement, discriminatory application of laws and filtered access to the justice system, Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari said on Saturday. "This strikes at the root of democracy and erodes respect for law among citizens who are at the receiving end of non-enforcement of their rights and discriminatory application of the laws, and without the clout to secure either of them," he said inaugurating the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Bar Association of India here.

"In the 50 years of its existence, the Bar Association has witnessed creeping as well as cataclysmic challenges to the rule of law in the country. The broad consensus of experts and common sense of the ordinary citizen point to a certain sense of unease with regard to the working of the rule of law. It is felt that the rule of law is still not sufficiently protected in our society and polity and that challenges to it continue to undermine our democracy."

Mr. Ansari said, "Democracy and the rule of law are inextricably connected to each other; a decline in one would inevitably impact the other adversely. Furthermore, in terms of contemporary imperatives, the efficacy of the rule of law impacts on economic growth and development as well as on good governance and protection of human rights. The Bar has an important role to play in upholding the rule of law and the Constitution in the administration of justice – which is a fundamental function of the state – in promoting social justice, safeguarding liberty and protecting fundamental and human rights. But the legal profession too is facing some of the challenges that confront the rule of law."

Mr. Ansari said: "It is clear that proper governance is not only desirable but also possible. The challenge is to expand its sphere and frequency. This can only be done by individual and collective commitment to the rule of law, by building up opinion supportive of it, by intellectual and financial integrity and by exposing and deploring departures from both. The need of the hour is to revitalise the institutions of the state in terms of the Constitution and the laws."

http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/09/stories/2009080952640900.htm

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STUDENTS, PRINCIPAL HELD FOR RAGGING (AUG 15, 2009, THE TRIBUNE)

Four students and the principal of a college were arrested in West Godavari district in connection with a ragging incident in the institute, police said today. The four students allegedly harassed a junior student in the college at Nallajarla in the district, they said.

Following the complaint lodged by the victim, the four students have been arrested, they said. The principal was also arrested as he let off the accused with a warning and did not inform the police, they said.

Relevant section under the Andhra Pradesh Prevention of Ragging Act have been slapped on the arrested persons, police added.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090815/nation.htm#13

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5 OF A FAMILY TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT IN A DOWRY CASE (AUG 13, 2009, PTI)

A local court sentenced five persons to life imprisonment and acquitted nine for lack of evidence in a dowry case here in the district. Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar yesterday convicted five persons, including husband and mother-in-law, of the deceased Rekha and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each. The convicted persons are Joginder (husband), Kanta (mother-in-law), Partap (father-in-law), Surjeet and Deepak.

According to the prosecution, Rekha was married with Joginder on December 3, 2003. The victim was being harassed by her husband and his family members for bringing inadequate dowry. On May 31, 2006, the husband and his family members set ablaze Rekha. She was rushed to a hospital in Delhi where she succumbed to her injuries on June 5, 2006.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/227878_5-of-a-family-to-life-imprisonment-in-a-dowry-case

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BSP MEN BEAT UP DALIT, VILLAGERS SAY WONT ALLOW BYPOLL CAMPAIGN (AUG 9, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)

In a joint panchayat of six villages in Muzzafarnagar district, residents of the Dalit-dominated villages in the Morna constituency have declared they will not allow the local BSP candidate to campaign in their villages for the Assembly bypoll due on August 18. The decision came after an accident took place on Friday evening in which a local Dalit driver was beaten up by the supporters of the BSP MLA from Bulandshahar, Mahendra Valmiki. The driver, Naresh Kumar, accidentally hit the car in which Valmiki and his aides were travelling.

On Saturday morning, a mass panchayat of six villages was held at Chhachhrauli village, in which villagers from Wazirabad, Morna, Ghoghedi, Chhachhrauli, Takkraana and Behta villages participated. It was decided that since it was a BSP leader whose men had beaten up the Dalit driver, they would boycott the BSP candidate, Noor Salim Rana, who is the brother of BSP MP from Muzzafarnagar.

Pradhan of Morna village, Naseeruddin, said no one from the six villages would be allowed to campaign for the BSP candidate. While Valmiki was not available for comments, one of his supporters said the allegations against the MLA were false and that it was the driver who has misbehaved with him. The driver, after being treated in a local hospital, has now been discharged.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/499772/

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OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS

CORNERING MODI – BY LYLA BAVADAM (AUG 15, 2009, FRONTLINE)

After seven years of arrogant confidence, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat is now nervously looking over its shoulder. Chief Minister Narendra Modi seems a little wary after the Supreme Court gave the green signal to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to question him and a few others regarding the 2002 post-Godhra riots. On April 27, the Supreme Court ordered the SIT "to take steps as required in law" to probe a complaint that Modi, his Cabinet colleagues, senior police officials and bureaucrats had orchestrated the post-Godhra communal riots. The order was in response to a petition filed by Zakia Jaffrey and the Citizens for Justice and Peace. Zakia Jaffrey was seeking justice for her husband and former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jaffrey and 39 others who were killed in Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Housing Society during the riots. The complaint also alleged that those who deposed before the Justice Nanavati Commission that was inquiring into the riots had been encouraged to give false evidence by Modi and other senior officials. Zakia Jaffrey had initially sent the complaint to the then Gujarat Director-General of Police, but he did not register a first information report (FIR). Zakia Jaffrey then approached the Gujarat High Court, but it dismissed her petition saying there was insufficient evidence to back her allegations. The Supreme Court gave its order to the SIT in April to probe her complaint.

Kalu Maliwad, a former BJP MLA who had been acquitted in one of the riot cases but remains an accused in Zakia Jaffrey’s complaint, objected to the SIT’s right to question Modi and demanded a stay on the proceedings. Maliwad said the Supreme Court had asked the SIT to "look into" the complaint only and this did not constitute an investigation. He also demanded disclosure of the SIT’s confidential report on the riots, which was submitted to the Supreme Court as part of the ongoing investigations. However, Justice D.H. Waghela of the Gujarat High Court dismissed Maliwad’s petition, calling it "ill-founded and misconceived". He said: "It is clear from the reading of the apex court order that it contains a direction for (the) SIT and it will take any step required so as to give its report to the apex court." The SIT, led by former Central Bureau of Investigation Director R.K. Raghavan, has time until December 31 to complete its investigation into Zakia Jaffrey’s complaint and an additional probe into nine other sensitive riot cases. Coming as it does seven years after the riots, there are fears that the SIT’s work will be hampered by factors such as loss of physical evidence, having to rely on evidence that is possibly tampered with, and fearful witnesses. On this, an informed source said: "The SIT has been scrupulously honest in its tasks. It has not and will not arm-twist witnesses into saying something that they do not want to. At the same time, it will give maximum protection to them to say what they want to, without fear or favour. This is the distinctive feature of the SIT’s work. It lays a huge emphasis on witness protection as per the apex court’s directive."

Confident of the powers of the SIT, the source said: "The greatest asset for the SIT is the authority it derives from the Supreme Court. It has all the powers conferred on an investigating agency by the Criminal Procedure Code.

Related posts:

  1. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – August 24th, 2009
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  3. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – August 31st, 2009
  4. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – August 10th, 2009
  5. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – May 17th, 2010

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