Indian American Muslim group calls on Indian Home Minister to clarify his remarks on Jihad

Washington D.C.,
December 24, 2009

Indian Muslim Council-USA (http://www.imc-usa.org/),
an advocacy group dedicated towards safeguarding India’s pluralist and
tolerant ethos, calls on Indian Home Minister Chidambaram to clarify
his remarks on Jihad in his address to Intelligence Bureau on Wednesday
the 23rd of December, 2009.

According to reports Mr. P.
Chidambaram, the Home Minister of India at the 22nd Intelligence Bureau
Centenary Endowment Lecture, equated Jihad with terrorism while
referring to Crusades as a conventional war. He reportedly also stated
that Jihad is war against unbelievers. He also stated that the tactics
of Jihadis have been copied by other militant groups including Hindu
militant groups.

This interpretation of Jihad from the Home Minister comes after his
statements that the faith of Muslims cannot be viewed as an alien faith
and that Muslims are honored citizens of India . At that time the Home
Minister was addressing a gathering of 50,000 Muslims including 10,000
clerics at the annual conference of Deoband Seminary organized by
Jamiat-Ulema- Hind on November 9, 2009.

"These conflicting
messages to different audiences raises the concern that the Home
Minister may not fully understand the faith of Islam, a faith adhered
by 161 Million citizens of India and 1.57 Billion citizens of the
world," said Mr. Rasheed Ahmed, president of Indian Muslim Council-USA.
He further stated that, "As the Home Minister of an emerging global
power one hopes Mr. Chidambaram would be more cautious and informed
while referring to religious terminology of the faith of 23% of the
world population."

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

Website: www.imc-usa.org

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Chidambaram equates Jihad with terrorism
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[Back to Top]

Demand for including top cop as accused (Dec 24, 2009, Indian Express)

In a significant development in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre
case, the prosecution today moved an application to name eight people -
including the then Joint Commissioner of Ahmedabad Police M K Tandon -
as accused. Besides Tandon, the others who have been demanded to be
named as accused by the victims’ lawyer S M Vora include the then
inspector of Meghaninagar police station N D Parmar, former Ahmedabad
Deputy Mayor Jagroop Singh Rajput, the then police constable Rajesh
Jinger, Manish Patel alias Splendor, Babu Marwadi, Iniyo Harijan and
Mahendra Pukhraj.

They have been demanded to be named as
accused after certain witnesses deposed before the special court and
named them either for conducting, instigating or abetting the massacre.
Tandon, now retired, has been accused of tampering with evidence,
abetment to the rioters and dereliction of duty. According to the
application, he is accused of tampering with the dead bodies, which
were left at the Gulberg Society after the massacre on February 28,
2002.

Saeed Khan Pathan, an eyewitnesses who survived the
attack, said before the court that while leaving the society on
February 28, he had requested Tandon to let him take the bodies of his
relatives, which were identifiable. Tandon had allegedly ordered to
keep bodies with the police. Incidentally, the same bodies were
unidentifiable when the survivors of the massacre reached the Kalandari
Kabrastan for identification, a few days later. The application also
alleges that Tandon failed to provide either security or extra police
force at the massacre site despite repeated demands by the subordinate
officers.

N D Parmar has been accused of manipulating
statements of the witnesses during the investigation in 2002 and
intentionally omitting names of certain accused. Parmar is now a Dy SP.
Vora has also alleged that all the eight people are influential and
have managed to get themselves absolved from the charges by the police
despite several affidavits and statements by the victims before the
police, including the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Special Public
Prosecutor R K Shah and Assistant Special Public Prosecutor Nayana
Bhatt are expected to file the reply by December 30.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/558527/

SEE ALSO:

• Now, top cop Vanzara accused of invoking 2004 terror act in 2002 (Dec 26, 2009, Yahoo)
  http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20091226/804/tnl-now-top-cop-vanzara-accused-of-invok.html
• Two Naroda Gam accused appointed ward presidents (Dec 24, 2009, Indian Express)
  http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/558530/
• Modis law on compulsory voting fails to enthuse EC (Dec 22, 2009, Hindustan Times)
  http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/489186.aspx
• After must-vote, Modi govt plans voters right to recall (Dec 24, 2009, Indian Express)
  http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/558612/

[Back to Top]

Sanstha men in Goa blast had Sadhvi, Purohit links (Dec 21, 2009, Indian Express)

Days after the National Investigating Agency (NIA) took over the
probe into the Diwali bomb blast in Goa, police in the state have said
they have found links between the Sanatan Sanstha members blamed for
the blast and the Hindu extremists of Abhinav Bharat accused in the
September 2008 Malegaon bomb blast. The Goa Police investigation have
unearthed phone records to show that some key members of the two Hindu
groups had been in touch in the past and this was one of the reasons
for the case to be handed over to the NIA, sources here said. The NIA
took over the investigation on December 17.

"I can only say
that this case has links with Sadhvi (Pragya) and Colonel (Shrikant)
Purohit," Goa’s Inspector-General of Police K D Singh told The Indian
Express. "There is evidence

Related posts:

1. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – December 21st, 2009
2. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – September 28th, 2009
3. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – December 7th, 2009
4. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – December 14th, 2009
5. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – June 28th, 2010