IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – July 6th, 2009

by on August 11, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

COMMUNAL HARMONY

NEWS HEADLINES

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

COMMUNAL HARMONY

MUSLIM LEADERS APPEAL FOR A HEALING TOUCH (JUL 4, 2009, THE HINDU)

The outbreak of communal violence in the old areas of Mysore – the second in the last three months – has jolted the Muslim community leaders who vouch by the tradition of peaceful co-existence and amity that underlined the social fabric of Mysore for centuries. Calling for a healing touch and introspection among different sections of society, the leaders suggested initiatives to bridge the gulf among different groups and to eradicate suspicion which is the root cause of violence. The initiative includes more people-to-people contact and greater interaction among leaders to prevent recurrence of such incidents. They also suggested forming a coordination committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner.

Speaking to The Hindu, Shabir Ahmed Khan, former chairman of the Mysore District Wakf Advisory Committee, said: "Mysore has a history of peace and religious amity but a few hands are instigating misguided youth, a majority of whom are unemployed or illiterate. Leaders of both communities should step in to arrest this trend."

Sayid Rahmatullah, ex-member of the Wakf Board, also agreed with him, and added:"More than 90 per cent of the people living in Kyatamaranahalli, Shanti Nagar and Ghousia Nagar, irrespective of their religious affiliation, are daily-wage earners, who work in hotels, garages, as hawkers and vendors. They are the most vulnerable section of the society and are among the worst hit though they are in no way involved with the breakout of violence," he added. For instance, the three people who died on Thursday were on their way to work and were oblivious of the unfolding events.

Abdul Khudoos, a member of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee minority cell, drew the attention of the presence of liquor shops in and around Kyatamaranahalli, Ghousia Nagar and Shanti Nagar in Udayagiri police station limits. He said youth under the influence of alcohol get swayed easily. "We have sought the cancellation of licences of these liquor shops which have become a den for anti-social elements. Unless there is a crackdown, it would be difficult to wean away the youth to more constructive work," he added.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/04/stories/2009070452080300.htm

[Back to Top]

NEWS HEADLINES

BABRI REPORT INDICTS BJP (JUL 1, 2009, DECCAN HERALD)

Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission of Enquiry, probing into the circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, submitted its final report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday. The report is believed to have indicted some of the key BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal functionaries for their roles on December 6, 1992, the day the masjid was razed to the ground by a frenzied mob of kar sevaks, sources said. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was present when Justice (retired)M S Liberhan submitted the report, said the findings would be tabled in Parliament. The Centre was expected to also place an Action Taken Report (ATR) after studying the report and identifying the "actionable parts".

Sources told Deccan Herald "legal action may be taken in due course of time". The report is learnt to have identified top BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal, for being present when the kar sevaks brought the masjid down as also for the statements they made during the ‘the day’. BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi, and Uma Bharti and then Bajrang Dal chief Vinay Katiyar and several VHP leaders were present near the masjid on December 6 and witnessed the demolition by "an uncontrollable" crowd running into several thousands. Advani later sought to describe the destruction of the masjid as ‘the saddest day’ of his life. The Liberhan Commission is believed to have extensively described ‘the build up’ that culminated in the events of December 6, 1992. The Commission had cross-examined former BJP chief minister of UP Kalyan Singh and another key BJP leader when the demolition took place. Singh’s submission was the longest by any witness before the commission.

Subsequently, the BJP came to power in the Centre, Singh had rebelled against the party, re-joined it and then finally quit this year. The Commission is understood to have taken note of the public comments which quoted some BJP leaders having played indirect role in the events that led to the masjid’s demolition. Singh had changed his stand on the issue according to his "hot and cold ties" with the BJP. "It was a conspiracy against me by the BJP leaders. It was a conspiracy to oust me. I was kept in the dark (about the demolition)," Singh said while campaigning as an Independent candidate from Etah Lok Sabha seat in UP recently. Soon after the demolition in Ayodhya, he had blamed the Congress government for the destruction. The Commission, constituted within the ten days of the demolition, was initially expected to submit its report in one year’s time. As the proceedings under Justice (retd)Liberhan began and witnesses called, the commission was given 48 extensions.

The unusually long tenure of the commission, constituted by then primeminister PV Narasimha Rao, makes it the longest Commission of Enquiry in the country. Asked why it took so long to submit his report, Jusitce Liberhan blamed "non-cooperation and repeat court stays" taken by the witnesses. He said it was upto the government to place the report before Parliament along with the ATR. In all the commission held 399 hearings since 1992 The commission recorded the statements of several politicians, bureaucrats and police officials.Among the high profile leaders who deposed before the commission were Narasimha Rao, Advani, Kalyan Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi,Uma Bharati and former UP chiefminister Mulayam Singh Yadav. The CBI is conducting a parallel investigation into the case with the Allahabad High Court having already framed charges against Advani, Joshi, Bharati,Katiyar,VHP’s Ashok Singhal and other leaders from "the saffron Parivar".

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/11054/babri-report-indicts-bjp.html

SEE ALSO:

[Back to Top]

AYODHYA REPORT: WILL ADVANI COME UNDER FIRE? (JUN 30, 2009, REDIFF)

Has the Liberhan Commission indicted the leader of Opposition L K Advani or not? This is one of the important questions on everyone’s mind on Tuesday as Justice Liberhan has put a full stop to the long, tiresome and delayed inquiry into the demolition of the Babri Masjid. According to a source in the commission who has been privy to hundreds of hearings there were no direct evidence produced against Advani during the entire 17 years of tenure of the commission. It has been left entirely on judge’s discretion to interpret the sequence of event, quotes, speeches and interviews of Advani and other co-accused and their public actions to ‘judge’ their actual role behind the demolition of mosque.

The Babri Masjid demolition, a watershed event that changed not just Indian politics but Indian society as well, is so far a mystery. Only when the government, if and when, publishes the report submitted by Justice Liberhan will Indians would know what exactly led to demolition of mosque, who were behind it, how the then Bharatiya Janata Party state government led by Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and Union government led by then Prime Minister Narsimha Rao was rendered impotent when hordes climbed the mosque and demolished it in presence of lakhs of people and TV cameras.

In 2007, when commission counsel Anupam Gupta quit in disgust it shocked many. At that time, Gupta had told Outlook magazine that, "I am not sure whether Justice Liberhan would like to address L K Advani’s role in the demolition." Gupta believed that Advani’s Rath Yatra was the trigger that eventually culminated in demolition of Babri mosque. Not just Advani and BJP leaders even the Late Narasimha Rao was also in the firing line. Justice Liberhan will be remembered for running the longest ever commission in India’s history and that is nothing to be proud about for country’s justice delivery system. And, if the commission findings don’t explain the entire event convincingly then it will lead to a huge trust deficit. The findings have to satisfy all but the minority community will wait with anxiety.

Kamal Farooqui, member of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, says, "If the commission gives a clean chit to Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti over their role in demolition then the report will lose its credibility. We are not so forgetful. All of us have seen what happened in Ayodhya – right on the site – for a full three days. How tension was built up, how people were bought and how the leaders rejoiced when the mosque turned into dust." One thing is for sure, if the commission gives a clean chit to senior BJP leaders, Muslim leaders and secular forces will discredit the report as whitewash. And, if the BJP leaders and others who have been charge-sheeted are incited then the BJP will have a lot to answer for.

However, Advani has maintained since long that when Babri fell he had tears in his yes. Later, he wrote a column saying that December 6, 1992, was the saddest day in his life. Advani has been taking an intense interest in the Liberhan proceedings and he gave a detailed account of his actual role. Even in his autobiography My Country My Life he has maintained that he was feeling both distraught and helpless when the Babri Masjid was demolished. Farooqui says, "We will lose faith if the report refuses to tell the truth of the Babri demolition."

http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/jun/30/ayodhya-report-will-advani-come-under-fire.htm

SEE ALSO:

[Back to Top]

BABRI ACTION COMMITTEE SEEKS SWIFT ACTION (JUL 1, 2009, THE HINDU)

The Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) has welcomed the submission of the Liberhan Commission report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite the "inordinate delay." It, however, wants the government to quickly act on the report and make it public. Legal convener of the Babri Committee, Zafaryab Jilani, said here on Tuesday that the report should be tabled in Parliament in July first week and the action taken report (ATR) submitted in the House within three months.

Mr. Jilani told The Hindu that the report could enable the Central Bureau of Investigation to frame charges against those officers, whose name did not figure in the CBI charge sheet against 49 persons, who allegedly played a role in the demolition of the masjid. The CBI charge sheet was submitted in the court in 1993. Evidence of two top officials of the Uttar Pradesh government during the reign of the former Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Minister, Kalyan Singh, when the masjid was demolished was reportedly recorded by the Commission, but their names did not figure in the CBI charge sheet, Mr. Jilani said.

"It depends on the will of the Central government whether it wants to act on the report or suppress it," Mr. Jilani added. Mohammad Hashim Ansari, the only surviving plaintiff in the original title suit (Regular suit number 2 of 1950) related to the Ram Janmabhoomi/Babri Masjid controversy, also demanded prompt action on the report by the Manmohan Singh government. The 89-year-old Ansari has seen it all – from the legal dispute over the ownership of the Ayodhya complex to the politics involved in the demolition. He said from Faizabad that the ball was now in the Centre’s court.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/01/stories/2009070155761000.htm

SEE ALSO:

[Back to Top]

3 KILLED IN COMMUNAL CLASH IN MYSORE (JUL 3, 2009, THE TRIBUNE)

Three persons, including a young boy, were killed in Mysore in Karnataka today in a communal clash triggered off by the desecration of a mosque. The three, including 14 year old Zubair, died of stab wounds following the clash in the Udayagiri suburb of Mysore. Tensions erupted over the desecration of the Alima mosque in the Kyathamaranahalli locality when worshippers reportedly found the carcass of a swine on the premises. Karnataka Home Minister VS Acharya and DGP R Srikumar have both rushed to Mysore in view of the riots breaking out in the historical city.

Mysore DSP SP Aggarwal said , "It is better now. The situation was much worse in the morning", Aggarwal said. It was learnt that as the news of the death of the boy spread, members of a community killed a labourer, who was on his way to work. Infuriated by this, rioters of the other community killed one person of the first community.

The police carried out cane charge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the clashing mobs. While there were allegations that 14-year-old Zubair was killed in the police firing, Aggarwal disputed this and said preliminary observations showed that the boy died of stab wounds. Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa said the incidents were "unexpected", but the situation was "now under control".

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090703/nation.htm#8

SEE ALSO:

[Back to Top]

MEGHALAYA BJP LEGISLATOR TO QUIT OVER PARTYS HINDUTVA STAND (JUN 29, 2009, HINDUSTAN TIMES)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in for a major setback in Meghalaya with its lone legislator all set to quit the party over its alleged communal credentials. "I am from a Christian state and hence cannot continue to be with the BJP that still has Hindutva and construction of the Ram temple as its main agenda," AL Hek, legislator from Pynthorumkhrah assembly constituency in East Khasi Hills, told IANS. The veteran BJP leader is now contemplating joining the Congress party. "I am open to embracing a secular party," Hek said.

The state unit of the BJP is planning disciplinary action against Hek for hobnobbing with the ruling Congress. "We are keenly watching the development and might take action," a senior BJP leader said. The BJP legislator is, in fact, seeking expulsion from the party to avoid violating the anti-defection law. Once expelled, he can sit in the assembly as an independent supporting the Congress party.

"I am examining all options. I am not power hungry," Hek said. The BJP in the northeast suffered a major blow in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections when both its sitting MPs in Arunachal Pradesh – Khiren Rijuju and Tapir Gao – lost the polls to the Congress.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=71d591b6-196c-4807-a4a6-5c5699981bb8

SEE ALSO:

[Back to Top]

CHIDAMBARAM SLAMS MAYAWATI OVER STATUES (JUN 29, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)

Slamming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for spending Rs 1,000 crore to install her own statues, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the amount could have been used to provide basic amenities to the people and wipe out poverty. "Of what use will be the statues in that state. The Rs 1000 crore will help wipe out poverty of thousands of people, provide basic amenities and education," he said, addressing a meeting to thank voters of his constituency Sivaganga last night.

Pointing out that people all over the country had rejected caste politics, he said this was especially true in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, "where 20 years of caste domination has gone". "People like Mulayam Singh Yadav who were practicing caste politics were rejected, though he was my friend. People there thought beyond caste politics and elected Congress, which is above caste politics and works for the people." Voicing concern over role of "casteism" in elections in parts of Sivaganga, he told people to go by government’s achievements, not by considerations like caste.

He said caste based parties had been dealt a ‘death blow’ in Tamil Nadu. "Though I regret the alliance with caste based PMK earlier, the party faced a rout in the recent elections." "If the Congress Government did not achieve anything then you hit it with a Semmatti (hammer) during the poll. You debate on what we have achieved and then vote," he said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/482694/

SEE ALSO:

[Back to Top]

CJI SLAMS MINISTERS CALL TO HIGH COURT JUDGE (JUL 1, 2009, THE HINDU)

Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan said on Tuesday that the telephonic call made by a Union Minister to Justice R. Reghupathi of the Madras High Court in a case relating to anticipatory bail amounted to interference in the judiciary. Speaking to The Hindu, the CJI said: "It is really unfortunate that such an incident has happened. If the Minister had spoken to the Judge [as stated by him] then really it is an interference with judiciary. No judge can pass orders like that." Asked whether such interference was not a threat to the judiciary, the CJI said: "It [interference] is not a common thing or a general problem in the judiciary, it happens very rarely. It shows the person [Minister] is not fully conversant with the judicial functioning." Asked whether he would order a probe into the whole episode, Mr. Justice Balakrishnan said, "I have not received any report. The Judge himself has not revealed the name [of the Minister]."

Related posts:

  1. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – July 13th, 2009
  2. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – July 27th, 2009
  3. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – July 20th, 2009
  4. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – November 30th, 2009
  5. IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – December 21st, 2009

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: