IMC-USA Weekly News Digest – October 12th, 2009

by on October 11, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

NEWS HEADLINES

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

NEWS HEADLINES

PETITION AGAINST INDIAN POLITICIAN: MODI NOT WANTED (OCT 8, 2009, XPRESS4ME.COM)

Thousands of Indian Muslims, including many from the Middle East, have petitioned the Oman government to rescind its invitation to controversial politician Narendra Modi. Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat for eight years and a leading member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Modi, 59, came into the limelight following accusations of complicity in the communal violence that swept Gujarat in 2002. The rioting claimed over 2,000 lives, the majority of whom were Muslims, and rendered countless others homeless.

News of Modi leading a business delegation to Oman later this year has raised the hackles of Indian Muslims in the region. Already, 5,646 have signed an online petition to stall his visit and the numbers are steadily rising.

Addressed to the Oman Ambassador in New Delhi, the petition traces Modi’s alleged track record against minorities and urges Oman to reconsider the invitation as a "mark of respect for humane values enshrined in all religions and the declaration of universal human rights under the UN Charter".

http://www.xpress4me.com/articles/09/10/08/20015205.html

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IN DELLA, MUSLIMS ACCUSE COPS OF ASSAULTING WOMEN, KIDS (OCT 8, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)

The Mehsana district police have been accused of barging into Muslim households at Della village and assaulting women and children. More than 33 women and children, who had sustained injuries in the alleged incident, were brought to the V S Hospital for treatment here on Wednesday. Senior police officers, however, rubbished the allegations. They said the victims were injured when the police resorted to a mild baton charge to contain a riot between the members of Muslim and Bharward communities on Monday afternoon.

According to the case details, some local Muslims were at loggerheads with Bharwad families over the latter’s cattle grazing in their fields. A complaint in this regard was filed with the Bavlu police station on October 1, based on which the police arrested five Bharwads. A day later, the two communities reached a compromise, the police said. However, three days later a major fight ensued between the two communities over the same issue, in which Muslims allegedly pelted stones at the Bharwards.

On learning about the incident, the Mehsna police reached the spot and resorted to baton charge to contain the situation. "Some people sustained minor injuries in the lathi charge," said Mehsana Superintendent of Police Raju Bhargav. He said a complaint of rioting was lodged with the Bavlu police station and 52 people were booked in this regard. "We conducted a combing operation in the night and arrested 22 people," he added.

The victims, however, allege that the police assaulted them with riffle butts and batons. "Ten policemen barged into my house and started assaulting me as my husband was not there. They made obscene gestures at me," said Hazrabanu, one of the victims. Another victim, Amina Qureshi (70), said, "Policemen came and beat me and my daughter-in-law on our private parts. I cannot even tell you the kind of language they used to address us." Denying this, Bhargav said: "I was there till 10 am on Tuesday and not a single incident of this nature took place. They are levelling baseless allegations because we have arrested their family members for rioting."

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526561/

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CONCERN OVER DESPAIR,FEAR AMONG MUSLIMS (OCT 6, 2009, THE HINDU)

Of the several fears that haunt Indian Muslims today, the worry of being "picked up" by the law enforcement agencies is the most compelling. At the end of a three-day national conference in the Capital on Monday on the status of Muslims in contemporary India, community representatives from across the country voiced fear and despair as their immediate concerns. Victims who have either been accused of being involved in terror activities or have relatives behind bars for alleged involvement in acts of terror shared their experiences before a panel of eminent people who have now come up with a set of 12 recommendations.

Referring to the feeling of "despair and fear" among the Muslims, former bureaucrat Harsh Mander who was also a panellist said Muslims feel let down by the police and the judiciary in particular and by the media and the political parties to some extent as well. He said the ongoing war on terror has emerged as a pattern that can be seen not just in Gujarat but in several other States as well: "Muslim youths with no criminal records are picked up illegally by policemen in plain clothes, taken to farmhouse, etc., and kept for days on end and tortured brutally."

Taking note of the feeling of discrimination felt by Muslims in various spheres, the recommendations put forth by the panel suggest a high-power judicial commission headed by a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appointed to examine all cases of terror across the country. "Those that seem doubtful or fabricated should be handed over to a special investigation team. It should complete its task in a year so that prolonged detention of persons against whom there is little convincing evidence is not prolonged," the panel recommended. Prosecution of police officers who have tampered with evidence in cases which can result in capital punishment, compensation for victims who were detained but found innocent, a concerted drive to recruit in larger number Muslims to all levels of the police, civil administration and judiciary have also been recommended.

The jury members after studying the submissions, which include complaints like discrimination in matters of renting houses in non-Muslim dominated areas, prejudices and biases of public institutions against Muslims and reinforcing stereotypes by the media, also recommended enactment of a Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill with changes suggested by the civil society groups. "Strong action should be taken under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code against organisations which indulge in hate campaigns and communal propaganda. The requirement of prior sanction of the State government before a complaint is registered under this Act should be waived," the panel recommended.

The panel has also proposed a law against communal discrimination on the lines of the SC/ST Act to recognise specific crimes of discrimination against minorities and punish these severely. "The Prime Minister should nominate a 10-member committee to undertake a nationwide campaign against communalisation of society, akin to the literacy campaign and temple entry campaigns of the past. This committee should also study and document these social processes of structural discrimination, some of which came to light in the national meet," it recommended. Pointing out that the Indian society at present is not truly secular, film-maker Mahesh Bhatt, who was also on the jury, said there is an immediate need to "implement an anti-discrimination law".

http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/06/stories/2009100657170400.htm

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JAMAAT FOR SPEEDY TRIAL OF MUSLIMS HELD ON EXTREMISM CHARGES (OCT 9, 2009, HINDUSTAN TIMES)

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in Maharashtra wants speedy trial of Muslim youths arrested on charges of terrorism so that if found innocent their formative years are not spoiled. "It would be very illogical to say that all Muslim youths arrested in different cases are innocent, but speedy trial will ensure that their formative years are not wasted in jails if they are found innocent at the end of the trial," Javed Mukarram, President, Aurangabad unit of Jamaat-e-Islami said.

A 13-point charter of demands of Jamaat for Assembly polls, which it has named People’s Manifesto, has a mention about speedy trials of Muslim youths arrested in the name of terrorism. To a question, he said Jamaat will demand government to rehabilitate those Muslim youths found innocent in severe kind of cases after lengthy trials.

He, however, said how they should be rehabilitated need to be deliberated before approaching government. "Punish them (Muslim youths) if they are found guilty, but take speedy trials," Jamaat-e-Islaami, Maharashtra unit’s spokesperson Aslam Ghazi said. "Who will compensate for their formative years, if they are found innocent in terrorism cases after 14 or 15 years," he said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/463117.aspx

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ISHRAT ENCOUNTER: LAW MINISTRY PLANS TO STRENGTHEN LITIGATION WING (OCT 12, 2009, INDIAN EXPRESS)

Embarrassed by the controversy surrounding its affidavit in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, the government has decided to strengthen the litigation wing, including possible appointment of a special secretary in the Law Ministry. "Several litigations are filed against the government. The government too files various affidavits through its law officers

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