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>From SANSAD
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2007
Re.: Professor Shivji Panikkar's mistreatment by the Sangh Parivar and the
Gujarat Government's
inaction
***************************************
Press Contacts:
George Abraham: +1-917-544-4137
Dr. Hari Sharma: +1-604-420-2972
Saeed Patel: +1-201-315-2874
***************************************
We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the continued targeting of Professor
Shivji Panikkar of
Maharaja Sayajirao University, and his allies. The Sangh Parivar's actions
constitute an attack on
civil liberties and academic freedom, and violate the right to freedom of
movement and the right
to freedom of information.
The Sangh Parivar attacked and disrupted the 'National Student's Festival for
Peace Communal
Harmony and Justice' on July 6, 2007. The organizers at Anhad, Act Now for
Harmony and Democracy,
had invited Professor Shivji Panikkar to inaugurate an exhibition of student
artworks. On his
arrival, a Hindutva (Hindu nationalist/extremist) mob surrounded Professor
Panikkar's car,
shouting slogans. When Professor Panikkar stepped out of the car, he was
physically assaulted. The
mob proceeded to throw bricks and an iron drum at the car, injuring the driver
and smashing the
windshield. Police intelligence, it has been made known, was involved and
informed the crowd of
the arrival of uniformed police, which allowed the mob to disperse.
On July 8, Deepak Kanna, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao
University
resigned in protest of the attack on Professor Panikkar. The Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has
called for Professor Panikkar's exile from Gujarat, and the Akhil Bharthiya
Vidyarthi Parishad
(ABVP) began a signature campaign on the Maharaja Sayajirao University campus
on July 11 in
protest of Professor Panikkar's alleged comments on Hindu bhajans (devotional
songs).
Earlier this year, on May 11, 2007, Shivji Panikkar, Dean of the Faculty of
Fine Arts at Maharaja
Sayajirao University, was suspended by the university administration from his
appointment, for
upholding a student's academic right to freedom of expression. Sangh Parivar
groups had attacked
student Chandra Mohan's works, displayed as part of an examination procedure,
and had the artist
arrested on May 9, 2007. Other students protested Chandra Mohan's arrest by
exhibiting erotic
works from the school's archives on the faculty porch, which the administration
ordered to be shut
down, which Professor Panikkar refused. The attacks against them had forced
both Professor
Panikkar and Chandra Mohan into seclusion out of fear for their lives.
We also condemn that such targeting has become indicative of the culture of
fear and repression
that is allowed to continue in Gujarat, where, following the genocide against
Muslims in
February-March of 2002, insufficient and negligent action has been taken to
bring restorative
justice to the survivors of the brutal, gendered and sexualized, violence.
Failure to apprehend
and bring to trial the perpetrators of criminal acts on the part of the Gujarat
state
administration has continued to subject minority and disenfranchised
communities to a reign of
terror. These acts of violence and repression are produced in particular by the
complicity of
state and national governments. The Government of India has failed to restore
democracy by holding
accountable the perpetrators, including the Chief Minister Narendra Modi and
other government and
law enforcement officials for the state's proven complicity in aiding and
abetting the violence of
2002. The Government of India has also failed to hold accountable the
perpetrators among the cadre
of Sangh Parivar groups for inflicting the violence, and, as applicable,
refused to revoke their
charitable status.
OUR DEMANDS:
o We call for an immediate inquiry into the events that targeted Professor
Shivji Panikkar.
o We demand that the as yet outstanding case against Chandra Mohan be
dismissed.
o We ask that suitable action be taken against the perpetrators.
o We demand that the police take official cognizance of the documentation
produced by ANHAD,
Act Now for Democracy and Harmony, regarding the identity of the perpetrators,
rather than
restricting its actions to filing a First Information Report (FIR) against
unknown assailants.
o We call for the restoration of Professor Panikkar's appointment.
o We call for the restoration of law and order, and academic freedom, on
the Maharaja
Sayajirao University campus. In this regard, we demand accountability from the
Vice-Chancellor of
Maharaja Sayajirao University, Manoj Saini, who has direct responsibility for
maintaining academic
freedom on campus.
o We call for an independent inquiry into the activities of Sangh Parivar
organizations that
are involved in this case, such as the Akhil Bharthiya Vidyarthi Parishad,
Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh, and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
o We call for an independent and impartial judicial enquiry into the
government's repeated
inability or refusal to maintain law and order.
SIGNATORIES:
Organizations:
1. GMAA, Gujarati Muslim Association of America
2. AIM, Association of Indian Muslims of America
3. CSDI, Coalition for a Secular and Democratic India
4. CSFH, Campaign To Stop Funding Hate
5. Dharma Megha
6. Educational Subscription Service
7. FIACONA, Federation of Indian American Organizations of North America
8. Friends of South Asia
9. India Development Society
10. India Foundation
11. IACP, Indian American Coalition for Pluralism
12. ICF, Indian Christian Forum
13. Indian Muslim Council-USA
14. IMEFNA, Indian Muslim Education Foundation of North America
International Service Society
15. INSAF, International South Asia Forum Bulletin
16. Non-Resident Indians Coalition for Justice
17. Non-Resident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India
18. SANSAD, South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy
19. Seva International
20. Supporters of Human Rights in India
21. Vaishnava Center for Enlightenment
22. Vedanata Society of East Lansing
23. Washington Watch
Individuals:
(Note: Organizational affiliations for individuals are listed for
identification purposes only)
1. George Abraham
2. Rasheed Ahmed
3. Dr. Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor, Anthropology, California
Institute of
Integral Studies
4. Rebecca Kurian
5. Dr. Khursheed Mallick
6. Saeed Patel, Non-Resident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India
7. Devesh Poddar, Director, Washington Watch Incorporated, East Lansing,
Michigan
8. Mayurika Poddar, Director, India Foundation of Michigan
9. Shrikumar Poddar, President, Vaishnava Center for Enlightenment, Okemos,
Michigan
10. Raju Rajagopal
11. Dr. K. S. Sripada Raju, Director, International Service Society, East
Lansing, Michigan
12. Dr. Hari Sharma, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Simon Fraser University
13. Amin Tejani, President, Shanti International, East Lansing, Michigan
14. Dr. Shaik Ubaid, Indian American Coalition for Pluralism
15. Sandeep Vaidya
