[The complete text of the subject (English) letter is reproduced at sl. no. II below.]
I/II. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/kerala-open-letter-communal-violence-india-politics/1/966660.html Kerala man's open letter to fellow Indians addressing issue of communal violence goes viral In Kerala's Nilambur area, a man with criminal records was arrested for vandalising a temple and trying to cause communal violence. After the details of the incident came out, a Reddit user wrote an "open letter to all Indians from Kerala". IndiaToday.in | Written by Sanjana Agnihotri New Delhi, May 30, 2017 | UPDATED 10:38 IS In Kerala's Nilambur area, a man with criminal records was arrested for vandalising a temple and trying to cause communal violence. After the details of the incident came out, a Reddit user wrote an "open letter to all Indians from Kerala". ***The man behind the attack, identified as Mohanakumar S S, confessed to vandalising the temple and idols and was booked under IPC Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion) and Section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class). A Deccan Chronicle report said that he hailed from Kilimanoor in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram.*** [Emphasis added.] Also read: Metro for Hindustanis: Delhi youngsters insult senior citizen who requested for seat, ask him to go to Pakistan "The doors of the main sanctum and the idols inside were found broken. This was almost immediately followed by a hartal by Hindu Aikya Vedi", the Reddit user wrote in the open letter. The user also claimed that there was a social media campaign "urging Hindus to be ready to open refugee camps across southern districts of Kerala". According to the open letter, there were rumors of "possible Muslim involvement". Also read: Communal violence on surge in BJP-led states: MHA data However, none of that happened because the Kerala Police department caught the perpetrator within 24 hours. The user goes on to talk about how lies are spread to create differences between people of different religions. The accused had claimed that he attacked the temple to protest against bad customs in the Hindu religion. Also read: Modi government fueling religious tensions in India, says Amnesty report But the user pointed out, the smear campaigns being plot and how there is a need to "resist fascism". Read the full post here : [Facsimile] II. https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/6e0tqp/an_open_letter_to_all_indians_from_kerala/ An open letter to all Indians from Kerala (self.india) submitted 3 days ago by LondonCapital Dear all, Yesterday something happened in our state, to be precise, the very next day after the "cattle ban for slaughter " and the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. A temple was found desecrated on Saturday near Nilambur (District of Malappuram) . The doors of the main sanctum and the idols inside were found broken. This was almost immediately followed by a hartal by Hindu Aikya Vedi. The protesters tried to block the way of Shri. Aryadan Muhammed , former Congress MLA and former minister of electricity who was there to visit the place. Next was the commencement of a direct and a social media campaign urging Hindus to be ready to open refugee camps across southern districts of Kerala. There were rumors of possible Muslim involvement. But fortunately nothing happened according to the plan of the instigators. This was due to a timely intervention of the Kerala Police department who caught the perpetrator within 24 hours. The accused is Rajaram Mohandas, a Trivandrum resident. According to him, he did this to protest against bad customs in the Hindu religion. Not a believable story at all. Someone traveled more than 350 kms just to protest against bad customs. He just by co-incidence chose the district with the largest Muslim population. The beginning of Ramadan is another co-incidence, cattle ban law is yet another one.. A series of unfortunate co-incidences. You get the idea, don't you? The timely action of our police is really commendable. Equally appreciated is the maturity and composure shown by the Hindu brothers and sisters of Malappuram who did not jump to conclusions based on rumors and cooked up stories. Unfortunately, this is not the first incident of its kind. Cooked up stories have become the cause or have sparked major riots. You can find numerous examples of similar incidents all across the country. Here is a small example... Prior to the Gujarat riots, a local newspaper reported an incident, a story about how the bodies of two Hindu women were found on the banks of a river. Two days later the newspaper disawowed the story in a small column in a not so noticable place. But the damage was done. It fueled cruelty towards women during the ensuing riots But incidents like this are new to us. We are not familiar with the purposeful spreading of lies to create a split among people of different religions and to benefit from it politically and financially. So it is both shocking and sad to say that the gap between these kinds of incidents is becoming shorter. What they are trying to do is obvious to us. Willfully spreading false information among the people - depicting different districts of Kerala as "Pakistan" and "China" of Kerala, the state president of BJP openly lying on Twitter, spreading misinformation about the population of Kerala and the real estate business in Malappuram etc are different acts in this big political drama. To add to this, there is also a smear campaign going on against the state of Kerala itself. If anybody feels that nothing of this sort will happen, if some innocent souls remain doubtful, let me ask them something. Four years back, did anyone think that one fine morning, all 1000 & 500 currency notes would become useless and the whole country would be asked to stand in a "queue" to show patriotism? By the way, did anyone know about the 'actual' loss and/ or gains of demonetization? You might remember the first man attacked and killed in the name of "beef". You might not remember those who were killed after because these incidents have lost their news value. Cows were here long before we got our freedom and they have been here for almost 69 years after. And nothing of this kind has happened ever before. If this now has become normal for you my friend... Did anyone imagine in their wildest dreams that the list of the names of students and writers who have disappeared would become this long? The answer is obvious... All these plans are to create insecurity in the minds of the majority. The majority should feel insecure, that they are denied justice, and that they will be overpowered and outnumbered by the minority in the immediate future. Then they will enter the scene as the heroes to save the "majority in distress" Fortunately Kerala was able to avoid a communal riot. But the state saw a new kind of politics. Politics of lies. Politics trying to create split and violence to gain power and to be in power. We are thankful to the people of Kerala and the efficient police department for keeping the peace and unity of Kerala even after repeated attempts to disrupt this harmony. Is there any way to avoid the obvious? Answer is yes. And it is very simple too. Do not jump to conclusions. If someone says that "Hindus are not allowed to venture out to the Attingal sea", first ask is it true or at least ask does Attingal have a sea or a beach or at least a lagoon. If someone poses as your savior or of your religion, first think who will have the ultimate gain. You or him? If a leader tells you to go and kill someone for Hindutva/ Christianity/ Islam, first think is it for him or for the betterment of "said religion". We are educated for a reason. Ask for the source of facts and figures. Try to understand the truth. Most importantly, build and nourish relationships. No one - neither some leader in Delhi nor the Lok Sabha or anywhere else can replace your immediate neighbor in the time of need. At least share a smile. Say a 'Hi'. Little things like these build bonds. Only that can resist fascism. These are bad times. If we need a better India, we must be vigilant. Be warned, these incidents will keep on happening.. Thank you. Love and Regards, >From Kerala Dr Nelson Joseph [Also read the cooments below on the original website.] -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
