Minutes of the AISF Meeting, Bhopal 15th June 2010
· Hardeniyaji opened the meeting with welcoming everyone to the meet by describing the current situation in the country which is fraught with communalism, regionalism, naxalism, violence and gross violation of human rights. He expressed the need to promote secular values in order to protect the rights of the minorities in India. · Irfan Engineer then briefly highlighted the activities of the AISF and explained the nature of the Forum. He drew parallels in the instances of violence perpetuated in India against its minorities especially the women, to that carried out in Bosnia and Rwanda. He shed light on the discussions and deliberations undertaken by the AISF on the Communal Violence Bill. · He further spoke about discrimination faced by the Christians in Odisha and the people’s tribunal established there. Similarly, in Assam, Muslims coming from West Bengal are being denied their citizenship rights by asking them to enroll with the National Registration. The applications of the Muslims are not accepted under the pretext that they can be Bangladeshi migrants. This is also the case in Chhattisgarh where the police are arresting innocent citizens especially dalits and tribals, and activists under the operation Green hunt by declaring them naxals. · He informed the participants of the Sadbhavana Yatra that’s going to take place from Ayodhya to Wardha between 2nd to 11th October this year. He explained the rationale behind the yatra and asked for active participation. · Ram Puniyani explained the violation of human rights in the context of communalism where Muslims are targeted and labeled as terrorists. Likewise, the Christians are targeted because they are believed to be converting Hindus to Christianity. He said that the world over and particularly in India, minorities and vulnerable groups are oppressed. Imperialism and identity politics are marginalizing these groups further. · He also cited the trend that communal violence consolidates the regime of communal parties in the state. The example of this is BJP. The BJP regime also saw saffronization of textbooks and education in a fascist manner. · He focused on ghettoisation and the subsequent denial of citizenship and human rights to the minorities who reside in these ghettos since water, electricity and sanitation is unavailable to them. · Next, Mr Damle pointed out to the constitutional provisions and particularly the Atrocities act which is in place to protect the rights of dalits in the State. However these provisions are rendered useless when the police refuse to file an FIR under the act and also by the mistreatment of the dalits by the judiciary. · The Atrocities act is not invoked. Instead a less severe charge under the IPC is filed to protect the perpetrators of violence against the dalits. No attention is paid by the judiciary to the matter of witnesses turning hostile in courts which weakens the case of the dalits, eventually denying them criminal justice. · He also highlighted the injustice carried out against the tribals and dalits in naxal affected areas where the state is trying to grab the land for mining. · Father Anand described the activities and the vision of the Harmony Foundation. · Haroon from Sagar pointed out at the attacks in Rahatgad where he believes that the RSS, BJP, Bajrang Dal and Shivsena get complicit support from the state to openly attack the minorities in the market. He said that Muslims are threatened in Sagar Zilla where arbitrary arrests are rampant. There is also a trend of ghettoisation since there is a policy in sagar to not sell or rent out properties to Muslims. · He suggested that since the state takes no efforts to improve the education standard of the Muslims and development in the era of globalization, the Muslim community and the dalit community should join hands and have schools and emergency mobile vans. · Jayant Verma from Jabalpur condemned the action of the Chhattisgarh government which is making arbitrarily arrests to persecute dalit and tribal activists as naxals. He also linked the operation Green Hunt to the politics of minerals. · Upasana described the activities of her organization which primarily works with schools and have poster amking sessions on communal harmony, culture and freedom struggle. They are also involved in providing literature and screening films. They are also trying to reach out to colleges and make their organization a center for literature and information. · Pradeep Singh focused on the dalits who are exploited by the upper castes for their labour especially on the fields. However, they are meted inhumane treatment when they are not allowed to reside in the main city and village and made to reside on the outskirts of the city where no civic amenities are available. He said that their identity as citizens should be established. · Dr. Hassan suggested that Bhopal be declared as a city of Peace since Bhopal is has a history of peace. He stressed upon the need for intervention in the community in the areas of health and education and also the implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations. He suggested the formations of peace circles in communities for dialogue to encourage nationalism. · Mr.Manu from Jabalpur reiterated that the government officials don’t fulfill their constitutional duties. Thus there is a need for the civil society to intervene through culture for the promotion of peace and harmony. · Ravi stressed on the importance of the role played by the youth in peace building. He believes that God has created everyone as equal but the fundamentalists in all religious communities mislead their youth to perpetuate hatred and violence. · Panchilal Mehra, MLA expressed appreciation towards the activities carried out by the AISF. He laid emphasis on the promotion of unity, fraternity and integrity and denounced communalism. He termed the operation Green Hunt as a tool for the violation of human rights along with the attempt of the State to bring MCOCA to Madhya Pradesh. · Zulaikha explained the situation of the women and the peace activists in the state of Chhattisgarh where rapes by cobras, violence against women and arbitrary arrests are common. The state government is trying to oppress the voice of the civil society by laying restrictions on the media and conducting meetings. Also the Muslims are targeted on the issue of cow slaughter or sale of cows. Thus she passed a resolution condemning the action of the government and the operation Green hunt. Suggestions and the way ahead: · Hardeniyaji stressed on the need to inform the authorities and the bureaucracy of any instance of injustice or gaps in governance. Also using the media and writing in the media is effective. Better organization and follow is an area that needs more work. · He also suggested preparing a calendar marked by events for the promotion of peace and harmony and be sent to schools and colleges and follow up done. · He encourages practices of fact finding and visiting conflict ridden areas. · Ram suggested writing blogs and making available literature promoting secularism and peace · He suggested the involvement of youth from schools and colleges. Awareness must be spread in schools, colleges and communities. · Every state must have a unit which is active and reacts to the happenings in that state. Along with a cell of lawyers can be formed. · Documentation of local history and legends which are secular must be undertaken. · Peace centers can be formed which will be active in screening of films, having literature and conducting peace activities. Nehru Yuva Kendras and NSS can be used for the same. · Zulaikha suggested identification of zillas where SHGs are active so that the help of the women can be sought to have a mass movement and spreading awareness. · She wanted to explore the option of writing to the concerned authorities about putting an end to the slogan shouting at the wagah border which increases animosity between the two countries. · Jayant believed that targeting guides at tourist places who promote the history of the country can believe in narrating a more secular history. · Formation of a State unit for Madhya Pradesh · A Bhopal forum was constituted. Neha Project Coordinator, Institute for Peace studies and Conflict resolution -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. 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