COMMUNAL VIOLENCE
Secular Organizations’ Joint Memorandum to Government of India on Restoration of the Srikrishna Commission
The action of the SS-BJP ruled Maharashtra government in scrapping the Justice Srikrishna Commission investigating the carnages of December 1991 January, 1993 reveals a scant respect for the rule of law and a direct admission of its guilt. Above all, the action shows moral cowardice why else are the politicians who rule Maharashtra afraid of their actions being scrutinized in a court of law?
For a week in December 1992 and ten days in January 1993, a moral and physical collapse in the city's governance and law and order machinery had shattered the average citizen's faith in the system. Local leaders of the Shiv Sena (and in many cases even the RSS and the P) instigated by their leader, had led marauding mobs, arson, rape and kill in targeted basis.
Worse than the violence itself, was the brazen complicity and bias displayed in the conduct of the Bombay police. In the December 1992 round of violence, their trigger-happy conduct had killed over 300 persons. Their refusal to intervene while rampaging mobs did their funds in January in some case even actively participation in the violence had forced senior respected citizens to appeal to the President of India to send in the army The streets of Bombay, in the words of an eminent jurist, resembled the streets of Nazi Germany.
In response to the city and nationwide outcry against the carnage, and to re-establish the people's faith in the system the then Congress-ruled Maharashtra government had then been compelled to set up a judicial commission of Enquiry
Disbanding this Commission a few months before its report would have been made public robs the public of a legally authenticated document with prima facie evidence against the instigators of the violence. The People's verdict a correspondence report compared by Justices SM. Dawood and Justice Hosbet Suresh (two retired judges of the Bombay High Court had after recording evidence of over 2,000 persons indicted 81 police. officials and a few hundred others).
Many of the findings of this document had been re- affirmed during the examination of witnesses before the Srikrishna Commission. Deposition of members of the public and police severely indicated Shiv Sainiks (two of the rank of MLA) and officials of the Bombay Police. Eighteen police officials had been served notices by the Judge establishing that a prima facie case had been made out against them.
The decision to wind up the commission is also part of a wider design of the RSS and other wines of the Sangh parivar to manipulate public memory and distort the real sequence of events: the mobilization for the kar seva, the ghantan and ceremonies in many temples of the city hours before the demolition, the demolition of the Babari Masjid, the December riots, the launching of the Mahaartis on December 26, 1992, the January riots. (police complicity in this entire period) and finally, the bomb blasts.
The mainline media, by dropping regular coverage of the commission's proceedings and concentrating solely on the coverage of the bomb blast unfortunately fell in line with this design: to only remind the people of Bombay and India of the bomb blasts while conveniently burying the realities behind the Kar seva mobilization and the riots from public memory.
Many times, in the past three years when human rights groups have demanded PUNISHMENT FOR THE GUILTY, the police have sought protection from prosecuting their officials on grounds that the proceedings of the Enquiry Commission were on. Criminal prosecutions against rioters, murderers and rapists, too have not been lodged on the same grounds. Scrapping the judicial enquiry into the carnage of 1992- 93 today is nothing short of a design to subvert the due process of law and to shield the guilty. It is, in fact, an undermining of the democratic process itself and bodes ill for the future of democracy in Maharashtra and the country.
Our Demands:
● Reinstate the Srikrishna Commission.
● Preserve evidence with the High Court to prevent it being destroyed.
● Launch criminal prosecutions against the guilty: Members of the public (politicians) and police. Punish the guilty and re-affirm people's faith in the rule of law and democracy.
Communalism Combat Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal
PUCL Nirbhay Bane Andolan
Bombay Aman Committee CPDR
Ekta, Majlis Nari Kendra
Entre for the Study of Society Secularism
On Religion and Fanaticism
It is the democracy of India that democratized the religion. It has liberated the religion from the dogmas and fanaticism. It is the democracy and democratic values which allowed the sprouting of different religions from within a religion. Its democratic values imbibed in the minds of Indian which allowed the pro-creation of religion and sects (sic) from within the religion. It is the peer lessness of Indian religiously (sic) that in the minds of Indians that the imported religious (sic) like Mohammadanism (sic) and Christianity have also developed in the Indian way."
-Chief Justice, Delhi High Court, M.J. Rao
Citizen's Committee Memorandum to Government of Maharashtra for Restoration of Srikrishna Commission
New Delhi, 29 February, 1996
The Shiv Sena-BJP Government in Maharashtra suddenly scuttled the Srikrishna Commission probing the Bombay riots on January 24, 1996. This is a grave attack on our secular values and democratic institutions; and. makes a mockery of the rule of law. The Commission was scuttled as it was closing in on the guilty leaders and party workers of the ruling-combine. With this the process of identifying and punishing the guilty has received a serious setback.
The independent People's Tribunal findings and newspaper reports on the Bombay riots of December 1992 and January 1993 have clearly established the direct involvement of the Shiv Sena cadres and Sangh Parivar in inciting and organizing the riots. The role of the police and the administration during the riots was also blatantly partisan. The then Congress Government cannot be absolved of its complicity.
The Bombay riots had left a gruesome tally: 872 killed, 1829 injured and 443 missing- all official figures However, the unofficial estimate is much more and the value of property destroyed in about Rs. 1200 crores. The Muslim community which bore the major burnt of the riots was left with a gnawing sense of insecurity.
The Srikrishna Commission had been appointed on January 25, 1993 with a clear and comprehensive mandate first, to find out not only the reasons for the riots but also whether an individual or group of individuals or any other organization was behind the outrage, secondly, to inquire whether steps taken by the police to prevent the riots, and once they had broken out, to combat them, were right and proper; and thirdly, to recommend the short-term and long-term measures for the restoration of peace and harmony.
From the beginning attempts were made by administration to hinder the work of the Srikrishna Commission. Soon after the Shiv Sena-BJP combine came to power it enlarged the scope of the enquiry to cover the "Bombay Blast", This was one more deliberate attempt to delay the main probe.
The Commission was scrapped when it was about to complete its task. Evidence from only nine out of 32 police stations remained to be collected.
Therefore, the Citizen's Committee for Restoration of Srikrishna Commission urges you to immediately restore the Srikrishna Commission of Enquiry.
We are hopeful that you will consider our demand.
CPI: On Termination of Srikrishna Commission
The Central Secretariat strongly condemns the decision of the Shiv Sena-BJP government of Maharashtra to dissolve the Srikrishna commission which is so close to complete its inquiry.
Many secular and democratic-minded individuals like advocate Nilofer Bhagwas, representing CPI, helped the commission in its work. It brought out startling facts about the collusion of police and the administration with communalists.
It was a known fact that the Shiv Sena played havoc in the communal holocaust. Above all, Shiv Sena let loose a reign of terror, widened the gulf between Hindus and Muslims, and posed threat to the secular-democratic set-up of the country.
It was evident that the Shiv Sena and BJP instigated the communal strife, keeping an eye on political power The decision to scrap the commission shows that they are afraid of the findings of the commission.
More than this, it shows their utter contempt for judicial and parliamentary democratic institutions. This must not be tolerated. The guilty cannot be allowed to go scot-free.
The CPI demands in at the inquiry commission should be revived. Despite the decision of the Maharashtra government, the commission should place all facts before the nation to expose the vile and divisive- communal designs of BJP-Shiv Sena combine and immediately restore the Srikrishna Commission of Enquiry.
Citizens for Democracy People's Rights Organisation
PUCL PUDR
Gandhi Peace Foundation Working Group on
Alternative Nagrik, Adhikar Andolan
Strategies
Forum for Democracy and All India Lawyers Union
Communal Amity Bandhua Mukti Morcha
AIDYO Centre of Concern for Child
Sikh Forum Labour
INSAF Citizens for Nationa
ABVA Consensus
Radical Humanist Assn Manav Ekta Bahiyan
V.M. Tarkunde. AICCTU and others
Rabi Ray, MP Rajinder Sachar
Ram Vilas Paswan MP S. Shahabuddin, MP
A.B. Bardhan Malini Bhattacharya, MP
J.S. Arora, ex-MP Shafi Monis
Swami Agnivesh Kuldip Nayar
PUDR's Report: Recalling Bhagalpur
Victims of the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, in which 982 people were killed, have little hope of securing justice...
The People's Union for Democratic Rights has harmed the Bihar C.M. for putting in cold storage the rit probe panel's strong indictments against the administration and police officers.
The Bihar government has 'deliberately' failed to table the Memorandum of Action Taken, PUDR secretary Suresh Vaid alleged, despite C.M.'s statement on the floor of the assembly that no one indicted by the majority of the three-member commission would be spared. "My government will ensure severest punishment within three months... those found guilty of aiding and abetting the worst ever riot in Bihar," the chief minister had stated.
In its report titled "Recalling Bhagalpur", the PUDR said 11 months had passed since the probe commission submitted its two contradictory reports.
The PUDR has demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation be handed over the cases closed by the police, and a high court judge appointed to look into the large number of acquittals.
Criticizing the Bihar government's tardy action the PUDR has asked Yadav to come clean on why criminal cases had not been instituted against the officials indicted by the panel.
The PUDR has highlighted the fraudulent usurpation of farmland and the homes of certain people by a conniving nexus, which was one of the prime factors which sparked riots in the country.
The prosecution figures compiled from the annexures to the Bhagalpur Riot Enquiry Commission record uproots the PUDR report are as follows: -
Just one case of conviction out of 406 murders accused, of 1,392 prosecuted on various charges. Trial is on against 961 accused, of whom 311 face murder charges. Acquittals total 381, including 94 murders accused.
The families of 628 killed in Bhagalpur during the October-November, 1989 riots have no hopes of redressal as there is no FIR recording these killings as heing crime-related.
In 416 FIRs, police could not find any accused. Cases closed for 119 killings.
Six years later, 87 cases against 921 accused are still pending.
Of the 55 cases decided, 11 have ended in convictions in which 50 people have been awarded punishment.
(Source: The Sunday Observer, 11 February, 1996)
When did I say that I am going to have an alliance with the Congress?
-Farooq Abdullah, NC Leader
UN Research Project on Socio-Economic Status of Various Groups including Minorities
UN agencies in India, especially the UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA together, have taken a pioneering step by funding a large research project focusing on human development parameters based on social, research, for the first time in independent India, will occupational, income and land size classifications. This provides estimates on levels and differentials on education, health and demography and material well- being parameters according to religion and notified caste groups. This research has the following broad aims:
(a) to identify the vulnerable, the depressed, the poor and the most needy.
(b)to help formulate policies and programmes and target them to the most needy: and
(c) to monitor the sustainability of the gains of development in terms of human development over a longer period of time.
Since formulation of a human development profile for India and its various states is the purpose, it has been achieved by resorting to multiple methods. The methods chosen are
(a) are review of secondary data at the level of the district and state;
(b) a representative sample survey at the level of the state and all India, and
(c) village studies highlighting the role of qualitative dimensions, such as social structures, culture and public programmes in human development.
The primary data were collected during January-June 1994 from about 33,000 rural and 5,000 urban households. A stratified representative sample frame using social (religion and caste) and occupational groups was drawn from about 1,700 villages spread over 198 districts in 16 major Indian states. The results are representative at the level of states and all India.
Some of the population groups considered in this analysis are SCs, STs, minorities, landless and manual laborers, marginal and small farmers, female-headed households, slum-dwellers, women, children and so on. A detailed village and community profile for each village surveyed provides institutional and community level data much needed for formulating robust analytical models for multivariate analysis. An analytical report is under preparation which will be ready for circulation during the second half of 1996.
[Those interested may write to Dr. Abusaleh Sharief, Principal Economist, National Council of Applied Economic Research, Parishila Bhawan, II. IP Estate. New Delhi 110 002-Editor]
(Source: The Ecunsanic and Political Weekly)
