Secular Action Network, March 2016

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N E W S L E T T E R D A T E

SECULAR ACTION NETWORK

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

C O N T E N T S Editorial

1. CSSS News Cultural Evening on Peace and Harmony

2. JNU Episode

- - - -Why is the media not reporting Kanhaiyas’s Speech? 3. Intolerance in India

- Amnesty International Annual Report Condemns

‘growing intolerance in India’ 4. Interview -Interview with Yogendra Yadav, the distinguished social scientists and psephologist 5. Resources - What are the origins of today’s Hindu nationalism? - Hindu Unity – VD Savarkar, who coined the term Hindutva - The real classroom: Out door lectures dissect nationalism at JNU - Film on 30

th January 1948

- Communalism explained video - Celebrating the assassin of Gandhi - Kanhaiya speech in JNU after release

-------------------------------- Ph. 022-26149668, 022-26135098 E-mail: csss2work@gmail.com Editor: Ram Puniyani, ram.puniyani@gmail.com, www.pluralindia.com Advisory Board: L.S. Hardenia, Irfan Engineer, Dhirendra Panda, Mohammad Arif.

Newsletter of All India Secular Forum

Volume. 11 No.2 March 2016

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

Postal Address: CSSS, 602 & 603, New Silver Star, Santacruz (E), Mumbai: - 400 055

From the Editor’s Desk

The country witnessed the spectacle of manufacturing

‘Anti Nationalism’ into an equivalent of what Prophet is

in some countries. Shouting anti-National slogans is being

constructed as an act of blasphemy for which the storm

trooper can indulge in violence against the accused while

police and state can be the silent bystanders or

encouraging force. The attack of state-Sangh combine on

JNU is the un-foldment of the intolerant attitude on one

side and creation of another tool for demonization of

those who stand for secular-democratic values. The use of

doctored videos, the manipulation of state controlled

police and the planned attack on JNU students is

something which was never witnessed here. Even during

emergency it was the authoritarian state power which

tried to snub those against politics of ruling government.

Now the added factor of communal politics is that it can

unleash the ideologically indoctrinated mobs to physically

attack. This is what is the difference between the

authoritarian state and state controlled by communal

forces. JNU has been the citadel of progressive liberal

values and so this attack has been planned to stifle the

dissenting voices and progressive ideologies. This is akin

to many a regime which was fascist. The propaganda is at

the service of this sectarian ideology and through different

conduits the lumpen elements supported by this

communal force take up violence. The machinations in

JNU are also an attempt to divert the attention from the

issue of Rohith Vemula. The redeeming feature is the

response of majority of students-teachers in JNU. The

‘teach-ins’ started there and the meeting where Kanaiyaa

gave electrifying speech are features which are the hope for future.

Ram Puniyani (Editor)

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1. CSSS News

Cultural Evening on Peace and Harmony

A Cultural Evening to celebrate syncretic culture through song and dance towards the goal of peace, harmony and national integration was organised by Centre for Study of Society and Secularism on 20th February 2016. The annually held

cultural event was organised in collaboration with the University Department of Civics and Politics at the University of Mumbai at the Kalina campus. The event was supported by the Joan Memorial Fund. The event saw the presence of about 100 people committed to the cause of harmony. Shri. Amrendra Dhaneshwar and Smt. Neela Bhagwat, renowned classical

artists of the Gawalior Gharana, Ustad Raja Miya of the Agra Gharana and Radhika Sood Nayak performed in the first half of the event. Accompanying them was Smt. Mukta Raste on the Tabla and Shri. Sangeet Mishra on

Sarangi. Radhika Sood Nayak gave a soulful performance of Bulleh Shah’s poetry called Chall Bulleya, chall othey challiye jithay sarey anney, which says Bulleh Shah; let’s go to a place where everyone is blind. The song brought out the poets desire to go to a place where no one is better or worse than anyone else and where everybody is equal. Ustaad Raja Miya accompanied by

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Naved sang a song a Sufi composition that spoke of the Love between Ram and Sita. He also gave an additional wonderful rendition of Allah. Shri

Amrendra presented a song of the description of Allah by Sufi saints and a composition of Lord Ram playing Holi with his wife Sita. Smt. Neela Bhagat then presented a song in praise of Lord Dattatreya.

The second half of the evening was a set of five dances performed by the world well-known Odissi artist Jhelum Paranjpe along with other artists of the

Smitalay Odissi Dance School. The first performance a dance on the song Khara to Ekachi Dharma Jagala Prem Arpave, a song expounding Love as the only true religion pleasingly invigorated the audience with its message. This was followed by a solo performance on a

song in which Sal Baig the Muslim poet and devotee of Lord Jaganath asks of the Lord to rescue him. In the form of a leper Sal Baig wants to see death and makes a plea to the Lord to be rescued. The performance of Chokhamela depicted the story of

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Chokhamela a low caste man striving to seek the Lord Vitthal for which he is shunned by the upper caste. While the society shuns him, it is the Lord himself who appears to Chokhamela and his soul is content while he is left grateful and speechless. The performance brought out the message of the Love of God that shows no bias even as men are judgemental towards their fellow beings.

A delightful performance on national integration combining features of local folk dance like Lavani with Odissi which sent patriotic vibes through the audience marked the final performance of the evening. The show ended with a brief vote of appreciation and thanks by Mr. Irfan Engineer, Director at the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism.

his discourse gains legitimacy from the 'glorious past' where societal work was neatly divided according to

2. JNU Episode

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Secular Action Network, March 2016

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Secular Action Network, March 2016

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Secular Action Network, March 2016

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Secular Action Network, March 2016

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Attack on JNU http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/NewsDetail/index/1/6853/WHY-IS-THE-MEDIA-NOT-REPORTING-KANHAIYAS-SPEECH

WHY IS THE MEDIA NOT REPORTING KANHAIYA'S SPEECH? THE CITIZEN BUREAU

Sunday, February 14,2016

NEW DELHI: The mainstream media--with just a few exceptions-- is either taking sides, or pitching those opposing the charges of sedition slapped on Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar with positions taken by the Delhi Police and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. This, when the answers are contained in a speech made by Kanhaiya just before his arrest and at the venue where pro-Pakistan slogans were allegedly raised.

A video recording of Kanhaiya’s address is available all over YouTube.

As is a second video that, of course needs to be verified, a job that a cub reporter can do, portraying alleged ABVP activists from the University shouting pro-Pakistan slogans. Both these videos requiring just basic investigation by a reporter can answer the main question: is the government justified in slapping sedition charges on Kanhaiya and the other students? A job that the media, in the search for truth, is expected to do and/or at least present the evidence provided by the ‘other side’ as against the statements put out by government and police.

Significantly the video capturing the entire speech by Kanhaiya has been ignored by the media. Why? After listening to it the answer is simple: Kanhaiya Kumar’s speech refutes the charge of sedition under which he has been arrested entirely. There is not a single word in his long and passionate address that remotely suggests sedition, and is instead an assertion of the Indian Constitution and a definition of patriotism and nationalism as arising from democracy, rights and equality.

The questions a beat reporter is expected to raise and get answers to in such circumstances are basic:

1. Are charges of sedition justified? 2. What did Kanhaiya actually say? 3. Were the JNUSU students actually involved in raising pro-Pakistan slogans? 4. What has been the role of the new Vice Chancellor and the University authorities?

It is strange that in the big debate that the media has unleashed on JNU and sedition, there has been little effort to

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get the facts right. The answer to these questions can be found from the campus, the students, the teachers and the video recording of the JNUSU Presidents address. And instead of just reporting the one side of the view against the other, the job of the media is to gather the facts of the case and present these to the people.

The nation wants to know the facts, not the views of opposing sides in the news-turned-reality shows. And in traditional journalism the facts are gathered by the reporters to the best of their ability, credible and clear, and presented to the readers and viewers. Interestingly in this case the charge of sedition was slapped on Kanhaiya for raising slogans in favour of Pakistan, and against India. The video recording of his speech cuts into this claim, and presents a completely opposing picture.

The points that the young and rather brilliant orator placed before the students can roughly be summarised into the following points:

1. These (RSS/ABVP are the chelas of those who had apologised to the British.

2. Their government in Haryana changed the name of the airport from Bhagat Singh to that of a Sanghi (RSS):

3. We do not want a certificate of patriotism from the RSS;

4. For us nationalism is to fight for the rights of the 80 per cent poor of India;

5. We have full faith in this country’s Constitution, if anyone raises a finger against India’s Constitution, be it of the Sanghis or anyone else, we will not tolerate that finger;

6. But the constitution that is being taught at Jhandewala or Nagpur, we have no faith in that constitution;

7. We have no faith in caste discrimination;

8. We want to uphold the rights we have been given under the Constitution of India;

9. The ABVP claims of standing for the students will be exposed if there is a debate on the basic issues of constitutional rights;

10. (Subramanian) Swamy says jihadis live in JNU, they believe in violence; we challenge the RSS and its supporters to come and debate on this.

11. They have problems when the poor ask for their rights, when the minorities, the women ask for empowerment;

12. They have difficulty in accepting when people talk of democracy and right, when along with Lal Salaam we add the Neela Salaam, when with Marx we take the name of Ambedkar;

13. Check my phone friends, my mother and sister are being abused. They talk of bharat maata but if my mother is not

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included in their concept I do not accept it. If the poor mazdoor woman, who works to get the Rs 3000 a month that finances my family, is being abused by them how can I or anyone accept this;

14. If you have the courage say inquilab Zindabad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Ashfaqullah Khan, Ambedkar zindabad;

15. We stand with India, with the dream that Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar wrote; we stand for the dream that all get their rights to live, to food, to expression; Rohith sacrificed his life for this dream;

16. We challenge the Central government, we will not allow you to do what you did to Rohith to JNU;

17. We have to ensure justice for all, and that will come from Parliament, from the Constitution, from democracy;

18. JNUSU is against violence, against terrorism, against anti -national activity, the unidentified persons who have shouted Pakistan zindabad slogans, we condemn this completely,

19. Look at the slogans that the ABVP raises: communist kutte, afzal guru ke pillai, jihad ke bache. If the Constitution has given me the right to live, then can you call my father a dog, is that not against our rights;

20. Don’t hate these people, recognise their reality, I feel sorry for them, they raise slogans as they think that this will

get them jobs. Their desh bhakti stops at a Pakistan cricket match.

There is not a word of sedition in this speech, but actually an assertion of democracy and the Indian Constitution.

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen speaking at a meeting organised by the Editors Guild in New Delhi recently pointed out to the old draconian laws being used by the British to suppress the Indian resistance wondering why these were still in force. He said, as Indians supporting freedom and liberty:

First, we should move away from blaming the Indian Constitution for what it does not say.

Second, we should not allow colonial penal codes that impose unfreedoms to remain unchallenged.

Third, we should not tolerate the intolerance that undermines our democracy, that impoverishes the lives of many Indians, and that facilitates a culture of impunity of tormentors.

Fourth, the courts, particularly the Supreme Court, have good reason to examine comprehensively whether India is not being led seriously astray by the continuation of the rules of the Raj, which we fought so hard to end. In particular, there is need for judicial scrutiny of the use that organised tormentors make of an imagined entitlement of “not to be offended” (an alleged entitlement that does not seem to exist in this particular form in any other country).

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Fifth, if some states, under the influence of sectarian groups want to extend these unfreedoms through local legislation (for example, banning particular food), the courts surely have

to examine the compatibility of these legislation with the fundamental rights of people, including the right to speech and to personal liberties.

***

3. Intolerance in India

Amnesty International annual report condemns ‘growing intolerance’ in India | The Indian Express

Mubasshir <mubasshir.ahmed@gmail.com>: Feb 24 01:18PM +0530 http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/amnesty-annual-report-condemns-growing-intolerance-in-india/

Amnesty International annual report condemns ‘growing intolerance’ in India Amnesty International condemned ‘growing intolerance’ in India. Authorities in India failed to “prevent many incidents of religious violence” and sometimes “contributed to tensions through polarising speeches”, Amnesty International said as it condemned growing intolerance in the country in its annual report released on Wednesday. The rights body in its report for 2015-16 warned against worldwide assault of freedoms with many governments “brazenly” breaking international law, including an “intensified crackdown on key freedoms” in India. “Scores of artists, writers and scientists returned national honours in protest against what they said was a climate of growing intolerance,” the report said in reference to India. “Authorities clamped down on civil society organisations critical of official policies, and increased restrictions on foreign funding. Religious tensions

intensified, and gender and caste-based discrimination and violence remained pervasive. Censorship and attacks on freedom of expression by hardline Hindu groups grew,” it added. Aakar Patel, Executive Director of Amnesty India, said: “In 2015, India saw several backslides on human rights. The government intensified restrictions on civil society organisations…” “What is heartening is that there has been opposition to the erosion of rights. The widespread outrage around incidents of religious intolerance, a Supreme Court ruling striking down an oppressive law on free speech online, the many public protests against ill-conceived reforms to land acquisition laws – these offer hope that 2016 can be a better year for human rights in India.” Amnesty rebuked Indian authorities for “failing to prevent many incidents of religious violence, and sometimes contributing to tensions through polarising speeches and pervasive caste-based discrimination and violence”.

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“There was some progress when the lower house of Parliament passed an amendment to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, recognising new offences and requiring that special courts be established to try them, and stipulating that victims and witnesses receive protection,” it said. In reference to violence against women, it said: “Although nearly 322,000 crimes against women, including over 37,000 cases of rape, were reported in 2014, stigma and discrimination by police officials and authorities in India continued to deter women from reporting sexual violence, and most states still lacked standard operating procedures for the police to address violence against women.”

It also highlighted “restrictive foreign funding laws” being used to repress NGOs critical of the government. “In a positive move, the Supreme Court directed states to install closed-circuit television in all prisons to prevent torture and other violations, while the government stated it was considering amending the Penal Code to specifically recognise torture as a crime,” it noted. In another positive development, it lauded a historic peace framework agreement reached in Northeastern India between the government and the “influential armed group National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah faction)”. First Published on: February 24, 2016 12:02 pm

*** according to

4. Interview

1. Interview with Yogendra Yadav, the distinguished social

scientist and psephologist

BJP/RSS bringing disrepute to Indian nationalism'

'The message the government is sending out is you are not safe if your dare oppose this

regime.'

'The entire incident gives you an understanding of what happened in Germany during the

Third Reich.'

'This is jingoism and not nationalism of any kind.'

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IMAGE: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad 'activists' during a protest outside the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi, February 16, 2016. Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters

Almost ten days after alleged anti-national

slogans were raised at the Jawaharlal Nehru

University and its students union president

Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on charges of

sedition, the issue has escalated further with

lawyers attacking students and media persons on

the Patiala House court premises on Tuesday and

Wednesday.

Yogendra Yadav, left, the distinguished social

scientist and psephologist, spoke toSyed

Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com on how the raging

debate is not about Afzal Guru or Kashmir, but

about the freedom of expression.

How do you view the political scenario in

the country post the JNU incident?

What appeared to be a minor incident of a

somewhat thoughtless action by students and an

equally thoughtless reaction by the government

now appears to be something much bigger,

especially after the incident involving the chaos

and violence at the Patiala House court.

It is quite clear that this was not an accident. This

is meant to send a signal. JNU was deliberately

chosen to send a message to all the dissenters, to

all those who disagree with this regime.

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What happened at the Patiala House court on

Wednesday shows it was the same place, the

same people, the same action and the same

inaction by the police.

The entire incident gives you an understanding of

what happened in Germany during the Third

Reich.

Journalists are being beaten up inside a

court room. Can you recall a time when

such incidents have taken place in our

country?

I cannot recall anything of this kind. The fact that

it is happening for the second time within three

days right in the middle of the national capital

and that too within a judicial complex gives you

an idea that it is not a minor intransigence.

It is not an accidental overstepping by a fringe

element. The message has been sent.

And the message is no matter who you are, no

matter where you are located, if you dare oppose

this regime, you are not safe.

This is exactly the same thing which happened

during the Third Reich in Germany.

The writer Chetan Bhagat tweeted on

Tuesday that 'Modi hate' can blind you to

the point that you even tacitly support

anti-India protesters. Would you like to

comment?

I need not comment on this specifically, but the

idea that those who are supporting the right of

free expression are supporting 'India hate' is

ridiculous.

Pakistan recently punished someone who was a

Virat Kohli fan for waving the Tricolour. Anyone

in Pakistan who opposed this kind of action by

the Pakistani State is not an opponent of

Pakistan, and could be a supporter of freedom, a

supporter of sanity and a supporter of civility.

This is what we are doing.

I have said repeatedly that what happened in

JNU with the slogan shouting by a few fringe

students was thoughtless at best, mischievous at

worst. No one is supporting that. The real

question is how do we respond to that.

Does the State respond to the incident like

Pakistan, wherein the State uses its entire might

and uses draconian colonial laws?

Do you think we are entering a hyper-

nationalist phase?

I would not call it hyper-nationalism because to

call it hyper-nationalism is to grant this is

nationalism.

I do not find anything nationalist about bringing

down the reputation of the nation.

What the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak

Sangh) and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata

Party) are doing is to bring disrepute to the

great Indian tradition of nationalism.

The tradition, which had people like Rabindranth

Tagore who questioned the very idea of

nationalism, people like Mahatma Gandhi who

argued for the rights of those who are outside the

boundaries of their own nation.

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This is simple degradation. This is jingoism. This

is not nationalism of any kind.

Why is the culture of violence being

perpetrated in our society? Today, we see

goondaism in the name of nationalism.

I do not think it is society's pathology or society's

flaw. This is clearly, really, politically

orchestrated.

Those shouting anti-India slogans at JNU

were Kashmiri students. Where have we

failed as a nation in assimilating these

students into the Indian mainstream?

Kashmir is a complex issue, which we need to

discuss and debate, but what is going on in the

JNU debate is not the Kashmir question.

Incidentally, the boy was not from Kashmir. The

main accused is from Nagpur and he (Umar

Khalid) is an atheist. He has nothing to do with

Kashmir. No one cares about the facts

unfortunately.

Somewhere, we have failed to bring

Kashmiri youth into the Indian

mainstream. Where have we failed?

Undoubtedly, that is a larger question. At the

moment, the BJP and its cohorts are trying to

confuse this debate and draw you and me into a

debate on Afzal Guru and Kashmir. But this is a

debate about freedom of expression.

The debate should be about what is possible

about the law of sedition in such cases.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf / Rediff.com

****

5. Resources

http://scroll.in/article/804347/how-i-was-framed-as-a-terrorist-and-had-to-fight-the-system-for-my-innocence TERROR TACTICS

How I was framed as a terrorist and had to fight the system for my innocence

A harrowing account of arbitrary arrest, police torture, and, ultimately, exoneration.

Mohammad Aamir Khan with Nandita Haksar · Today · 08:30 am

This is a story about Aamir, an ordinary young man born in a Muslim family living in the by-lanes of

Old Delhi; a youth who dreamt of a conventional future for himself: marriage, family, a nice home and

a decent job.

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Aamir’s dreams were cut short when he was kidnapped by the police and found himself accused of

being a terrorist, planting bombs and being in league with dreaded Pakistan-based militants. And the

bizarre events led to his imprisonment which lasted nearly 14 years.

In the night I was taken to the Chanakyapuri

Police Station and put in the lock-up for the

night. I was put in along with one or two men

who had also been produced in the court along

with me. Apart from these two there were two

others who appeared to be criminals. We were

given blankets which were stinking and there

was no water in the toilet.

I wanted to speak to the other prisoners but we

were ordered to stay apart and not speak to

each other. And the criminals were also told not

to speak to us.

The next morning they took us back to the

rooms in the Inter-state Crime Cell.

It was here that the police told me that I had to

admit to being involved in bomb blasts.

They told me I had to admit to the charges and

since the case was false I would come out in a

few years. When I resisted I was beaten. I was

made to lie on my stomach and my legs and

arms were pulled together and joined in an

arch. It was very painful and my back hurt very

badly.

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Then they put a rod under the knees and sat on

my legs. Even now I have pain in my knees. They

really broke both my body and my spirit. I knew

that from now on I would have to accept

whatever they said. I even began to feel I had

done wrong by throwing the bag at the Wagah

railway station and this was a punishment I was

getting for a wrong I had committed. They told

me that if I ever wanted to meet my family

again I must accept whatever they said.

Almost every day different people came to

question me. I do not know who they were

because they did not introduce themselves.

Before they came, the police would tell me

some story about how I had planted a bomb

somewhere or the other and I was supposed to

repeat it to those people. I could not make very

much sense of what was happening.

One day I was allowed to have a bath and given

new clothes. I was taken upstairs and there I

saw my parents, accompanied by Abbu’s friend,

Chawla Saheb. I was taken into the room but

Chawla Saheb had to remain outside. Abbu was

wearing a kurta-pyjama. He just asked: “Kya

hua, beta? Yeh sab kaise hua?”

Ammi was wearing a burqa and she hugged me

and tried to press my arm to find out whether I

was okay. She burst into tears and I was terrified

that they had arrested my parents as they had

threatened to do during the interrogations.

The police had told me to tell them I was

involved in the blasts but the meeting was so

brief that there was no time; they had to leave.

They had got permission from the court to meet

me after they read in the papers that I had been

arrested in connection with the bomb blasts in

Delhi in 1997.

I could only tell them not to worry and that I

would explain everything later: “Baad mey

bataoonga, abhi sab theek hai. Aap phikr na

kare.” My parents asked permission from the

police to give me a copy of the Quran Sharif. The

police took it and said they would give it to me

but they never did. I did not have the courage to

ask them for it.

Ever since the trials began, I had wanted to tell

the judge my story but my lawyer told me I

would get an opportunity only at the end of the

trial. But the trials had finished and I had not

been given an opportunity. My lawyer did not

have time to visit me in the jail to explain what

was happening and I used to feel very

despondent.

I would lie awake at night and often cry myself

to sleep. I just saw the lights of the tower and

heard the sound of the boots of the guards and I

thought my entire life would pass within these

walls.

Someone even told me that I would die in jail.

There was a man who had become a bit mad. He

Secular Action Network, March 2016

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would bathe and soap himself with his clothes

on. He would eat his food sitting next to a drain.

They told me I would become mad like him.

But then I told myself I had my parents working

hard to get me acquitted and my lawyer who

assured me that there was no evidence against

me and the cases were weak. Anyway, I was

glad to have the opportunity to tell my side of

the story to the judge.

I told the judge about Guptaji and how he had

framed me because I could not do the task he

had assigned to me. The court order recorded

that I stated that I have been “falsely implicated

at the instance of one Guptaji of Intelligence

Bureau”.

On 30 March 2001 I was acquitted in a bomb

blast which took place on 25 February 1997. In

this case a prosecution witness stated that he

had seen me placing a “thaila” (bag) in the bus

but when he was cross- examined he admitted

that the first time he saw me was at the police

station and the fact that the statement of that

witness was recorded much after the event led

the court to observe that no reliance could be

placed on his testimony.

In April 2001, I was transferred to Jail No. 1. It

was there that for no reason I was beaten very

badly; they tied me to a pole and beat me on

the soles of the feet. This kind of beating leaves

no marks but it is very painful. In jail parlance it

is called “Lakshman jhoola”.

This kind of violence is common in the jail. There

is also the ever-present threat of the blade-baaz

who cuts a man’s throat. Once many of us went

on a hunger strike against the practice of putting

offenders like these (blade-baaz) in the same

cell with political prisoners.

I was acquitted in five more cases between April

and July 2001. The acquittals gave me hope that

I would be released soon and could look after

Abbu and Ammi who seemed to be ageing very

fast because of the trauma of seeing their son in

jail. Abbu said to get justice one had to have

hands made of gold (because it was so

expensive) and feet made of iron (because there

was so much running around to do.)

The judge was also sympathetic and the

atmosphere in the court was beginning to feel

less harrowing. But the trial took a toll on me,

especially if the witnesses looked at me with

questions in their eyes as if asking: “Did you

plant the bomb?”

I still remember a young woman, Veena, who

came into the court limping. She had got injured

in the bomb blasts in the Rani Bagh market on

18 October 1997. In that case the prosecution

produced 58 witnesses. Kumari Veena was

Prosecution Witness No. 4.

Secular Action Network, March 2016

19

When she was asked to identify me, she slowly

turned to look towards me and our eyes met.

Mine were full of fear and hers held a question

in them. Her eyes seemed to be asking me

whether I had done the act. And I wanted to

shout out loud and clear that I was innocent and

that I had been framed. She looked at me and

then turned to the judge and said no, she had

never seen me before.

I could not sleep that night. The faces of the

victims of the blasts kept floating by and I

decided that when I was released I would seek

them out and tell them the truth about how the

police had kidnapped me and tortured me.

On 17 August 2001, I was acquitted in the Rani

Bagh blast case. The judge held: “Perusal of the

entire records thus reveals that there is

absolutely no evidence against the accused Amir

Khan [sic] which could prove his involvement in

the commission of the offences against him.”

That day the judge noticed that Abbu was

absent. The judge asked where he was and my

advocate, Feroze Khan Saheb told him Abbu had

been admitted to hospital. The judge gave me

permission to visit him in hospital for an hour.

Escorted by the police I arrived at the Bara

Hindu Rao hospital and was taken to where

Abbu lay. The doctors said that he needed

surgery and I persuaded him to undergo it even

though he was very reluctant.

I still remember his words to me: “Beta, mai

tumhari tarikh pay aa nahi sakaa.” (Son, I could

not be present for your court case.)

Lying in the hospital bed he was worried about

me. I looked deep into his eyes but could not say

much with the police surrounding me. Our

words were unspoken. My mother kissed me on

the forehead and her tears never stopped

flowing. The hour was over and the police took

me back to the jail.

I remember I was in the court but I do not know

which case it was. After the proceedings were

over, Feroze Khan Ghazi whispered to me that

my father had passed away. Life ebbed out of

my body and I felt absolutely numb.

The judge noticed that something was amiss and

asked what had happened. When he was told

the news he said, “Don’t worry, god will take

care of everything.” I do not know how I

managed to reach my cell and then I collapsed. I

sat surrounded by silence. In the evening when I

did not come out as usual, my fellow prisoners

came to my cell to find out what had happened.

The first to arrive was Sushil Sharma, the man

involved in the tandoor case. He sat with me

for some time. Next came another fellow

prisoner. He was in the cell next to mine. Once

I saw him crying out to his gods and cursing

them for abandoning him. He had a picture of

Hanumanji and he was crying and cursing

Secular Action Network, March 2016

20

because the court had rejected his application

for bail. He sat with me quietly.

I did not eat that evening and I lay awake.

Finally, as night fell and all was silent I broke

down. I kept thinking of Abbu. His face, his

gestures of love, his concern and his last words

to me in hospital.

Who would come to court and follow up with

the lawyers? Ammi had come with Abbu but did

not understand the court proceedings. In any

case she would be in mourning for three months

so I would have no mulaqaats. I had never felt

so desolate in my life. I felt abandoned and in

despair. Even though I had been acquitted in

twelve cases, there were seven more cases; and

the money had already run out.

Excerpted with permission from Framed as a

Terrorist: My 14-year Struggle to Prove My

Innocence, Mohammad Aamir Khan with

Nandita Haksar, Speaking Tiger Books.

***

M a r c h 0 3 , 2 0 1 6

India: what are the origins of today’s Hindu nationalism?

The Conversation, March 3, 2016

Ketan Alder (Lecturer in Politics and Religions, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion,

Lancaster University)

In early February, a video claiming to

show an “anti-India” rally being held at

the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru

University in New Delhi went viral.

Police entered the campus, arresting

the president of the student union,

Kanhaiya Kuma, on colonial-era sedition

charges.

Amit Shah, the president of India’s

ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),

accused the University of becoming “a

centre which encourages terrorism and

separatism”. Critics of the

government argue that the university

has been targeted for its well-

established traditions of political

activism in opposition to the BJP, a party

rooted in Hindu nationalism.

At the heart of this lies the concept of

Hinduvta or “Hinduness”, an ideology

rooted in a belief that Hindus are united

Secular Action Network, March 2016

21

around a common culture which forms

the basis for the Indian nation.

The idea is relatively modern, and can

be traced to the region’s encounter with

colonial rule. In the Western

imagination, the region was pictured as

essentially religious and stagnant. The

British colonial state controversially

ruled India in a way that hardened

religious boundaries, and encouraged its

subjects to see themselves and others in

this light.

This contributed to the activism of

Hindu groups such as the Arya Samaj

and the Sanatana Dharma Sabhas,

whose members turned to debating

how Hindu society could be best,

reorganised and revived.

One of the key issues they debated

related to Hindu unity – particularly as

the Western conception of Hinduism,

imposed on many Indians by British

colonial rule, was actuallyalien to many

of those who now fell under its

classification. The existence of diverse

caste histories and traditions also

seemed to fracture any idea of a single

Hindu community.

During the early decades of the 20th

century, activists associated with Arya

Samaj, such as Shraddhanand, argued

for a reorganised, “meritocratic” caste

system as a way to reunite Hindus. But

historians such as John Zavos have

shown how this approach to reorganise

the caste system was rejected as

divisive during the 1920s.

Hindu unity was subsequently built

instead on a more conservative,

symbolic level, by activists, which

explicitly drew boundaries between

Hindus on the one hand, and Muslims

and Christians on the other.

In this way, the fact that upper-caste

Hindus within this “newly unified”

Hindu community were in the numerical

minority was not widely challenged –

nor was the power and privilege they

were amassing.

***

Hindu Un i t y It was Veer Savarkar, a former anti-

colonial revolutionary, who translated

this idea of Hindu unity into a more

potent symbol: that of the Indian

nation-state. First published in 1923, his

text Hindutva: Who is a Hindu, saw

Secular Action Network, March 2016

22

religious boundaries as national ones,

with Islamic and Christian traditions

considered as an illegitimate, foreign

presence.

V D Savarkar, who coined the term

‘Hinduvta’. rakbhima/Wikimedia

Commons, CC BY-SAYet, that left the

question of how to construct a Hindu

nation. In 1925, an upper-caste

Brahmin, Keshav Hedgewar, founded

what would become India’s preeminent

Hindu nationalist association:

the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Influenced by both Savarkar and a

“muscular, colonial Christian” view that

Hindu men were effeminate, RSS

activists reworked Hindu traditions and

added two foundational tenets of Hindu

nationalism: Sangathan (Hindu

organisation), and Seva (service).

Local RSS units – there are well over

50,000 today – were tasked with

responding to the so-called

emasculation of Hindus by building

“manly Hindu men” of “character and

values”. Acquiring discipline was seen as

important here, to be achieved through

public, uniformed drills and martial

games.

Hindu organisation was also seen as a

way to revitalise the wayward morals of

some Hindus. Today, uniformed RSS

activists serve and unify the Hindu

nation by ordering Hindu festivals and

teaching their own Hindu practices to

lower-castes, such as abstaining

from eating beef.

Members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak

Sangh (RSS) march in Bhopal in

2014. Sanjeev Gupta/EPA

T h e B i r t h O f T h e B J P

The British decision in 1947 to partition

India devastated lives. Estimates vary,

but around 2m people were killed in

subsequent riots between Hindus,

Muslims, and Sikhs. And about 14m

people were driven from their homes. In

1948, a Hindu nationalist activist shot

Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi dead,

Secular Action Network, March 2016

23

accusing him of “consistently pandering

to the Muslims”.

Since then, Hindu nationalism has

developed alongside explicit political

projects and street mobilisations.

Despite the deep mistrust many RSS

members have for party politics –

explained to me as “corrupting” – their

involvement inside mass campaigns

against the ruling Congress Party during

the 1970s widened their base, with

many of these new members holding an

array of political perspectives.

Some of these later new members, such

as Amit Shah, envisaged the state,

political parties and elections as

important spheres that Hindu

nationalists should engage with. The BJP

was formed in 1980, drawing together a

range of Hindu activist projects, from

Gandhian to more explicitly Hindu

nationalist.

The BJP has become

known for its mass

campaigns to mobilise

Hindus. Days of rioting in

the western Indian state

of Gujarat in 2002 saw the

shared faith spaces such

as the tomb of the poet

Vali Gujarati razed in what

has been called

a “systematic attempt to wipe out an

entire culture”. The morning after, a

statue of the Hindu God Hanuman had

been placed on top of the rubble. Maya

Kodnani, a former BJP state

minister, was convicted of murder and

incitement to murder during the riots.

In 2014, the BJP was elected to national

government with Narendra Modi as its

president.

T h e W i d e r S h a p e s O f H i n d u

N a t i o n a l i s m

Some leading thinkers have considered

how contemporary Hindu nationalist

ideas have emerged outside of high

politics and violence, and in particular,

how and why they engage non-elite

Secular Action Network, March 2016

24

Hindus such as lower castes.

Anthropologists such as Atreyee

Sen have looked at how poor female

activists attempt to feminise Hindu

nationalism’s heavily masculine ideas,

and so gain a place in the Hindu nation.

My own research shows the continuing

importance of service in shaping Hindu

nationalism. RSS-affiliated associations

currently run about 157,776 projects,

across issues such as education, health

and development. Here, Hindu

nationalism emerges as a disciplinary

identity, focused on marginal Hindus

who are seen as in need of moral

improvement. Some of these activists

use this to focus on “proper Hindu

behaviour” to reverse the power-play.

In their eyes, it is powerful Hindus

whose actions transgress Hindu norms.

And this, of course, challenges one of

Hindu nationalism’s central concerns:

the building of Hindu unity, and

translating this into an idea of the

nation. What this all tells us then is that

with the BJP encountering dissent as it

defines India and Hinduism, Hindu

nationalism’s diverse and eventful

history looks sure to continue.

***

The Real Classroom: Outdoor Lectures Dissect

Nationalism at JNU

https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/real-classroom-outdoor-lectures-dissect-nationalism-jnu

Published on: February 27, 2016

The day that Kanhaiya Kumar was

experiencing brutal blows by men in

black coats (lawyers!) as an impotent

Delhi police looked on, (February 17,

2016), the stalwart teachers

organisation, JNUTA (JNU Teacher’s

Association) began an innovative series

of lectures, out in the open, after regular

classes as its own special answer to the

rather vile propaganda doing the rounds

on the airwaves of private television.

Calling it a lecture series, titled the Ideas

of Nationalism, the title of the series is to

Secular Action Network, March 2016

25

the point: What the Nation Really Needs

to Know: India, - The National and

Nationalism

On the evening of the first lecture, it was

professor Gopal Guru who delivered the

first salvo. While introducing the series,

a senior professor said that the teachers

organising the series on the advice of

the Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar

who said that “we (teachers) must take

our academic lives seriously. We are

gathered here after a full day’s teaching,

after 6 p.m. delivering lectures...We are

here debating terms that we are being

bombarded with..We are here to do

what we are best at doing, namely

teaching.” The retort was aimed at a VC

who has invited much criticism after he

allowed police on campus through a

hurriedly dashed off letter (before

February 12, 2016) to the authorities.

"Since the VC has asked teachers of

JNU to not engage in campus politics

and do what they know best, the

teachers have decided to do just that:

discourse nationalism. Every day, post 5

pm at the JNU Administrative Block an

Open Classroom on “Nationalism” has

been held."

The teachers who have delivered the lectures are among the best academic minds

JNU teachers create History with the sit in lectures titled, What the Nation Really Needs to Know: India - The National and Nationalism

Secular Action Network, March 2016

26

within and outside the campus.

Gopal Guru, gave the first iconic lecture.

Gopal Guru: “What is the nation?”

“We are finding different definitions.

Some are just judgements not

definitions...

Is Nationalism linked to emotions where

people can make sweeping judgements

on students, teaching and non-teaching

faculty of JNU? Nation and argument

are tied to each other. There must be a

reasoned and deep response to the idea

of Nation. Not base emotions. People

are being misled: the Nation is being

Secular Action Network, March 2016

27

made into a devilish construct of the problematic other.”

“If the Nation is constructed as the

devilish other not only is this dangerous,

it precedes a complete take over by

fascist forces. The Nation is a social

creation that can only be articulated

around notions of equity and justice”

Lecture by Gopal Guru to the Sit in Classroom, JNU, February 2016

Nivedita Menon: “Anti-National Sanghis are a Minority”

“This is a historic moment. A Left-Ambedkarite-Feminist Moment where an unqiue

understanding and solidarity is emerging. It is a historic moment for an autonomous

students movement.“

Which of us are “nationalistic” as defined by the Sanghis?

Muslims are not

Adivasis are not

Ambedkarites are not

Victims of Displacement like the Narmada Valley Survivors are not

JNU ites are not

Those who oppose Nuclear weapons are not

Feminists are not

Non Hindi speakers are not

But they are a minority:

The real anti-nationals are a very small lot despite the contingent fact that they hold state

power”

Lecture by Nivedita Menon to the Teach In Classroom, JNU, February 2016

Ari Sitas: The JNU Admin Block is India's Freedom Square

"Yabonga! We are at Freedom Square and there has been an incredible show of self-

restraint by JNU students.

'You sent us a Mohandas we sent you back a Mahatma'

Well renowned South African sociologist, writer, dramatist and civil activist, now at

Centre for Historical Studies, JNU as a Visiting

Professor in the Bhagat Singh chair.

Secular Action Network, March 2016

28

Ari Sitas Lecture to the Teach In Classroom, JNU, February 2016

G Arunima: The Dravdian as the National Imagination

Arunima enthralled students bringing in

the regional within the national

imagination: dwelling in particular on

Tamil Nadu and Kerala where language

and the idea of the Dravidian created a

national imagination. (Mysore rejected

the idea of linguistic states saying that

Mysore was already a multi-lingual

state)

Lecture by G Arunima to the Teach In Classroom, JNU, February 2016

Ayesha Kidwai: a National Language was a dialect that came with an Army, a

Navy and an Air Force.

Lecture by Ayesha Kidwai to the Teach In Classroom, JNU, February 2016

Achin Vanaik: Students Spark of a Progressive Movement

“Saluting you students and the student

the community in general.From time to

time students become the sparks for

very positive and progressive

movements worldwide. In the 1960s and

1970s, in fact in the United States of

America, the two mass movements that

in fact transformed the United States of

America, the two great mass

movements that transformed into a

progressive direction the United States

of America, did not come from the

political parties, they came from outside

the political parties and then the political

parties had to accept them. They came

from students in the civil rights

movement, working against racism......

Lecture by Achin Vanaik to the Teach In Classroom, JNU, February 2016

Tanika Sarkar: Gandhi's Nation

Lecture by Tanika Sarkar to the Teach In Classroom, JNU, February 2016

Secular Action Network, March 2016

29

There is an Insurrection against the Constitution: Prabhat Patnaik

“Insurrection against the Constitution today by the anti-national Sangh Parivar.

(Incidentally the Constitution was even burnt as the activists owing allegiance to the

sangh parivar attacked professor Vivek Kumar in Gwalior recently)

Prabhat Patnaik at JNU, February 2016

Support for JNU has been pouring im from all over the country and abroad. There have

also been similar Teach Ins in Trivandrum and elsewhere

***

Purushottam Agrawal Speaking At JNU

Posted: 28 Feb 2016 12:11 AM PST

"You say shut down JNU, we say let every Indian university be like JNU."

Prof. Purushottam Agrawal speaking at JNU on 17th February 2016 and in his inimitable style underlining the dangers of

ongoing vilification of intellectuals, glorification of brute force, marginalization of rationality, creation of mob frenzy and

denigration of institutions.

See video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLIOfvhOk9w

***

Film 30 Jan 1948 (English)

The 24 minute film discusses the causes of assassination of Father of the nation. It also explores the types of nationalism prevalent in India, their genesis and agendas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2DkE42ZREM Attachments area

Preview YouTube video 30 Jan 1948 - Mahatma Gandhi's Assassination Story

Secular Action Network, March 2016

30

Jan 1948 - Mahatma Gandhi's Assassination Story

Communalism Explained Video!

Youtube link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlJMMJWFpnM Comic Novel COMMUNALISM EXPLAINED!- Book 'Communalism Explained!- A Graphic Account' is a book that illustrates in the form of graphics the phenomenon of communalism in India co-authored by Ram Punyani and Sharad Sharma and published by Vani Prakashan in both English and Hindi. The book explains the theme of communal violence and communal politics in an illustrated form. About the book This book is a broad overview of the phenomenon of communalism and terrorism, which has gripped the country and other parts of the World. It takes up the theme in a question- answer format and is enriched by the graphics, which supplement the text. The narrative begins with the demolition of Babri Mosque on 6th December 1992, goes on to the horrific violence, which followed the Babri demolition and tries to understand the forces, which instigate and sustain this violence. It goes on to the tragedy of Godhra train catching fire and the carnage unleashed on that pretext. It gives the extracts from Citizens Tribunal, Bannerjee Commission and the Tehelka expose on the carnage.

The next chapters take up the

understanding of Indian society. The syncretic traditions in the arena of religion, the mixed heritage in the area of literature, art, culture and aspects of social life is outlined. The arrival British lays the foundation of communal politics. The agenda of British colonialists and their manipulation of the landlord sections and landlord-elites' ideology in the communal direction leading to partition tragedy and the sowing the seeds of discord in Kashmir are outlined. The values emerging form Freedom

Secular Action Network, March 2016

31

movement, the role of Gandhi in freedom movement, the values of rising classes: Secular democracy in contrast to the communal politics of declining sections of society is compared and contrasted. The book also demolishes the misconceptions about minorities prevalent in the society, like why temples were destroyed, why conversions took place, the truth behind polygamy and more children, the nature of Christian missionary work, the truth

behind the politics of terror are outlined in a lucid manner. Finally the book delineates the steps to strengthen secular and democratic values in the society. This book is an attempt to present the issues at hand in a simple manner for the average reader, students and youth. The question answer form delineates the issues and prompts the reader to think about the topic. The graphic form makes it easy for the reader to comprehend the issues in an easy form.

***

Celebrating the Assassin of Gandhi

Rajya Sabha TV debate http://communalism.blogspot.in/2016/02/india-rajya-sabha-tv-debate-on-attempt.html

***

Kanhaiya Speaking in JNU After Release: Must Watch Video, Specially For Arnab Goswami Because live videos are more powerful than doctored ones, Mr. Goswami. [Video: JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar Fiery Speech after getting out of jail 3/3/2016] http://www.indiaresists.com/video-kanhaiya-speaking-jnu-release-must-watch-specially-arnab-goswami/

***

Web Site on social issues

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