Saturday, January 11, 2014

Jobat Satyagrahis stand vindicated

Sat, Jan 11, 2014 at 5:33 PM
Alirajpur Collector withdraws Sec 151 cases against 40 adivasi oustees
Intense dialogue with Collector, SP, Addl. SP for 4 hours: Offer of Land and house plots, fishing rights, fresh surveys from 20th January
 Jail Bharo Andolan in February, if promises are not kept
New Delhi: 10th January, 2014: (The Eagle Eye News Bureau): 
Surrounded and questioned by hundreds of adivasis for a second time yesterday, at the gates of the Collectorate, Alirajpur, the District Collector, Mr. N.P. Deheriya announced that he would immediately withdraw the charges of Sec 151, 107 and 116 (3) of Cr.P.C filed against 40 adivasis (including many elderly and 6 women) on the alleged and completely unsustainable ground of ‘breach of peace’ at the site of the Zameen Hak Satyagraha, Jobat.
Joined by Mr. Akhilesh Jha, SP and Mr. Saitaram Sastiya, Addl. S.P, the officials finally conceded that there was no disturbance to the peace by the oustees at Jobat. As the end of 4 hours long debate and dialogue with the Collector, the oustees and Medha Patkar convinced him that the occupation of government land at Jobat Farm was not in any way to disturb the peace of the locality, but was a measure undertaken, as a last resort, to assert the right to land and rehabilitation, which has been seriously affected, since more than a decade, when they have been facing the severe impacts of submergence. 
The following commitments were made by the Collector at the end of the dialogue:
Cases of preventive detention under Sec. 151 would be immediately withdrawn.
·        The State would facilitate the process of seeking bail in the FIR of 2011 and the charge sheet in the same has also been filed.
·        The R&R Officer to begin showing land to the oustees from the 20th January and will ensure before this date that the land to be shown is cultivable and free of encroachment.
·        House plots will be offered in lieu of Rs. 20,000 given many years ago, without consent.
·        Surveys to be conducted in all the 13 villages once again to assess the actual and left our affected persons and properties.
·        Immediate registration of the proposed co-operatives of the displaced fish workers from Machliya, Umda, Bhiti and Chhota Khattali villages.
·        Assistance for irrigation facilities in the original villages by grant of 100% subsidized motor pumps.
The oustees also informed the authorities that the charges in the FIR of November, 2011 such as destruction of public property are completely false and fabricated and we shall fight this out in the court and also claim compensation for the losses caused due to crop destruction at the satyagraha.
The oustees asserted that this was the beginning of their struggle and expect the officials to keep up their promises, otherwise a massive Jail Bharo Andolan would start from February, 2014, with hundreds of women, children and cattle as well.  Later in the evening, many of the oustees, along with Medha Patkar went to the District Jail and met thesatyagrahis and also conveyed  to them the developments of the day. The 40 adivasi oustees shall be bailed out byMonday. A brief chronology of the events in enclosed.

Idibai            Surbhan Bhilala            Kamla Yadav                  Meera (09179148973)
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CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
pertaining to the unlawful arrest of the Jobat Satyagrahis
24th November, 2011: Hundreds of Sardar Sarovar and Jobat dam-affected adivasis, farmers who have not been rehabilitated as per law and judicial orders, begin their indefinite Zameen Hak Satyagraha at the Govt. Agricultural Farm, Dehedla, Jobat.

30th November, 2011: Jobat Police register an FIR against ‘100 to 150 unknown persons’ under Sections 447, 147, 353, 332 of the IPC and also under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

19th June, 2012: Dr. Afroz Ahmed, Director, Rehabilitation, Narmada Control Authority, visits the Satyagraha and engages in dialogue with the oustees. Dr. Afroz Ahmed also assured to raise the matter with the Rehabilitation Sub-Group, Delhi, after which a direction was issued by the Sub Group in its meeting on 12th September, 2013 to the Govt. of M.P. to offer Government farm lands in rehabilitation.
21st June, 2013: Physical Attack on the oustees at Jobat Satyagraha, in the presence of the SDM and Tehsildar, by the Farm Officer, his son and many outsiders. FIR registered, but no action taken.

12th November, 2013: The administration consents for a temporary electricity connection to the oustees at the Jobat Farmland.

24th December, 2013: Tehsildar, Jobat issues notices to 26 oustees, asking them to voluntarily remove themselves from the occupation / encroachment at the government land by 11 a.m. on the 27th December, otherwise the encroachment would be removed with the help of police force and that the oustees would be responsible for any economic loss during the eviction.

26th December, 2013: Oustees reply back to the notice dated 24-12-2013, narrating the sequence of events over the past 21/2 years and the legal grounds for their cultivation. The oustees also express willingness for a detailed dialogue with all the officials, but there was no response from the Tehsildar.

28th December, 2013: Collector, Alirajpur visits the Satyagraha site and threatens the oustees to vacate the land. He also proposed that land would be provided to the oustees at Pangula (Jobat). The same day, two oustees are taken by the local revenue officials, but the said land is already under encroachment since long time and the encroachers are fiercely resistant to give away the lands.

31st December, 2013: Tehsildar, Jobat issues second notice to the oustees, asking them to voluntarily remove themselves from the occupation / encroachment at the government land, otherwise the encroachment would be removed with the help of police force and that the oustees would be responsible for any economic loss during the eviction.

3rd January, 2014: Oustees reply to the second notice of the Tehsildar, Jobat describing that the land shown at Pangula has been encroached and no other land was shown to them, thereafter.

5th January, 2014: Collector deploys a huge contingent of police force and forcibly gets the adivasi oustees, including many elderly, 6 women and 2 children arrested. The tents were uprooted and all other belongings were seized. The oustees were arrested under provisions of Section 151, 107 and 116 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code. All of them were taken to Alirajpur directly and were produced before the SDM, Alirajpur. They were later sent to the Alirajpur District Jail. The oustees were not produced before the SDM, Jobat and were also not lodged at the Jobat Jail ! The police prays the SDM to heavily fine the oustees, so that they do not repeat the ‘offence’ of occupation again!

6th January, 2014: Oustees march to the office of the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Akhilesh Jha and question the arbitrary manner of arrests.  He was convinced that the contentious issue is lack of rehabilitation and that the police has no role to play, but had to act on the basis of the FIR. The oustees also submit a complaint under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 demanding legal action against all the concerned officers for arresting the adivasis, evicting them from the land, causing destruction of the standing crop at the Satyagraha and submergence of their lands and homes, without lawful rehabilitation. The same day, police file an application before the SDM stating that these 39 oustees are the same persons wanted in the FIR filed in 2011. The SDM grants permission and the oustees are ‘formally’ arrested inside the jail.

7th January, 2014: Hundreds of oustees gherao the office of the Collector, Alirajpur. In his presence, the R&R Officer, agrees to show land to the Jobat oustees. Since no assurance regarding the unconditional release of the oustees was given, the protestors cautioned that the struggle would intensify after 3 days.

8th January, 2014: Arrested oustees are produced before the Judicial Magistrate (Second Class), Jobat and sent back to the District Jail, Alirajpur.  Charge sheets / Challan is filed by the police. 

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

NRI Sammelan of BJP proved a great success

 Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 8:11 AM
NRIs should be given the right to vote
Rajnath Singh raised the demand for Indian embassies 
Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal and Hon'ble NRIs and PIOs at
OFBJP Global Meet - 2014 with BJP Investor Cell Itlay
President Satish Kumar Joshi, OFBJP Mahila Morcha Norway
President Madam Arundeep Plaha, President Vancover
Canada Gurtej Singh and Hartirath Singh+ view of 
Photo
exhibition 
New Delhi, 6 January 2014: (Punjab Screen Bureau):
Bharatiya Janta Party ( BJP ) will get a clear majority in this year's Lok Sabha election, party president Rajnath Singh asserted in NRI Sammelan.
Inaugurating a meeting organised by the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) here, Rajnath Singh gave credit to overseas Indians for providing economic stability after India's 1998 nuclear tests.
"The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government has hurt the country's credibility in its 10 year rule, If any party has a firm commitment and strong leadership, it is the BJP," Rajnath Singh told the NRIs.
"The country believes that a government is going to be formed with a clear majority of the BJP," he said, adding that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi deserved to be the prime minister.
Rajnath Singh said NRIs should be given the right to vote in Indian embassies.
"The only party that has succeeded in having a stature bigger than that of the Congress is the BJP," he said.
Claiming that the BJP had a target of winning 272-plus seats in the Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh told the delegates: "The BJP will succeed in making the country a superpower with your cooperation."
Vijay Jolly convenor of OFBJP urged overseas Indians to make telephone calls and send out 10 e-mails to their relatives and friends in India every day soliciting support for the BJP.
In NRI Sammelan Hon'ble Shri Rajnath Singh honoured Lord Raj Loomba CBE from United Kingdom for commendable work for the Welfare of Widows, Shri YP Reddy from Fiji for commendable work for the Welfare of Girmitiyas, Indentured Indian Labor and Shri Mahendra Chaudhary Former Prime Minister of Fiji for Global Fight for Democracy.
In this NRI Sammelan, Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal said that the meeting called upon overseas Indians to make extensive use of modern days communication. Grewal stated that Delegates from Australia, USA, UK, Canada, China, Nepal, Norway, UAE, Israel, Qatar, Mexico, Macau, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Italy, Vietnam, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, Oman attend the Sammelan at Central BJP office.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

MoEF Expert Committee visits ISP and OSP canal area

Sat, Jan 4, 2014 at 9:28 PM
Listens to farmers:Visit to continue tomorrow as well: 
Serious issues and impacts exposed
Khargene and Khandwa districts: 4th January, 2014: 
The Expert Committee appointed by MoEF to appraise and approve the environmental works related to the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar Canals visited the villages in the Khargene and Khandwa districts today. Dr. B.P. Das, Chairman, Mr. T.K. Nair, Bio Diversity Expert, Dr. B.B. Director, Director, (River Valley Projects), MoEF, Mr. Lakhwinder Singh, Regional Chief Conservator of Forests, Bhopal were the Committee members who visited the villages to inspect the progress and problems related to construction of canals, the on-farm development works and other works as a part of command area development carried out in both the projects as well as the water logging, salinization due to seepage and canal breaches in various villages.
The Committee was accompanied by tens of senior officials of NVDA in more than a dozen vehicles as also tens of villages in the canal affected and command areas. The field level assessment of the progress of canal and CAD works in the Phase-I areas of OSP and ISP brought out vividly that while each distributaries in this Phase are built and have waters released, to cover the command area upto a few thousand hectares in each, it is also seen that there are large chunks of lands falling outside the command area, which are benefitted and while many land holdings in the command area also not irrigated in the command, but by pumps and pipelines put up directly on the canals.
It was also seen that while in certain areas, without canal irrigation, large tracts right from the beginning of the command area are also seriously affected and losses worth crores of rupees are borne by the farmers, without compensation being paid. The Committee was given details lists of farmers, whose land was affected even without acquisition and the farmers expressed their anguish and anger, as in Mokhangaon, Toklai, Chhota Kelva and Gujarkhedi. While the NVDA officials showed certain areas where distributaries or minors were built, committee observed that lining was non-existent for main canals from 58 to 65 kms at least and in almost all distributaries, the lining was not of cement, but of cement blocks, not properly joined. The Committee reiterated that lining is a must and water should not be released without full lining. NBA has warned that the problem of water logging would be worst as was anticipated in many expert Committee reports and as happened in Bhakra Nangal, where 2 lakh hectares of land was affected and huge losses occurred. 
At few places, the chairmen of the Water Users Associations which were formed in the command area villages long back tried to belittle the issues of the canal-affected farmers and questioned their demanding compensation and completion of the pre-conditional works. However, at the end of the day, people in village after village and even the committee accepted that losses to the title holder farmers must be assessed and paid. In the concluding heated discussions the Committee has to accept that a number of recommendations in its earlier reports remain to be fulfilled and once again entrusted the responsibility to the NVDA officials. These include compensation for muck deposited illegally on un-acquired lands, review of already irrigated areas in the villages on the banks of Narmada, affected by Sardar Sarovar and Maheshwar dams, 
The Chairman also admitted that the Back Water Levels of Sardar Sardar Project are yet to be finally calculated and this needs to be considered so as to ensure no overlap of BWL and command area. Committee would continue to visit villages in the second phase of OSP and if possible, ISP tomorrow. This will include visit to villages where nothing short of disasters occurred in the monsoon of 2013 due to massive canal breaches. The affected farmers would also follow the Committee and give them a concluding brief tomorrow. NBA also notes that there is an interim order on the ISP and OSP canals passed by the Hon’ble High Court. A detailed repose to the same shall follow soon. 
Deven Tomar                 Mukesh Bhagoria                     Jamsing Richa 
Phone: 09826811982 

Friday, January 03, 2014

INDIA:Press Statement on the communal violence in Muzaffarnagar (UP)

Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 12:28 PM
A Statement from Mohan Rao, Ish Mishra, Pragya Singh and Vikas Bajpai, a team of independent academics and journalist received via Kafila forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Press Statement on the Report  prepared by Mohan Rao, Ish Mishra, Pragya Singh and Vikas Bajpai,                                                                            December 30, 2013
A team of independent academics and a journalist carried out an inquiry into the communal violence that shook Muzaffarnagar district in UP this past September. The report is based on the findings of the team during its visit to Muzaffarnagar district on the 9th and the 10th of November and again on the 27th November. The members of the team were:
  • Dr. Mohan Rao, Faculty, Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU.
  • Mr Ish Misra, Faculty, Department of Political Science, Hindu College, Delhi University.
  • Ms.Pragya Singh, Journalist, Outlook, and
  • Dr. Vikas Bajpai, Ph.D. Scholar, Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health, JNU.
The team also drew upon the assistance of Dr. Subhash Tyagi, Professor of Geography, Machra College, Meerut, and Praveen Raj Tyagi, Principal Greenland Public School, Duhai, Ghaziabad, in the collection of some data and the conduct of the visit.
OBJECTIVES OF OUR ENQUIRY:
  1. To investigate the role of state agencies in either preventing or containing violence, in taking appropriate punitive actions against the guilty and also to investigate some incidents of communal violence.
  2. To investigate the role of the government in providing relief and rehabilitating the displaced and the progress made in displaced people going back to their villages and homes.
  3. To understand economic, social and political reasons that led to the recent spate of communal violence in this area of Western Uttar Pradesh.
SALIENT FINDINGS:
Role of the agencies of the State
The fact that India is Constitutionally mandated as 'Secular' State makes it obligatory on the agencies of the State to uphold secular values. However, the communal incidents in Muzaffarnagar, its aftermath and the continuing tragedy of the riot affected persons have been the undoing of the Indian State in this regard. Regrettably, this has been the outcome of deliberate and calculated decisions at different levels as is evident from the findngs:
The affidavits riot victims were made to sign for availing monetary compensation
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has made the riot affected Muslim families in relief camps to sign an affidavit (copy attached as annexure) that enforced following conditions on the signatories in order to avail of financial relief:
  • "That myself and members of my family have come leaving our village and home being terrorized due to violent incidents in ......... village and we will not now return to our original village and home under any circumstances".
  • "That the lumpsum financial help being given for my family by the government will only be used by me to rehabilitate my family. By this money I will live with my family voluntarily arranging for residence at appropriate place elsewhere".
  • "That in the condition of receiving lumpsum financial help amount, myself or members of my family will not demand compensation relating to any damage to any immovable property in my village or elsewhere".
The State thus sought to impose a demographic change in the riot affect villages through a legal instrument. The monetary relief being disbursed was not to rebuild the damaged property or lost means of livelihood. This has served to reinforce the terror of communal violence in the minds of affected families besides driving a schism in the composite culture of the area which mars the possibilities of gradual healing. Muslims are now being ghettoized in towns and localities dominated by them.
These aspects were pointed out by the team members to the district administration, The officials however denied that the government was preventing people from going back to the villages and told of an order stating that those who wanted to return to their villages were free to do so. But a copy of the said order could not be provided by the administration.
Nepotism, complicity and inaction of the police in incidents of violence
The shallow credibility of the law and order machinery in Muzaffarnagar is best reflected in the statement of senior police officials that – "both the Jats and the Muslims are complaining against us, so the police must have done something good." Police itself is at pain to enumerate pro-active and positive actions taken by them against the wrong doers. Establishing credibility in the eyes of minorities becomes all the more difficult when in a region with around 27 percent Muslim population, as per senior police official of the district, the representation of Muslims in police force is less than 3 percent. The officer however maintained that "this did not matter for a policeman is a policeman and religion was not a factor in discharge of his duties."
The residents at the camps however said that they did not want to go back to their villages as their tormentors were still roaming free and that the government had done little that would have them repose their faith in the law and order machinery. The frequent transfers of the senior police officials in the district have not helped matters either. In 2013 the SSP of the district has been changed five times.
In Qutba village, where from single largest number of Muslim killings has been reported (8 Muslim were killed) a picket of PAC (provincial armed police) was posted in the village at the time of riots. These policemen were having tea in the Pradhan's house when mobs started rampaging Muslim households. The three Muslim men who rushed to seek their help were said to have been locked up by these policemen in the Pradhan's house.
The second incident of killings that took place with the police in vicinity was at the Mohammepur Raisingh village on October 30. Three Muslim youth from the neighboring Hussainpur village were abducted from the fields and killed by the Jats even as a picket of the state police was posted in the village. The Hussainpur villagers on learning of the abduction of youth repeatedly rang the SHO of Bhaura Kalan police station, but their calls went unanswered. It was told that the SHO had switched off his phone.
Pradhan of Hussainpur village later told that despite their best efforts many of those accused by name in the killings have still not been arrested and are roaming free in Mohammedpur Raisingh. He further alleged that the police has "declared rates" (of bribe) to weaken the cases against the accused or even let them go scot-free.
It appears from the sequence and the circumstances of the incidents of violence in Muzaffarnagar that had the police and the district administration acted with alacrity and a fair sense of judgment in the immediate aftermath of the incidence of alleged "eve teasing" and related murders in Kawal village, the subsequent turn of events could have been entirely avoided.
Outsourcing of relief to the Muslim communal organizations by the State
It would have been best if the State machinery was seen by the riot affected Muslims as a dependable, sincere and caring source of succor and a guarantor of their safety. The State instead chose to outsource relief measures to Muslim communal organizations, principally the Jamiat-Ulema e Hind of Deoband though some other NGOs were also involved.
On being quizzed – why no state agency has a visible presence at the relief camps, the district administration told us that this was in accordance with the policy of the state government. The Shiv Pal Singh Yadav committee set up by the state government post riots had recommended that all relief be provided through community organizations.
This reflects redoubtable wisdom. Communal community organizations cannot be expected to be credible foot soldiers for Secular ideals. The impact of this was evident in the camps. Apart from apprehensions regarding security upon return to their villages, the people also said that they would prefer to live "amidst the security of their own people."
Different reports before ours have graphically highlighted the pitiable conditions at the camps. We would only reiterate that even the least courtesies like essential medical or civil amenities such as drinking water or functioning toilets have not been provided to the people in the camps despite visits by the mightiest VIPs in the country.
Jamiat dominated committees appeared to tightly control what the people said of the arrangements at the camps. At the Bassi Kalan camp when the residents complained against the government, members of the managing committee tried to stop them. Likewise at camp no 1 at Shahpur a local Maulvi expressed his displeasure when the residents complained of the conditions. We were told by families in the relief camps that up to Rs 20,000 had been taken from them by functionaries of the Jamiat for constructing alternative accommodation.
A close confidant of ours asked the leader of the Jamiat as to why they were not opposing the affidavits that displaced Muslim families were being made to sign. Reply was – "there is nothing to worry about this and that all of them will finally be allowed to return to their villages." Jamiat further claimed credit for getting handsome relief package for the displaced families. Silence of the Jamiat over the claims of the Samajwadi Party leadership that the Muslims in the camps were agents of the Congress and the BJP is equally deafening.
Any astute observer can note that the Samajwadi Party government of UP will now bank on the certifications of the mullahs to clean up its abominable record of a number of communal riots / disturbances in the state during its rule.
Local administration was categorical in stating that there are no refugees in any relief camp and government aid has stopped. Further insult to injury has been added by the statement of the UP home secretary that 'people do not die of cold.' These only undermine the secular credentials of the state.
The communal campaign and the Muzaffarnagar violence
The communal violence in Muzaffarnagar ought to be seen in the context of such violence in different parts of the country in 2013 beginning from Kishthwar (J & K), Masoori and Meerut in UP, Indore and Harda in MP, Bettiah and Nawada in Bihar and Rangpur in Cachar district of Assam. UP has witnessed a sustained campaign at communalization – may it be the 'chaurasi kos parikrama' or innovations like 'love jihad', ever since Amit Shah took over the reins of BJP in the state. This is pathognomonic of the communal forces represented by the Sangh Parivar. The approaching Lok Sabha elections in 2014 provide the leitmotif of this campaign.
However, equally abominable is the complicity of supposedly 'secular' forces in facilitating this communal campaign. The track record of the Akhilesh Yadav government in dealing with communal forces, its attitude towards common Muslims and history of hob-knobbing with Muslim communal forces is a case in the point.
The atmosphere in Muzaffarnagar has been vitiated over several months through sustained communal mobilization. Muslims have been the worst sufferers of communal orgy that swept Muzaffarnagar. Senior Superintendent Police informed that a total of 52 people died in Muzaffarnagar, of which 37 were Muslims and 15 were Hindus (in all likelihood these were all Jats). Unofficial sources put the number of displaced Muslims at 100,000 while by the time of our visit government acknowledged that 50,955 displaced persons had been accommodated in 11 relief camps. 540 FIRs have been registered in riot-related incidents, against approximately 6000 people.
There is an important distinction in the manner of Muslims and Jat deaths. Almost all the Jats who were killed were those who had participated in the Mahapanchayat at Nangla Mandaur village on September 7th. There were accounts of the Jats, in tractor trollies from different villages that went to take part in the Mahapanchayat, raising provocative slogans as they passed by Muslim habitations. Provocations like dogs being dressed in burqa and beaten with slippers were on display along with slogans like – "Musalmano ke do sthan – Pakistan ya kabristan'. Even the Jats we talked to admitted that "these youth have been taken in by the charisma of Modi and they raised slogans in his support" on way to the mahapanchayat.
Jats who died were killed in reaction to this deliberate provocation. Most of these deaths took place on the evening of September 7th in attacks on Jat trollies as they returned from the Mahapanchayat or were of those Jats who got injured in these attacks and died later. The only incident of a planned attack on Jats took place at Pur Baliyan on September 7th in which some Mulle Jats wanted to attack the trolley of Jats from Sohram village out of rivalry borne by a previous incident. However, in the melee of the violence the Jats in the trolley of Kakda village got killed. But none of the Jats from Pur Baliyan village itself were attacked by Muslims.
The attacks and deaths of Muslims have taken place as part of a sustained campaign in different villages. The victims were all innocent lower class Muslims who had no role in attacks on Jats. The handwork of the larger communal design and organization was evident in the well-rehearsed and similar arguments which the Jats from different villages forwarded to rationalize the killings and the displacement of the Muslims. A  Jat teacher in Kakda village described the communal violence in the region as – "Yeh hai Amit Shah ka jadoo." The Qutba village had been witness to a panchayat that was attended by the BJP president Mr Rajnath Singh about 6 months back. This points to the forces that have been at work in the area.
The Jats in villages like Kakda and Mohammedpur Raisingh put forth ludicrous arguments like – "the Muslims were willing to come back to their villages, but decided to stick to the relief camps ever since the government announced the 5 lakh relief package" and that they "themselves destroyed their property to claim inflated relief." Common communal myths propagated by the Hindutva forces against Muslims – "they have large families and do not believe in family planning"; "they are anti-national" and that "they will create a Kashmir like situation here as well" – were liberally put forth.
Is it Jat versus Muslims or Hindus versus Muslims?
It has been reported that lower caste Hindus also participated in attacks on Muslims along with the Jats in different villages. However, the Muslims whom we interviewed in the relief camps felt that wherever the lower caste Hindus acted against them it was under the pressure of the Jats as the lower caste Hindus had little option but to follow the diktat of the Jats. Distinct caste hierarchies were observed in the villages, and also in terms of the involvement of different castes in the decision making processes. For example in the 35 biradari panchayat that was convened in Mohammadpur Raisingh on the November 10, representatives of all the upper castes were invited but none from the lower castes.
It is however noteworthy that no communal violence has been reported from any of the Muslim dominated villages. Simultaneously, there were Jat dominated villages where the Jats took up the responsibility of protecting their Muslim brethren. Some of these villages were Kheda Gani, Garhi Novabad, Garhi Jaitpur and Kurawa.
THE WAY FORWARD
Despite the constitutional and formal averments of the 'secular' character of the Indian state, the de facto reality remains that the state machinery has acted in a highly communal manner which undermines India's secular credentials. Even as the communal poison being spread by the Hindutva forces need be countered with full force, the role played by the Samajwadi Party government in UP in connivance with the Muslim communal forces and the latest act of forcibly evicting the riot displaced families from relief camps brings into question the advisability of forming alliances with such parties to counter communalism. The stark reality is that despite the fact that Muslims constitute a much larger share of UP's population as compared to Yadav's, the propensity of the Yadavization of administrative structure is much stronger while the Muslims can at best expect their lives to be spared in the name of secularism. India's secularism ostensibly sways between 'Hindu Rule' of the "secular parties" of the ruling classes and the 'Hindu Rashtra' of the saffron brigade.
Fighting communalism is not merely an electoral issue. The communal forces can be defeated only by ground struggles built by an alliance of the minorities, the working masses, the dalits, the tribals, other oppressed castes and progressive sections of the intelligentsia. In this regard the example held out by the people of HussainpurKheda Gani, Garhi Novabad, Garhi Jaitpur, Kurawa and other such villages is a ray of hope.
OUR DEMANDS
The following demands acquire top most priority in our opinion under the prevailing circumstances:
  1. All the accused named in the FIRs should be arrested.
  2. Decommunalize the state apparatus.
  3. Restore all villagers back to their homes.
  4. Scrap the affidavit which was taken against five lakh compensation amount.
# # # 
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Delhi Elections-If BJP got 2500 more votes

 Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 11:02 AM
BJP would have been in power today-Grewal
Chandigarh , 03 January 2014: (The Eagle Eye News):
Now analysis has shown, if our party BJP had got 2500 more votes, BJP would have been in power today and it came short of four to five seats in these Delhi elections. In a press statement here today, National Secretary BJP Kisan Morcha and Prabhari Himachal Pradesh, Advocate Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal stated it's very much clear that our BJP party men present clean image and work honestly without groupism in the three civic bodies under party BJP control in Delhi. He said that AAP has made corruption as an issue and brought it to the centre. He said that's why those of us in the Municipal Corporation have a responsibility. Grewal said that now in Delhi there should be competition of "honesty" between BJP and AAP which are the more honest. He said that BJP cannot be defeated in Delhi, party and its workers have to realise this challenge and work honestly. Grewal said BJP party men if remain clean and work with honesty in running the three civic bodies where BJP is in power. He said then there is no force in this world which will stop BJP from winning all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. He said in these Delhi assembly elections the results came like a mirror we see that BJP on those seats which we have been lose for the last 15 years. He said that our party BJP win all those seats in the assembly elections but those seats which have been ours and our Party will lose these. He stated that the reason behind this was that in these areas our BJP workers had gone through an exile for the last 15 years but in others, groupism came to the fore, which is too bad for everybody. Grewal said that the results of the Assembly elections if our party BJP had got only 2500 more votes, BJP would have been in power today and it came short of four to five seats during these Delhi elections.