Communal Mob Lynching:
Hallmark of Modi Raj

The recent murders of Muslim men by communal lynch mobs in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand over rumours of ‘cow slaughter’ are the latest in the spate of such killings that have become the single most recognizable hallmark of Modi Rule.  

In Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, Qasim was beaten to death on the pretext of ‘cow protection’. A video has emerged showing a dying Wasim begging for water even as the mob around him claimed to have prevented the slaughter of a calf. Another video shows a mob assaulting a senior citizen Samiuddin at the same place, forcing him to admit he slaughtered cows. These videos call the bluff of the UP Police which has been claiming that the incident was a result of ‘road rage’ not a hate crime against Muslims.

The most shocking image of all shows uniformed personnel of the Uttar Pradesh police casually escorting a mob that is dragging Qasim’s body as though it were the carcass of an animal. The UP police, apologizing for the “insensitive” action of its personnel, however claims the police allowed the mob to drag Qasim in the absence of an ambulance, because they urgently wanted to carry the injured man to a hospital. This “apology” is an insult to our intelligence. What training protocol teaches policemen that the correct way to carry severely injured persons is to drag their bodies on the ground?

Another recent incident exposes the communalized character of the UP police under Yogi Adityanath. A meat seller Salim Qureshi (Munna) was picked up by two police constables in Bareilly, UP on June 14 from his home on allegations that he had sold beef. They took him to a private wedding hall where they beat him up severely. He died of his injuries at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on June 21, 2018. This was nothing but a custodial communal lynching by Yogi’s police. This incident also reminds us of how the UP police arrested the father of the Unnao rape victim and beat him to death in custody.

Meanwhile in Jharkhand, two Muslim men Sirajuddin Ansari and Murtaza Ansari were lynched to death by a mob at Godda, which claimed the two men were part of a gang that had stolen buffaloes. In another incident, another Muslim man Tauhid Ansari was beaten to death on suspicion of carrying beef in Ramgarh. The Jharkhand police is of course blaming the victims and accusing them of being cow-smugglers.

The response of the ruling BJP reveals, not for the first time, the political support that emboldens communal mobs in Modi’s India. The Godda BJP MP Nishikant Dubey announced that he would bear the legal expenses of the four accused in the Godda lynching case! Such support for communal killers by the RSS and BJP is nothing new: BJP Central Ministers, MPs and MLAs expressed open support for the accused in the Muzaffarnagar riot and rape cases; a Minister in Modi’s cabinet attended the funeral of one of the accused in the Dadri lynching, where the man’s body was draped in the Indian national flag; in Udaipur, the Sangh outfits held a violent bandh in support of the man who set a Muslim man on fire in a videotaped act of terrorism; and of course, BJP MLAs marched in defence of the rape-murder accused of Kathua.        

Overwhelmingly the victims of the mob lynchings have been Muslims and Dalits. In this vitiated climate, where organised peddling of inflammatory communal fake news and instigation not only on social media but even on influential television channels and newspapers has become the norm, it is inevitable that lynchings are growing. All over the country, people are being lynched following rumours of “child-snatching.”          

In 2016, Modi belatedly spoke up on the subject of lynchings by cow-goons, making a distinction between “genuine” and “fake” cow-protectors. This distinction is spurious because elected representatives of the BJP are openly justifying the so-called “fake” cow-goons and offering them legal and moral support!

As India approaches closer to the 2019 elections, and the Modi Government and various BJP state governments are in the dock for their utter failure and betrayal on all fronts, it is clear that the BJP and RSS are resorting to an intensification of communal polarisation and violence in a last desperate bid to somehow cling on to power. It is imperative that every movement of the various sections of people – farmers, workers, women, students and youth, Dalits – all expose and alert people against these tactics even as they hold the Government accountable to their rights and concerns. In every village and town, Indians must organise against lynch mobs, alerting each other against inflammatory rumours and training youth to resist such hate and violence.       

വിയോജിപ്പ്‌ ക്രിമിനൽ കുറ്റമാക്കൽ : ജനാധിപത്യത്തിനു നേരെയുള്ള  മോദി സർക്കാരിന്റെ  പുതിയ ആക്രമണങ്ങൾ 

വിയോജിപ്പിന്റെ ശബ്ദങ്ങളെ ക്രിമിനൽ വരിച്ചു നിശ്ശബ്ദമാക്കാനുള്ള മോദി സർക്കാരിന്റെ ശ്രമങ്ങളിൽ ഏറ്റവും ഒടുവിലത്തേതാണ്  ഭീമാ കോർഗാവ്‌ പ്രസ്ഥാനവുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട അഞ്ച് മുൻനിര സാമൂഹ്യപ്രവർത്തകരെ വ്യാജക്കേസു ചുമത്തി അറസ്റ്റുചെയ്ത സംഭവം. പ്രധാനമന്ത്രി മോദിയെ വധിക്കാൻ ഗൂഢാലോചന നടത്തിയെന്ന ഗൗരവമേറിയ കേസ് ആണ്  അവർക്കെതിരെ ചാർത്തപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുള്ളത്.
 ദലിത് അവകാശങ്ങൾക്കുവേണ്ടിയുള്ള പോരാട്ടങ്ങളിലെ മുൻനിര ആക്ടിവിസ്റ്റും എഴുത്തുകാരനും ആയ സുധീർ ധാവ് ലെ, നാഗ് പൂരിലെ പ്രമുഖ അഭിഭാഷകനായ സുരേന്ദ്ര ഗാഡ് ലിംഗ് , വികസനത്തിന്റെ പേരിലുള്ള കുടിയൊഴിപ്പിക്കലിന്റെ സാമൂഹ്യപ്രത്യാഘാതങ്ങളുടെ വിഷയത്തിൽ ഗവേഷണപഠനം നടത്തിവരുന്ന സാമൂഹ്യപ്രവർത്തകൻ ആയ മഹേഷ് റൗത് , നാഗ് പൂർ സർവകലാശാലയിൽ ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് വകുപ്പ്  മേധാവിയായ ഷോമാ സെൻ , രാഷ്ട്രീയത്തടവുകാരുടെ അവകാശങ്ങൾക്കുവേണ്ടി പോരാട്ടം നടത്തുന്ന പ്രമുഖ ആക്ടിവിസ്റ്റ് റോണാ വിൽ സൺ എന്നിവർക്കെതിരായിട്ടാണ്   നരേന്ദ്രമോദിയെ വധിക്കാൻ  ഗൂഢാലോചന തയ്യാറാക്കി എന്ന  വ്യാജക്കേസ്  മഹാരാഷ്ട്ര  പോലീസ് ഇപ്പോൾ ചുമത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നത്.     

ഈ വർഷം  ആദ്യം ഭീമാ കോർഗാവ് ആഘോഷങ്ങളുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട് ഉണ്ടായ അക്രമ സംഭവങ്ങളുടെ സൂത്രധാരരായി മുൻചൊന്ന സാമൂഹ്യപ്രവർത്തകരെ ചിത്രീകരിച്ചുകൊണ്ടാണ് പൂനെ പോലീസ് അവരുടെ കെട്ടിച്ചമച്ച കേസ് തുടങ്ങുന്നത്. ഈ ആരോപണത്തിൽ തന്നെ പ്രഥമ ദൃഷ്ട്യാ ഒട്ടേറെ പൊള്ളത്തരങ്ങൾ പ്രകടമാണ്. ഒന്നാമതായി ,ഭീമാ കോർ ഗാവ് ആഘോഷങ്ങൾ തികച്ചും നിയമാനുസൃതമായ രീതിയിലും സുതാര്യമായും സംഘടിപ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ടതാണ്. മുൻകൂട്ടി പേരുവിവരങ്ങൾ പരസ്യപ്പെടുത്തിയ ഒരു കമ്മിറ്റിയുടെ നേതൃത്വത്തിലാണ് അത് സംഘടിപ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ടത്. ദലിത് ജനവിഭാഗങ്ങൾ കൂട്ടത്തോടെ പങ്കെടുത്ത ഈ ആഘോഷങ്ങൾക്കിടെ അക്രമം അഴിച്ചു വിടപ്പെട്ടത് ശംഭാജി ഭിഡെ എന്ന് പേരായ ഒരു ആർ എസ് എസ് പ്രവർത്തകന്റെയും , മുൻപ്  ബി ജെ പിയിലും ശിവസേനയിലും നേതൃസ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ വഹിച്ചിരുന്ന  മിലിന്റ് എക്ബോതെയുടെയും നേതൃത്വത്തിൽ ആയിരുന്നു.
അവർ നേതൃത്വം കൊടുത്ത  അക്രമങ്ങൾക്ക് സംസ്ഥാന പോലീസ് പൂർണ്ണമായും ഒത്താശ ചെയ്തിരുന്നു. സംഭവം നടന്നു ആറു മാസത്തോളമായിട്ടും  ഭിഡെ യെയും എക്ബോതെ യെയും പോലീസ് അറസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്തില്ല എന്ന് മാത്രമല്ല, അറിയപ്പെടുന്ന പല ദലിത് നേതാക്കൾക്കും  പ്രവർത്തകർക്കും എതിരെ വ്യാജക്കേസ്സുകൾ ചുമത്തി അവരെ  അറസ്റ്റു ചെയ്യുകയും ചെയ്തു.! 

അറസ്റ്റുകൾക്കു ശേഷം പൂനെ പോലീസ് കണ്ടെടുത്തതായി അവകാശപ്പെട്ട ഒരു ലാപ്ടോപിൽ, മോദിയെ വധിക്കാൻ പ്രതികളിലൊരാൾ "രാജീവ് ഗാന്ധി വധം നടപ്പാക്കിയ മാതൃകയിൽ" ഒരു ഗൂഢാലോചന നടത്തിയതിന്റെയും പ്രകാശ് അംബേദ്‌കർ, ജിഗ്നേഷ് മേവാനി എന്നീ ദളിത് നേതാക്കളെയും ജെ എൻ യു വിലെ ആക്ടിവിസ്റ്റ്  ഉമർ ഖാലിദിനെയും ഭാഗഭാക്കുകളാക്കാൻ ശ്രമിച്ചതിന്റെയും അതിൽ   തയ്യാറാക്കിയതിന്റെയും,  After the arrests, the Pune Police then claimed to have discovered a letter on the laptop of one of the arrested activists, which outlined a plot to kill the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a “Rajiv Gandhi style assassination plot” and mentioned the names of well known Dalit movement leaders like Prakash Ambedkar and Jignesh Mewani, and JNU activist Umar Khalid. The police has used this letter as a basis for invoking the draconian UAPA against the activists. Many experts have already cast doubts on the authenticity of this letter, which was leaked by the police to the media. Many forensic experts and senior police officers have remarked that Maoists never write letters using real names and mentioning specifics of weapons and other details. The letter bears all the hallmarks of a shoddy fabrication that has the sole aim of smearing various movements and activists. Such a letter will never carry any weight in a trial in a court of law – but it is being used to try and cast doubt on movements and activists in a media trial.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has, in the wake of the arrest of the five activists, tweeted that “Half-Maoists” are a “serious threat to Indian democracy.” The BJP and Sangh and their tame media houses use vague terms like ‘Urban Naxal’ and ‘Half Maoist’ to try and cast suspicion on all activists and movements that are defending the Constitution of India, asserting the rights of the oppressed and exploited, and questioning the Modi Government. As many commentators have remarked, it is a “full fascist” Government that attempts to brand activists as ‘Half Maoist’.

The so-called war on Maoism has for long been a ploy to unleash terror against adivasi communities fighting for their land, forests and dignity – and now the attempt is to try and include urban activists in the scope of this attack on democratic rights.

It must also be recalled that there is a long track record of concocted claims about so-called assassination plots against Modi – which have never been backed by any facts but have been used variously to boost his image and create sympathy for him. While he was the CM of Gujarat, fake encounters too were conducted by the police to back the fictitious claims of such assassination plots.

This time, however, the Government’s and the BJP’s attempts to milk the so-called assassination plot for political capital seems to have come undone. Various figures ranging from BJP ally Shiv Sena to NCP leader Sharad Pawar to leader of the Patel agitation in Gujarat Hardik Patel have cast doubt on and even mocked the police theories as being a last ditch, desperate attempt by a failed Government to gain some sympathy with Assembly and Parliament elections drawing closer.

Everyone in India who is concerned about the country’s democracy must rise up to demand the release of the five activists and withdrawal of all charges against them. We know that if we do not speak up today when the fascists come for ‘others’, there will be no one to speak for us when, tomorrow, the fascists come for us. People of India will continue to expose the BJP Governments which are attacking people’s rights on all fronts.

A Note On The Citizenship Amendment Bill (2016)

The Central Committee welcomed the growing popular protests in Assam and the entire North East region against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (2016), and issued the following note appealing for nationwide protests against the Bill on 11 June 2018.

The Modi government is trying to redefine the Republic by amending the Citizenship Act of 1955. In keeping with the BJP’s well-known concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (2016) seeks to introduce a distinction among refugees on the basis of their religious affiliation and identity. According to the Amendment Bill, non-Muslim refugees coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan without valid travel documents would not be treated as illegal migrants and would be allowed to apply for Indian Citizenship on easier terms than are currently prescribed for persons seeking the status of naturalised Indian citizens. This is a brazen attempt to introduce a Hindu Rashtra by the backdoor by defining citizenship on a religious basis and sanctifying the hounding of Muslim immigrants as infiltrators.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill (2016) has been met with especially intense protests in Assam, where the BJP's intention to settle Hindu Bangladeshis in the state undermines the spirit of the Assam Accord. The people of Assam are on the streets in protest against the BJP's attempts to play communal politics at the expense of the interests of Assamese people, and to undermine the secular basis of the Indian Constitution's definition of Indian citizenship.

The Bill also seeks to cancel the registration of Overseas Citizens of India if they are found to violate any Indian law ‘for the time being in force’. While the government provides safe passage to economic offenders like Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, it evidently seeks to stifle dissent among NRIs and OCIs by threatening them with deregistration for opposing injustice and oppression in India which can easily invite prosecution under one of the many draconian laws currently in force.

People with diverse religious affiliations may and do come to India to seek refuge and asylum. They are propelled by a variety of circumstances ranging from social and political persecution to economic misery, natural calamities and climate change. The BJP, which flouts international norms by seeking to deport the persecuted and destitute Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and backs communal, Islamophobic hate speech and violence against them, proposes to offercitizenship to Hindu refugees from countries neighbouring India! In a secular democratic republic, religious affiliation must not be made the basis to decide on either citizenship or the question of treating refugees with justice, dignity and humanitarian considerations. We must demand the scrapping of the CitizenshipAmendment Bill (2016).

-  Central Committee, CPI(ML)

ML Update

Criminalising Dissent: Modi Government’s Latest Assault On Democracy

The arrest of five leading activists on trumped up charges related to the Bhima Koregaon movement and a so-called assassination plot against the Prime Minister is the Modi Government’s latest attempt to criminalise and silence dissenting voices that are questioning it.

The five arrested activists are Sudhir Dhawale, writer and Dalit rights activist, Surendra Gadling, a leading lawyer from Nagpur, Mahesh Raut, an activist and researcher on displacement issues, Shoma Sen, head of the English Literature department at Nagpur University, and Rona Wilson, an activist for the rights of political prisoners.

To begin with, the Pune police claimed that the arrested activists were the masterminds behind the Bhima Koregaon celebrations and related violence earlier this year. This allegation is full of holes. In the first place, the Bhima Koregaon celebration was perfectly Constitution and lawful: it was a public event organized by a publicly-announced committee. The violence was unleashed by anti-Dalit forces led by RSS man Sambhaji Bhide and former leader of BJP and Shiv Sena Milind Ekbote, backed by the state police. Now, months after the violence, Bhide and Ekbote are yet to be arrested, but well known Dalit rights activists are arrested instead!

After the arrests, the Pune Police then claimed to have discovered a letter on the laptop of one of the arrested activists, which outlined a plot to kill the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a “Rajiv Gandhi style assassination plot” and mentioned the names of well known Dalit movement leaders like Prakash Ambedkar and Jignesh Mewani, and JNU activist Umar Khalid. The police has used this letter as a basis for invoking the draconian UAPA against the activists. Many experts have already cast doubts on the authenticity of this letter, which was leaked by the police to the media. Many forensic experts and senior police officers have remarked that Maoists never write letters using real names and mentioning specifics of weapons and other details. The letter bears all the hallmarks of a shoddy fabrication that has the sole aim of smearing various movements and activists. Such a letter will never carry any weight in a trial in a court of law – but it is being used to try and cast doubt on movements and activists in a media trial.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has, in the wake of the arrest of the five activists, tweeted that “Half-Maoists” are a “serious threat to Indian democracy.” The BJP and Sangh and their tame media houses use vague terms like ‘Urban Naxal’ and ‘Half Maoist’ to try and cast suspicion on all activists and movements that are defending the Constitution of India, asserting the rights of the oppressed and exploited, and questioning the Modi Government. As many commentators have remarked, it is a “full fascist” Government that attempts to brand activists as ‘Half Maoist’.

The so-called war on Maoism has for long been a ploy to unleash terror against adivasi communities fighting for their land, forests and dignity – and now the attempt is to try and include urban activists in the scope of this attack on democratic rights.

It must also be recalled that there is a long track record of concocted claims about so-called assassination plots against Modi – which have never been backed by any facts but have been used variously to boost his image and create sympathy for him. While he was the CM of Gujarat, fake encounters too were conducted by the police to back the fictitious claims of such assassination plots.

This time, however, the Government’s and the BJP’s attempts to milk the so-called assassination plot for political capital seems to have come undone. Various figures ranging from BJP ally Shiv Sena to NCP leader Sharad Pawar to leader of the Patel agitation in Gujarat Hardik Patel have cast doubt on and even mocked the police theories as being a last ditch, desperate attempt by a failed Government to gain some sympathy with Assembly and Parliament elections drawing closer.

Everyone in India who is concerned about the country’s democracy must rise up to demand the release of the five activists and withdrawal of all charges against them. We know that if we do not speak up today when the fascists come for ‘others’, there will be no one to speak for us when, tomorrow, the fascists come for us. People of India will continue to expose the BJP Governments which are attacking people’s rights on all fronts.

A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine

Vol. 21, No. 25 12-18 June 2018