While human rights organisation People’s Union for Civil Liberties, prominent intellectuals Professor Apoorvanand and Ashok Vajpeyi, retired civil servants and others have written letters to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand requesting them to take immediate cognisance of the rising communal tension and increased incidents of hate speech against the Muslim minority in the state, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition filed by the Association of Protection of Civil Rights to prevent the proposed mahapanchayat slated to take place on June 15 in Purola town of the state. As per the recent development, Section 144 CrPC has been imposed restricting any mass congregation.
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THE People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr D.Y. Chandrachud, seeking his urgent attention to the “alarming rise of hate speech, vigilantism and targeted communal violence against Muslim community in Uttarakhand.”
Another letter by the All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice (AILAJ), highlights that efforts are underway at “social segregation” of Muslims and that the police have become a mute spectator to the ongoing explicit calls for ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Uttarakhand. The police’s failure to respond to these open and blatant threats can only be considered as active support for those making these threats.
Incident given communal makeover
On May 26, two youths, one Hindu and another Muslim, were allegedly involved in the abduction of a minor Hindu girl in Purola block of Uttarkashi district. They were caught by locals and a first information report (FIR) was subsequently lodged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, 2012 (POCSO), pursuant to a complaint of the girl’s family. Both of the youths were arrested on the same day.
This incident was given a communal makeover by the Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan (DRA), a right-wing Hindu group, which started spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric in the name of protecting the “devbhoomi” (land of the gods).
The DRA allegedly circulated posters across the district asking Muslims to leave the town. It has been reported that many members of the Muslim community have left the town fearing for their safety.
Amidst the communal frenzy in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, the civil liberties and human rights organisation People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr D.Y. Chandrachud, seeking his urgent attention to the “alarming rise of hate speech, vigilantism and targeted communal violence against Muslim community in Uttarakhand.”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s minority cell leader Mohammed Zaid, who has been living in the town for the last two decades, is among the ones who have fled their homes.
A Hindu mahapanchayat is scheduled to be held on Thursday under the leadership of Swami Darshan Bharti of the DRA for the protection of “sisters, daughters and ancestral heritage”.
As a result of the proposed mahapanchayat, fear has engulfed the minority community as many have already fled for their safety.
Livelihood targeted
The livelihood of Muslims has also been impacted as many were allegedly forced to permanently close down their shops before the mahapanchayat takes place. The Hindu has reported that 44 shops belonging to Muslims have been closed in Purola since the incident.
Protests were also organised in the Purola block, wherein slogans to boycott the Muslim community were raised. On May 29, a major rally by right-wing organisations took place in Purola. In the videos of that rally, the mob can be seen attacking Muslim-owned shops despite the presence of police.
Posters threatening “love-jihadis” with dire consequences if they do not vacate their shops were also found in Purola block and Barkot. The posters were eventually removed as police took cognisance.
On June 3, another protest under the banner of Yamuna Ghati Hindu Jagriti Sangathan took place.
On May 26, two youths, one Hindu and another Muslim, were allegedly involved in the abduction of a minor Hindu girl in Purola block, Uttarkashi … This incident was given a communal makeover by Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan, a right-wing group, which started spreading anti-Muslim rhetorics in the name of protecting the “devbhumi” (land of the gods).
Many Hindu right-wing organisations such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), youth-wing of the VHP Bajrang Dal, and Bhairav Sena have supported these protests.
It has also surfaced that some unidentified people have marked Muslim shops and houses with ‘X’. In Barkot and nearby areas, ‘quit’ posters have been pasted on shops owned by Muslims and many of them have reportedly been marked with black crosses.
Ultimatum to leave the town
According to Hindustan, the VHP along with Bajrang Dal has sent a letter to the Tehri district magistrate giving an ultimatum to the ‘people of a particular community’ to leave the Jaunpur Ghati (valley), and in particular the towns of Yamuna Ghati, Nainbagh, Jakhdhar, Naintibbar, Thatyur, Damta, Purola, Barkot and Uttarkashi.
According to the letter, “members of a particular community are continuously roaming around the villages in the garb of ragpickers, ice cream sellers etc. Due to which, the threat to our beti, choti, and roti as well as the heritage of our ancestors is constantly rising.”
The letter further states that if Muslims do not comply with the ultimatum, VHP, along with Hindu Yuva Vahini and Traders’ Union of Tehri Garhwal will organise a “chakka jam” and block the Yamuna bridge highway on June 20.
Also read: Hate crimes against minorities: ‘Where have we reached in the name of religion?,’ asks Supreme Court
Previously, Hindu Yuva Vahini had organised a dharam sansad on December 19, 2021 in Delhi, where hate speeches calling for organised violence against Muslims were made.
The livelihood of Muslims, who are in the minority in the state, has also been impacted as many were allegedly forced to keep their shops shut before mahapanchayat takes place. The Hindu has reported that 44 shops belonging to Muslims have been closed in Purola since the incident.
A similar event was organised from December 17–19, 2021 by Yati Narsinghanand in Haridwar. However, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy in Shaheen Abdulla versus Union of India & Ors (2022) directed police and authorities to immediately and suo moto register cases against hate speech even if a complaint is not filed.
The Order highlighted that Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 505 (statement inducing to public mischief), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be invoked to book hate mongers.
Any violation of these directions will attract contempt, the court’s Order stated. In furtherance of this, an FIR against the organiser was registered and a chargesheet has been filed.
Communal incidents a part of larger organised violence
Communal tension has flared up in the last few days in Uttarakhand. One possible trigger is said to have been Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s statement that illegal encroachments in the name of “land jihad” will not be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere in the state.
Dhami was speaking at a meeting of the VHP’s Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal on May 26. A demolition drive was underway in the state to remove structures built without permission on government land.
The meeting was held to discuss various issues including ‘land jihad‘, same-sex marriages and live-in relationships, as reported by The Hindu.
Last Friday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the government will launch background checks for people who have recently moved to Uttarakhand to check the rising cases of “love-jihad.”
Dhami’s government has also enacted an anti-conversion law according to which a person found to be indulging in forced conversion can be punished for up to 10 years.
The Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2022, notified last December, considers forced conversions a cognisable offence.
On June 7, a group of over 200 social justice organisations and non-governmental organisations including Teesta Setalvad’s Citizens for Justice and Peace wrote to President Droupadi Murmu condemning the role of the Dhami government in the “hate-filled” campaign underway in the state.
The group also demanded an investigation into the ongoing illegal encroachment drive in the state.
Dhami’s government has set up an expert committee to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across the state. Implementation of a UCC was one of the promises made by the Dhami government if re-elected.
Amidst the rising communal tension, last Friday, Dhami announced that the government will background checks for people who have recently moved to Uttarakhand to check the rising cases of “love-jihad”.
Concerns raised by civil society
Letters have also been written by prominent intellectuals Professors Apoorvanand and Ashok Vajpai to the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court Vipin Sanghi, requesting their immediate intervention in preventing the proposed mahapanchayat. The letters highlight the Uttarakhand government’s failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s guidelines in Tehseen S. Poonawalla versus Union of India & Ors (2018).
These guidelines oblige the government to take preventive measures against any kind of mob vigilantism and mob violence. As per the guidelines, the state government shall designate a senior police officer, not below the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP), as a nodal officer who shall be assisted by one of the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) rank officers in taking measures to prevent incidents of mob violence and lynching.
A special task force must also be constituted by them to procure intelligence reports about people who are likely to commit such crimes or who are involved in spreading hate speeches, provocative statements and fake news.
The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), composed of retired civil servants and All India and Central Services, have also written a letter to the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand S.S. Sandhu and the state’s director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar, expressing deep concern over the situation in Uttarakhand in general, and Uttarkashi and Tehri Garhwal districts in particular.
CCG has also requested that the proposed mahapanchayat and “chakka jam” should not be permitted to take place as they are explicitly associated with calls to expel Muslims from certain areas.
Communal tension in the last few days has been flaring up in Uttarakhand. It may have allegedly started when the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami said that illegal encroachments in the name of “land-jihad” will not be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere of Uttarakhand.
AILAJ, which is a national organisation of legal practitioners, in its letter seeks to draw attention of the CJI to the fact that the situation unfolding in Uttarakhand directly puts at risk the lives of Muslims and undermines the secular mandate of the Constitution while destroying the fundamental right to dignity, livelihood and shelter.
All the letter petitions have urged the Supreme Court and Uttarakhand High Court to comply with the guidelines of Tehseen Poonawala while urging them to direct the state administration to take stern action against the organisers of the event.
Uttarakhand High Court to hear plea on June 15
In the latest development, a vacation Bench of the Supreme Court of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah refused to entertain a petition seeking to prevent the proposed mahapanchayat. The court has stated that the issue concerns the law and order situation of the state and they must approach the high court in this regard.
All the letter petitions have urged the Supreme Court and Uttarakhand High Court to comply with the guidelines of Tehseen Poonawala while urging them to direct the state administration to take stern action against the organisers of the event.
Previously, a similar mahapanchayat was supposed to take place in Dada Jalalpur village in Roorkee after violence took place on April 16, 2022 during Hanuman Jayanti procession.
The Supreme Court during the hearing in Qurban Ali & Anr versus Union of India & Ors (2022) took cognisance and ordered the state administration to ensure that no undue situation or unacceptable statement be made during the events. Pursuant to the court’s Order, the police imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
