[Reader-list] Call for a National Campaign For Defence of the Indian Constitution

[Harsh Kapoor]

PUNISH THE GUILTY OF GUJARAT GENOCIDE
Call for a National Campaign For Defence of the Indian Constitution
NB : This statement is being circulated as a contribution to the 
ongoing public discussion on the current events.

The recent events in Gujarat demonstrate without a shadow of doubt 
that a section of the Indian ruling establishment is generating 
communal conflict and undermining the Indian Constitution. It 
includes political leaders, officials and extra-constitutional 
centres of power such as the RSS and its fronts. The symptoms of this 
creeping coup d'etat against the Indian Constitution are as follows:

1./ Mob violence and barbarity have been legitimised by high 
executives of the State. After the heinous and  reprehensible attack 
on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra, that led to the death of 57 Hindu 
rail passengers, the entire Muslim community of Gujarat was held 
responsible for the actions of a few. The brutal killings of innocent 
men, women and children was sought to be justified in the name of the 
fascist doctrine of collective guilt, the doctrinal basis of 
Hitlerism.

2./ Revenge and retaliation have been made instruments of state 
policy. In Gujarat, armed gangs owing allegiance to the ruling party 
and its parent body, the RSS, have been given free rein by the state 
Chief Minister to indulge in crimes against humanity without any fear 
of the law. The police were neutralised by orders from elected 
authorities who are under oath to protect and implement the 
Constitution. By failing to acknowledge this fact the Union 
Government has sought to legitimise officials who have violated their 
oath of office. The VHP attack on the legislative assembly in 
Bhubhaneshwar demonstrates yet again the confidence displayed by 
criminal elements with political links to the Union Government. This 
government, that claims to be in the forefront of the so-called war 
against terrorism, is itself guilty of harbouring terrorists and 
promoting their activities in the name of so-called Hindu 
nationalism. The preaching and practice of collective guilt in India 
(and in other countries of South Asia), require that the crime of 
genocide be incorporated into the criminal justice system. Political 
assassination is no less a crime when its victims are ordinary Indian 
citizens.

3./ Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees to every Indian, the 
right to life and liberty unless deprived of them by due process of 
law. Events in Gujarat since February 27, 2002, demonstrate that 
state officials unilaterally and illegally withdrew these protections 
from a section of Indian citizens. Similar malicious misuse of the 
state machinery took place during the massacre of Sikh citizens in 
1984. (The fact that the Indian Parliament can meet in joint session 
to pass draconian laws, but has not yet condoled the mass murder of 
Sikh citizens in 1984, is a matter of shame for Indian democracy). 
Such events are part of the same process and demonstrate the same 
truth - that certain criminal elements in the body politic function 
as if they were above the reach of the law. This is a blatant 
violation of the oaths of office taken by elected state officials.

4./ By acts of deliberate deception, (such as the recent arguments in 
favour of the VHP by Attorney General and the acceptance of the 
so-called Ramshila in Ayodhya by a state official), the Union 
government is supporting the unilateral claim of the RSS and VHP that 
they represent all Hindus. By so doing, the swayamsevaks in high 
office are undermining the authority of Parliament, which has been 
elected by millions of citizens, including a large proportion of 
Hindus. A PARALLEL SYSTEM OF REPRESENTATION IS BEING FORCED UPON THE 
INDIAN PEOPLE. This must be rejected as a violation of the Indian 
Constitution. We reiterate that the RSS-VHP do not represent all 
Hindus, nor do the Muslim Personal Law Board and Babri Masjid Action 
Committee represent all Muslims.

5./ The systematic and violent humiliation of one or other section of 
the Indian population by the highest State authorities will tear our 
society apart, brutalise the social ethos,  destroy the economy and 
polarise the people towards extremist ideologies.Today, tens of 
thousands of Gujarati Muslims are living in anguish and fear, housed 
in refugee camps, with no guarantee of personal security or 
rehabilitation. The relentless use of communal hatred and violence by 
the Indian ruling elite has converted the dream of national 
independence into a nightmare for ordinary Indians. Our rulers have 
progressed from the hiring of criminals to the propagation of 
brutality and criminality as a means of obtaining power. This process 
will result in nothing less than the fragmentation of the Indian 
Union and the demolition of Indian democracy.

6./ We would like to recognise that there are honest and 
conscientious officials in the bureaucracy and police who have 
honoured their professional obligations and striven to defend the 
right to life and liberty of the citizens. We acknowledge their 
commitment, and condemn the Gujarat government for transferring those 
police officers who did their best to prevent bloodshed. In the words 
of the NHRC Chairman, Justice J S Varma, we call upon all state 
officials "not to seek permission to perform their duty under the 
law".

7./ Communal violence in other countries of the region is no less 
vicious. From time to time, Hindus, Christians and Ahmadiyas in 
Pakistan, Hindus and Hill Tribes in Bangladesh, and Tamils in Sri 
Lanka have been made targets of hatred and violence. These campaigns 
are also fascist in nature, and serve to exacerbate communal tensions 
in India. In the light of the close inter-linkages between various 
types of communal and chauvinist politics in all these countries, it 
is necessary that determined efforts be made towards cooperation 
amongst democrats across all frontiers in South Asia. We 
unequivocally denounce and reject all forms of communal hatred and 
violence, whether this is done in the name of Hindus, Muslims, 
Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs or any other identity.

In the light of the above, we believe that:

The Indian Constitution is being deliberately undermined by those 
sworn to protect it

Democracy is being misused for the purpose of destroying democratic 
institutions; the secular and pluralist tradition is being undermined 
by cultural policing and intellectual censorship

Mob violence enjoys the tacit or open support of certain high state 
officials and political leaders

The culture of violence and bloodshed is being propagated 
ideologically as a 'nationalist' virtue

Civil society in India is being rapidly converted into a war-zone; and

Indian citizens are faced with nothing less than a constitutional 
breakdown, heralded by a section of their political leadership
In the face of this alarming situation, WE HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO 
LAUNCH A PROLONGED AND NON-VIOLENT SATYAGRAHA TO DEFEND THE LETTER 
AND SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION. To this end, we call upon all 
peace-loving and democratic citizens to unite in a Coalition For the 
Defence of the Indian Constitution. (name to be decided by 
consensus). The first step in this direction can be the arrangement 
of regional conventions. This process could culminate in a national 
convention later in 2002. The convention should construct a platform 
unifying all democratic forces on a consensual programme for 
resisting fascism and defending democracy. We suggest the following 
principles for such a convention:

1./ The Convention should be a gathering of concerned individuals 
rather than of representatives of parties and groups. (This will not 
prejudice their right to remain members of any parties or groups).

2./ The Convention will address the grave crisis outlined above and 
strive to mobilise a  sustained and organised campaign to protect 
democratic institutions, pluralist values and constitutional liberties

3./ The entire process will be funded only by individual 
contributions in cash or kind

Among the demands that the convention can consider are the following :

That sworn testimonies of eye-witnesses and officials be placed 
before judicial authorities of unimpeachable impartiality, that 
executive and criminal culpability for the Gujarat events be 
established, and the guilty punished.

That hateful communal propaganda of all varieties be stopped 
forthwith, that the VHP and Bajrang Dal.be prosecuted under Section 
153-A of the Indian Penal Code.

That a joint session of Parliament be convened to condemn and condole 
the death of innocents in Delhi, Kanpur, Bokaro in 1984, Gujarat in 
2002, and all communal killings in general

Signatories (in alphabetical order)

Dilip Simeon
Dunu Roy
Harsh Kapoor
Jairus Banaji
Purushottam Agrawal
Rohini Hensman

[11 April 2002]

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