[Reader-list] Condemn the violence

taraprakash taraprakash at gmail.com
Fri Nov 7 05:46:06 IST 2008 

I read it in Inder Salam's mail.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Javed" <javedmasoo at gmail.com>
To: "Pawan Durani" <pawan.durani at gmail.com>
Cc: <reader-list at sarai.net>; "Shuddhabrata Sengupta" <shuddha at sarai.net>
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 11:24 AM
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Condemn the violence


> In the DU meeting, the ABVP goons spat on the face of SAR Geelani. How
> atrocious.
>
> I remember somebody on this list a few days ago said: "I don't oppose
> your views, I spit on it".
>
> Sounds so similar.
>
> J
>
> On Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 8:58 PM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>> Yes, I agree with Shuddha. Any kind of violence must me condemned.
>>
>> So similar to Kashmiris who also indulge in violence by killing people or
>> damaging public and Govt property.All that these kashmiris have is muscle
>> power, Gun power , throat power,meaningless and empty slogans, and the
>> patronage of corrupted and compliant authorities , pseudo secularists and
>> the paid up writers
>>
>> Pawan
>> Jai Andhra ! Jai Hind
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/6/08, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear all, dear hany babu,
>>>
>>> I am shocked to read this note. Clearly the ABVP and its allies on
>>> the campuses of our universities have become nothing short of
>>> criminal gangs that seek to impose their writ through acts of violent
>>> intimidation. No words are strong enough to condemn the incident that
>>> has been reported below. It only goes to show that the 'culture' of
>>> 'cultural nationalists' of the ABVP variety is synonymous with plain
>>> thuggery. That the concerned university authorities (the pro-vice
>>> chancellor and the proctor) acted in a partisan manner and asked for
>>> this meeting (for which prior permission had been sought and granted)
>>> to be closed is deeply regrettable. They have profoundly compromised
>>> their integrity and the dignity of their position by the manner in
>>> which they have conducted themselves.
>>>
>>> In any given public meeting, the public is invited to attend, and has
>>> the right to ask questions and make critical comments if necessary.
>>> That the ABVP chose not to do this, but to attack and disrupt the
>>> meeting, and insult and harm the speakers, says all we need to know
>>> about their capacity to enter and engage into a debate. They have
>>> nothing to say. They have no facts, no arguments, no reasons, no
>>> evidence. All that they have is muscle power, throat power,
>>> meaningless and empty slogans, and the patronage of corrupted and
>>> compliant authorities and the police.
>>>
>>> This should be seen, not as a sign of their strength, but of their
>>> pathetic weakness. They will not prevail.
>>>
>>> best
>>>
>>> Shuddha
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 06-Nov-08, at 6:14 PM, hany babu wrote:
>>>
>>> > *Press Note*
>>> >
>>> > *University Community, Delhi University*
>>> >
>>> > *6th November 2008*
>>> >
>>> > *Condemn the vandalism of ABVP and RSS in Delhi University!*
>>> >
>>> > *Defend the freedom of speech and our democratic rights!*
>>> >
>>> > Dear media persons and journalists,
>>> >
>>> > * *
>>> >
>>> > We wish to bring to your notice the latest incident of vandalism by
>>> > Akhil
>>> > Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad goons (ABVP, student wing of the RSS)
>>> > in Delhi
>>> > University, in which members of the press community were also made
>>> > victims.
>>> >
>>> > The University Community, an independent group of students and
>>> > teachers of
>>> > Delhi University, had organised a meeting on "*Communalism, Fascism
>>> > and
>>> > Democracy: Rhetoric and Reality*" on 6th November 2008 at Room No.
>>> > 22 Arts
>>> > Faculty. It did not come as a surprise that right-wing forces would be
>>> > opposed to any meaningful discussion on these issues.
>>> >
>>> > As the Chair of the meeting, SAR Geelani (lecturer at Zakir Husain
>>> > College,
>>> > University of Delhi), came inside the room and took his seat, one
>>> > of the
>>> > ABVP members came and *spat on his face twice*. It was then that we
>>> > realised
>>> >
>>> > that this was a planned attempt to disrupt the public meeting –
>>> > ABVP goondas
>>> >
>>> > were sitting inside the room and they rose to hurl abuses at the
>>> > participants and physically attack them. DUSU President Nupur
>>> > Sharma (of
>>> > ABVP) entered the room and declared that SAR Geelani, a lecturer of
>>> > this
>>> > University, could not speak in the University! This, when we had
>>> > taken due
>>> > permission from the University authorities to conduct the meeting.
>>> >
>>> > The ABVP goons attacked the women students and participants, broke the
>>> > microphone and hurled chairs. They also manhandled media persons
>>> > who were
>>> > covering the meeting. Two journalists from Tehelka and Mail Today,
>>> > who were
>>> > speakers at the meeting, were threatened by ABVP. The mother of one
>>> > of the
>>> > media persons who was present had to leave the venue because she was
>>> > terrorised by the goons. At this point, the Pro-Vice Chancellor and
>>> > the
>>> > Proctor called one of the organisers and told him *that the meeting
>>> > could
>>> > not go on because it was creating a 'law and order' problem. *Who
>>> > did the
>>> > University administration side with? ABVP.
>>> >
>>> > It was the courage and fortitude of the audience who insisted on
>>> > continuing
>>> > the meeting. The ABVP goons were pushed out of the room and the
>>> > meeting
>>> > continued behind closed doors. ABVP did not stop there. *In the
>>> > presence of
>>> > a large contingent of Delhi Police, and we dare say with their
>>> > permission,
>>> > they threw stones at the room, broke all the window panes, tried to
>>> > break
>>> > the doors and continued abusing – *Goli maaro saalon ko, Pakistan
>>> > Murdabad,
>>> > Vande Mataram – were some of the better ones*. SAR Geelani, in
>>> > particular
>>> > was targeted. *However, they could not scare us and stop the
>>> > meeting from
>>> > concluding successfully.
>>> >
>>> > We wish to bring to your notice that this is not the first effort
>>> > of ABVP
>>> > *to
>>> > snatch all the democratic space available to us in the University*.
>>> > Last
>>> > year, the faculty members and students of the History Department were
>>> > targeted only because of a text in their syllabus. The same goons
>>> > who once
>>> > attacked our right to study history texts today attacked our right
>>> > to hold
>>> > meetings and discussions.
>>> >
>>> > During a meeting on communalism and fascism, we were witness to the
>>> > threat
>>> > and danger posed by these communal and fascist forces to the
>>> > secular and
>>> > democratic fabric of our country. The parent organisation of ABVP,
>>> > and the
>>> > politics espoused by them, is responsible for the widespread attack on
>>> > minorities across the country. It is they who were responsible for the
>>> > genocide in Gujarat and for spreading the politics of hate and
>>> > fear. If we
>>> > remain silent today, *we will lose whatever little space that is
>>> > left to us
>>> > in the University*. Do we need to take permission from ABVP to hold a
>>> > meeting in the University? Who does the University administration
>>> > and Delhi
>>> > Police support in the fight against fascism?
>>> >
>>> > *We call upon the entire University community to protest against this
>>> > assault on academic freedom and democratic rights. In protest of
>>> > today's
>>> > events, we are organising a protest march tomorrow at the
>>> > University, at
>>> > 11:00 a.m. at Vivekananda statue, Arts Faculty. We demand*
>>> >
>>> > *1.       **The University administration should lodge a FIR
>>> > against ABVP
>>> > members, especially persons like Nupur Sharma, Vikas Dahiya, Desh
>>> > Ratan,
>>> > Sonu Singh and Ashutosh.*
>>> >
>>> > *2.       **Time-bound enquiry into this act of vandalism and
>>> > goondaism and
>>> > action against the people found guilty. *
>>> >
>>> > *3.       **To give us assurance that future public meetings on
>>> > similar
>>> > issues will not be disrupted by these goons. *
>>> >
>>> > University Community
>>> >
>>> > *Contact Persons: Umar Khalid 9873961701, Harsh Bora 9811855618,
>>> > universitycommun...<http://groups.google.com/groups/unlock?hl=en-
>>> > GB&_done=/group/greenyouth/browse_thread/thread/29a70db7becff1de%
>>> > 3Fhl%3Den-GB&msg=bd0acd545ae5e08f>
>>> > @gmail.com*
>>> > --
>>> > MD. MAHTAB ALAM
>>> > mdmahtaba...<http://groups.google.com/groups/unlock?hl=en-GB&_done=/
>>> > group/greenyouth/browse_thread/thread/29a70db7becff1de%3Fhl%3Den-
>>> > GB&msg=bd0acd545ae5e08f>
>>> > @gmail.com
>>> > Phone:+91-9811209345
>>> > _________________________________________
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>>>
>>> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
>>> The Sarai Programme at CSDS
>>> Raqs Media Collective
>>> shuddha at sarai.net
>>> www.sarai.net
>>> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>>>
>>>
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