[Reader-list] AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA

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*AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA*



September 15, 2008

New Delhi



Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh,



The blasts in Delhi (September 12, 2008) are another in the series of tragic
blasts in which scores of people have been killed. We strongly condemn the
blasts and demand a proper, unbiased investigation into the same. We demand
that the guilty be punished. At the same time it seems that our
investigating agencies are ignoring some thing very crucial in the matters
of investigating the acts of terror.



The acts of terror have been occurring and Home Ministry is watching
helplessly. While the current investigation is totally focused around SIMI,
many an alleged culprits have been put behind the bars, despite which now
some unknown entity Indian Mujahideen seems to have been projected as being
responsible for the current ones. At the same time another stark truth is
being deliberately sidelined and undermined. And that relates to the blasts
done by Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagran Samiti. We fail to understand as to why
the investigation authorities are turning a blind eye to some of the well
established facts.



1. In a serious case of blasts in Nanded in April 2006 two Bajarang Dal
workers died when making bombs. Similar incidents of bomb blasts were
witnessed in many places around that time, Parabhani, Jalna and Aurangabad
in Maharashtra. Most of these were in front of the mosques. The Nanded
investigation 'leads' were not followed. On the contrary the investigation
in that direction was not pursued at all. The attitude of police in this
investigation has been totally lax. Social activists made the complaint
about this to Human Rights commission. The commission summoned the
Superintendent of police, Nanded, in its hearing held on 17th June. The SP
failed to turn up for hearing! There seems to be a deliberate cover up of
this important finding of Maharashtra Anti terrorist Squad. ATS did
investigate the links of the dead with Bajrang Dal, an RSS affiliate. At the
same time the injured were visited in the hospital by the top brass of local
BJP and associates. Local BJP MP told the police not to harass those related
to the culprits in the wake of the Bajrang Dal involvement in the bomb
making. In Nanded, ATS also found fake moustache and pajama kurta, the idea
being that the culprits will dress like a Muslim while doing these black
deeds.



2. A bomb blast took place at the RSS office at Tenkasi, in the Tirunelveli
District of Tamil Nadu on January 24. After a thorough investigation, the
Tamilnadu Police had arrested 7 persons belonging to Sangh Parivar outfits.
They had confessed that they indulged in this terror act to instigate the
local Hindu population against the Muslims.



On further investigation, the Tamilnadu Police arrested Siva Alias
Sivanandam, who is the General Secretary of Hindu Munnani at Kadayanallur, a
neighbouring town of Tenkasi. Formed in 1980, Hindu Munnani is a frontal
organisation of Sangh Parivar operating in Tamilnadu.



Siva, who has earlier worked in quarries in the neighboring state of Kerala
had supplied the ammonium nitrate and other raw materials for preparing the
bombs.



3. The bombs which exploded in Gadkari Rangayatan on 4th June 2008 injured
seven people. Again Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad succeeded in nabbing
the culprits. The culprits were part of Hindu Janjagaran Samiti (HJS), an
outfit of Sanatana Ashram in Panvel. These culprits were also involved in
other blasts, in Vashi, Panvel and Ratnagiri. We have not heard anything
about the further tracing of this very important lead.



4. On 24th August, in Kanpur two Bajrang Dal workers died while making
bombs. Rajiv alias Piyush Mishra and Bhupinder Singh were killed while
making crude bombs on Sunday afternoon.



On 25th August, Monday, police recovered some crude hand grenades, lead
oxide, red lead, potassium nitrate, bomb pins, timers and batteries from the
spot, inside a hostel in Kalyanpur area of Kanpur, about 80 km from Lucknow.
No further investigation, why?



Every time there is a bomb blast immediately the agencies and the media
declare that it is done by some Muslim organization without any proof.
Hundreds of innocent young boys are picked up, what follows are illegal
detentions, torture, arrests, harassment of families, forcing the families
and victims to sign blank papers. For years these helpless victims are
tortured in jails, denied legal aid, even lawyers who try and fight their
cases are attacked openly in courts. Their images tarnished for life time.
If they are lucky they get let off after years as neither the agencies or
the police have any proof against them. The cacophony of stricter laws rises
so that a police can extract a confession by third degree torture and
present that as evidence.  Through this systematic vilification campaign the
process of demonization of minorities continued unabated.



If we look at the timing of the terror attacks it is very clear that one and
only one political outfit is gaining from it and that is Sangh. With their
eyes on the central government their agenda of polarizing the voter is going
ahead successfully.



On the other hand there are constant attacks on minorities on one pretext or
another. Orissa thousands of Christians have been attacked, rendered
homeless, their homes ransacked and looted and burnt down, churches attacked
and even orphanages are not left alone.



Karnataka a similar picture is emerging. We have personally briefed very
senior people in the government and the Congress party about the Karnataka
situation and that it might explode but nothing was done and we have seen
what has happened yesterday.



While we write to you now, the police are firing at Muslims in Yakutpura in
Vadodara. Yesterday during the Ganpati procession a local dargah was broken
down and shops of Muslims looted and ransacked. Already one boy has died and
many are injured.

Last few days the only Muslim village Nandepeda in the Dangs, Gujarat has
been attacked, ransacked. Villagers have been beaten up brutally including
women and children. All men have fled to the jungles. The police not only
took away all the goods but before going they poured kerosene into the
eatable good so that they could not eat anything too. A proposed VHP rally
today was stopped after spending 4 hours on the phone and pressuring various
police departments.



UPA had formed the National Integration Council under tremendous pressure.
The first agenda papers which were prepared, if you remember, were highly
communal and objectionable. A number of us had raised it during the meeting
and the Home Minister had replied' treat them as scrap' in your presence.
Probably the Home Minister realized that people like us were too
uncomfortable to have in the NIC, who would raise these questions. The NIC
was never convened again. It was supposed to meet every six months.



The country unfortunately has been given on a platter to the Sangh and the
government looks helplessly in providing security to ordinary citizens
whether they are victims of terror attacks or victims of the constant
attacks by the Sangh Parivar's various outfits.



We hope you will intervene and question why are such clear cases of
involvement of RSS affiliates in terror attacks being ignored. It seems the
investigating authorities deliberately want to cover up the role of RSS
affiliates in these acts of terror. Can the real truth behind the dastardly
acts come out without properly investigating these incidents, where the
culprits' involvement is very clear? We urge upon you to instruct the
investigating authorities to pursue the investigation in an unbiased, honest
and professional manner. The life of innocent citizens is at stake and such
irresponsible cover will definitely prevent the real truth from coming out.
For the sake of fairness, honesty and the values of our constitution, we
need to pursue these cases in their logical direction.



Can we look forward to you, Mr. Prime Minister to make your Government to
rise above partisan attitude and unravel the truth behind the blasts which
are rocking the country in a painful way?



Sincerely

 Shabnam Hashmi, Member, National Integration Council

Ram Puniyani, Social Activist, and writer

Parimal Maya Sudhakar, ex-Vice President, JNUSU

Asit, Researcher & Social Activist