[Reader-list] "We see these boys as national heroes"

[Sanjay Kak]

In a season where the Nation remembers its heroes, a story about some
additions to its swelling ranks.
One particularly interesting quote:
"We see these boys as national heroes. They suffered atrocities at the
government's hands but did not take up arms," said Dr T.A. Rehmani of
the Muslim Political Council. "The government should give them jobs."

Best

Sanjay Kak
_________________________

250 young victims of terror taint close ranks

CITHARA PAUL

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090116/jsp/frontpage/story_10398032.jsp

New Delhi, Jan. 15: Some 250 young Muslims who lost their jobs and
careers after being wrongly held as terror suspects have united to
seek answers from the government and punishment for police.

Backed by two Muslim organisations, these "tainted" youths will hold a
rally here on January 29 demanding the government rehabilitate them
with jobs or fund their studies.

"I lost my career and my life just because I was arrested on
suspicion. I was sacked from my job the next day. Now I've been set
free, but where will I go? How will I survive? The government must
give an answer," said a young man who worked as a software engineer in
Bangalore.

"What about the pain my family suffered? Somebody should be made answerable."

He requested he not be named to avoid more harassment.

The rally will showcase similarly stigmatised young men, mostly in
their 20s, from places such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and
Azamgarh. Most have been acquitted, and the rest freed on bail, after
months of detention and interrogation — even alleged torture.

Talha Amir was picked up from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, by the
Maharashtra anti-terrorist squad last month on suspicion of being a
conduit between the Indian Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Toiba. He was
also accused of involvement in the Delhi blasts and the Mumbai
attacks.

When he got bail two weeks later, after the police failed to find any
evidence against him, he had lost his IT job in Hyderabad.

The Uttar Pradesh Ulema Council and the Muslim Political Council will
support the rally, where the young men may form their own
organisation.

"We see these boys as national heroes. They suffered atrocities at the
government's hands but did not take up arms," said Dr T.A. Rehmani of
the Muslim Political Council. "The government should give them jobs."

Andhra Pradesh has already promised a Rs 20,000 compensation to each
youth acquitted of terror charges in the state, and free coaching to
the students among them.

The Delhi rally, however, will have another demand: punish the
officers responsible for the arrests and the media leaks. "They should
be suspended if not dismissed," Rehmani said, suggesting this was the
only way to bring accountability into the system.

Such steps may not be legally possible, but senior lawyers have been
critical of the police's growing habit of parading suspects before
cameras, and behaving as if the accused were guilty till proved
innocent. The legal experts put it down to increasing intolerance in
society where terror suspects are stigmatised and often shunned even
by defence lawyers.

"We will field these youths in Assembly and parliamentary elections if
they are not rehabilitated properly," Rehmani threatened.

Imran, a Hyderabad-based engineering student who lost 20 months after
being held over the Mecca Masjid blasts, had told The Telegraph his
life had been "hell" even after his release on bail. He was forced to
spend hours at a police station every third day, and in between suffer
long periods of wait in courtrooms.