Protest Dharna against fake “encounter killings”

Activists of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind, India Peace Organisation, Girls Islamic Organisation, Jamat Women’s Wing, Communist Ghadar party of India, Lok Raj Sangathan, Purogani Mahila Sangathan and other organizations participated in a protest dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on May 16, against the killing of innocent women and men in fake “encounters” by the state security forces. In addition to banners of all the participating organisations, the participants carried placards denouncing state terrorism, the custodial rape and murder of women, the “disappearances” of people in police custody and demanding punishment of the guilty.

Initiating the program, Dr, Fatima Shahnaz of the India Peace Organization denounced the Modi government in Gujarat and its police forces under the command of D.G. Vanzara for the rape and heinous murder of an innocent woman, KauserBi. She denounced the “encounter killing” of her husband Sohrabuddin Sheikh and the chief eye witness, and demanded that the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi should be hanged for this crime. She then called upon speakers from the participating organizations to put forward their views.

The dharna was addressed by Prakash Rao, National Convenor of the Lok Raj Sangathan, Mujtaba Farooq, Secretary, Political Affairs of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Birju Nayak of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, Swami Agnivesh of the Bandhua Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, Dr.N.KAfandi, Astt.Secretary P.R&Media of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Sucharita of Purogami Mahila Sangathan, Rakesh Rafiq of Yuva Bharat, Kavita Krishnan of CPI(ML-Liberation) and several others.

Prakash Rao, National Convenor of the Lok Raj Sangathan, called upon the participants to unite and rise up against state terrorism, the aim of which is to systematically divide our people, crush our struggle in defence of our livelihood and rights and marginalize the working and oppressed people from the political process. Only Lok Raj, where the people will be truly empowered to create the kind of political and economic system that will ensure peace and security for all, can put an end to the scourge of state terrorism, he pointed out.

Swami Agnivesh highlighted the blatant use of state terror and violence to deny the poor their rights and called upon people to organize to oppose the repression of the state.

Birju Nayak of the Communist Ghadar Party of India pointed out how, not just in Gujarat but in Kashmir, Manipur and other Northeastern states and elsewhere in the country, the ruling class is increasingly resorting to state terrorism to crush the struggles of the people against the economic reforms in favour of the biggest Indian and foreign monopoly capitalists. Only the rule of the workers and peasants can create an economic and political system where the toiling masses will control their own destiny and those guilty of crimes against the people will be severely punished, he added, amidst enthusiastic applause.

Leaders of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind, Dr.N.KAfandi and Mujtaba Farooq condemned the attacks on muslims by the Modi government of Gujarat as also elsewhere in the country. Modi’s crimes against the muslims in 2002 have gone unpunished and state terrorism continues with impunity, they pointed out, denouncing the role of the Andhra Pradesh police in aiding and abetting the killing of Kauser Bi and her husband and demanding that the criminals in uniform should be hanged.

Sucharita of Purogami Mahila Sangathan drew a parallel between the “encounter killings” by the Gujarat police and the custodial rape and murder of Manorama Devi by the Assam Rifles in Manipur, the killing of innocents by the armed forces in the name of “encounters” in Kashmir, etc. Denouncing the heinous crimes against women, men and children committed by the state security forces, she called for the severest punishment of the guilty and for a united people’s movement against state terrorism in all its forms.

Rakesh Rafiq of Yuva Bharat and Kavita Krishnan of CPI(ML-Liberation) denounced state terrorism and raised the demand that the guilty should be punished.

A group of spirited young school and college girls and boys joined older women and men in raising slogans such as “Down with the murder of innocents in fake encounter killings!”, “Stop state terrorism!”, “Punish the criminals in uniform!”, “Down with the rape and killing of Kauser Bi!”, “We demand security for women!”, and so on. Many passers-by in the busy Jantar Mantar area stopped to hear the speakers and express their solidarity with the struggle against state terrorism.