Politics, Right watch, Violence-Conflict

Statement Condemning Minority Minister’s Statement In Parliament That Alwar Killing Did Not Happen

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Statement by concerned citizens
We are writing this statement to strongly condemn minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s comment in Parliament that Alwar killing  did not happen. In spite of, repeated reporting in media about the Alwar killing, this denial from the minister only strengthens the anti social elements as well as communal ideology. We are working with women against violence, protecting socio-economic rights of weaker sections and minority community across states over many years now. In recent time, with the atrocious rise of ‘gau rakshaks’ in our country, there is a simmering growth of threat and insecurity among the Muslims and Dalit communities who are associated with cattle business and in its various forms. However when the government who should be proactive in protection of minorities ends up with a stoic silence on the unfortunate incident like the killing of Pehlu Khan in Alwar, in turn, ascribes impunity to these fascist forces. Post Dadri killing of 2015, the strategic silence of government on the rise of cow vigilantes attacks the democratic and constitutional rights of citizen; and successively there will be a collapse of constitutional machinery.

On 1st April 2017, 55-year-old Pehlu Khan and Azmat Khan were returning from Ramgarh, Hatwara in Rajasthan after buying 2 milch cows and 3 calves. They were accompanied by their sons; and took NH8 from Jaipur to travel to Nuh, Mewat district, Haryana. Around 6:30pm when they were close to Jaguwaas, they were stopped by a big cow vigilantes, pulled out of the vehicle, chased and beaten with sticks and iron rods. Pehlu Khan dies after five days in Kailash Hospital near the highway. Successively some arrests were made; members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal confessed to the crime. Meanwhile, Gulab Chand Kataria, home Minister of Rajasthan have lauded the efforts made by ‘gau rakshaks’ in protection of cow and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi denies that such incident has happened but later goes on to say in Parliament that it is an ’emotional issue’.
Killing of Pehlu Khan is not a stray incident but condenses the shifts in democracy and simmering rise of fascist forces in our country. The narrative of protecting cows, beef ban in several states, banning of serving eggs in mid-day meals in Madhya Pradesh, coming of draconian laws in some states to criminalize and treat anyone involved in cow slaughter with extreme severity only pushes aggressively the ideology of hindu rajya. The mob lynching of Md. Aklaq in 2015 in Uttar Pradesh, killing of Abdul Ghaffar Quereshi in Maharashtra in 2015, sudden attack on Hotel Rabbani in Jaipur in 2017, killing and lynching of two Muslims cattle traders in Jharkhand and now killing of Pehlu Khan are all triggered by a ‘rumor’ that cows were slaughtered. Spreading rumor is a strategic violence to create tension which then unfolds quantum of violence on weaker sections of the country as well as valorizes the lynch mob for having an acute moral righteousness. The rise of ‘gau rakshaks’ and targeted violence towards the minority community who are involved in cattle business and depend on cheap protein, in a time where the latter gets no protection from the State and its institutions makes us wonder whether the government is also equally complicit in the system. 
In this siutation where targeted violence towards minorities and the marginalized weaker sections like poor farmers especially from Muslim and Dalit communities of the country is on the rise, we have no demands to make but only questions to raise:
●        Believing that we still live in democracy and State institutions and Constitution ensure rights of citizens and do not escalate the fascist tendencies, what is the role of government in prevention of such atrocities? What measures are the government taking to treat right wing forces of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad with severity?
●        Why is it that different ministries have maintained stoic silence on some occasions of collective violence or have put more investigation to ensure that the ‘victim’ become complicit in the narrative of cattle slaughter? Why is it that State institutions put more attention to meat testing which appears as a tactic to ascribe criminality to the ‘victims’ as well as moral righteousness to the lynch mob?
●        Why is it that with the change of government since May 2014, there is a rise of targeted violence towards Muslims and Dalits in the country? Do they disrupt the coherent imagination of ‘developed’ India, a dream that the current government is knitting?
We strongly demand justice for Pehlu Khan and his associates. But our demand for justice will not be limited by demands for compensation for the victims or conviction of ‘gau rakshaks’ but will go beyond and raise questions about the rise of an absolutist governance in our country which seems to feign democratic modalities in its everyday functioning.
Hasina Khan and Roshni Rina
On behalf of
Bebaak Collective
Voices of the Fearless
Endorsements
  1. Saheli, Delhi
  2. Stree Samya
  3. Sahiyar (Stree Sangthan)
  4. Parvaaz, Gujarat
  5. Alochona, Pune
  6. Uma Chakraborty, Professor
  7. Kavita Krishnan
  8. Ania Loomba, academician
  9. Bittu Karthik, activist
  10. Dyuti, activist
  11. Gabriele Dietrich, Tamil Nadu
  12. Radhika Desai, Hyderabad
  13. Nandini Manjrekar, TISS
  14. Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Mumbai
  15. Jharna Pathak, Ahmedabad
  16. Neeraj Malik
  17. Japleen Pasricha
  18. Rohini Hesman
  19. Abha Bhaiya
  20. Anisha Thoma, student
  21. Farrukh Saiyyeda Warris
  22. Panchali Ray, faculty, Jadavpur University
  23. Nisha Biswas, faculty, Jadavpur University
  24. Monisha Behl, North East Network
  25. Kalpana Mehta, WSS
  26. Pamela Philipose
  27. Amrita Shodhan
  28. Anshumala, AALI
  29. Shubudha Deshmukh
  30. Shushila Santaben
  31. Shakeel Sheikh
  32. Uma V Chandru
  33. Rahul Roy
  34. Kiran Shaheen
  35. Pushpa Achanta
  36. Rajesh Umadvi Srinivasan
  37. Rafia Zaman
  38. Girja Devi
  39. Vasant Damle
  40. Sophia Khan
  41. Susila Kambhapati
  42. Geeta Charusivam
  43. Shoma Sen
  44. Nootan Malvi
  45. Salim Sabowalla
  46. Janani Sridaran
  47. Putul Paul
  48. Salma Bavazir
  49. Vaishali Shaloo
  50. Abhay Pratap Abhi
  51. Mohammed Khan
  52. Hameeda Khatoon
  53. Thanksy Thekkerera
  54. Amar Kanwar
  55. Ajmal Khan
  56. Nalini Rajan
  57. Y S Gill
  58. Kavita Srivastava
  59. Sharad Gupta
  60. Nina Rao
  61. Prabha Jaganathan
  62. Ammu Joseph
  63. Linda Chhakchhuak
  64. Hammad Farooqui
  65. Gurdeep Singh
  66. Annashu Ashu
  67. Dionyzia Fernades
  68. Santwana Bhattacharya
  69. Aparna Karthikeyan
  70. Renu Yadav
  71. Meena Dhanda
  72. Rahat Yusufi
  73. Freny Mans
  74. Naresh Kumar

 

2 thoughts on “Statement Condemning Minority Minister’s Statement In Parliament That Alwar Killing Did Not Happen”

  1. This antisocial and anti democratic gooondaism must be stopped. It seems the present RSS governments are not only not bothered of the repercussions of such acts on general law and order situation but also hearing reactions of some of them and daily a new state government issuing pro Hinduttva ( I mean their perceived Hinduism ) dictats does not augur well for the future of the country.

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