DON’T LOSE TRACK OF HUMAN RIGHTS …say Citizens Initiatives for Communal Harmony (CICH) members and fact-finding team eduationist and architect Tallulah D’Silva, human rights lawyer Adv Saranga Ugalmugle, independent researcher Amita Kanekar and human rights activist and convenor of of CICH Adv Dr Albertina Almeida who have painstakingly prepared a report on the truth and untruths about the Ram Navami communal violence which took place in Goa on April 10, 2022

By Our Special Correspondent

–­The findings of the Citizens’ Initiatives for Communal Harmony in Goa are worth taking note of….

IS what has been happening in the country in the last seven years just a slow preparation of laying the grounds for an increasing use and abuse of human rights in India? Many at home and abroad think so. It looks like we now have a never before seen RSS-ideology driven government with an agenda of converting the country into a militarized nation to control minority communities now perceived as second-class citizens of India?
In a Goa which has remained untouched so far by petty communal tensions, several questions now come to the fore with crystal clarity post-the recent Ram Navami Shobha Yatra in Mormogoa taluka and the fallout on April 10, 2022 which resulted into a Hindu versus Muslim fracas. The media reported that on April 10, on the occasion of the Ram Navami festival, some “clashes” took place “between two religious” groups which led to FIRs being registered and arrests effected.
Since confrontations like these which are being increasingly instigated by one partisan group or another and are becoming familiar to most of us, one must praise and support the Citizens’ Initiatives for Communal Harmony (CICH) which decided to constitute a fact finding committee comprising of concerned citizens, to understand what happened that day in Goa and what is closer to the truth.
Also, surely the State can play a better role in the prevention and handling of such provocative incidents? The CICH released a summary of its investigations with suggestions and recommendations to build communal harmony, determine accountability and prevent such incidents in the future at a recent press conference to lay the facts before media people (never mind that there wasn’t much media around, which is another story).
Here is the summary of the findings of the fact-finding team comprising of educationist and architect Tallulah D’Silva, human rights lawyer Adv Saranga Ugalmugle, independent researcher Amita Kanekar, and human rights activist and convenor of CICH Adv Dr Albertina Almeida. Their report is titled, “Small incident today, bigger tomorrow? Ram Navami Shobha Yatra and its fallout , Goa, 2022” which Citizens Initiatives for Communal Harmony endorses for whoever cares about human rights in the various states which make up the whole of India.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

1. The permission for a large Ram Navami Shobha Yatra procession on the 10th of April , 2022 was given to Rajiv Jha from Kesariya Hindu Vahini (KHV), who has been associated with the communal disturbances at the Old Sancoale Church Frontispiece.
2. Invitations for the Ram Navami Shobha Yatra called Hindus to gather for the grand rally to garner solidarity towards Hindus fighting for reclaiming Vijayadurga Temple from “Christian missionaries” who have “illegally” claimed the land as “Frontispiece of Sancoale Church.” The rally was thus not merely a religious rally to celebrate Ram Navami but had an inherent Hindutva colour from the start. The invitations for the rally on social media also contained similar kinds of messages, describing it as an occasion to assert Hindu-ekta (unity). One of the many Whatsapp messages said – “ghar ghar bhagwa chhayega. Ram Rajya fir aayega. Ek hi naara ek hi naam. Jai Shri Ram Jai Shri Ram.”
3. The authorities justified giving permission for the rally as it was a “religious procession.” However, religious processions in Goa are usually traditional celebrations, organised by residents of the localities where the processions are to be held, and are conducted maintaining traditional decorum. But this Ram Navami Shobha yatra was a new celebration in Goa. It also was of an unprecedented scale. Further, this rally passed through localities including Islampur where many local residents of the same faith did not participate in the rally and were not even aware of the same. Although the rally claimed to bring Hindus together, many functionaries and office-bearers of Hindu temples in the Vasco and Sancoale area, where the rally passed, did not participate in it, and claimed to have no association with it. Finally, there was also a clear pattern of creating disturbance near the worship places of other communities.
4. Verna Police had received intelligence inputs about a plan for the rally to pass through the Frontispiece, though it was not part of the permitted route. Instead of stopping the rally, Dy Collector (also the SDM) merely deputed an Executive Magistrate at Sancoale from around noon, purportedly to guard against trouble at the Frontispiece.
5. The sanctioned route was not followed. The start of the rally was at Shantadurga temple, Sancoale (roughly 4.2 kms ahead of Upas Nagar), instead of the sanctioned Upas Nagar. Towards the end, the rally was again diverted from the sanctioned route and entered the Islampur locality, during Ramzan when worshippers were offering namaz inside the Aqsa Mosque.
6. The permission was specifically for “bikes and cars.” But the rally contained a tall built up vehicle referred to as rath for which no specific permission was taken.
7. The rally attempted to create disturbance outside Minar Masjid in Zuarinagar. , Masjid-e-noor at MES college, and Sancoale Church, with extra-loud slogans and music. The slogans included “ek hi naara ek hi naam, Jai Shri Ram Jai Shri Ram.”
8. The stone pelting on the Ram Navami procession from the Aqsa Mosque or the nearby madarsa, as claimed by the rally organiser, Rajiv Jha as well as other rally , was not possible given the geography of the site.
9. A group of men, numbering around 20 to 30, ran towards the Aqsa Mosque at Islampur, not from the road where the rally was passing, but via pedestrian paths between houses; they were identified as “second unit” by rally participants.
10. En route to the mosque, the group assaulted two youth, one with disability from the locality, who was left injured, with bleeding in his left ear.
11. The first group of men, numbering around 20 to 30 rallyists at the mosque first attempted to enter the mosque with their saffron flags, and were then joined by others till there was an approximately 150-strong mob, which stood at the entrance of the Aqsa Masjid, demanded entry, and chanted loud slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” and “Muslims are terrorists” at the time when the worshippers were offering namaz inside the mosque.
12. Outside the Vasco police station later, where many locals and elected repr4esentatives, functionaries of various political parties and oarganisations had gathered, bikers from the rally claimed to be assaulted by Muslims from Islampur.
13. The PI of Vasco, Halarnkar and DySP, Mormugao, Salim Sheikh on the 10th of April, managed to control the situation at the mosque and also later outside the police station. According to local residents, it was due to their timely intervention that the communal disrubance did nto escalaete.
14. By 5am in the moarning of 11 april 2022 three FIRs sere registered at the Vasco Police Station. , FIR 39/2022 was registered on the complaint of Damodar Naik against unknown persons for “deliberately pelting stones at on RAth Yatra.” IPC sections in the FIR pertain to utraging religious feelings and voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means. FIR 40/2022 was registered on the complaint of Ashraf Sheikh against Babu Yadav and others for unlawful assembly for trespassing into the Masjid e Aqsa, at Islampur. The IPC sections below pertain to charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, outraging religious feeling, insult intended to provoke breach of peace, causing hurt, assault, criminal trespass and criminal intimidation. FIR 41/2022 was registered on the complaint of Ramesh Bingi for clashes outside the police station. IPC sections below pertain to charges of unlawful assembly, rioting voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, insult intended to provoke breach of peace.
15. Post the 10th of aril incident, sixteen persons were arrested and later released on bail. All of the arrested persons are from the Muslim community of Islampur, and all were arrested in connection with the third FIR, on the assault of rallyists near the police station. As of July 2022, no person has been arrested in connection with the other two FIRs.
16. On the following day, ie, on 11th March, the rally organiser Rajiv Jha, along with other rallyists, got an immediate audience with the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant. The CM, they announced, promised action within 24 hours.
17. On that same evening, less than 24 hours after the trouble began, i.e. at 6.30 pm on the 11th of April, transfer orders arrived for DySP Shaikh and PI Halarnkar with immediate effect. The due process for the transfer of police officers, in which the Police Establishment Board (PEB) is expected to meet and decide such matters, was not followed in this case; the PEB was not convened.
18. Post the incident on the 10th of April, Hindu groups called a meeting on the 17th of April, at the Zee Square hall, Vasco. The invitation spoke of “nationalists” who held the Shobha Yatra and “anti-nationals” who pelted stones at the Shobha Yatra.
19. Members of the BJP party, including elected representatives, participated in the Shobha Yatra, were present at the Vasco police station on the night of 10th of April, and also attended the meeting on the 17th of April at the Zee Square Hall, Vasco.
20. There is no transparency nor information disseminated at the local level about the progress or the of the investigations into the complaints, including details of arrests, etc, that could demonstrate justice is being done, and give reassurance to the general public. The post of Public Relations Officer of the Goa Police, who was tasked with disseminating information to the public is vacant.
21. Post the incident the peace committee which is in the process of being set up by Vasco Police does not have a participatory and transparent process of selection of the members. The peace committee appears to be mere tokenism as no details have been listed such as the role of the members, frequency of the meeting of the members, etc.
22. No case has been registered against the organisers and those who participated in the rally for diverting from the sanctioned route, shouting inflammatory slogans, circulating communal messages, assaulting a youth suffering from disability, forcibly trying to enter a mosque, and creating communal disturbance.
    In the light of all that led to the communal incident on April 10, 2022 in Mormugao taluka, the following demands are being made by the Citizens’ Initiatives for Communal Harmony (CICH): That an enquiry should be conducted by the Collector, South Goa or a retired Judicial Magistrate under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 regarding the communal disturbances which occurred on April 10, 2022 and the inquiry should scrutinise the background of the organisers, conditions under which permission for the procession was granted to the organisers, allegation of stone pelting, violation of route, inflammatory statements made by those who participated in the rally (including the nature of songs played during the rally), allegation of attempt to forcibly enter the mosque, response of the police to the April 10 incident.
    Additionally the DyCollector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mormugao should initiate inquiry/proceedings against Rajiv Jha of the Kesariya Hindu Vahini for not following the sanctioned route for the Ram Navami Sobha Yatra which led to the communal disturbance. The Vasco police can also help by using the video footage to identify culprits from the rally to the mosque and hold them accountable. Needless to say all investigations shold be fast-tracked, especially since there has been arrest of persons only for one FIR and in which all arrested are from the Muslim community.
    Apart from this CICH members urge that the disruptive activities of Rajiv Jha, Jayesh Naik and Kesariya Hindu Vahini which have resulted in undermining communal harmony in Goa, should be under careful watch and scrutiny by the police and necessary records maintained meticulously by the District Police.
    The CICH report has also made recommendations for the future and among other things include the observation and recommendation that the State must comply with the 2008 guidelines of the Home Ministry on communal harmony, as also with the “guidelines of the Supreme Court in the Tehseen Poonawalla case of 2018 which provides preventive, remedial and punitive guidelines against increasing mob violence, spread of hate speeches, provocative statements and fake news.”
    The detailed report is available with the CICH. In conclusion one may well ask if the very idea of human rights in state after state in India is now going for a toss in the dustbin of history in the making — for narrow causes in lieu of the broader causes which make our Constitution one of the most envied in the world?