Gujarat Civil Society Comes Out In Support of Teesta Setalvad, Javed Anand and Others
By Concerned Citizens
22 July, 2015
Countercurrents.org
We, the undersigned, express their profound dismay and disquiet at the continued official harassment of human rights defenders Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand by the Central Government. Since installation of the BJP led Government in Delhi in May 2014, the country has witnessed open strenuous official efforts to foist a large variety of charges of financial irregularity on them, to harass them, to tarnish their reputations, and to secure their arrests. Fortunately, the interventions of the higher judiciary have protected them so far. However, the latest raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation into their home and offices in Mumbai on 14h July 2015 are signs of continuing open misuse of official bodies to harass these human rights defenders.
It is well-known that Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand have fought an unrelenting battle not only to bring to book criminals who committed gruesome hate crimes against Muslims in the carnage of 2002, but also to expose the role of the Gujarat Government in enabling, abetting and even organizing these crimes. They have been fearless in charging the then Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, who is currently the country’s Prime Minister, with direct criminal culpability for these crimes. For this, they have assisted the widow of a former M.P. who was slaughtered in the carnage, Zakia Jafri, to fight a brave court battle in which the first accused is the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. They are also appealing against the court orders to free on bail, prominent political leaders of the BJP convicted of the worst massacre in Naroda Patiya, Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi.
What we are witnessing is crude and defiant misuse of official bodies to beat down these human rights defenders so as to silence their voices, break their morale and divert them from their unrelenting battles in defence of justice which charge the country’s current leadership with complicity in hate crimes. The veracity of their charges will be decided in the country’s courts. But their right to fight for justice on behalf of the survivors of one of the most shameful communal carnages in the history of free India, is protected by India’s democracy. The open official bullying of courageous human rights defenders even as persons charged with a range of serious crimes walk free, are brazen official attempts to diminish Indian democracy. These must be powerfully resisted by all democratic voices in the country.
We urge upon the Central Govt. and the C.B.I., to desist from employing such deplorable tactics which are inspired by nothing but malice and revenge. Govt. and C.B.I. should know that democratic forces and the human rights movement in the country stand in support of both Teesta and Javed and such brutal efforts to silence the voices of dissent will be duly resisted.
Suresh Mehta, Ex Chief Minister of Gujarat
Girish Patel, Senior Advocate
Gautam Thaker, PUCL – Gujarat
Prakash N. Shah, Editor, Nirikshak
Rohit Shukla, Save the Education Committee
Dwarikanath Rath, M. S. D.
Fr. Cedric Prakash, Prashant
Prof. J. S. Bandukwala, Human Rights Activist
Rajani Dave, Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal
Indukumar Jani, Editor, Naya Marg
Dr. Mahernassi Desai, AMWA
Sara Baldiwala, AWAG
Neeta Mahadev, Gujarat Lok Samiti
Saroop Dhruv, Darshan
Harinesh Pandya, Janpath
Mahadev Vidrohi, Sarva Seva Sangh
Hiren Gandhi, INSAF
Jayshree Joshi, ISAR
Ikram Mirza, Jamate Islame Hind
Pankati Jog, Mahiti Adhikar
Dinesh Rabari, Maldhari Vikas Sangathan
Bhavik Raja, DSO
Uttam Parmar, Activist
Prof. Hemantkumar Shah, Activist
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