Police Comes Knocking To Intimidate ANHAD
By Shabnam Hashmi
28 June, 2011
Countercurrents.org
Anhad formed in 2003 in response to the Gujarat carnage of 2002 and
the blatant killing of over 2000 Muslims, raping of hundreds of women
and dislocating over 150,000 families in the wake of the state
sponsored carnage has been working in Gujarat for the past eight
years.
It has fought for the rights of the internally displaced, for 2002
victims, it was in the forefront of getting POTA repealed and getting
the 2002 victims compensation package from the central government.
Anhad has stood up for the human rights violations of every section of
the people including women, Dalits, adivasis and Minorities in
Gujarat. It has also extensively intervened with the youth and have
organised hundreds of programmes covering every single district of
Gujarat to spread the message of peace, communal harmony, to safeguard
the Indian Constitution which has been under attack in Gujarat , has
fought for the freedom of expression in Gujarat.
Anhad has constantly celebrated cultural pluralism and composite
culture and have organised huge programmes in Gujarat.
Today two policemen came knocking at Anhad office from Shahpur police
station around 2pm.
Our State coordinator Manisha Trivedi was present at the office.
They intimidated her by saying that Anhad is doing anti-state
activities here. Does your landlord know that you are running an
office here which is anti-state and government, giving a clear
indication that they would pressurise the landlord to ask Anhad to
vacate the office space.
They took down Manisha's home address, telephone and names of everyone
who works in Anhad, their parents name and addresses.
They further said you are supporting Sanjeev Bhatt who is against Modi.
We want to ask several questions from the State Government:
1. Have you declared an independent country where the Indian
Constitution doesn't apply?
2. If the Indian Constitution allows freedom of speech, protest ,
descent then how come it is not allowed in Gujarat.
Gujarat goverment is constatntly tragetting upright officers and any
officer who dare to stand against the state is intimiated, anyone, any
organisation coming in defence of such officers is intimidated.
We want the amicus curie and the Supreme Court to take note of the
fact that any form of descent is crushed in Gujarat.
We strongly condemn this intimidation by the State police and wish to
inform the state of Gujarat to lay its hands off from civil society
groups who are working for justice and equality of every citizen.
Shabnam Hashmi has worked for more than 20 years to combat communalism in India. She was associated with the creation and running of Sahmat, formed by artists and intellectuals in memory of her activist brother, who was murdered while performing a street play in 1989. After the Gujarat carnage, she understood the need for an outfit to systematically counter fascist propaganda, and the NGO Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) was born in March 2003. Working voluntarily and without fees and with limited funds, Shabnam has emerged as a single-person pressure group
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