Criminalising the Practise of Faith
Filed under: Communal Violence
A Report by PUCL Karnataka on Hate Crimes against Christians in Karnataka
From Communal Policing to Hate Crimes – The Attack on Ambedkar’s Dream of Fraternity
Filed under: Communal Violence, Report
A Report on Dakshina Kannada (January – September 2021)
Report by: PUCL-K, AILAJ, AIPF and Gauri Lankesh News
|Fact Finding Report| Attacking Pubs and Birthday Parties ~ Communal Policing by Hindutva Outfits
Filed under: Communal Violence, Human Rights, Minorities, PUCL Mangalore, Report
[Read the full report Here]
On January 24, 2009, Pramod Muthalik’s men belonging to the Sri Ram Sene in coordination with Subash Padil (then of the Sri Rama Sene) stormed into a pub in Mangalore and violently attacked girls, on the ground that drinking was against Hindu culture. Three years later on July 28, 2012, Subash Padil (now with the Hindu Jagarana Vedike) and his men, in a cruel imitation of Sri Rama Sene’s act, stormed into a birthday party in Padil, a locality in the heart of Mangalore, and attacked both boys and girls. While these two attacks captured national and even international attention, unfortunately they were not exceptional in what they set out to do. They were only exceptional in the share of media attention they received. In the time span between these two attacks, there were at least one hundred and twelve such attacks on young persons found socializing together, and on young women in particular. The attacks were not captured by the electronic media and were reported in small columns in newspapers, mostly in the local press, and on a few occasions, made it to the national news.
This Report will first document what happened in the attack on the birthday party through the eyes of the victims and media, and then document the responses to the attack by the Hindutva groups as well as by state institutions such as the State Women’s Commission. The Report will then place the attack in the context of the breakdown of law and order in Dakshina Kannada and then make out a case for the changes that need to be brought about.
[Read the full report Here]
State Terrorism – Tyranny
Filed under: Communal Violence, Human Rights, Minorities, Report
Justice Saldhana at the request of PUCL Karnataka and Transparency International led a People’s Trinunal into attacks on churches in Karnataka.
The full report has now been released and can be read here.
PUCL Karnataka Statement of Somashekar Commission
Filed under: Communal Violence, Minorities, Press Releases, Uncategorized
8th February 2011
PRESS RELEASE
B.K. Somashekar Report
We are greatly disappointed with the final report released by Justice B.K.Somashekar commission Enquiring the attack on churches.
While the interim report clearly held responsible some hindu fundamentalist organisations, Police, state administration and the Govt. The final report appears to have absolved the govt and the Police.
An attempt appears to have been made to ignore the role of hindu fundamentalist organisations and state in the final report. a There appears to be a clear cut understanding between the Commission and the Govt to patch up the damage done by the interim report.
The final report very clearly failed to uphold and protect the Constitutional rights of minorities and appears to have gone beyond its limits in saying that there should be law to ban conversions.
Since Independence, every time the Govts have appointed a Judicial Commission they have invariably failed to do justice to their job and even while Justice was done those reports have either not seen the light of day or never implemented by the Govt. In the process the question of appointing judicial commissions has become an futile exercise.
The Commission seems to have imagined certain things in spite of overwhelming evidence recorded by the media and presented before the Commission when it says that some attacks/ injuries were self inflicted.
In short the Commission has contradicted itself and brought out a hotch potch report with a clear intention of protecting the Govt, its administration and the fundamentalist organizations from getting banned from the state.
In view of this, we request the Govt to institute a CBI inquiry as the report has failed to pin point the culprits and in fact created an irreparable communal divide which may permanently damage the secular fabric of India.
For People’s Union for Civil Liberties – Karnataka
P.B. Dsa
President
Dr V. Lakshminarayana
General Secretary
|Press Note| Response to Somashekhar Commission Findings
Filed under: Communal Violence, Human Rights, Minorities, Press Releases
People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Bangalore, wish to express their deepest disappointment with the principal findings of the Somashekhar Commission Report released recently, which absolves the state government and all the major right wing hindutva political parties and groups of all responsibility in the communal attacks on churches in Karnataka in 2008. The report oversteps the boundaries of its authority when it justifies the attacks on churches as caused by hurt sentiments of members of the majority religious community, due to the alleged practice of religious conversions. The red herring of conversions is thus used to justify the attacks, even though the Indian constitution explicitly upholds the right to profess and convert others to your faith. The report instead rationalizes and condones criminal behavior of fundamentalist intolerance and communal violence. The recent responsible expunging by Supreme Court (Jan 26, 2011) of two of its statements related to religious conversions serves as an important reminder on the ‘freedom of faith’ for all citizens.
The report does not deal with the climate of increasing intolerance towards minority religious groups in society ignored by the State. It is reprehensible that the commission seeking judicial enquiry into church attacks seeks instead regulation mechanisms to restrain faith conversions, far out side its purview. Similarly finding instances of police action against Christian protestors as ‘justified’ and the ‘lack of evidence’ of ‘any other force’ behind excessive use of police force cannot be acceptable as impartial. The implicit agenda of the Commission thus appears to be to protect the collusive role of the state government, especially the police, even while seemingly condemning specific officials.
Judicial reports have the potential for providing the necessary checks and restraints on elements that threaten the fabric of a tolerant and free society. Independence, integrity and impartiality of judicial reports, with a strict demand for responsibility, and punishment, are vital to preserve the sanctity of law and justice, especially in situations where the majority religious community’s action jeopardizes the constitutional guarantees for all Indian citizens.
– PUCL Bangalore
|Statement| Communal Mob Attack in Bangalore
Filed under: Communal Violence, Human Rights, Minorities, Press Releases
People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Bangalore, strongly condemns the brutal and organised mob attack on Brother Phillip Noronha by members of Jaya Karnataka Vedike, in presence and with support of inspector BN Gopalakrishna, inspector of Whitefield Police Station. Brother Phillip was kidnapped in a van, beaten up and roughed up by these vigilante elements and finally taken to his school where media were present and recorded the lawless actions. The Inspector also assaulted the brother in the presence of TV and media people, without any apparent provocation. This grave assault on Br. Philip mirrors the worsening climate of intolerance within the state, in particular the undeclared police sanction and cooperation for such hooliganism. The grave, unjust and serious physical violence of this recent episode is a matter of utter shame and disgrace to the current State administration and our Police Force.
The modus operandi of the attack itself recalls the way communal forces have engaged in moral policing in Dakshina Kannada district often with the cooperation of the police. It is in this context that the attack on Brother Phillp assumes a serious dimension when the attackers seem to have the backing of the media as well as the police going by the fact that the attack was played out in front of the media and in the presence of the police.
The quality of individual rights available to all citizens of this country depend upon the integrity and impartiality of the police force, and severe acts of omission and commission of this kind in curtailing and controlling vigilante violence reflects very poorly on the role of the police in ensuring respect for the law of the land.
PUCL demands immediate investigation into the beating of Brother Phillip Noronha, particularly into the role of police, who participated in this heinous attack either overtly or covertly. We further demand that all perpetrators of this attack be arrested based upon the FIR which has been registered against them. We also demand most severe disciplinary action be meted out to concerned police officials, to discourage future police complicity in vigilante violence.
Bajrang Dal attack on students in Mangalore
Filed under: Communal Violence, Minorities, Report
Another case of Moral Policing
Fact finding report on Bajrang Dal attack on students of Vivekananda Pre-University College, Mangalore on 15th November 2009
Prepared by : PUCL, Dakshina Kannada
Asghar Ali Engineer on Communal Riots
Filed under: Communal Violence, Human Rights, Minorities, Report
- Communal Violence 1999: Document
- Communal Violence 2000: Document
- Communal Violence 2001: Document
- Communal Violence 2002: Document
- Communal Violence 2003: Document
|Book Release| Fear and forgiveness: The Aftermath of massacre
Filed under: Communal Violence, Human Rights, Meetings and Events
PUCL-K and ALF book release
PUCL-K and ALF organised a book launch of Harsh Mander’s, ‘Fear and forgiveness: The Aftermath of massacre’ at 6pm, on 5th September 2009 at Institute of Agricultural Technologists, 15 Queens Road, Bangalore. To take forward the discussion on what Harsh’s work means for Karnataka the launch was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Fear and forgiveness: What lessons Gujarat has for Karnataka’.
- It was chaired by Prof Hassan Mansur of PUCL-K.
- Harsh Mander made some initial comments on ‘Fear and forgiveness’.
- Clifton Rozario and Arvind Narrain spoke on “Lessons of Gujarat for Karnataka: Reflecting on ‘Fear and Forgiveness’”.
- Pattabhirama Somayaji: Reflections on the communal situation in Dakshina Kannada
- Sanjana: Modes of communal mobilising in Karnataka
A Brief Biography
Harsh Mander joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1980. Initially he was assigned to work in Madhya Pradesh, and later to Chhattisgarh. In 1984,
Harsh was an additional collector of Indore where the collector was Ajit Jogi, later chief minister of Chattisgarh. The same year, Indore witnessed riots against the Sikh community and Harsh Mander took charge of Indore controlling the riot within hours of its outbreak which is why he was outraged when the state government did not respond to the cry of help by the people of Gujarat. It was his grief against the bureaucracy’s need to be partisan that he resigned in 2002. He has published a collection of essays titled Unheard Voices: Stories of Forgotten Lives published by the Penguin Books (2001) and Fear and Forgiveness: The Aftermath of Massacre (2009)