Conscious Himachal Pradesh citizens write to HP Chief Secretary against growing Islamophobia, left groups to hold peace and unity march on Sept 27
Conscious Himachal Pradesh citizens write to HP Chief Secretary against growing Islamophobia, left groups to hold peace and unity march on Sept 27
S.M.A.KAZMI
Dehradun , Sept 21
A group of conscious citizens of Himachal Pradesh have written a letter to the Chief Secretary of the state expressing deep concern at the widespread Islamophobic campaign started by the right wing Hindu groups spearheaded by BJP/RSS against Muslims in the state and appealed to him to uphold the Constitution and rule of law in the state. The Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary forwarding the letter to the state Home department has directed to act upon.
Following widespread hate campaign, hate speeches and violent processions being taken out against Muslims and mosques in the state, concerned citizens and other left party organisations namely CITU, Himachal Kisan sabha, DYFI, All India Lawyers Union, Janwadi Mahila Samiti have decided to hold a public peace and unity rally on September 27 in Shimla.
Meanwhile, Dimple Oberoi Vahali and others in a letter to the Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary wrote, “ We the people of Shimla strongly condemn, criticise and oppose the frenzied demand fordemolishing the alleged illegal part of the Mosque in Sanjauli that is being raised by thefundamentalist hegemonic processes. Here the sole purpose is nothing else but to create hatredagainst minority people using whatever ploy/ excuse that is available, thereby destroyingcommunal harmony and peace in the peaceful ecosystem of Shimla. We have seen such hatred and violence being whipped up against religious minorities in neighbouring states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. If we see elsewhere in India, we find many more such tragic events taking place in India, for instance the victimization of Kuki people in Manipur recently. These calamitous events as of now have taken immense proportions all over the country with the help and indoctrination of the majoritarian fascist groups that have been ceaselessly working on creating hatred in the minds of individuals and communities now for many years.”
The letter further said that “Shimla and most parts of Himachal Pradesh were so far largely free from such toxins. It is shocking to see such organized hatred and frenzy targeting minorities which is being whipped up in Sanjauli, Shimla for a reason that is so common in the city. Most of the city hill ecosystem in Shimla is occupied by illegal structures. ‘It is a deep cultural part of Shimla heritage’ that the Government itself has encouraged illegal structures for many decades now, by trying to bring into force retention policies. Not a soul in Shimla raised their voice or came out on the streets then to protest against such retention of numerous illegal buildings.”
“The said recent action of the people of Sanjauli/Shimla needs to be condemned by all citizens of Shimla/ India who stand for maintaining the tradition of harmony and peace since ancient times. The excuse to demolish the part structure of the Mosque which the sit-in crowd in Sanjauli/Shimla are using is mischievous and ridiculous. Many people have been struggling to save Shimla’s forest-hills-environment for a long time – from haphazard illegal construction. Some amongst us were also a part of such effort by having filed a case in the NGT in 2014. We made a specific representation to the Governor in 2015 against the bill by the HP government to legalize all illegal constructions. Actually, Shimla is made of tens of thousands of illegal constructions. The government, all these years, mostly tried to “legalise” these in various ways. Now, with the new DP41, that ambition of the Government has been fulfilled to a large extent in a roundabout way! Most extra floors will become “legal” in this new regime.”
“We have never seen these people/forces in protest against illegal constructions so far in the past.In fact it is the other way round . People wanted Retention polices. In this scenario, to whip up mass frenzy against an alleged illegal structure is a brazen lie, utterly atrocious and obnoxious. The only “reason” for this furry, that is obvious is that it can be used to stir up hatred against the vulnerable minorities. We demand from the government to protect the communal harmony in the State before it further ignites. India is a secular State and it is the duty and ethics of every individual/community/ state/state apparatus to uphold secularism.”
“Personal conflict or violence has always happened and will continue to happen between individuals, however it is the responsibility of all individuals and the state to ensure that this should not convert itself into any form of communal issue/ tension and hatred,” the letter stated.
The letter urged the State of Himachal Pradesh to maintain communal harmony in the state, not to demolish the alleged illegal part of the Mosque even if it is declared illegal by the Municipal Corporation Shimla, bring to forefront all the illegal structures of Shimla those have been camouflaged all this while before raising the issue of the alleged illegal part of the Mosque, to respect all the minority communities and their sentiments in Himachal Pradesh at every level an enshrined in the Constitution, to take a strong stand against abusive language and hate speeches being used for the Muslims like ‘love jihad’ ,to maintain the ethics of secularism and to uphold the rule of law as per the Constitution of the country.
