By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, June 16, 2020: More than 50 activists have condemned the Delhi police holding a renowned civil rights defender as responsible for the recent communal riots in the national capital.
In a solidarity statement, the activists accused the federal government of selectively targeting Harsh Mander instead of inquiring into the riots without bias.
They hailed Mander as a credible writer, social activist and civil rights defender. They noted that the 65-year-old former bureaucrat resigned his job in the wake of the Gujarat riots in 2002 to become a human rights advocate.
The letter was signed by prominent personalities from the fields of cinema, education, journalism, arts and commerce. One of the signatories was Bollywood actor Sushant Singh, who allegedly committed suicide on June 15. Other signatories include Annie Raja, Aparna Sen, Jean Dreze, Nandita Das, and Ramachandra Guha.
The Delhi police’s “final report” on the riots accused Mander of visiting the site to instigate the protesters not to have faith in the Supreme Court and to fight their battle on road to get justice.
The report also accuses Mander of using “a façade of peace in a part of his speech.”
The open solidarity letter points out that Mander had actually alerted the protesters on the rioters plan to instigate the protesters to indulge in violence. “When we commit 2 percent violence, they respond with 100 percent,” he added.
The letter also notes that Mander had given the example of Gandhian principles in these words, “We have learnt from Gandhi ji how to respond to violence and injustice. We will fight with non-violence. Anyone who instigates you toward violence or hatred, they are not your friends.”
The also points out that Mander had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to register First Information Report against political leaders whose inflammatory speeches had triggered the violence resulting in more than 50 deaths.
The letter alleges that “rather than giving a serious consideration to his petition the Solicitor General of India gave a twist to the episode by distorting his speech” and “selectively picking up parts of his Jamia Milia Islamia speech,” to argue that Mander’s words incited violence.
The letter has further accused Delhi Police of the “deplorable act” of “distorting Mander’s speech and presenting him as the one instigating violence”
They added that the case is a “clear attempt to target him and silence powerful and effective citizen’s voices against hate, divisiveness and for unity and compassion.”
They also noted that Mander has “worked tirelessly for building bridges of love in society,” other than “taking initiatives for underprivileged and religious minorities among others.”
“There cannot be anything more ridiculous than saying Harsh Mander uses façade of peace,” the letter says and commends his recent initiatives such as Aman Biradari and Karavan-E-Mohabbat, both organizations that have contributed immensely to the betterment of Indian society. It has also mentioned his current efforts to help the workers, who have had to tragically leave their urban jobs, in the wake of Coronavirus lockdown.
The statement predicts that his “offensive” speech will “surely go down in history as the elaboration of Gandhian principles in contemporary times.”
They demanded that the police stop immediately “the motivated, compromised investigation and vilification of a person with a commitment to a just society.”
Source: twocircles.net