South Asia Citizens Web

A two-day dharna, on 23 and 24 April 2015, was called at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, by the Right to Food Campaign, the National Alliance of People’s Movements, the Pension Parishad and the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information. The aim was to draw attention to the fact that "the politics of this Government undermines the poor and pro-people policies and is out to attack people’s rights and natural resources ...."

Using Sufism as a tool in a game of ideologies will only result in more attacks of this nature. Far better to let the Sufi saints rest in blissful ignorance of what the state might make of their legacy.

In Public Interest Litigation (PIL) cases hundreds of thousands of poor people in India have been adversely affected to the extent of losing their livelihood, homes and even Constitutional guaranties all in the name of ‘public interest’; even though PIL in India derives its legitimacy as an instrument to provide justice to the underprivileged and the downtrodden. Why have things come to such a pass? The most important reason appears to be that in PILs the principles of natural justice are not followed.

. . . the campaign by the Hindu nationalist organizations for cow protection is merely instrumental to achieve their political objective, establish cultural hegemony of the upper caste and declare the hierarchical and feudal culture privileging the upper caste as the national culture.

On April 10, 2015 Bombay High court refused bail to Sachin Mali, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), who have remained in jail for two years without a trial. They are not charged with committing violence, or possessing weapons or contraband; it was their singing and their songs that were found unlawful.