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If the Syrians came to India…

…they would most likely be banned. Which would be okay, considering how we treated last year’s Burmese refugees in Delhi.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

It is still hard to see the picture of little Aylan Kurdi and not cry. The three-year-old Syrian boy’s body was washed ashore after the dinghy he and his family were in capsized as they fled to Greece. Along with pain at the fate of a young life snuffed out through no fault of its own, is the numbness of knowing that all the Syrian refugees are actually fleeing into nowhere, with no future.

Though a few countries have acknowledged that they would take a few refugees, the fact is that nobody wants the burden of housing scores of people from another land. At least some European nations opened their borders; the rich Arab nations have still not done so!

Though there is no possibility of this happening, but I can’t help wondering what would happen in the Syrian refugees somehow found their way to our shores. I think their entry would be banned straightaway – after all, we are so fond of banning everything in sight. Even if they did sneak in, they would be constantly under the scanner as troublemakers, or worse, suspects connected to ISIS or similar outfits!

What is ironical is that though more than half of New Delhi’s population comprises refugees at some point – they themselves, if not their parents and grandparents – have fled from undivided Punjab during the Partition, their attitude towards migrants and refugees is completely deplorable. Last year, hundreds of Burmese refugees, the Rohingyas, fled their land to seek refuge in Delhi.

Not only was their condition hard to describe when they got here, their condition is even worse today. Neglected and shunned by the capital city, they continue to live in squalor. When they arrived here, they hadn’t eaten in days, and most were malnourished and about to die. Nothing has changed today – they live in a disease-infested ghetto near Kalindi Kunj in New Dlehi, close to the outer fringes of Okhla. I would say they are living like outcasts, worse than animals. I wish their entry had been banned instead.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Picture courtesy

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Nothing’s changed in Kashmir

Where is all the money from Government packages going? There seems to be no change on the ground in Kashmir.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

I visited the Kashmir Valley last fortnight, my first visit since the terrible floods of 2014 and the PDP-BJP tie up in the State. I was curious to see what changes were underway in the State; after all, a lot of Government money is being poured into the area by way of ‘packages’ worth crores of rupees.

As expected, nothing has changed. There are no traces of any help being given. The roads are still run down and broken. The pavements are still dented, the bridges still damaged, the garbage still sitting in undisturbed piles. Amidst all of this, only one thing has changed – strays abound in this once-beautiful city. They were not there before.

There is little transparency or accountability in this conflict zone, and nobody dares question the political tie-up in the State. The PDP’s rationale when allying with the BJP was that the tie-up would help get finance to repair the damage of the flood. But it has more than a year, and the supposed packages have still not done their work. Why is this so?

I wonder if those announced packages have reached J&K, or are they still stuck in file jottings? Or has the money come in but the repair and restoration happening at a glacial pace – so glacial, that they show no signs anywhere? In the backdrop of all this is the people’s resentment about the PDP tying up with the Right wing BJP.

What has been introduced in J&K is the presence of more check points. The police and army seem in total control of the place and its people.

The worst hit are the State’s young, especially those who were born in the 1990s and who have never seen the face of peace. There are no recreational centres, playgrounds and reading rooms for the youth, and this lack of a venting space is making the youth very volatile. The youth are not impressed by speeches made in Delhi, they want basic dignity and freedom. If the PDP does not recognise this in time, it has a potential problem on its hands.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Picture courtesy www.digitaljournal.com. Image is a file picture used for representational purpose only)

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The debate on Yakub Memon’s hanging

The execution of 1993 Bombay riots convict Yakub Menon raises the same questions every execution brings – and no answers.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

When the news about 1993 Bombay serial bomb blasts convict Yakub Menon’s hanging broke recently, there were the usual reactions from all quarters. Some welcomed the execution, others condemned it. After all, Yakub was not the mastermind of the attacks – those men sit safe and sound in other parts of the world. Is he simply being made an example to other criminals plotting similar heinous terror attacks?

But then there are other questions that nobody every answers. For one, is hanging the only available punishment for criminals? Is it a good deterrent? Crime and prison statistics show that hanging has never had an appreciable effect on criminals. So whom does this exercise benefit?

Yakub is to be hanged at Nagpur Central Jail on July 30. Even as the date nears, as hectic last-minute appeals are being sent by his legal team to the Powers that Be, the country is hotly debating the wisdom of the execution. Like I mention earlier, Yakub was not the prime accused. He was one of many accused in the case, but one of the few ones who surrendered to the police and confessed his role in the crime. At the time, he was quoted to have said that he had “full faith in the Indian Judiciary”. It is a little disturbing to note that he is going to be the first to hang in the case, while the ones who are bigger contenders for the death penalty are out of the reach of the Indian law. Another person in Yakub’s case might have been shown more leniency. But after two decades of prison life, most of it spent in solitary confinement, is Yakub still tainted by his association to his brother and chief mastermind Tiger Memon?

Delhi-based publisher and President of the All India Majlis-e-Mushawarat, Dr Zafarul Islam Khan, says, “Yakub’s hanging before full justice is done to the victims of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition riots and the 1993 serial blasts case is a murder of justice. The murderers, rapists and looters that roamed the streets after the Babri Masjid demolition, despite all the evidence against them – who will bring them to book? The Srikrishna Commission Report, submitted way back in February 1998, names all the political parties and their leaders engaged in these crimes. Even police officers participated in looting and killing. But nothing happened to these political and police goons. Until these criminals are first brought to book, Yaqub’s execution will remain a judicial murder by a callous political system which believes in offering human sacrifices from time to time in the false belief that this will prolong the life of this unjust system.”

(Picture courtesy idrw.org)

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What’s next in the Sushma-Vasundhara-Lalit Modi triangle?

As the issue becomes murkier, it’s time to examine if ministerial resignations should also be made compulsory, like everything else.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

The present Government was supposed to weed out every sort of corruption, starting with bringing back the black money reserves stashed abroad. But as each day passes, it is becoming obvious that far from rooting out corruption, the Government is firmly entrenching itself in it.

If Cabinet Minister and Chief Minister helping fugitives is not corruption, then what is? External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ‘helping’ the tainted and wanted Lalit Modi due to some rumoured ‘family ties’ has only brought out the fact that the latter is Swaraj’s lawyer daughter Bansuri’s client. Nobody knew this before, and nobody would have known till Swaraj’s involvement in helping Lalit Modi had not been brought to light.

Then came the news of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s involvement in the matter, and the issue became even murkier. Even Vasundhara has ties with Lalil Modi’s family – her son Dushyant Singh has business connections with the London-based tycoon.

These are just two links out in the open at the moment – can we be certain there aren’t many more? After all, corruption is not just about taking money, it is also about influencing the outcome of several matters, or pressurising others to do things a certain way to gain some advantage.

What’s more, Lalit Modi seems to be in a mood to reveal many names connected with the matter – who else has been giving out the information about family histories and business links? The bigger question is, what does the Government intend to do with this information? Whether more names come out or not, what is it going to do about Sushma and Vasundhara?

If the Government can make yoga compulsory in schools, if it can enforce a beef ban in Maharashtra (and look to ban it in other States as well), why can’t it make resignations of errant Ministers compulsory?

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.    

(Picture courtesy www.ndtv.com. Image is a file picture) 

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It happened in Atali…

The Modi Government needs to take note and action against those perpetuating the several attacks on minorities in the country.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

I am disheartened by the continuous discrimination and displacement of Muslims in the country. The very latest in this strings of incidents was last week’s violent attacks against Muslims living in Atali village in Ballabhgarh, Haryana. Though this village is located barely 20 km from the national capital, there was no end to the plight of the Muslims here, whose homes, shops and vehicles were torched by militant mobs.

No arrests have yet been made, and the affected families are sitting in the police station premises, scared of moving elsewhere. The names of the attackers have been put in the FIR, but nobody has been arrested yet. Are these attackers from the Right wing brigades and protected by the State?

The making of Atali

Muslims comprise 10 per cent population with about 600 votes and are mostly landless labourers with some being well off. Hindus comprise all castes.

They too are underprivileged, however, a significant number of them have good land holdings and are well placed. There are seven temples in the village, including a madiya (a tiny one room temple) that has large open space. About 100 feet away from the madiya stands an uncompleted mosque with erected pillars but no roof. In 2009, Hindus raised objections to the building of the mosque saying it was the Panchayat land, while Muslim said it was Waqf land. The dispute went to court.

In March 2015, the Court gave a judgment in favour of Muslims (The Hindu, May 30, 2015). As Muslims planned to start the work on the incomplete mosque, Hindus aggressively opposed the idea.

I quote Delhi-based social activist Khadeejah Farooqui and Professor VK Tripathi who visited this village. “May 25, 2015 was a nightmare for the people of Police in AtaliAtali, a village 12 km from Ballabgarh in Faridabad district of Haryana when sectarian violence drove 400 Muslims to Ballabgarh Police Station for shelter.

“On May 25 evening, a mob attacked the Muslims, injuring many seriously, and ransacking and burning many homes. Two hours later, police arrived and took a few hundred of Muslim men and women to Ballabgarh police station for safety…On May 30, both of us visited the area. We reached Ballabgarh police station at 1.00 pm. About 150 people from Atali were sitting under the trees and a similar number of women underneath a shamiana in sweltering heat.

“Their faces reflected pain and dejection. Some were still in hospitals. Women were particularly shocked and worried about their belongings and animals. People narrated their tales of horror but showed anxiety to return to their homes. They wanted the attackers to be arrested and a compensation to be paid. Some said that Central Government Minority Minister Najma Heptullah or her nominee visited them and promised help but nothing happened. We learnt that a meeting was being held to bring peace in the village. We talked to the police but they could not provide details of the incident.

“At 2 PM we left for Atali. We walked through the village and talked to a cross section of people. There were police men stationed all over. As we reached Tali temple, we met a group of people playing cards while many elderly people watching them and talking. We talked to them for half an hour. They said there was no court judgement on the mosque. Muslims were forcibly building a mosque on panchayat property in the vicinity of temple which they could not allow. One old man said, ‘Only two poor Muslim families came in the village in 1947. We gave them shelter as workers. Then they called their relatives and settled them in the village, thus increasing their population.”

We enquired how much land holdings they had. They said, “Nothing. We give them work.” Some listened to our appeal for sanity and respect for working classes while most others looked indifferent.

“Wherever we went we were struck by the dominant thought that the Hindus actually believed that the village belonged to them and the Muslims must accede to their wishes. A working class man or woman has the foremost right to live in the village irrespective of his or her religion or caste. Hating them, terrorising them and killing them is deep injustice. Six days after the incident, there was still hardly any repentance in the village. Fear of survival looms large on the victims. Unless we find a solution to this mindset, Indian villages can not survive the corporate onslaught that is bent to ruin them.”

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.         

(Pictures courtesy indianexpress.com, sikhsiyasat.net)

 

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Enough said

What makes JNU special?

A new book on the making of JNU details its history, inception and the campus life of a bygone era.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

Every time I visit the sprawling campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, I have wondered why people have ever moved outside it. It is a wonderful place, and is well-connected, too. There is less chaos and more greenery, complete with well-defined roads that lead you to your destination without confusion.

To a casual visitor, the JNU campus is an extension of a dreamy academic getaway, set in calm environs. Sure, the calm is somewhat shattered by stray dogs holding forth at every corner and road crossing, but otherwise, the place is heavenly.

Many like me have often wondered what it is about JNU that makes it stand out from others. If you’ve wondered the same thing, it might be a good time to pick up this new book, JNU: The Making of A University, by JNU academic Dr Dr Rakesh BatabyalRakesh Batabyal (in pic on right). It carries a new insight into the very inception of this university and shines a light on lesser-known truths.

I ask Dr Batabyal why he decided to put together this book. He says, “I do not know at what point of time I began writing this book. It was most probably the words of a dear colleague, Richa Malhotra that motivated me to look deeper into the university whose air I breathed every day.”

He adds that he realised that the university required a “special historiographical treatment” as his research progressed. “A historian’s account, I realised, needed to be approximate to that larger canvas of the institution and at the same time, not allowing little histories to be treated merely as reflections of real big entities.”

Last week, at a discussion on this volume at the India International Centre, many unknown facts about JNU came to the fore. We learnt about the first vice chancellor, to the then political ideologies, the campus life of those times. However, the history of the university is captured only till about 1989. Since that is the year that Dr Batabyal had joined JNU, he probably did not want his personal views to trickle into the text.

(Pictures courtesy admissions.jnu.ac.in, www.thehindu.com. Images are file pictures.)

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