India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—More than 300 concerned citizens have written an open letter condemning the “growing state-led and state-sponsored targeted violence and discrimination” against Muslim, Christian and Dalit communities in Karnataka.
Here is the full text of the letter:
“We write this letter with tremendous concern about the growing state-led and state-sponsored targeted violence and discrimination against Muslim, Christian and Dalit communities in Karnataka that can have several long lasting and adverse consequences, particularly on the most marginalized and vulnerable.
“Thousands of bright, young Muslim women have been subjected to daily harassment on the pretext of the hijab that has become a tool to deny education by not allowing them into educational institutions, refusing permission to attend exams and not even offering online classes. Indeed, other than Muslim students, Muslim teachers too have been sacked from their jobs in complete misapplication of the Karnataka High Court’s questionable judgment that awaits a Supreme Court imprimatur.
“This concocted Hijab issue has now spiralled from the colleges onto the street making any hijab- wearing Muslim woman vulnerable to discrimination, harassment, public humiliation and denial of access into public spaces.
“Karnataka has also witnessed vicious public campaigns to boycott Muslim businesses, instigated by sitting ministers and led by Hindutva groups, with blanket impunity from the authorities. Muslim traders have had their stalls attacked at fairs and festivals. There is a call to boycott Muslim drivers and tour operators. There is also a call for what has been called “fruit jihad” – boycotting Muslim fruit sellers as well as halal meat and seeking a ban on the Azaan. This, with regressive laws like cattle slaughter ban is pushing Muslim and Dalit communities into economic destitution. Targeting livelihood through the age -old casteist methods of social and economic boycott is in conflict with the Constitutional principles as embodied in Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution and is also violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution for being arbitrary and discriminatory.
“As part of the steep rise in attacks against Muslims, the Ram Navami festival offered another opportunity to launch militant marches by Hindutva groups in several areas, with swords and trishuls, blaring provocative music and slogans outside mosques and in Muslim dominated areas, during the holy month of Ramzan and at the time of breaking of the daily fast, often in the presence of the local police. This had an all-India character and Karnataka was one of the states chosen for this display of toxic machismo. It is not surprising that riots erupted in so many states – as they were indeed meant to. In a completely illegal and unprecedented move, the Madhya Pradesh government has egregiously demolished the residences of the alleged rioters, predominantly Muslim households.
“The Muslim community across the country has been targeted by the state machinery and there has been very little recourse to police support, honest media reporting or judicial oversight. This in effect, makes the community extremely vulnerable, visible in the everyday humiliation and efforts to subjugate the community. Even seemingly innocuous activities or cultural practices are being given dangerous tints that lead to ‘othering’. Othering a community has devastating consequences and is a concerning step towards genocide. We have terrible examples from history to prove this.
“The community was not even spared during the Covid pandemic and the targeting that they were subjected to led them to real life consequences in terms of their mental health, livelihood, income, access to healthcare etc. A textbook that attributed the Covid pandemic to Muslim community had to be withdrawn following public outrage.
“As part of the anti-minority agenda of the fascist Hindu agenda, even the Christian community in Karnataka has been targeted by the state machinery. The anticonversion law that was planned and is being considered to be brought in as an ordinance attempts to criminalise people’s choice of religion which is protected under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. The expected consequence of this is that Christians praying peacefully in their private spaces have been subjected to threats and physical violence. Pastors have been attacked and Christian prayer areas have been vandalised. This law, which has been brought in or amended to make it more rigorous in multiple states, also seeks to criminalise inter-faith marriages of choice by adult citizens, especially where the husband is Muslim. Even as constitutional challenges to the law are pending before various High Courts, the law has given impetus to local goons to intimidate, attack and separate couples marrying outside their community and has also resulted in the filing of several false and fabricated cases by the police.
“While communalism is escalating in the state, age old caste practices continue to be maintained and aggravated under the current regime. One the one hand, caste atrocities in the state are on the rise and on the other hand, basic entitlements such as the Post-matric scholarship are being delayed.
“Karnataka has also seen a sharp rise in the number of atrocities against the communities belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled TribesIn Dec 2021, a group of Dalits were beaten up by caste Hindus for entering a temple in KR Pete. Mr Chandru and his son Mr. Nitin were attacked for operating a sugar cane stall in February 2022. In March 2022, a Dalit woman, Daneshwar ,I was fatally burnt by her dominant caste boyfriend, while Mr. Sunil Kumar a Dalit youth was beaten up for the ‘crime’ of ‘staring’ at caste Hindus in April 2022 in the capital ‘smart-city’ Bengaluru.
“These are some of the incidents that have made their entry into the public domain, but most cases are largely unreported or pushed off the radar by a combination of threat, coercion and allurement. Between March 2020 and March 2021, there were 2327 cases registered, which is a spike of 54% over the previous year. In fact , Karnataka’s conviction rate is also very low. In 2017, it was reported that the conviction rate was 2.7 per cent, in 2020 it was reported that is a mere 0.4 per cent.
“While the Prevention of Atrocities (Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes) Act 1989 was enacted to punish caste discrimination and atrocities against members of the Dalit and Adivasi communities, this is not available to most affected members of the Dalit community. At the very least, following complaints of a caste atrocity, FIRs would need to be filed and criminal proceedings initiated. Justice has to be ensured for targeted individuals.
“The Post-matric scholarship scheme for Dalit students, started in 1944-45 by the then British Government on the insistence of Dr. B R Ambedkar and available to Dalit students pursuing post-matric courses and whose parents/guardians annual income does not exceed Rs. 2.5 lakhs, is a centrally sponsored scheme. The disbursement of scholarship amount has been plagued by serious delays in Karnataka causing extreme financial burden on the students and may even force them to drop out, thus undermining the primary purpose of the scheme.
“The post matric scholarship for Dalit students needs to be urgently streamlined and monitored to ensure that students do no fall through the social safety net. The state government has to take proactive measures to ensure that no student eligible for the scholarship is left out for bureaucratic reasons. This information should be put out in the public domain and be open to public scrutiny.
“While all these incidents, events and behaviours can be seen as isolated events and ‘not really a major problem” the fact is that this culture of discrimination along with impunity offered to the offenders leads to exclusion, ghettoization, denial of essential services etc. Individuals, especially those who are more vulnerable and from oppressed communities face the brunt of this, leading to adverse effects on their mental health. The Covid-19 pandemic and aggressive lockdown has already had a serious mental health impact which the state hasn’t even considered documenting, leave alone addressing. This is over and above the other communicable, non-communicable and reproductive health issues that were not addressed during the pandemic. Instead the state is finding new and creative ways to further subjugate vulnerable communities.
“The government of Karnataka is primary responsible to prevent and address these forms of untouchability, targeted harassment and discrimination against vulnerable communities in the state. If the government itself has become an enabler of these social vices, then the country is hurtling towards disaster. The police need to be pulled up for failing to file FIRs, offer protection to the victims and witnesses and instead becoming middle men of the right wing aggression. The media needs to be held accountable for making already vulnerable communities even more likely to face attacks on their livelihood, dignity, homes and lives.
“The government of Karnataka is an elected representative of the state and needs to take cognisance of multiple needs of the people of the state. As a group of concerned individuals and progressive organisations, we demand that the social determinants of health such as employment, education, food, water, sanitation, nutrition be addressed on priority. The state has to act against hate speeches and the vicious calls for violence as well as social and economic boycotts. The courts in the state have to take suo moto cognisance of the misinformation and false stories against communities that aggravate their risk of being subjected to violence and discrimination. This includes social media and other media platforms.
“We condemn this growing communal and caste violence in Karnataka and calls upon all concerned individuals and organisations with a conscience not to keep silent. There needs to be resolute condemnation by larger national and international groups from the mental health/public health and social justice movements. Communalism and casteism are as much a public health crisis as the Covid pandemic and can spread just as virulently. They need as serious an intervention as any other public health crisis.”
Endorsed by:
1. Vinay Sreenivasa – Advocate
2. Vishal Onkar- Swaraj India
3. Vijay Kumar – Retired visiting professor, IIM, Bangalore
4. Vidya Dinker – Indian Social Action Forum
5. Victor Fernandes- Headstreams
6. Venkat Srinivasan- Consultant
7. Veena Shatrugna-Independent Medical Scientist (Rtd)
8. Vasant Ramaswamy- CareCentra
9. Varsha S- Independent scientist
10. Vandana Prasad- Public Health Resource Network
11. Uma – Private practice
12. Tiba Kouser- New Oxford English schoo
l 13. Thaseen Fathima- Teacher
14. Teesta Setalvad – Citizens for Justice and Peace
15. Tasneem Farzana – Jamaath islami hind
16. Tanzeem Naqvi- Student
17. Tanvi- Campaign Against Racism
18. Tabrez pasha – No Broker org
19. Syeda Hajeera Iqbal- Forward Trust
20. Dr. Sylvia Karpagam, Public health doctor
21. Manisha Gupte – Human rights activist
22. Fr. Cedric Prakash – Human Rights activist
23. Brinda Adige – Women Rights, Karnataka
24. Syed Zahirulla- Social worker
25. Syed Salman- Masjid One Movement
26. Swati Narayan – Academic and Social Activist, Bengaluru
27. Swathi Shivanand- Independent researcher
28. Swarna Bhat- Social Activist 29. Sushmita – Soliya
30. Lara Jesani – Advocate
31. Sunita Sheel – Forum for Medical Ethics Society
32. Surabhi – Self employed
33. Sulakshana Nandi – Jan Swasthya Abhiyan Chhattisgarh
34. Sujata Jena – National Lawyers’ Forum
35. Sudha N Researcher & Activist
36. Srinivasan G – AID India
37. Siddhartha Das – Health activist
38. Siddharth K J – Independent Researcher, Bengaluru
39. Shiva Shankar – IIT Bombay
40. Sherry Mukkada – Elak estate
41. Shashank SR – People’s Union for Civil Liberties
42. Shama Angelina Chatterjee- Indian Christian Women Movement (ICWM)
43. Satyavrat KK- General Secretary – Karnataka, AIITEU (All India IT and ITes union)
44. Sarosh Kuruvilla- Professor
45. Sarojini N- Independent Researcher
46. Saqlain Mohamed – Sapthagiri hospital
47. Santana Pereira- Eusebia Welfare Centre, Pune
48. Sannidhi- KSEB
49. Samji – FMCG
50. Samir Kumar Dass – Jharkhand Science Forum
51. Samina Banu- FORWARD TRUST
52. Saleha- Trainer
53. Sakina- Straw board Mills Ratlam
54. Sajida Begum- House wife
55. Saifi Akbarali Chulawala – We Speak Out
56. Sagar Ramteke- JRF @IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
57. Sachidanand Sinha- JNU
58. Sachi Hegde – AISA
59. Sabyasachi Chatterjee – AIPSN
60. Saba Ali – Jain university
61. S M Durairaj – GGDSD college
62. Ruth Manorama- Women’s Voice, Karnataka.
63. Rosaline Pereira- Auxilium Skills Academy
64. Riz Syed- Environmental Consultant
65. Ritash (aka Pushpa)- Women against Sexual Violence & State Repression (WSS)
66. Richa- Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Delhi
67. Reha Sharma – Azim Premji University
68. Ravi Duggal- Public Health Researcher and Activist
69. Rameeza Shaikh- Muslim Women Study Circle
70. Ramdas Rao – PUCL
71. RAMAN VR- Public Health Practitioner
72. Rajshree- All India IT n ITES
73. Rahima Banu – House wife
74. Raghunath J- Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
75. R. Govinda – Council for Social Development
76. R A Janab- Karnataka peace organization
77. Pushpa S- Activist/ Swaraj Abhiyan
78. Prof.Mohan Rao- Independent public health researcher
79. Praveen Kumar- MedPure
80. Prakash Louis- Bihar Migrant Hub, Patna
81. Prajval Shastri- Astrophysicist, Bengaluru
82. Poonam Batra- Delhi University
83. Ponniah Rajamanickam- TNSF
84. Parveen Mujhtar Independent
85. Pallavi Gupta- Independent Practitioner, New Delhi
86. Nizamuddin Davangere – Bahutva Karnataka
87. Niyaz- Salaried Individual 88. Nivedita Menon – JNU, Delhi
89. Nishan – Freelance
90. Nirmal- Ambedkarite
91. Niranjanaradhya. V.P- Development Educationist
92. Nikhil Pandhi – Princeton University
93. Nikhil Mandalaparthy- Hindus for Human Rights
94. Neelofer- N designs
95. Nawaz Aman- Ex Serviceman
96. Navsharan Singh- Independent Researcher
97. Navina Shettigar GGC School
98. Nancy Rodrigs- Nirmala institute
99. Najma Banu- Principal of a private school
100. Nagaragere Ramesh- Peoples’ Democratic Forum
101. Naeem Khan- Teacher
102. Nadiya JIH 103. Mythili – Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
104. Munavar Hussain M – Professor
105. Moina Parveen – FORWARD trust
106. Mohmed – KIMS 107. Mohammed- Nurse
108. Mohammed Yusuf – Student
109. Mohammed Sadik – Analog devices india pvt ltd
110. Mohammed Khizer- Aegis India pvt ltd
111. Mohammed Imran- NRI
112. Mohammed Asim – Construction Safety
113. Mohammed Abid- Rawabi Holding Oil And Gas
114. Mohamed Sirajudeen – Tamilnadu government
115. Mohamed Ridwan- MMF
116. Mohamed Kareem Basha MMF
117. Mira Bakhru Retd faculty , IIMB
118. Merlyn Mathew – Asha Deep
119. Maya Menon- The Teacher Foundation
120. Maya Menon – The Teacher Foundation
121. Mathew – Farmer, Ketala
122. Maria- Sochara
123. Mansoor Alam Mallick – Freelancer
124. Mani- Educationist
125. Manan Kumar- Freelance journalist
126. Mallappa Kumbar – Karnataka sexual minorities forum
127. Maitreyi Krishnan- AILAJ
128. Maitreyee Boruah- Independent journalist
129. Madhuri- Filmmaker
130. Madhu Bhushan – Women’s rights activist
131. M.A.Lawrence – Gideons
132. M Kesudeen- SMMCHRI
133. Latifa – Movement for Justice
134. Kuldeep Garg- Independent Educator
135. Khan – IFN
136. Keerthana Jagadeesh- Indian Institute for Human Settlements
137. Kawsar Jahan – Trainer
138. Kavitha Kuruganti – Social activist
139. Kavita Srivastava – PUCL
140. Kathyayini Chamaraj- Forum for Democracy & Communal Amity
141. Kasim Abdul Salim – NHS
142. Kashish Naqvi- Student
143. Kaneez Fathima – Arafath school
144. Kalpana Mistry- Aangan Trust
145. K. P Mayan- Democratic Alliance
146. Karthi Marshan
147. Juned Kamal- APCR
148. Joseph Xavier- Indian Social Institute Bangalore
149. Jose Lobo- Atlántico University
150. Jayshree Oza- Consultant
151. Jerald Dsouza – Advocate
152. Jayati Ghosh- University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
153. Jansi- Slum Mahila Sanghatane
154. Janavi Sridhar- Medical Student
155. James V – Concerned Christian
156. James F Fomba- Campaign against racism
157. Jagdish Patel- PTRC 158. Indranil- JSA Delhi
159. Indira- Public Health Researcher
160. Hema Swaminathan IIM Bangalore
161. Heena Kouser – Teacher
162. Hathija – House wife
163. Haleema – Teacher
164. Gurumurthy Kasinathan- National Coalition on the Education Emergency
165. Gulab Pasha- SWARAJ INDIA
166. Gouranga Mohapatra- Patient right group, Odisha
167. Girish B- City Corporation
168. George – Montfort School
169. Firdouse Khan – FORWARD TRUST
170. Fazlu – Vadagara Sagerdayavedhi Muscat
171. Farooq Mohammed – SOCHARA
172. Farita Viegas – Teacher
173. Farhan Ahmed K – JIH
174. Farha Madrasa
175. Enas A Enas- MD CADI ReSearch Foundation USA
176. Dr.C.Ramakrishnan- BGVS 177. Dr. Reshma Parveen – I.G .Khan Memorial Trust
178. Dr. N. A. Hussain – Tertiary care hospital
179. Dr. James Deutsch- University of Toronto
180. Dr Shakeel – Centre for health and Resource management
181. Dr Shabreen Kauser- Masters in Dental surgery
182. Dr Nasser Yusuf – SAVE LIVES
183. Dr Antony K R – Independent Monitor, National Health Mission GoI a
184. Dibakar Bhattacharjya- Advocate AILAJ/LSJHR, West Bengal.
185. Denzel Joyson A J – MPT Acharya Anarchist Reading Circle.
186. Deepika Joshi- People’s Health Movement/ Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Chhattisgarh 187. Deepak Malghan – IIM Bangalore
188. Deepa – Public Health Practitioner
189. Dawood S- Engineer
190. Dalhia Mani- Professor
191. D Parthasarathy- IIT Bombay
192. Christina Samy- Swaraj India
193. Chandrika- MILANA
194. Cavery Bopaiah – Swaraj Abhiyan
195. Brinelle D’souza – Academic and Activist, Mumbai
196. Bindiya Shajith- All inclusive Foundation
197. Banu Azeez – Housewife
198. Balu- Bangalore Dalit Forum
199. Azeez pasha- Business
200. Azam pasha- Student
201. Ayub pasha- Transportation
202. Ayesha Sulaiman – Homemaker
203. Ayesha Kidwai- Jawaharlal Nehru University
204. Ashok Narayan- Retired doctor
205. Ashok Maridas Samvidhanada Haadiyalli
206. Asfia Aejaz – IIMB
207. Arun Chockalingam – University of Toronto
208. Arul Pandian- NEXGEN – Melbourne Australia
209. Arslan Naqvi- Student
210. Apurva Vivek- Hashiya Socio-Legal Centre for Women
211. Thasneem- Public sector
212. Anusha S- IT for Change
213. Ananya Dasgupta – Self-employed
214. Anant Phadke- Shramik Mukti Dal (D)
215. Amruthavalli- Individual activist
216. Ammu Abraham – Forum Against Oppression of Women
217. Amjad Pasha- Business
218. Amar Jesani- Independent Researcher and Teacher, Public Health and Bioethics
219. Adnan Yunus- HSBC
220. Adeeba Fathima – Student
221. Abhay Shukla- Jan Swasthya Abhiyan
222. Abeer- Jamat islami Hind
223. Abdul Yunus- Ex-servicemen
224. Aarti Bhatt – Campaign Against Racism MN
225. Zoya N Fatehally- Retired Engineer
226. Yezdani – Private Company
227. Yasmin Iqbal – Home maker
228. Sana Fatima- NGO
229. Senthil- AC3
230. Spoorthi Cotha
231. Somnath Seal – HPE
232. Siddiqui Heena – Teacher
233. Seema Koshy – Atelier
234. Concerned individuals
235. Sweta Dash
236. Anjali Lal
237. Narendra Gupta
238. Anita Rego
239. Talib Sadikali Tinwala
240. Tajamul Hussain Shaikh
241. Venita Kaul
242. Rajendran Narayanan
243. Dipa Sinha
244. Ashika Shetty
245. Jean Dreze
246. Rebekka Ninan
247. Rumi Harish
248. Supratik Chakraborty
249. Alice Kerketta 250.
Ajith Thomas
251. Afshan Yasmeen
252. Aditya Krishnan
253. S. Nirmal Chandran
254. Irfan
255. Iqbal
256. Imran
257. Imran Naqvi
258. Huzefa
259. Gurumoorthy
260. Fatema
261. Dr.rahmathunisa
262. Faquih Abdul Sattar
263. Fahim Aziz
264. Manan Wan
265. Paul Varghese
266. Pachalal Bhawaddin Karimi
267. Prabir KC
268. Priyanka Bopana
269. Nicolette Ketchum
270. Ghouse Hussain
271. Mumtaz Fathima
272. Muhammad Zaheeruddin
273. Mohamed Sajeed
274. ML Ramprakash
275. Mustafa
276. Nafees Batool
277. N.Balanaraysnan
278. Niveditha
279. Pooja Ramanunni
280. Noorin
281. Mamur Ali
282. Malarvizhi
283. Lesley Birnur
284. Leena Gomes
285. Latha
286. Khaleel Ahmed
287. Marzia
288. Mary Swapana
289. Margarita.
290. Maqbool Ahmed
291. K S Parthasarathy
292. Abishek Ramasubramanian
293. Soni A
294. Sufi Roshan
295. Sudha. S
296. Sulaika
297. Sunidhi
298. Sumithra S
299. Suresh
300. Suresh A
301. Syed Najmuddin
302. Syed Haseeb
303. Alishah
304. Akhtar
305. Alwyn D’Souza
306. S Parveen
307. Safi Ahmed
308. Rashida
309. Rajluxmi Vaish
310. Rakshita
311. Raheel
312. Rajesh M
313. Sami Syed
314. Saranya Narayan
315. Shah Nawaz
316. Shiraz Iqbal
317. Sapana Rawat
318. Sanaaulla
319. Sameeda
320. Salim Yusuf
321. Javadha
322. Babita
323. Asim Siddiqui
324. Asif Iqbal
325. Bilva Raman
326. Ben Dover
327. Anupama Hegde
328. Ameer Abdul Raheem
329. Aziz Kassam
330. Zubera Tahseen
331. Zohra 332. Yaseen
333. Wasiq Rafeeq
334. Vishwanath Nagarajarao
335. Vijay
336. Virginia Saldanha
337. Yogender Tyagi
