Ulama Council, Activists and World Peace Council appeal for justice and unity in the community
Afroz Alam Sahil & Kamala Kanta Dash, BeyondHeadlines
On the third anniversary of the unfortunate Batla House Encounter many events and protests were orgainsed to demand an independent probe into the encounter. Events and peaceful protests were orgainsed at Batla House, Azamgarh and Jantar Mantar by students, activists, religious leaders, community & political leaders and concerned citizens who participated in large numbers to reiterate their demand for a magisterial inquiry.
The Rashtriya Ulama Council (RUC) organised a huge public rally and protest at Jantar Mantar to mobilize public support to fight against the police atrocities against minorities. Leaders of Ulama Council spoke for the need of a united front to oppose the discrimination against the Muslims. Thousands of protestors from Azamgarh reached the venue to join the protest. The council objected to the media using its freedom to unfairly target Muslims in the counter-terror debate. The RUC has decided to fight this battle through the political way of contesting forthcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh. The council has many Hindus, Christians in their fold making it a more inclusive party.
A Team of activists visited Sanjarpur, Azamgarh to show solidarity with the families of the victims of witch hunt in counter-terror policing. People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) along with Shaikh Rajab Ali Social and Welfare Society, organised a day long National Human Rights’ Convention. Leading personalities like Ajit Sahi, Subhasini Ali, SR Darapuri, and many others spoke against the ongoing victimization of common Muslims. This convention has established a Peoples’ Commission to inquire the cases like Batla House Encounter.
At L-18 Batla House a few keen journalists were seen trying to figure out the mood in the local community. Baring two or three not many people chose to speak to them. However, Faiz Ahmad Faiz who is a local community member and a political activist chose to meet and talk to the journalists. Mr. Faiz who heads a peace and communal harmony mission known as Vishwa Shanti Parishad (World Peace Council) urged everyone to fight for the innocent young men who have been detained since 2008. Expressing his unequivocal support for a magisterial inquiry, Mr Faiz wanted the probe to focus on who martyred Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. Mr Faiz supported the path of the constitutional method of protests and invited the entire youth community unite and vote for progress and development.
In these three above instances everyone has acknowledged the problems that the Muslim youth are facing and moreover all of them have given a call for unity. Hope the coming days sees more youth participation in the political process to instill vibrancy into the democratic governance of the country.
