Editor's Pick

Muslims held without trial

21 October 2006, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal, Research Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
December 06, the date the Indian history would remember forever as on that date in 1991 democracy was finally assassinated in India with the destruction of Babri Mosque and follow-up torture of the Muslims all over the country, is fast approaching. Upon the destruction of the Mosque, the then ruling Congress government had pledged to reconstruct it at the very site where it existed, but till date the construction has not even started. In order to suppress the Muslims who demand the reconstruction of the Mosque the Indian state has only terrorised them through various nefarious actions harmful to and undermining the Muslims. Every year many Muslims are rounded up on the eve of December-6 anniversary and not many from the detainees return home quite safe.

Indians, particularly those settled down comfortably abroad, mainly in the West, are both proud of and obsessed with the so-called Indian democratic values and feel happy to see the Muslims in India painted in dirty colours and portrayed as bad guys. They are perhaps unaware of the fact that this country is retaining detainees without trial. Human rights record of India is known to be very low and the media efficiently hide the facts if the victims are Muslims. The Muslims, who are arrested before December 06 every year and tortured in jails across the country, are neither tried nor released because, according to the government, the arrested persons are "terrorists" and so they deserve prolonged punishment in jails without trial. It is anyone's guess as to what makes the government both at the Centre and in states not to produce the so-called suspected terrorists before the courts of law and let judiciary deliver judgments. In Tamil Nadu alone, for instance over 350 Muslims were reportedly arrested between 22nd Nov and 06 Dec 1998 and their fate is sealed in Coimbatore and other central jails in the state without any trial.

No one can state exactly how many Muslims are detained in jails in this manner and how many have been killed in jails. The Muslim League having pretensions for serving the Muslim community and a coalition partner in the present central government has not bothered about ensuring Justice to the detainees either.

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Another December 06 is fast approaching. The prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and the state chief ministers should come out with detailed reports about the Muslims held in Indian lock-ups without trial as well as the general position of the Muslim detainees in the country in all cases. Neither the Human Rights activists nor such organisations have taken up the matter seriously enough to halt the inhuman treatment meted out to the Muslims. The best option before the State under the circumstances is to release unconditionally the illegal detainees remaining under government custody without trial. Democracy is not a joke.
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