Tag: NRC

Jharkhand: Written commitment sought to ban NPR/NRC, declare CAA black law.

Source – counterview.net

Country-wide agitations against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)/ National Register of Citizens (NRC) took a new turn in Ranchi on the Republic Day as thousands gathered in Idgah Maidan (Kadru) for a long evening of protest songs, poems and plays. The programme, “Ek Shaam Samvidhan ke Naam”, was held to reassert the constitutional values of liberty, equality and solidarity at a time when Indian democracy is allegedly under threat.

The event was organized by a wide coalition of individuals and organisations that are active in the movement against CAA/NRC in Jharkhand. Hundreds of women who are sitting on a continuous Shaheen Bagh-style sit-in in Kadru also joined.

The event began with a painting festival for children and their posters were displayed across the venue. The programme also included a rich series of songs, poems, plays, and short films around the theme of communal harmony. Pamphlets on dangers of CAA/NRC were distributed. The cultural programme started with Jhakhandi beats on nagadas and dhol-maandal by Elina and her friends.

These cultural performances brought together some of Jharkhand’s best artists and cultural activists. Veteran folk-singer Madhu Mansuri ‘Hasmukh’, who received Padmashri on Saturday, extended support to the protests with his well-known song, “Gaon Chhodab Nahi”. He said that in Jharkhandi society, different communities have always helped and supported each other. Filmmaker Meghnath, founder of AKHRA and one of the composers of the song, quipped that now the protest anthem should be “Desh Chodab Nabi.”

The Ranchi Youth Fellowship, a choir performed gospel music, while a performer sang bhajans. Children from different mohallas were also selected to sing patriotic melodies. Student group ‘Kahab to Lag Jayi Dhak Se’ who have been part of several anti-CAA/NRC/National Population Register (NPR) protests across street corners of Ranchi sang a combination of inspiring verses. Vishwanath and Anil Anshuman performed protest songs for social rights. A band, Amazing Life, regaled the people with a peppy song of solidarity.

Some well-known Jharkhandi poets supported the protest with their words. Jacinta Kerketta has consistently questioned state narratives on tribal development. Anuj Lugun’s poetry has supported indigenous renaissance and resistance against fascism and oppression. Prof Mithilesh, Aloka Kujur, Mehul and others also recited their own poetic compositions.

A topical play was also performed by the Indian People’s Theatre Association. The programme also saw performances by Tabish Ali, a rapper, Chandosree, Aamir Ali, Amreen Azad, Zohra and many others.

A civil rights release commented, “In Jharkhand, in the last five years, a climate of fear and hate has been created especially against adivasi and minority communities due to a series of inhuman mob lynchings and violence. In this charged atmosphere and with the plans of CAA/NRC and especially after the series of recent attacks on university campuses, street protests have erupted in the state and nationwide.”

It added, “Across Jharkhand, every day in the New Year from Ranchi to Daltonganj, Jamshedpur to Dhanbad, Bokaro to Ramgarh there have been spontaneous protests by students, civil society, unions, and especially women.”

Afzal Anis, one of the leading activists against CAA/NRC said, “In the last two months, many Indians and Muslims in particular have taken to the streets with the tiranga flag and readings of the preamble of the constitution, as we realise that only if the constitution is saved will the country be saved. Since independence never before have the symbols of our democracy been so visible across India”.

As the evening progressed, even as Ranchiites enjoyed the cultural performances, one of the main demands was for the newly-elected Jharkhand government to reassure the fraught sentiments of minority and tribal communities by issuing a written commitment to ban NPR/NRC activities in the state.

They also wanted the assembly to pass a resolution to repeal the CAA. Throughout the programme, the air was rent with slogans against this an unconstitutional “black law” as a threat to the secular ethos of Indian democracy in the 71st year of the Republic.

RJD MLA Faraz Fatmi attends JD(U) feast, backs Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on NRC.

Source – deccanherald.com

Amid the fast-changing political equations in Bihar, an RJD MLA Faraz Fatmi on Wednesday attended the feast organised by the ruling JD(U) on the occasion of Makar Sankranti here in the State Capital.

Lauding Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for clearing the air that “NRC won’t be implemented in Bihar,” the RJD MLA questioned his own party leader Tejashwi Yadav for taking out a ‘Pratirodh yatra’ (Protest march) on January 16 from Muslim-dominated Kishanganj.

“When Nitish ji has made his stand on NRC loud and clear, what is the justification for Tejashwi to embark on a yatra on this contentious issue,” said Faraz, whose father MAA Fatmi was Union Minister in UPA-I when RJD was an alliance partner in the Congress-led Government.

The senior Fatmi had represented Darbhanga as RJD MP after defeating BJP’s Kirti Azad in 2004. However, denied Lok Sabha ticket in 2019, MAA Fatmi quit RJD and joined the JD(U).

His son Faraz continues to be RJD MLA and is the second legislator in Lalu’s outfit to have openly spoken against Tejashwi Yadav. Earlier, Maheshwar Yadav, the RJD MLA too had praised Nitish and questioned Tejashwi’s leadership.

“As of now, in Bihar, there is no bigger face than Nitish. I am sure he will form the Government again in 2020,” said Faraz, one of the prominent Muslim face of the RJD.

Meanwhile, the Bihar JD(U) president Vashishta Narayan Singh, who hosted the chuda-dahi bhoj (feast of flattened rice and curd), said, “From today onwards, the sun has moved Uttarayan. In this auspicious period, you will see many prominent leaders deserting their parent party and joining the JD(U).”

CAA, NRC will not be implemented in Bihar, says Prashant Kishor.

Source – thehindu.com

National vice-president of Bihar ruling party Janata Dal (United) Prashant Kishor on Sunday thanked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for their “unequivocal rejection” of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens while offering an assurance that both CAA and NRC will not be implemented in Bihar.

However, when asked for his comment on the National Population Register (NPR) for which the Bihar government issued a notification on December 18, 2019, Mr. Kishor told The Hindu that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has to clarify on the issue as Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi has already declared that the process of NPR would be started from May 15, 2020.

“I join my voice with all to thank #Congress leadership for their formal and unequivocal rejection of #CAA_NRC. Both @rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi deserve special thanks for their efforts on this count. Also would like to reassure to all – Bihar me CAA-NRC implement nahi hoga [CAA-NRC will not be implemented in Bihar]”, tweeted Mr. Kishor. His tweet came a day after Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi at the party’s working committee meeting on Saturday said “NPR 2020 is a disguised NRC” and termed the CAA as “discriminator and divisive whose sinister purpose is to divide the country along religious lines.”

Mr. Kishor said West Bengal, Kerala and other States too had started the process of NPR before the controversy erupted but later, when they had a relook, they stopped it.

In December 2019 when asked about the implementation of NRC in Bihar, Mr. Kumar had quipped, “kahe ka NRC? [NRC for what?]”.

In January this year, his deputy Modi said “the process of NPR will start in Bihar” and “no government has the courage to stop the NPR exercise in their respective States.” “The first phase of Indian census 2021 and the process of National Population Register (NPR) in Bihar will be done between the period of May 15 to June 28’ 2020”, said the Bihar government notification issued in December last year.

Prashant Kishor thanks Congress for anti-CAA stand, repeats no NRC in Bihar.

Source – indiatoday.in

JD(U) vice-president and poll strategist Prashant Kishor took to Twitter on Sunday to declare that the Citizenship Amendment Act ( CAA ) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be implemented in Bihar.

“I join my voice with all to thank #Congress leadership for their formal and unequivocal rejection of #CAA_NRC. Both @rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi deserves special thanks for their efforts on this count. Also would like to reassure to all – Bihar me CAA-NRC implement nahi hoga [CAA-NRC will not be implemented in Bihar],” Prashant Kishor tweeted.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party JD(U) had supported the Centre in passing the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 in both houses of Parliament last month.

After Prashant Kishor’s declaration on Sunday, questions are being raised whether the CAA will be implemented in Bihar or not even as the Centre, two days ago, had issued a gazette notification announcing that the new law has come into effect from January 10, 2020.

However, there are several states ruled by Opposition, like Kerala and West Bengal, which has clearly stated that they will not implement the new citizenship law in their states.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Saturday, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had reiterated that no states can oppose the implementation of the Act as it has already been passed by both the Houses of Parliament.

‘We are here because of our conscience’

Source – telegraphindia.com

About a hundred students from different educational institutions gathered at Taxi Stand on Main Road in Ranchi on Friday afternoon to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).

The students read the Preamble to the Constitution in Hindi at the beginning of the roughly one-and-half-hour meeting. Then they staged a street play on the CAA, NRC and NPR, followed by recitation of poems the students had composed.

For many, this was the second day of protest.

“We are not affiliated to any political outfit and have been protesting as our conscience prompted us to do so,” said Shamam Arfeen, a Ranchi University student who was among the organisers of the protest.

Swati Sikha, a Ranchi girl who is pursuing her MA in political science at Ambedkar University in Delhi, added: “Those affiliated to any political outfit have their compulsion to agree or disagree with some political happenings but we are free from that and are doing what we felt right.”

Asked about the name of their group, Shamam smiled and said: “Well, if you ask, it’s Kahab to Lag Jai Dhak Se.…”

That’s actually the name of their WhatsApp group, taken from a song from the film Article 15.

“I protest as the CAA leaves out the Muslims and that violates the guarantee of equality to all as our Constitution provides,” Shamam said when asked.

There are Ahmedias and Sunnis among the Muslims in Pakistan who may be persecuted there, he argued, adding they may also need the same concession on grounds of compassion — if giving persecuted people refuge is indeed the motive of the law. 

He also pointed out that many poor people don’t have their birth certificates or other relevant documents as proof of their citizenship, asking if all of them would be termed as outsiders or stateless people in the proposed all-India NRC.

“As a student of political science, I don’t see CAA and NRC in isolation because both these look like interlinked parts of a policy of the present government to polarise people and strengthen their party’s vote bank,” said Swati. “We can’t accept the NRC as scores of genuine people without proper documents could be sent to detention camps for no fault of theirs.”

In a country where GDP growth slowing down with every passing day, it’s also not wise to incur huge expenditure on maintenance of detention camps, she added.

“Instead of promoting Islamophobia among the citizens, we expect the government to act to rejuvenate the economy and generate employment,” Swati said.

Kumar Yash, a Class XII student who also joined the protest, said: “After going through so many propaganda materials on social media, I felt the CAA and the NRC are planned to sideline a particular community and hence I felt like protesting against these.”

Before dispersing, the students sang the song Kahab to Lag Jai Dhak Se….

CAA ‘anti-people’ cry in Ranchi

Source – telegraphindia.com

Nearly 2,000 people protested peacefully against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) at the Bapu Vatika in Morabadi here on Thursday.

A large number of people comprising activists, students, women including many in burqa, and members of various minority, tribal and political parties and civil society outfits took part in the Sankalp Sabha as the protest was named, hosted by the Sajha Manch, an united forum.

They started by reading out the Preamble of the Constitution under the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Many speakers, irrespective of religious or political affiliation, described the CAA, NRC and NPR as “anti-constititional and anti-people”.

“The CAA violates Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution,” pointed out well-known activist Balram, adding that jal-jangal-jameen and the culture of the people of Jharkhand speak volumes about nationality. “Nothing else is required to prove it.”

“The BJP and RSS want to break the unity and social fabric of the country and spread hatred among communities,” alleged Ibrar Ahmad, the chief of the local Anjuman Islamia, a minority social outfit.

“The people of Jharkhand, in the Assembly recent polls, have rejected the BJP for its anti-people agenda,” said tribal activist Dayamani Barla, describing the CAA, NRC and NRP as “anti-people”.

Those who attended it included members of the United Milli Forum, the Anjuman Islamia, the Majlis-e-Ulema (Jharkhand), Muslim Youth Forum, political parties such as the Congress, the RJD, JVM, the Aam Admi Party and the CPI, and the organisations such as the National Alliance for People’s Movement, the All-India Students Federation, the Ulgunan Sena, the Janvadi Lekhak Sangh and the Indian People’s Theatre Association.

Former Congress Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay and other leaders sat through the proceedings to express their solidarity. Protesters carried placards with slogans opposing the CAA, NRC and NPR and “Mazhab nahi sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna from Allama Iqbal’s famous poem Saare Jahan Se Achcha…

Afzal Anees, an organiser, said the event was so peaceful that CM Hemant Soren’s motorcade passed peacefully.

Hemant, it is now known, opposed NRC and CAA and also expressed it through a two-part tweet on December 29. “I don’t think the NRC is feasible or implementable. The entire country is up in arms against CAA…”

CAA protest plan in place.

Source – telegraphindia.com

Aprotest meeting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) drew around 1,000 people to Zilla School ground here on Monday where a decision was taken to launch a series of peaceful protests in the capital next month.

“We will organise peaceful protests beginning from January 2 in Ranchi next month. The first programme will be held near the Gandhi statue in Morabadi on January 2. We will observe it as Sankalp Divas,” activist Balram said on behalf of Sajha Manch, a united forum of social and political activists.

Another activist, Ashok Verma, said they would read aloud the Preamble to the Constitution and sit on a dharna there.

“We will organise similar programmes on January 8, 16, 23, 26 and 30,” said Ibrar Ahmad, the chief of the local Anjuman Islamia.

On the Republic Day, the protest meeting will be held at the gram sabha level where people will read out the Preamble and take a pledge to protect its spirit.

The Constitution gives guarantee of equality to all citizens, but the government’s move violates it, the activists said.

“There are many tribals and poor people in the state who can’t submit documents as proof of their being citizens of this country. The Mundas of Khunti don’t even have ownership documents as their land is a community property,” Balram said, explaining why they were opposing the NRC and NPR.

Nadim Khan, a Left leader who conducted the meeting, said they had initially planned a Samvidhan Bachao March (Save the Constitution rally), but the district administration didn’t give permission.

Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay was also present at the the meeting that demanded the repeal of the CAA and withdrawal of the NRC and NPR proposals.

The participants also expressed solidarity with the students of 33 universities who are protesting against the CAA and the NCR and condemned Uttar Pradesh police’s high-handed attitude against the protesters.

Jharkhand: Local issues win over BJP’s Hindutva and vikas model.

Source – hindustantimes.com

At a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in the Jamtara constituency for the Jharkhand assembly elections, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked the crowd: “Koi Irfan Ansari jitega toh Ram Mandir kaise banega? (If some Irfan Ansari wins, how will Ram Mandir be constructed?)”. This was just one of the many instances of how BJP leaders used the Ram Mandir, the reading down of Article 370, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to mobilise voters on communal lines in the elections.

In Jamtara, Irfan Ansari, the gathbandhan’s candidate, supported by voters of all communities, won by a margin of more than 35,000 votes. Not just in Jamtara, but gathbandhan’s decisive win across Jharkhand shows that voters were not impressed with the BJP’s Hindutva agenda. Rather than gaining, the BJP ended up losing a few seats as compared to 2014. The gathbandhan, comprising the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), won 47 seats (JMM – 30, Congress – 16, RJD – 1), while the BJP secured only 25 (down from 37 in 2014) in the 81-seat assembly.

The results have surprised many as the BJP (with All Jharkhand Student Union party) won 12 of 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state only six months ago. In the general elections, the BJP was able to sway voters on Hindutva, nationalism and its so-called “vikas” model. But this time, the party paid dearly for the widespread unpopularity of chief minister Raghubar Das and its severing of ties with the All Jharkhand Student Union, which is supported by an OBC base. The striking takeaway is that, unlike the Lok Sabha election, this time, people voted mainly on misgovernance and failures of the BJP-led government. The opposition parties also played their role in mobilising voters on local issues.

The BJP’s “vikas” model – roads, toilets, houses and LPG cylinders – may have got the party some votes. But the general neglect of welfare – food security, social security schemes, public health and education – cost the party many more. Disruptions in the Public Distribution System due to its linkage with Aadhaar was a common complaint across the state. The breakdown of food security schemes also led to the death of at least 23 persons because of starvation.

Both the state and central BJP leadership often referred to the Das government’s work as “double-engine vikas” i.e. development powered by same party at state and Centre. This was also a key pitch in this election campaign. But it failed to cut ice in the face of rising unemployment, stagnating rural wages and economic insecurities of people.

There was increasing disconnect between the government and the needs of the people, exemplified in tribal areas (Scheduled Tribes comprise 26% of the total population). Despite increasing its cultural and political footprint in the 28 Adivasi Vidhan Sabha seats over the years, the BJP could win only two (whereas it got 11 in 2014). In the last five years, the party gained the reputation of being detrimental to tribal interests. A major reason was the attempts by the government to forcefully acquire tribal land for corporates. To this effect, the government repeatedly tried to amend local tenancy laws. It was forced to abort these efforts after they were met with massive protests across the state. The repressive response of the government to several protests against these policies alienated the tribals further.

To weaken the protests, the state government tried to divide the adivasis on religious identity. It formulated the anti-conversion act and used it to pit non-Christian adivasis against Christian ones. The blatantly communal agenda of the government was further exposed by the series of mob lynching incidents. Since 2014, Jharkhand has witnessed the highest number of incidents of lynching against Muslims and tribals – mostly triggered by rumours of consumption, smuggling or slaughter of cows. In many cases, local leaders of the BJP or other members of saffron groups were involved or extended tacit support to the perpetrators.

To the opposition’s credit, it focused on people’s issues throughout its campaign and effectively exposed the failures of the government. Unlike in the Lok Sabha elections when the opposition failed to get its act together on the ground, the parties, mainly JMM, mobilised people through yatras, rallies and door-to-door campaigning. The opposition could communicate its commitments and messages clearly to the voters. Moving beyond the traditional Adivasi vote base, the JMM was able to make inroads amongst the electorally significant backward caste voters (OBCs comprise about 35% of population). It was also successful in consolidating votes on the question of “Jhakhandi” identity as opposed to BJP’s Hindutva.

Despite driving its campaign with a “double engine” fuelled by 20 rallies of Modi and Amit Shah, the BJP, as expected, is trying to distance its national leadership from the loss. But the result is as much a reflection on state government’s failure as a statement against the BJP’s communal and divisive politics. As massive people protests against the CAA and NRC continue across the country, the Jharkhand result comes as an electoral referendum against the two policies. The question is will the national Opposition take a leaf from this result and take a clear stand against BJP’s Hindutva in the days to come.

Tejashwi Yadav says IDs lost in floods each year, calls for Bihar bandh over CAA.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Bare-chested supporters of the Rashtriya Janata Dal blocked highways using buffaloes, sat on railway tracks and shouted slogans on Saturday to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in at least two places in Bihar.

Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, which has given the call for a Bihar Bandh against the citizenship act, has appealed to the people of the state to participate in the shutdown.

“In protest against CAA and NRC, the RJD will be leading a Bihar bandh on December 21. On its eve, the party carried a torch rally in all districts to give a call for a peaceful protest,” the former deputy chief minister had tweeted on Friday. 

The RJD’s workers and supporters protested bare chest as they shouted against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and the central government in Darbhanga. They blocked the highway by burning tyres and also protested at the railway line and disrupted the movement of trains.

In Vaishali, the RJD’s workers blocked the highway with the help of buffaloes.

As Tejashwi Yadav opposed the proposed NRC, he said people would not be able to prove their identity if it is implemented, as their identity documents often get washed away in the floods in the state.

“In Bihar, people’s documents flow away with floodwaters. How can they prove their identity?” Yadav had asked.

Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party and member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, had signalled his opposition to an NRC exercise.

He is the first chief minister of an NDA-ruled state to shut its doors on the citizens’ register that would be crucial to the BJP-led national coalition delivering on its promise to expel infiltrators.

However, his party had voted in favour of the controversial changes in the citizenship act that allows the government to give citizenship to minorities from three Muslim countries Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Protests have intensified in various parts of the country after CAA was enacted on December 12.

Opposition parties and civil society say the law is unconstitutional because it links faith to citizenship and discriminatory because it omits Islam.

NRC to affect Jharkhand tribals, say activists.

Source – telegraphindia.com

The protests that erupted across the country on Thursday against the amended citizenship law and the proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) echoed in Jharkhand as well, albeit in a low-key manner because of the model code of conduct.

Common citizens, representatives of civil society organisations and members of Left parties organised two protest marches in Ranchi and one in Jamshedpur. At the first march in Ranchi, the organisers pointed out that the NRC would affect tribals of the state. Adivasis enjoy land rights by tradition and most of their land is vested with village heads hence it will be difficult for them to show individual ownership of land, the activists pointed out. If the tribals can’t prove they own land how can they register in the NRC, the activists wondered.

Representatives of organisations such as Adivasi Adhikar Manch, Christian Yuva Manch, the Ranchi branch of the National Alliance for People’s Movement, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (which is itself an umbrella organisation of various such outfits), All India Students’ Front, Adivasi Mahila Manch and Nagrik Adhikar Manch participated in the protest.

“The CAA is a divisive pronouncement of the BJP government,” Bharat Bhushan Chaudhary of the Mahasabha told the gathering.

“The government is using police machinery to quell the voice of protest,” said Praful Linda of the CPM, who also addressed the gathering at the Zilla School ground in Ranchi, citing the police firing in Assam and attack on students of Jamia Milia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University.

“The BJP has turned Jharkhand into a laboratory for carrying out anti-minority, anti-poor and anti-tribal experiments,” alleged Vivek Kumar, a Right to Food activist associated with the Mahasabha. “They cancelled scores of ration cards that resulted in starvation deaths in the state.”

Vivek pointed to the many mob lynching cases and the BJP government’s attempt to tweak the tenancy laws meant for protecting tribal land “just to favour chosen corporate houses”.

The gathering marched to Albert Ekka Chowk where they formed a human chain. Members of CPI, CPIM, CPI-ML and MCC marched from Sainik Bazar to Albert Ekka Chowk in the second protest.

In Jamshedpur, around 100 activists of CPI-ML, AISF and other outfits marched from Sakchi roundabout to the district collectorate.

“It was part of the national call of various organisation to protest against the CAA,” said Deepak Ranjeet of the Jharkhand Jantantrik Sabha. “We had asked activists not to shout provocative slogans or indulge in any kind of violence. We submitted a memorandum to the East Singhbhum DC.”