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Hathras case: SP, DSP and other police officials suspended, polygraph test ordered for all complainant, accused and cops involved

OpIndia Staff
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Hathras case: SP, DSP and other police officials suspended, polygraph test ordered for all complainant, accused and cops involved

In the latest development in the Hathras case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed suspension of the SP, the DSP, the Inspector and some other officials, based on the preliminary investigation report.

The Chief Minister was reportedly not satisfied with the handling of the Hathras case by the administration. A press release issued by the UP govt said that Hathras SP and IPS officer Vikrant Veer has been suspended for carelessness and lax in supervision while working on the case. Similarly, DSP Ram Shabd, inspector Dinesh Verma, sub-inspector Jagveer Singh, and head constable Mahesh Pal have been suspended. Shamli SP Vineet Jaiswal has been posted as the SP of Hathras after the suspensions.

The statement also adds that Narco Polygraph tests of the complainant, accused and the cops involved with the case will also be conducted.

CM Yogi had tweeted earlier in the day that those even think of harming women in Uttar Pradesh will be completely finished.

“Anyone, who even thinks of harming the dignity of mothers and sisters in Uttar Pradesh will be eliminated. Such a person will be made an example of. The Uttar Pradesh government is determined to safeguard every mother and sister”, the CM had tweeted.

Standing against forced conversions and regressive exclusivism: In conversation with the Nationalist Hindustani Christians’ Manch

Dr. Mrittunjoy Guha Majumdar
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Standing against forced conversions and regressive exclusivism: In conversation with the Nationalist Hindustani Christians’ Manch

(As part of the Satyanveshi initiative, we recently interacted with members of the Hindustani Christians’ Manch, a nationalist Christian group where almost all members are Swayamsevaks. We have tried to conduct this interview impartially, to ascertain the perspective and views of Nationalist Christians who are part of the Manch, with the composite responses of Jerome Anto (founder-convenor), Aliot Bhushan Koli, Gloria Joseph and Robert Rozario, as forwarded by the Manch.

The Hindustani Christians’ Manch was convened by Jerome Anto, an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Mr. Anto is a Swayamsevak himself and an active Christian with the sole intention of integrating Christians who are part of the Sangh Parivar spread across the length and breadth of the country. Almost all members are active in the Sangh as Swayamsevaks or subscribe to the thought process.

The Manch aims to to demolish the false narrative that the Sangh is anti-Christian, to prepare an alternative voice of Christians in India as it is perceived that all Christians subscribe to the false narration of religious persecution currently blown out of proportion and amplified by a few sinister self-proclaimed Christian leaders and clergyman, and to encourage Christians to participate and be part of the Sangh and its ideology and propel nation-building.

The responses by the Manch do not represent the position of Satyanveshi on any of the questions asked)

How did a practicing Christian like yourself end up in the RSS?

I consider myself as an Indian first. All those who care for human welfare and nation building should join the RSS. I am a Christian by faith. But an Indian by heart. Both need not clash.

There is a perception that the RSS is anti-minority.

Your presence in the Sangh seems to be a living testimony that this demonization may be false.

What are your views on this narrative?

I believe my country is more sacred than my religion and many will be furious but this is my opinion. I am because of my country and not my religion. And moreover our ancestors were Hindus. Hence I believe my culture and civilization is more sacred and important.

The perception of the RSS is false, and I can vouch for the fact that the Sangh is not anti-minority. I have freely practiced my faith, while being part of the RSS.

Did you face backlash from the Church or ostracization by your community for your association with the RSS?

Yes at a certain point, I did face backlash. There were people who said that I should be ‘right in my thoughts’. Various Christian fora and channels spoke against Jerome (Anto) for his outspoken views on aspects of being a nationalist Christian.

I feel the perception about RSS in the church has to and will change eventually. One should never fear when one is right. Without wanting to sound presumptuous, Jesus was also betrayed and hanged by his own people, after all.

But here we are only facing ideological opposition! We cannot cower down from what we see is the truth: the RSS works for all Indians.

How does one reconcile the Christian faith with the idea of Hindutva?

“सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः” “सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः”

“Love your neighbors as yourself “

All these are as same as the idea of Hindutva. The word Hindu is derived from the river Sindhu. Not even in Ramayana neither in the Mahabharata the word Hindu exist. What we today know as Hinduism is a coming together of various traditions and schools of philosophy under one umbrella. Hindutva is the essence of this way of life, of society, which is inherently and fundamentally Indic.

And hence you can be a Hindu by your culture and civilisation, and Christian by faith.

There is no conflict between the two.

What are your views on the clause to stand for right to propagate religious ideas in Article 25 of the Indian Constitution and the recent call for anti conversion laws?

I feel in the right to propagate religion there is a contradiction. I see modern organized religions as all about taking away someone’s right to free thinking, free speech and personal liberty, and making them more oriented about what a certain institution of that religion puts forth, without leaving much space for active and independent spiritual engagement. Spirituality may liberate but religion, at times, constrains, in rituals and ideas of what is the ‘right way to God’.

Going by this understanding, if the right to propagate is a constitutional right, then it amounts to the right to take away someone else’s right, according to me!

I therefore feel that a strong anti-conversion bill is highly important and in the right direction towards realizing true secularism and freedom in faith.

According to you, how true is it that the current Modi government and the BJP, in general, is anti Christian, as some like to believe?

It’s absolutely untrue to say that Narendra Modi, his government and the BJP are anti-Christian. Their policies and steps have helped all and sundry, from Ayushman Bharat, recent reforms in agriculture and labour, National Education Policy and various other government programmes. The government has worked at alleviating the problems of people and facilitating their growth, cutting across religions, castes, communities, races, genders and classes.

I feel that there’s not even an iota of truth in this misprojection of the Narendra Modi-led government being anti-Christian.

It is all propaganda.

How do you reconcile the Dharmic element of pluralism and cosmopolitanism with what you see as exclusivist ideas and elements in Abrahamic religions, as a practicing Christian?

I see that as the real challenge for any Christian to strike a balance between dharmic pluralism and religious dogma. Often it ends up in succumbing to dogma rather than go by logical thinking. Hinduism is an older way of life, and has undergone significant evolution and development over millenia. It is often with the flux of ideas into and out of a system of religion and philosophy that religions evolve. I hope that with time, this can also be seen in Abrahamic religions.

Till that happens, however, I don’t see there being any obvious basis or manner of such a reconciliation.

The RSS has the word Swayamseva in it.

For me, the word signifies that which is selfless in that there is no self in this Seva (service), and yet, paradoxically, one is serving one’s higher Self – a universal oneness of all humanity.

How do you see this as a continuation of the ancient tradition of undertaking work and Karma without expectations?

Yes, Swayamseva means working selflessly and without any motives, and only to satisfy one’s own conscience and to do good Karma. Service by various people associated with certain modern religions is with ulterior motive of swelling the size of flock and enlarging the enterprise. You will often see the citation of this good work when discussing religious institutions or calls for support for expansion of resources of these institutions.

Swayamseva is service without any such motives or reasons but simply to help humanity.

As you see it, what is the place of Christians in the idea of India as a Hindu Rashtra?

Any Christian born in India and who sees India as his country, his motherland, and its culture and civilisation as his own, is inherently part of this conception of a Hindu Rashtra.

I see the role of Christians in a Hindu Rashtra as the one practiced by Parsis in India for over a millennium. Reconciliation with all instead of confronting, and harmonious co-existence, alongwith standing by camaraderie, compassion and co-existence.

These are all values and virtues that were taken to be of importance both in the message of Jesus as well as the Hindu way of life.

Organizations like Open Doors and All India Christian Council have shared statistics showing an increased persecution of Christians under BJP, with one reportage pegging attacks on Christians to be once every 40 hours in 2016.

According to you, how factually true are these reports, according to you, and how much of this is propaganda?

These are all false propaganda with cooked up figures. In reality there’s not even a single incident of so called ‘persecution’.

It’s inbuilt in Church doctrine to accuse others and claim to be victims as a part of long drawn strategy of expansionism.

It has been mentioned by one of your members previously that Christianity has always facilitated destruction of civilisations around the world.

How do you reconcile that with your faith of Christianity?

This really is a difficult task to reconcile as a learned person having known the crimes committed by Church leading to destruction of civilization. It often becomes impossible to reconcile this fact, but to live with that burden of guilt and also dogma.

Christian missionaries are seen to claim the ineffectiveness of pagan traditions in various places.

I also always find this curious that God only chose Israel as the land of God and only the people thereof closest to the Christian God. For me, the term is more spiritual and philosophical than necessarily geocentric.

Does the projection of the salvific efficacy of Christianity above Pagan traditions mean the people who undertake this believe that the rest of the world was living in darkness through the ages, ridiculous as that thought is?

This part of the Bible throws light on how ignorant were the persons compiling this document which had the Word of God. Israel has been used in the Bible 2,431 times and is include in 13 of 27 as well as 34 of 39 books of the New and Old Testaments respectively. Israel is the Hebrew name Yisra’el, meaning ‘God contends’, or one who struggles with God. What made Israel unique in Christian and even Judaistic thought is that God seemingly was using the people of Israel to further his plan of redemption for the entire human race. I guess at the end of the day it is a matter of belief. When we look back now, what really looks very awkward and unnecessary is the projection of the rest of humanity as living in darkness.

I am aware that some Christian missionaries used the ploy of showing the ineffectiveness of Pagan traditions, and I outright condemn this. God comes to many in different ways. Jesus died for us on the cross, and his sacrifice led the way to our salvation, as per Christian thought. There were other spiritual luminaries who showed other various paths for redemption and salvation of mankind as well. To reject and speak negatively about other religions, particularly Pagan cultures and traditions, is not right.

Jesus’ message was one of brotherhood, compassion and co-existence, after all.

A profound question that has been debated by various scholars is the veracity of the words of Luke, Mark, John and Matthew in the Gospels.

Even someone like Paul, who is among the oldest sources of the word on Jesus, did not quite meet Jesus, with his conversion being slated at around 31-36 AD as per Geoffrey William Bromiley, Paul Barnett and Richard L. Niswonger.

So, the word of the modern Bible being taken as the exact word and essence of the faith of Jesus may not quite be true. For instance, even the idea of resurrection is taken as a spiritual resurrection by some early Gnostic Christian traditions.

Given these realities, how far or close are we to Jesus’ words when we follow the modern Church and Bible?

I see the current practice as more of Churchianity rather than Christianity. A convenient system to control the minds, and thereby rule over them. You are right in saying that the Gospels were compiled and written significantly after Jesus’ life and times. There have also been interpolations and interpretations that have clouded the true message of Christ, as I see it.

You are also right in saying that there were various Judaistic-Christian strands that had a more Gnostic or spiritual conception of elements of faith like Resurrection.

The Church, unfortunately, sees all this as ‘heretical’.

There were Christian religious leaders like the Bishop of Bangalore who spoke against the CAA, even though it categorically speaks up for Christians in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

According to you, how true is it that this was more since PM Modi brought such a pro-Christian move than nuances of the actual policy? And how did you stand up against this hypocrisy on the part of Christian leaders who did not quite seem to stand up for the interests of persecuted Christians?

Yes, it is hypocrisy of the highest order. When Aasiyah Bibi is made to undergo the worst kind of repression, which spurred the debate on blasphemy laws, where were these leaders? Was she not a Christian? Was she any lesser a child of God? Today Christians are facing persecution of the worst kind in various places in these countries, and the extension of support by the Indian government to them is commendable.

This opposition to the CAA only exposes these particular religious leaders of being working against the interest of own community! We have always stood against this and feel that the CAA is pro-Christian and pro-humanity.

There is this idea that there is no caste system in Christianity and this has often been seen to be a reason for conversion of individuals from backward castes of Hindus. However, the hypocrisy is that the caste system never quite goes, even after conversion. One can still find backward caste Christians. Not only this but the sense of hierarchy seems to linger, with hardly 5% bishops are from backward communities, along with there being no Dalit Cardinal in India.

What are your views on this?

Propagating Christianity among the backward castes in the guise of ‘no casteism in Christianity’ is a well thought over ploy to lure Hindus into Christianity. But the ones who are caught in the cross fire are those who have converted in the hope of equality. 

I feel it is nothing less than jumping from one frying pan to another frying pan!

There is no liberation from these identities even after conversion, and as you rightly said, this is seen right from the clergy in India to even day-to-day life in Christian society.

There are subtle, some regressive, ways to lure people into converting, be it the recently seen Yesu Namaskar or the Bhajan like songs on the Ghats of Varanasi that praise Jesus. In the past too, there are purported instances where Christians have appropriated elements of Pagan cultures, such as the festival of Saturnalia and the consecration of temple of Sol Invictus on 25 December being what was supposedly converted to Christmas. There are also things like ‘Jesus Gayatri Mantra’ as well as a ‘Christ Sahasranama’.

How does one stand up against that effectively?

Church has always adopted such tactics even in the past: what can’t be destroyed or persuaded to give up, appropriate it with religion.

I hope educated individuals and grassroot level organisations stand up against this misappropriation and guile.

This is not a healthy practice nor is it one that Jesus would have endorsed, as I see it.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa was a practicing Christian for a little while, and Vedantins have seen resonances between Dharmic traditions and Christian ideas, albeit with elements in slight variance with the Catholic tradition. Some scholars have also seen Christianity as a form of Saguna Bhakti tradition.

In the contemporary age, the whole process of integration of Christian ideas and elements into the larger Dharmic flow has been  restricted by certain exclusivist elements, doctrinally.

How does one facilitate an active engagement and discussion between these two major traditions with the broad aim of coexistence, peace and possibly even qualified integration?

I was unaware of the fact that Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa was a practicing Christian!

For now Hinduism needs to concentrate in reinforcing its position and pride, and not depend or dilute itself by adapting teachings of other religions (especially Abrahamic religions). I feel adapting Abrabamic traditions dilutes the understanding of the common Hindu, because the majority of Hindus don’t know their own religion, neither do they take interest and are most apologetic when it comes to their own faith because of lack of religious knowledge. 

Hinduism is an in-depth way of life, a philosophy that has survived millenia and most of the answers Hindus seek are available in their own texts!  By looking into the Abrahamic faith will only dilute the understanding of the Hindus and confuse them. 

Religious co-existence means: let each mind their own religion, and live together harmoniously.

That will save India and humanity.

Yes, I never quite spoke for integration or assimilation but rather the broad resonances between the two strands, constrained only by specific elements. I agree with the idea that Hinduism should reinforce its own position. But that may not mean we cannot have a greater engagement, for religious co-existence and acceptance.

Nonetheless, my next question has to do with the message of universal brotherhood in Christianity, and the specific problem of lynching in India. I would like to condemn, in the strongest of terms, this occurrence (of lynching), regardless of who the victim is.

Christian activists, clergymen and other have complained about some ‘Sanghis’ undertaking lynching of Christians in the past. As valid as a stance against any instance of lynching is, when two Hindu Sadhus were killed by lynching in Palghar recently, why was no Bishop or Cardinal or Christian anti-lynching activist speaking up against that?

Where was the idea of brotherhood then? Why this selective uproar? Are we not humans first?

I have already spoken about their hypocrisy in this realm, and this extends to various areas.

For me, as a practicing Christian, all human beings, nay all beings, are children of God. God made them with immense care and love. Even though a Hindu or Muslim may not be from my religion, my faith and religion still tells me that I must stand with them, through thick and thin, for we are brothers and sisters – children of God. Jesus assuaged and gave peace and spiritual nourishment to all those who came to him, not just his apostles or followers. He sacrificed himself for all humanity. So, when religious leaders and ‘activists’ stand against lynching of Christians but not for Sadhus in Palghar, I find a certain element of displacement from the Christian faith.

Funny thing is that they still manage to function with all these contradictions!

What is your vision of motivating, and harnessing the potential of, Christians to help work towards a progressive and modern India that is built on a balance of civilisational foundations and contemporary ideas?

This is a very, very big task, and the Sangh has taken steps in this direction. It has to undertake many programs to back up who I see as the right-thinking Christians, who are already working in this direction but who lack support. I would like to see every Christian in this new India contribute to a bright future that understands the value and worth of being Indian, and has an active sense of belonging and love for it.

After being stopped from meeting the family of Hathras victim by police, TMC leaders file a complaint against Hathras SDM

OpIndia Staff
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After being stopped from meeting the family of Hathras victim by police, TMC leaders file a complaint against Hathras SDM

All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MPs who had gone to meet the family of the Hathras victim in the day have filed a complaint against the Hathras SDM after they were stopped by the police from meeting the family of the victim. Currently, there is section 144 of the CrPC in force in the area.

The TMC delegation included Members of Parliament Derek O’Brien, Pratima Mondal, Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and former MP Mamata Thakur. The MPs had alleged that they were manhandled by the police after they were confronted and stopped about a kilometer away from the victim’s house. Yesterday, a scuffle had broken out between Congress scions Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Badra and the police near Pari Chowk in Noida when they were no the way to Hathras to meet the family of the victim.

The TMC MPs sat on protest after they stopped from meeting the family of the victim.

TMC MP Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was seen shaming the police personnel who were deployed at Hathras and were merely performing their duty. Shouting at the police personnel, Dastidar told them to ashamed. “All of you should be ashamed. This government should be ashamed”, she said.

Hathras has turned into a political battlefield ever since the unfortunate incident took place. Politicians have flocked the area in order to earn political points. New twists and turns are taking place with each passing day.

Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party leader Tanveer Khan booked for sexually assaulting a Dalit woman, forcing to change religion

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party leader Tanveer Khan booked for sexually assaulting a Dalit woman, forcing to change religion

The district chief of Samajwadi Party in Shahjahanpur district in UP, Tanveer Khan, has been booked along with three others for a case of robbery and sexual assault on a Dalit Woman in Shahjahanpur Kotwali. The charges were pressed against the politician after massive protests took place at the SSP office and the police station by the members of Hindu Yuva Vahini.

According to the victim’s brother, Khan had forced his sister to forcibly change her religion to marry one of his relatives aged 38. As per a report published in Times of India, an FIR was registered under the IPC sections 354 (assault to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 379 (punishment for theft), 392 (robbery), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act SC/ST Act against Durgesh Saxena, Kafeel Ahmad, Vaishali Saxena and Tanveer Khan. 

Sexual assault by Shahjahanpur SP district chief amidst upheaval over Hathras incident

The case of sexual assault by a prominent Samajwadi Party leader came amidst the ongoing political tumult in Uttar Pradesh where the opposition political parties have sought to politicise the Hathras incident after the case attracted nationwide outrage when some reports claimed Hathras Police forcefully cremated the girl on Tuesday night without consent of the family members. The police had later stated that the victim’s father was present during the cremation.

A lot of debate and political mudslinging has been happening around the Hathras case since the victim succumbed to her injuries in Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday morning. The police had stated that the victim had bitten her tongue, and had suffered injuries on her spine because of the brutal strangulation. The victim had later stated to the police that she was gang-raped. However, the UP Police said that the post mortem report did not mention any injuries that may have indicated rape or sexual assault. ADG Prashant Kumar had claimed that the forensic lab report of the samples collected from the victim’s body have ruled out rape or sexual assault.

Akhilesh Yadav’ silence over charges levelled against Tanveer Khan’s

However, like other opposition politicians, Akhilesh Yadav was also swift in jumping on the bandwagon the raging controversy, perhaps, in the pursuit of reviving his ebbing political fortunes. To this end, he has been continuously posting critical tweets of the Yogi Adityanath government and the police administration in the state. Notwithstanding the fact that Section 144 has been imposed in Hathras, Yadav has also lambasted at the police for baton-charging the SP party workers who were advancing towards the village.

A couple of days ago, Yadav also posted a tweet, alleging that the state government of being insensitive to the brutality faced by the victim Dalit girl in Hathras.

While Yadav has been extremely vocal in his support for the Hathras incident, he has not shown the same eagerness in condemning his party member or Tanveer Khan or initiating action against him despite charges of sexual assault levelled against him. The stark difference in Akhilesh Yadav’s conduct over the two incidents makes one wonder if his outrage over the Hathras incident is driven purely from his political necessities and not from his moral compass.

In the times of Coronavirus, freight loading by Indian Railways go up by 15% in September, crosses 100 million tonnes

OpIndia Staff
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In the times of Coronavirus, freight loading by Indian Railways go up by 15% in September, crosses 100 million tonnes

As the economy gradually returns to normalcy following the lockdown period, Indian Railways continues to increase the freight carried on its network. Despite the Coronavirus pandemic still looming large, the railways actually carried more freight in September this year compared to the same month last year, with the load carried by railways exceeding 100 million tonnes.

According to latest data released by the ministry, the freight trains of Indian Railways carried a load of 102.13 MT (million tonne), in September. The figure September 2019 was 88.53 MT, which means the loading saw an increase of 15%. The increase in freight loading was seen across all the commodities, and the volume of foodgrain increased by 101% over last September.

As a result of this increase, the revenue earned by Railways from freight operations also saw an increase to the tune of 14%. The September 2019 revenue was Rs 8,716.29 crore, which went up to Rs 9,896.86 crore. This means the revenue went up by Rs 1,180.57 crore.

The commodities carried by the railways included 42.89 million tonnes of coal, 13.53 million tonnes of iron ore, 6.3 million tonnes of foodgrains, 5.34 million tonnes of fertilizers, 6.05 million tonnes of cement, 3.85 million tonnes of clinker, and 3.52 million tonnes of mineral oil.

Railway Board CEO and chairman V K Yadav said, “Almost all commodities have shown positive growth in September and that gives a good indication of real revival of the Indian economy…It clearly indicates that Indian economy is recovering and the economic activities are really improving.”

“In spite of these challenging times, Indian Railways has taken many initiatives for business development and a lot of initiatives were taken to boost freight loading and the result has come in the month of September,” Yadav added.

He said that the Indian Railways working on the National Rail Plan 2030. He said that according to the assessment based on preliminary studies, by 2024, railways freight loading will be around 2400 MT, and by 2030 it will be around 3200 MT. He assured that this year it will touch 1200 MT.

Apart from the amount of goods carried by the railways, one area where the Indian Railways has seen spectacular improvement is the speed of its freight trains. In just one year, the average speed of goods trains have doubled, reducing the time taken to transport essential commodities to every corner of the country.

The average speed of freight trains was 24.08 kilometre per hour last September, which reached 46.89 kmph in September this year, an increase of 95%. One of the reasons for this is absent of most passenger trains on the network, which has allowed freight trains so run more smoothly. Apart from that, taking the opportunity of absence of trains during the lockdown, the railways also completed several long pending projects to improve the tracks and other infrastructure.

NCPCR directive on Child Care Institutions – A welcome decision

Suren
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NCPCR directive on Child Care Institutions – A welcome decision

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a statutory body that functions under the Union Women & Child Development, Government of India, has recently sent a directive to the District authorities in the 8 states that hold 72% of the minors in child care institutions. This directive has asked for an action plan for the restitution of these children to their homes.

This is the culmination of a process that began in May 2017, when the Union Ministry realized that the engagement of the child care institutions (CCIs) in managing vulnerable children has been less than perfect. There was no clear data in mapping these CCIs to locations, funding sources and management or an assessment of standards in these institutions. A study was commissioned and a Committee put in charge of this study submitted their report in September 2018.

This study, in turn, was an effect of The Juvenile Justice (Care And Protection of Children) Act, 2015, often simply referred to as the Juvenile Justice Act.

In this article, we will look at

  • The principles and regulations laid out in the Juvenile Justice Act
  • The findings of the Committee and the Mapping Exercise
  • The implications of the NCPCR directive
  • Possible ways forward for restitution of children and ways to monitor their welfare better.

Juvenile Justice Act – A Short Overview

The Act focuses on the welfare of two categories of minors

  1. Children in Need of Care and Protection – children that have lost parents, been adopted, have been abused, runaways, with special needs and so on.
  2. Children in Conflict with Law – A category of minors formerly known as juvenile deliquents, or otherwise minors that are involved in infarctions of law.

The nature of regulations is very different in these two categories, since CNCP needs protection while CCL needs protection as well as reform in order to function harmoniously in society.

While setting forth principles for how children of both categories are to be treated, the Act also includes a very important principle:

“Principle of institutionalisation as a measure of last resort: A child shall be placed in institutional care as a step of last resort after making a reasonable inquiry.”

The Act also defines the roles for different bodies and roles

  1. A Child Welfare Committee – to be constituted by the State Government for each district in the State. This will work in coordination with the District Child Protection Unit
  2. Childline Services – A quasi-Government service to keep track of children at risk.

The situation with respect to a CNCP child is to be handled thus:

  • The CWC is to satisfy itself that the child in question is indeed in need of care and protection
  • Explore means of restitution of the child to natural parents, a guardian or other family members.
  • If no family or guardians can be traced, or if placing the child with these individuals may not be in the best interest of the child, i.e., where parents, family members of guardian is found to be of unsound mental ability, in need of care themselves, found to have criminal backgrounds, has a history of substance abuse and/or addictions or have found to have abused the child or other children in the past, then
    • Place the child in an institution (Childrens’ home/Fit Facility/Specialized Adoption Agency) so that the child can be put up for adoption.
    • Place the child with designated individuals – Fit Person – for long term care. Such Fit Persons are identified by the State Child Protection Board or District Child Welfare Committee based on credentials.
    • Place the child in foster care – these are families who have come forward to take care of children other than their own, and who are supported by payment for their support.
  • In case the family is traced, but found physically and financially incapable of supporting the child, place the child under a sponsorship program – this can be a Government funded program or a privately funded program that provides a payment to the parent(s) or extended family of the child to supplement their income.
  • Place the child for an extended period in an institution only if the child is found to require medical attention, psychiatric and psychological support such as need-based counselling, occupational therapy and behaviour modification therapy.

It is quite clear from this reading of the Act that the primary purpose of the Act is to ensure that children grow up in a family home environment, in individual care, and are to be placed in institutional care only as a temporary measure or if they have a physiological or psychological condition that warrants it.

The Act itself is available for reading at the Ministry’s website.

Report of Committee and National Mapping Exercise

The Committee found 9589 Homes in all, of which the 66% are Children Homes. 91% of all Children Homes were being run by NGOs. Further, of the 336 Special Adoption Agencies, 80% were run by NGOs. Between Tamil Nadu (1647), Maharashtra (1284) and Kerala (1242), these three States account for 43.5% of all homes. On the other hand, there are States and Union Territories without a single Observation Home or a Special Adoption Agency, which leaves no means of placing children in a family environment.

In these Homes, the following is the break up of children that are resident

  • 7422 children in conflict with law
  • 370227 Children in Need of Care and Protection of whom
    • 5,931 orphan, abandoned, surrendered children below the age of 0-6 years – these children can be prioritized for adoption
    • 50267 orphan, abandoned and surrendered children in the age-group of 7-18 years – these children are beyond the age of adoption and must be placed in foster care.
    • 1575 victims of child abuse and 189 victims of child pornography – these children need specialized care top help them recover from physiological and psychological difficulties.
  • This leaves a total of more than 3 lakh children who are children from single parent homes, runaways and so on. We can safely assume that a vast majority of these children need restitution to the homes of parents and guardians.

While these numbers show a gross picture, the Committee has also engaged in a wide survey of conditions on the ground. Their findings have shown that many of these Homes suffer form a serious lack of security, sufficient means of protecting children, educational and recreational facilities. The Committee’s Report also paints a picture of very poor financial reporting and auditing standards. Possibilities of misconduct and financial misappropriation on the part of the Home management is very high. For instance, it is quite possible that a Home receives funding from the Government, while resorting to domestic CSR and foreign FCRA funds as well.

While analysing the Homes on record, the Committee also has shared this disturbing situation where many of the Homes are not even registered under the Juvenile Justice Act, despite the Act having been in force for 3 years, at the time of submission of the report.

When we look at the number of children, Tamil Nadu shows the most cause for concern among all States and Union Territories, with 87866 CCL and CCNP children in 1647 Homes. This gives an occupancy rate of roughly 50 children per Home. Across India, the average is 39 children accommodated per Home.

In 2018, Kerala’s Homes announced their inability to comply with norms. In February 2019, 597 Kerala NGOs went to court to try and block the new regulation to register themselves under the Juvenile Justice Act and to subject themselves to audit. In 2020, a scam was discovered recently in a State Government audit. 307 Homes received 12.53 crores from the State Government, claiming to have as many as 16720 children, but in reality were housing only 1333 children.

The highest number was in Malappuram district, which received funds for 55 Homes, claiming to house 6296 children, but in reality only had 133 children in the homes. It is now obvious what the reasons for this reluctance were. More than 1.2 lakh children are in Homes because they are from single-parent homes whose domestic circumstances makes them unable to provide safety and opportunities at home.

Another 1.8 lakh children are children whose parents or guardians are unfit or incapacitated to provide for them. According to a 2005 NHRC Report on Missing Children, 44,000 children run away from home every year, of whom 11000 remained untraced. 3800 children were found to be missing/runaway children resident in Children Homes in the survey. These three categories are children awaiting restitution to a foster home or to be re-united with their parents under sponsorship.

Overall, 3173 children in Homes have been rescued from Trafficking for domestic work and commercial sex work. More than 1 lakh children were found to have been living in Children Homes for more than a year, of whom nearly 60000 were staying for 3 years or more. This indicates failure in the Homes as well as Child Care authorities in identifying and reuniting them with their parents or in providing foster care.

These are only some facts which the author has picked from the exhaustive report. But the picture emerges in which children that must be placed in foster homes or re-united with their parents for a sponsorship, spend long periods of time in Childrens Homes. The highest number of Children’s Homes are in the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra. These are states where family sizes have reduced drastically in the last few decades along with increasing prosperity and availability of State funded education and social services.

Naturally, we would expect the need for such Homes to reduce. In order not to lose Government, CSR and foreign funds, these institutions have, on occasion, engaged in trafficking of children from lesser developed States, such as Arunachal Pradesh in this case. States such as Odisha have engaged in a special operation, Operation Muskan, to trace children who had been thus trafficked and placed in CCIs in Kerala. Kerala’s State Government authorities have traced out and repatriated 500 children, majority from Jharkand, Assam, Bihar and other States, who have been trafficked thus.

The modus operandi was made obvious in this case from Tamil Nadu. Bihari children studying at a Veda Pathashala in Srirangam were investigated by Childline authorities. They also gave the impression in the press that these children were being trafficked. We investigated through private sources with the Pathashala in question. These children were returning home for the holidays.

Most of the parents of these children could not afford to travel to Chennai and hence sent a few representatives to Chennai. The others collected their wards at Patna Railway Station. Upon their arrival at Patna, Childline Patna subsequently confirmed with the people who had come to Patna station to take charge of their wards and sent word to Childline Chennai Central.

Conclusions

World over, it is a common belief that children placed in child care institutions are much more vulnerable to various forms of physical and psychological troubles. However, the situation in India is that these child care homes are a source of income from individual donors, CSR funds from corporates and foreign aid from large institutional donors abroad.

Vested interests are using CCIs as a means of earning money and to gain control of large numbers of the young. The action taken by the NCPCR is a welcome step. We welcome this move and would insist that the directive be followed up through rigorous monitoring until State Governments complete the restitution of these children.

The article has been co-authored by expert on FCRA and foreign funded NGOs @by2kaafi.

Andhra Pradesh: High Court fumes over derogatory social media posts against judiciary, verbal slandering by YSRCP leaders

OpIndia Staff
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Andhra Pradesh: High Court fumes over derogatory social media posts against judiciary, verbal slandering by YSRCP leaders

During the hearing of a petition filed by the High Court in-charge registrar, the Andhra Pradesh High Court expressed displeasure over the Crime Investigation Department (CID) failing to act on the cases of negative social media posts about the High Court judges.

Condemning the social media posts targeting the judiciary, a Bench of Justice Rakesh Kumar and J Uma Devi said that the court would look into the possibility of a larger conspiracy behind such posts against the judiciary in the state, reported the New Indian Express.

The court said that the attempts to lower the dignity of the judiciary which is one of the three pillars of democracy and thus projecting it as redundant might lead to internal strife. It added that the court will not be a mute spectator to the social media posts destroying the reputation of the judiciary. The court, without mincing words, went on to say that the people who do not have faith in the judiciary can go on to Parliament and seek the abolishment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Giving a warning, the court said that it would be compelled to use its powers under the Constitution if there was no rule of law in the State. The court said that if it did not take the matter seriously, individuals might take law into their hands. The High Court requested social media platforms not to allow such posts. Senior Advocates Harish Salve, Sajan Poovayya and others representing social media platforms promised their cooperation in protecting the dignity of the courts.

The court made the above-mentioned remarks after an MP Vijayasai Reddy of the YSRC party made certain questionable remarks against the Andhra Pradesh judiciary. YSRCP leaders have been launching verbal attacks openly against the High Court in recent times. YSRCP MP Vijaysai Reddy had stated in Rajya Sabha, “The AP judiciary is not impartial and it has to be stopped. It is unfortunate that courts are hindering the investigation into scams. As lawmakers, we have the right to raise the issue in Parliament and speak about the functioning of the judiciary in AP”.

The YSRCP leaders have been criticising the HC after its request for a CBI probe into the ‘Amaravati scam’ was rejected by the High Court.

Uttar Pradesh: Hindu woman shot dead by her husband, accused had married her falsely pretending to be ‘Rajkumar’

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Hindu woman shot dead by her husband, accused had married her falsely pretending to be ‘Rajkumar’

The untimely death of Neha, the young Hindu girl from Badaun district in Uttar Pradesh, who was shot dead by her husband Asif on September 25 (Friday), has left her family reeling in shock. Mourning the death of his younger sister, one of Neha’s brother said in an angry tone: “Neha was dead for me the day she went against our wishes to marry that boy… see what he did, he killed her”.

Neha’s distressed family in Badaun refuses to speak to the media

A Bajrang Dal activist who met the deceased’s brother told OpIndia that a strange sense of angst, as well as helplessness, has encompassed Neha’s family. Vivek Mishra, the activist told us that Neha’s brother, who evidently looked deeply anguished, refuses to speak to the media or give any statement saying: “I had broken all ties with her, I don’t wish to speak about her”. Vivek Mishra confirmed that Neha’s parents had died long ago and she had two brothers Ashish and Raj.

Love Jihad in Uttar Pradesh Badaun

This unfortunate incident was reportedly yet another case of Love Jihad, the ongoing racket in Uttar Pradesh. The Badaun police arrested the accused Asif on September 27 (Sunday), The next day, they also arrested his accomplice Taufiq alias Bablu and sent both of them to jail. Asif has reportedly confessed of shooting his wife dead. According to SO Sudhakar Pandey, Asif had taken his friend Taufiq alias Bablu’s help to plan the murder. Asif also confessed of trying to frame Neha’s brother for the murder of his sister.

In what transpired, Asif, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district in the Civil Lines police station area met Neha one and a half years ago in Delhi, where they worked. He introduced himself to Neha as a Hindu, named ‘Rajkumar’. The two fell in love and decided to marry each other. Neha’s brother was not in favour of the marriage, but Neha went against the wishes of her family to marry Asif aka Rajkumar.

After a few days, Asif’s identity was revealed in front of Neha. This led to regular fights between the couple. Irritated by these tiffs, Asif conspired to kill his wife.

On the pretext of making her meet his family members, Asif brought Neha to his village in Badaun. Here, he took the help of his friend Taufiq. As per reports, the duo called Neha to Meera Sarai Sheikhupur Road near Gandhi Ground and shot her dead.

Accused Asif tried to frame his wife’s brother for the murder

Fearing arrest, Asif tried to frame Neha’s brother for the murder. After shooting Neha, Asif himself took her to the hospital, where she was declared brought dead. He then went to the police station and filed a murder complaint against Neha’s brother. The Badaun police which sensed that Asif was lying, started interrogating Asif, and he soon confessed to his crime.

The growing menace of ‘Love Jihad’ in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh has recently been in the limelight as several cases of forced conversions of women on the pretext of marriage reported from the city that has fueled suspicions about a new model of entrapping Hindu women gaining a foothold in the city. However, the menace of Love Jihad is just not confined to this state. It has rapidly been spreading its tentacles across many parts of the country, where very young, even minor Hindu women are being targeted by Muslim men, often under false identities, lured and brainwashed, forcefully converted to Islam, tortured, raped and then either killed or abandoned.

Recently, we reported at least 20 such cases reported from UP and other states in the last 2 months. Seeing the alarming rate at which such cases have been raising its ugly head in Uttar Pradesh, the Kanpur Police have formed an eight-member Special Investigation Team(SIT) to investigate the rising number of forced conversions done on the pretext of marriage.

The radical left has always hated Mahatma Gandhi for being a Hindu

Abhishek Banerjee
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The radical left has always hated Mahatma Gandhi for being a Hindu

“…continued to promote a form of religiously charged politics throughout the 1990s. For example, he invoked the Hindu god Ram, and recited passages from the Bhagavad Gita in his political speeches to rally people...”

This is from an article in the New York Times tracing the rise of “Hindutva fascism” in India due to RSS/BJP. Actually, no. I was lying. In reality, this is a quote from Marxist intellectual Ravi Mistry, writing on Marxist.com. Also, I tampered the quote a little and wrote 1990s instead of 1920s. Can you guess who this article was targeting?

What if I told you these harsh words were directed against Mahatma Gandhi?

That’s right. For the far left, Mahatma Gandhi has always been a villain. His “crime”? He was a devout Hindu. I suggest reading the whole article, where the Mahatma is accused of everything from being an upper-caste supremacist to a Hindu fanatic to a male chauvinist. Basically, pretty much every accusation that the left has against the RSS/BJP they have hurled at the Mahatma.

Let eminent Marxist historian Perry Anderson tell you what else the Mahatma is guilty of:

“Did principles of non-violence and harmony between faiths distance him from the lunge for Kashmir? Far from it. ‘What is the reason for our fighting in Kashmir? I consider it barbarous for the tribal raiders to have attacked Kashmir; we had to send an army to fight them,’ he told a prayer meeting. ‘The simple fact is that Pakistan has invaded Kashmir. “

Oh dear! The Mahatma referred to Pakistan backed terrorists as barbarians? The Mahatma accused Pakistan of invading Kashmir? Blasphemy!

And here is the gem from this esteemed Marxist historian:

“But still trapped in the Hindu nationalism out of which he came, he cheered on the seizure of Kashmir….“

Would you look at that? Mahatma Gandhi was a “Hindu nationalist” who cheered the “seizure” of Kashmir.

Indeed, the Mahatma has always been “accused” of being a Hindu Nationalist. Have you ever wondered why Mahatma Gandhi never got a Nobel Peace Prize? Who could have deserved it more than he did? The reason is simple: he was a “nationalist.” You can read this, written explicitly, on the official website of the Nobel Prize. The official advisor to the Nobel Prize Committee in 1937 considered Mahatma Gandhi, but discovered that he was too much of a “nationalist.” That is why Mahatma Gandhi lost out to some guy called Lord Cecil. Congratulations to Lord Cecil : he managed to enter the footnotes of history as the guy who beat Gandhi.

Here is Marxist intellectual Achin Vanaik, writing on Gandhi.

“It was, effectively, ‘majoritarian nationalism in a liberal garb.’ During the independence struggle, both versions therefore allowed Hinduism’s symbols and myths to be deployed for the purposes of popular mobilization; the Gandhi-led Congress made no such use of Muslim symbols.”

‘Majoritarian nationalism in a liberal garb.’ That’s what the left has to say about Gandhi.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here? The real grouse of leftists is that the Mahatma was a Hindu, loved India and thought of India as a sacred and ancient nation. That his heart bled at the thought of partition. The leftists have always believed in ‘Bharat ke tukde.’

This hatred towards Gandhi is made very explicit by Divya Dwivedi, an associated professor of the humanities at IIT Delhi.

“Gandhi played a huge role in solidifying the Hindu majority identity in India today.”

Yes, the radical left believes that India today is a Hindu fascist state and that the Mahatma is the father of this fascism. You can hear more on this theme from Dwivedi’s appearance on NDTV, where she explains that:

“The Hindu religion was invented in the early 20th century in order to hide the fact that the lower caste people are the real majority of India. In fact, religious minorities have been victims of this false majority and Gandhi played a very significant role in it’s construction. He helped to construct a false Hindu majority and a new Hindu identity, but above all, Gandhi theologized politics just when it was beginning on the subcontinent…”

They say the Mahatma created Hinduism to dupe “lower” castes and to victimize minorities and mixed politics with religion. If you ever wanted to see what the “Break India” manifesto looks like, here it is.

Every charge that the left has thrown against the RSS/BJP, it has also thrown at the Mahatma.

This is not to say that the RSS and the Mahatma were of the same ideology. But you have to understand that the left treats all Hindus as enemies. For the left, the difference between Gandhi and Savarkar is irrelevant. All Hindus are enemies of the left. The left sees India as an enemy state and wants to blow it apart.

Bharat ke tukde! Have you forgotten?

In fact, if you go back and examine the sources, the left doesn’t have very nice things to say about Dr. Ambedkar or even Nehru. The left hates Dr. Ambedkar because he embraced Buddhism and not Islam. Do not confuse the Congress of Jawaharlal Nehru with the hardcore anti-Hindu Congress of Sonia Gandhi today. The same left accuses Nehru of presiding over a pogrom of Muslims during police action in Hyderabad.

Yes, even Nehru. Marxist Perry Anderson notes that:

“When the Indian army took over Hyderabad, massive Hindu pogroms against the Muslim population broke out, aided and abetted by its regulars. On learning something of them, the figurehead Muslim congressman in Delhi, Maulana Azad, then minister of education, prevailed on Nehru to let a team investigate. It reported that at a conservative estimate between 27,000 and 40,000 Muslims had been slaughtered in the space of a few weeks after the Indian takeover.“

Now you see. They don’t just accuse Modi or Amit Shah of presiding over a pogrom. They have the exact same accusation against Nehru! The Hindu right generally does not like Nehru. But Nehru was an Indian with a Hindu name. The left hates all Indians with Hindu names and treats India as an enemy state. The smaller ideological differences don’t matter to them.

Would the left accuse Gandhi of being soft on Hitler just the way the left tries to paint RSS as Nazi sympathizers? You bet! As Shaj Mohan and Divya Dwivedi note in their book “Gandhi and philosophy”:

“In the open challenge, as Gandhi knew very well, the state would resort to repressive measures, even the extremes of which were most welcome for Gandhi, as we found in his response to the Jews of Nazi Germany.“

They go on to make the argument that Gandhi was supporting a surveillance state, limiting civil liberties and curbing independence of the press.

So here is what the chargesheet against Gandhi looks like, authored by the radical left

(1) Hindu nationalist

(2) Pro-upper caste

(3) Anti-minority

(4) Supports imperialism in Kashmir

(5) Male chauvinist

(6) Nazi sympathizer

(7) Against freedom of the press

Doesn’t this look exactly like the chargesheet that the left has against the RSS/BJP?

On the Hindu right, especially online, one comes across a lot of criticisms of Mahatma Gandhi. This is a strategic mistake, since the Mahatma is one of the most loved icons in the modern world. Worst of all, it gives a chance to the radical left to further its anti-Hindu agenda by demonizing the Hindu nationalists. And in the process, they get to hide their own history of hardcore hatred towards Gandhi and all other Hindus.

PM Modi understands the error of this strategy very well. He has always placed the Mahatma front and centre in his flagship policies, starting from Swachch Bharat Abhiyan. Unfortunately, a lot of BJP supporters keep falling into the trap of going against the Mahatma. In doing so, the average BJP supporter is letting the radical left and Islamists off the hook. The left has a lot to hide. If only the Hindu right would stop helping them with it…

Leaked audio in Hathras case: ‘Don’t move, Priyanka Gandhi will come’ and curious talks of Rs 25 lakh for not letting case reach conclusion

OpIndia Staff
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Leaked audio in Hathras case: ‘Don’t move, Priyanka Gandhi will come’ and curious talks of Rs 25 lakh for not letting case reach conclusion

Leaked conversations of the Hathras Case reveal the manner in which politicians and the media have been trying to politicise the issue in order to settle scores with the BJP government in the state. In an earlier report, we had revealed the manner in which Tanushree Pandey, an India Today journalist, was attempting to incite the brother of the deceased with lies and emotional blackmail.

In another conversation, an unidentified individual is heard telling Sandeep, the brother of the victim, to not leave his house because senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi would be visiting his home. In the conversation, the person could be heard telling Sandeep, “If anyone wishes to take you anywhere, you must not go, now Priyanka Gandhi will come to your house. Someone says you should go to Hathras, somewhere here, somewhere there, you must not go.”

The man continues, “Say that the police and the media are not allowing your relatives to come, that they have been kept for your protection or for Thakur’s. Tell them everything that has happened to you.” During the conversation, Sandeep tells the man that the SIT was on a visit and one ‘Sanjay bhaiya’, his father and two other people are sitting inside along with some Congress workers. The man further tells Sandeep, “Alright, don’t go anywhere. Now Priyanka Gandhi will come and tell her that pressure has been created on you and you want to create a video of that.”

In another conversation that appears to be between villagers and Sandeep, the brother is advised that he should not accept Rs. 25 lakhs and reach a conclusion. He is told that he should even accept Rs. 50 lakh to reach a conclusion. The lady in that conversation says that some politician is saying that ‘faisla’ should not be reached. During this conversation, the names of one ‘Rahul’ and Manish Sisodia and Barkha Dutt also comes up.

The Hathras Case has sent shock-waves throughout the country. While a lot of details about the case is yet to be unearthed, politicians have already descended upon the village to overturn their falling fortunes. Simultaneously, a great deal of misinformation is also being spread by the mainstream media to further its own partisan agenda. Meanwhile, an SIT probe has been ordered into the matter.

A lot of debate and political mudslinging has been happening around the Hathras case since the victim succumbed to her injuries in Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital on Tuesday morning. She was allegedly raped two weeks ago. The case attracted nationwide outrage when some reports claimed Hathras Police forcefully cremated the girl on Tuesday night without consent of the family members. The police had later stated that the victim’s father was present during the cremation.

Speaking to ANI, ADG Prashant Kumar had informed that the forensic reports that were awaited have also been received. ADG stated that the FSL report found no evidence of ‘rape’. He asserted that it was concluded that there was no sexual assault, and the cause of death was strangulation and injury to the spine.

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