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India deploying missiles, escalating tensions to divert the world’s attention: Pakistan rants and complaints to UN

OpIndia Staff
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India deploying missiles, escalating tensions to divert the world’s attention: Pakistan rants and complaints to UN

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has again written to the UN on the Kashmir issue, this time complaining that India is deploying missiles in Jammu & Kashmir. Qureshi claimed that India is continuing to escalate tensions in South Asia. He further claimed that India could launch a false-flag attack to divert the world’s attention from Kashmir.

Earlier today, Asif Ghafoor, the spokesperson of the Pakistani Army, had issued a statement where he said, “Pakistan Armed Forces shall befittingly respond to any Indian misadventure or aggression.” He had claimed that India is preparing the escalate along the LOC and would get a “befitting reply” from Pakistan.


The letter, written on the 12th of December, “apprised the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General on Indian actions that continue to escalate tensions in an already tense environment in South Asia”, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday. The actions, Qureshi claimed, included “deployment and testing of missiles of various ranges and capabilities” by India.

Qureshi also demanded that the UN Military Observer’s Group strengthen its presence in the region and asked it to play its ‘rightful role’. India, on the other hand, claims that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility following the signing of the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC).

Read: Pakistan will not house Muslim fleeing India: Pakistan PM Imran Khan

These statements come two after Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat had issued a stern warning to Pakistan’s armed forces by stating that the situation along the LoC could escalate any time and that the Indian army was prepared for the spiralling of the escalation matrix.

General Rawat had issued those statements in the backdrop of a rise in ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August.

Read: UN Commission slams Imran Khan government over persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan

“The situation along the Line of Control can escalate any time. We have to be prepared for an escalation matrix,” Rawat had said.

Pakistan has been on a campaign to demonize India at the international arena ever since the abrogation of Article 370. Its Prime Minister Imran Khan can be regularly found on social media engaging in delusional rants against the current ruling dispensation. However, despite their best efforts, the world has largely continued to ignore them.

Mamata Banerjee says BJP workers buying skull cap to malign Muslims, demands UN-monitored referendum on CAA and NRC

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata Banerjee says BJP workers buying skull cap to malign Muslims, demands UN-monitored referendum on CAA and NRC

After facing severe criticism over law and order failure during the riots by Muslim mobs in the state over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed BJP workers for plotting to disturb peace during Friday prayers.

According to reports, Mamata Banerjee accused BJP of buying skull caps for its cadres who are in turn wearing them to vandalise properties to malign the Muslim community.

“Tomorrow’s is Jumma day, prayer day, BJP is buying skull caps for its cadres who are wearing them while vandalising properties to malign a particular community and disturb the peace. Be careful,” Mamata Banerjee told a rally in Kolkata.

Read: Anti-CAA riot in Bengal, an eyewitness account: An announcement, stone pelting, arson and scared passengers trapped in a tin box

Claiming that the BJP seeks to make CAA a fight between Hindus and Muslims, Mamata Banerjee went on to raise the demand for a United Nations monitored referendum on the issue. “If BJP has guts, it should go for a UN-monitored referendum on amended Citizenship Act and NRC,” Mamata Banerjee said.

“Let’s see who wins. And if you lose you will have to resign. BJP was founded in 1980 and is asking for our citizenship documents of 1970,” Mamata Banerjee said.

The Muslim mob carried out riots in West Bengal under the watch of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Muslim mob went on a rampage to vandalise more railway stations and set fire to a toll plaza in Murshidabad district last week during their protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Read: When anti-CAA protesters claim architects of Moplah massacre as ‘freedom fighters’, it’s clear that they want “Hinduon Se Azadi”

Many members belonging to various Muslim organisations had resorted to violent protests following the passing of the historic Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Protests against the CAB were planned soon after Friday prayers across mosques in the State and other various parts of the country which has resulted in extreme violence in parts of West Bengal.

They resorted to extreme violence by blocking tracks at the Uluberia railway station. The Muslim mobs had vandalised the complex and some trains by resorting to stone pelting, injuring a driver, officials said.

Will seize property of guilty and compensate damage to public property: Yogi Adityanath talks tough with anti-CAA violence in UP

OpIndia Staff
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Will seize property of guilty and compensate damage to public property: Yogi Adityanath talks tough with anti-CAA violence in UP

A fresh round of protests against the amended Citizenship Act gripped various parts of India on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a strong warning to the anti-CAA rioters, has said that the authorities would seize the properties of those who indulge in violence in the state.


Condemning the violence and protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in parts of Uttar Pradesh and parts of the country, Yogi Adityanath said people cannot indulge in violence in the “name of protests”. Restating that violence and intimidation have no place in a democracy and that everything can be sorted out through healthy conversation, the CM said that strict actions will be taken against hoodlums who have been trying to create unrest in his state and various parts of the country.

“I have called a meeting over this. You cannot indulge in violence in the name of protest. We will take strict action against such elements. Will seize the property of those found guilty and compensate damage to public property,” Yogi Adityanath was quoted as saying by ANI.


He said that faces of such miscreants have been captured on CCTV camera’s and he will personally look into it that they are punished adequately.

The CM asserts that section 144 (prohibiting unlawful assembly) of CrPC is in force in various places in Uttar Pradesh since November 8 and no permission for any gathering has been given. The CM said that such antisocial and riotous activities in the state will not be tolerated. He said that he has personally ordered the police in the state to take stern action against such rabble-rousers. Yogi Adityanath has, however, assured that under no circumstance will the common citizens be harmed in any way.

Read: Violence erupts during 19th Dec protests: Here is why the imposition of section 144 was necessary during Anti-CAA protest

Yogi appeals to people to stop spreading falsehood in the name of the Citizenship Amendment Act. He accuses Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and the Left for playing petty politics over the issue and warns them to stop misleading people.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s warning has come in the backdrop of violent protests that broke out in Lucknow on Thursday. Protesters demonstrating against the Citizenship Amendment Act pelted stones, torched vehicles and faced tear-gas shells in Lucknow and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh as police struggled to contain the fallout of the amended citizenship law.

In the face of the politicians and the media spreading canards and misinformation regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Modi government has released an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) that dispel the myths surrounding CAA.

Truth behind anti-CAA image shared by Farhan Akhtar: A Kashmiri separatist org that called Islamic terror org JKLF ‘secular’

OpIndia Staff
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Truth behind anti-CAA image shared by Farhan Akhtar: A Kashmiri separatist org that called Islamic terror org JKLF ‘secular’

Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar on Wednesday shared an anti-CAA message on Twitter telling people why “these protests are important”. In the said message, the son of noted lyricist Javed Akhtar spread numerous canards about the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Registrar of Citizens. It was retweeted over 16,000 times when this report was written. We have published a comprehensive piece debunking the claims here.

A much more problematic aspect has come to the fore regarding the message that was shared by Farhan Akhtar and indeed, it is a matter of great concern. Farhan Akhtar, unwittingly or otherwise, has helped peddle the insidious agenda of Kashmiri separatists. Here is a picture of the misinformation that was shared by the Bollywood actor.

Anti-CAA image shared by Farhan Akhtar

When one looks at it closely, there’s a logo visible right below ‘Day 135’ written beside the Indian map which is itself distorted. The logo is that of a bird with only ‘Kashmir’ written beside it that can be observed clearly. After investigation, we discovered that the logo is that of an organization called ‘Stand With Kashmir’.  Here is the logo that appears on the propaganda shared by Farhan Akhtar.

Stand With Kashmir Logo

Now, the question arises, what is Stand With Kashmir? As per its website, it is a “Kashmiri diaspora-driven independent global citizen grassroots group committed to standing in solidarity with the people of Kashmir in ending the occupation and supporting their right to self-determination.” Calling India’s military presence in Kashmir an ‘occupation’ reveals amply the ideological orientation of the network. The organization further says, “We believe any proposed resolutions must foreground Kashmiri aspirations. We condemn the use of Islamophobia to undermine Kashmiri aspirations for freedom.”

There are even more problematic aspects of SWK’s ideology. In the ‘Origins of Conflict‘ segment of its website, it traces the roots of the Jihad in Kashmir to 1931, a decade after the Khilafat Movement that led to the creation of Pakistan, but never calls it as such. Instead, SWK paints it as ‘secular’. Furthermore, not once does it mention the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits.

Read: Burn your documents but do not show them to govt, bring 10 Muslims on board daily: Anti-CAA protests may have ‘ISIS funding’

Not once during the segment does SWK blame Pakistan for the roots of the mess. In the subsection on the plebiscite, the organization puts the entire blame on India for the fact that it has never occurred and conveniently ignored that plebiscite never occurred because Pakistan invaded Kashmir right after independence and since then, has refused to vacate the territories it occupied, in contravention of the UN norms.

It says, “India took the dispute to the United Nations, which called for a plebiscite in the region once hostilities had ceased. The plebiscite has never taken place, and this remains the root of the issue, even more than seventy years later. This is in direct contrast to the Indian state’s narrative of Kashmir being an “integral part” of India, and Kashmiris being “separatists.” SWK pays no heed to the fact that a plebiscite is impossible now because Pakistan has sold parts of the territory it occupied illegally to China and Kashmiri Jihadists have committed a genocide that has altered the demography of Kashmir irrevocably. But SWK does not mention any of it.

If all that wasn’t enough, SWK has labelled the Islamic terrorist organization Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) as ‘secular’ and ‘pro-independence’. It says, “From the late 1980s to the early 2000s, Kashmir was embroiled in a violent uprising, aided by foreign fighters, against the Indian state. The insurgency was supported by Pakistan. It was initially led by the secular, pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, but was, with the intervention of Pakistan, overtaken by the pro-Pakistan, Hizbul Mujahideen.”

In reality, Maqbool Bhat, the cofounder of JKLF was a terrorist who was sentenced to death for the murder of a constable. He also masterminded the hijacking of an Indian plane in 1971. It was the murder of the judge who first convicted Maqbool Bhat and awarded him the death sentence that marked the beginning of the cycle of violence that led to the genocide of the Kashmiri Hindus. It is this organization that is being called ‘secular’. Yasin Malik, another prominent face of the JKLF, is accused to have murdered 5 IAF personnel in early 1990. Such people are being called ‘secular’.

Read: After Congress delegation meets Jeremy Corbyn, JKLF announces support for his Labour Party in upcoming UK elections

During the entire discourse, not once has SWK attempted to highlight the terrorism problem in Kashmir. It hasn’t even used the word ‘terrorist’ in its discourse. From their words, it is clear that SWK wants terrorists to cooperate with ‘pro-freedom voices’ for the objective of ‘liberating’ Kashmir. It says, “The Indian state managed to quash the movement through direct force, the introduction of counter-insurgency militant groups such as the Ikhwan, and a policy of divide and rule that contributed to infighting within the militant and pro-freedom ranks.”

Kashmiri Hindus find a mention in the section that talks about the continuation of the ‘Occupation‘. Even then, SWK labels it ‘forced migration’ and not the genocide that it was. The genocidal rage of the Jihadists is never mentioned and neither do the rapes and slaughter of the Kashmiri Hindus. Instead, the Indian State is accused of ‘communalizing relationships’ between the Kashmiri Muslim community and Kashmiri Hindus. One would imagine that genocide denial would harm communal harmony irreparably but according to SWK, the Indian State is to blame.

It states, “The late eighties uprising also led to the forced migration of a vast majority of Kashmir’s Hindu minority, the Pandits, many of who lived in camps in Jammu or other cities in India. Relations between Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits have been increasingly communalized in recent decades, as Indian statecraft has relied upon policies of divide and rule between various communities in Kashmir.” It’s pertinent to note that all the criticism has been reserved for the Indian State alone and Pakistan has been given a free pass in comparison. Furthermore, despite the presence of honest intentions, Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir does not find a mention at all in all of this. It’s almost as if SWK does really believe PoK is ‘Azad Kashmir’, as Pakistan likes calling it despite the brutal suppression of its people.

The message could not be clearer that SWK’s intentions are not pure. It should have been obvious from the distorted map of India itself. However, Farhan Akhtar shared the separatist propaganda without caring about the consequences. Furthermore, it’s safe to assume, given the conduct of the SWK, that their intentions are not pure and they are committed to fomenting chaos within India. Farhan Akhtar may have known all of this or he may have not but the fact remains that he spread Kashmiri Separatist propaganda, which may well be backed by Pakistan, on a highly sensitive issue at a time when sinister designs are afoot across the country.

Burn your documents but do not show them to govt, bring 10 Muslims on board daily: Anti-CAA protests may have ‘ISIS funding’

OpIndia Staff
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Burn your documents but do not show them to govt, bring 10 Muslims on board daily: Anti-CAA protests may have ‘ISIS funding’

An audio conversation between two Muslim men has emerged from Darbhanga district in Bihar. The audio clip of 11 minutes 41 seconds shows how the minds of ignorant people are being poisoned against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The conversation starts with the caller telling the receiver that the situation has become very frightening and the time has come for all of them to ‘do something together.’ It’s evident that by saying ‘the time to do something big’ the caller here is referring to some big conspiracy which these anti-CAA Muslim rioters have been planning so as to create unrest in the country in the guise of protests.

Before talking further, the caller first confirms that the people around the receiver are all Muslims so that no one else gets to know about this conversation. The caller then tries to fearmonger by saying that angst is growing among India’s 200 million Muslims that they could soon be classified as illegal immigrants under new, far-reaching government proposals and in order to avoid this, the Muslims have been running pillar to post sorting their documents which would prove that they are Indian citizens.

It is pertinent to note here that the government has not made any such rule in which Muslims from all over the country are being asked to show documents to prove their citizenship. NRC which has been implemented in Assam has nothing to do with any religion or caste but throughout the identification process, in order to malign the government, the critics have contended that the registry would lead to the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims living in Assam, who’d been there for generations but just couldn’t prove it.

However, the caller trying to instil fear, tells the receiver that Hindus will get citizenship under the CAA but Muslims will have to prove it.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXKAYx57S3w]

Even though the Citizenship Amendment Act does not concern the citizens of India at all, the caller tries to provoke the receiver by saying that even if the Muslims have all their identification documents intact, they should not provide it to the government. They should instead burn it, throwing up a challenge in front of the authorities who dare to question them on their identity.

Asserting that no Muslim should produce their identification documents to any authority, the Muslim caller can be heard saying: Why should we show our documents to the government? It simply means that the government suspects our citizenship, says the caller attempting to provoke the receiver.

“Government should find out who are outsiders, why should we show the documents? When we are put in jail, we will prove our citizenship by showing papers to the court. We will also explain to the Hindu brothers that there is a shame on your being Indian that the government is asking you to prove your citizenship. Do not talk to Hindus on CAA. To take this thing to the mass level, it is important for all Muslims to understand. I have been doing this for 3 days”, asserted the caller.

The receiver at this point seems to be agreeing with what the caller said as he tells him that his plan sounds perfect as it will increase the problems of the government.

The caller here explains to the receiver how the phone can act as an important weapon to help brainwash fellow men. Giving an example of how two Hindu’s had convinced his family member’s whom to vote for in the general elections over the phone, the caller said that they have to spread their message to all fellow Muslims by using the phone as a weapon.

This audio clip which has been acquired through a source in the intelligence agency establishes that the plot to destabilize the central government under the cover of opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act is being hatched by these imposters for a very long time.

Moreover, recent reports had also stated that ISIS and banned radical Islamist outfits like SIMI and PFI are behind the violent protests in several places across the country. These incidents of extreme violence happening all across the country have been fully funded by the ISIS who are trying to masquerade the entire conspiracy behind the Citizenship Amendment Act making it appear like a war between the dissatisfied citizens and the establishment.

Read: CAA exposes nexus between Congress and Islamists: Intelligence report says PFI, SIMI behind violent protests

Sources from the Intelligence Agency have confirmed that similar audio clip in various other languages, which are in circulation in other states are also being investigated and since the authorities have been aware of such plots being hatched in various parts of the country, they have been prepped to handle the protests which have been going on after the Citizenship Amendment Act came into existence.

And for this reason, as a precautionary measure, the authorities have been imposing Section 144 wherever they get inputs for violent protests. Sources in the intelligence agencies have confirmed that the entire planning and funding of the conspiracy has been done by ISIS and Islamist organisations related to it.

The caller in the audio clip informs that he has been calling up many Muslims living in various states and encouraging them to join the anti-CAA riots. He tells the receiver that while persuading fellow Muslims who are ignorant about the Bills, the CAA and NRC should be explained to them in the following way:

  • The CAA will grant citizenship to all people except Muslims.
  • All Muslims will be put on Detention Campus using NRC.

The duo speaking on the phone plan that every day they will convince at least 10 people against CAA and NRC and will make sure that these people pledge to resist the bills. The caller further says that it is not only important to make fellow Muslims understand but we have to induce anger within them by convincing them that CAA and NRC are dangerous for them. The caller says: “This is our faith, our belief, our prayers”.

Through this hateful conversation, one can easily understand how Islamists are inciting and provoking ignorant people by trying to spread falsehood about the CAA and NRC. By propagating inaccurate details they are forcibly trying to explain how this law is against their community.

The anti-CAA Muslim mob has been on a rampage in various parts of the country since the Citizenship Act was brought in by the Modi government. While several Pakistani Hindu migrants across the country have been celebrating and lauding the passing of the historic Citizenship Amendment Act, which has brought their lost hope back, Muslim mobs had gone on a rampage, destroying public property and creating chaos.

In states like West Bengal, the Muslim mobs have resorted to extreme violence by blocking train tracks, burning down railway stations, trains and buses, pelting stones, vandalism and loot.

However, Home Minister Amit Shah has time and again restated the government’s strong willingness to implement CAA and NRC in the country and has established that the law will not be withdrawn under any circumstances.

For Bollywood stars, anti-Padmaavat protest was terrorism, but burning buses during anti-CAA riots is dissent

Amit Kelkar
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For Bollywood stars, anti-Padmaavat protest was terrorism, but burning buses during anti-CAA riots is dissent

For Indian ‘liberals’ democracy is a fluid concept. What is terrorism in one situation is dissent in others. Remember when Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat was released? Buses were burnt, children in those school buses were terrorised by a mob who thought a fictionalised portrayal of their queen was an insult, which was far from the truth because the film actually glorified the Rajput women, so much that Bollywood starlets felt these women weren’t ‘feminist’ enough.

2 rupees Bollywood people were out condemning the violence, and rightly so.


Yep. From all quarters.


See Delhi Chief Minister taking a dig at Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar? Well, Delhi has seen buses being set on fire by the unruly mob but not a peep. Well, one of his own MLAs was part of a crowd that ran riots in Jamia Nagar in Delhi last weekend.

On 17th December, when rioters attacked a school bus in Delhi’s Seelampur, Kejriwal tweeted this:


Did I tell you his party members and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was actually busy spreading the rumour that Delhi Policemen were actually setting a bus on fire instead of dousing it?


The rumour spread far and wide. This was vehemently denied by Delhi Police and even bystanders and witnesses who saw it happen said that the police was actually dousing the fire. But why let facts get in way of propaganda?

Read: ‘Left’ will never call out their own. Principles be damned. Women be damned. Feminism be damned

Speaking of Aam Aadmi Party, Vishal Dadlani, a very vocal AAP supporter, had actually gone on to say that the brutal Hyderabad gang-rape and murder followed by the encounter of culprits as they tried to escape police custody was to ‘distract’ people from passing of the CAB. He still thinks it is a ‘distraction’ from the economy and other issues.


See how these ‘rioters’ (because clearly, the ones who set the buses ablaze are nothing short of hooligans) are revolutionaries?

And nothing like a couplet that invites people to take to streets to top it off.


Just because he worked in a film which spoke about revolution, doesn’t mean real life is fiction.


Not a word on the violence that has been unleashed by the rioters. He was angry against those rioting against Padmaavat even though the “Supreme Court deemed fit to release”. But a law passed as per constitutional process in both the houses of Parliament calls for violence.

Read: The protests, condemnation, silence and support is all driven by one need : ‘Roti’

Shabana Azmi, who was expressing anger at those who wanted to harm Deepika Padukone, the actor who played the lead role in Padmaavat, is busy reciting ‘shyries’ on the violence and expressing regrets she can’t be physically present there.


Oh and her step-son and entertainer Farhan Akhtar shared factually incorrect information on CAA and NRC while maintaining complete silence on the rioters attacking school bus in Delhi.


And less said about 2Rs actor Swara Bhasker, the better.

With the anti-CAA protests turning violent, none of the Bollywood stars who have in the past compared violence to terrorism condemned the Muslim mobs running a rampage. In fact, they have contributed not just in spreading misinformation but also justified the violence.

The hypocrisy of these Bollywoodiyas is nauseating. Their ignorance is shocking and their unwillingness to educate themselves and use their position of influence to actually educate the masses is even more saddening.

Musharraf’s corpse should be dragged to D-Chowk in Islamabad, hanged for three days: Pakistan court

OpIndia Staff
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Musharraf’s corpse should be dragged to D-Chowk in Islamabad, hanged for three days: Pakistan court

The detailed verdict in the high treason case against former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has been announced by the Special Court on Thursday.

In a decision which could escalate the war of words between Pakistan Army and its judiciary, the court has ordered that if Musharaf is found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, and be hanged for three days.


“We direct the Law Enforcement Agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse is dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan and be hanged for 03 days,” read the detailed verdict.

Reportedly, on Tuesday, the court had sentenced Musharraf to death for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, adding that it had found him guilty of high treason in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

A three-member bench of the special court, headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth announced its verdict on Thursday. Two of the three judges, Justice Seth and Justice Karim gave the death sentence while Justice Nazarullah Akbar wrote a dissenting note saying that the prosecution team could not prove treason case.

The judgment stated that the prosecution failed to defend the case effectively and provide sufficient evidence against the former army chief. In its verdict, the court announced that the death penalty is being awarded to Musharraf on different counts.

The judgment stated that the documents submitted in the court clearly states that Musharraf committed treason. It mentions that Musharraf was provided equal opportunity to defend his case and the prosecution pleaded to provide the convict with the maximum punishment in the treason case.

Read: Military ruler Pervez Musharraf gets death penalty for imposing emergency in Pakistan

The judgment further stated that this is the first case of its kind in the history of Pakistan. The verdict maintained that if the convict dies before being awarded the sentence then his body should be dragged to D-Chowk and hanged.

The court also directed that the facilitators, who aided Musharraf to escape from the country should also be held accountable. The court also ordered that the implementation of the judgment should be carried out at all costs.

Modi government dispels myths about CAA: Here are 19 FAQs and their answers

OpIndia Staff
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Modi government dispels myths about CAA: Here are 19 FAQs and their answers

In the face of the politicians and the media spreading canards and misinformation regarding the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Modi government has released an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) that dispel the myths surrounding CAA.

Here are the 19 questions and their answers as posted by the government.

Does the CAA affect any Indian citizen?

No, it has absolutely nothing to do with any Indian citizen in any way. The Indian citizens enjoy fundamental rights conferred on them by the Constitution of India of-India). No statute, including the CAA, can abridge or take them away. There has been a misinformation campaign. The CAA does not affect any Indian citizens, including Muslim citizens.

Who does the CAA apply to?

It is relevant only for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian foreigners, who have migrated from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan into India up to 31.12.2014, on account of persecution faced by them due to their religion. It does not apply to any other foreigners, including Muslims migrating to India from any country, including these three countries.

How does it benefit Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian foreigners hailing from these three countries?

If their travel documents like passport and visa are not in order or are not available, they can apply for Indian citizenship if they were persecuted back home. The CAA creates this legal right for such migrants. Secondly, they get a faster route for Indian citizenship through the Naturalisation Mode. The minimum residency requirement in India would be only 1+5 years instead of 1+11 years as applicable for all other categories of foreigners.

Does this mean that Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan can never get Indian citizenship?

No, the present legal process of acquiring Indian citizenship by any foreigner of any category through Naturalization (Section 6 of the Citizenship Act) or through Registration (Section 5 of the Act) stays operational. The CAA does not amend or alter it in any manner whatsoever. Hundreds of Muslims migrating from these three countries have been granted Indian citizenship during the last few years. If found eligible, all such future migrants shall also get Indian citizenship, irrespective of their numbers or religion. In 2014, after the settlement of Indo-Bangladesh boundary issues, 14,864 Bangladeshi citizens were given Indian Citizenship when their enclaves were incorporated into the territory of India. Thousands of these foreigners were Muslims.

Will illegal Muslim immigrants from these three countries be deported under the CAA?

No, the CAA has absolutely nothing to do with the deportation of any foreigner from India. The deportation process of any foreigner irrespective of his religion or country is implemented as per the mandate of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and/or The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920. These two laws govern entry, stay movement within India and exit from India of all foreigners irrespective of their religion or country. Therefore, the usual deportation process would apply to any illegal foreigner staying in India. It is a well-considered judicial process that is based on a proper inquiry by the local police or administrative authorities to detect an illegal foreigner. It is ensured that such an illegal foreigner has been issued a proper travel document by the embassy of his country so that he can be duly received by officials of his country when he is deported.

In Assam, the process of deportation happens only after the determination of such a person as a “foreigner” under The Foreigners Act, 1946. Then he becomes liable for deportation. Therefore, there is nothing automatic, mechanical or discriminatory in this exercise. The state governments and their district-level authorities enjoy the power of Central Govt. under Section 3 of the Foreigners Act and Section 5 of The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 to detect, detain & deport any illegal foreigner.

Can Hindus facing persecution on grounds of religion in countries other than these 3 countries apply under the CAA?

No, they will have to apply through the usual process to get Indian Citizenship just like any other foreigner for either registration or naturalization as a citizen of India. They would get no preference under The Citizenship Act, 1955, even after the CAA.

Does the CAA also cover other forms of persecution – on grounds of race, gender, membership of a political or social group, language, ethnicity etc.?

No, the CAA is a very focused law that deals specifically with foreigners of six minority community groups hailing from three neighboring countries that have their distinct state religion. Any foreigner persecuted abroad on any account may apply for registration or naturalization as a citizen of India like any other foreigner if he fulfils the minimum qualifications laid down in The Citizenship Act, 1955.

The CAA will gradually exclude Indian Muslims from the citizenship of India?

The CAA does not apply to any Indian citizen at all. All Indian citizens enjoy the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India. CAA is not meant to deprive any Indian citizen of his citizenship. Rather it is a special law to enable certain foreigners facing a particular situation in three neighboring countries to get Indian citizenship.

CAA will be followed by NRC  and all migrants except Muslims will be given citizenship and Muslims will be sent to detention camps?

The CAA has nothing to do with NRC. The legal provisions regarding NRC have been part of The Citizenship Act, 1955 since December 2004. Also, there are specific statutory rules of 2003 to operationalize these legal provisions. They govern the process of registration of Indian citizens and the issuance of national identity cards to them. These legal provisions have been on the statute books since the last 15-16 years. The CAA has not altered them in any way whatsoever.

What are the rules for citizenship under CAA?

Appropriate rules under the CAA are being framed. They will operationalize various provisions of the CAA.

Why shouldn’t Baluchis, Ahmediyas in Pakistan, Rohingyas in Myanmar not be considered for this kindness?

The CAA has not stopped any foreigners of any country from applying for Indian Citizenship under The Citizenship Act, 1955. Baluchis, Ahmediyas & Rohingyas can always apply to become Indian citizens as and when they fulfil the qualifications provided in the relevant sections of The Citizenship Act, 1955.

In what way does it benefit Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from these three countries?

All legal migrants (whose travel documents are complete) including the aforementioned minority communities from three countries were and are and will continue to be eligible to apply for Indian citizenship if they fulfil the qualifications laid down in The Citizenship Act, 1955.  The CAA has not changed this situation whatsoever.  Only some migrants from the aforesaid communities and countries will benefit from the CAA if they have incomplete or no documents or their documents have expired and they have taken shelter in India because of persecution on grounds of religion up to December 2014.  They have been excluded from the definition of “illegal migrants” in The Citizenship Act, 1955.  Unlike other foreigners, they are eligible to get citizenship after a total residency period of six years.  For other foreigners, this period is twelve years.

Doesn’t India have an obligation under the UN to take care of refugees?

Yes, it does.  And it is not shying away from it. There are more than two lakh Sri Lankan Tamils and Tibetans in India and more than fifteen thousand Afghans, 20-25 thousand Rohingyas and a few thousand other refugees of different nationalities presently live in India.  It is expected that someday these refugees will return to their homelands when conditions improve there.  Indian is not a signatory to the UN Convention of 1951 and the UN Protocol of 1967 on Refugees.  Secondly, India is under no obligation to offer such migrants its citizenship. Each country including India has its own rules for naturalization.

Will illegal Muslims immigrants from these three countries be automatically deported under this Law?

No. The CAA has absolutely nothing to do with the deportation of any foreigner from India.  The deportation process of any foreigner irrespective of his religion or country is implemented as per the mandate of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and/or The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.  These two laws govern entry, stay movement within India and exit from India of all foreigners irrespective of their religion or country.

Therefore, the usual deportation process would apply to any illegal foreigner staying in India.  It is a well-considered judicial process that is based on a proper inquiry by the local police or administrative authorities to detect an illegal foreigner. It is ensured that such an illegal foreigner has been issued a proper travel document by the embassy of his country so that he can be duly received by officials of his country when he is deported.

In Assam, the process of deportation happens only after the determination of such a person as a “foreigner” under The Foreigners Act, 1946.  Then he becomes liable for deportation.  Therefore, there is nothing automatic, mechanical or discriminatory in this exercise. State Governments and their district-level authorities enjoy the power of Central Govt. under Section 3 of the Foreigners Act and Section 5 of The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 to detect, detain & deport any illegal foreigner.

Does the CAA affect Indians (Hindus, Muslims, anyone)?

No. It has absolutely nothing to do with any Indian citizen in any way.  The Indian citizens enjoy Fundamental Rights conferred on them by the Constitution of India. No statute including the CAA can abridge or take them away.  There has been a misinformation campaign.  The CAA does not affect any Indian citizens, including Muslim citizens.

What about Sri Lankan Tamils?

India has provided citizenship to 4.61 lakh Tamils of Indian origin after signing PM level agreements signed in 1964 and 1974.  Presently ninety-five thousand Sri Lankan Tamils are living in Tamil Nadu on Central and State Government subsidies and grants.  They can apply for Indian citizenship whenever they become eligible.

Why only these three countries? And why only religious persecution of above-notified denominations?

The CAA deals with persecution on religious lines in three neighbouring countries where the Constitution provides for a specific State religion.  Followers of other religions have been persecuted in these three countries.  The Bill is very focused and provides a remedy for a particular situation in which some foreigners of these six minority communities find themselves.

Does this mean that Muslims from these 3 countries can never get Indian citizenship?

No. Muslims from these three and all other countries can always apply for Indian citizenship and get it if they are eligible.  The CAA has not stopped any foreigner from any country from taking citizenship of India provided he meets the existing qualifications under the law.  During the last six years, approximately 2830 Pakistani citizens, 912 Afghani citizens, and 172 Bangladeshi citizens have been given Indian citizenship.  Many hundreds of them are from the majority community in these three countries.  Such migrants continue to get Indian citizenship and shall also continue to get it if they fulfil the eligibility conditions already provided in the law for registration or naturalization.  About 14,864 Bangladeshi nationals  including many from the majority community were also granted Indian citizenship after incorporating more than fifty enclaves of Bangladesh into Indian territory post the boundary agreement between the two countries in 2014.

Whom does CAA apply to?

Answer: It is relevant only for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian foreigners who have migrated fled from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan into India up to 31.12.2014 on account of persecution faced by them due to their religion.  It does not apply to any other foreigners including Muslims migrating to India from any country including these three countries.

Delhi HC dismisses plea filed by Nirbhaya’s murder convict seeking clemency claiming he was juvenile at time of offence

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi HC dismisses plea filed by Nirbhaya’s murder convict seeking clemency claiming he was juvenile at time of offence

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed plea of one of the four convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta, who had moved to the Delhi High Court yesterday, claiming that he was juvenile at the time of the offence in December 2012 and should be treated under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait also imposed a penalty of Rs 25K on the convict’s advocate AP Singh, who did not appear in the court despite several communications sent to him on behalf of the court, for playing “hide and seek”. The court also asked Bar Council of Delhi to take action against the advocate for filing a forged affidavit in the court regarding the convict’s age.


Seeking clemency for his crime from the Delhi high court, Gupta, in the plea filed by him, has asserted that his ossification test was not done at that time and he should be granted the benefit of the doubt for it. The petitioner cited the provision of section 7A of Juvenile Justice Act lays down that a claim of juvenility may be taken before any court and it shall be recognised at any stage, even after final disposal of the case.

His petition also refers to him as an “innocent boy” who is “falsely implicated” in the case by “anti-social elements due to revengeful motive” and puts the blame on Delhi Police.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court had rejected the review petition filed by one of the death-row convicts, Akshay Kumar Singh, in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case.

Singh, in his petition to SC, had alleged that there has been undue haste for the hanging of the convicts in this case and submitted the list of death-row convicts in other cases who were yet to be hanged.

A 23-year-old paramedic student was brutally gang-raped and cruelly assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012 inside a moving bus in Delhi by six people before being thrown out on the road. After battling for her life for 13 days, the victim succumbed to her injuries on 29 December 2012.

Six persons were arrested in the case and following their trial, they were sentenced to the death penalty by the trial and High Court. The apex court in its 2017 verdict had upheld the capital punishment awarded to them by the Delhi High Court and the trial court in the case.

Last year on July 9, the Supreme Court had dismissed the review pleas filed by the other three convicts, Mukesh (30), Pawan Gupta (23) and Vinay Sharma (24) in the case, saying no grounds have been made out by them for review of the 2017 verdict.

Anti-CAA riot in Bengal, an eyewitness account: An announcement, stone pelting, arson and scared passengers trapped in a tin box

Sreejit Datta
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Anti-CAA riot in Bengal, an eyewitness account: An announcement, stone pelting, arson and scared passengers trapped in a tin box

So far I had only heard from my grandparents of their agonizing experience of terror while fleeing their homeland in undivided Bengal; I had heard from Kashmiri Hindus of their plight while fleeing the valley for dear life; I had heard how Hindus, persecuted at the hand of the Pakistan Army and their Razakar accomplices in 1971, fled East Pakistan – their home, for countless generations – in order to protect their women. I had also read numerous accounts written by eyewitnesses of the massacre and horror in each of these cases; but today for the first time in my life I got to experience, first-hand, what Jihadi terror unleashed by a mob united in the name of religion entails. The incident unfolded at Akra Railway Station, which is situated on the Sealdah-Budge Budge subsection and comes under the South Section of the Sealdah railways network, one of the two principal nodes of the railway network in the city of Kolkata, the other, being Howrah. This eyewitness account is of the anti-CAA riot that erupted in Bengal.

It was 12:45 PM on the 15th of December, 2019. I was travelling with my wife on the very first compartment of the 12:30 PM up Budge Budge – Sealdah local train, a compartment which shares a wall with the driver’s cabin. We were to get down at Tollyganj, from where we had planned to take a cab to my in-laws’ for a visit to my ailing mother-in-law. It will be pertinent to mention here that only the previous night we had taken another local train in the same route to commute further up in order to attend a relation’s wedding reception party and had returned home late at night using the same means of commuting, on the same route. There was no visible trace of any unrest or anything out of the ordinary at that time.

I have been using this mode of commuting via local trains on the Sealdah-Budge Budge route all my life to attend my school, college, universities and workplaces before moving out of West Bengal for professional reasons. And I cannot recall, at least from my experience of commuting over fifteen years, any significant incident of disruption of train services due to dharnas or protests on this route. Therefore, despite the news of sporadic acts of disruption, violence and even vandalism coming from a few districts and certain specific areas of the city, we took that up Budge Budge – Sealdah local train without a second thought. We also got up into the first compartment considering it’ll be a shorter way to the street outside the station which was our destination.

Read: Muslim mob pelted stones, poked rods, laughed sadistically: Survivor shares harrowing tale from Bengal anti-CAB protests

The train started at about 12:40 PM. It takes about five minutes to reach the Akra station from Nungi, the previous station. The train slowed down considerably just before reaching the platform at Akra. And at that very moment, I heard the blaring noise of loudspeakers from a nearby place of worship of a certain community. It was an announcement, a call – following which the train stopped hard on its tracks just metres away from the said place of worship. This was a mere hundred metres from the platform at Akra. As soon as the train stopped, I noticed hundreds of people running towards the train and the railway tracks. Many of them came roaring from the direction of the place of worship which was on one side of the tracks, while many others came from the dense residential area on the other side.

Restless aggression and a distinct lack of reasonable behaviour – both characteristic features of a fanatic mob – marked them. Most of these fanatics reached for the platform, which houses the ticket counter and the station superintendent’s office. Some remained packed outside the doors of the driver’s cabin on either side of the train. That meant our compartment too got surrounded by a small crowd, which consisted of boys aged between 10 to 15 years and young men – all armed with stones picked from the railway tracks. They were yelling, hurling abuses and making wild, gleeful noises. I could see the smiling faces of the boys and the shockingly bright colours of their hair dye from one corner of a windowpane that wouldn’t get shut.

It seemed to me that they had come to witness some sort of violent, barbaric tribal carnival. It was a celebration of violence for them, a thoughtless unleashing of the animal instincts dormant in humans, instincts which are kept suppressed by layers of culture and civilisation. Bereft of these valuable possessions, the constituent members of the present mob showcased the baser qualities of the human species, true to the characteristics of fanatically monotheistic cults which have razed to the ground the great monuments of our overwhelmingly polytheistic, poly-ethnic Indic civilisation.

Read: The Owaisi Factor: Why Mamata Banerjee went soft on the raging Muslim mobs in Bengal risking Hindu consolidation for the BJP

Panicked, the passengers in our compartment started trying to shut the window panes and doors. Some jumped off the compartment and onto the tracks and started running in the opposite direction. I was warily looking out one window to take stock of the situation. I could see an overcrowded platform in the distance, and I could hear wild roars rising one after another from that direction. Coming back to my seat, I tried connecting with the helpline of the GRP, but to no avail. I immediately called home, briefed them about the situation we’d found ourselves in and asked them to contact the local police station or GRP, whichever they could connect to. The Akra station area fell under the same police station’s jurisdiction as my family residence.

I got a call from home within minutes. They’d managed to connect with a GRP number. I noted the same and dialled it. Upon connecting, I narrated the situation in a manner so as to convey the gravity of the matter and impress upon the personnel the fact that the situation already seems to have gone out of control and the lives of countless innocent passengers were at stake. The response I received was crisp and by no means assuring: “We got the news. We will see.” I had a feeling that the personnel had failed to grasp the seriousness of the matter. So I gave it another try – telling him how helpless we felt as passengers caught in an unanticipated crisis, having no way for escape; that there were women and children among the passengers and how unsafe it seemed to even get off the train, considering those waiting outside seemed unfriendly, to say the least. The response was constant: we know it, we’ll see. To hear that forces had been dispatched for rescuing the passengers or to disperse the mob would have been highly assuring in this situation. At that moment, I felt utterly helpless.

By then the crowd outside had started banging wildly on the walls and tightly shut doors and windows of our compartment. Some of the passengers started discussing whether it would be wiser to remain shut inside or try to seek the assistance of those outside, in escaping from the scene. I myself felt clueless as to our next course of action. I sought my wife’s opinion, as well as that of my parents back at home via phone calls. Both urged me to stay inside the compartment and wait. I felt like we were waiting for our end to greet us. I remembered my Lord’s name as I muttered: “Jai Sri Ram, Jai Bajrang Bali”.

Read: BJP’s Kailash Vijayvargiya shares videos of being surrounded by Muslim mob, says WB government showed no concerns to his safety

They started pelting rocks at the compartment. The noise of the rocks hitting the metal walls, doors and windowpanes of the train compartment was terrible. The end seemed near. To put things into perspective: even a small chip of the basalt rocks which are usually strewn on the railway tracks, if thrown with sufficient force, can cause a life-threatening injury. What of the large rocks then, each one of which weighs about two to three kilos! Such rocks were being incessantly pelted at the driver’s cabin with vengeance, many of which struck the walls, doors and windows of the compartment we were in, for, remember, it was the very first compartment of the train. Every one of us in the compartment got down on all fours, desperately trying to shield our heads, ducked beneath the seats for cover. Any number of those pelted rocks could have mortally struck the passengers. Thank God they didn’t – or at least they didn’t strike anyone within the range of my vision. Apart from children and young men and women, there were a few senior citizens among the passengers in that compartment, about forty passengers in all. I couldn’t keep track of the time during which the stone-pelting continued full-on. Perhaps at moments of such grave crisis, when humans fear for their lives and the lives of their near ones, the sense of time gets blurred. It could have been two to three minutes or perhaps much more than that. But the duration did seem to me like an eternity. And I couldn’t think of a way out of this plight.

At one point, the intensity of the shower of rocks softened a bit, and as soon as it lowered one of the compartment doors were thrown open; and some four-five men got up into the compartment. Wearing a seemingly casual attitude, they straightaway asked us, passengers, to get off the compartment. We hesitated. How could we trust these men, who may well have been a part of the mob pelting rocks at our compartment a moment ago? We would be left with no choice but retreat following the railway tracks on foot, and walk all the way back to the previous station (which was situated at a distance of about eight km from that place) if we detrained now. And what was the guarantee that we won’t be harmed by the same mob once we detrain? The question of advancing towards the platform on foot doesn’t even arise. The beastly roars from the direction of the platform had trebled by now, and as I put my head out of the now-open door I spotted pitch dark clouds of smoke rising from numerous points on the railway tracks and the platforms ahead. The station had been put on fire. The unrestrained mob was on a rampage.

Meanwhile, these men who had broken into our compartment kept directing us to get off. I had a suspicion that they were planning some mischief either with the carriages, or with the passengers, or with both. Perhaps they wanted to avoid serious trouble for themselves by putting the carriages on fire while the passengers were inside and thus wanted us to vacate them. This seemed more credible to me as they were insisting on us getting off the compartment as the stone-pelting continued, albeit with somewhat lower intensity. Or they might have humbler intentions to simply loot the electrical appliances and metal fixings from the compartment after we had vacated the place. It occurred to me that they might get mad at us passengers if we didn’t detrain as they suggested, and consequently, they’d want to remove this one obstacle on their path by harming us. And so, with Sri Ram’s name on my lips, I decided to get off.

Read: Citizenship Amendment Act protests: Muslim mob continues rampage in Bengal, three more Railway stations and toll plazas set ablaze

But then I remembered the senior citizens among the passengers. I looked at them. They appeared to be petrified, fixed to their seats out of sheer terror. Addressing the men directing us to get off the compartment, I pleaded with them: “Dada, we can try jumping off the compartment from this height as we are young; but please think of these old women and men – how will they manage this feat? It’s impossible for them!” Those men acted as if my words didn’t penetrate their ears. They kept on repeating one phrase: Get off! Get off!

As I prepared to get off, I saw another group of young men standing outside our compartment on the railway tracks beside the train, laughing and cracking jokes amongst themselves, and making those meaningless, primitive, gleeful noises through their parted human lips, while capturing our ordeal on their mobile phone cameras all this time. The gap between the pedestal at the compartment door and the landing below – which was nothing but rocks strewn on an uneven bed between railway tracks – was at least seven feet. This is no exaggeration, considering the train was far from entering the platform area, which was still about a hundred metres away. Attempting a jump from this altitude and onto such terrain might throw even an athletic young man off balance, resulting in some serious injury. Add to that the fear of getting struck by the rocks being hurled from time to time, amidst roars of beastly cheering and laughter, and the dark clouds of smoke rising skyward from the conflagrations up ahead. I could my hear my own heart pounding wildly as I jumped off the pedestal and landed on the tracks. The terror was compounded as the concern for my wife’s safety was gnawing at me.

I helped my wife get down and together we stepped off the railway tracks onto a parallel muddy path. As we did so, another spell of terrifying roars reached my ears and I saw a hundred men running towards us from the direction of the station. For a few seconds, we were transfixed to the ground. We were fearing the worst in those passing moments. Those momentary fears got quelled when I realised that the men were headed not toward us, but past us. It surprised me when I noticed that even this mob, which was rioting on the platforms at the station, consisted mainly of teenage boys and young men, almost all of whom would be aged 10 to 20 years old. The two of us joined them and ran, not knowing where we were headed. While running, I caught up with one of these boys and asked him why they were fleeing. He said the RAF had been deployed at the station, that’s why.

This piece of information made me heave a sigh of relief. But the very next moment a thought occurred to me: what if the angry mob, incensed at the actions taken by the RAF, decided to take it all out on us? Also, if the RAF fires tear gas shells at this mob, even we might get caught in the crossfire. Lacking a better plan, we started running towards the residential area on the opposite side of the place of worship mentioned earlier. After minutes of running, we reached a narrow lane where some curious local women were trying to see what’s going on. Upon enquiry, they told us that we could reach the Budge Budge Trunk Road (the principal connecting roadway between the suburbs and the city proper) if we walked on for around fifteen minutes via the Akra Station Road.

The narrow lane consisted of a swampy, muddy path and it also had open drainage on one side, which made it all the more difficult to walk through it. And we were forced to run through the same! After traversing myriads of such narrow lanes – an attempt which felt like finding one’s way out of a maze – we could finally see a glimpse of the Akra Station Road through a small gap between two houses situated on one of the lanes. This was the road that connected the Akra station and the Budge Budge Trunk Road, ending into the latter at a juncture known as the Dakghar More. And this road now seemed to be our best bet to escape the rioting mob. We also noticed a number of motorcycle riders from the Akra Station Road trying to get through the small gap to the lanes. Must be the fear of the patrolling RAF.

Read: From enjoying mustard field to discussing UK elections: How five-star “journalists” looked away as Muslim mobs burnt Bengal

My wife and I were standing at one end of that lane, accompanied by three-four passengers from the train who, like us, were desperately trying to reach Dakghar More. The scene in the lanes brought an image in my head: that of a rat trap, and at that moment the indignity of our situation as Hindus living in this state, in this country, hit me. Nobody except we were to be blamed for what was happening to us today. The lack of self-awareness about our position in this subcontinent’s history, the lack of willingness to organise as a nation, a self-effacing attitude and the resultant apathy for the present and the future were to be blamed. In this scenario, finding faults with other communities would be a mere escapist stance. Others are only working towards fulfilling their respective religious and communal goals. They have fixed goals. And what about us, the Hindus? Far from having a fixed goal, we were determined to resist any attempt to work out a common goal.

A few more tensed moments passed. Then we saw that the motorcyclists were fleeing the scene, taking whatever route they could find. We saw a small company of RAF walking past the narrow gap of the lane. Evidently, the bullies on motorcycles were now busy saving their own necks. My wife and I decided that we must risk taking the station road in order to reach Dakghar More on foot. We approached the road, advancing carefully through the lane. The other passengers accompanied us. The houses on either side seemed deserted except for the women – were the men and kids out rioting?

Reaching the end of the lane, I stuck my neck out to check what was happening on either direction on the road. On my left, the road had ended at the station; there was nothing to be seen except for flames and dark clouds of smoke constantly rising from them. On my right were some people, scattered here and there on the road. They wore expressions of curiosity and tension. I saw some young men standing on top of a huge four-storey house, recording the scenes of destruction and rioting down below. They appeared to be really enjoying their activities on what seemed to be just another leisurely winter afternoon for them. They were jocular and curious, and in them, there was no trace of the terror that had engulfed us.

Read: Journalist explains how the Bengali elite justified Muslim mob violence and paved the way for the downfall of Bengal

We hit the station road. The road seemed deserted after the patrolling RAF had passed through it. Some local men were trying to test the waters before assembling again. We carefully avoided them and walked along. They were abusive, roaring from time to time and had an aggressive body language. But not one of them dared to advance towards us. Such was the fear instilled in them by the patrolling RAF. It was clear that they were awaiting a chance to get back to the station and resume vandalising and arson. Perhaps one spell of rioting could not satiate them. Advancing further, we saw a bus standing across the road. It had been vandalised, its windscreen and windows bearing the marks of stone-pelting.

With anxieties and uncertainties of all sorts in our hearts, we continued walking down the station road. After several minutes of walking, we reached a neighbourhood where there was hardly any minority household. The air seemed less troubled, and there was no trace of vandalism or violence anywhere. People sneaked out of their windows and doors to understand what was going on outside. I asked one of them if we would get any conveyance from Dakghar More. The response wasn’t satisfactory. We walked on for five or seven minutes more. Finally, we reached the junction on the Budge Budge Trunk Road. It had little resemblance with what I remembered of it from my last visit during the Durga Puja just two months ago. Obscured by smoke, littered with burnt remain of tyres and logs, it resembled an abandoned war zone. It was clear that the mobs had unleashed utter destruction here as well. There was no sign of buses, autos or cabs. After a rather long wait, we saw an e-rickshaw. We stuffed ourselves into it, along with three more passengers from the train.

Ever since we reached our home, we have been haunted by the nightmarish memories of that incident. The things that had happened to us on that day, and the things that could have happened to us – reflections of these sorts kept conjuring horrible images inside our heads, even when we were wide awake. I believe it was through sheer grace of God that we had managed to escape from the fanatic mob in one piece. But this incident had once more exposed the widespread apathy of the Hindu fold towards protecting its dignity, lives, culture, property and dharma, and the consequent unpreparedness to meet the monstrous challenges it faces at this juncture in history.

(The Bengali version of the article was first published in Bangodesh)

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