Arun Jaitley today wrote a scathing article detailing who, in this country, is actually threatening Human Rights which are enshrined in the constitution of India. In a Facebook post, he begins by saying, “The right to equality, the right to life and liberty, basic fundamental rights such as free speech etc., the right to religious freedom, the right to judicial redress amongst others, Parliamentary democracy and freedom to vote are essential aspects of those fundamental rights”.
He goes on to talk about the two ideological groups of insurgents which are active in India today. One is the Jehadis, among whom, many are trained by our “western neighbour” (Pakistan). He says “Their prime objective is to create disaffection against the Indian State. They are active in a few parts of India but predominantly in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Some local youth have also joined them”.
Detailing the other, Maoists. Hinting at the phenomenon of Urban Naxals, Jaitley writes that the Maoists are primarily in some of the tribal districts in central India but their ideological supporters are spread out in various parts of the country.
He says that both these groups don’t believe in Democracy and “in the system that they perceive, there is no democracy, no elections, no equality, no free speech and no guarantee of life and liberty. On the contrary, most of them believe that power flows from the barrel of the gun. They indulge in large-scale violence, killing of innocents and sabotage the development activity for public welfare”.
Interestingly, Arun Jaitley also writes about the coordination between Jehadis and Maoists, the first who believe there is only space for religion, and the second, who believe there is space for none.
After various statements from the Congress party and its sympathetic media blaming the Modi government for “human rights violations” after the motivated UNHRC report, it seems that this write up by Jaitley is aimed as a response to those elements.
Arun Jaitley goes on to talk about “who is responsible for human rights violations in Kashmir”. He says that majority of Kashmir want peace and move to other parts of the country to earn their livelihood and education. From the Kashmiri Pandits to now, the Kashmiri Muslims, Pakistan’s nefarious designs have affected the Kashmiris the most.
He writes, “In fact, one of the worst victims of Pakistan’s misconceived Kashmir policy has been the residents of Kashmir valley. The region, on the strength of its natural beauty, artisans and agriculture, has the potential of being the wealthiest per capita State in the country. The terrorists have destroyed it. For the past three years the terrorists up their activities in the months of April, May and June so that the economic lifeline of the valley suffers in the tourism season. They terrorise courts; they kill editors; they kill innocent citizens and they don’t allow any alternate religion to be practised. Who is threatening the human rights of the citizens of Kashmir? It is obvious that it is the terrorists and the Jehadis who have done it. The whole country bears a large cost by putting its security personnel in the region in order to protect the innocent citizens. Many security personnel have been martyred”.
He says the Maoists too kill innocent tribals and security forces and don’t let any developmental activities take place.
He questions the Human Right Organisations. “How many times have we come across human rights organisations preparing documents and releasing reports with regard to the human rights of these helpless citizens and the patriotic security personnel who has been sent there to defend these citizens?”
Talking about the evolution of Human Rights Organisations, Jaitley writes, “The civil liberties movement was controlled by the liberals. In the early 70’s, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) was formed by constitutional liberals led by Shri Jai Prakash Narayan. This timed with the supersession of judges, the misuse of Preventive Detention Law and the beginning of dynastic rule. Its relevance increased during Emergency and immediately thereafter. In 1977, the Janata Government headed by Morarji Desai reversed most of the autocratic steps which the Indira Gandhi Government had taken and, thereafter, the comfort level of the liberals on civil liberties increased.”
He says that thereafter, in the 80s, the ultra-left seized the opportunity and started infiltrating into organisations like the PUCL and the PUDR. Jaitley then slams the people who give cover to Maoists and Jehadis who are trying to break India up. He writes, “Maoist started forming human rights organisations even at the State level and made the non-weaponised ideological Maoist as the face of these organisations. These activists were always in touch with the underground Maoist leaders. They acted as their communication channel. They would rationalise Maoist violence even in the media by arguing that the “root cause” of the violence needs to be addressed. The media was guilty of giving them disproportionate coverage. In the last few years, they expanded their strategy and started coordinating with the Jehadis and separatists notwithstanding their ideological dissimilarity. The only thing common between them was violence, overthrow of the constitutional order and secessionism i.e. the breakup of India. Recent evidence suggest that they are trying to rope in some misguided dalit activists into their fold. This became publically apparent after the “Tukde Tukde” agitation in the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the events which followed in Hyderabad thereafter.”
He continues to slam the Human Rights Organisations saying that they seldom shed tears for the innocent civilians and security personnel killed by these Jehadis and Maoists.
He then slams the propaganda machinery who influence the western opinion makers and organisations. He says that Congress historically would have been opposed to such propaganda but these elements have found sympathy in Rahul Gandhi’s heart.
“Firstly, their ability to coordinate with opinion makers in the western world and with the global human rights organisations has to be recognised. Secondly, even though the Congress Party historically and ideologically would have been opposed to these groups, they have earned a sympathy in Rahul Gandhi’s heart. He had no qualms about joining those who raised subversive slogans at JNU and Hyderabad. With this initial success, the others amongst the so called federal front have forgotten the dangers of these groups to India and Indian democracy. The political adventurists in parties like AAP, TMC and the like only look for a political opportunity in these groups. These human right organisations are an over-ground face of the underground. In the system that they believe in, there is no place for life, liberty, equality and free speech. In fact, there is no space for election or Parliamentary democracy”.
Ending his note by calling Human Rights Organisation Maoists sponsored, he says their only aim is to espouse separatism and violence.
