Dilip Simeon's blog

People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) condemns mob violence against Kashmiri students and traders after Pulwama attack Press Release 23.02.2019 Kashmiri students, traders and workmen have suffered violent attacks in different parts of the country after a suicide bomber of jihadi terrorist oraganisation JeM killed more than forty CRPF jawans in Pulwama in Kashmir valley. Students in Dehradun, Ambala, Jaipur and Yavatmal were physically threatened and forced to leave. Two institutions in Dehradun have given a written undertaking to the student union led by ABVP that they will not admit Kashmiri students from the next session.  According to one report at least 10 Kashmiri students have been booked and 24 rusticated and suspended from colleges for what officials have termed as ‘anti-national’ social media messages. Traders in Bihar and West Bengal were attacked and their shops destroyed. Kashmiri workmen in a sugar mill in Muzaffarnagar were aske...

People’s  Alliance  for Democracy and Secularism Punjab Blasphemy Law Violates Constitution and is an Attack on Democratic Rights of Citizens                           Press Release 12.10.2018 Punjab assembly recently passed a bill for an addition to IPC clause 295 to give life imprisonment for any ‘injur:y, damage or sacrilege’ of four religious books, (Guru Granth Sahib, Koran, Bible and Geeta) ‘with the intention to hurt the religious feelings of the people’. This is the first time in independent India that a punishment usually given for willfully murdering another human being has been recommended for defilement of religious books. In an article in Times of India (6/9/2018), Punjab chief minister Capt Amrinder Singh of Congress has justified the bill and tried to explain its context. From 2015 to 2017 before the last assembly elections, the state had witnessed more than one hundred cases of sa...

Statement by People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) against arrest of five Intellectuals a nd Human rights Activists on 28 August, 2018 Press Release 30 August, 2018 Pune police under BJP government in Maharashtra arrested five well known left leaning intellectuals and activists under UAPA on August 28.  Eighty years old Varvara Rao is a famousTelegu poet.Sudha Bhardwaj is general  secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, and a leader of Chhatisgarh Mukti Morcha. Gautam Navlakha is a journalist and has been associated with Economic and Political Weekly and People’s Union for Democratic Rights. Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves are lawyers. They were arrested by Maharashtra police years ago for being associates of banned CPI(Maoist), but were acquitted by courts of all charges as there was no evidence against them. Arun Ferreira has been an active campaigner for the rights of people detained under black laws like POTA and UAPA. Pol...

Statement of Condemnation against Dy CM for intimidating DM Kasganj for doing his duty PADS condemns the Dy CM of UP for intimidating DM Kasganj. Instead of taking action against the miscreants, interpreting valid observations of the senior officer on Facebook as views of a political party and promising action against it is a violation of the basic rights of officers doing their duty to uphold the democratic rights of citizens of this country and is an attempt by this outright communal and fascist government to muzzle any voice of dissent. As incident after incident in this country shows, the blatant violation of the secular traditions of this country in the name of National sentiment is only serving to deepen alienation of people from the nation rather than unite them. Waving of the saffron flag from the gate of the District Sessions court in Udaipur , forcibly taking a flag march into minority area (where  Muslims were anyway hoisting the National flag), distributing ju...

People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism Condemns Amarnath Pilgrim's Killing People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism condemns the killing of Amarnath pilgrims near Anantnag in Kashmir valley. This heinous crime has come at an especially sensitive time for Kashmir and the rest of India. There is a real danger that in the aftermath of this attack both Kashmir and the rest of India get sucked into a vicious cycle of violence against innocent citizens.  A number of Indians have been lynched by mobs recently. it is essential that the state authorities in the rest of India do not allow communal elements to use this incident to attack minorities and Kashmiris living in different parts of the country. There are still a number of pilgrims, migrant workers and tourists in Kashmir. It is necessary that they receive no harm. The small number of Pandit famiiies still living in the valley are especially vulnerable to sectarian violence. They must be provided sp...

People’s Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) Press statement Addressed to the African Media and Civil Society Information Networks March 31, 2017 We, representing  concerned citizens of India,  are extremely disturbed  by the assault on 4 Nigerian students in Greater Noida in the state of Uttar Pradesh, adjoining Delhi. We condemn in the strongest possible terms  these attacks  carried out by a mob which chose to take law into its own hands on mere suspicion which has also since turned out, as confirmed by the local police,  to have been without foundation. That these assaults were made on foreigners who have come to India in friendship and goodwill makes these even more reprehensible. We are relieved that the four African students who were injured in these attacks are now reportedly safe and out of danger. The incident nevertheless requires deep introspection on the part of the authorities and our polity and society as a whole.  ...

  Stand Against Religious Bigotry, Defend Democratic Rights of all Citizens of India Press Release March 29, 2017 People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) condemns the murder of rationalist H. Farook in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu on March 16, 2017. Farook was a member of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (Dravidian Freedom Organisation) which is inspired by the rationalist ideas of Periyar. According to the police, the six men who killed Farook were self-radicalised and 'claimed that their radical thought had justified the murder of a Muslim who had deviated from faith and they are proud of what they had done'. After Dr. Dabholkar, Com Govind Pansare and Professor Kalburgi, Farook is the fourth rationalist who has been murdered by the so called champions of religion. On the same day, i.e. March 16 Prof Narendra Nayak, the president of Indian Federation of Rationalist Associations was threatened with assault in Bangalore. On March 19 in Jaipur a group...

बीजेपी को हराएं और लोकतंत्र को बचाएं : उत्तर प्रदेश के मतदाताओं से अपील (पीपुल्स अलायंस फॉर डेमाक्रेसी एंड सेकुलरिज्म) फरवरी 2017 में उत्तर प्रदेश के मतदाता अपनी अगली राज्य सरकार का चुनाव करेंगे. उत्तर प्रदेश हिन्दुस्तान का सबसे बड़ा राज्य है. हर पांचवां भारतीय यहां बसता है. यहां के नागरिकों का राजनीतिक चुनाव न सिर्फ राज्य की राजनीति की दिशा तय करता है, बल्कि राष्ट्रीय राजनीति पर भी असर डालता है. इस बार का चुनाव पहले से कहीं ज्यादा महत्वपूर्ण है. यूपी के मतदाता न सिर्फ राज्य सरकार को चुनने वाले हैं, बल्कि वे कई मायनों में भारतीय लोकतंत्र के भविष्य का भी फैसला करेंगे. इसलिए, उन पर एक खास जिम्मेदारी है कि वे अपने मत का अत्यधिक ध्यान और विवेक के साथ इस्तेमाल करें. 2014 के लोकसभा चुनाव में बीजेपी को 40 फीसदी से ज्यादा मत मिले थे और उसे 80 में से 71 सीटों पर जीत हासिल हुई थी. इस जबरदस्त सफलता के पीछे कई वजहें थीं- यूपीए सरकार का राजनीतिक दिवालियापन, यूपी में गैर-बीजेपी मतों का तीन-तरफा विभाजन, धार्मिक अल्पसंख्यकों पर निरंतर हमला और साम्प्रदायिक हिंसा. इसका सबसे निंदनीय उदाहरण मुज...

Peoples’Alliance for Democracy and Secularism Condemns Fundamentalist Violence in South Asia The past few years have seen an alarming increase in violent attacks on the democratic rights of ordinary people all over South Asia. Fundamentalist groups are attacking and/or killing people whom they perceive to be challenging their beliefs, or 'hurting their sentiments'.  For the past two years India has had a Central government that has fraternal relations with fundamentalist Hindutva groups that are widely perceived to be sympathetic to or involved in violence. There is no lack of revenge-filled rhetoric from representatives of and/or allies of the ruling dispensation. Cattle traders have been attacked and killed in the name of protecting cows. A man was killed in his home because of rumours that he was eating beef.  Three well-known elderly intellectuals: Dr Dabholkar, Dr Panasare and Prof Kalburgi were murdered for holding views on religion that displeased certain fanatics,...

An Appeal to Democratic Citizens and Organisations of India from People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism Democracy in India is facing a grave threat. The BJP government and organisations allied with it are violating every principle of constitutional democracy.  Their strategy is to keep society on a boil through a continuous barrage of fake allegations and vilification campaigns against selected targets, and create an atmosphere of suspicion, hatred, fear and widespread violence. Their assault on the Indian constitution is at three levels: 1./ Public discourse is constantly poisoned with communal propaganda. Ministers, MPs and MLAs of the BJP make open threats against Indian Muslims. The latest piece of poison is jingoistic nationalism and the branding of all opponents of the RSS as traitors to the nation. 2./ The BJP/RSS is willfully degrading constitutional institutions and democratic norms. After the tragic suicide of Rohith Vemula, a scholar of Hyderab...

People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism Invites You to a Convention on             Degradation of Criminal Justice System Dec 12-13, 2015 Gandhi Peace Foundation, D. D. U. Marg, New Delhi A fair, transparent and functional criminal justice system is essential for any democracy. It is necessary for the basic security of citizens, and also for creating conditions under which citizens can live a life of freedom. Unfortunately India’s criminal justice system has been undergoing a prolonged process of corruption by dominant class and caste interests. Rather than upholding justice in a fair and symmetric manner, it is often seen to be working for the powerful and the rich.  After the victory of the BJP in the general elections of 2014, the communal manipulation of institutions of justice and police has been intensified. Within weeks of the election, selective leaks were made to derail Gopal Subramanium’s e...

प्रोफेसर एम. एम. कलबुर्गी की हत्या के विरोध में पीपल्स अलायन्स फॉर डेमोक्रैसी ऍण्ड सेक्यूलरिज़्म का वक्तव्य P.A.D.S. Statement on the killing of Prof MM Kalburgi - a sane voice against communalism and superstition 30  अगस्त को साम्प्रदायिकता और अंधश्रद्धा के ख़िलाफ़ एक मुखर आवाज़ को हमेशा के लिये शांत कर दिया गया. धारवाड़ में कन्नड़ भाषा के विद्वान और जनप्रिय लेखक, सतहत्तर वर्षीय प्रोफेसर एम. एम. कलबुर्गी के घर में जा कर हत्यारों ने उनको गोलियों से मौत के घाट उतार दिया. प्रोफेसर कलबुर्गी उदयकालीन कन्नड़ भाषा के वचना साहित्य और उत्तर कर्णाटक में आदिलशाही के दिनों में रचे गये साहित्य की खोजबीन में सक्रिय थे. कई विद्यार्थियों और विद्वानों के लिए प्रोफेसर कलबुर्गी ज्ञान का स्रोत थे. विद्यार्थियों के लिए उनके दरवाज़े हमेशा खुले रहते थे, जिसका फ़ायदा हत्यारों ने उठाया. अपने आप को विद्यार्थी बताते हुए वे उनके घर में घुस गये और अपने नापाक इरादे को अंजाम दिया. प्रोफेसर धार्मिक अंधश्रद्धा के तीव्र आलोचक थे; स्वयं उनकी लिंगायत जाति भी उनके तर्कपूर्ण और मुक्त विचारों को बरदाश्त नहीं कर पाई थी ...