SANSAD news-release   April 13, 2020

Grant Immediate Bail to Anand Teltumbde and Jailed Human Rights Defenders

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), an organization of the South Asian Diaspora in Vancouver, Canada is shocked by  and condemns the Supreme Court of India ‘s rejection of  anticipatory bail to prominent public intellectuals, authors, and human rights defenders, Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha and ordering them surrender to the authorities for incarceration on April 14 during a nation-wide lockdown for Covid-19.  With their surrender they will join nine other prominent writers, human rights activists, and lawyers who have been held in jails for close to two years under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act without trial in a process that itself constitutes punishment. It is a disgrace that Dr. Teltumbde, one of the leading Ambedkarite intellectuals of India will be sent to prison on 14 April which is the 129^th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who presided over the creation of the constitution of India.

What makes this travesty of justice particularly inhumane is the crisis India currently faces with the rest of the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when there is concern for the health of all who are in prisons everywhere the highest court in India has no compunction in sending two of its most prominent intellectuals to prison. To fully appreciate what this means for the system of justice in India one has to remember that prominent leaders of the ruling political party publicly utter hate speech calling for violence against minorities with impunity and people arrested for violent crimes have no difficulty obtaining bail. At the same time a paraplegic like Professor G. N. Saibaba, with severe health problems, can be held in jail indefinitely for alleged sympathies with Maoists.

India’s democracy with all its limitations depends on its constitutional guarantee of certain rights, including the right of dissent. The Supreme Court is the custodian of the constitution, and as such its credibility is of the utmost importance. The current compromised state of justice and the Supreme Court offers the Indian people no security. We demand that the Supreme Court of India resume its credibility by immediately granting bail to Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, the nine others who have been in prison since 2018 on similar charges related to the incidents of violence in Bhima Koregaon in January 2018, Professor G. N. Saibaba, and all other political prisoners.

–Thirty—

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Statement on Kashmir Indian government actions not an internal matter

A month ago, on August 5, 2019 the government of India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India granting the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the part of the princely state that had conditionally acceded to India at the time of the British withdrawal from India in 1947. This came in the wake of an invasion by Pashtun tribals from Pakistan. Accordingly, Jammu and Kashmir got special status with its own constitution and flag. At one stroke in an undemocratic fiat, the government of India also separated a portion of the state, Ladakh, and imposed direct rule by central government1 on it. The remaining portion of Jammu and Kashmir was reduced to a union territory2 with the status of a municipal government. The people of Kashmir had no say in this. On the contrary, anticipating Kashmiri response to this undemocratic action, in the days leading up to the abrogation, the Indian government added tens of thousands to the six hundred thousand military and paramilitary personnel already operating in Kashmir which has a population of seven million. They imprisoned political leaders, as well as thousands of others, imposed strict curfews banning all movement and gatherings, cut off all communications — telephone, cell phone, electronic media — and silenced reportage. People have been prohibited from praying in central mosques. People are terrorized, terrified and cut off even from their neighbours. A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding with daily tragedies as people are unable to access medical care, mothers are unable to deliver babies with appropriate supports, etc. A group of Indian parliamentarians visiting to assess people’s sentiments was turned away from Srinagar3 airport on arrival. The BBC shot footage of a large demonstration after a Friday prayer, when it was allowed, with the military firing tear gas and pellet guns. The report was officially denied. The government has declared a return to normalcy while maintaining most restrictions and has opened some schools to prove its point. However, classrooms remain empty. The BBC has interviewed villagers who speak of and show visible signs of beating and torture. In response, the army has affirmed its professionalism and claims to have not received any complaints. Reports of people being blinded by pellet guns4 have been met by the governor’s declaration that shots have been fired only below the waist. 1 India has a federal system of government; Indian states have their own governments and legislative assemblies. 2 Union territories in India, unlike states in India are usually federal territories, governed directly by the central government with some exceptions such as Puducherry (Pondicherry) which have elected legislatures. Jammu and Kashmir would be in that model. In such instances ‘public order’ and ‘police’ remain under the control of the central government of India. 3 Largest city and summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. 4 Pellet guns have been routinely used in Kashmir because India calls them “non-lethal”, despite demands by human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that they stop being used. They kill, blind and cause The silence of Kashmir speaks for its silenced people. The necessity of military repression speaks of the Indian government’s awareness of its status as an occupying force. By abrogating of Article 370 and dismembering and degrading Kashmir the government of India has fully and openly acknowledged its betrayal of all its promises to the people of Kashmir that they would determine their own future, a promise made before the community of nations and enshrined in Resolution 47 of the United Nations. The military occupation of Kashmir, the virtual imprisonment and silencing of its people, the undoing of a historic international commitment, cannot be accepted as an internal matter of India. We call on the United Nations to speak for the people of Kashmir. We in Canada and the US call on our governments of Canada and the USA to lead the United Nations in averting the humanitarian crisis in Kashmir and enabling the people of Kashmir to move, speak, and communicate freely.

• South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), Vancouver • South Asia Research and Resource Centre (CERAS), Montreal • International South Asia Forum (INSAF), New York • India Civil Watch (ICW-Canada) • International League of Peoples’ Struggles • Femmes de diverses origins/Women of Diverse Origins • East India Defense Committee (EIDC)’ Vancouver • Democracy, Equality and Secularism in South Asia (DESSA), Winnipeg • Punjabi Literary and Cultural Association, Winnipeg • Movement Against Rape and Incest • South Asian Women’s Community Centre (SAWCC) • Quebec Women’s Federation (FFQ)

multiple injuries. A Government Medical College, Kashmir study reported large scale blindings and psychiatric problem resulting from their use.