India basically remains a racist and castiest society everywhere and that holds true for its most literate state

 https://twitter.com/IndianExpress/status/1767946946247889156

India: Film based on real life story from Kerala of a Muslim mother who brought up Hindu Children -- what should be perfectly normal now considered unusual

Kerala: Muslim woman's Hindu children inspire an Indian film

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65108300

India: IMSD deplores the demonisation of sexual minorities by Kerala’s rightwing Muslims

 Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD)

March 17, 2023

PRESS STATEMENT

IMSD deplores the demonisation of sexual minorities by Kerala’s rightwing Muslims

Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) strongly condemns the concerted effort by the Muslim rightwing in Kerala -- including leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and some Muslim-run websites -- to ridicule, vilify, denigrate and demonise Muslims who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

It is a tragic irony that while the minority Muslim community in India is itself the target of rampant Islamophobia, the conservatives among them are hurling hate speech at the sexual minorities (minority within the minority). What logic or ethics makes Islamophobia wrong but homophobia, queerphobia or transphobia right? Not surprisingly, the Muslim right has much in common with the Hindu right.

The latest trigger for the fulminations is the news last month of a transgender couple from Kerala -- Zahad Fazil, a trans man and Ziya Payal, a trans woman – having decided to be biological parents of a baby. The couple reportedly took this decision because adoption is not an option for transgender persons.

What perhaps added to the fervour of the self-appointed custodians of morality is the fact that Kerala’s health minister Veena George promptly congratulated the couple on the phone and directed the Kozhikode Medical College to provide all treatment for free. She also arranged for breast milk to be provided to the baby from the human milk bank.

Being targets of hate politics themselves, Muslims should know the difference between free speech and hate speech. Comparing homosexuality to paedophilia, targeting members of the LGBTQIA+ community with words and expressions such as “a shame”, “mentally ill”, “worst kind of people”, “people in need of treatment” etc. are hate speech, not free speech.

The very Constitution which guarantees to Muslims the right to freely profess, practice and propagate their faith cannot but also guarantee to sexual minorities their right to publicly proclaim their presence, hold a Pride Parade.

The United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) begins with the recognition “of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family…” So says the Constitution of Indian too.

Even as the humiliated, bruised and battered Indian Muslim community struggles for its own right to a dignified life, it must learn to respect and uphold the “right to dignity” of all citizens. 

Signatories:

1.      A. J. Jawad, Co-convener IMSD, Lawyer, Chennai

2.      Aarif Kapadia, IMSD, businessman, Mumbra

3.      Aftab Ahmed Khan, Journalist, Nasik

4.      Feroze Mithiborwala, Co-convener IMSD, Mumbai

5.      Gauhar Raza, ANHAD, Poet, Scientist, Delhi

6.      Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, Islamic Scholar, Writer, Translator, New Delhi

7.      Irfan Engineer, Co-convener IMSD, SSSC, Mumbai

8.      Javed Akhtar, IMSD, Poet, Lyricist, former MP, Mumbai

9.      Kasim Sait, IMSD, Businessman, Chennai

10. Khadija Farouqui, IMSD, Delhi

11. Lara Jesani, Lawyer, PUCL, Mumbai

12. Masooma Ranalvi, IMSD, We Speak Out, Delhi

13. Mohammed Imran, PIO, USA

14. Muniza Khan, IMSD, CJP. Varanasi

15. Najid Hussain, Water Scientist, PIO, USA

16. Naseeruddin Shah, Actor, Mumbai

17.  Nasreen Contractor, Co-convener IMSD, Mumbai

18.  Nasreen Fazelbhoy, IMSD, Mumbai 

19.  Neelima Sharma, Theatre person, Delhi

20.  (Dr) Ram Puniyani, IMSD, Author, Social Activist, Mumbai

21.  Rashida Tapadar, Academic, Activist, Nagaland

22.  Ratna Pathak, Actor, Mumbai

23.  Taizoon Khorakiwala, Businessman, Philanthropist, NRI

24.  Sabah Khan, IMSD, Parcham, Mumbai

25.  Saif Mahmood, IMSD, Supreme Court Lawyer, Delhi

26.  Saleem Saboowala, Activist, Mumbai

27.  Shabnam Hashmi, ANHAD, Delhi

28.  Shafaat Khan, Writer, Mumbai

29.  (Dr) Shahnawaz Alam, Associate Professor, UP

30.  Shama Zaidi, IMSD, Documentary Film Maker, Mumbai

31.  Shamsul Islam, Author, Delhi

32.  Simantini Dhuru, Documentary Film Maker, Mumbai

33.  Sohail Hashmi, SAHMAT, Delhi

34.  Sultan Shahin, Editor-in-chief & Publisher, New Age Islam, Delhi  

35.  Teesta Setalvad, IMSD, CJP, Mumbai

36.  Yash Paranjpe, Activist, Mumbai

37.  Zakia Soman, BMMA, Delhi/Gujarat

38.  Zeenat Shaukatali, IMSD, Islamic Scholar, Wisdom Foundation

 

 

India: The rise of the Christian right in Kerala

The News Minute

‘Chrisanghis’: The rise of the Christian right in Kerala

Though the term Chrisanghi has been around for some time, it became popular in August 2021 after it featured in a speech delivered by a young priest named James Panavelil.

December 09, 2022 - 16:26

Haritha John

 

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/chrisanghis-rise-christian-right-kerala-170777

 

 

India: Rhetoric, Parivar Kinship and Performative Politics in Kerala, 1925–2015 | P K Yasser Arafath (in EPW)

Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 56, Issue No. 2, 09 Jan, 2021

P K Yasser Arafath

Southern Hindutva

Rhetoric, Parivar Kinship and Performative Politics in Kerala, 1925–2015

Even though Hindutva’s modus operandi in Kerala has not been significantly different from other places in India, the strategies it evolved in the state have certain interesting characteristics. In order to comprehend those, the intrinsic connections between the growth of Hindutva and the elements of violence, sexual politics, and the notion of purity need to be analysed. It is important to see how the parivar designed its scheme in Kerala where all three of its declared internal threats— Communist, Muslims and Christians—have powerful shares and decisive presence in every walk of life.

Considering itself as the surrogate family (parivar) of all Hindus, Hindutva has created a decisive presence—physical, emotional, and ideological—in Kerala over the past eight decades. However, mainstream academics have treated the presence of Hindutva either as the effect of an invisible melancholy or an inconsequential anomaly and, as a result, have failed to unearth the intricate web of relations that underlie its political growth. Therefore, this paper tries to open up some important questions about the rise and growth of Hindutva in Kerala by examining some core elements of its political and ideological characteristics. It argues that even though Hindutva’s modus operandi in Kerala has not been significantly different from other places in India, the strategies it evolved in the state have certain interesting characteristics. Therefore, this paper examines, albeit briefly, how the parivar designed its scheme in Kerala where all three of its declared internal threats—Communist, Muslims and Christians—have powerful shares and decisive presence in every walk of life. Thus, the first part of this paper has been conceived within a broad chronological frame, mainly for the reason that the scholarship on Hindutva in Kerala is relatively new and placing its growth in such way is necessary. The second part deals with the intrinsic connection between its growth and the elements of violence, sexual politics, and the notion of purity. It also argues the growth of Hindutva affected three characteristics of the region, namely maitri (harmony), lohyam (friendship) and kooru (loyalty), over a period of time.  [ . . . ]

https://www.epw.in/journal/2021/2/special-articles/southern-hindutva.html

India: Central Govt Plan to rename research institute in Kerala after the RSS ideologue Golwalkar

 https://indianexpress.com/article/india/in-letter-to-centre-kerala-cm-opposes-move-to-name-new-rgcb-campus-after-golwalkar-7093115/

India: RSS and organised political violence in Kerala | Nidheesh J Villatt

The Saffron Siege

Inside the killing fields of Kerala

After the Supreme Court struck down the ban on women entering the Sabarimala temple, the RSS organised massive and violent protests throughout Kerala.  

https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/inside-killing-fields-kerala

India: Controversial RSS-backed candidate contesting from Sabarimala constituency

sabrangindia

Controversial RSS-backed candidate contesting from Sabarimala constituency  

K. Surendran had previously used cow slaughter images to stoke controversy

27, Mar 2019 | Sushmita

RSS-backed Kerala BJP state unit general secretary K. Surendran has bagged the important ticket from the Pathanamthitta district situated in Sabarimala. This constituency is based around the Sabarimala temple. He will be contesting against sitting Congress MP Anto Antony and LDF (CPIM led Left Democratic Front) candidate Veena George.

K. Surendran was earlier booked on charges of conspiracy to commit culpable homicide (Section 308) and use of criminal force to outrage the modesty of a woman (Section 354) of the IPC. These charges were related to a “plot to attack a 52-year-old woman” at Sabarimala on November 6. After the Supreme Court passed an order allowing entry of women of all ages, several women had tried to enter the temple premises. They faced severe backlash from protesters organised by Sangh Pariwar.
K. Surendran spent 20 days in jail before Kerala High Court granted him conditional bail, His bail plea got rejected twice earlier. The conditional bail had prohibited him from entering the Pathanamthitta district situated in Sabarimala, for two months. Apart from this, he was also asked to execute a bond of Rs. 2 lakhs, surrender his passport and ensure that he does not commit similar offences. After being released on bail, he had vowed to “continue to participate in protests against ‘violation of traditions’ at Sabarimala through Namajapa protests and peaceful demonstrations.

CJP is working to monitor the public discourse for hate speech, as part of our broader Hate Watch campaign. You can take action against hate too, by sending us reports of instances of hate using our Hate Hatao app, and donating to support our efforts.

K. Surendran started his political career as a member of the student wing of the BJP, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Paishad (ABVP). In November 2014, he dismissed the ‘Kiss of Love’ protest as a “mere transgender protest.” In October 2015, a photo of Surendran showing him eating beef went viral. Surendran had responded to this controversy, saying that he became vegetarian during the election period. Later, he claimed that he had never had beef in his life. He had also denied the analysis that beef exports had risen by 15.4% in India during first year of BJP rule under Prime Minister Modi. In May 2017, Surendran shared a fake photograph to stir sentiments after a calf was allegedly killed by youth Congress leaders. The photo, shared by thousands, was found to be from Bangladesh. He received widespread criticism over this attempt to manipulate sentiments.
K. Surendran’s candidacy looks like a strategic move of the BJP to sweep votes that have been polarised after the Sabarimala protests. As per reports, the BJP is confident of winning this seat.
K. Surendran has previously held the following positions:

• Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP): Unit Secretary, Zamorin’s Guruvayurappan College
• Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP): Organizing Secretary, Palakkad Nagar (1991–92)
• Bharatiya Janata YuvaMorcha (BJYM): Waynad District President in 1992, State Secretary (1995–98), State
• General Secretary from 1999–2003 and State President from 2003–2009
• BJP State General Secretary from 2009–present
• under director board member of National Yuva Cooperative Society
• Director of North Malabar District Co-Operative Marketing Society1997-2002)
• Advisory Board member, Nehru Yuva Kendra 1999–2004)

This story was first published on SabrangIndia.

India: Kerala on edge as mobs take to streets over women's entry in Sabarimala

Kerala on edge as mobs take to streets over women's entry in ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/67365440.cms

India: Sabarimala's deeply ironic lesson / Now What? After the Betrayal of Women at Sabarimala

1.

The Telegraph

Sabarimala's deeply ironic lesson

With 2019 round the corner, the political parties’ concern is understandable, although not laudable

By The Editorial Board

• Published 22.10.18, 6:50 AM

The sensitiveness of deities remains unknown; it is the sensitiveness of their devotees that is the stuff of politics. It is awkward for a country, any country, in 2018 that women should take to the streets to stop the entry of other women into a temple because it goes against tradition, even though the highest court in the land has lifted the ban and ruled in accordance with the constitutional principle of equality. But such awkwardness is nothing but grist to the election mill for political parties. The Left Democratic Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), being in government in Kerala, was bound to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Sabarimala temple. But why does it give the impression that it was caught unawares by the scale of the protests against the ruling? The ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years into the temple of Ayyappa seems to have been lifted without preparing the ground for change, perhaps without adequate attention or patience. The issue had been hanging fire long enough for it to have been discussed extensively in different fora.
Now the CPI(M)-led government is willing to let the Travancore Devaswom Board that manages the temple to place a review petition, although the TDB seems happy to be part of the other petitions that have been filed. The CPI(M)’s present position is being seen as a climb-down by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, who have been eyeing the state hungrily for a step-in. The Sabarimala protests, by bringing conservative Hindus together, offer fertile soil to the BJP-RSS, although they have denied charges that their leaders organised the protests. The Opposition Congress is in a bit of a fix, and trying frantically to seem coherent. Opposing the LDF — the Congress was never officially in favour of going against tradition in this case — puts it on the same side as the BJP. It is trying to suggest that the BJP’s encouragement of divisiveness will extend from gender to caste, but that sounds distinctly thin. Numerically strong backward classes, however, have not joined the protests. With 2019 round the corner, the political parties’ concern is understandable, although not laudable. Maybe the concern is always electoral, ignoring the need to address regressive patterns in popular thinking through education or cultural exposure. The lesson of Sabarimala is deeply ironic.

2.

kafila.org

Now What? After the Betrayal of Women at Sabarimala

On 22/10/2018 By jdevika

 

At the end of the five-day worship in the month of Tulam, it is clear that women have been betrayed. The right wing which promised not to violently stop women devotees did precisely that ; their leader also hurled vicious insults are transpeople. The dominant left which foamed Ayyankali and Sree Narayana Guru at the mouth ended up reinforcing the ‘good woman’/’bad woman’ division, saying first that only the former would be allowed to proceed, made the term ‘activist’ into a code word for ‘bad woman’, and then finally threw up its hands saying that it was impossible to implement the court order. The government and the CPM had obviously not done enough to make sure that women would indeed enter the shrine. Clearly they are reluctant to touch the savarna moral majority. 
Now that the pain from the blatant insult is beginning to wear off, I am wondering why, after the experience of fighting with Hadiya, we ever thought that the right or left would dare to challenge the moral majority. Let us remember that calling this a BJP-CPM confrontation, or seeing it as a struggle primarily in the field of organized, formal politics, is very superficial. Actually, the struggle is squarely in the field of the social — between the moral majority, at the centre of which are those who have coalesced since long around the savarna ideology at the heart of United Kerala since the 1960s, and the vocal and determined moral minority determined to challenge the stranglehold of the former. This is of course why the savarna moral minority is so ardently supported by the Catholic Church and most Muslim groups (with the exception, please note, of the much-maligned Popular Front!). We also know only too well that the moral majority serves elite community-caste interests and services global capitalism, given Kerala’s peculiar integration into it as a labour-sending society dependent heavily on migration.
I am also wondering why members of this moral majority are lamenting that Malayalis have become ‘culturally backward’ because of the Hindutvavaadi presence here. I wonder if they were deaf all this while to the carefully-researched critiques of the experience of modernisation of Malayali society advanced by feminist historians from the 1980s itself. Again and again, these scholars had sought to show that neither ‘tradition’ nor what came to be identified as modernity allowed gender equality; many times have they demonstrated that women’s voices were muffled, forgotten, or ignored; that the attempts to challenge masculinism in even progressive movements were never encouraged seriously. So by this reckoning we were never ‘forward’ but it appears that the intelligentsia listens to us but does continues to live in denial. If neither the left nor the right have any history of serious action on establishing gender equality on the cultural front, why I wonder were we so hopeful about the CPM? I understand that hope may not be rational, yet?
If the CPM were serious about establishing the equality of women in the Hindu faith, it would have acknowledged the fact that many of its women supporters are indeed believers and they should lead a social revolution. But they too don’t want a social revolution that would upset the balance between men and women anymore. Their support for transpeople and non-binary sexualities comes from their (mis)perception that these are merely additive moves. They don’t want to risk unintended revolutionary consequences any more, and among women for sure. Definitely, the moral majority will produce no revolution and why we were under that illusion, I do not know.
I also wonder why we were dismayed that women did not arrive at Sabarimala in droves. I mean, why did we forget the reams and reams of social research we have produced which clearly show how powerless, how utterly cornered, the average ‘respectable’ woman living in savarna culture-dominated circles is. In Kerala, women get sterilized by around 27, after delivering twice. Once the husband’s genetic pool is reproduced the wife’s body can be shifted from procreative labour into domestic labour. Research shows that few women in the lower middle class and the poorer sections of Malayali society return to studies or skill acquisition after this age; therefore Kudumbashree becomes the default option. Few of these women have stable incomes; few of them are beyond the reach of family, caste, and community authorities. The research on depression and suicidal tendencies among Malayali women of the 15-50 age group is alarming indeed. So how did we expect them to come to Sabarimala? How come we expected them to even have their own understanding of bhakti, when bhakti is completely, totally alien and inimical to the ways in which these women are integrated into the circuits of global capitalist production as producers of labour power to be sold in global markets?
I have been talking with some friends, young women believers who wanted to go, simply because of their intense curiosity about the effect of the pilgrimage … but I instantly realized why we are not seeing a surge of young women wanting to go. In fact, how dumb it is to expect it.  Clearly, not one of these women can risk it, I can see. First of all, they are all young — or middle-aged, and, importantly, with young children/teenagers who are used to their care all day and night. They are dependent on in-laws or parents for substitute care, and most of these senior people are wedded to the savarna complexes that even members of the middle castes hold on to. Secondly, they are mostly unemployed. They have no money to go. Thirdly, those above 40 are caring for senior members of the family. They do not want to upset them; some are worried that if they go, the local Karayogam or its equivalent will not cooperate in the death rituals of these seniors! And finally, for many, agreeing with the utterly violent, misogynistic vomit spewed by their relatives is really, really the only option to get noticed. And of course, the only ones who can go, therefore, are the ‘activists’ who have been thrown out of the category ‘women’ by both the Hindutvavaadis and the Kerala government!
Jocelyn Chua, in her book on suicide in Kerala, says that women ‘accumulate death’ – through random threats, fantasizing etc. and that this is a way they may present themselves as moral subjects and draw attention to themselves. I say, in the silence or the raucous braying of many women who support the nauseating Hindutva violence, we see them ‘accumulating self-erasure’, as yet another way of presenting themselves as moral subjects and gaining some attention, and offering care to other members etc. Both strategies arise from sheer powerlessness of the ‘respectable woman’. I am so glad I am not one.
And also interesting is the complexity of the left version of Kerala’s moral majority. It ranges from the Minister Kadakampally Surendran’s crude Hindutva-laced ire towards ‘activists’ to the sophisticated, neoliberal self represented by the Facebook activist Resmi Nair. The first is of course familiar, but the second is to watch out for. In my reckoning it is more damaging than the anti-feminism of women on the right or left who blindly follow their leaders. Resmi Nair represents a highly mobile subject of neoliberalism who can appear to be everywhere at the same time. Her performance on Facebook calls for close analysis: she draws on the discourse of market-centred liberation centred upon consumable images of female bodies, and on radical left democratic politics simultaneously; she performs the subversion of social restrictions on women but also appears very proximate to the state and the moral majority, endorsing their idea of the ‘dissolute woman’. I have encountered such mobile subjects among women in my fieldwork of women engaging with public welfare in Kerala seeking to simultaneously inhabit state identities but resist confinement in them. But when such a strategy is adopted by privileged women, it seems to me that it reinforces the privilege and further strengthens the moral majority. Resmi Nair, for all her bikini photos, may not upset savarna power even a jot, even if she created some storms in teacups. There are many who would regard such mobility as aesthetic, and the aesthetic as ultimately political, but I do not buy that anymore. In a context in which such mobility is valuable to the capitalist market, the long term subersiveness of such strategies is indeed questionable.
Indeed, the task for feminist researchers now I think, is to focus our critical attention on the moral majority, from Kadakampally Surendran to Resmi Nair.

India: Will Sabarimala rewrite the Kerala secular story? G Pramod Kumar

The Indian Express

Will Sabarimala rewrite the Kerala secular story?

The BJP’s only chance for any upward mobility from its present stagnation in Kerala is by gaining the support of more Hindu votes and the Sabarimala agitation offers a tailor-made opportunity to whip up communal passion.

Written by G Pramod Kumar | Updated: October 19, 2018 6:39:54 pm

X

BJP youth wing protesters during a protest at Nilakkal. (Express Photo by Vignesh) Originally hailed as a historic decision, the recent Supreme Court verdict allowing entry of women of all ages to the famous Sabarimala hill shrine in Kerala is turning out to be the cause of a major crisis for the CPM-led Left Democratic Party (LDF). The socio-political turbulence that the verdict has led to looks as politically significant as the upper class “liberation struggle” against the first Communist government in 1959.
In 1959, the tumult that was spearheaded mainly by the Nairs and the Syrian Christians against educational reforms that the government of the day had proposed, led to the latter’s premature dismissal by the Centre. This time around, the CPM and the LDF have a strategy. They do want to play by the book and appear to be progressive, but not at the cost of losing a political edge. The Opposition – mainly the Congress and the BJP – are trying to retain their Hindu voters and also eat into each others’ support base by siding with the protesters.
Over the last few days, the main stopovers to Sabarimala from where the pilgrims begin their final forest trek to the shrine, and the places en route to the sanctum sanctorum (called “Sannidhanam” in Malayalam), have witnessed unprecedented violent religious protests. There was organised stone pelting and attacks on the police, public property and journalists. The state government and media called out the BJP and the RSS for the attacks. The RSS accused the government of infiltrating their “peaceful” protests to defame them.
Immediately after the Supreme Court announced its judgment on September 28, the Kerala government had announced that it would implement the verdict because it was the new law. The BJP and the Congress opposed it and said that the decision by the Constitutional Bench should be challenged. The two parties had a logically absurd argument: they said that they respected the Supreme Court verdict, but the traditional rituals and the sentiments of the devotees also needed to be respected. While the government was duty-bound to defend the Constitution, the BJP and Congress were bent upon reaping political capital from the issue.
Hydrabad based jounalist Kavitha Jakkal and activist Rehna Fathima step off shabarimala with police protection as they were not allowed to enter sannidhanam. (Express Photo by Vignesh Krishnamoorthy) When some women—reportedly journalists, devotees and activists—tried to reach the shrine on the strength of the Supreme Court verdict on Thursday, they faced violent resistance. Journalists were attacked even at the transit points while devotees and activists had to abandon their plans even when they had the support of armed police and commandos. The closest thing to a flashpoint came on Friday, when two women – one an activist from Kerala in pilgrim’s robes, and the other a journalist from Andhra Pradesh – almost reached the entrance of the shrine. However, they were opposed not just by the devotees, but the priests as well. The priests said that if the women were allowed in they would close down the temple. The police had to finally take the two women back.
The developments over the last few days, and on Friday, give a heads-up of what’s in store because presently the temple will stay open only for five days. The real pilgrimage season will begin in mid-November, when a few million from southern states will visit the temple over two months, and it will be impossible to control the crowds if such situations arise again. If the police was ineffective in dealing with the violence and vigilante behaviour by “devotees”- allegedly activists from the Sangh Parivar and affiliate organisations that included women – for a few days, would it be able to handle the situation when the scale is much bigger and for a much longer period? The forested terrain, near-stampede level crowds, and protesters motivated by religion and political motives could make it a dangerous situation.
In a massive crowd, it would he hard to tell a real pilgrim from a mischief-maker, and even the most sincere and careful intervention to uphold the law could lead to major mishaps. It could also be dangerous for women who try to visit the temple because the thick forests would allow trouble-makers to launch guerrilla-style attacks.
s. The ruling CPM has no choice but to abide by the verdict, but the eyes of the BJP and the Congress are on the possible political capital. Given the situation, the Supreme Court verdict will have practical value only if there is political consensus. The ruling CPM has no choice but to abide by the verdict, but the eyes of the BJP and the Congress are on the potential political capital. Clearly, the verdict is the religious trigger that the BJP has been waiting for to scale up in a state where polarisation of votes on communal lines has been very difficult due to high political literacy.
The Congress, on the other hand, cannot take any risks, because in addition to its traditional vote banks of Muslims and Christians, what keeps it afloat are the upper caste Hindus. The Sabarimala agitation was initiated by the upper caste Hindus, but soon became a pan-Hindu agitation cutting across castes. Hence, the Congress had no choice but to be on the protesters’ side, although the BJP rode it with all its resources. In the end, it was the Congress and the BJP on the side against the Constitution while the CPM, righteously stood alone in upholding it.
The political calculations are simple. The BJP’s only chance for any upward mobility from its present stagnant position is by gaining the support of more Hindu votes. The Sabarimala agitation offers a tailor-made opportunity to whip up communal passions. The Congress cannot afford any further erosion of their existing Hindu support base, and would also want to retrieve part of their recent loss of votes to the BJP. Besides splitting the BJP votes and winning back some voters, they also hope to wean away some of the Hindu votes of the CPM by being on the side of the agitators. The CPM’s major bloc of Hindu supporters are the Ezhavas (majority Hindus in the state), who constitute about 27 per cent of the population.
In simple terms, the BJP hopes get more Hindu votes from both the Congress and the CPM, while the Congress hopes to get back what it has already lost to the BJP and wean away Hindu votes from both the BJP and the CPM. Therefore essentially, the Congress and the BJP are playing the same politics while the CPM is sticking its neck out by taking a principled stand, possibly by betting on the secular mindset of the Malayalees. They also hope that such a neutral non-Hindu position will help wean some minority votes from the Congress camp.
Devotees at the Sabarimala shrine. (Express photo by Vishnu Varma) One has to wait till 2019 to see who wins this strategic battle. Despite all the efforts being made, what will most probably keep the BJP out will be Kerala’s unique demography. The state has only about 55 per cent Hindus and to an gain electoral majority from them is impossible because the historic division of their political patronage has been between the Left parties and the Congress-led front. Gaining more than 15 per cent (the BJP’s vote share) of the Hindu votes will be a very difficult task, except in a handful of pockets. So, the battle will be between the Congress and the CPM. The CPM hopes that the communal polarisation caused by the issue will lead to a split of its opposition votes between the Congress and BJP, with the latter weaning more votes than in the past from the former. The Congress hopes that by being a proxy-BJP on the issue, it would gain both the BJP votes as well as soft-Hindu – or rather Ezhava – votes from the CPM.
Probably after watching how things panned out over the last few days, the government on Friday recalibrated its position by announcing that it would support only genuine pilgrims, and not activists. It also said that the shrine was meant for devotees and their beliefs, and not for activists to prove their strength. However, the biggest challenge will begin in mid-November if some women try to gain entry. Going by the decision on Friday, the government and the CPM are most likely to temper their stand with the lessons learned since the Supreme Court verdict, while the BJP will try its best not to lose the communal momentum it has gained. And the poor Congress, unfortunately, has no other choice but to imitate the BJP, because that’s what its expedience has landed itself in.

India: In Sabarimala violence, a flashback to the RSS 1982 agitation to stop a church from being built

religious matters

In Sabarimala violence, a flashback to the RSS 1982 agitation to stop a church from being built

That movement had helped the Sangh grow in Kerala. The BJP now hopes to gain politically from the current protests.

scroll.in, Oct 18, 2018

TA Ameerudheen 

 

https://scroll.in/article/898672/in-sabarimala-violence-a-flashback-to-the-rss-1982-agitation-to-stop-a-church-from-being-built 

India: “Love Jihad” part of Rightwing propaganda to create panic - NIA investigation in Kerala

Hindustan Times

NIA ends Kerala probe, says there’s love but no jihad

AN NIA official said the Constitution of India had provided freedom to practice and promote religion in a peaceful manner to all citizens as a fundamental right.

india Updated: Oct 18, 2018 07:56 IST

Rajesh Ahuja
Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Hadiya (in red) converted to Islam and married Shafin Jahan, but her marriage was annulled by the Kerala high court on the basis of a petition filed by her father; the Supreme Court set aside the high court order.(HT File Photo)

 The National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) “examination” of interfaith marriages in Kerala has not unearthed any evidence of coercion that can result in prosecution in these cases, officials familiar with the matter said. One of them added that while there may have been efforts to facilitate the conversion of either the man or the woman involved, there was no evidence of a larger criminal design.
“The NIA is not supposed to file any further report in this regard in the Supreme Court. As far as the NIA is concerned, the matter stands closed as the agency has not found any evidence to suggest that in any of these cases either the man or the woman was coerced to convert,” said a senior agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The agency picked 11 cases of interfaith marriages in Kerala for examination as part of its probe into so-called cases of “love jihad” at the instance of the Supreme Court.
These 11 cases were picked up from a list of 89 interfaith marriages that were already before law enforcement authorities (usually because of complaints by parents) and which were referred to the federal anti-terrorism agency by the Kerala police.
The investigation happened in the context of the celebrated Hadiya case.
Hadiya converted to Islam and married Shafin Jahan, but her marriage was annulled by the Kerala high court on the basis of a petition filed by her father; the Supreme Court set aside the high court order.
“At least one among the 11 marriages under examination was purely a matter of relationship gone sour. In most of the other cases we found that a similar set of people and organisations associated with Popular Front of India (PFI) were involved in helping either the man or the woman involved in a relationship to convert to Islam, but we didn’t find any prosecutable evidence to bring formal charges against these persons under any of the scheduled offences of the NIA, like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” added the official.
The official said the Constitution of India had provided freedom to practice and promote religion in a peaceful manner to all citizens as a fundamental right. “Conversion is not a crime in Kerala and also helping these men and women convert is also within the ambit of the Constitution of the country.”
PFI’s legal advisor KP Muhammer Shareef labelled the concept of love jihad a “sinister design cooked up by right wing forces” to “target the Muslim community at large” and claimed the effort was aimed at portraying the Front and (its political arm), the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), as conduit pipes for love jihad.
“Umpteen investigations and enquiries conducted by various agencies have now found the allegation of love jihad is obnoxious, fictitious and without any scintilla of evidence,” said Shareef.
Still, the results of this investigation should not be construed as a “clean chit” for PFI, the NIA official said.
“There are separate criminal cases of serious charges of murder going on against the alleged cadres of PFI. Those matters are being dealt (with) separately.”
Among the 11 cases examined by the NIA, there were at least four cases of interfaith marriages where Hindu men embraced Islam or where efforts were made to convert them to Islam. In the rest of the cases examined by NIA, Hindu women married Muslim men.
“The NIA probe found that in at least three cases, efforts at conversion failed,” said a second NIA official who asked not to be named.

Ezhava outfit in Kerala denounces RSS plans for Sabarimala stir

religious matters

‘It is an upper-caste protest’: Ezhava outfit in Kerala denounces RSS plans for Sabarimala stir

Community leader’s refusal to join protest could upset Sangh’s bid to cash in on dissatisfaction over Supreme Court order allowing women to enter the shrine.

 by TA Ameerudheen

https://scroll.in/article/897631/it-is-an-upper-caste-protest-ezhava-outfit-in-kerala-denounces-rss-plans-for-sabarimala-stir

India: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh criticises the Kerala government for rushing to implement the Supreme Court verdict on entry of women into Sabarimala temple

Hindustan Times

Kerala ignored sentiments while implementing Sabarimala verdict, says RSS

The RSS also called upon all the stakeholders including spiritual and community leaders to come together to analyse and address the issue availing judicial options also.

Updated: Oct 03, 2018 20:24 IST

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh appeared to criticise the Kerala government for rushing to implement the Supreme Court verdict on entry of women into Sabarimala temple, underscoring that the sentiments of devotees cannot be ignored while considering the verdict.(PTI)

 The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Wednesday appeared to criticise the Kerala government for rushing to implement the Supreme Court verdict on entry of women into Sabarimala temple, underscoring that the sentiments of devotees cannot be ignored while considering the verdict.
In a statement, the RSS also called upon all the stakeholders including spiritual and community leaders to come together to analyse and address the issue availing judicial options also.
“They must convey their concerns on their right to worship in a manner which best suits their faith and devotion, to the authorities in a peaceful manner,” the statement by RSS general secretary, Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi, said.
The statement comes just a day after the Kerala BJP called for a meeting at Kochi on Monday next to firm up strategy and floated the demand for filing a review petition in the Supreme Court. The BJP unit also asked the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to bring in an ordinance to reverse the impact of the top court’s verdict.
The Supreme Court had opened the doors of Sabarimala to women of all ages in a 4-1 judgment on Friday, annulling the centuries-old tradition of the temple to deny the right of worship to women aged between 10 and 50 years.
The RSS said while everyone respects the different temple traditions followed by devotees in India, “we have to also honour the Honourable Supreme Court”.
In this case, however, it underlined that it is an issue of a local temple tradition and faith to which sentiments of millions of devotees, including women, are attached. “These sentiments of the devotees cannot be ignored while considering the judgement,” the court said.
“Unfortunately, the Kerala Government has taken steps to implement the judgement with immediate effect without taking the sentiments of the devotees into consideration. There is an obvious reaction to the same by the devotees, especially women, who are protesting against the forceful breaking of the tradition,” the RSS statement said.
Hours earlier, the Kerala chief minister had described calls for protests against the verdict as a “serious” matter and stressed that his government had to abide by the verdict of the Supreme Court.
“It is the responsibility of the government to implement the court order without any compromise. We will ensure to make necessary arrangements for the women devotees in the upcoming season itself,” Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Wednesday’s statement from the RSS is seen to be in sharp contrast to the Sangh’s earlier stated position of backing women’s equality.
In 2016, after the annual meeting of the Sangh’s highest decision making body, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the Joshi had said: “…Because of some unfair traditions, at certain places there has been a lack of consensus on the question of temple entry. Such sensitive issues should be resolved through discussion and dialogue and not through agitations.”
“Women go to thousands of temple across the country but in reference to some, where their entry is an issue; there is a need to change the mentality. Management of such temples should also understand this,” he had said.
Is the RSS’s fresh statement is an indication that the Sangh is hedging its bets?
J Nandakumar, a senior RSS functionary and national convenor of Prajna Pravah said the Hindu faith does not believe in gender discrimination, but the issue has upset the devotees.
“The judgment should have considered the sentiments of the devotees. While Hinduism is not monolithic, each temple has its own traditions on account of social and historical reasons. Therefore, there cannot be a blanket judgment. It is the right of devotees to come up with a solution,” he said.
Historian Mridula Mukherjee said the issue of women being discriminated against has been dealt with by the court and their decision should be respected. “We need to respect the SC judgment because the court has gone into all the aspects of the issue to do away with discrimination against women,” she said.

Malayalam author withdraws novel following threats from right-wing outfits

The Hindu

Kerala

Malayalam author withdraws novel following threats from right-wing outfits

C. Gouridasan Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 21, 2018 17:31 IST

S Hareesh.   | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons 
 

Award-winning Malayalam short story writer S. Hareesh has withdrawn his novel Meesha (Moustache), which was being serialised in the Mathrubhumi Weekly, following threats from Sangh Parviar outfits.
The novel, about life in Kerala half-a-century ago, had raised the hackles of Sangh Parivar activists, who found portions of a dialogue between two characters in the novel objectionable.  On Friday, a group of BJP-Hindu Aikya Vedi activists vandalised an exhibition of books spirituality organised by Mathrubhumi Books at Thripunithura in Kochi protesting against the novel.
Mr. Hareesh, a clerk at the Village Office at Neendoor in Kottayam, was not immediately available for comment, but his writer-friends told The Hindu that he was under severe stress following threats to his family members.
"S. hareesh withdraws his novel 'meesha', literature is being mob lynched, darkest day in kerala's cultural history, lightless days to follow", Mathrubhumi Weekly editor Kamalram Sajeev tweeted shortly after Mr. Hareesh announced his decision to withdraw his novel.

Kerala youths were drawn into violent protests over the Kathua case by anonymous WhatsApp calls

Kerala’s WhatsApp hartal

BY N. P. CHEKKUTTY| IN Regional Media | 25/04/2018

http://thehoot.org/media-watch/regional-media/keralas-whatsapp-hartal-10610

Kerala youths were drawn into violent protests over the Kathua case by anonymous WhatsApp calls made by shadowy forces with ulterior motives

N. P. CHEKKUTTY reports

The Week

 

The Kerala police are now investigating an unusual incident of a public hartal [shutdown strike] called by unnamed forces, that triggered huge violence in many parts of the state a few days ago over the rape and murder of the eight year girl from the Bakharwal community in Jammu. The hartal took place on April 16, Monday, immediately after the auspicious occasion of Vishu, the Hindu new year’s day, April 14.
Hartals are quite common here [in Kerala].  The latest count suggests that more than 200 hartals have taken place in recent years. They are generally organised by political parties, communal organisations, professional and trade bodies, and other groups. On such occasions, people normally keep indoors to avoid moving around. Outbreaks of violence are stray and generally kept under control by the authorities.
But the April 16 hartal was unusual: it was planned and executed by a few individuals using WhatsApp and it caused a serious eruption of violence and damage to public and private property. It also provoked a clamp down of prohibitory orders for a few days by the police in a number of towns and cities in the northern parts of Kerala, such as the municipal towns of Tanur, Tirur and Parappanangadi in Malappuram district and the city of Calicut in Kozhikode district.
Violence was reported from almost all the northern districts and, according to local media reports, more than 2,000 cases have been registered by the police and around 1,000 youngsters rounded up and put in jails in districts like Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur. 
The incidents are unusual in many ways and call for a serious study of the impact of social media platforms in a communally volatile region like Malabar where a major flare-up of violence  erupted. The police have now established a pattern to the incidents of violence and it appears they were engineered with a view to triggering a communal conflagration in a state known for good relations among Hindus and minority Muslims and Christians.

"It was not surprising that the mischief-mongers could play havoc in the brief intermission of 48 hours when the daily newspapers were away from the scene"

 

The second aspect that emerges from the way things played out is the significance of traditional mainstream newspapers in upholding and maintaining the values of social unity, based on the principles of secularism and communal peace.  It was not surprising that the mischief-mongers could play havoc in the brief intermission of 48 hours when the daily newspapers were away from the scene.
A third aspect is the failure of the visual media, despite the presence of more than half a dozen news outlets (focused largely on sensation and trivia) in identifying the rumblings in the aftermath of the sensitive developments over the Kathua crime at the national level earlier in the week and countering the communal propaganda on social media in order to protect people from scandal mongers and their divisive tactics.
April 14th being Vishu holiday, no morning newspaper printed in Kerala had come out the next day and hence there were no reports on the plans already afoot for the next day’s hartal. The police intelligence department and the round-the-clock news channels in the region also failed to take note of it on Sunday.
In fact on Monday, the day started rather normal despite rumours of violence in some places, but soon unruly crowds took over the streets, stoning shops and buses and in a short while it was a complete shut-down in many northern towns. It was only then the police swung into action, chasing away the trouble-makers and persuading shoppers and bus operators to remain in business, that calm returned.
The WhatsApp messages came from a few groups such as Justice for Sisters and Voice of Youth, purportedly demanding justice for the Kathua vicitm. Originally, the social media group set up on April 14 was named after the Bakharwal Muslim girl, but was changed later when the Delhi High Court’s notice to some news organisations against naming the victim became known.
The messages called for a hartal in protest and once the public response became prolific, separate groups were set up for various districts, managed by a team of super admins who issued instructions as voice messages. The police have found a series of voice messages that called for a second round of violence all over the state, issued after the hartal on April 16 evoked a response mainly in the northern Malabar districts.
The voice messages called for direct attacks against the police and seem to have been intent upon a serious breakdown of law and order as well as damage to amiable social relations among the various communities.
It is still not clear what really prompted the five young men now under arrest to set up the social media groups and call for a hartal and violence. Was it just a prank or a deliberate attempt on the part of some evil forces to divide people and foment violence?
An answer might be available only after the inquiries are over. It is officially acknowledged that of the five youths under arrest, the leader, Amarnath Baiju, 21, of Kollam district, has been associated with the RSS until a few months ago, while the others, all from Thiruvananthapuram district, were also linked to various Sangh Parivar outfits. But so far there is no evidence that this was part of a larger conspiracy, as is being alleged by certain sections in the media.
Hence, the real question is how far social media platforms are in a position to dictate public affairs in a state like Kerala, known for its high levels of political activity, deep penetration of mainstream media including the highly influential morning newspapers, and a vigilant civil society alert to the need to raise its voice against the forces of bigotry and violence.

"The leader, Amarnath Baiju, 21, of Kollam district, has been associated with the RSS until a few months ago, while the others, all from Thiruvananthapuram district, were also linked to various Sangh Parivar outfits"

 

Looking at the political affiliations of the hundreds of people arrested, it is clear they belonged to various political parties. Most of them are Muslim youths, affiliated to, among others, the Muslim League, the CPM, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the Congress party, etc. Some are with no known political affiliations.
It is likely that they came out into the streets genuinely infuriated by the terrible violence perpetrated on the little girl. Going by the pattern of violence that copied the style of street protests in West Asia, such as tyre bonfires, they seem to have been influenced by the political protests based on identity/ethnic politics.
Asked about the irony of Muslim youths being drawn into the streets by anonymous calls made by shadowy forces with ulterior motives, a Muslim community leader said the media images of the Kathua violence evidently had a deep and emotional impact on the youngsters who had taken it not only as a rape of a child, but as a deliberate assault on a community.
This incident shows the extreme levels of social disturbances the social media can play in societies with complex communal patterns. Recently, a New York Times report (Where Countries Are Tinderboxes and Facebook a Match, NYT, April 21, 2018) on the havoc played by Facebook in South Asian countries had referred to instances of communal riots and attacks on minorities in countries like Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
The report pointed out that in countries where institutions are weak or undeveloped and where there is a history of communal tensions, such societies are especially vulnerable. The authors pointed out that social media posts that tap into primal emotions like anger or fear seem to produce the highest engagement with social networks where such content proliferates.
Kerala, however, cannot be dubbed a place with weak institutions or a fragile history of communal peace. It has a strong history of social cohesion, a vibrant civil society, a vigilant media and a strong political establishment. And yet a few youngsters with a smart phone were able to play havoc with its social fabric.
This calls for serious introspection by society and for appropriate action to strengthen a responsible approach to the dissemination of ideas and information on the part of the mass media.

 

 

N P Chekkutty is  a senior journalist and political commentator based in Calicut.

India: Full Text of statement Condemning Violence Unleashed by the Police and the RSS Outfits Against Dalits in Vadayampady, Kerala

We the undersigned express our grave concern over the brutal violence unleashed by the State Police and the RSS outfits against the Dalits in Vadayampady in Kerala. Dalits in Vadayampady are protesting over a year now against the ‘Caste Wall’ built by the upper caste blocking Dalits from entering into the common space/playground used by the public for decades. The peaceful protest by Dalits against the wall of exclusion is met with brutal attacks by the police force of the state commanded by CPI-M led left government, as well as by the upper caste in the locality led by the RSS. It is indeed shocking that the police manhandled and arrested those who went to Vadayampady in solidarity, and also to participate in Dalit Self Respect Convention, including well-known activists and writers such as K.K. Kochu, K M Salim Kumar, C S Murali, Mrudula Devi Saidharan, Dr. Dhanya Madhav, Dr. P G Hari, KK Baburaj, and Gomathi Augustine of Pembillai Orumai.

Ironically, the police acted as spectators when the RSS attacked the Dalit protesters. The violence in Vadayampady is one among the several recent instances of the police brutality and connivance in the RSS led onslaught against Dalit protestors and media reporters in the state. It is alarming that even the state police forces commanded by a left government is colluding with the right wing religious extremists to protect the interest of the upper caste, their illegal claims and acts of social segregation. This and the subsequent inaction by the law enforcing agencies had enabled a vacuum in law and order leading to physical and verbal assault against poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar by the RSS outfits on his way back to his home after declaring his solidarity with the Dalit protesters. We strongly condemn the attack on Kureepuzha Sreekumar.

We are also concerned about the cold response of the government and the left parties who attempt to side-line the police violence as a ‘minor issue’. CPI-M and other left parties in the government are supposed to be part of the progressive forces of the country. But it is felt that the Dalit-Adivasi agitators are often portrayed by even the dominant left as Maoists/anarchists/terrorists in their attempt to strategically delegitimise the Dalit-Adivasi Struggles. We are afraid that this would result in the weakening of fight against various social injustices  while increasing the attack on the marginalised groups in the country. The current Dalit struggle in Vadayampady which has been ongoing for more than a year has roots in how Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalized groups in Kerala have been discriminated against accessing public places, and deprived of land and resources by both left and right wing governments.  We feel strongly than ever now that the situation of state forces colluding with right wing religious forces unleashing violence against Dalit protesters in Kerala is equally alarming that of the cases of from elsewhere from the country and needs to be resisted. We call forth all the progressive forces in the country and beyond to contempt and challenge the increasing violence against the Dalits and urge those agencies whose mandate to uphold the values and rights promised in the constitution to take steps to bring the culprits before the law in a befitting manner.

Signatories:

1. Ruth Manorama, National Convenor, National Federation of Dalit Women, Delhi

2. Anand Teltumbde, Writer, political analyst and civil rights activist with CPDR, Maharashtra

3. Gajendran Ayyathurai, Postdoctoral Fellow and Study Advisor, Centre for Modern Asian Studies, University of Gottingen, Germany

4. Sharika Thiranagama, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, United States

5. Virginius Xaxa, Professor of Eminence, Tezpur University, Assam

6. M. Kunhaman, Professor, TISS, Mumbai

7. Rupa Viswanath, Professor, Centre for Modern Asian Studies, University of Gottingen, Germany

8. A.K. Ramakrishnan, Professor, School of International Studies, JNU, Delhi

9. K. Satyanarayana, Professor, EFLU, Hyderabad

10. Sanal Mohan, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences and Hon. Director, IUCSSRE MG University, Kerala

11. Asha Kowtal, General Secretary, Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch

12. M. Amruth, Historian and Sociologist, KFRI, Thrissur, Kerala

13. T.M. Yesudasan, Retired Professor and Writer, Kerala

14. K.S. Madhavan, Writer, Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Calicut

15. Cynthia Stephen, Writer and Researcher

16. Sylvia Karpagam,  Public health doctor and researcher.

17. Ravichandran Bhathran, Founder of Dalit Camera

18. Karthik Navayan Batulla, Writer, Human Rights Activist

19. Irfan Engineer, Director of CSSS, Mumbai

20. Sruthi Herbert, SOAS, University of London, United Kingdom

21. M.B. Manoj, Assistant Professor, Department of Malayalam,  University of Calicut

22. Vikramaditya Thakur, Assistant Professor, University of Delaware, United States

23. Rekha Raj, Programme Manager-Women Rights, Amnesty International, Bengaluru

24. Rajesh Komath, Assistant Professor, School of Social Science, MG University, Kottayam

25. Parthasarathi Muthukaruppan, Assistant Professor, EFLU, Hyderabad

26. Sumeet Mhaskar, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Student Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University , Delhi.

27. Abhilash Thadathil, Assistant Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram

28. Mythri Prasad-Aleyamma, Associate Fellow, Institute of Human Development, New Delhi

29. Anish Vanaik, Assistant Professor, O.P. Jindal Global University, Delhi

30. Varsha Ayyar, Assistant Professor, Centre for Labour Studies, TISS, Mumbai

31. T.V. Sajeev, Scientist, KFRI, Thrissur

32. Brahmaputhran, Daya Hospital, Thrissur

33. Prashanth Bansode, Associate Professor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune

34. Satheesh Kumar, Assistant Professor, History, University College, Thiruvananthapuram

35. M.V. Bijulal, School of International Relations and Politics, MG University, Kottayam

36. N. Gopakumaran Nair, HoD, History, University College, Thiruvananthapuram

37. K.M. Sheeba, Associate Professor, Department of History, Sree Sankaracharya University, Kalady, Kerala

38. Dickens Leonard M,  Guest faculty, Univ. of Hyderabad.

39. Mythri P.U., School of Distance Education, University of Calicut

40. Manju E.P. PhD Research Scholar, Univ. of Hyderabad

41. Sanjay Kumar Paswan, Independent research consultant for social sector agencies, Patna

42. R. Manohar, Regional Coordinator, Human Rights Defenders Alert India

43. Dr K. Babu Rao, Human Rights Forum, Hyderabad

44. Sukla Sen, Peace Activist, Mumbai

45. Subhash Gatade, New Socialist Initiative

46. Siddharth, Independent Researcher, Bengaluru

47. Jayaseelan Raj, Assistant Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

48. Maya K.S, Writer, PhD Research Scholar, Christ College, University of Calicut, Kerala

49. Prameela, Assistant Professor, Sanskrit Sahitya, Sree Sankaracharya University, Kerala

50. Jentle Varghese, Guest Lecturer, Government College, Kottayam, Kerala

51. Chandran Komath, Assistant Professor, Government College, Kottayam, Kerala