Activists, civil society turn up to protest against 'inaction' in Haridwar hate event

New Delhi: Civil society organisations and several prominent Delhi-based activists along with dozens of citizens on Monday here held a peaceful protest outside the Uttarakhand Bhawan in Chanakyapuri — demanding that the organisers of the "hate speech event" in Haridwar be booked and arrested for spreading communal tensions.

Even as the Delhi Police kept up with constant reminders on loudhailers that Section 144 of the CrPC had been put in place and that their protest had not been sanctioned, the protesters chanted slogans asking both the Centre and State government to take appropriate legal action in the matter.

While the protest march was led chiefly by the All India Student Association, which was joined by many student leaders such as Kanwalpreet Kaur and even Asif Iqbal Tanha, other rights activists such as Shabnam Hashmi of Anhad, Anjali Bharadwaj and Professor Apoorvanand were also at the protest.

Shabnam told Millennium Post that while "fascist forces" have been creeping in, such blatant calls for state-sponsored violence against minorities are new, referring to the Haridwar Mahasabha, over which a couple of people have now been booked. Even though she said that "nothing surprises me anymore", she added, "What is more shocking is the silence from political parties. We expected these parties and the judiciary to take some suo motu action."

And among the protesters were also many citizens like Naeem Ahmed, a businessman who said he was there because he wanted to be on the right side of history. Calling the event a "hate concalve", Naeem said the people who organised the event should be booked for terrorism. He added that such events are now also happening in Delhi, referring to the December 19 event here held by the Hindu Yuva Vahini.

While the protesters were blocked by the police from getting close to the Uttarakhand Bhawan building, they picketed near the barricades for an hour or so before dispersing. There were around 80-100 people at the protest.

When asked what the long-term consequence of the state giving a free hand to rogue non-state actors is, Professor Apoorvananad said that the distinction between state and non-state actors is blurring with every day of complicity. And even as the State refuses to respond to national outrage and regular protests, the DU professor said that the purpose of resisting such events now is to somehow get the judiciary to act.

Interestingly, some members of the All India Kisan Mahasabha were also at the protest. General Secretary Purshottam Sharma said that the administration always seems to encourage such non-state actors before elections to reap their benefits.

Significantly, Shabnam and Bharadwaj said that they have also intimated the Ghaziabad DM office about another such event scheduled in Dasna for January first week. Asking the administration to act preemptively, the signatories have written to the DM for their intervention.