Advani, his book, and Christians in India

15 April 2008

Advani went to a Catholic school and a RSS `Shakha`, but practices only what he learnt in the RSS

John Dayal’s micro review of “My Country. My life”, the autobiography by Lal Krishan Advani, the man aspiring to be the next Prime Minister of India

Just about every class and group has panned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh- Bharatiya Janata Party’s Prime ministerial aspirant, Mr. Lal Krishan Advani’s book “My country, my life” for its shallow, and error-filled, documentation of contemporary Indian history.

He may have gone to a Catholic School in his hometown Karachi, now in Pakistan, before joining a `Shakha’ or branch of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the hyper nationalistic Hindu volunteer corps. Those of us who have followed the last forty of Mr. Advani’s sixty years in political life in India, know he remembers only what he leant in the saffron brotherhood of the RSS.

Mr. Advani’s commentary on Dalit issues and Christian persecution amply proves that though he desperately wants to come across as a cosmopolitan and pan-national leader on the pattern of Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, he firmly retains the chauvinistic and communal mindset of the Sangh Parivar

Mr. Advani follows Hindutva's efforts to appropriate Dr. Ambedkar. He quotes the author of `Riddles of Hinduism’ to say Dr. Ambedkar didn't convert to Islam or Christianity because it "meant going away from the cultural soil of India.” But he fails to mention that Ambedkar, who chaired the framing of the Indian Constitution, also famously said “I was born I Hindu, but I will not die as one”, as he converted, with hundreds of thousands of other Dalits, to neo Buddhism.

Mr. Advani finishes his discourse on the Christian situation in India in just about 1,000 words in the 986-page tome, trying very hard to distance himself and his party from the anti Christian violence, which he attributes entirely to `conversions.’

The All India Christian Council, the All India Catholic Union, and the Christian Lawyers Association, among others, have been documenting an average of at least 250 verified and authenticated incidents of anti Christian violence. The violence peaked in 1998-99 Christmas season, beginning with the destruction of three dozen village churches in the Dangs forest district of Gujarat by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. The gruesome finale was the brining alive in Orissa forests of Australian mission worker Graham Stuart Staines and his young sons Philip and Timothy in January 1999.

The man behind the Gujarat violence as one Swami Aseemanand, the local head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad who had set up a camp in the same forest areas. In Orissa, a similar camp was set up by one Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, also of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Lakshmananda led anti Christian violence through the late 1980 and 1990s [so recorded by the Orissa police], and is the man behind the Christmas violence in the Kandhamal district where in three short days, over 100 churches were destroyed, scores of shops, and other Christian establishments and hundreds of homes burnt, with at least 5,000 men, women and children displaced and living in ill-equipped government refugee camps.

Advani refuses to acknowledge any of it. He cannot of course ignore the murders of the Staines family which brought the world Media to India and which former President K R Narayanan described as a blot on Indian civilization. But Advani distances the Sangh from the murders. He notes that the killer Dara Singh is serving a life term for the murder. He pillories his pet targets, liberals and intellectuals, for pointing to a Sangh hand in the Christian persecution.” I was therefore constrained to affirm in parliament that I know these organisations [RSS] and there are no criminals.’ Advani feigns anguish noting that his statement was used across the world to make it seem “I defended the killers of Staines,’ and says neither the Central Bureau of Investigation nor Supreme Court Judge D P Wadhva mentioned a link between Dara Singh and the Sangh. That was the entire point of the massive critique of the Wadhwa report, now known for its rhetoric against conversions as much as for giving Dara Sigh a clean political chit though confirming his hand in the murders. Three charred bodies in a burnt out jeep was all too clinching evidence.

But even then, Advani does not fail to apportion blame to Staines, almost making it seem the Australian invited his own death by maligning Hinduism.

Advani also affirms, as did Savarkar and `Guru’ Golwalkar before him, that Christianity alienates the Tribals from their culture, which he presumes to be Hindu culture. Mr. Advani perhaps has never been to Kandhamal and the other regions where the people can hardly be distinguished from each other, unless on were to see them for the hour they spent on Sundays at church. Tribal and Dalits, for the most on the verge of starvation, hardly have time for the polemics of the Sangh Parivar, the few thugs that the likes of Lakshmananda can muster for their murderous expeditions have to be first dosed with large quantities of liquor, as we have found in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa in various fact finding tours after incidents of Christian persecution.

Advani repeatedly comes back to his concept of nation and religion, even quoting Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, whose killer Nathuram Godse was such a loyal member of the RSS just at the time Mr. Advani was himself rapidly rising in the ranks of the Sangh as a Pracharak, a teacher-activist. After a particularly sharp jab at Christian evangelizing among tribals, Advani does not say “Nor can Hindu organisations be blames for protesting against this gross abuse of freedom of faith and demanding legislation against conversion by fraud or inducement.”

Advani, like RSS chief Kuppahalli Sudershan, is looking for toadies in the Christian church in the Sangh call for a `national’ or `Indian’ church, a trap in which many a sober Bishop has fallen in recent years, specially in Kerala, and once in Andhra. Advani gleefully quotes this man from Andhra, the late Archbishop Arulappa of the Hyderabad Catholic Archdiocese. Advani says Arulappa told him once “I totally endorse your concept of cultural nationalism. By birth I am an Indian, by culture a Hindu and by faith, I am a Christian.” Advani does not record that the same Arulappa also announced that no Dalit was fit enough to adorn the chair of an Archbishop. This when the Pope named M Joji to succeed Arulappa as the Archbishop of Hyderabad. Arulappa ended his days in disgrace after global repugnance at his statement.

After his visit to the Dangs after the violence of Christmas 1998, the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee controversially called for a national debate on conversions. Mr. Advani does not even bother to make a personal visit to see the Sangh violence.

INDIA’S RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW OF INDIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD BY THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM

INDIA’S RELIGIOUS MINORITIES AND THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW OF INDIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD BY THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM

Urgent communiqué from Dr John Dayal, All India Catholic Union, All India Christian Council and the United Christian Forum, New Delhi

January 28, 2008-01-29
Dear Friends

I am sending you a crucial segment of the note that the Indian National Human Rights Commission is reportedly preparing for the Universal Periodic Review of India – and some other countries -- by the United Nations Human Rights Council in April this year.

As far as religious minorities and Dalits go, the record of the NHRC is arguably at par with that of the various National Commissions for Minorities, Scheduled castes and Tribes [the last two were once a single entity and are now split into two]. These organisations have seldom been able to function other than as loyal entities of the Government of the day and its political agenda when it comes to Muslims and Christians, though their record on more general – and larger -- issues such as Police reforms, Torture, Hunger and Poverty is better. This was seen at its most raw when the Bharatiya Janata Party was ruling in the garb of the National Democratic Alliance, and which is still so very visible in State governments ruled by the BJP or its allies, and occasionally even by those where the Congress and others are in power. Without disparaging Indian civilisation traditions, the same passiveness or comparative unconcern, of course, could also be said of the justice delivery system, the criminal investigation system and of police and civil governance in general.

I am sending this material, which I understand is still in a draft form, so that concerned activists, who would otherwise not have access to the NHRC position, can mobilise themselves to persuade the Commission to take stock of issues of religious persecution, official and political bigotry and connivance, government harassment in cases of visas, FCRA, Hindutva violence and probity of the bureaucracy and political administration, as well as matters of impunity. Our experience in Orissa in December 2007-January 2008, and in other states earlier, shows us just how wide the gap is between ground reality and public positioning.

I hope you will be able to express your views on the actual grass roots non-implementation of enacted legislation and rules, as well as the perversion of other official regulations, to the NHRC as well as to the National Commissions for Minorities, Tribals and Scheduled Castes.. I need hardly point out that the Government and the Commissions have sent Muslim and Christian Dalits first into a merry go round of hope and then into a blind alley sealed by a Supreme Court ceiling of 50 per cent on all reservations in government employment and education systems. Most of us cannot fathom just why everyone believes this arbitrary ceiling is sacrosanct, and the deprivation of minority groups is not. Even between minorities, issues of the Christian community, including economic and political disempowerment, find little or no space.

I also understand that the voices of organisations on Freedom of faith and of those challenging persecution do not really find a commensurate place in this discourse towards the Universal Public Review of India’s record.

God bless

John Dayal

Quotation from the NHRC paper for UPR

“Persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribals:

Persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have suffered historical injustices, and are hurting because of discrimination and inequality. They continue to face alleged acts of discrimination, untouchability, violence against the human person, atrocities of various kinds, and high-handedness by public servants and others. Caste-based discrimination constitutes an unacceptable assault on the dignity and worth of the human person and an egregious violation of human rights.

It was in recognition of this - and to end such injustice - that Part III of the Constitution of our Republic dealing with Fundamental Rights, contained powerful provisions to combat all forms of discrimination, notably those forms which were based on caste. These provisions of the Constitution, which are justiciable, include inter alia, equality before the law or the equal protection of laws, non discrimination against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward class of citizens as well as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, affirmative action through the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services of the State and abolition of “Untouchability”.

To give clear expression to Constitutional provisions, an impressive range of legislative measures have been enacted to end discrimination against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. These inter alia include the Protection of Civil Rights (Anti-Untouchability) Act, 1955, the Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act, 1976, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and various land reform acts. In accordance with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995, the Nodal Officers and Special Cells for Protection of Civil Rights have been appointed in many States/Union Territories. Political representation was guaranteed for Scheduled Castes and Tribes through the proportionate reservation of seats in elected legislative bodies, from Parliament to village councils. To overcome the cumulative results of past discrimination, the government instituted a program of “compensatory discrimination” that reserved 22.5 percent of all central government jobs for members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Comparable reservations were provided for state-level employment, and reservations were extended to college and university admissions.

Besides establishing a Focal Point on Scheduled Castes, the National Human Rights Commission made specific recommendations to address atrocities against Scheduled Castes and been has monitoring their implementation at field level.

India has embarked on a programme of affirmative action which is, perhaps, without parallel in scale and dimension in human history. However, it is recognised that much remains to be done to bring to an end the discrimination and inequality that have been practiced for centuries and that this requires both sustained effort and time. It requires change of mindsets. There are inadequacies in implementation which need to be addressed. Legislative and affirmative action programmes are firmly in place, but need to be far better implemented.

The provisions in the Constitution make it incumbent on the State to “take care” of Scheduled Tribes [STs]. In articles 15 and 16 (which refer to fundamental rights of citizens) exceptions are made to ensure that what is needed to be done for STs is done. For example, though equality of opportunity is the policy of the State, an exception is made for reservations. Article 244 enables the State to make special arrangements for development of STs. Article 275-1 enables the State (the central government particularly) to set aside financial provisions to be used for tribal development. If there are any schemes from the state government and the central government approves it then the central government is bound to finance the scheme. So we get all ingredients for the State in terms of the legality and financial arrangements. The State cannot have any excuse that they are not empowered enough. The V schedule is a unique aspect of the Constitution - it empowers the governor of a state to suspend any act of parliament or state legislature if he thinks it is not in the interest of the STs. This he can do even with retrospective effect. A similar aspect is not found anywhere else in the constitution. The VI schedule enables an autonomous district level body to be formed where there is a large percentage of tribal groups. This has been formulated especially for north-eastern region which is unique in many respects. Districts in the northeast can be mini-states - they have a lot of financial, legislative, executive, and judicial power. Education, health care, rural development, social security are all subjects under the State List of Schedule VII to the Constitution, the maturing of our federal systems has prompted the Centre to play an increasing role in these areas
When tribals are displaced by dams and other mega projects, as has happened in some States of the country, they raise important human rights issues. It is necessary to pay heed to the fate of those who pay the price for "development", whether through the undertaking of mega projects or as a result of economic policies that, advertently or otherwise, have the effect of marginalizing the most vulnerable sections of society.
The recognized rights of the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers include the responsibilities and authority for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance and thereby strengthening the conservation regime of the forests while ensuring livelihood and food security of the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.

The forest rights on ancestral lands and their habitat were not adequately recognized in the consolidation of State forests during the colonial period as well as in independent India resulting in historical injustice to the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who are integral to the very survival and sustainability of the forest ecosystem.

To address the long standing insecurity of tenurial and access rights of forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers including those who were forced to relocate their dwelling due to State development interventions, the Parliament enacted the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. It recognizes and vests the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations but whose rights could not be recorded; it also seeks to provide for a framework for recording the forest rights so vested and the nature of evidence required for such recognition and vesting in respect of forest land. This Act received assent of the President on 29th December, 2006. On 1st January 2008, rules were notified for the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

The National Human Rights Commission intervened in a number of cases involving displacement of tribals. At the policy level, the Commission recommended that the Central and State Governments re-examine and appropriately amend their laws, regulations and practices in order to ensure that, when it comes to acquisition of land for purposes related to national economic development, the provisions of the Constitution, as expounded by the Supreme Court and as contained in international instruments to which India is a party, notably ILO Convention 107, are fully respected. This is essential if the 'national interest' was to be reconciled, as it can and should be, with true respect for the rights of the weakest sections of society.


Minorities:

The first Statutory National Commission for Minorities was set up on 17th May 1993. On 23rd October 1993 five religious communities viz. the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) were notified as minority communities. As per the 2001 Census, these five religious minority communities constitute 18.42% of the country’s population. Despite the safeguards provided in the Constitution and the laws in force, there are concerns among members belonging to minorities about inequality and discrimination.

In order to address such concerns, the new Ministry of Minority Affairs was set up. The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities and the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions have also been set up. The Government approved the proposal to grant Constitutional Status to the National Commission for Minorities to infuse greater confidence among the minorities about its working and the effectiveness. The Prime Minister’s New 15 Point Programme for welfare of minorities covers (1) Enhancing opportunities for Education (2) Equitable Share in Economic Activities and Employment, (3). Improving the conditions of living of minorities (4). Prevention & Control of Communal Riots. It was also decided that 15% of the funds may be earmarked wherever possible in relevant schemes / programmes, for the nationally declared minorities. The 15 Point Programme has been recast to focus action sharply on issues intimately linked with the social, educational and economic uplift of minorities and provide for earmarking of outlays in certain schemes so that the progress is monitorable.

The Government approved relief and rehabilitation of victims of communal riots in Gujarat of 2002, on par with the measures taken in respect of victims of anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The Union Cabinet gave its approval for the enactment of Legislation titled “The Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005.” This Bill is aimed at i) Prevention of communal violence / offences; ii) Speedy investigation; and speedy dispensation of justice; iii) Imposition of enhanced punishment on the persons involved in communal violence / offences; iv) Providing relief and rehabilitation facilities to the victims; v) Creating institutional arrangement for speedy investigation, disposal of cases, providing relief and rehabilitation to the victims. vi) Empowering the States / Central authorities to discharge their duties in assisting victims in the matter.

As there was lack of authentic information about the social, economic, and educational status of the Muslim community of India, a High Level Committee was constituted on 9th March, 2005 under the Chairmanship of Justice Rajinder Sachar to prepare a comprehensive report on this subject. After extensive consultations, the High Level Committee submitted its report on 17th November, 2006. The report made recommendations with regard to education, skill development, employment and economic opportunities, poverty and development and social conditions of Muslims. The Sachar Report on Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India has produced a compendium of authentic information required by the Government for planning, formulating and implementing specific interventions, policies and programmes to address issues relating to the backwardness of the community. As a follow up action to the Sachar Committee Report, the Government proposes, among others, to take the following actions:

It has been decided in principle to set up an Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) to look into grievances regarding discrimination. An expert group will study and recommend its (EOC’s) structure and functions.

In order to promote diversity and social inclusion in educational institutions, work places and living spaces, an expert group has been constituted to propose an appropriate “diversity index”. Such an index can be the basis for providing incentives for better representation in all three areas mentioned above.

A National Data Bank (NDB) and an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority (AMA) will be soon set up which will analyse the data so generated and suggest appropriate policies to Government on a continuous basis.
END OF QUOTATION

Some more profiling

A few examples of Indian religious profiling Religious Profiling

[JOHN DAYAL’S NOTE: The good thing is that the racial profiling of Sikhs in the US, or rather the `patting search’ of turbans – something similar was done in India in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh – has triggered a lively debate in India. The bad news is that Indian state governments and their police forces, brutal as a norm, continue to indulge in a spot of religious and racial profiling themselves. These two incidences, in the BJP ruled Gujarat where chief minister Narendra Modi still holds power, and Bihar, ruled by socialist Nitish Kumar in a coalition with the BJP, share one thing in common, apart from the inhuman policemen. In both cases, the victims were Muslim youth, one a thief, the other just another common man.]


And a few more cases from India of the result of Religious Profiling

BPO man, a Muslim, thrashed for Modi convoy intrusion
By Deepal Trevedie
Ahmedabad, August 29, 2007 [Asian Age] : A 22-year-old BPO employee was mercilessly thrashed by the city police and "taught a lesson" for daring to disrupt Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s convoy.
Mr. Modi was passing by on Ashram Road after inaugurating a function when Hussain Tahir Marketwala tried to cross the road. A convoy vehicle had to apply its brakes.
Mr. Modi’s personal commando asked for his car to be stopped near Hussain. He got down to have a word with Hussain, who was the only "civilian" on the road, but Mr. Modi gestured to the commando to get back in the car and get going.
However, soon after Mr. Modi’s vehicle passed, about half a dozen local policemen took hold of Hussain. He was asked for his name, and "once it was clear that he was a Muslim he was beaten up mercilessly," a policeman told this newspaper. "The police thrashed him on the road itself... They said it was necessary to teach him a lesson to dare to come in front of the chief minister’s convoy."
The policeman acknowledged that the man was beaten severely once it became evident from this name that he was a Muslim. "After the Godhra riots, all the terrorists who have come to kill Mr. Modi have been Muslims. Muslims cannot be trusted in Gujarat. They might have an agenda to damage the chief minister. We cannot take things lightly. If something happens to Mr. Modi, it would be said that the police did not do anything. This Muslim had to be taught a lesson to respect the chief minister," a policeman said.
He said the policemen who thrashed Hussain were not from any particular police station but were deployed on special security duty. Worse, while Hussain was being beaten up on the road after the convoy had passed, some bystanders tried to cheer the police and exhorted them to teach a lesson to the "anti-national Muslim."
Later, Hussain was taken to the Navrangpura police station and interrogated for two hours. After his family arrived there and the police was convinced that Hussain was innocent, he was allowed to go.
Hussain sustained serious injuries and had to seek medical help. In fact, his ear injury is quite major and may even lead to a hearing impairment.
However, Hussain and his family not only deny this but have refused to criticise the police or the public beating. Sources said the family was petrified and had decided that they could not afford to take a stand against the police.
"Muslims in Gujarat live under constant fear. Even if they are right, they do not want to prove the administration or the government wrong. They feel that if they do so, they will be further targeted and harassed," a Muslim schoolteacher who sought anonymity said.
"We live like second-class citizens. But we lack courage to stand up because in doing so there is more danger to us," he said.
Najma Marketwala, Hussain’s sister, told this newspaper: "It is just hype. My brother has been beaten up. But the cops have been very cooperative. In fact, we are big fans of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. We have no complaints against the police or anyone else."
Hussain Marketwala himself said later: "I had no clue that the road was closed and the CM was travelling. I committed a very serious mistake. I had to be punished. The police has done nothing wrong in beating me up in public."
A policeman said: "It seems the Marketwala family is scared to come out in the open against the government. This is the general psyche of Muslims in Gujarat today."
Hemant Patel, a businessman, who was on Ashram Road at the time of the incident, said: "The police has done nothing wrong. Everyone knows that Modi is a Hindu Hriday Samrat. The police cannot take chances. After all, Muslims cannot be trusted. Hussain should have been jailed. You never know, this could have been a mock exercise sponsored by some Islamic group. It cannot be taken lightly."

II


The Telegraph, Calcutta, Wednesday, August 29, 2007

‘Thief’ dragged behind police bike

GAUTAM SARKAR AND SANTOSH SINGH
Aug. 28: An alleged thief was tied to a police motorcycle and dragged 500 yards before a cheering crowd yesterday in a Bihar district that has been a byword for police cruelty.
Aurangzeb (22), cried in pain and pleaded for mercy but the roadside mob kicked him repeatedly as the shirtless man was dragged on his stomach and chest along a street in Nathnagar, 8km from Bhagalpur district headquarters.
TV pictures showed how the mob had earlier tied the young rickshaw-puller’s hands behind his back and kicked and punched him as he writhed on the ground, soaked in sweat and mud, his trousers unbuttoned.
Aurangzeb was waiting for customers before a temple in the afternoon when a woman accused him of having snatched her gold chain. The chain was allegedly found on Aurangzeb. The young man lay in the Bhagalpur jail hospital today — with no clear word on his condition — a short distance from the areas where the police had blinded 30-odd under trials in 1981 by pouring acid into their eyes.
The infamous “Bhagalpur blindings” had found some popular support but this evening, in the communally sensitive town, an armed crowd of 2,000 had gathered near the Nathnagar police station.
“The situation is charged,” said the deputy inspector-general of police (Bhagalpur range), Girijanandan Sharma, blaming the tensions on “rumours” of Aurangzeb’s death.
Earlier, as news channels beamed yesterday’s incident across the nation, the state administration suspended assistant sub-inspector Ram Balak Singh and constable Ramchandar Rai and ordered an inquiry. The two had reached the spot while the mob was beating Aurangzeb. They tied one of his feet to their motorbike and Singh rode it to the police station. By then Aurangzeb had “lost consciousness”. Said state home secretary Afzal Amanullah.
The young man, his body covered in cuts and bruises, was put on a cart and taken to a town hospital and then shifted to the jail.
“He is an orphan and I brought him up. I fear they (the police) will kill him,” said a sobbing Bibi Sabra, Aurangzeb’s grandmother, at their home in Hasanabad on the outskirts of Nathnagar. Aurangzeb’s sister Anjuman, 14, said their parents had died many years ago.
District magistrate Vipin Kumar was non-committal when asked about Aurangzeb’s condition.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad said: “This is how a person from the minority community is treated under (chief minister) Nitish Kumar’s rule.”
“Action has been taken. Police brutality will not be tolerated,” Kumar said.
Amanullah promised that the police would “find out the members of the public who beat up Aurangzeb”.
DIG Sharma had earlier denied police cruelty, saying his men had “done a good job in rescuing the thief from the crowd”.
“Aurangzeb was tied to the motorcycle to prevent him from escaping, but he fell on the bumpy road accidentally and got dragged for a short distance,” he claimed.
He also said the accused had a criminal history and had recently been let out of jail. The officer in charge of Nathnagar police station, Jawed Mahmood, backed him but failed to provide the case details.
“The police yesterday repeated the Raj’s brutality. On January 13, 1785, Tilka Manjhi, the Paharia freedom fighter, was tied to a horse and dragged around Bhagalpur before he was hanged,” a local teacher said.