Supreme Court says Don't terror tag to innocent minority people such "my name is Khan, but I am not a terrorist"

The Supreme court of India finally echos the voice of the Bollywood movie made by Karan Johor . Ensure that no innocent has the feeling of sufferance only because ‘my name is Khan, but I am not a terrorist,’ Bench tells Police

No innocent person should be branded a terrorist and put behind bars simply because he belongs to a minority community, the Supreme Court has told the Gujarat Police. Police must ensure that no innocent person has the feeling of sufferance only because “my name is Khan, but I am not a terrorist,” a Bench of Justices H.L. Dattu and C.K. Prasad said on Wednesday.
It ordered the acquittal of 11 persons, arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and other laws, and convicted for allegedly planning to create communal violence during the Jagannath Puri Yatra in Ahmedabad in 1994.

“We emphasise and deem it necessary to repeat that the gravity of the evil to the community from terrorism can never furnish an adequate reason for invading personal liberty, except in accordance with the procedure established by the Constitution and the law,” the Bench said.
Being an anti-terrorist law, the TADA’s provisions could not be liberally construed, the Bench said. “The District Superintendent of Police and the Inspector-General and all others entrusted with operating the law must not do anything which allows its misuse and abuse and [must] ensure that no innocent person has the feeling of sufferance only because ‘My name is Khan, but I am not a terrorist’.”
Writing the judgment, Justice Prasad said: “We appreciate the anxiety of the police officers entrusted with preventing terrorism and the difficulty faced by them. Terrorism is a crime far serious in nature, graver in impact and highly dangerous in consequence. It can put the nation in shock, create fear and panic and disrupt communal peace and harmony. This task becomes more difficult when it is done by organised groups with outside support.”

‘Means more important’ :-

But in the country of the Mahatma, the “means are more important than the end. Invoking the TADA without following the safeguards, resulting in acquittal, gives an opportunity to many and also to the enemies of the country to propagate that it has been misused and abused.”In this case, Ashraf Khan and 10 others, who were convicted under the TADA, the Arms Act and the IPC were aggrieved that no prior approval of the SP, as mandated under the provisions, was obtained before their arrest and recording of statements.

Appeal allowed :-

Allowing their appeals against a Gujarat TADA court order, the Bench said: “From a plain reading of the provision, it is evident that no information about the commission of an offence shall be recorded by the police without the prior approval of the District Superintendent of Police. An Act which is harsh, containing stringent provisions and prescribing a procedure substantially departing from the prevalent ordinary procedural law, cannot be construed liberally. For ensuring rule of law its strict adherence has to be ensured.”
The Bench said: “In view of our finding that their conviction is vitiated on account of non-compliance with the mandatory requirement of prior approval under Section 20-A(1) of the TADA, the confessions recorded cannot be looked into to establish the guilt under the aforesaid Acts. Hence, the conviction of the accused under Sections 7 and 25(1A) of the Arms Act and 4, 5 and 6 of the Explosive Substances Act cannot also be allowed to stand.”

Conclusion & views:-

The Supreme Court has echoed the secular credentials of our country. Mere suspicion should not be the ruse of the police to detain a person for alleged complicity in an act of terror. Also the defencers of law and order should have a time frame within which the alleged charges against the suspects are substantiated with clear evidence and eye witness. Endless detention does not serve the ends of justice. Irrespective of the community one belongs to law should be applied uniformly. At the same time it is essential that the majority of the minority community members join the main stream of life and do not isolate themselves in ghetto like habitats inviting suspicion. Literacy and availability of opportunities too would play a big part in the emancipation of the minorities and the majority community has to take the lead in making the conditions conducive for them to feel at ease. BUt what about the rehabilitation of those who lost the most precious years of their life rotting in jails & then got acquitted becoz the charges framed by the Police against them couldn't stand strong in Supreme Court?In this case these 11 men lost 18 years of their life in the prison(total=198 yrs).(Last year also there was another young man in Delhi who was acquitted after being imprisoned for more than a 13 years on purely fabricated and unsustainable charges).The question is-what would they do after returning to their families? Now the problem is these men aftr spending so many years in Jail aren't left with any skill to make a living, the result is a group of 11 men isolated from society for the rest of their life--disgruntled with their own country- can become potential easy targets of terror (hiring)cells.If there was any goverment funded institution that could impart any skill to these men, they(acquitted individuals)would be in condition good enough to move-on with life.

Guest Post contributed by J. VENKATESAN

The Hindu paper’s Supreme Court correspondent J. Venkatesan who is also a lawyer too and published thousands of articles on law and human rights.

Source ::

1. The Hindu
2. Kractivist
3. ndtv

A forgotten Hero of Assam and East Bengal rooted Mia Muslim political graph

" A forgotten Hero of Assam and East Bengal rooted Mia Muslim political graph " the article is trying to find out the reality of Assam and Muslim presence pre independent era and now.If you are in puzzle to find out the hero ! The obviously he was none of except Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla who was one of the foremost political leaders of modern Assam and the first Premier (also referred to as Prime Minister or Chief Minister) of the Assam province, one of the major eight provinces of British India.The family of Saadulla hails from Sibsagar and claims to be the descendant of the famous Muslim preacher Azan Pir, who came to Assam in the early 17th century to spread the message of Islam.

Syed Md. Tayebbullah, the father of Saadulla, moved to Gauhati where he served as a teacher of Arabic and Persian in Cotton Collegiate High School at Gauhati town. Saadulla was born in Gauhati on May 21, 1885. He got his early school education at Sonaram High School at Gauhati. He then joined the Cotton College, Gauhati, and took his Post-Graduation degree in Chemistry from the Presidency College, Calcutta, in 1906. Subsequently he took the Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the Earle Law College at Gauhati in 1907. Besides Assamese and Bengali he was also fluent in Arabic, Persian and Urdu.

1. Early life of Syed Muhammad Saadulla :-

Before Saadulla started his legal profession at Gauhati Bar, he served for a short stint as Assistant Lecturer in Chemistry at the Cotton College in 1908. He practiced at the Calcutta High Court. Within a short time, he became an eminent lawyer.

2. Political mileage of Syed Muhammad Saadulla :-

Then he joined politics and became the member of the first Legislative Council in 1913. He was re-elected in 1923. Under the system of Diarchy, he served as Minister of Education and Agriculture from 1924-29. In recognition of his public services, the British government knighted Saadulla in 1928. He, as a member of the Executive Council of the Governor of Assam, also became Minister for Law and Order and PWD from 1929-30, and again served as Minister for Finance and Law and Order from 1930-1934. He was also the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 1933 to 1934.The Government of India Act, 1935 was adopted by the British Parliament on 2nd August, 1935 and was implemented in 1937. The Government of India Act 1935 made provisions for a Legislative Assembly in each province. In 1937 Assam Legislative Assembly election was held. In the same year Saadulla formally joined the Muslim League in response to MA Jinnah’s appeal.

3. Syed Muhammad Saadulla's contribution to Assam :-

Saadaulla was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from Kamrup South and served as Premier of a coalition government from April 1, 1937 to Sept. 19, 1938. A Congress government led by Gopinath Bordoloi succeeded from Sept. 19, 1938 to Nov. 17, 1939. Saadulla was again re-elected as Premier from Nov. 17, 1939 to Dec. 24, 1941. He, for the third time, became the Premier from Aug. 25, 1942 to Feb. 11, 1946. From 1937-1946 there were 34 Muslim members in the Assam Legislative Assembly, out of the total 108 members (For the list of names see Appendix I).

Saadulla was closely associated with the All India Muslim League. He attended the 10th session of the League at Calcutta in Dec. 1917, and served as a member of the Committee which negotiated the Lucknow Accord between the Muslim League and the Congress. In 1946, he attended demand for Pakistan and favoured Assam’s inclusion in Pakistan. He renounced the knighthood in response to the call of the All-India Muslim League in connection with the “Direct Action” call to achieve Pakistan. However, on partition, when Assam opted out of Pakistan, he stayed in Assam and did not migrate to Pakistan.

4.  Syed Muhammad Saadulla's line system:-

In spite of his impressive political accomplishments Saadulla today remains the least remembered political figure of the state as he was associated with Jinnah’s All India Muslim League and supported two-nation theory. He was and still today often charged with deliberate settlement of Bengali Muslims in Assam through the scheme, introduced by him, known as the Line System. Thereby, the contributions that he had made in building a modern Assam in his capacity as Premier of Assam is today not acknowledged by the Assamese.

5. Why Syed Muhammad Saadulla is forgotten:-

An article in Muslim India (Jan. 1987) sums up the contributions of Saadulla thus: “He was an able parliamentarian, an eloquent speaker, an experienced administrator, moderate and liberal in his approach. Saadulla is regarded as one of the makers of modern Assam. As head of the Assam Government, he took particular interest in planning and development, in rural uplift, in eradication of unemployment, in land reform and in promotion of cottage industries. For the development of the low-lying regions of the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys, he favoured and encouraged immigration of peasants from Bengal and should be given credit for the agricultural development of Assam, particularly the introduction of jute in the Assam valley. His critics charge him with deliberate settlement of Bengali Muslims in Assam.”In another write-up in The Milli Gazette (16-30 Sept. 2002) Saadulla was described thus: “Saadulla was well-known for his generosity, honesty and ability. He was a matured, widely respected and accepted political leader of his time. He was a friend and guide of the tribal people of North-east India. In his first cabinet itself, he included a tribal leader, J.J.M. Nichols Roy as one of his ministers. He was regarded as an outstanding personality both on account of his experience, ability and honesty… he was in a class different from any other politician in Assam.”

6.  Pre independent Muslim MLA's of Assam:-

Appendix-I
Muslim members of Assam Legislative Assembly - 1937-46

No.	Name of Member			Constituency
1.	Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla			Kamrup (South)
2.	Shams-ul-Ulama Maulana Abu Nasr Muhammad Waheed			Sylhet Sadr (Central)
3		Abdul Aziz	South Syhlet (Central)
4.		Abdul Bari Chaudhury	Sunamganj(Smlth) Muhammadan
5		Abdul Hamid Khan	Dhubri (South)
6		Khan Bahadur Hazi Abdul Majid Chaudhury	Karimganj (Central)Muhammadan.
7		Abdul Matin Choudhury	Sylhet Sadar (East)
8		Abdur Rahman	Habiganj (South-East)
9		Sayed Abdul Rouf	Barpeta, Muhammadan
10		Md. Abdus Salam	Sylhet Sadar (North)
11		Dewan Muhammad Ahbab Choudhury	Sunamganj (East)
12		Dawan Ali Raja	Habiganj (North-West)
13.		Mohammad Amjad Ali	Goalpara (East)
14		Mohammad Amiruddin	Nowgong Mohhemedan (East)
15.		Ashrafuddin Md. Choudhury	Habiganj (South East)
16		Badaruddin Ahmed	Darrang Muhammedan
17.		Khan Bahadur Dewan Eclimur Roza Choudhury	Sylhet Sadar (West)
18		Fakaruddin Ali Ahmed	Kamrup North
19		Ghyasuddin Ahmed	Dhubri (West)
20		Jhanuddin Ahmed	Dhubri (North Muhammadan)
21		Khan Bahadur Keramet Ali	Sibsagar, Muhammadan
22		Matior Rahman Mia	Goalpara (West)
23.		Muhammad Maqbul Hussain Choudhury	Sunamganj (West)
24.		Khan Bahadur Maulavi Mahamud Ali	Sibsagar Muhammadan
25		Mabarak Ali	Karimganj (West) Muhammadan
26		Mudabbir Hussain Choudhury.	Habiganj (North East)
27		Khan Bahadur Maulavi Mafizur Rahman	Sylhet Sadar (South)
28		Munawwar Ali	Sunamganj (Central) Muhammadan
29		Muzarrof Ali Laskar	Hailakandi Muhammadan
30		Aanwar Ali Barbhuiya	Silchar Muhammadan
31		Naziruddin Ahmed	South Sylhet (West)
32		Sheik Osman Ali Sadagar	Sadagor Muhammadan Constituency. Nowgong.
33		Khan Sahib Maulavi Sayidur Rahman	Lakhipur Muhammadan.
34		Muhammad Ali Haidar Khan	South-Sylhet (east)

Source: assamassembly.gov.in/mla-1937-46.html

Appendix-II
Muslim Members of Assam Legislative Assembly - 1946-1952

No.	Name of Member	Constituency
1	Muhammad Abdullah	Habiganj(South-East)
2	Khan Bahadur Abdul Majid Ziaosh Shams	Dhubri (West)
3	Muhammad Abdul Kasham	Dhubri (South)
4	Abdul Bari Choudhury	Sunamganj (South)
5	Dewan Abdul Basith	South Sylhet (Central)
6	Abdul Hai	Kamrup (North)
7	Abdul Hamid	Sylhet Sadar (Central)
8	Abdul Khaleque Ahmed	Sunamganj (West)
9	Abdul Kuddus Khan	Goalpara (East)
10	Md. Abdul Latif	Karimganj (Central)
11	Abdul Matin Chaudhuri	Darrang
12	Abdul Matlib Mazumdar	Halakandi
13	Abdur Rasheed	Sylhet Sadar (East)
14	Dewan Abdur Rob Choudhury	Sylhet Sadar (South)
15	Syed Abdur Rouf	Barpeta
16	Afazuddin Ahmed	Nowgong (East)
17	Md. Ali Haidar Khan	South Sylhet (East)
18	Emran Hussain Chaudhury	Sibsagar
19	Maulana Ibrahim Ali	Sylhet, Sadar (North)
20	M. Idris Ali	Karimganj (West)
21	Md. Mafiz Choudhury	Sunamganj (West)
22	Makabbir Ali Mazumdar	Silchar
23	Mayeenud Din Ahamed Choudhury	South Sylhet (East)
24	Md. Mased Ali	Dhubri (North)
25	Khan Sahib Maulavi Mudabbir Hussain Choudhuri	Habiganj, (South- West)
26	Mumtazul Muhaddisin Moulana Md. Mufazzal Hussain	Karimganj (South)
27	Munawwar Ali	Sunamganj (Central)
28	Nasir-ud-Din Ahmed	Habiganj (South-West)
29	Md. Nazmal Haque	Goalpara (West)
30	Khan Sahib Nurul Hussain Khan	Habiganj (South-West)
31	Khan Bahadur Muhammad Roufique.	Nowgong (West).
32	Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla	Kamrup (South)
33	Khan Bahadur Sayidur Rahman	Lakhimpur
34	Dewan Taimur Raza Choudhury	Sylhet Sadar (West)

Source: assamassembly.gov.in/mla-1946-52.html

7.  Presence of Muslim MLA's showing messages:-

The number of MLA's is a clear indication that pre independent Assam and present Assam is same but a few self styled organisation want to say that Muslims are coming from foreign country.First, that illegal immigration of Bengali Muslim peasants from neighbouring Bangladesh into Assam has been continuing unabated, leading to skewed demographic profiles of Assam’s districts bordering Bangladesh and thereafter, turning several adjoining districts of Assam to Muslim majority.
Second, that these illegal Bengali Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh have rapaciously encroached upon and occupied land belonging to the native communities, thereby creating a volatile situation for potential violence and lethal clashes between illegal immigrants and natives.Third, that the ethnic clash that began between the native Bodos (‘Hindu’ Bodos, as emphatically pointed out by the Election Commissioner Shri H. S. Brahma who hails from the community) and illegal Muslim immigrants settled in Kokrajhar was a result of aggression and attack by the latter on the Bodos, emboldened by their growing numerical strength, or in the least, was a spontaneous reaction of Bodos to the growing aggression of the immigrants and progressive usurpation of native land and resources by them.The above perceptions are, however, far from accurate. In order to understand why, it would be important to carefully re-examine how they have emerged, the inherent flaws in the assumptions and what the reality actually is.

‘Migration’ rather than ‘illegal immigration’ is largely responsible for demographic transformation.
The migration of Bengali Muslim peasants from East Bengal into Assam has certainly transformed the demography of the latter, more noticeably in some districts, but to claim all of it happened due to illegal immigration from Bangladesh is not only historically incorrect, but wilful distortion of facts.

Source: Professor Nilim Dutta

8. Reality of East Rooted Muslim in Assam:-

The migration of Bengali Muslim peasants from erstwhile East Bengal began in the 1800s after the British annexed Assam in 1826, with the Treaty of Yandaboo after defeating the Burmese in the First Anglo Burmese War. ‘Malevolent’ colonial policies of the British in Bengal, such as the Permanent Settlement, had already wreaked Bengal’s economy and pauperized its artisans and peasantry. Severe exploitation under its zamindari system added to the woes of the peasantry. In the geographically contiguous province of Assam, population density was low, land was abundant and there was no zamindari system. It was just a matter of time before an impoverished and harassed Bengali Muslim peasantry began migrating in a trickle which became a deluge, encouraged by the British. It served their purpose to settle large numbers of Bengalis on vacant land to increase land revenue, as well as have readily available cheap labour in a labour-deficient province. Initially, the immigrants were welcomed by even the Assamese landed gentry for the cheap labour.By the second decade of the 20th century, however, this incessant influx became a cause for alarm and a ‘Line System’ was introduced in the affected districts of Nagaon and Kamrup in 1920, restricting immigrants from settling beyond certain limits on land over which natives claimed rights. That is how vast tracts of land in the then undivided Nagaon, Kamrup and Goalpara districts came to be settled by immigrant Bengali Muslim peasants in the decades before Partition, and independence.With each successive group of immigrants, and with restrictions imposed barring their indiscriminate spread, the quality of land they found to settle themselves on, became progressively degraded. Many were left to settle on marshy wastelands and the shifting sandbars of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries called chars or chaporis in the vast floodplains of the valley. This is where a substantial percentage of their descendents still live after nearly a century. At the mercy of annual floods, shifting of the chars regularly and incessant erosion of their lands by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, a large percentage of the Muslim population of immigrant origin in these districts is rendered homeless regularly. To eke out a living, they often migrate to the towns and cities as construction labourers, vegetable vendors or rickshaw pullers, living in ghettoized shanty towns, raising the spectre of illegal Bangladeshis in minds of a hostile urban elite with little sympathy or insight into realities of life about the areas they have migrated from. Source: Professor Nilim Dutta

Guest post by Dr. Syed Ahmed:-

Dr Syed Ahmed is an Indian politician and author. Dr Syed obtained his masters from Lucknow University and his PhD from Bombay University. He has written an autobiography, Pagdandi se Shahar Tak. His other works authored include Maktal se Manzil, Kafas se Chaman and Jange-Azaadi Me Urdu Shayari.Catch him at his official website 

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Complex calculation of Ethnic Strife from another perspective in Assam

I ( Utpal Brahma ) keep track of my family ancestory. My great great grand father (paternal) was a General under the Koch army, but he was a Boro and hailed from the same village as the founder of Koch dynasty. My grand mother had Bhutanese blood in her.My mother is Koch + Kalita + Rabha. My wife is a Kayastha main stream Assamese.So what am I ? What about my children ? My direct reply in this query , first a human beings later Assamese or else.

1.Recent disturbance and fleet:-

The recent disturbance in Assam and its fallout and mass exodus of NE Indians from other parts of India.What began as an isolated communal conflict here in the remote state of Assam, a vicious if obscure fight over land and power between East Bengal migrated Muslims and the indigenous Bodo tribe, has unexpectedly set off widespread panic among northeastern migrants who had moved to more affluent urban cities for a piece of India’s rising prosperity.

Like a fever, fear has spread across India this week, from big cities like Bangalore to smaller places like Mysore, a contagion fueling a message: Run. Head home. Flee. And that is what thousands of migrants from the country’s distant northeastern states are doing, jamming into train stations in an exodus challenging the Indian ideals of tolerance and diversity. Assam, which has about 31 million people, has a long history of ethnic strife. The current violence is focused on the westernmost region of the state, which is claimed by the Bodos as their homeland. For years, Bodo insurgent groups fought for political autonomy, with some seeking statehood and others seeking an independent Bodo nation .

2.Ethnic Strife from another perspective:-

Energy crisis - mass migration - changing demographics - ethnic strife - economic stagnation and recession - melting polar icecap - rapid extinction of many species - environmental degradation - disappearing coral reef - rise of fundamentalism - growing food crisis ------

3.Human civilization at a crossroad:-

The world and human civilization as we know is at a crossroad, But when we analyze all these seemingly unrelated events -- the root cause of all lies in - the economic model that solely depends on increasing consumerism to sustain an model that demands relentless growth. Unless the world undergoes a paradigm shift - the I'll effects will continue to manifest in many forms just like a multi headed hydra from the ancient Greek epics.Throughout history, we have seen several civilizations rise to the zenith only to eventually decline and even collapse -- be it the Harappan, Sumer, Egyptian, Norsk in Greenland, the Mayans.One of the key reasons for the eventual decline of civilizations was over utilization of resources leading to the collapse of the environment which led to the eventual downfall of the economic and social order.

4.Present civilization:-

The present order seem to be heading in the same direction, The key difference is that, unlike in the past -- which were more regional or local civilization -- this time the impact could be far wide and global. This is the first case where human led -- fossil fuel based economic order has caused world wide global environmental change. We are yet to understand the full impact of this global environmental change.

5.Environmental changing:-

As the water level keeps on rising, as the regional drought intensifies, as the polar ice cap melts, as the glaciers start receding, as the challenge to feed the world intensifies -- it is likely to increase tension between contending nations vying over the same resources. A particular hot spot is going to be our South Asia. Melting of the Himalayan ice cap and rising sea levels will inundate large areas of low lying Bangladesh (as much as 30% of the land in next 50 years) and the people have to move somewhere.

6. Demographic balance:-

This will cause further tension in the region where there is already a growing concern over changing demographic balance.The above scenario was actually predicted in a study published (in 2003 )in a School of Strategic studies at a leading US University .The other parts only testifies what might be in store for us when resource crunch intensifies with further environmental change. Soon we will see wars being fought between nations to control the essential resources of food, energy and habitat -- which will only be further strained unless we control the environmental degradation and adopt a new economic paradigm.

Conclusion:-

We are not YET at a point of no return. Only what is missing is a global consensus at the leadership level -- who are yet to be cognizant of the scale of the impending crissis.

Guest post contributed by Utpal Brahma:-

Utpal Brahma has done his Bachelors in Engineering from IIT kanpur and MBA from IIM Calcutta. Currently lives in South Jersey,USA.Catch him in Facbook.