AICC denounce 'conspiracies' to finish off communal violence bill

The All India Christian Council (aicc) on Friday denounced what it called 'conspiracies' to scuttle the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparation) Bill 2011.

Demanding the Government of India to urgently bring the Bill before Parliament, the Christian body at a press meeting in Pune opposed attempts by Hindutva groups to raise "false alarms" against the proposed law.

The Bill, commonly called the CV Prevention Bill, was drafted earlier this year by the National Advisory Council and is now with the Union government.

The Bill has been strongly supported by religious minorities as well as by most members of civil society. In the last ten years there have been more than 6,000 incidents of communal violence, according to information provided by the government to Parliament.

Among the most heinous mass crimes against religious communities in India have been the anti Sikh violence of 1984 in New Delhi and other cities, the anti Muslim pogrom in Gujarat of 2002 and the anti Christian massacre and mass arson in Kandhamal in Orissa in which 56,000 persons were forced to flee to forests when over 5,600 houses in 400 villages were burnt down by Hindutva mobs.

"In all cases, the police and officials stood by without acting. Many police and civil officers were guilty of involvement in all these acts of mass violence, and others were guilty of inaction and impunity. Kashmiri Pundits have also been subject of targeted violence," AICC said.

The proposed Bill seeks to secure justice for victims and end the climate of impunity by bringing the guilty officials to book. The Bill maintains that minorities are denied justice because of the communal behaviour of a section of religious and political extremists and the apathy or involvement of the administration.

The Bill will also curb hate speech and similar actions. In recent months, VHP leader Dr Praveen Togadia has called for the beheading of missionaries in issues of conversion. Also, Janata party leader Subramaniam Swamy has launched a slander campaign against the Christian and Muslim communities in general.

Dr John Dayal said Christian leaders in Mumbai had earlier filed a formal complaint demanding legal action against Dr Subramaniam Swamy for spreading hate and violating the Constitution when he wrote an article in a Mumbai newspaper advocating that Muslims should not be given voting rights.

Holding that communalism is as evil as corruption, the aicc called for strong laws to curb hate campaigns and similar activity which leads to the targetting of minorities and marginalised communities, including Muslims, Christians, Dalits and Tribals.