Disha Ravi Case: What’s in the 2 Sites Police Found in ‘Toolkit’
The Delhi Police cited that they have found two websites – askindiawhy.com and genocidewatch.com – in the ‘toolkit’.
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During the hearing of climate activist Disha Ravi in connection with the ‘toolkit’ case, the Delhi Police on Saturday, 20 February, claimed that “this was not just a toolkit; the real plan was to defame India and create unrest.”
After Saturday’s heated hearing, Delhi’s Patiala House Court reserved the order for 23 February.
Ravi was arrested from Bengaluru on 13 February for allegedly editing and sharing the 'toolkit' on social media. The Cyber Cell had lodged an FIR against "pro-Khalistan" creators of the "toolkit" for waging a "social, cultural and economic war against the Government of India".
The Quint takes a look at both the websites.
Genocide Watch
ASG Raju submitted before the court that the website talks about Kashmir and Assam, placing them both in the ‘Genocide Watch’ list. According to the site, a ‘Genocide Watch’ is declared when early warning signs indicate that a genocidal process is underway.
“Our purpose is to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide.” the website says.
The organisation was founded in 1999 by Dr Gregory H Stanton who serves as the founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch.
Stanton has worked as a research professor in genocide studies and prevention at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University in Virginia, USA. He was the James Farmer Professor in Human Rights at the University of Mary Washington, Virginia.
According to the site, Dr Stanton served in the US State Department from 1992 to 1999 and drafted the UN Peacekeeping Operations resolutions that helped bring about an end to the Mozambique civil war.
ON KASHMIR
Referring to the Union Territory of Jammy & Kashmir as “India administered Kashmir", the website says it is issuing a ‘genocite watch’ alert for the region.
“Genocide Watch calls upon the United Nations and its members to warn India not to commit genocide in Kashmir,” the site states.
ON ASSAM
The site states that it has issued a “Genocide Watch for Assam State, India, where millions of Bengali Muslims face losing citizenship status”.
“This is a classic case of denial of citizenship in order to deprive a minority ethnic and religious group of its rights. It could become a prelude to another genocide like that in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims. The parallels to the build-up to the Rohingya genocide are shocking,” the website further says.
Ask India Why
Askindiawhy operates under a the #AskIndiaWhy hashtag, focusing on the farmers’ protests and on the deaths over the last few months. Under a section ‘#FarmersProtests’, the site states “we ask why the government is willing to kill its farmers to further enrich the ultra-wealthy.”
The website does not contain a separate ‘About’ section but states that it has been built by the Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF).
The site talks about “Sikh Sovereignty”, stating that “Sikhs are sovereign people, and since colonial occupation, have been resisting dispossession in their homeland.” It adds, “Sikh dissent and political activism is violently repressed in India and deemed terrorism.”
The site also directs to a Change.org petition on 'DEMAND THE UNITED NATIONS HAVE ITS MEMBER NATION, INDIA, AFFIRM THAT FREEDOM TO DISSENT IS A KEY PILLAR OF DEMOCRACY’. The petition seeks 10,000 signatures and currently has around 9,193.
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