On Sunday, 20 September, several diaspora groups from across the world came together virtually to call "for a judge-led independent investigation into the 2020 Delhi riots, and a halt on political persecution and state-sanctioned abuse against dissenting voices."
The event was hosted by Global Indian Progressive Alliance, Hindus for Human Rights, Voices Against Fascism in India, Young India, Students Against Hindutva Ideology (SAHI), The Polis Project, among others.
They were joined by guest speakers Sitaram Yechury, former Rajya Sabha Member & CPI(M) leader, and Harsh Mander, an author, human rights activist and researcher.
"History will remember CAA (2019) as a major constitutional blunder of the current government represented by the far-right Hindutva Nationalists government led by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)," states the press release put out by the organisation coalition.
"Misappropriating the historical facts and misleading narrative on CAA to further political propaganda is an irresponsible and a misguided act that we condemn collectively."
"Understandably, it violates the fundamental constitutional rights as per India’s constitution – the right to equality (Article 14), right to life and liberty (Article 21), right to religious freedom (Article 25) and compromises India’s secular credentials."
"They will never take away the dream that we inherited from our freedom struggle, the dream of together building a country which is just, which is equal, and which is kind," said Harsh Mander, reminiscent of the sentiment of 'Azaadi' which echoed in the streets of Delhi in early 2020.
“The course of investigation is to link those who peacefully protested against the CAA as being the perpetrators of communal violence. This was articulated by the Union Home Minister in the Parliament, and that is the way the Delhi Police is proceeding. Those actually guilty of this violence are let scot-free…All those who stand for the unity, integrity of India and the constitutional laws being persecuted," said Sitaram Yechury at the event.
“The manner in which the cases are being persecuted in the Delhi violence case, the manner in which the parliament is being decimated, the manner in which, unfortunately, at the risk of being charged with contempt of court, our H’onble Supreme Court is acting and behaving for over a year…the entire constitutional order today is breaking down.”
“Undermining this constitutional order is the essential pre-requisite to convert a secular, democratic Indian Republic, based on the Indian Constitution, into a fascistic version of a Hindutva Rashtra that is based on intensifying communal polarisation, hatred and the building of an exclusivist state,” he added.
"We, as a global Indian diaspora, representative voice of diverse groups across the globe condemn the framing and persecution of all activists unrelated to Delhi violence without a due process, including the arrest of Dr. Umar Khalid, a prominent CPI leader, young scholar and Human Rights Activist who spoke publicly against the unconstitutional law like CAA", concluded the coalition statement.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)