INDIA—Amnesty India on August 18 announced to temporary close down its India offices after sedition charges filed against by a right-wing Hindutva organization. The case was filed against Amnesty International India for organizing an event to highlight human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir. Several Kashmiri families had travelled to Bengaluru to share their first hand experiences living in Kashmir and surrounding areas.
Amnesty International India has condemned the charges stating that the move by India goes against its very democratic values. Hashtag #WhySedition is being used by human right proponents to condemn growing crack downs on human rights activist by Indian Government.
Along with temporarily closing down its offices, Amnesty International India also announced to postpone an event in Mumbai where Kashmiri families were supposed to speak again.
Earlier, a criminal case was also filed against Amnesty India by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a subsidiary of the Bhartiya Janty Party. The FIR registered against Amnesty India mentioned a number of offences including sedition, unlawful assembly and promoting enmity.
“Merely organizing an event to defend constitutional values is now being branded ‘anti-India’ and criminalized,” said Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty International India.
“The police were invited and present at the event. The filing of a complaint against us now, and the registration of a case of sedition, shows a lack of belief in fundamental rights and freedoms in India.”
Amnesty India had informed the Bengaluru Police about the event well in advance.
Similar to charges filed against Amnesty, other human rights organizations have met the same fate in India. Several activists of the Sikhs for Justice, a human rights and advocacy group were put on India’s black list and had sedition charges filed against them. Similarly, following the Sarbat Khalsa 2015, several organizers of the event and prominent Sikh activists were arrested on sedition charges.
harinder go check the website of civil liberties before you open your mouth you will find out what they Stand for ?
Amnesty international also needs to discuss other issues to be fair to all Indian citizens.
1) Kashmiri Pundit’s eviiction from valley
2) Naxalites killing the security personels
Absolutely typical and cynical response from someone who supports authoritarian if not outright totalitarian governance. Oh, yes Amnesty should care more about armed and totally unaccountable police officers than the common people they can abitralily arrest, torture and murder with total impugnity. Yes, let us worry about the human rights of the police officer in charge of the Behban shooting (where two Sikh protesters were shot dead by police officers a year ago) who has had to face the stress of possibly being arrested whilst on holiday abroad. And don’t forget Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and Kamal Nath et al who have ‘suffered’ so much ‘harassment’ at the hands of the Sikhs over the past 30 years for their part in Sikh holocaust. After all they have ‘clean chits’ to say they are totally innocent so why has Amnesty not condemned the constant barrage of accusations levelled at them by those pesky Sikhs (who should have swallowed the bitter pill of collective punishment by now)? In case you didn’t understand I was being witheringly sarcastic. Amnesty is the world#s most renowned impartial human rights organisation and that is the reason why you don’t want it scrutinising what is happening to human rights and civil liberties here in India. You just don’t understand or care that their gaze guarantees your liberty also.
Democracy in India ? What a farce, no human right protection, no free press, no free dialogue, no justice so forth and so on
May be just may be now the World will begin to see what the so called Indian democracy is about……..Bhai Ji that is exactly what India’s intention is to silence the voices of the innocent.
Terrible news for human rights and civil liberties in India but hardly surprising as authoritarian minded politics always seeks to silence whistleblowers.