NEW DELHI—Eminent social activists on Thursday strongly condemned conferring of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Award to Jagdish Tytler, an accused of 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom. They also condemned India Islamic Cultural Centre for hosting the award ceremony due for 10th December. Delhi-based Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Academy has announced to award Tytler along with seven other personalities.
“Maulana Mohd. Ali Jauhar Award to Jagdish Tytler, an accused of 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, is an insult to the award. Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar was a key figure of the Indian freedom movement, a leader of the Khilafat movement and one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia. Hence, it is sad that the name of Maulana Mohd. Ali Jauhar is being misused. We are sure this is not how he would have liked his name to be remembered, and that he would not have approved of being used to white-wash the sins of a politician who was part of communal violence and mayhem in the capital of India,” the activists said in a statement.
The activists had contacted the organizers to drop Tytler but they refused the suggestion.
“The ‘logic’, extended by the organiser and some of the awardees, since no court of law has found Tytler ‘guilty’ till date, there nothing wrong in honouring him is really farce. Should we understand, it is like since no court of law has found Narendra Modi ‘guilty’ till date for Gujarat genocide against Muslim, there is no harm in honouring him as well? Like Modi’s role in Gujarat Genocide, the role of Tytler in the anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 is an open secret,” the statement says.
“While we condemn the organiser for choosing Tyter among the list of awardees, we also condemn Indian Islamic Cultural Centre for hosting it. And once again appeals to the distinguished individuals, who are participating in this function either as an awardees or guest, to boycott it as a matter of protest,” read the statement signed by the following:
Shabnam Hashmi, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD)
Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, Editor, Milli Gazette
Javed Anand, Citizen for Peace and Justice (CPJ)
Manisha Sethi, Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association (JTSA)
Kavita Srivastava, People’s Union for Civil Rights (PUCL)
Lateef Mohd. Khan, Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC)
Besides Tytler, seven personalities selected for the award are:
1. S Y Quraishi (Chief Election Commissioner of India)
2. Sanjeev Bhat, Indian Police Service officer, Gujarat cadre
3. Zafar Agha, Senior journalist, Delhi
4. Mohd Najeeb Ashraf Chaudhri, Chief Income Tax Commissioner
5. Maulana Mohd. Haseeb Siddiqui, Chairman, Deoband Nagar Palika Parishad
6. Nusrat Gwalliori, Urdu poet, Madhya Pradesh
7. Begum Rehana AR Andre, Social Activist and Educationist, Mumbai (Bi-Amma Award)
Of them, two – Sanjiv Bhatt and Zafar Agha – have declined the award and they are not going to attend the award ceremony on 10th Dec.
