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OPINION
DILEMMAS
HUMRA
QURAISHI
The Delhi-based writer
and columnist’s books
include Kashmir: The
Untold Story. She co-
authored a series of
writings with the late
Khushwant Singh and
her short stories are
part of anthologies.
The views expressed
are her own
Is there any way to
stop power misuse?
Divisive tactics together with marked targeted-killings have been
on the rise for the last few years yet not much is being done to halt
it. Signs of another round of partitioning out are visible, yet no one
seems unduly perturbed
hen Yogi Adityanath that is, survive as second or third class
government took citizens. But even here there is no relief
over as chief minister as I know for a fact that police men can
of Uttar Pradesh, he barge into any Muslim home and beat up
sent a direct or indi- boys, misbehave with the women, extract
W rect message to the and loot and ransack! To top it all there is
Muslims that they will have to do with no one out there to even hear their cries
much less! In every sense of the term — for the rulers and hand in glove with the
right from employment, to public space… police machinery!
to much less to eat and survive on, and of In fact, the absolutely fascist-sadistic
course, very little to celebrate! streak to it all is — the rulers want the
I am a Muslim from Uttar Pradesh and dying community to pay for the firearms
I know how very tough it is getting for the used in those barbaric unleashes! ‘Seizure
Muslims to survive in that State of India. of properties’ is the ultimate threat that
Of course, tough it is getting in other this government is unleashing on a hap-
States as well, but in Uttar Pradesh it’s less population. As though making sure
reaching the intolerable limits. that the Muslims are overnight ripped
Tell me who can fight the police ma- off their ancestral homes and lands and
chinery? One can watch on hopelessly as their very identity.
innocents are rounded up from Muslim In fact, soon after he came to power
mohallas. And if lawyers are arranged Yogi Adityanath’s government in Uttar
to move bail applications they too are Pradesh had also scrapped two signifi-
arrested and thrown in those hell holes cant public holidays: Jamat-ul-Alvida
called prisons! One such lawyer is Mo- (last Friday of the month of Ramazan)
hamed Faisal who is a practicing lawyer and also that of Eid Milad-ul-Nabi (birth-
at Kota Bar Association and who went day of Prophet Mohammad).In fact, as
to Shamli (Uttar Pradesh) on the call/re- one goes through the list of public holi-
quest of the local people to provide legal days scrapped by this UP government
aid to the victims affected by the police in it comes across as shocking that they
the anti - CAA protests. have decided to show their communal
But on December 23, 2019, when he bias against the Muslims once again. And
reached Shamli and tried to reach out once you read the details of the scrapped
to the victims in his capacity as a trained holidays, you’d realize the political estab-
practicing lawyer he was detained by lishment has been unduly harsh on the
the Uttar Pradesh police and kept in the Muslim community by banning holidays
Crime Branch! Perhaps, his only crime of great significance to the community.
that he tried to reach out to the Muslims Public holidays that have been
of the area- who are anyway sitting shat- scrapped by the UP government include
tered and battered, if not imprisoned. Jan Nayak Karpori Thakur birth anniver-
Muslims have realized that if they sary (January 24), Maharshi Kashyap and
have to survive under the Hindutva Maharaj Guha birth anniversary (April 5),
rulers they will have to keep all shut — Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Ajmeri
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