July 25, 2012
To,
Shri Tarun Gogoi
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam
OPEN LETTER AND APPEAL
Dear Sir,
We, citizens of India committed to its deep secular and peace loving ethos appeal to you as head of the government in Assam to take all steps to ensure that violence stops, security is given to all displaced and dishoused by the violence so that they may return to their homes forthwith; adequate reparation for the lives lost and homes and other properties destroyed is paid and more than anything else a Fair and Time Bound Judicial Investigation by a Sitting HC Judge is conducted into the build up and fallout of the violence.
What concerns us deeply is the divisive discourse that seeks to create legitimacy for the violence by words and phrases like “infiltrators.” Since the mid 1990s tensions have simmered between the majority Bodo Councils and Muslim settlers despite the fact that the latter status was recognised in the Assam accord. Yet under the guise of discriminating between the two a small skirmish blew into a full blown communal conflagration; while the ethnicity of the 32 persons who lost their lives does not matter, the fact that the five persons who lost their lives to police bullets are from the minority has generated fear. There are already 1,70,000 persons in relief camps and they must be assisted with due security to return to their homes immediately. Dialogue must begin between the majority Bodo villages and the Muslim settlers for integrated rehabilitation.
Respecting your commitment to intra community peace we appeal to you to respond to this anguished appeal.
Teesta Setalvad, Mumbai
Javed Anand, Mumbai
Dr Asghar Ali Engineer, Mumbai
Ram Puniyani , Mumbai
Irfan Engineer, Mumbai
Hasan Kamal, Mumbai
Zafar Agha, Mumbai
Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Mumbai
MM Tirmizi, Ahmedabad
Rupa @Tanaz Mody, Ahmedabad
Sairabehn Salimbhai Sandhi, Ahmedabad
Salimbhai Noormohammed Sandhi, Ahmedabad
Tanveer Jafri, Surat
Rajendra Prasad, SAHMAT, Delhi
Ram Rahman, Delhi
M K Raina, Delhi
July 26, 2012 at 12:25 pm
When Muslims are using fire arms ,the police have no option but to return the fire.These so called secularists are provoking the rioting Muslims to use bigger killing devices like bombs and other explosives.They should be held responsible if Muslims resort to larger scale of killing of Bodos.
July 26, 2012 at 1:21 pm
irrespective of who you are, violence cannot be resorted to by the state , there are other ways to control riot which cops know very well
July 26, 2012 at 10:45 pm
SS Nagaraj, you are using the wrong word Secularists. They are not secularists, they are hypocrats with double standards who are silent when Kashmir Pandits were thrown out of the valley.
July 26, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Here are a bunch of absolute hypocrats, who are calling for a dialogue between majority and minority communities. Hey Hypocratic Leftists, please tell us, why are you not doing a dialogue yourself in Gujarat? Let you folks first set an example by :
1. Having a open, frank and free dialogue on all oustanding concerns with the Chief Minister of Gujarat who is the elected representative of the people of Gujarat
2. Having a open, frank and free dialogue with the terrorists of Jammu and Kashmir on the need to resettle the Kashmir Pandits in Kashmir valley.
So you folks first do that before expecting a dialogue to happen in Assam. He who lives in glass house shall not throw stone on others.
July 30, 2012 at 5:36 pm
What a pity! what information you ppl have on these issues? Try to see things objectively and don’t wear political or communal spects!
July 26, 2012 at 10:49 pm
ASSAM RIOTS = CONTRIBUTION OF 58 YEARS OF CONGRESS RULE TO INDIA.
LONG LIVE CONGRESS.. LONG LIVE DYNASTY RULE.
July 26, 2012 at 10:51 pm
ASSAM RIOTS VERY BAD VERY BAD
CONGRESS PARTY VERY GOOD VERY GOOD
MINORITY RIGHTS IN ASSAM VERY GOOD VERY GOOD
MINORITY RIGHTS IN KASHMIR VALLEY VERY BAD VERY BAD
SONIA RAHUL VERY GOOD VERY GOOD
RSS BJP VERY BAD VERY BAD
July 26, 2012 at 10:53 pm
The Riots are very bad and condemnable. It is high time Congress Party establishes secularism by making Shri Rahul as the Prime Minister and Priyankaji as Congress presidentand also by banning BJP, RSS, Shiv Sena, NDA , etc etc. Long Live Secular Congress. Long Live Soniaji, Rahulji, Priyankaji etc etc
July 26, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Long Live Soniaji, Long Live RahulJi, Long Live Congress. Time to make Rahulji as PM of India for solving all problems created by the evil hindutva folks. India is going to be a great nation very soon…
July 26, 2012 at 11:03 pm
It is interesting to see this letter. But the question that begs our understanding is – why is that we don’t see these so called respected citizens fight for the rights of resettling the lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits who have been ethnically cleansed out of Kashmir valley by islamic extremists 20 years back?
Maybe the ladies and gentlemen beleive that secularism is a one way street ?
July 26, 2012 at 11:10 pm
Wondering if the ladies and gentlemen here draft a similar letter when hundreds of thousands of Kashmir Pandits were ethnically cleansed by terrorists in Kashmir valley?
Never mind that.. it is still not late. Let us see a similar letter drafted to the UPA government @ Delhi and to the government at Srinagar to resettle the Kashmir Pandits in the valley at earliest.
July 27, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Every citizen must condemn violence which hurts to any one any where in India and peace must be seen firstly n ever lasting-
July 29, 2012 at 10:37 am
“while the ethnicity of the 32 persons who lost their lives does not matter, the fact that the five persons who lost their lives to police bullets are from the minority has generated fear.”
This one line is enough to understand for whom the so called Secularists speak for and their double standards.So if the five killed in police firing were Bodo Hindus would it have generated fear?No!
When Hindus are shot dead in BJP ruled Gujarat by the police during the Gujarat riots it is proof of their involvement in the riots.But when the minority members are shot dead by the police in Congress ruled Assam it generates fear!
Was this fear generated when Hindus were shot dead in Gujarat?
Was this concern there when lakhs of Hindus were kicked out of Kashmir? No!
With such biased attitudes of the so called Secularists the hardline Hindu organisations won’t have to toil much to get more sympathisers! These so called Secularists actually end up creating more supporters and sympathisers for hardline Hindu organisations.
What an irony?
July 29, 2012 at 11:14 am
So you won’t post comments that expose your biased mindset with proofs?
July 29, 2012 at 11:35 am
i dont believe in censorship, you need to give atleast 2-3 hrs for comments to be approved