IAMC Weekly News Digest, 20th August 2021

August 21, 2021

IAMC Weekly News Digest, 20th August 2021

Modi in I-Day Speech: Politics of Othering and Distortion of History – By Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay

Photo: The Quint

….It is indeed a sad irony that days before the prime minister announced that 14 August would now be observed as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’, a Muslim man was assaulted in Kanpur and forced to chant Jai Shri Ram. If one goes back to the personal history of this man, one would discover that his ancestors chose to continue living in their country of birth because they believed in freedom and liberty that was assured to all citizens irrespective of social identities at independent India’s birth. Would the likes of those who have been selectively targeted in numerous incidents in recent years not wonder if previous generations made a mistake?…

‘I Watched Them Electrocute My Brother-in-Law to Death’: Dalit Worker Who Survived Lynching

Photo: The Wire

A week after he witnessed a young relative being lynched to death in Gurugram’s Sector 37, Sanjay (he goes by his first name), a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh, said he was anxious, unable to sleep and terrified…. Sanjay…. and his brother-in-law Anuj Kumar Gautam, a 21-year-old man who had come to the city to look for work from Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur district the previous month, were abducted by a group of local men in a SUV around 1 pm on August 2. The men, who run a badminton academy in Gurugram’s Sector 37C, accused both of them of stalking and sexually harassing a 16-year-old student of the Heritage Badminton Academy. They beat Gautam to death, and also hit Sanjay with sticks, rupturing the left side of his forehead, before locking him in a toilet. Sanjay’s right leg is swollen; he walks with a limp and has bruises all over his body….

Kanpur Mob Attack on Muslim Rickshaw Driver Prompts Demand for a Law Against Hate Crimes

Photo: Clarion India Videograb

The horrific video of a Hindutva mob attacking a Muslim man in UP’s Kanpur while his daughter pleads for mercy has sparked massive outrage particularly on social media forcing the police to take action. A case was registered on the complaint of 45-year-old victim Absar Ahmad. Following this three men were arrested including a member of Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday. But just within 24 hours all the three were released on bail…. The release came hours after supporters of extremist outfit Bajrang Dal held a protest outside the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) seeking release of the three men. They chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ – a slogan that has become a rallying cry for targeting helpless Muslims. The quick release of accused despite committing a crime which the activists say was not only a physical attack for his Muslim identity but also “outraged the dignity of the victim” renewed calls for a law that specifically addresses the hate crimes such as hate speech, mob violence including lynching targeting minorities particularly Muslims….