[WSMDiscuss] India in movement…. : Fwd: Appeal for Observing October 2 as a Protest Day across India (and on October 5 in Delhi)

Fri Sep 22 19:17:27 CEST 2017

Friday, September 22, 2017

India in movement….

[For those not from India / who don't know this, the significance of October 2 is that this was Gandhiji’s birth day, and is quite widely observed across India as a day of peace and non-violence.  (Indeed, “the United Nations General Assembly <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly> announced on 15 June 2007 that it adopted a resolution which declared that 2 October will be celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Non-Violence>”) :

Appeal for Observing October 2 as a Protest Day across India

(and on October 5 in Delhi)

Forum against the killing of Gauri Lankesh

“The assassination of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh has evidently rung a strong alarm. Though the chain of resolve to condemn and resist the dastardly act exhibited across the nation is encouraging, much more needs to be done to counter the terror acts and save the precious dissident democratic spaces from the onslaught of fascist forces.

“The assassination of Gauri Lankesh, two years after a similar horror was perpetrated on scholar M.M.Kalaburgi in Karnataka, we believe, is not an isolated act. Murder of rationalists in the very same fashion in Maharashtra had given the warning signals much before. And these killings are inseparable from the chain of killings of Daliths and Muslims in the name of ‘cow protection’, ‘religion’ etc. It is the dangerous continuation of the spread of right wing ideology which has started in 1990s.

“We earnestly appeal to all citizens who have shown the courage to say NO to perpetuators of terror, to come in clusters and build a broad, democratic coalition to rescue Freedom and Democracy from onslaught of Right Wing Fascism. We appeal to every individual and collective, all those who think and feel for the future of humanity as a whole, to come forward and support the voice of Unity for a harmonious and Vibrant Society.

Stand up for Gauri, Stand up for freedom, Stand up for harmony

The common slogan shall be : ‘Those who killed Gandhi killed Gauri’

            Thanks for posting this, Irfan.

In solidarity –

            JS

fwd

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Irfan Engineer <irfanengi at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Secular Perspective] Fwd: Fw: Appeal and note on gauri for sharing in mail and whatsapp
> Date: September 22, 2017 at 6:48:02 AM EDT
> To: Secular Perspective <secularperspective at googlegroups.com>
> Reply-To: irfanengi at gmail.com

Please observe 2nd October as a protest day
Irfan Engineer

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ganesh_devy <ganesh_devy at yahoo.com <mailto:ganesh_devy at yahoo.com>>
Date: 22 September 2017 at 15:56
Subject: Fw: Appeal and note on gauri for sharing in mail and whatsapp

Dear Friend,
When Protest was held in Bangalore on the 12th September, there were-- at different estimates-- between 15000 to 30000 persons.

Can Delhi not match the scale at its national proportion ?
Let all of us stand together.

For all further details, please contact LALITHA (copied in this mail)

You will be happy to know that writers from 70 countries have passed a unanimous resolution at the PEN International Congress meeting in Ukrain on the 21st September strongly condemning the attack on media and thinkers.

You will also be happy to know that hundreds of students in Maharashtra will carry out a protest from the 1st to the 5th October. They are meeting in Nashik on the 24-25th Septmber to decide on their Collective Action 

In solidarity

Ganesh Devy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear friends/comrades 

Do kindly pass on this appeal

·        To prominent people in your state requesting them to serve as signatories for the national call and also try to be present on 5th rally in Delhi for only that can mount the pressure. Pl let us know about this aspect through call or mail by 24th, a day before the press meet is fixed to the maximum extent possible and keep the efforts on until 4th Oct.

·        To all concerned people to participate actively in the rally ready with their slogans, placards, songs etc.

The time, venue where we meet and the actual programme will be chalked out on 25th September, 3 days from now and intimated to you soon after.

With warm regards

Lalitha 

                  Forum against the killing of Gauri Lankesh

An appeal

Dear Concerned and Conscious Citizens,

The assassination of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh has evidently rung a strong alarm. Though the chain of resolve to condemn and resist the dastardly act exhibited across the nation is encouraging, much more needs to be done to counter the terror acts and save the precious dissident democratic spaces from the onslaught of fascist forces.

The assassination of Gauri Lankesh, two years after a similar horror was perpetrated on scholar M.M.Kalaburgi in Karnataka, we believe, is not an isolated act. Murder of rationalists in the very same fashion in Maharashtra had given the warning signals much before. And these killings are inseparable from the chain of killings of Daliths and Muslims in the name of ‘cow protection’, ‘religion’ etc. It is the dangerous continuation of the spread of right wing ideology which has started in 1990s.

Being a founder member of Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike [The Communal Harmony Forum, Karnataka], Gauri Lankesh was actively involved in the resistance against reactionary forces along with other progressive sections of Karnataka who had responded pro-actively and consistently to counter the growth of such  trend in the society. Many are the earnest, serious and brave attempts being made across India by very many organizations, groups and even individuals to expose and oppose the dreadful forces who are a threat to a unified and just society.  Yet the above assassinations and other developments clearly demonstrate that whatever has been done is just not sufficient to counter their terror.  The major concern is the limited spread of the organized resistance among wider and diverse Civil Society Institutions in Karnataka and entire India in fact.

It has often been pointed out that, in spite of land slide electoral mandate garnered by right wing forces, nearly two third voters showed their opposition to rise of the authoritarian right wing. Yet the practical efforts to identify the discrete oppositional bases and to mobilize such civil society dissidence to consolidate a formidable coalition of left, liberal and democratic forces have been slow and desperate. But after the killing of Gauri Lankesh a stronger reaction has come from different quarters of the society which include Artists (including ‘main stream’ cinema), Journalists, ex-civil service officers, legal fraternity including former judges, Academicians, Religious heads (especially the Viraktha Basava tradition Swamijis of Karnataka), LGBT community etc and more serious resolve is shown by diverse streams across the nation, as never before. Youth and students formed the major chunk of the different mobilisations against this killing. These facts are clearly underlined by any number of ongoing protests, spontaneous outpour of common people into the streets and a whole shower of creative and angry resistance in social media. This amply demonstrates that, the ‘Optimism of Will’ to resist divisive forces is alive and uncompromisingly rising the voice of dissent. The Symbolic Black we wore for mourning has transformed in to ‘The Black of resistance’.

Hitherto history indicates that, wherever it may be, a severe blow to any fascism and dictatorship could be dealt only through the widest possible united front of all who firmly stood to oppose it. The ascendance of rightist elements not only in India but world over forewarns us of the grave risks to all democracy and harmony. As Dickensian saying goes “It is the time of despair, it is the time of hope”. So, NOW is the time to respond to our inner call. NOW is the time to cease and weave a network of fraternity to halt right wing terrorism from sowing and spearheading desperation, death and destruction.

We earnestly appeal to all citizens who have shown the courage to say NO to perpetuators of terror, to come in clusters and build a broad, democratic coalition to rescue Freedom and Democracy from onslaught of Right Wing Fascism. We appeal to every individual and collective, all those who think and feel for the future of humanity as a whole, to come forward and support the voice of Unity for a harmonious and Vibrant Society.

As the first step in this process, we request one and all to join hands in the All India decentralized but coordinated Dharna in front of Gandhi statues/memorials or such other public place on Oct 2nd to condemn Gauri’s killing. Secondly, we request that people be mobilised in every state for the centralized rally in Delhi on 5th Oct, when it would be exactly one month from the date of killing. Already existing initiatives to hold protest meetings within the state on the said date may be held accordingly thus strengthening the protest voice. Elsewhere and also in addition to intrastate protests it will be good to organise a section of the people for the central rally as well, to the maximum extent possible.

The immediate necessity to pursue this joint effort is to:

Demand that the police investigation primarily focuses on the most probable killers and the real political actors behind them as is the normal procedure. The most probable killers here are obviously only those who were Gauri’s main adversaries, the most retrogressive forces which had threatened to kill Gauri and which have justified and celebrated her killing. And the state government in Karnataka expedites action in this direction by all means.

To insist above all that it is the utmost responsibility of the offices that are supposed to safeguard the constitutional values to discharge their duty impartially. But unfortunately the present dispensation in the centre is unashamedly upholding and supporting the forces which are destroying communal harmony and democratic values that are entrenched in our society. Hence it is all the more necessary that ‘we the people of India’ apply moral and political pressure on the prevailing regime, such that an unbiased enquiry is conducted not only to arrest the criminals behind the acts but also the extra constitutional forces behind them.

The programme in Delhi thus is very necessary and important to exert pressure on the central government, to reach our voice to those in the higher echelons of power, who are willfully acting deaf and dumb in this vital matter that has moved the entire country. And this calls for the direct participation of all conscientious well-known citizens of our land in the forefront of the rally, to lend a stronger voice to that of the assembled people.

We once again appeal to each of you and all of you to join us on

OCTOBER 2nd in respective state and on OCTOBER 5th in Delhi and thus ‘Stand up for Gauri, Stand up for freedom, Stand up for harmony’

The common slogan shall be: ‘Those who killed Gandhi killed Gauri’

.

-- 
Irfan Engineer
Director, 
Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
Call:  +91-22-26149668  | Fax: +91-22-6100712
e-mail: forirf at gmail.com <mailto:forirf at gmail.com>; irfanengi at gmail.com <mailto:irfanengi at gmail.com>; csss.mumbai at gmail.com <mailto:csss.mumbai at gmail.com>
skype: irfanen |  Website <http://csss-isla.com/> | Blog <http://ipscr.wordpress.com/>______________________________
______________________________

Jai Sen

jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/> / http://www.openword.net.in

Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) 

Recent publications :

Jai Sen, ed, 2016a  – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?  and  Jai Sen, ed, 2016b – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance (both forthcoming in 2017 from New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press), ADVANCE PREFINAL ONLINE MOVEMENT EDITIONS @ www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/>
FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS  :

Jai Sen, ed, 2017a – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  Volume 4 in the Challenging Empires series (New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press).  Available for pre-order at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
&

Jai Sen, ed, 2017b – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance.  Volume 5 in the Challenging Empires series (New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press)

CHECK OUT CACIM @ www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/>, OpenWord @ http://www.openword.net.in <http://www.openword.net.in/>, and OpenSpaceForum @ www.openspaceforum.net <http://www.openspaceforum.net/>
AND SUBSCRIBE TO World Social Movement Discuss, an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum for the exchange of information and views on the experience, practice, and theory of social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global), including the World Social Forum.  To subscribe, simply send an empty email to wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net <mailto:wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.openspaceforum.net/pipermail/wsm-discuss/attachments/20170922/b5755a85/attachment.htm>