[WSMDiscuss] The US is aflame, the people of the US are aflame… : Coalition Against Fascism in India (CAFI) Stands with Anti-Racist Protests in the USA / George Floyd’s murder is an Inhumane Act : Black Lives Matter (ICDR International Commission on Dalit Human Rights) / Statement Of Indian Feminists On The Police Violence That Killed George Floyd (FeministsIndia)

[Jai Sen]

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Viruses in movement…, Resistance in movement…, The US in movement…, Solidarity in movement…

[The US is aflame, the people of the US are aflame… and now, mingling with the fires of solidarity burning from within the US, more flames of solidarity with their struggles from other communities of Indians from within the US and from India :

·      Coalition Against Fascism in India (CAFI) Stands with Anti-Racist Protests in the USA

·      George Floyd’s murder is an Inhumane Act : Black Lives Matter (ICDR International Commission on Dalit Human Rights)

·      Statement Of Indian Feminists On The Police Violence That Killed George Floyd (FeministsIndia)


Coalition Against Fascism in India (CAFI) Stands with Anti-Racist Protests in the USA

https://kafila.online/2020/06/03/coalition-against-fascism-in-india-cafi-stands-with-anti-racist-protests-in-the-usa/ <https://kafila.online/2020/06/03/coalition-against-fascism-in-india-cafi-stands-with-anti-racist-protests-in-the-usa/>


As Indians and people of Indian origin in the United States, we stand in solidarity with Black communities and their allies who are protesting this racism, and demanding structural change.

The killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd have highlighted the systemic racism against African-Americans that is a continuation of the long history of the criminalization, dehumanization, and oppression of Black lives in the United States. From the economy to the electoral system, this society has been built on the simultaneous exploitation and marginalization of Black people. The COVID pandemic too shows how their lives continue to be the most vulnerable in our society today.

As South Asians, we have inherited a legacy of racism of our own, both in this country where many of us have been persuaded that we are a model minority, with an ‘Aryan’ heritage, and in our homelands, which have deep racist structures of their own, along the axes of caste, religious difference, as well as color. But we have also inherited radical histories, of fighting against colonial oppression, of mobilizing against caste-ism, and of aligning with black and brown peoples in this country. It has always been up to us to choose our legacies, and today, this choice is more critical than ever. Just as in the US, Trump is fanning an escalation of white nationalist violence, in India Modi’s regime is orchestrating a pogrom of violence against  Muslims, immigrants and Dalits. It is important for us to raise our voices against the deeply racist regimes and social structures in both countries.

It is shameful that a small subsection of Indians and Indian Americans are taking the side of the oppressors against the oppressed. We condemn their spread <https://twitter.com/HinduAmericans/status/1266491789671911424?s=20> of hate and prejudice, and their calling <https://twitter.com/harshit10296/status/1266904598213726208?s=20> upon the US authorities to use the murderous tactics used by Yogi Adityanath in India. As Indians and people of Indian origin living and working in America, we say in one voice: THEY DO NOT REPRESENT US.

It is also shameful that some Indians and Indian Americans claim to be anti-racist in the US but continue to support Modi’s anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit, anti-feminist and anti-Left pogroms. Such duplicity will no longer work. We need to stand clearly and unequivocally against hatred and fascism everywhere.

 We declare that we:

Stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, NAACP, and all antiracist organizations confronting the anti-blackness endemic to the United States.
Stand in solidarity with a wide swathe of minority organizations, including organizations of Asian Americans and South Asian Americans, against racism in the United States. Here is a rapidly growing chain letter showing just how wide this coalition is: https://caalmn.org/api4georgefloyd/ <https://caalmn.org/api4georgefloyd/>
Denounce police violence against Black bodies that has led to the death of so many innocent people.
Denounce the culture of impunity that exists for the police in the US, and the disproportionate powers and protections they enjoy that allow them to do harm.
Stand with the Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, MPD150 and others in calling for the defunding of police, dismantling of the carceral state, and for the diversion of police funds to community-led health, safety, and education initiatives.
Further, we declare that:

Police violence in the US has parallels in police violence against Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi and Muslim communities in India.
The abuse of State power to attack vulnerable communities and the right to protest is unacceptable to us, whether it happens in Minneapolis, Delhi, or Srinagar.
We will no longer tolerate abuses of power by the State, whether it is the American or the Indian State.
We will strive to protect the rights and the power of people everywhere to fight against violations perpetrated by government institutions, and stand united against such violations. So long as one of us is under attack, we are all under attack, and we will fight back.
We reject the idea that property has more meaning than the lives of citizens, and consider the destruction of property in protests to be a distant and deeply secondary concern to the daily violence that vulnerable communities have to live with.


George Floyd’s murder is an Inhumane Act : Black Lives Matter

ICDR International Commission on Dalit Human Rights

fwd

> Begin forwarded message:
> From: "dbsagar at icdrintl.org" <dbsagar at icdrintl.org>
> Subject: [pmarc] George Floyd’s murder is an Inhumane Act: Black Lives Matter
> Date: June 3, 2020 at 4:12:45 AM EDT
> To: "Dalits Media Watch" <PMARC at dgroups.org>
> Cc: Hira Shahbaz <hira at icdrintl.org>, Marielle Costanza <marielle at icdrintl.org>, Manoj Kapilashrami <Manoj at icdrintl.org>, Mickaël Labitte <mickael at icdrintl.org>, Rick Gold <Chair at icdrintl.org>, Krishna Bishwakarma <tokrishnamail at gmail.com>, Santosh Tiwari <santoshtiwari at my.smccd.edu>, Erin McMahon <mcmahon.erin01 at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: "Dalits Media Watch" <PMARC at dgroups.org>




For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                      1751 Pinnacle Dr., Suite 600 
                                                                      McLean, VA, USA
                                                                                                      Media Email: icdrintl at icdrintl.org <mailto:icdrintl at icdrintl.org>
 
George Floyd’s murder is an Inhumane Act: Black Lives Matter
 Washington, D.C., June 2nd, 2020

The International Commission for Dalit Rights (ICDR) condemns the recent murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers on the 25th of May, 2020. Police brutality and murder have pervaded American society for much of this nation’s history, and such acts are stark examples of systemic injustice, oppression, and racism. The ICDR stands in alliance with the nation’s grieving minority population. Globally, citizens of different creeds and nationalities have unified to pledge support to the African-American population. George Floyd was a healthy young man, as were Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Trayvon Martin, individuals who were similarly slaughtered needlessly and mindlessly. ICDR condemns the massacre of individuals on the basis of one’s skin color, belief system, and economic status. We pledge our support to grieving black communities nation-wide and demand justice for George Floyd and his loved ones.
 
ICDR urges Minnesota’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison to: list demands
George Floyd’s family has called for all 4 officers involved in Floyd’s death to be charged with murder. Though Officer Chauvin, the man responsible for incapacitating Floyd to the point of asphyxiation has been fired and charged with third-degree murder, the other officers have not been charged. These 3 officers physically restrained Floyd as Chauvin forced his knee on Floyd’s throat. ICDR stands in solidarity with the family of George Floyd and seeks unbiased and just judicial measures to be taken. Similarly, it was only in February that Ahmaud Arbery was mercilessly shot down in his Georgia community, a modern-day act of lynching. In March, 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor was struck down and killed by more than 20 rounds of bullets during a “no-knock” search. 

All over the world, acts of cruelty and injustice are silencing the voices of valuable members of society. In Nepal and India, the recent slaying of several Dalit communities has further exposed the criminal and unethical practices of caste discrimination. Racism, Caste-ism and bigotry are inhumane acts against African-Americans, Dalits, and Minorities civilians, particularly in the United States and in South Asian nations.
 
ICDR condemns this senseless act of murder and stands in alliance with Americans who demand justice for all individuals. For additional information about ICDR, please visit our website at www.icdrintl.org <http://www.icdrintl.org/>.
###
-- 

Dil Bishkarma (D.B. Sagar) 
President  


1751 Pinnacle Drive, Suite 600 McLean, VA 22102 <https://maps.google.com/?q=1751+Pinnacle+Drive+Suite+600+McLean,+VA+22102&entry=gmail&source=g>
Preventing Discrimination in COVID-19 crisis Creates respectful Society 
http://www.ICDRINTL.org <http://www.icdrintl.org/>
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http://twitter.com/ICDRForum <https://twitter.com/ICDRForum>
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Statement Of Indian Feminists On The Police Violence That Killed George Floyd

FeministsIndia

fwd

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: "vibhuti.np" <vibhuti.np at gmail.com>
> Subject: [pmarc] STATEMENT OF INDIAN FEMINISTS ON THE POLICE VIOLENCE THAT KILLED GEORGE FLOYD
> Date: June 3, 2020 at 6:49:45 AM EDT
> To: "Dalits Media Watch" <PMARC at dgroups.org>
> Cc: Hira Shahbaz <hira at icdrintl.org>, Marielle Costanza <marielle at icdrintl.org>, Manoj Kapilashrami <Manoj at icdrintl.org>, Mickaël Labitte <mickael at icdrintl.org>, Rick Gold <Chair at icdrintl.org>, Krishna Bishwakarma <tokrishnamail at gmail.com>, Santosh Tiwari <santoshtiwari at my.smccd.edu>, Erin McMahon <mcmahon.erin01 at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: "Dalits Media Watch" <PMARC at dgroups.org>


STATEMENT OF INDIAN FEMINISTS ON THE POLICE VIOLENCE THAT KILLED GEORGE FLOYD

We, feminists in India, strongly condemn the murder of George Floyd, an African-American, by a white officer of the Minneapolis Police Department, and express our deep solidarity with the people’s resistance against police violence presently raging in the US and many other parts of the world. 

Words from George Floyd in his death throes, "I cannot breathe", speak to each one of us. Recent data has yielded clear evidence that the Black community in the US has borne the brunt of the present COVID 19 crisis, pointing to serious gaps in provisioning, including access to housing and healthcare. They also account for a disproportionately larger percentage of the prison population. These realities underline the systemic racism and structured discrimination along lines of ethnicity within the US and the explosion of public anger now on display in major cities across the country represents a moment of truth for American society. 

We in India, who have long been living with a sense of outrage over the violence and discrimination perpetrated by our own police force against minorities and the most marginalized, recognize the importance of this moment. The powerful slogan, ‘Black Lives Matter’ now resonating across the US, reminds us of the targeted violence being perpetrated by the Indian state and police against specific communities, right here, right now. We are anguished that Indian society has often been complicit in such brutality. Along with the Black community in the US, and drawing strength from their struggle, we also shout out loud, ‘Muslim Lives Matter’, ‘Dalit Lives Matter’, ‘Adivasi Lives Matter’, ‘Kashmiri Lives Matter’, ‘Trans Lives Matter’. Along with them, we also cry out, ‘We cannot breathe. Get off our necks!’ 

END POLICE VIOLENCE NOW. END STATE COMPLICITY IN SUCH VIOLENCE NOW! END RACISM NOW! END PATRIARCHAL VIOLENCE NOW!

June 2, 2020
Issued by members of FeministsIndia, an online India-based collective comprising over 750 individuals and groups.


____________________________

Jai Sen

Independent researcher, editor; Senior Fellow at the School of International Development and Globalisation Studies at the University of Ottawa

jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded and unsurrendered Anishinaabe territory (+1-613-282 2900) 

CURRENT / RECENT publications :

Jai Sen, ed, 2018a – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance. Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
Jai Sen, ed, 2018b – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ? (Indian edition). New Delhi : AuthorsUpfront, in collaboration with OpenWord and PM Press.  Hard copy available at MOM1AmazonIN <https://www.amazon.in/dp/9387280101/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522884070&sr=8-2&keywords=movements+of+movements+jai+sen>, MOM1Flipkart <https://www.flipkart.com/the-movements-of-movements/p/itmf3zg7h79ecpgj?pid=9789387280106&lid=LSTBOK9789387280106NBA1CH&marketplace=FLIPKART&srno=s_1_1&otracker=search&fm=SEARCH&iid=ff35b702-e6a8-4423-b014-16c84f6f0092.9789387280106.SEARCH&ppt=Search%20Page>, and MOM1AUpFront <http://www.authorsupfront.com/movements.htm>
Jai Sen, ed, 2017 – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press.  Ebook and hard copy available at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
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