Muslim Rashtriya Manch demands
Virag Pachpore
The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) has demanded total and effective ban on Mumbai-based Raza Academy for inciting violence in Mumbai on August 11 by organising a protest march in India’s financial capital to deplore attacks on Muslims in Assam’s Bodo-dominated areas.
In a resolution moved by MRM’s national co-convener Latif Magdum of Pune and seconded by Prof Shahid Akhtar of Ranchi, the MRM Central Committee, which met in Delhi on August 27 and 28 under the chairmanship of National Convener Mohd Afzal, deplored the attitude of Raza Academy towards violence perpetrated against women constables, cops and journalists of electronic media who had gathered to cover the event on that fateful day.
The resolution also condemned the Muslim outfit for damaging public property and ‘Jai Jawan Smarak’ at CST during the incident. It demanded a total and effective ban on the outfit and also urged the Maharashtra Government to recover the cost of damage caused by Raza Academy’s volunteers to the public property.
It may be mentioned that the violence in Assam’s Bodo-dominated Kokrajhar and other districts had its echo in Mumbai, Lucknow and other cities and metros in India where Muslim groups and organisations held protest demonstrations to condemn that violence. However, the demonstrations in Mumbai’s CST and Azad Maidan area went out of control of the organisers and cops causing large scale violence, molestation of women constables and damage to public property including the ‘Jai Jawan Smarak’.
The MRM meeting also strongly deplored the acts of vandalism of Muslims in Lucknow, Kanpur and other cities where they organised protest against Assam violence and damaged the idols of Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavir. The resolution was also passed unanimously by all the members.
The MRM also deplored the attempts to create panic among the Assamese and other North-eastern people living in Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and other places by sending SMS and MMS on mobile phones and forcing them to leave for Assam. Pakistan has tried to disrupt the unity of Indian society through this well thought of conspiracy, which the MRM deplored strongly, the resolution said.
A committee under the chairmanship of Prof Shahid Akhtar was formed to study the situation in Assam and present the facts to the Central Committee at the earliest.
OIC’s move on J&K condemned
In another resolution, the MRM strongly criticised the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) for referring Jammu & Kashmir as ‘independent state’ in their meeting held on August 14-15 in Mecca.
The resolution moved by Latif Magdum said this act of the OIC was tantamount to direct interference in the internal matters of India and should not be tolerated by nationalist people. The resolution said that J &K was, is and will be integral and inseparable part of India. It urged the Government of India to take up the issue at the diplomatic level with the OIC member countries and with the UN also to compel the OIC to correct the mistake.
The resolution was seconded by national co-convener Shahjad Ali from Agra who also said that the OIC had exceeded its brief by terming J&K as ‘independent state’. He too urged the Government to take necessary diplomatic steps to and move the UN authority against this attitude of the OIC.
Signature Campaign on J&K
The MRM also decided to undertake a massive countrywide signature campaign to generate mass awareness regarding the fallacy of the report of the three interlocutors appointed by the Central Government to suggest some concrete solutions to the vexed issue of J&K.
The campaign will be held from October 20 to November 20. In this national campaign the MRM would organise seminars, symposia, discussions, and other programmes on the interlocutors’ report vis-à-vis ground realities in J&K and collect lakhs of signatures of Indian citizens to be submitted to the President and Prime Minister of India.
Senior MRM office-bearers would be addressing press meets at all the important cities, metros and towns and copies of the interlocutors’ report would be burnt publically from October 1 to 10 as precursor to the signature campaign.
The objective of this exercise is to create atmosphere for rejection of the report as it advocates the interests of the separatists.
Shri Indresh Kumar’s Speech
In his speech Patron of the MRM Indresh Kumar said the MRM which began its journey on a very humble note a decade ago has come to stay. It has earned a position in the society and many Muslims now want to associate themselves with it.
Calling upon the MRM activists he exhorted them to maintain their standard in public life. He also asked them to develop a circle of contact among the intelligentsia, and influential persons of the community so that they can be brought closer to MRM in future.
