Good Riddance to Shaheen Baghs

Some very significant subtle messages emerge from the Supreme Court judgment on the Shaheen Bagh case. Behind the ‘peaceful’ protest against Citizenship Amendment Act, was a sinister design to unleash communal violence and mayhem in the country. Their strategy, designed to create civil discord and rupture in the socio-cultural fabric of Bharat, was soon revealed in the well orchestrated and targeted riots at North-East Delhi, beginning February 23, 2020. As the fact-finding team of the Call For Justice, on the Delhi riots, revealed, that there was a wider plan to create social disharmony and turmoil in the country. The Hathras events are also not entirely disconnected with this larger design, plotted behind this prolonged political jamboree at Shaheen Bagh, and the gatherings at Jamia and parts of Yamuna Vihar area of Delhi.

The much-hyped Shaheen Bagh which soon turned into a site of ‘Picnic protest’ people swarming for cash and biryani. People who had no idea about the legislation were mouthing seditious slogans. Now, the Shaheen Bagh will forever be remembered as a ‘maryada-heen’ Bagh. Each day presented its own episodes of radicalisation of minor children shouting anti-national slogans, naive females being used as pawns, paying them for a daily assemblage to raise slogans against CAA, which gradually transformed into vulgar personal attacks on select politicians and denigration of Hindu Gods. The tone and tenor bordered on seditious incitement. Unmindful of usurping public space, inconveniencing fellow citizens, even the sad death of a child did not move the conscience of these ‘highly mercenary women group’ or their puppeteers.

Though the almost three months’ uncouth political drama, with special appearances of pseudo-intellectuals, varying categories like aspiring, failed or unemployed politicians and even enemy-State supports. A seemingly unending theatre of dangerous absurdity finally ended, but not because court appointed interlocutors could drill good sense into vicious minds or because the administration took the desired action. It actually ended by the ‘hand of God’ through intervention of an unknown, unseen and undetected virus named Covid-19 that rescued us from further mayhem! Now comes the great relief from the judgment of the Supreme Court, and it is time for the gang of the ‘Jinnah wali Azadi’, ‘Bharat Tere Tukde Honge’ , communal-violence troublemakers, along with their Communist and across-borders-patrons, to take home the message from the words of the wise men of the Supreme Court.

On October 7, 2020, came the Supreme Court judgment, from Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul, on the Civil Appeal NO: 3282 of 2020, Amit Sahni …Appellant Versus Commissioner of Police & ORS. …Respondents. It is a day of reckoning for the plotters and planners of disruptive conspiracies against democratic nation, for the unemployed politicians, and their mischief-brewing cohorts and patrons from India and abroad.

Disposing the Civil Appeal of Amit Sahni, against Commissioner of Police & ORS, filed for their inaction to remove the mob of squatters on public road and public property, the judges unambiguously emphasized that the right to protest peacefully anywhere and for unrestricted period of time is not permissible, freedom to occupy places for protest is not absolute but subject to provisions laid out in law. While upholding the right to protest as constitutional, the court also reminded the protesters – ‘However, while appreciating the existence of the right to peaceful protest against a legislation …we have to make it unequivocally clear that public ways and public spaces cannot be occupied in such a manner and that too indefinitely. Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, but then the demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone.’

Democracy and dissent go hand in hand, but then the demonstrations expressing dissent have to be in designated places alone: Supreme Court

These simple lines also hint that Bharat is governed by an elected government and is no more under colonial rule. Colonial rule ended in 1947 and anti-colonial protest tactics have no place in today’s independent constitutionally governed Bharat. Therefore the methods followed to fight colonial rule have no place in a free independent nation, and such misconceived campaigns of disruption also have to be shed. Our modern Constitution provides sufficient safeguards to liberty and freedom of expression. It also provides means to express grievance against an elected government, with various structured platforms for dissent, as democracy survives with right to express disagreements on any matter, but through healthy opposition.

The judgment begins with very subtle comment on recent history, a reminder to the protesting group – ‘Our country made tryst with destiny on the midnight hour of 15th August 1947, shedding the colonial yoke. Despite the pain and turbulence of the partition, the best of the legal and political minds assembled together in the Constituent Assembly to give us one of the most elaborate and modern Constitutions.’

The undertone of restrained expression of angst at the deeds of the ‘Bharat Tere Tukde Honge’ gang cannot be missed. In highest tradition of cultural dignity, the honorable Judges have sent out a clear message to the Tukde Tukde Gang that the ‘Azadi’ was settled in 1947, and thus, those aspiring for ‘Jinnahwali Azadi’ learn to reconcile with the 1947 bifurcation, while having full freedom of peaceful movement to anyplace, anywhere of their choice.

By pronouncing an ‘unequivocal’ ban on ‘unlimited occupation of public spaces, the Supreme Court has given us relief from such protests which inconvenience the public.

‘The present case was not even one of protests taking place in an undesignated area, but was a blockage of a public way which caused grave inconvenience to commuters’. ‘We cannot accept the plea of the applicants that an indeterminable number of people can assemble whenever they choose to protest’, has upheld value of democracy over anarchy. It is a ‘Knock Knock’ on the doors of the Tukde Tukde Gang, to take the message – No more Shaheen Baghs.

The Hathras incident should be understood in the backdrop of what was cooking up at Shaheen Bagh, besides the biryani, of course. The Fact-Finding Team on Delhi Riots understood in a wider menu. The Report states: “After passing of The Citizenship Amendment Bill in December, 2019, a wave of protests gripped the nation and a couple of months later, New Delhi was in the headlines for large scale violence, reportedly triggered by clashes between anti-CAA and pro-CAA groups in the North-East Delhi, all while the President of the United States was in the city for a bilateral visit”. The Report provides the reasons behind this violence, which are certainly to be comprehended for national scale repercussions. “The unresolved socio-political issues pending for prolonged periods were eventually resolved including Triple Talaq, Article 370, and the Ram Janmabhoomi during 2019 which somewhat brought out the anger simmering in several radical groups which were working against the interests of India and its people. Though CAA did not have any adverse ramification on any citizen of the country irrespective of cast, religion or community and the anti-CAA radical groups were losing ground amongst the public and therefore, to keep the issue burning, a series of narratives using multiple platforms, targeting different classes of the society, were spread in a synchronized manner. However, over a period of time, the momentum created by these false narrative was losing shine and with a bigger conspiracy in their mind, these radical groups targeted/focused the narrative, through multiple platforms, on various segments of people in specific areas including North-East Delhi, in order to convert the hatred into physical violence and provided the requisite support in terms of logistic, finance and planning/management of subversive activities.” (Introduction Page 3, Report of Fact-Finding Committee, of Call for Justice)

The unresolved socio-political issues pending for long periods were eventually resolved, including Triple Talaq, Article 370, and the Ram Janmabhoomi, during 2019, which somewhat brought out the anger simmering in several radical groups which were working against the interests of India and its peop

Now to understand the link of Act two of the ‘Maryadaheen’ protagonists and Hathras incident, we delve into some common aspects. Let us be very clear that Shaheen Bagh was initiated as a rehearsal drama, with an immediate aim and long term aim. The strategists behind the almost three months’ ‘halla-bulla’ were definitely working with a wide plan to create societal discord, disharmony and tear the recent years’ peaceful co-existence, by re-igniting the fault lines created in our country over the last few centuries of foreign and colonial rule. The Congress and other opposition entities had been using this ploy for years together, as evident from countless riots witnessed by our country, during their past rule. Here the associating of Bhim Army at Shaeen Bagh events is also to be noticed. The Fact Finding team had already foreseen and hinted at a deeper and larger conspiracy as revealed in their report, though the nature of future course and theme was not predictable.