New Delhi: Since the riots in northeast Delhi in February that killed 53 people, Delhi police have summoned several people in an attempt to investigate the “conspiracy” behind the violence. Among those questioned are four labor rights activists.
Khajuri Khas, where the four activists were most vocal during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, was one of the areas most affected by the violence. Various reports have said that mobs chanting “Jai Shri Ram” burned several buildings in the area.
The four activists, Yogesh Swamy (38), Vishal Kumar (26), Sunny Singh (31) and Rakesh Kumar (30), were interrogated several times between April and August. All four are part of various organizations, including Bigul Mazdoor Dasta, a left-wing group that works on the problems of informal sector workers. They are also part of the Naujavan Bharat Sabha, an organization based on the principles of Shaheed Bhagat Singh that works in education and employment, and of the Bhartiya Krantikari Mazdoor Party that speaks about the rights of the working class and disputed six seats in Lok 2019. Election of Sabha.
The activists said The wire that the line of questioning indicates that the police are trying to link them to communal violence because of their active participation in the anti-CAA protests. The CAA was approved by parliament late last year and sparked a series of large-scale protests across the country as many viewed the law as discriminatory against Muslims.
Sunny Swamy, a doctoral fellow in chemistry from the University of Delhi, says that he and the other three were “quite active” during the protests against the CAA since December 2019. “We participated in the protests because we were against the CAA. and the NRC, which we see as a direct enemy of the poor because they will suffer the most when asked to provide documentation. It also divides people on the basis of religion. “
All four were the most active in organizing a protest against the CAA in Khajuri Khas, which began in February, the same month that the violence in Delhi took place.
Delhi Police Questions
“They [Delhi Police] they have been worrying us from the beginning. They have made our colleagues sit in the police station for more than 10 hours at a time, ”Sunny alleged.
“The police asked us about the organizers of the Chand Bagh protest to link it to the violence. They asked us about the speakers, the funding and even the Jamia Steering Committee, ”Sunny said. Several members of the Jamia Coordination Committee, formed to bypass the protests against the CAA in Jamia Millia Islamia, were questioned and some even arrested, including Safoora Zargar and Meeran Haider. Zargar, who is pregnant, was released in June for “humanitarian” reasons.
Sunny also said that the police seemed less interested in their participation in the protest and attempts to keep the peace and were only “focused on finding links between the protests and the violence.”
‘You are Hindu, why were you at the protests?’
Yogesh Swamy, who is from northeast Delhi, said: “The police have called me three times. Without a doubt, we had been part of the anti-CAA movement. The police expressed surprise when they learned that we, even as Hindus, opposed the CAA and the NRC. Their misconception was that only one community, the Muslim community, considered it discriminatory and unfair. They were trying to measure the level of participation of certain people from their questions. “
He added: “Still, the people I think are the culprits, Kapil Mishra and Anurag Thakur, were not even questioned.” Yogesh is also Vice President of Naujavan Bharat Sabha. After the violence, the organization actively participated in relief operations in various parts of the region.
Art by one of the activists, Vishal Kumar. Photo: special arrangement
Yogesh was in contact with several prominent faces in the protests against the CAA, including Safoora Zargar. “The police often asked us why we were in contact. The simple answer was that we had to coordinate with them for a talk that I was supposed to give at Jamia Millia Islamia. But they were trying to gather evidence against Zargar, Tahir Hussain and Khalid Saifi, ”he said. Hussain and Saifi are still in jail for cases related to riots in Delhi.
The four workers’ rights activists had also organized a Jan Satyagraha Padyatra (People’s March for Passive Resistance) on 16 February. Sunny Singh says: “We covered various protest sites in North East Delhi and spread the message of peace and love. We must pass laws like the Rashtriya Rozgar Guarantee (National Employment Guarantee), not CAA. If a record [referring to the NRC] it must be done, it must be done for a nationwide registry of unemployed people. “The focus of the march was to bring out the” real problems that the government is trying to hide. “
Sunny and Rakesh have been organizing protests and expressing concern for the safety of workers in the Bawana, Wazirpur and Jhilmil industrial units. Sunny has a Ph.D. in quantum mechanics and is looking to become a teacher, and Rakesh teaches classes for a living.
While this march was still going on, riots broke out in Delhi and the march was renamed the Aman Yatra (peace march). “We spread messages of love and togetherness, and even after all this we did to keep the peace, they are targeting people like us,” Sunny said.
‘Making art does not equal violence’
Vishal Kumar, a fine arts student at the Delhi School of Art, has been questioned by the Delhi Police Special Cell at least four times. As an artist, he believes in peaceful and non-violent forms of protest, using art.
“I don’t understand why they are calling the artists. We just draw the feelings of the people on the streets, nothing more, ”he says. Quoted for the first time on April 18, the young artist recalls: “I received legal advice from a lawyer with whom I was in contact. She had told me not to take the phone to the special cell office, so I didn’t and they started telling me ‘Your bada vakil ban raha hai?‘and made me sit on the floor. After investigating my background, they began asking me details of various protest sites. I was only in contact with some of those responsible for the protests because they used to call me do to art. They came back to my house with me and confiscated both of my phones. “
Kumar occasionally attended Jamia Millia Islamia protests and was a regular at Shaheen Bagh’s anti-CAA protests. “He used to be there, organize events and do artwork at the protest sites.”
Art by one of the activists, Vishal Kumar. Photo: special arrangement
Speaking of art, Vishal says: “It is the best way to express dissent. It is not violent and hits your conscience deeply. Making art does not equal violence ”. Kumar’s artwork focused on slogans and images. “For example, we made a painting of Ashfaqulla Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil, both freedom fighters who were good friends to show the brotherhood between the Hindu and Muslim communities.”
The slogan on the banner with the portraits of the two freedom fighters reads: “Ashfaq-Bismil ki yaari, virasat hai humari (Ashfaq and Bismil’s friendship is our legacy.) “In Urdu, he went on to say,”Inquilab Zindabad (Long live the revolution) “.
“We also made some educational posters to educate people about our constitution and the CAA,” says Kumar. He added: “Art is diametrically opposed to violence. We are people who do not believe in violence at all. And I’m not just speaking for myself, all the protests against the CAA were peaceful. If someone thought about violence, people would stop him immediately. We want to get the truth out in a Gandhian way. The type of attack on the anti-CAA protesters is obvious, but we still didn’t give up. “
The question of money
Kumar has worked on at least four major works of protest art and has organized an event to draw on the streets. “The main banner in Chand Bagh was made for me and my friends. I also did some at the Khajuri protests. I got to know a lot of people and, above all, I connected with a lot of people from the protests because of my art.
Speaking of funds for paintings and other art supplies, he says: “I am a student; Obviously, I and other students couldn’t afford to buy paintings ourselves. Most of the people in the protests, when they saw us painting and being so dedicated, contributed money and materials for the art.
The police, according to the four activists, were interested in knowing where the “funding” for the protests came from.
‘Attack on dissent’
“They are trying to silence us but we will only get emboldened more. We need to speak up now and express the truth, as we did during the protests. “
Kumar believes that the “threat” from the CAA is still there. “If we take a step back now, things will only get worse. First CAA, then arrest of students in the Delhi riot conspiracy, then arrest of intellectuals in the Bhima Koregaon case. Calling the Delhi police investigation into the Delhi riots as “biased”, he says: “People are being falsely implicated. We will continue our fight against these things, mainly online. We will not give in to your threat. The research guy says a lot about them. [Delhi police]. The people who shot at the protests, incited hatred, are free of bail or not involved at all. But we, the artists, are being interrogated and investigated for protesting through an absolutely non-violent means ”.
Art by one of the activists, Vishal Kumar. Photo: special arrangement
He added: “There are so many things. COVID-19 crisis and there are so many other problems like the migrant crisis, but they still want to go after the artists. Show your insecurities. “
Yogesh, Sunny, Vishal and Rakesh were sent subpoenas referring to FIR No. 59/2020 filed on March 6. The notices were issued under Section 43 (F) of the UAPA and stated: “The presence of the aforementioned person is necessary for the purpose of the investigation of the crime allegedly committed.”
FIR No 59/2020 is the FIR on the basis of which the students of Jamia Islamia Safoora Zargar and Meeran Haider were arrested. Of the 750 FIRs filed by the Delhi Police in connection with the riots, only FIR No. 59 has been filed under the UAPA. This FIR is pushing the police narrative that the violence originated in the protests against the CAA.
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