When will the political gangwars end in Kerala?
Owing to an altercation between students in a college in Kerala’s Kochi, a student activist of SFI has been stabbed to death. Kerala has a reputation of being the most mature state as far as political awareness among people is concerned. And even with that, contradiction would be, Kerala is also known for its gangwars. As a result of this, a life of a student would who have contributed to the future of the society is lost. No matter who has carried out this heinous act, it is highly condemnable. This has added another episode to the bloody history of Kerala.
And one has to be sure that this incident is not the end of it and is bound to have its undesirable repercussions, with may be another life being lost. Who knows! But this has been the way things have progressed in Kerala since ages. Most of Kerala’s history is soaked in blood. Swami Vivekananda, having witnessed casteism at its peak in Kerala, had called it an ‘asylum of lunatics’. One can see different stages of this from the Mappila uprising to Kayyur farmers agitation, the blood has flown much. The state fought both the British and the casteism (against upper castes) that had gripped its veins from within. Blood flowed like river.
Even the British didn’t exploit lower castes in Kerala like the upper caste Brahmins such as Nambooridis did. Violence was a part of any rebel in Kerala, so much so that women had to protest violently and even lose life to be able to cover the upper part of their bodies.
Narayana Guru had to build a separate temple for Ezhava community. Islam also found a stronghold in Kerala thanks to Malik Dinar. Three major ideologies changes Kerala’s topography. One was Narayana Guru’s, the other was of communism. And the exploited men and women of Kerala found respite in Islam too. Hence Islam spread rapidly in the state. All these ideologies have a strong role in the resistance people showed to the Zamindars of the state. Communism hijacked the agenda set by Narayana Guru in terms of people struggle.
However, even young muslim men have identified themselves with communism. So the inroads are kind of normal now. The islam has turned into a political force to reckon with, owing to social initiatives by the community members.
With this, casteists suffered a set back. Today, brahminical ideology has entered Kerala in a different form, that it is all set to devour the basic foundation for rationality set by Narayana Guru himself. Hindutva cannot be propagated without violence. Hence RSS has been resorting to this since long. And though this hindutva organization was successful in polarizing elsewhere in the country, it faced severe resistance in Kerala.
Sangh Parivar has been launching one sided war against rest of the country and was a force that couldn’t be arrested. But Kerala broke that confidence for RSS. Which is why the cry of ‘Kerala mein hindu khatre mein hai’ is getting louder at national level by BJP leaders.
RSS will try its best to drive fissures into the solidarity of Muslims in Kerala. Even the communists detest that because they fear the parties that come together in the name of religion may hijack the communist agenda.
Hence Communist-RSS, RSS-PFI, PFI-Communist friction is in its peak now. And reasons cannot be singled out for this. And if we observe the history, one would agree with the fact that communists have taken up a lot of people’s struggles to make themselves relevant. But, has it remained relevant in the present context is something we need to see.
Some muslim outfits are also consolidating themselves for reasons of faith and religion. All this has turned Kerala into a ground for gangwar. Students do need political awareness. But that shouldn’t cost them their future and dreams. Muslims are also part of the society that was exploited and they have all reasons to protest and consolidate when they see threat. But then again, this should not happen on the basis of violence which would finally cost everyone dear.
Muslims need to come together for progress and not blind faith. There is a dire need for some sort of a balanced narrative between Communist and Muslim outfits without benefiting the RSS and its subsidiaries. Communities should not come together for fanatic reasons.
All sorts of fanatism should be opposed and nipped in its bud. The thoughts of Narayana Guru should be revoked again Kerala. Blood to blood begets more dead bodies and nothing else. Political leaders need to understand this well and save the future of Kerala youths.
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'Even Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial': SC remarks in Yasin Malik case
New Delhi, Nov 21: Even Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial in our country, the Supreme Court on Thursday remarked and indicated it may set up a courtroom inside Tihar Jail for the trial of J&K separatist leader Yasin Malik in a kidnapping case.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing a CBI plea against the September 20, 2022 order of a Jammu trial court that directed Malik, serving life term in Tihar jail, to be produced before it physically to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of politician Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
The bench, however, remarked, "How will cross-examination be done online? There is hardly any connectivity in Jammu... In our country, a fair trial was given even to Ajmal Kasab and legal assistance was given to him in the high court."
Kasab, the lone Pakistani gunman caught alive after the Mumbai terror attack, was hanged till death at the Yerawada Central Prison .
The bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, to take instructions on the total number of witnesses in the case.
Mehta pointed out security concerns and said Malik couldn't be taken to Jammu for the trial.
The law officer accused Malik of "playing tricks" for having asked to appear personally and not engaging a lawyer. Mehta said Malik was not an ordinary criminal and showed a purported photograph of Malik sharing the dais with terrorist Hafiz Saeed.
The top court said it could order trial to take place inside the jail premises and ask the judge to come to the national capital for the proceedings.
The bench, however, noted all the accused persons in the matter had to be heard before it passes an order.
Mehta said Malik appearing in the Supreme Court physically raised security concerns previously.
The bench said Malik could be allowed to appear virtually in the apex court proceedings and posted the matter on November 28.
The CBI in the meantime was directed to amend its petition and implead all accused persons as respondents.
In 2023, Mehta wrote to then Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla flagging a "serious security lapse" after Malik was brought to the Supreme Court to appear in a case.
Malik, serving life sentence in a terror-funding case, was brought to the high-security apex court premises in a prison van escorted by armed security personnel without the court's permission.
Expressing surprise at his presence, Mehta informed the apex court there was a procedure for high-risk convicts to be allowed into the courtroom to argue their case personally.
The CBI said Malik, the top leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was a threat to national security and cannot be allowed to be taken outside the Tihar jail premises.
The apex court on April 24, 2023, issued notices on the CBI's appeal following which the incarcerated JKLF chief wrote a letter to the registrar of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2023 seeking permission to appear in person to plead his case.
An assistant registrar took up his request on July 18, 2023 and said the apex court would pass necessary orders -- a decision the Tihar Jail authorities reportedly misconstrued to allow Malik to appear and argue his case.
Mehta referred to the CBI's contention in its appeal against the trial court order to bring Malik to Jammu for the in-person examination of the witnesses in the kidnapping case, and said under Section 268 of the CrPC a state government may direct certain people to not be shifted from the confines of a prison.
On September 20, 2022, a special TADA court in Jammu directed Malik to be physically produced before it on the next hearing for him to cross-examine prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case.
The CBI challenged the trial court order before the Supreme Court as appeals in TADA cases are only heard by the top court.
Rubaiya was abducted near Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar on December 8, 1989 and freed five days later after the then BJP-backed V P Singh government at the Centre released five terrorists in exchange.
Mufti, who now lives in Tamil Nadu, is a prosecution witness of the CBI, which took over the case in early 1990s.
Malik is lodged in Tihar jail after he was sentenced by a special NIA court in May, 2023 in a terror-funding case.
