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Among free Indiarsquos gravest failuresmdashalong with its inability to end hunger
pervasive poverty and discriminationmdashis the continued targeting of people
with violence and arson only because of their faith or caste This periodic
blood-letting mass sexual assault and arson leaves a trail of great suffering
of innocents and repeated assaults against the idea of a pluralist and
humane India
Decades of engagement and study of communal violence in India has
convinced me that no riot can continue beyond a few hours unless state
authorities choose to allow the violence to persist Despite this in Nellie in
1983 Delhi in 1984 Bhagalpur in 1989 Mumbai in 1992-93 Gujarat in
2002 Kandhamal in 2008 and Muzaffarnagar in 2013 state administrations
mostly consented to allow large-scale targeted massacres to unfold For
people in uniform and magistrates to take sides in hate battles is a
profound crime against humanity Yet this still is recognized at best as a
moral failure not a punishable crime
For this reason the centrepiece of the proposed Communal and Targeted
Violence Bill which Parliament may consider this winter session is the
creation of a new crime of ldquodereliction of duty by public officialsrdquo punishable
with up to five yearsrsquo imprisonment Combined with ldquocommand
responsibilityrdquo this makes the senior political or administrative authority who
directs officials not to act or to act with bias criminally culpable
FIRST PUBLISHED THU DEC 19 2013 08 01 PM ISTHOME raquo OPINION
Harsh Mander | A law to end targeted violenceIndia needs a law to check the menace of communal and caste violence The arguments against itare spurious
Harsh Mander
MOST READ
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Exit polls Keep a pinchof salt handy
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UPA appoints DalbirSingh Suhag as Armychief
Narendra Modi Themaking of the politicalleader
15 MAY 2014
29
Share Share
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Will this be Narendra
Modirsquos PMO team
Exit polls Keep a pinch of
salt handy
More from OnlineViews
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Indians expect Narendra
Modi to be an economic
Superman
The Economist who can
Chief ministers J Jayalalithaa and Narendra Modi have argued that this
measure will demoralize officers This is equivalent to the argument that
anti-corruption laws will cause official paralysis On the contrary such laws
strengthen and support officers of moral integrity and fairness because
they shield them from illicit political pressures and defend them from
punitive action At the Centre for Equity Studies our studies of many riots
demonstrate empirically that those rare officers who display exemplary
courage by upholding the law with fairness and firmness are routinely
punished whereas biased officers named explicitly in the reports of
commissions of enquiry in almost every case have been rewarded This law
will damage the morale only of officers who choose to ignore their duty
under the law and the Constitution
We also found in virtually every episode of targeted mass violence the
impunity of those who perpetrate hate atrocities because of the institutional
bias of the criminal justice system In the way criminal justice procedures
are framed the victim has virtually no role It is the state which investigates
charge-sheets prosecutes and appeals This is because it is assumed that
the state will always be on the side of the victim and opposed to the
accused But in incidents of targeted violence state institutionsmdashthe police
prosecution and magistracymdashmay actually be hostile to the victim on
communal or caste grounds and support the accused Therefore the
second major pillar of the Bill is protecting victimsrsquo rights during the justice
process allowing her to get copies of police statements adduce her own
evidence independent of the public prosecutor and appeal in the event of
acquittals
The third essential pillar of the Bill prescribes national minimum standards
for relief and rehabilitation In both Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar state
governments refused to institute relief camps gave tightfisted support to
the camps which the victimized community was forced to establish and then
prematurely wound up the camps before the survivors had the confidence
to return home In most riots reparation is grossly inadequate to enable the
survivors to rebuild their broken lives shelters and livelihoods What is
more compensation rates differ widely and are seen as instruments of
selective political largesse rather than the rights of survivors from a caring
and just state
Another charge against the Bill is that it violates the federal structure
because law and order is the exclusive domain of the states However the
constitutional framework does envisage the duty of the Union government
to protect the national integrity which is threatened in times of targeted hate
violence Still responding to the sensitivities of any state the current
revised draft Bill deletes the creation of any overarching central National
Authority charged with ensuring fairness and justice by state governments
in communal situations Instead these duties have been conferred on
existing institutions the National Human Rights Commission and State
Human Rights Commissions The powers of these commissions under the
Bill are no more than what they enjoy todaymdashto observe enquire and
recommend but not to encroach on the authority of state governments
There is reason for people to argue that the timing of the Billmdashnine years
too late and at the eve of a formidably uphill general electionmdashdoes render
the motives behind its belated introduction suspect But I have spent time
with survivors of many episodes of mass communal violence from Nellie
and Tilak Vihar Delhi dating back three decades to the recent survivors of
the carnages in Lower Assam and Muzaffarnagar The enormity of their
sufferingmdashas they struggle even today with unspeakable loss with
permanently broken lives haunted by memories of hate and betrayalmdash
makes it imperative for all parties which claim to be secular to set aside
political competitiveness Let them come together to build consensus for the
WED MAY 14 2014 05
45 PM
WED MAY 07 2014 06
28 PM
WED MAY 14 2014 03 30 PM
The many faces of Indiarsquos LokSabha polls
WED MAY 14 2014 02 18 PM
Tragedy in Turkish coal mine
MON MAY 12 2014 02 12 PM
Manchester City wins secondEnglish Premier League title inthree years
SAT MAY 10 2014 12 03 AM
Photo Essay | Windows to theworld
DRAWBRIDGE
MORE FROM THIS SECTION
SLIDESHOW
MORE FROM THIS SECTION
rescue India passage of a law which could help finally push into history targeted hate
violence
Harsh Mander is a former member of the National Advisory Council
Comments are welcome at theirviewlivemintcom
29 Tweet 12First Published Thu Dec 19 2013 08 01 PM IST
TARGETED VIOLENCE LAWS COMMUNAL AND TARGETED VIOLENCE BILL PARLIAMENT HUMAN RIGHTS
Narendra Modi The making of thepolitical leader
6 comments bull a day ago
abhijit pal mdash shame on the author for
authoring half truthsthis pseudo sicular
breed will soon come to an end and will hellip
Time of return to India impacts tax onoverseas salary
1 comment bull 6 hours ago
Jai K mdash Taking into consideration Visa rules
etc those working abroad for short periods
through the year stand to lose hellip
The killing fields of Assam and a modernday Nero
1 comment bull 7 hours ago
Secular mdash Why are you giving so much
attention to this BJP was not ruling Assam
There is no way we can blame hellip
Congress debating idea of lsquoenlargedrsquoUPA 3 to stop Narendra Modi
1 comment bull 4 hours ago
Sachi Mohanty mdash I am all for sickular
parties coming together to form a
government with a non-Rahul PMP
ALSO ON LIVEMINT
2 Comments Livemint Login
Sort by Newest Share
Join the discussionhellip
bull Reply bull
Praveen PP bull 5 months ago
The very nature of the proposed Bill is Divide and Rule followed by the Colonial British under
section 153A of IPC 1860 Note that the dates in History when Clive defeated Siraj Daula at
the battle of Plassey in 1757 and year 1857 a full century later the First Indian Independence
Movement (Sepoy Mutiny as the British would have us to call it) There is only 3 years in the
making for the IPC 1860
The Targeted Communal Violence Bill Nine years in the making Read them together A
country known for its peaceful and dharmic way of life is being ransacked by the Mlechas of
the Desert Is there no end to it
bull Reply bull
Shekar bull 5 months ago
Thank you Mr Mander - for bringing some details of the proposed Bill to the knowledge of the
public - in an easy to understand form Let us hope your wish will be fulfilled by those
charged with representing us in Parliament
Our democracy is in danger of losing its way into a simplistic majoritarianism - in all manner
of things We need a suitable Bill to address this problem
WHATS THIS
Subscribe Add Disqus to your site
Favorite
Share rsaquo
Share rsaquo
Sensex ends lower on
profit-booking
Will this be Narendra
Modirsquos PMO team
Exit polls Keep a pinch of
salt handy
More from OnlineViews
Narendra Modi needs to
upgrade to 20
Confronting coal
Indian Economy
Sentiment Vs Reality
Indians expect Narendra
Modi to be an economic
Superman
The Economist who can
Chief ministers J Jayalalithaa and Narendra Modi have argued that this
measure will demoralize officers This is equivalent to the argument that
anti-corruption laws will cause official paralysis On the contrary such laws
strengthen and support officers of moral integrity and fairness because
they shield them from illicit political pressures and defend them from
punitive action At the Centre for Equity Studies our studies of many riots
demonstrate empirically that those rare officers who display exemplary
courage by upholding the law with fairness and firmness are routinely
punished whereas biased officers named explicitly in the reports of
commissions of enquiry in almost every case have been rewarded This law
will damage the morale only of officers who choose to ignore their duty
under the law and the Constitution
We also found in virtually every episode of targeted mass violence the
impunity of those who perpetrate hate atrocities because of the institutional
bias of the criminal justice system In the way criminal justice procedures
are framed the victim has virtually no role It is the state which investigates
charge-sheets prosecutes and appeals This is because it is assumed that
the state will always be on the side of the victim and opposed to the
accused But in incidents of targeted violence state institutionsmdashthe police
prosecution and magistracymdashmay actually be hostile to the victim on
communal or caste grounds and support the accused Therefore the
second major pillar of the Bill is protecting victimsrsquo rights during the justice
process allowing her to get copies of police statements adduce her own
evidence independent of the public prosecutor and appeal in the event of
acquittals
The third essential pillar of the Bill prescribes national minimum standards
for relief and rehabilitation In both Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar state
governments refused to institute relief camps gave tightfisted support to
the camps which the victimized community was forced to establish and then
prematurely wound up the camps before the survivors had the confidence
to return home In most riots reparation is grossly inadequate to enable the
survivors to rebuild their broken lives shelters and livelihoods What is
more compensation rates differ widely and are seen as instruments of
selective political largesse rather than the rights of survivors from a caring
and just state
Another charge against the Bill is that it violates the federal structure
because law and order is the exclusive domain of the states However the
constitutional framework does envisage the duty of the Union government
to protect the national integrity which is threatened in times of targeted hate
violence Still responding to the sensitivities of any state the current
revised draft Bill deletes the creation of any overarching central National
Authority charged with ensuring fairness and justice by state governments
in communal situations Instead these duties have been conferred on
existing institutions the National Human Rights Commission and State
Human Rights Commissions The powers of these commissions under the
Bill are no more than what they enjoy todaymdashto observe enquire and
recommend but not to encroach on the authority of state governments
There is reason for people to argue that the timing of the Billmdashnine years
too late and at the eve of a formidably uphill general electionmdashdoes render
the motives behind its belated introduction suspect But I have spent time
with survivors of many episodes of mass communal violence from Nellie
and Tilak Vihar Delhi dating back three decades to the recent survivors of
the carnages in Lower Assam and Muzaffarnagar The enormity of their
sufferingmdashas they struggle even today with unspeakable loss with
permanently broken lives haunted by memories of hate and betrayalmdash
makes it imperative for all parties which claim to be secular to set aside
political competitiveness Let them come together to build consensus for the
WED MAY 14 2014 05
45 PM
WED MAY 07 2014 06
28 PM
WED MAY 14 2014 03 30 PM
The many faces of Indiarsquos LokSabha polls
WED MAY 14 2014 02 18 PM
Tragedy in Turkish coal mine
MON MAY 12 2014 02 12 PM
Manchester City wins secondEnglish Premier League title inthree years
SAT MAY 10 2014 12 03 AM
Photo Essay | Windows to theworld
DRAWBRIDGE
MORE FROM THIS SECTION
SLIDESHOW
MORE FROM THIS SECTION
rescue India passage of a law which could help finally push into history targeted hate
violence
Harsh Mander is a former member of the National Advisory Council
Comments are welcome at theirviewlivemintcom
29 Tweet 12First Published Thu Dec 19 2013 08 01 PM IST
TARGETED VIOLENCE LAWS COMMUNAL AND TARGETED VIOLENCE BILL PARLIAMENT HUMAN RIGHTS
Narendra Modi The making of thepolitical leader
6 comments bull a day ago
abhijit pal mdash shame on the author for
authoring half truthsthis pseudo sicular
breed will soon come to an end and will hellip
Time of return to India impacts tax onoverseas salary
1 comment bull 6 hours ago
Jai K mdash Taking into consideration Visa rules
etc those working abroad for short periods
through the year stand to lose hellip
The killing fields of Assam and a modernday Nero
1 comment bull 7 hours ago
Secular mdash Why are you giving so much
attention to this BJP was not ruling Assam
There is no way we can blame hellip
Congress debating idea of lsquoenlargedrsquoUPA 3 to stop Narendra Modi
1 comment bull 4 hours ago
Sachi Mohanty mdash I am all for sickular
parties coming together to form a
government with a non-Rahul PMP
ALSO ON LIVEMINT
2 Comments Livemint Login
Sort by Newest Share
Join the discussionhellip
bull Reply bull
Praveen PP bull 5 months ago
The very nature of the proposed Bill is Divide and Rule followed by the Colonial British under
section 153A of IPC 1860 Note that the dates in History when Clive defeated Siraj Daula at
the battle of Plassey in 1757 and year 1857 a full century later the First Indian Independence
Movement (Sepoy Mutiny as the British would have us to call it) There is only 3 years in the
making for the IPC 1860
The Targeted Communal Violence Bill Nine years in the making Read them together A
country known for its peaceful and dharmic way of life is being ransacked by the Mlechas of
the Desert Is there no end to it
bull Reply bull
Shekar bull 5 months ago
Thank you Mr Mander - for bringing some details of the proposed Bill to the knowledge of the
public - in an easy to understand form Let us hope your wish will be fulfilled by those
charged with representing us in Parliament
Our democracy is in danger of losing its way into a simplistic majoritarianism - in all manner
of things We need a suitable Bill to address this problem
WHATS THIS
Subscribe Add Disqus to your site
Favorite
Share rsaquo
Share rsaquo
rescue India passage of a law which could help finally push into history targeted hate
violence
Harsh Mander is a former member of the National Advisory Council
Comments are welcome at theirviewlivemintcom
29 Tweet 12First Published Thu Dec 19 2013 08 01 PM IST
TARGETED VIOLENCE LAWS COMMUNAL AND TARGETED VIOLENCE BILL PARLIAMENT HUMAN RIGHTS
Narendra Modi The making of thepolitical leader
6 comments bull a day ago
abhijit pal mdash shame on the author for
authoring half truthsthis pseudo sicular
breed will soon come to an end and will hellip
Time of return to India impacts tax onoverseas salary
1 comment bull 6 hours ago
Jai K mdash Taking into consideration Visa rules
etc those working abroad for short periods
through the year stand to lose hellip
The killing fields of Assam and a modernday Nero
1 comment bull 7 hours ago
Secular mdash Why are you giving so much
attention to this BJP was not ruling Assam
There is no way we can blame hellip
Congress debating idea of lsquoenlargedrsquoUPA 3 to stop Narendra Modi
1 comment bull 4 hours ago
Sachi Mohanty mdash I am all for sickular
parties coming together to form a
government with a non-Rahul PMP
ALSO ON LIVEMINT
2 Comments Livemint Login
Sort by Newest Share
Join the discussionhellip
bull Reply bull
Praveen PP bull 5 months ago
The very nature of the proposed Bill is Divide and Rule followed by the Colonial British under
section 153A of IPC 1860 Note that the dates in History when Clive defeated Siraj Daula at
the battle of Plassey in 1757 and year 1857 a full century later the First Indian Independence
Movement (Sepoy Mutiny as the British would have us to call it) There is only 3 years in the
making for the IPC 1860
The Targeted Communal Violence Bill Nine years in the making Read them together A
country known for its peaceful and dharmic way of life is being ransacked by the Mlechas of
the Desert Is there no end to it
bull Reply bull
Shekar bull 5 months ago
Thank you Mr Mander - for bringing some details of the proposed Bill to the knowledge of the
public - in an easy to understand form Let us hope your wish will be fulfilled by those
charged with representing us in Parliament
Our democracy is in danger of losing its way into a simplistic majoritarianism - in all manner
of things We need a suitable Bill to address this problem
WHATS THIS
Subscribe Add Disqus to your site
Favorite
Share rsaquo
Share rsaquo