In a first of its kind meeting held in Chennai, as part of the International Human Rights Day observance, budding human rights defenders and Naam Tamilar Katchi activists held a day-long seminar deliberating the Indian Constitutional Amendment Bill and the National Register for Citizens and categorically termed it as unconstitutional and anti-people. The enthusiastic young attendees condemned rights violations in Kashmir and sought commutation of death sentence to Balwant Singh Rajoana in Punjab. 

ON THE EVE OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2019,  budding human rights activists and Naam Tamilar Katchi cadres listened with rapt attention and keen interest on various aspects of the Indian Citizens Amendment Bill, the National Register for Citizens and India’s proposed New Education Policy, all of which are a cause for worry among minorities and marginalised communities. organised a special Human Rights conference, which was attended by activists from across the state.

Adopting as many as fourteen resolutions in various spheres, Naam Tamilar Katchi strongly condemned human rights violations in Kashmir. The resolution on Kashmir read, “NTK demands that all kinds of an embargo on the life of Kashmiris should be removed and the Kashmiri leadership and activists must be released from prisons without delay.”

NTK notes with a heavy heart that the sudden demise of Prof. SAR Geelani was a great loss for human rights activism and for the Kashmir rights movement.

In a touching moment at the seminar, all present in the seminar paid homage to the late human rights activist Sayed Abdul Rahman Geelani – the lonely voice of Kashmiri rights, who was also the founder of Committee for Release of Political Prisoners, and they noted with a heavy heart that his demise was a great loss for human rights activism.

 

 

NTK condemned the religion-based Indian Citizenship Amendment Bill which is a direct attack on religious minorities and favours refugees from the majority community.  NTK denounces this move which will dismantle the very foundations of the Constitution of India. “The party notes with concern that the Indian Union government is accepting the fact that Tamils are not Hindus by excluding Eelam Tamils, who are a religious minority in Sri Lanka, from the bill,” noted the prime resolution of the Human Rights Day meeting in Chennai.

NTK believes that the Citizenship Amendment Bill is a precursor to the National Register for Citizenship (NRC), which is a dangerous move likely to culminate in making lakhs of peoples as refugees in their own country. The resolution warned the government of India of serious consequences if CAB and NRC were hastily implemented.

Taking stock of the human rights situation in Punjab, NTK urged the government of India to commute the death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana -a Sikh who has been suffering in prison, waiting to be hung, for the past 24 years, to a life sentence on humanitarian grounds.

NTK reiterated that it is the right time to talk of prisoner rights and adopted a resolution urging the governor of Tamil Nadu and the Indian Union government for the release of all seven persons in the Rajiv Gandhi case, who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and who are in prison since the last 29 years. Murugan, Nalini, Santhanu, Perarivaalan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas and Ravichandran must be immediately released as they have spent more time than their punishment.

Sharing his views on the Constitutional of India, Chennai High Court lawyer Rajivgandhi stated that, “Except Dr Ambedkar, five out of six members of the committee formed to create the Constitution of India were from the same so-called ‘upper caste’!” “It is necessary to rewrite the entire Constitution of India, which discriminates against language, nationalities and federalism.”

Supreme Court Lawyer Paarivendhan quoted that, ” The Right to Information Act is a great weapon of Indian democracy! We haven’t fully utilized it. Everyone must take advantage of this law’s opportunity to question the dysfunctional state apparatus and put them through it.”

Educationist and Professor Kalyanasundaram warned of the various pernicious provisions of the New Education Policy. He said, “There is a lot of perversity in free education. The new education policy that is being introduced is against state autonomy and aims to increase education interference in public schools and make education a full-fledged business.”

Deliberating on the subject, the participants, through a resolution insisted that, “the Indian Union government withdraw the proposed changes to the education policy that introduces a common curriculum for the entire Indian Union and public exams in primary education and demanded that education be placed on the state list by removing it from the concurrent list.”

 Read also: Tamil nationalists declare Indian Citizenship Act anti-Muslim, anti-Tamil

 Read also: NTK's Seeman eulogises Tamil Eelam sacrifices on 37th Martyrdom Day

 NTK leader Seeman greets Tamils on Prabhakaran's birth anniversary

Organised by the IT Employees Wing of the Naam Tamilar Katchi, the event saw the participation of over 60 young activists -men and women from across the state of Tamil Nadu. IT Employees Wing coordinator Madhushudhanan apprised this writer that there was keen interest in RTI and right to education. Coordinator Sivasankari pointed out that at the suggestion of  Women Rights Activist and environmentalist, Vennila Thayumanavan, a resolution calling for “prompt legal action and punishment for offenders of sexual crime and protection for victims” was also adopted.

There should be prompt legal action and punishment for offenders of sexual crime and protection for victims.

Talking of Tamil rights beyond the shores of India, the Naam Tamilar Katchi activists expressed deep concern that “the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President of Sri Lanka, who led the genocide of Tamils in Tamil Eelam, is a testing time for Eelam Tamils in the island country.” The IT Employees Wing of the Naam Tamilar Katchi appeals to the international community to create an environment for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, where they can live freely without any fear.” Furthermore, the meeting resolved to “appeal to the Indian Union government and the Tamil Nadu government that Eelam Tamils who have taken refuge in Tamil Nadu and are living in the Indian Union for a long time, shall be given all the rights as per International Refugee covenants and treaties and be recognized like refugees from any other country living in the Indian Union.”

Resolutions for recognising Tamil as the official language of Chennai High Court, as per the article 348(2) in the Constitution of India and section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, punishing the guilty of the wall collapse in Mettupalayam, Coimbatore were also passed.

India must immediately commute the death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana into life imprisonment and release him as he has spent 24 years in prison.

Pradeep, an IT professional, who came all the way from Bangalore to attend the meet told this writer, “Participating in such a seminar is an eye-opener and a huge motivation to work for all sections of society. Today’s seminar has not only enriched my knowledge but has also inculcated a spirit of public service for which I am grateful to the organisers.”