Muslim intellectuals have welcomed the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill president Pratibha Patil mentioned in her pre-budget speech on Monday.
“We are happy about this bill because people need to realise that there is no scope for fundamentalists, Muslim or Hindu, to fester such thoughts in today’s society,” said JS Bandukwala, an academician.
Muslim leaders say that the bill will make government authorities, and especially the police, accountable, who, in the case of the Gujarat riots, had reportedly not been forthcoming to file the First Information Reports (FIRs).
“Muslims have been demanding accountability on the part of the state government, and more so the police. The FIR, in fact, is only the first step. We want the cases to reach their final conclusion, and responsibility pinned on the accused,” said Sultan Shahin, a Muslim writer.
Muslim intellectuals say that though such a bill may help control the violence spilling out onto the streets, a strong willingness is required on the part of both the communities to put national pride above communal issues.“The bill is a certainly a positive step, but communalism has infiltrated our system, for which Muslim and Hindu politicians are to be blamed. Our leaders need to realise that religion should be kept within one’s four walls,” said Feroze Bakht Ahmed, the grand nephew of Maulana Azad, one of the foremost leaders of the freedom struggle.
However, some activists have voiced a concern. Javed Anand of Concerned Citizens’ Tribunal, which advised the government to draft a bill on mass killings and genocide, said that often during the riots, it is the top police officials and the home ministry that is often seen to interfere or order police on the field to take no action.
