On July 31, 2012, India’s power grid failed for a second time in two days leaving 680 million without power, affecting 21 states, as three power grids failed. Reports state that 80 percent of those have had power restored by late Tuesday evening July 31, but hospitals, infrastructure, and transportation were all affected by the power outage sweeping across India. The power outage also trapped 200 miners at one point.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) urges the world powers to reach out to India to offer assistance to help them ensure that no humanitarian and medical crises develop in the nation.
Police in India are being threatened by members of a political Islamic group believed to be responsible for the amputation of the hand of a private college professor who prepared a test on grammatical punctuation that included the name Muhammad.
In India, on July 4, 2010 in Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam district (Kerala), a Christian professor T.J. Joseph was attacked by a mob of 8 individuals while getting into his car with his mother and his sister. According to a Asia News report, “After forcing Joseph to get out of his car, they attacked him with knives and swords and then cut off his hand and right arm throwing them away after about 200 meters.” The Asian Tribune quotes T.J. Joseph’s sister, a nun, Mary Stella, as stating that: “They then chopped off his right hand and stabbed him in the left thigh.. When we tried to prevent them, they attacked me and and our mother before exploding bombs and fleeing.” Mary Stella also told the Deccan Chronicle that different Muslim youths had donated blood for T.J. Joseph after this horrific attack, and that “it helped save his life.”
Christian professor TJ Joseph in hospital. (Photo: The Herald)
T.J. Joseph’s hand was amputated apparently as a punishment for classroom activities at the private Newman’s College, Thodupuzha. According to Asia News, the attackers claim that T.J. Joseph had prepared a questionnaire for an examination, and “according to the Muslims had included questions offensive to Muhammad.” The Asian Tribune reported that “In March this year, Islamic outfits had carried out protests against Joseph, who was a lecturer in the church-run Newman college in Thodupuzha in Idukki district over a portion in the Malayalam question paper for an internal examination for BCom students. They claimed that the question paper insulted the Prophet. The college later suspended Joseph who had set the questions and a criminal case was registered against him. The case is pending trial.”
Asia News reports that: “The indicted questionnaire however did not include anything that could be construed as against the Muslim religion. The authorities of Newman College, told AsiaNews that in the test, Prof. Joseph tells the story of a fishmonger who, despite hard work, becomes increasingly poor. The monger’s name is Mohammad In his desperation, he spoke to God and also asked his brother why his fortunes were dwindling. His brother told Mohammed: ‘Why are you calling God, God and God….’ Students were asked to specify the punctuation of the narrative.” The Hindu reported that “In the question paper, he had used a passage about an imaginary dialogue between God and Muhammad, and the students were asked to comment. Certain Muslim organisations, assuming that ‘Muhammad’ in the passage was Prophet Muhammad, took offense and staged protest rallies and clamored for action against the professor. Stones were thrown at the college run by the Christian church.”
The Times of India reported that T.J. Joseph had been receiving threats, and reports that “T J Joseph, the lecturer in the Church-run New Man College in Thodupuzha in Idukki district, had complained to the police about threats to his life, but there was little response. He even apologised to those who were threatening him. The family gave a written complaint after a group of unidentified men barged into their house in Moovattupuzha in Ernakulam district and searched the rooms looking for Joseph some weeks ago.”
The Hindu reported that “Two activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested on Monday in connection with the attack on a professor at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district. Sources said 12 others, most of them with extremist links, were also taken into custody for interrogation. Ashraf, 37, of Mundeth, Mekalady, and Jaffar, 28, of Eramaloor, Kothamangalam, were remanded to judicial custody by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Muvattupuzha.”
Ashraf and Jaffar, who were arrested in connection with the attack on Professor T.J. Joseph at Muvattupuzha, coming out of a court after being remanded to judicial custody. (Photo: The Hindu)
The Indian Express has now reported that the Indian police are getting threatening calls, stating that “A day after two activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested, an officer in the probe team got a threatening call from a district functionary of the outfit. Several district-level PFI leaders have gone into hiding following raids at the organization’s strongholds in the rural areas of Ernakulam. The call to the circle inspector was tracked down to Rasheed, a district PFI leader.”
Asia News reports that: “Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians condemns this ‘barbaric act’ and recalls that ‘Sharia is not the law of India.'”
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty supports our universal human rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of religion, as well as personal security and life. We urge those whose hearts are burdened with hate and intolerance to ease such burdens from their hearts. Choose Love, Not Hate – Love Wins.
Reports on honor killings in India, and articles by women’s rights activist Phyllis Chesler
Sify News: Honour killings: Conflict between tradition and modernity
— Sify News: “With a spate of so-called ‘honour killings’ shocking the nation in recent weeks, human rights activists say the increase in such cases is a testimony to the growing conflict between rigid family tradition and modernity.”
— “They also feel the problem can be resolved by increasing awareness and bringing tougher legislations.”
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— “A series of cases, where young men or women were murdered for marrying outside caste or within the same sub-caste or against the family’s wishes have come to the fore in recent times. Delhi had back-to-back cases in the past two weeks.”
— “Only a few politicians have spoken against such crimes because caste can determine an election win or loss, felt Kant, whose organisation had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Supreme court on this issue.”
India: A Demonstrator Calls for a Comprehensive Law against "Honor Killings" (Photo: Sify News)
Outlook India: Congress for Stern Handling of Honour Killing Cases
— Jayanthi Natarajan condemns “honor killings,” murders, and violence
— did not comment on “gotra marriages”
— Outlook India: “Asked whether Congress supports Khap Panchayats’ demand for a change in Hindu Marriage Act, she said, ‘We have not taken any view on changes in the Hindu Marriage Act.'”
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A TV grab of Kuldeep Singh and his wife Monica (Ankit Chaudhury's sister) murdered in "honor killing" in North Delhi, along with a third victim Shobha (sister of Mandeep Nagar)
Times of India: Honour killing case: Pistol used by accused recovered — accused Mandeep Nagar, Ankit Chaudhury, and Nakul Khari — Triple “honor killing” case – killing Ankit’s sister Monica and her husband Kuldeep Singh, and Shobha, Mandeep’s sister
— Times of India: “Making a headway in the Ashok Vihar honour killing case, Delhi Police have recovered from Rishikesh the pistol allegedly used by three youths to kill three of their relatives for marrying outside their caste.”
— “A team of city police recovered the .32 bore pistol from Rishikesh where they had taken the accused — Ankit, Mandeep and Nakul — for further investigation in the case. The trio were arrested from Ghaziabad on June 24.”
— “The accused had told police that they had thrown the pistol in the river after killing Ankit’s sister Monica and her husband Kuldeep for marrying outside the community. Later, they allegedly killed Shobha, Mandeep’s sister, who had earlier eloped with a person outside her community.”
— Outlook India: 3 Honour Killing Suspects Sent to 5 Days’ Police Custody
— IBN: Cops find weapon used in Delhi honour killings
— IBN: “The weapon used in the gruesome triple honour killing case of a Delhi couple and another young girl has been reportedly recovered. The pistol used to kill Monica, her husband Kuldeep Singh and her cousin Shobha was found in Rishikesh.”
— New Kerala: Delhi: Honour killing after 4-year marriage – in Ashok Vihar, north Delhi
— Couple shot dead in Ashok Vihar
India: Men Accused in Delhi "Honor Killings" -- Mandeep Nagar, Ankit Chaudhury, and Nakul Khari -- Accused of killing Ashok Vihar, Shobha Nagar (Photo: IBN Live)
Times of India: NRI held for suspected honour killing in Punjab
— Amritpal Kaur “honor killing”
— Times of India: “A non-resident Indian (NRI) will be produced in a court here on Wednesday following his arrest on Tuesday night for allegedly murdering his teenaged step-daughter in a suspected case of honour killing.”
— “Mehtab Singh was arrested after the police got a tip-off that he had brought his step-daughter Amritpal Kaur, 17, from Brussels, Belgium, earlier this month and clandestinely cremated her here after saying that she died of food poisoning.”
— “Police officials said the death of the girl seemed to be mysterious and that the step-father had shown undue urgency in cremating her.”
— “The police are investigating if the girl was killed by Mehtab Singh as she had fallen in love with a youth, Lakhwinder Singh, in Belgium.”
— “Lakhwinder belonged to another lower caste and this was not to the liking of Mehtab Singh. He is believed to have poisoned her a few days back and got her cremated.”
The Asian Age: “India has over 1,000 honour killings a year”
— Asian Age: “As instances of ‘honour killings’ are reported with alarming — and increasing — regularity across the country, a research paper to be presented at an international conference in London by some Indian jurists on crimes against women next week suggests that the total number of such killings could be well over 1,000 every year in India.”
— “The research paper titled ‘Social-legal perspective of forced marriages’, prepared by Chandigarh-based senior lawyer Ranjit Malhotra, an alumnus of the University of London and dealing with cases of intercontinental marital disputes and custody of children, says that at least ‘900 incidences of honour killings’ take place in three states alone — Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — every year.”
— on July 2, 2010 in UK, Ranjit Malhotra to present research paper “Social-legal perspective of forced marriages” claiming total number of honor killings in India could be over 1,000 every year
—- Program for July 2, 2010 event
— Phyllis Chesler: “In June, 2010, (this very month), 16 Hindu victims (five male-female couples, five girls alone, one man alone) were murdered, their bodies finally discovered, the perpetrators finally arrested or sentenced. The murderers were all members of the girl’s family-of-origin in a planned conspiracy.”
