communalism

7/21/2019 Communalism

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Possible questions.1 Is a communal violence bill needed? Arnt the existing provisions in law

enough?2 What are the major features of the communal violence bill?3 How can communal harmon be promoted in the countr? !uggest steps"#

Why a law needed?

• $ommissions of en%uir setup after ever major con&agration have

consistentl come down heavil on the !tate authorities as also certain

parties and organisations for their role in violence

• However' it is in ver rare cases that perpetrators have been convicted"

• ( and large' police and the administrative class have been left untouched b

the law• Hence' a carefull designed law on communal violence is the need of the

hour

)ore arguments for a separate law

• It can be seen that various provisions exist in the I*$ to punish the

perpetrators of violence" +nder sections 1,3A and ( of the I*$ even hate

speeches are actionable" !imilarl' even a public servant can be charged

under the ordinar law"

• !o it seems that at least a section of communal or targeted violence can be

dealt with under the existing criminal law"• Failure to implement the law rather than its absence is one of the

major problems confronting the prevention of communal violence"

• (ut caveats exist

o -urning a blind ee to communal and targeted hate speech

o .efusal to register /I.s or registering them without naming the culprits

even when some of the perpetrators are identi0edo .efusal to tae ade%uate action to disperse mobs

• However there are large areas where laws are absent or inade%uate

• )ass violence is a %uantitativel dierent categor from stra individual

violence" -he impact and trauma of mass violence is long term and ongoing"

• !econd' though laws exist on hate speech' the cannot be set into motionwithout the prior sanction of the government" In this case what reall matters

is which part is in power"

• -hird' even to prosecute public servants it becomes necessar to obtain the

consent of the state which is a long' tedious process"

• /ourth' a large number of cases in court collapse because witnesses are too

frightened to depose truthfull" -hough an individual witness can as for



police protection against threats there is no comprehensive witness

protection law in India

• /ifth' while in the aftermath of ever carnage' a relief and rehabilitation

pacage is announced' there is no uniformit in these pacages" -here is no

legislative mandate or compulsion for reparation including relief and

rehabilitation"• (esides' communal violence is a speci0c form of brutalit which is re%uired to

be dealt with in a holistic and comprehensive manner since it includes within

it element of hate propaganda' sexual assault' uprooting of communities'

societal bias' state complicit and judicial indierence"

• A law which deals speci0call with targeted or communal violence thus

becomes necessar

Communal Violence (Prevention Control and !ehabilitation of

Victims" #ill $%%&bjective4

1 *revention and control of communal violence2 !peed investigation and trials3 .ehabilitation of victims

!ets conditions for the state government to declare an area as communall

disturbed"

A competent authorit can tae measures 5such as regulating assembl' directing

persons to deposit their arms etc6 to control communal violence"

!pecial courts to tr oences under this law" Increased punishment"

/eatures in the draft bill

1 +nion Home )inister headed 11 member national council to oversee relief

and the rehabilitation of victims" 7$ivil societ is proposing instead a

$ommunal harmon 8ustice and .eparation $ommission 5$H8.$6 with

national' state and district councils and wider powers92 -here is a provision to declare certain areas as communall disturbed" 7$ivil

societ objects to this on the ground that such declaration would give the

government a free hand to use draconian laws in such areas9

-his bill has been amended b the :A$ and a new draft introduced in 2;11"



Communal Violence #ill $%''

-he draft law features

• <e0nes communal and targeted violence as

o An act or series of acts' whether spontaneous or planned' resulting in

injur or harm to the person and or propert' nowingl directed

against an person b virtue of his or her membership of an group'

which destros the secular fabric of the nation

• =laborate de0nition of sexual assault to cover not just women but men as

well

•

Apart from treating some of the oences under the I*$ as crimes under thislaw' the bill also creates certain additional oences li)e torture

command responsibility' etc

• *ublic !ervants

o *enalises public servants for torture to speci0c groups

o *enalises for dereliction of dut

o (reach of command responsibilit treated as an oence

o *ublic servants with the dut of maintenance of public order also given

the dut to prevent communal and targeted violenceo $ommand .esponsibilit4 An public servant in command of forces who

fails to exercise control over his sub>ordinates which results in oences

under the bill shall be guilt of breach of command of responsibilito

*mer+ency provisions can be invo)ed

o -he occurrence of communal and targeted violence shall constitute

internal disturbance@ within the meaning of Article 3,, of the

constitution and the $entral ovt ma tae such steps as the nature

and circumstances of the case so re%uires"

• Witness protection provisions are incorporated"

• Accountabilit framewor set up concerning the police"

=ntails the provision of relief and rehabilitation" $reates the Communal and

,ar+eted Violence !elief and !ehabilitation Fund

• -ational uthority for communal harmony justice and reparationo -he authorit can initiate investigation and en%uir into complaints

• !imilarl' state authorities for communal harmon' justice and reparation

• -he act waives constitutional immunit for the purpose of proceedings under

the act

•

!ome issues with the draft



• -he law applies to onl the minorities B religious or linguistic B in a state 5C

!$s and !-s6o -his assumes that the majorit communit is alwas the perpetrator of

violence and never the victimo -his criticism however misses the basic point of democrac4 that

majorit can tae care of itself but minorities need certain protectiono Article 2D and 3; in the constitution are such provisions

o Worldwide minorities are protected through laws B blacs in +!'

aborigines in +!

• $ommunal violence de0ned in terms of an act that destros the secular

fabric of the nation@o -his de0nition is liable to be misconstrued

o =ven large scale riots ma not present an actual threat to the secular

fabric of the nation"

•

-he incorporation of the emergenc provision

$onclusion

• Amended draft of the $ommunal and -argeted Eiiolence (ill is a major step

forward"

• However' it needs to incorporate within it lessons learnt from recent

international advancement especiall in matters pertainin g to reparation and

command responsibilit"

• -he chapters concerning setting up of national and state level bodies need a

complete review as do the provisions concerning dereliction of duties and

witness protection

communalism

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