Farm Laws Were Passed In A Hurry Without Consultation And By Overlooking Parliamentary norms, Says Jamaat-E-Islami Hind

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind supports the farmers’ agitation against the three laws passed in Parliament that deals with MSP, contract farming and essential commodities. Attempts to discredit the farmers and accusing them of being secessionists, ignorant of the facts and pawns in the hands of the Opposition – is a dangerous trend and a highly objectionable attempt to suppress and discredit any democratic opposition to government policies.

 The laws were passed in a hurry without consultation and by overlooking parliamentary norms. The government seemed to be under pressure from certain forces to modify the agricultural ecosystem of India for the benefit of corporates and multinationals.

 The government’s intransigence during the negotiations with the farmers’ representatives shows that it has made the farmers’ demand of repealing the laws into an ‘ego’ issue and does not care about the suffering of the protestors, most of whom are elderly and compelled to camp at the borders of the nation’s capital in the harsh winter.

 The government’s offer of giving a written assurance that government procurement at MSP would remain and the laws can be amended to maintain parity between state-run and private ‘mandis’ is a case of “too little and too late“. Moreover, the track record of the government to implement its promises and assurances is extremely poor. Jamaat is of the opinion that it is not advisable to leave farming and the marketing of agricultural produce at the mercy of market forces. The Indian farmer cannot stand up to the might of the multinationals and giant conglomerates and needs the protection of the state to protect his/her interests.

6 December 2020 marked 28 years since the Babri Masjid was demolished by vandals under the full glare of the media, the law and order machinery and the unresponsive and irresponsible government. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind along with all the justice-loving people of the world consider it a dark day in the history of our nation and one that caused grievous and irreparable damage to India’s democracy and secular ethos. The Muslim community along with a large number of fellow citizens was deeply offended and had to bear the brunt of the communal riots that followed the demolition.

Unfortunately, both the state and the judiciary failed to undo the historic wrong perpetuated by the communalists and assuage the sentiments of the community. One more incident that did not bring glory to our justice system was the acquittal of all those indicted for conspiracy to bring down the Babri Masjid.

The accused were set free citing lack of evidence notwithstanding the fact that the accused openly declared their intention to replace the existing mosque with a temple, hundreds of times and these declarations were recorded by the media in full public view. Jamaat believes that we live in a civilized society where the rule of the law is paramount and there should be no scope for extra-judicial force or violence that disregards the law of the land to achieve one’s political agenda or parochial targets.

 History will not judge our nation kindly over the Babri masjid demolition case, where justice was delayed, denied and the culprits were rewarded and set scot-free.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind is opposed to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 as it endangers the freedom of conscience and the right to profess practice and propagate religion under Article 25 of the Constitution. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind upholds the Islamic belief that disallows the forceful conversion of faith. However, it is a matter of concern that the Uttar Pradesh police are selectively implementing the law.

 There are certain highly objectionable clauses in the ordinance, which directly infringe on the fundamental rights of all citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution. For example, the ordinance makes it a criminal offence to convert a person by offering him/her an allurement.

 Jamaat feels that this ordinance is one of the many ways adopted by the governments in states run by the ruling party to keep the flames of “anti-minorityism” or Islamophobia alive. It is a tacit endorsement of the view that “Hindus are in danger” in their own country at the hand of Muslims who are growing at a rate that they will soon overtake the Hindus to become the majority community in India.

 The slur of “love-jihad” given to this fictitious narrative of Muslims boys going after Hindu girls is highly condemnable. It is also an insult to the women of our country, who are perceived to be mere gullible victims that are “allured” to stray away from the fold of their clan and community. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind feels that this ordinance will not stand the test of legality and adherence to our constitutional norms and expects it to be struck down by the judiciary.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind is deeply concerned by the findings of the survey conducted by the global civil society watchdog – Transparency International that has placed India on the top of the list of countries in Asia in terms of offering bribery and using personal relations for getting their work done.

 The report called “Global Corruption Barometer – Asia” says – “India has the highest overall bribery rate (39%) and the highest rate of citizens using personal connections (46%), following India, Indonesia and China have the second and third highest rates of people using personal connections with 36% and 32% respectively”.

One may recall that India was ranked in the 80th position among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index, in the previous report issued by Transparency International that was released in January 2020 in Davos at the World Economic Forum. Jamaat feels that our low rating in eliminating corruption is because of the decline of moral values and the absence of accountability before one’s Creator in the hereafter.

 The only way to solve this challenge is to make efforts to rebuild society based on piety and righteousness. This societal transformation has to begin by educating the people and that too at an early stage by incorporating moral education in the school curriculum. The state too has to play its role by ensuring rigorous processes to prevent bribery as well as giving strict punishment to those found guilty of corruption.