Junking the proposed Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (access to justice and reparations) Bill, 2011, the civil society groups have suggested radical changes in the draft legislation. Raising objection to the definition of ‘Group’ — used in the bill for religious or linguistic minority or SCs and STs — civil society groups on Apr 21 sought uniform compensation for victims of communal violence, based on loss incurred and not on religion.
While questioning the proposed setting up of a National Authority, the groups said the notion of minority group could result in discrimination and the provisions relating to reparative justice have been adjudged as being paternalistic, making the rights of the survivors useless. The groups pointed out that NAC’s draft law presumes that members of the majority community cannot be victims of violence. “The victim of violence can also be people from the majority groups… Killing of Hindus in Muslim dominated areas too should be under this law, because Hindus will then be in minority in a Muslim dominated area,” said Niaz A Farooqui of Jamat-e-Ulema-i-Hind. The draft prepared by the civil society groups fixes answerability to public servants who fail to control riots.