“Peace is the need for all those who are weak and suppressed. We have to work together effortlessly to see that peace and justice prevail in the society,” said Maulana Jalaluddin Umri, president Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind while giving a clarion call to the Muslims and non-Muslims as well at the concluding programme of the fortnight long “Caravan for Peace and Justice”, launched by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. The concluding programme took place on November 30, in front of the historical Jama Masjid of Delhi.
Maulana Jalaluddin shared with the audience his experiences and responses he got from the people all over India during the caravan.
Talking about the situation prevailing in the country the Jamaat chief said, “We are not begging for justice in the country. We are standing for peace and justice and will see to it that no injustice happens to anybody.”
He informed the audience that when he launched the caravan he never knew the caravan would get such warm responses. He added that the country was in dire need of this kind of caravan, which was in fact voice of the people who seek peace and justice. “This is not the end of the programme but this is the beginning of our strivings for peace and justice.”
Through the Caravan the Jamaat called upon the government to ensure peace and justice in the country and unanimously adopted the following demands:
1. All riots and disruptive acts of the last decade should be probed into by an independent high powered commission; to identify the actual culprits and the reports of the enquiry should be made public.
2. Reforms should be initiated in the police and law enforcement machinery and the recommendations of National Police Commission should be immediately implemented. Police personnel at all levels should adequately represent all communities residing in a particular state.
3. Effective legal mechanism should be evolved to check and curb police atrocities, illegal detentions, fake encounters, tortures, custodial deaths and fabricated accusations.
4. Harassment of relatives and well wishers of the detainees should be stopped and a whole locality should not be targeted or victimised.
5. Confidential reports and confessions extracted under duress must not be leaked to the media. Effective regulations and legal mechanisms should be enacted to ensure fair and unbiased reporting in media.
6. All initiatives for undemocratic and unjust legislation should be stopped and all those legislations enacted by various states should be withdrawn wherein confessions in police custody are made admissible in courts or which allow police to keep persons arrested without filing charge sheets against them or which violate human rights in any way.
7. Measures should be adopted to promote human values, respect for human life, tolerance and cooperation so that we can build a conflict free and peaceful India.
8. Justice should not be delayed. Comprehensive reforms in the judicial system should be initiated to ensure speedy delivery of justice. All those residing in jails for more than five years, pending a judgement in their cases; should be immediately released. All those who are eligible for bail, but lack financial resource, should be granted bail and released from custody.
9. The horrible conditions in jails should be changed and made humane through comprehensive measures of jail reform.
10. As part of its anti-Muslim stance, the former NDA regime had imposed an unjust ban on SIMI. The present central government should honour the Justice Gita Mittal tribunal’s judgement in this regard and immediately lift the ban on Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).