New Delhi: Prominent civil society members and activists have released a statement expressing solidarity with community organiser Kaleem Siddiqui, who was served a notice by the Ahmedabad Police last month asking why he should not be externed from Ahmedabad and neighbouring districts for two years.
According to the statement, the notice cited two FIRs and 10 anonymous complaints against Siddiqui and alleged that he had attacked several individuals with weapons.
“We believe that these allegations are malafide and politically motivated,” the statement said and added that the police must immediately revoke the notice. The signatories, who included Ghanshyam Shah, Jignesh Mevani, Kannan Gopinathan, Kavitha Krishnan, Ramachandra Guha and Zoya Hasan, also questioned how ten complainants registered grievances against Siddiqui in a matter of just a week in June 2020 amidst the outbreak of COVID-19.
Testifying to Siddiqui’s record as a social worker and journalist, the statement pointed out that previously Siddiqui’s work exposing the nexus between police officials and bootleggers in Ahmedabad had earned the ire of the Ahmedabad Police, which had registered an FIR against him in 2018. Siddiqui was subsequently acquitted of all charges by the Gujarat high court.
Also read: Gujarat: Anti-CAA Protest Organiser Kaleem Siddiqui Served Externment Notice
The signatories also took note of Siddiqui’s crucial role in campaigning against the Citizenship Amendment Act and organising a sit-in protest in Ajit Mill compound in Rakhial.
Maintaining that the actions by the Ahmedabad Police against a grassroots level activist and a journalist are “condemnable and unwarranted”, the statement held that Siddiqui was being “intimidated to silence dissent by civil society actors and the Muslim community”.
The entire text of the statement has been reproduced below.
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Statement in support of Kaleem Siddiqui
We, the undersigned, express our solidarity with Kaleem Siddiqui, a dedicated social worker, community organizer, and journalist based in Ahmedabad who is being hounded without justification by the Ahmedabad Police.
On 17 July 2020, Kaleem was served a notice by Ahmedabad Police seeking an explanation as to why he should not be barred from Ahmedabad and neighbouring districts for two years. The notice cites two First Information Reports (FIRs) and 10 anonymous complaints against Kaleem alleging that he is not only hot-tempered but has also attacked several individuals with weapons.
We believe that these allegations are malafide and politically motivated. Prima facie, the anonymous complaints against him appear entirely baseless. It is alleged that these complainants wish to remain anonymous as they fear Kaleem’s influence in the locality. We fail to understand why these ten complainants registered their grievances against Kaleem in a matter of just a week in June 2020 amidst a nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We testify to Kaleem’s track record as a committed social worker who has stood by vulnerable members of our society. In the last few years, Kaleem has actively exposed the nexus between police officials and bootleggers in Ahmedabad — a mockery of prohibition law in Gujarat. His activism put an end to corruption by some police officials in Ahmedabad. Instead of appreciating his efforts, Ahmedabad Police had registered an FIR to threaten Kaleem in 2018. However, Gujarat High Court has acquitted him from all charges in this FIR.
More recently, from December 2019, Kaleem vigorously campaigned against the anti-Muslim amendment to India’s citizenship law and the proposed national registers of citizens and populace. His role in organising a sit-in protest in Ajit Mill compound in Rakhial was most crucial in resisting the anti-constitutional and anti-minority nature of the citizenship law. He is also a journalist writing in widely-read web portals, including Down to Earth and Jan Chowk. Kaleem’s dedication to battling injustice and corruption has clearly earned him the ire of certain officials in the city.
Indeed, we think that Kaleem is being intimidated to silence dissent by civil society actors and the Muslim community. This behaviour by Ahmedabad Police against a grassroots level activist and a journalist is condemnable and unwarranted. This harassment must end, and the police must immediately revoke this notice.
6 PM IST, 7 August 2020
- Signatory’s Name Occupation & Institutional Affiliation
- Aaftab Mafat, Concerned Citizen
- Aakar Patel, Columnist
- Aaris Mohammed Trustee, Center for Social and Constitutional Studies
- Ahamed, Real estate
- Ajaz Shaikh, PhD Student, GU
- Ajin K Thomas, Researcher, Ahmedabad
- Amaani Vaniya, Student Representative, Gujarat University
- amit modi, freelancer
- Anil TV, Delhi Solidarity Group
- Arundhati Dhuru, NAPM
- Ashok Choudhary, All India Union of Forest Working People
- Ashok Shrimali, Social Actuvist
- Atish Indrekar
- Chhara, Theatre Activist
- Atul chakravarty, Entrepreneur
- atul mhase, business
- Ayesha, Kamkoriwala Student, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
- Azharuddin Saiyed, Architect
- Aziz Ahmedabadi, Concerned Citizen
- Bhargav Oza, Researcher
- Bhaswati Bhattacharya, Senior Research Fellow, Goettingen University
- Bhavesh Bariya, Journalist
- Bhavna Ramrakhiani, Convenor, ACF
- Bindu Desai, Concerned Citizen
- Cedric Prakash, Human rights and Peace Activist
- Cenny, Researcher
- Dabhi James social research
- Deepti Bharti NFIW Delhi Unit
- Dev Desai Social Worker
- Dev Gangjee Law professor, Oxford University
- Dhaval Chauhan PHD student in Gujarat university
- Dr Batul Hamid Principal at viva college of law
- dr lubna sarwath State General Secretary, Socialist Party(India), Hyderabad
- Fahad Zuberi Academic and Writer
- Farooq Abdulgafar
- Bawani Retired Govt. Servant – Signed individual capacity
- Ghanshyam Shah Retired professor. Former National Fellow, ICSSR, Delhi, and IIAS Shimla,
- hadia student, university of hyderabad
- Hanif Lakdawala Social activist
- Heman Student, Azim Premji University
- Hiren Gandhi Cultural Activist
- Hozefa Ujjaini Consultant
- Imran shaikh Concerned Citizen
- Irawati SA Social Scientist
- Isha Prakash Law student at Government Law College
- Ismail K. Professsor Emeritus of Arabic & Islamic Studies, University of Poonawala California, Los Angeles
- Jagmohan Singh General Secretary Association For Democratic Rights ,Punjab
- Jatin Sheth Social worker, Convener, Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch
- Jay Patel Student at MSU, Baroda
- Jayanti Panchal Social acivist. Socialist Party ( India )
- Jignesh Mevani MLA, Vadgam (Gujarat)
- Joseph Mattam Emeritus Prof.
- Kamayani Bali Mahabal Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Mumbai
- Kannan Gopinathan
- Kashyap Sanghani Independent Brand Consultant
- Kausharali Saiyed President (Gujarat) – Socialist Party (India)
- Kavita Krishnan AIPWA Secretary
- Kiran Trivedi A Writer and Humanist
- Krishna Kant Environment Activist
- Lubaib Social Worker and Researcher
- M. Maqbool A.
- Mateen National President, United Citizens’ Forum
- Maansi Shah Student, Columbia University
- Madhu Bhaduri Ambassador of India ( Retd )
- Mahendra Nath
- Mishra Journalist
- mahesh pandya Gujarat Social Watch
- manishi Jani Writer
- Manoj Singh AIPF
- Mansee Bal
- Bhargava Concerned Citizen
- Martin Macwan Managing Trustee, Navsarjan
- Mary Ann Chacko Professor, Ahmedabad University
- Mary Ann Chacko Professor, Ahmedabad University
- Masood Retired
- Md Faizan Anwar Student
- Michael Martin Social worker
- Minhajudheen PK Student
- Mithila Mapin Publishing
- Mobin Shaik Tailor
- Mritiunjoy Mohanty Professor, IIM Calcutta
- Muzammil Memon Busines
- Nafisa Barot Activist
- Natasha Badhwar Author, Film-Maker
- Navdeep Mathur Faculty, IIM Ahmedabad
- Neelima Sharma Nishant
- Neeta Ratwani Filmmaker
- Neha Shah L J Institute of Management Studie
- Nicholas Da Cunha Landlord
- Niharika Student, PDPU
- Nikita Sud University academic, Oxford University
- Nirjhari Sinha Chairperson, Jan Sangharsh Manch
- Nivedita Jayaram Researcher
- Pathik Patel Lawyer
- Payal Student
- Peehu Pardeshi Assistant Professor, TISS Mumbai
- Prasad Chacko Independent consultant on inclusive development
- Purvi Tank Self Employed
- Rafi Development activist
- Rajan Joseph
- Barrett Assistant professor MSU of Baroda
- Ramachandra Guha Historian and Writer
- Rohit Prajapati Activist
- romi mahajan romi mahajan
- Rukmani Anandani Writer
- Rushda Executive Member, NFIW
- Sajid Anwarbhai
- Alvi Student
- Sajid Hashmat President – Husaini Sena
- Salim Hafezi Sociopolitical Activist
- Sameer Yadav Development Professional, No Borders Consultancy
- Sandeep Pandey Vice President, Socialist Party (India)
- Saroop Dhruv Poetress and Cultural Activist
- Satya Oza Researcher
- Shamsul Islam Former faculty University of Delhi
- Sharik Laliwala Independent Researcher
- Shiney V Research
- Shireen Azam Independent Writer
- Shlok Talati Student, PDPU
- Shreekumar Farmer, Nakre, Karkala, udupi, Karnataka
- Shweta Sundar Architect
- Sonal Activist
- Subhasis Bandyopadhyay Teacher at IIEST, Shibpur
- Sunita Viswanath Hindus for Human Rights
- Surabhi Socialist Party (India)
- Sushil Khanna Professor of Economics (Retrd)
- Svati Joshi Academic
- Swati Goswami Independent Writer
- Swati Thampan Student
- Tanushree Gangopadhyay Journalist Independent
- Tazeen Pathan Incoming student (Class of ’22) at Imperial College London
- TOSIF DIWAN Service
- Tushar Katiyar Student @ Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University
- Urvish Kothari Writer
- Utpal Anish Gujarat Vidyapith
- varadharajan business
- Vardaa Undergraduate student at Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Varsha Law Student
- Vijaya working with migrants in Kanpur, J,B,V,Samiti
- Vinod Kumar University of Hyderabad
- Wency Mendes Filmmaker
- Yogendra Yadav, President, Swaraj India
- Yusuf Business
- Zakia Soman Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan
- Zoya Hasan Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University