New Delhi: Over 250 individuals signed a statement of solidarity with rights activist and former IAS officer Harsh Mander, condemning the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s raids at his home and his office on Friday (February 2) as being part of a “vindictive witch hunt”.The signatories said that since 2020, multiple investigative agencies of the Union government, including the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate, had investigated Mander and his Centre for Equity Studies (CES) but that no chargesheet had yet been presented in a court of law.“These egregious attacks on Harsh Mander and the CES are an attack on all of civil society in India and all those who work to promote constitutional values,” their statement read.An FIR filed by the CBI alleged that the CES transferred more than Rs 32 lakh other than salaries or remuneration from its Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) account to other accounts in 2020 and 2021 in violation of the Act, ThePrint reported.“Enquiry has also revealed that [the] Centre for Equity Studies had diverted an amount of Rs 10/- Lakh (approx.) from its FCRA account through the firm(s) in violation of the provisions of FCRA, 2010,” the FIR also said according to ThePrint.But the signatories of solidarity statement claimed the CBI’s FIR indicated Mander was being charged “without any material basis”.“It is clear from the FIR No. RC2202024 E0002/EO II/N.D. under sections 35 r/w 7,8,12(4) (a) (vi) and section 39 of FCRA Act 2010 invoked by the CBI, that the charges being brought under Mr Mander are entirely fabricated and without any material basis,” they said.“We stand in solidarity with Dr. Mander, in his determined resolve to preserve the principles and values of constitutional India,” their letter concluded.Mander responded to Fridays’ raids by saying, “My life and my work are my only response.”In June 2023, the Union home ministry invoked Section 3 of the FCRA to suspend the CES’s FCRA license.The section bars any “correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer or publisher of a registered newspaper” from accepting any foreign contributions.Mander, a former IAS officer, has been at the forefront of the campaign against communal disharmony in India and has been severely critical of the Modi government over the last ten years for allegedly fuelling majoritarian politics in the country.The statement of solidarity is reproduced in full below.§Press statement2nd February, 2024Over 250 citizens condemn the harassment by Indian State agencies of Dr. Harsh Mander, Director Centre for Equity studies, New DelhiDemand closure of the FIR filed by the CBI and all other investigations underway We the undersigned unequivocally condemn the continued victimisation and intimidation of Dr. Harsh Mander. We are deeply disturbed by the raid on the morning of 2nd February, 2024 at the residence of Dr. Harsh Mander and ongoing raid on the Centre for Equity Studies, the organisation founded by Dr. Harsh Mander.Harsh Mander is a widely respected and internationally acclaimed human rights activist who has taken up issues of those most oppressed.Today’s raid is a part of the long chain of harassment of Dr. Harsh Mander, his colleagues, his family and former and present board members of the Centre for Equity Studies. It is important to know that since 2020 multiple investigating agencies of the Government including National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Delhi Police’s Economic offences wing, Income Tax (IT) authorities, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and now the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) have been carrying out what can only be described as a vindictive witch hunt. In not a single case has a chargesheet been presented in a court of law.These egregious attacks on Harsh Mander and the CES are an attack on all of civil society in India and all those who work to promote constitutional values.It is clear from the FIR No. RC2202024 E0002/EO II/N.D. under sections 35 r/w 7,8,12(4) (a) (vi) and section 39 of FCRA Act 2010 invoked by the CBI, that the charges being brought under Mr Mander are entirely fabricated and without any material basis.We demand the closure of all investigations including the CBI FIR against Harsh Mander, his colleagues and the CES.Speaking on the raids, Dr. Mander said that he was further strengthened in his resolve and added that “my life, my writings and my work are my only response”.We stand in solidarity with Dr. Mander, in his determined resolve to preserve the principles and values of constitutional India.Kavita Srivastava, President PUCLV Suresh, General, Secretary, PUCLAruna Roy, MKSS, Rajasthan and President NFIWNikhil Dey, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, RajasthanDr. Syeda S. Hameed, Writer and former member of the Planning Commission of India Annie Raja, General Secretary, NFIWApoorvanand, Writer and columnist, DelhiFarah Naqvi, Writer and researcher, DelhiKavita Krishnan, Columnist and public intellectualJean Dreze, Economist and Concerned CitizenMedha Patkar, Co-convenor NAPM, national working groupAdmiral L Ramdas, Peace activist and chief of the navy staffLalita Ramdas, Peace activist and educationistKomal Srivastava, President, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, BGVSAsha Mishra, BGVSMeera Sanghamitra, Co-convenor NAPM, national working groupSandeep Pandey, General Secretary Socialist Party and AcademicArundhati Dhuru, Co-convenor NAPM, national working groupGabriele Dietrich, Advisor NAPMAnuradha Talwar, Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samiti, PBKMSDr. Sunilam, Kisan Sangharsh SamitiSiraj Datta, Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan, JharkhandAshish Ranjan, Jan Jagaran Shakti Sangathan, BiharKamayani, Jan Jagaran Shakti Sangathan, BiharVinay Sreenivasa, Bahutva KarnatakaArvind Narrain, President, PUCL KarnatakaMihir Desai, Vice President, PUCLSuneetha, ALIFAProf. Rahul Mukherjee, HOD, Political Science Department, South Asia Institute, HeidelbergShabnam Hashmi, Anhad, DelhiGauhar Raza, Scientist and Poet, DelhiPamela Philipose, Senior journalistAchin Vanaik, Political Thinker and WriterAishwarya R PUCLKhushi Sharma PuclAshutosh Meena PUCLNaman Sharma PUCLLavanya methi PUCLRaghav Gupta PUCLDarshan Jain PUCLTanisha Meena PUCLPadmaja Shaw Rtd Faculty, Osmania UniversityAryan Krishnia PUCLUma Shankari Citizen of IndiaPriyanshi NonePrakriti Right to Food CampaignTaufique Nadim PUCLHiren Gandhi DarshanKailash Mina Napm RajasthanDavid solomon SJMamta Jaitly Vividha Raj Shekhar Right to Food CampaignKhalida parveen ActivistKaneez Fathima Civil Rights ActivistShakuntala Rajsamand Mahila manchY Krishna Jyothi South FirstRajendran Narayanan Azim Premji University, BangaloreSaeed SelfShalini Gera Lawyer, Chhattisgarh High CourtRohit Prajapati Environment Activist, GujaratTapojay Mukherjee Paschim Banga Khet Majoor SamityMandakini AdvocateSiraj Dutta Jharkhand Janadhikar MahasabhaVasantha ActivistSitara bano PuclSyed feroz Nirsraya shramika sanghtanAdv Dr Shalu Nigam Independent ResearcherMaanik Mahna All India Professionals CongressNatasha Badhwar Writer, Film-makerAshish Reddy AdvocateNavin IndividualB B Choudhary Samajwadi Jan ParishadSitara bano PuclNisha Biswas ActivistSmita Gupta Independent Economist and ActivistRamnarayan Individual CitizenChirayu Jain Advocate, Delhi High CourtFarooq Hussain Ideal information center for disabledSwati Narayan Activist, Right to Food CampaignAmbika yadav Jharkhand kisan parishadAditya Shrivastava German Chancellor FellowAnnie Namala Social ActivistSomnath Ghosh Retired ProfessorSheba George Social WorkerDr. Anjor Bhaskar TeacherVijay lakshmi Joshi PUCL and ViViDHASruti BalaInternational Solidarity for AcademicFreedom in IndiaProf Meena Dhanda Visiting Professor, LSESyed Majid Shuttari TPUMohammed Iqbal JournalistAyswarya Murthy JournalistPrasad Chacko PUCL, Gujarat Rajender Mohan Kashyap People’s Union for Civil Liberty’sVS Krishna Human Rights ForumMaqbool Saleem CitizenDr Sanjay Mangala GopalNational Alliance of PeoplesMovements (NAPM)Bhanwar Meghwanshi PuclArun VIRASAM.Elina Horo Adivasi Women’s NetworkSunil Kaul Co-travellerVandita Morarka One Future CollectiveShambhavi Sharma COLLECTIVE DelhiNandini Sundar SociologistGova rathod PUCL GujaratPrateek Pankaj Heidelberg UniversityMathew Cherian Writer and AuthorChayanika ShahMember, Forum Against Oppression ofWomenSatya Oza PhD StudentR Sudarshan A free LancerHana VahabIndependent journalist/Researcher,DelhiAmita V joseph AdvocateJarjum Ete AIUFWPM. R. Nandan Retired teacherIndira UnninayarAdvocate – Supreme Court & Delhi HighCourtSukriti Chaudhary PUCLMridula Sudarshan A Free LancerDr Tony BagaichaGangadhar M Democratic Teachers FederationK.Ravi Chander Forum Against Repression, TelanganaApurva NREGA Sangharsh MorchaNavdeep Mathur Faculty, AhmedabadMujahid PUCLRoma AIUFWPAnandvardhan Yagnik Advocate, Gujarat High CourtDr Samhita BarooahSocial work educator and freelancewriterDev Desai ANHADDr Samhita Barooah Tezpur UniversityKrishnakant Chauhan PUCL, SuratKranthi Kiran IndividualJoy sengupta Theatre & Cinema. Narbinder SinghAssociation for Democratic Rights,PunjabSeshappa M N Rtd personAmrita Chhachhi AcademicSrishti Award-winning journalistSejal Dand Anna Suraksha Adhikar AbhiyanAnanth Krishnan Jayadas PUCLJanhwi singh PUCLArundhati Dhuru NAPMMridul Tata Institute of Social SciencesManorama SharmaRetd. Professor, NEHU, Shillong andsocial activist of Sustha Samaj BikashChakra, GuwahatiAninthitha Nath Ashoka University – Teaching FellowSoumya Dutta Bharat Jan Vigyan JathaMaimoona Mollah AIDWA DelhiSanjhana TISSUsman Jawed Independent researcherShadan Farasat Advocate Supreme CourtHasina Khan Bebaak CollectiveFrazer Mascarenhas Jesuit orderPurvi Vyas Independent consultantFatema Chappalwala Sambhaavnaa InstituteArundati DesignerAshok Sharma IFS (Retd.)Nirmala Tammineni Independent social workerJyothi Gaddam NintagriNaresh Chandra Saxena retired government servantDr. Joseph Xavier IDEAS MADURAIछीतर मल चौधरी सूचना एवं रोजगार अभियानJawhar Sircar Member of ParliamentRitwij Kumar RTF Campaign BiharGita Rani BhattacharyaIndependent Gender and developmentactivitiesprita jha peace and equality cellN.D.Jayaprakash Delhi Science ForumSushila ENSMRaju Sharma RetiredRadha Kumar Writer and policy analystSaito Basumatary AdvocateTanvir Ahmad RetiredDinesh abrol Delhi Science Forum Subham Biswas Suchna Evam Rozgar Adhikar AbhiyanMeena Gupta Individual. Retired civil servantAmanulla KhanAll India Insurance Employees’AssociationSoma Marla Free individualAmulya K Tripathy Former Professor pol.scLalita Ramdas LARAAditya Nigam Independent academicAvinash Kumar Faculty, JNUA V Subrahmanyam Left symthesiserA.Suneetha Independent researcherGautam Mody NTUIDr. Soma Marla ScientistMuniza Khan Gandhian Institute of studiesArundhati IndividualKoninika Ray National Federation of Indian WomenDr ShakeelIndian Doctors for Peace andDevelopmentNabam kafting NoneShabnam VishakhaVrati Kumar PUCLAditi Mehta IAS RetdUDAY KUMAR RAY DRISTI SAGAR SEWA SANSTHANVinoo Hora NFIWAjay singh mehta CitizenAmita Buch IndividualCedric PrakashHuman Rights and Peace Activist/WriterDeb Mukharji member Constitutional Conduct GroupNivedita Menon JNU DelhiShafiq RtdNeeta Hardikar Anna Suraksha Adhikar AbhiyanRadhika Desai Independent Researcher/ConsultantPoonam kaushik ,GeneralSecy Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan DelhiHarsh Yadav IndividualRashmi Dhanwani Arts Manager and ResearcherAdmiral L Ramdas Former Chief of the Naval StaffSnehal Shah IndependentSaba –Shashi UnaffiliatedBiswaroop Chatterjee Medical College, Kolkata Cheryl Dsouza AdvocateMariam DhawaleAll India Democratic Women’sAssociationVivek Sharma LawyerPreeti Oza NoneLata Singh RIHRRia Yadav AdvocateRohan D’Souza Kyoto universityJacob Antony Retired Principal SecretaryKhalil ur Rehaman NAJAR (NAPM)George Thomas Medical practitionerJennifer Liang Development ActivistDr SUDHIR AGRAWAL SAMAGRA VIKAS PARTYSubodh Lal Constotutional Conduct GroupGhalib khan Social ActivistPyoli AdvocateRamesh DixitSamvidhan Bachao Desh BachaoAbhiyan Uttar Pradesh LucknowPushpendra PUCL BiharMaya John Centre for Struggling Women (CSW)Mridula Mukherjee JNU (retired)ASM Mostafizur RahmanSouth Asia Institute, HeidelbergUniversity, GermanAvay Shukla RetiredTeena sharma Suchna or rojgar abhiyanAditya Mukherjee JNU (retired)Dr. Basavi Kiro Indigenous women India NetworkAlena National workers welfare trustBela Bhatia Human-rights lawyer and writerRushamNational Alliance of People’sMovementsSuchintan Das University of OxfordAshish Ranjan NAPMProf Santosh Mehrotra University of BathGoulungmon Law studentsKavin Castro M Advocate based in ChennaiRaza Haider Poet & FilmmakerRanesh Ray Architect DesignerApurba kumar BaruahAssam Institute of Mass Communicationand Media ResearchRukhsana Choudhury AdvocateBeena PallicalNational Campaign on Dalit HumanRights Yes S.A.KadriRTD. banking industry trade unionleaderSanjay Kaul IAS retd.Hemantkumar Shah Former Principal, HK Arts CollegeLata Bhise SonawaneNational Federation of IndianWomenNFIWShabnam Hashmi AnhadVarsha GandikotaGeneral Coordinator, ProgressiveInternationalAmitabha Pande Retired civil servantGauhar Raza IndividualBhavna Sharma Social ActivistPrasad Subramaniam FSMMBalram RTFC ,JharkhandAmala Dasarathi AdvocateAyesha Kidwai Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityRoshni MumbaiRaghavan Rangarajan Professor
