New Delhi: In view of the recent wave of bombings in Sri Lanka, in which over 250 people were killed, a group of 243 activists, academics and journalists from all across South Asia have issued a statement in solidarity with the artists, thinkers and ordinary people of Sri Lanka.The signatories, as the statement says, have been at the forefront of facing the wrath of similar realities in their respective nation-states for decades.They include human rights activists from Afghanistan and Bangladesh, journalists from Nepal, Pakistan and India, and Historians and Feminists from India and Pakistan, among many others.Read the full text below.§We the undersigned, who are from and live in the various nation-states of South Asia, express our deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in the serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. We express our solidarity with those working tirelessly to address the needs of the injured in the aftermath of this carnage and to sustain interfaith and community relationships.While we support all justice efforts that seek to hold the perpetrators of violence accountable, we also urge the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure that, in the name of combating terror and ensuring national security, fundamental human rights and dignity of all concerned are not violated.We say this because in all our countries, investigations into terror and anti-terror legislation have been accompanied by consistent and continuing violation of civil and democratic rights. Furthermore, in the name of ensuring national security, successive governments in the region have sought to legitimise their various acts of impunity – directed against not only purported or possible suspects but entire sections of the civilian population. This has led to unaccountable loss of life and a steady erosion of democratic guarantees and institutions, including unaccounted for deaths and disappearances.We note with concern that media reports and remarks by state officials and political leaders in Sri Lanka have pointed to State inaction with respect to warnings by intelligence agencies about possible acts of terror. Such inaction and indifference, we regret to note, amounts to State complicity with the violence that subsequently unfolded.We are also concerned that the ‘owning up’ to these acts by the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (Daesh) might encourage Islamophobic attitudes and expressions, both on the part of the Sri Lankan government and sections of civil society. Should this happen, Sri Lanka would be tragically drawn in to a familiar international discourse and practice to do with ‘Islamic terror’ with all the resultant tragedies, as we have witnessed across Asia. In a country that has barely recovered from decades of civil mistrust, war and violence, this cannot bode well for its sovereignty, civil peace and economic and social life.We wish to point out that the so-called war on ‘Islamic terror’ has resulted in large numbers of the Islamic faith being persecuted, both in their countries and across the world – and this sadly only enhances the appeal of those who seek to wage war in the name of Islam and what they perceive as Islamic concerns and interests. Thus is set in motion a cycle of violence that benefits no one but the arms trade and industries, and political powers that seek to establish their hegemony in the region at all costs.In this context:We support all struggles to ensure transparent and fair pursuit of justice for the victims of the blast. At the same time, we stand with those who are against undemocratic anti-terror laws in Sri Lanka, even if they are purportedly deployed for purposes of investigation and national security.We protest attempts to target or persecute those of the Islamic faith, in the name of countering terror, whether by the state or vigilante groups.We support Muslim communities in the region that have called for peace and are critical of voices from within that endorse extremist religious positions, which polarise everyday life and interactions, and vitiate meaningful dissent and dialogue.We affirm the resilience of diverse cultural and religious traditions in the region that have fostered long standing habits of mutuality, trust and co-existence. We do not wish for the specificity of local beliefs and traditions, of all faiths, to be drawn into polarising global discourses of religious ‘unity’ and ‘singularity’ imposed from above.List of signatories:AfghanistanMassihullah, Kabul AfghanistanSima Samar, AfghanistanNepalAnju Kandel, NepalDeepa Gurung, NepalHari Sharma, Kathmandu, NepalKaalo.101, NepalKanak Mani Dixit, KathmanduKunda Dixit, Kathmandu, NepalNayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, Kathmandu, NepalNiranjan Kunwar, Kathmandu, NepalSarita K.C, NepalIndiaMangai, IndiaAbha Bhaiya, IndiaAbirami Jotheeswaran, IndiaAmar Kanwar, New Delhi, IndiaAnuradha Bhasin, Kashmir Times, IndiaAnuradha Kapoor, IndiaArundathi V, IndiaAshish kumar Dey, IndiaBindu Doddahatti, IndiaDeepti Sharma, New Delhi, IndiaDia Da Costa, IndiaDipta Bhog, IndiaFarida Khan, IndiaForum Against Oppression of Women, IndiaGeetha V, IndiaHuma Ahmed-Ghosh, IndiaIndu Vashist, India/CanadaIram Saeed, IndiaJinee Lokaneeta, India/USAK, Lalita, IndiaKamla Bhasin, IndiaKhalida Saleem, IndiaMadhu Mehra, IndiaMamta Singh, Women Right Activist, IndiaMary John, IndiaMaya Sharma Vikalp (Women’s Group) , IndiaMeena Gopal, IndiaMeera Velayudhan, IndiaMohan Rao, IndiaMrinalini R, IndiaNandini Manjrekar, IndiaNandita Shah, IndiaNastasia Paul Gera, IndiaNeelanjana Mukhia, IndiaNeeraj Malik, IndiaNupur Basu, IndiaPam Philipose, IndiaPanchali Ray, New Delhi, IndiaPonni Arasu, IndiaPoonam Batra, IndiaPrathama Raghavan, Hyderabad, IndiaRafiul Alom Rahman, IndiaRamakant Agnohotri, IndiaRita Manchanda, IndiaRitu Dewan, IndiaRitu Menon, IndiaRoshmi Goswami, IndiaSabeena Gadihoke, IndiaSahba Hussain, IndiaSaheli Women’s Resource Centre, New Delhi, IndiaSameera Iyengar, IndiaSara Abraham, IndiaShohini Ghosh, IndiaShrimoyee N, Ghosh, IndiaSnigdha Chakraborty, IndiaSujata Patel, IndiaSvati Shah, India/USASwarna Rajagopalan, IndiaTanvi Mishra, New Delhi, IndiaThe Queer Muslim Project, IndiaUma Chakravarty, IndiaVanita Nayak Mukherjee, IndiaVeena Shatrughna, IndiaMamatha Karollil, IndiaAfshana Bano, IndiaSupriya Madangarli, IndiaPakistanAbeera Tanveer, PakistanAilya Khan, PakistanAjwah Nadeem, PakistanAminah Waheed Chaudhry, PakistanAmmar Ali Jan, PakistanAmna Durrani, PakistanAmna Iqbal, PakistanAmna Mawaz, PakistanAnis Haroon, PakistanAnoosha Shaigan, PakistanArooj Aurangzeb, PakistanAsma Malik, PakistanAwami Workers Party, PunjabAyra Indrias, PakistanBaila Anjum, Lahore, PakistanBasmina, Pakistan-Afghan BorderBeena Sarwar, PakistanBeenish Muhammad Ali, PakistanBonnie MendeCandas Anjum, PakistanQasim Iqbal, NAZ PakistanFaiz Younas, PakistanFarida Batool, PakistanFarida Shaheed, PakistanFatema Bhaiji, PakistanFatima A. Athar, PakistanFatima Butt, PakistanFemSoc at LUMS, PakistanFeroza Batool , PakistanFiza Khatri, PakistanFurhan Hussain, PakistanGhausia Rashid Salam, PakistanGhazala Anwar, PakistanGwendolyn S. Kirk, USA/PakistanHadi Hussain, PakistanHameeda Hossain, PakistanHave Only Positive Expectations — HOPE, PakistanHiba Akbar, PakistanHira Mohmand, Pakistan-Afghan BorderHuma Fouladi, PakistanHuma Majeed, PakistanHumraz society, Karachi, PakistanJamaima Afridi, Pakistan-Afghan BorderJawad Anwar, PakistanKashmala Dilawar, Pakistan-Afghan BorderKhawar Mumtaz, PakistanKhushbakht Memon, PakistanKishwar Sultana, PakistanKyla Pasha, PakistanLubna ChaudhryMadiha Latif, PakistanMaheen Asif Khan, PakistanMalik Moeed, PakistanManal Yousuf, PakistanMani AQ, PakistanMaria Rashid, PakistanMaryam Hussain, PakistanMaryum Orakzai, Pakistan-Afghan BorderMasooma Fatima, PakistanMehlab Jameel, PakistanMelanie D’souza, PakistanMomina Jahan, PakistanMomina Pasha, PakistanMuaaz Ali, PakistanNaazish Ata-Ullah, PakistanNabiha Meher Shaikh, PakistanNageen Hyat, PakistanNaheed Aziz, PakistanNaila Naz, PakistanNasim Begum, Pakistan-Afghan BorderNasreen Rahman, PakistanNeelam Hussain, PakistanNighat Dad, PakistanNighat Said Khan, PakistanNimra Akram, PakistanNoreen Naseer PakistanO Collective, PakistanOmer Arshad, PakistanOutcast Magazine, PakistanPalvashay Sethi, PakistanQueer Karachi, PakistanQuratulain Faraz, PakistanRafia Asim, PakistanRahma Muhammad Mian, KarachiRoohi Khan, PakistanRubina Saigol, PakistanRukhsana Rashid, PakistanSaadia Haq, PakistanSaadia Toor, USA/PakistanSaba Gul Khattak, Pakistan-Afghan BorderSabeen Andleeb, PakistanSadaf Aziz, PakistanSadia Afridi, Pakistan-Afghan BorderSadia Khatri, Karachi, PakistanSaima Jasam, PakistanSaima Munir, PakistanSaleha Rauf, PakistanSaman Rizvi, PakistanSamavia Malik, PakistanSamina Orakzai, PakistanSamina Orakzai, Pakistan-Afghan BorderSana Naeem, PakistanSarah Humayun, PakistanSarah Suhail, PakistanSarah Zaman, PakistanSehrish Tariq, PakistanShafeeq Gigyani, Peshawar PakistanShagufta Rehmat, PakistanShazia Shaheen, PakistanShirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre, PakistanShmyla Khan, PakistanShumaila Kausar, PakistanShumaila Shahani, PakistanSyed Raza Haider, PakistanTabitha Spence, PakistanTahira Kaleem, Peshawar, PakistanTehreem Azeem, PakistanThe Enlight Lab, PakistanWafa Asher, PakistanWomen’s Action Forum, PakistanYusra, Pakistan-Afghan BorderZahra Durrani, PakistanZakia Majid, PakistanZeenat Afridi, Pakistan – Afghan BorderZeenia Shaukat, PakistanZehra Keshf, PakistanAmbreen Ahmad, PakistanBangladesh Amena Mohsin, Dhaka BangladeshAnusheh Anadil, Dhaka , BangladeshArup Rahee, Dhaka, BangladeshAdilur Rahman Khan, Dhaka, BangladeshDr Asif Nazrul, Dhaka, BangladeshDr Hameeda Hossain, Dhaka, BangladeshDr Ridwanul Hoque, Dhaka, BangladeshDr Zafrullah Chowdhury, Dhaka, BangladeshFaustina Pereira, Dhaka, BangladeshShahidul Alam, Dhaka, BangladeshShahnaz Huda, Dhaka, BangladeshFahmidul Haq, Dhaka, BangladeshFirdous Azim, Dhaka, BangladeshGaliba Rabbani, BangladeshGitiara Nasreen, Dhaka, BangladeshHana Shams Ahmed, Bangladesh/CanadaInclusive Bangladesh, BangladeshKhushi Kabir, BangladeshNur Khan, Dhaka, BangladeshMeghna Guhathakurta, Dhaka, BangladeshMirza Taslima Sultana, Dhaka, BangladeshMohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, Dhaka, BangladeshMohammed Iqbal Hossaion, BangladeshMonika Biswas, BangladeshPerween Hasan, Dhaka, BangladeshRahnuma Ahmed, Dhaka, BangladeshReetu Sattar, Dhaka, BangladeshRezaur Rahman Lenin, Dhaka, BangladeshRina Roy, Dhaka, BangladeshSelima Sara Kabir, BangladeshShaheen Anam, BangladeshShamsul Huda, BangladeshSharnila Nuzhat Kabir, BangladeshShireen P Huq, Dhaka, BangladeshSultana Kamal, Dhaka, BangladeshZareen Mahmud Hosein, BangladeshOthersAurangzaib Alizai, ThailandKumkum Dey, New JerseyRumah Pelangi Indonesia
