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Delhi's Displaced Scrape a Living After Deadly Riots

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Delhi's Displaced Scrape a Living After Deadly Riots Friday 13 International Friday, March 6, 2020 Delhi’s displaced scrape a living after deadly riots Houses with Hindu symbols largely left untouched NEW DELHI: Mohammed Anees fled his home ple packed into an entrance foyer. “They didn’t in northeastern New Delhi last week as Hindu- even check if we were hurt.” Muslim clashes erupted in his area, escaping Many of those displaced, who are over- with his family of four to a relative’s home. He whelmingly Muslim, have moved to the had only a few hundred rupees in his wallet, Mustafabad camp, where a kitchen provides free leaving everything else behind. Now the 37- meals and volunteer doctors are treating victims. year-old Muslim mechanic is among more than Rashid Ali, a local resident helping organize the 1,000 people sheltering in a large open-air camp, said they had received some help from the mosque that has been turned into a relief camp Delhi government, run by a regional party. On a in the Mustafabad area of the Indian capital and long desk outside the mosque premises, a small opened on Monday. group of lawyers helped the victims of riots file “I don’t have any money left now,” Anees for compensation ranging from 25,000 rupees said, showing pictures of his ransacked home ($341.34) to 100,000 rupees. that he visited on the weekend on his cracked Seema Joshi from Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi mobile phone. With jewelry and savings looted Party, who was helping the legal team, said and afraid of more violence, he moved to the around 500 applications had been made, though camp with his wife and three children, victims of many people showed up without any paperwork the worst communal riots in New Delhi for since they fled in a hurry without documents or decades. More than 40 people were killed and had belongings burnt. In the narrow streets sur- hundreds injured. rounding the mosque, women jostled for food Anees lived in Shiv Vihar, where two large supplies as children rummaged through piles of mosques and dozens of Muslim houses sur- second-hand clothes donated to victims. On a rounding it were torched. Houses with Hindu loudspeaker, an announcer asked for volunteers NEW DELHI: Volunteers serves food for displaced people of sectarian riots in India’s capital over the symbols were largely left untouched. In total, to clean an overflowing toilet attached to the re- controversial citizenship law, at Eidgah Masjid in Mustafabad area of New Delhi yesterday. — AFP some 2,000 people are believed to have been lief camp. displaced, local politician Amanatullah Khan “A lot of people are facing depression,” said said. Hundreds of those are taking shelter on the Wasim Qamar, a doctor at the camp. “People Muslims, the Delhi Minorities Commission - a surveying riot-hit areas on Tuesday. Saurabh floors of private homes. “The police brought us saw terrible things. Some of them can’t eat or government-appointed body that focuses on mi- Bharadwaj, a lawmaker from Aam Aadmi, said and left us here,” said Mohammed Uddin, 70, sleep. They are very fearful.” Describing the vi- nority groups - said the Delhi government’s the party was trying to improve its response to outside a cramped house where dozens of peo- olence as “one-sided and well-planned” against compensation package was inadequate after the emergency. — Reuters repeated demands,” Philip Rutnam said. In ticularly difficult agenda that created this UK’s bullying an extraordinary televised press statement, confrontation.” he also said he would be suing the govern- Panel hears of risks ment for constructive dismissal-effectively Will of the people row exposes alleging he was forced out of his job. Patel But the row also broke out against a has strongly denied bullying and one aide backdrop of tensions between Downing to Indian Muslims government accused “dark forces” in the civil service of Street and the permanent, politically neu- WASHINGTON: Experts warned a US government panel on trying to undermine her. Supporters point tral civil servants who run the British gov- Wednesday that India’s Muslims face risks of expulsion or to one explosive newspaper report that in- ernment. Johnson’s senior adviser, Dominic other persecution under a citizenship law that has triggered tensions telligence chiefs do not trust Patel, who is in Cummings-who also worked on the Brexit major protests. The hearing held inside Congress was called charge of security-something the govern- campaign-has been open about his desire by the US Commission on International Freedom, which has ment emphatically denied. to shake up what he sees as a slow-moving been denounced by the Indian government as biased. LONDON: Three months after his tri- establishment. Ashutosh Varshney, a prominent scholar of sectarian vio- umphant re-election, British Prime Minister Perfect storm Last month, it was reported that No 10 lence in India, told the panel that the law championed by Prime Boris Johnson is battling to save one of his Alex Thomas, from the Institute for had drawn up a list of top civil servants it Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalists amounted to a top ministers from a bullying scandal that Government think-tank, said the row at the wanted to replace because they were “at move to narrow the democracy’s historically inclusive and sec- has exposed tensions at the heart of his Home Office showed an “extreme and ex- odds” with Johnson’s team-Rutnam among ular definition of citizenship. “The threat is serious, and the government. Interior minister Priti Patel has traordinary breakdown in relations at the them. “People take their cues from Num- implications quite horrendous,” said Varshney, a professor at faced calls to resign over allegations that very top”. It comes as the ministry faces ber 10,” Thomas noted of the Home Office Brown University. “Something deeply injurious to the Muslim she mistreated staff in both her present and the grueling challenge of delivering two of row. Patel has strong support among her minority can happen once their citizenship rights are taken previous roles-claims she strongly denies. Johnson’s key promises from the Decem- fellow Conservative MPs, many of whom away,” he said. Johnson on Wednesday offered his full ber election. This is to provide 20,000 have long complained about civil servants Varshney warned that the law could ultimately lead to ex- support for Patel, a fellow veteran of the new police officers, and introduce a new trying to thwart Britain’s exit from the Eu- pulsion or detention - but, even if not, contributes to margin- Brexit campaign in the 2016 EU referendum, post-Brexit immigration system by the end ropean Union. alization. “It creates an enabling atmosphere for violence once telling MPs she was doing an “outstanding of the year. After Brexit on January 31, some still sus- you say that a particular community is not fully Indian or its job”. But the allegations keep on coming, “It is, if not impossible, then very near pect officials are trying to stymie plans for Indianness in grave doubt,” he said. The Indian parliament in and under pressure, the prime minister impossible to deliver everything that it has Britain to forge its own independent path. December passed a law that fast-tracks citizenship for per- launched an internal inquiry into whether to do over the next 12 months,” Thomas, an “Civil servants are crown servants and, as I secuted non-Muslim minorities from neighboring countries. Patel has broken the ministerial code of con- expert in the civil service said. “And dis- am sure they would agree, they really do Responding to criticism at the time from the US commis- duct. The row erupted after the top civil ser- tractions like this do take away from the have to carry out the will of the people,” sion, which advises but does not set policy, India’s foreign vant in the Home Office Patel leads resigned leadership.” Rutnam himself, meanwhile, Tory MP Bill Cash said in support of Patel ministry said the law does not strip anyone’s citizenship and on Saturday, accusing her of involvement in was under pressure over a forthcoming re- this week. But there has been resistance “should be welcomed, not criticized, by those who are gen- “vicious” briefings against him after he port into the dismal treatment of so-called even among ministers to Cummings-in- uinely committed to religious freedom.” Fears are particularly raised concerns about her behavior. Windrush Britons originally from the spired reforms. Sajid Javid quit as finance acute in the northeastern state of Assam, where a citizens’ “I have received allegations that her con- Caribbean. Thomas added: “It feels to me minister last month rather than accept register finalized last year left 1.9 million people, many of them duct has included shouting and swearing, that the Home Office was a bit of a perfect changes that would have seen him unable to Muslims, facing possible statelessness. — AFP belittling people, making unreasonable and storm, with personality types and a par- appoint his own political aides. — AFP .
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