JOINT STATEMENT ON THE BARBARIC ASSAULT IN MANGALORE

JOINT STATEMENT ON THE BARBARIC ASSAULT IN MANGALORE

Bangalore: 9 p.m., 29 January 2009

We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the horrific and unprovoked assault by a group of 40 hooligans, reportedly members of the Sri Rama Sene, on young women in a pub in the coastal city of Mangalore, Karnataka, during the afternoon of Saturday, 24 January 2009. We are saddened by the inaction of the public who looked on as the brutal attack unfolded. But we appreciate the attitude and actions of the staff of the pub, who tried to intervene, and the young man who stood up to the attackers.

We are shocked by the tardy action of the State administration, police, and political leadership, some of whom have dismissed this is as a “minor incident”. We believe that violent threats to the democratic freedoms and human rights of citizens, whether women or religious minorities, cannot be trivialised as “unfortunate”.


We are deeply disturbed by the sharply escalating trend of political and social violence against women in public and private spaces as a means to enforce a particularly regressive interpretation of culture in the name of “religion and country” that has been seen in several parts of India. We condemn all such forms of gender-based violence against women and children and the attitudes that make such violence acceptable, whether in the family or in the social and public spheres.

We believe that the Mangalore assault was not an isolated episode by self-appointed “moral police” and their sympathisers who criminally took the law into their own hands, but that it is part of a pattern in the profoundly contested political struggle over what constitutes Indian traditions, religions and cultures. It is evident that in this instance the attackers were emboldened to carry out the unprovoked assault in a political environment that supports a particularly narrow and fanatical view of Indian culture as also a repressive attitude towards women.

We recognise the role of the media in bringing the assault to public notice and their unrelenting efforts to get the State to act against those immediately responsible for it. However, we are gravely concerned that those members of the media who had prior notice of the planned assault did not deem it their responsibility as citizens to inform the police.

We strongly believe that the State and democratically minded citizens must stand up to the violent targeting of women and re-affirm our commitment to the human rights and civil liberties of all people. There can and should be dialogues on what constitutes “Indian-ness”, but regardless of the interpretations of Indian culture and traditions, the beating and molesting women cannot be condoned.

All Signatories:

1. Sumi Krishna, Bangalore: Coordinator: sumikr@gmail.com
2. Ammu Joseph, Bangalore
3. Soma K.P., New Delhi
4. U. Vindhya, Hyderabad
5. Joy Ranadive, Ahmedabad
6. Mary E. John, New Delhi
7. Gopa Samanta, Burdwan (West Bengal)
8. Anuradha Prasad, Bangalore
9. Sharad Lele, Bangalore
10. Prajval Shastri, Bangalore
11. Ajit Menon, Chennai
12. Cynthia Stephen, Bangalore
13. M. Indira, Mysore
14. Meera Velayudhan, Ahmedabad
15. S. Anandi, Chennai
16. Kumkum Roy, New Delhi
17. Jaya Bhattacharjee Rose, New Delhi
18. Claire Noronha, New Delhi
19. Anuradha De, New Delhi
20. Meera Samson, New Delhi
21. Hrangthan Chhungi, Bangalore
22. Ratna Sudarshan, New Delhi
23. Rukmini Sen, Kolkata
24. Anomita Sen, New Delhi
25. Pushpa Achanta, Bangalore
26. Shobita Rajagopal, IDS, Jaipur
27. Anita Ghai, New Delhi
28. Samir Ghosh, Pune
29. Leo Saldhana, Bangalore
30. Padmini Swaminathan, Chennai
31. Megha Shenoy, New Haven,US /Bangalore
32. Fahim Kemal, Hyderabad
33. Kiran Kamal Prasad, Bangalore
34. Bharati Jagannathan, Faridabad, Haryana
35. Uma Iyengar, New Delhi
36. Deepa Dhanraj, Bangalore
37. Anuradha Kapoor, Swayam, Kolkata
38. Jayashri Murali, Bangalore
39. George Pulikuthiyil, Kerala
40. Mahesh Bhat, Bangalore
41. Nagesh Hegde, Bangalore
42. Lawrence Surendra, Mysore
43. Chaman Pincha, Chennai
44. Anupama Bijur, Bangalore
45. Shampa Sengupta, Kolkata
46. Joesph Xavier, Bangalore
47. Apurba K. Baruah, NEHU, Shillong
48. Mangai, Chennai
49. Deepak, K. Mishra, JNU, New Delhi
50. Abha Sur, MIT, Boston (US)
51. Siddharth Narrain, ALF, Bangalore
52. Chhaya Datar, Mumbai
53. Ramesh Dodamani, Mysore
54. Rashna Batliwala Singh, Colorado Springs, (US)
55. Uma Chakravarti, New Delhi
56. Sumantra Nag, New Delhi
57. Madhu Sarin, Chandigarh
58. L.C. Nagaraj, Bangalore
59. Pritam Baruah, Kolkata
60. Ishani Roy, Mumbai
61. Shilpa Phadke, Mumbai
62. Pradeep Esteves, Bangalore
63. Sangeeta Dutta, London
64. Anjali Monteiro, TISS, Mumbai
65. K.P. Jayasankar, TISS, Mumbai
66. Meena Gopal, Mumbai
67. Shashi Deshpande, Bangalore
68. Ramapriya Gopalakrishnan, Chennai
69. Manisha Gupte, MASUM, Pune
70. Ramesh Awaste, MASUM, Pune
71. Kamala Ganesh, Mumbai
72. Indira Pathak, Vikalp, Baroda
73. Maya Sharma Parma, Baroda
74. Manjula Padiyar, Nari Adalat, Baroda
75. Jatin Joshi, Chotudepur (Gujarat)
76. Sakhi Sanghatan, Thilakvada (Gujarat)
77. Leela Fernandez, Rutgers Univ. New Brunswick (US)
78. Ammel Sharon, TISS/ Samadhan, Mangalore
79. Shakun, Vimochana, Bangalore
80. Deepti Sharma, New Delhi
81. Anita Mathew, Alto Porvorim,Goa.
82. Chandita Mukherjee, Mumbai
83. Kamayani Bali Mahabal, ARROW, Kuala Lumpur
84. Jeanne Subramaniam, Bangalore
85. Arun Subramaniam, Bangalore
86. Wilfred Dcosta, INSAF, Ahmedabad
87. Rebecca Abraham, Hongkong
88. Maj. Gen. Sudhir Vombatkere, Mysore
89. Fr. Joe Xavier, sj., ISI, Bangalore
90. Vijayathilagam, ISI, Bangalore
91. Lorraine Moreira, ISI, Bangalore
92. Mercy Kappen, Visthaar, Bangalore
93. Saswati Ghosh, Kolkata
94. Molly Furtado, Mysore
95. Sasi Kumar, New Delhi
96. Lena Ganesh, Mumbai
97. Saumya Uma, Mumbai
98. Samita Sen, Kolkata
99. Jashodhara Dasgupta, Health Watch Forum, Lucknow
100. Saba Dewan, New Delhi
101. Rahul Roy, New Delhi
102. Vineeta Bal, Saheli, New Delhi
103. Krishna Shukla, Hyderabad
104. Cavery Bopiah
105. Kathyayini Chamaraj, Bangalore
106. Brinda Adige, GCI, Bangalore
107. Rakhi Pande, Mumbai
108. Christina Kantharaj, Mysore
109. Ellora Puri, Jammu
110. Sadhna Arya, Saheli, New Delhi
111. Amrutha Valli, Bangalore
112. Cheryll Pereira, Mumbai
113. Kumkum Lal, New Delhi
114. Ashok Lal, New Delhi
115. Sunita Srinivasan, Bangalore
116. Ritu Dewan, Bombay Univ, Mumbai
117. Rini Ralte, Bangalore
118. Tarshi (Radhika Chandiramani), New Delhi
119. Natalie Pereira, Bangalore
120. Amar Jesani, Mumbai
121. Rajesh Ramakrishnan, New Delhi
122. Monica Narula, New Delhi
123. R. Sukanya, Bangalore
124. Indu Agnihotri, New Delhi
125. Nidhi Agarwal, New Delhi
126. Manshi Agarwal, Himachal Pradesh
127. Purnima McCutcheon, LEED AP, Chennai
128. Dolphy D’souza, Bombay Catholic Sabha, Mumbai
129. Alwyn D’Silva, Mumbai
130. Biplab Mukherjee, Kolkata
131. J. Devika, Thiruvanthapuram
132. Sukla Sen, Ekta, Mumbai
133. Wandana Sonalkar, BAmbedkar Marathwada Univ, Aurangabad
134. Aftab Kamal Pasha, JNU, New Delhi
135. Yoganandan Krishnan, Bangalore
136. Anjula Gurtoo, IISC, Bangalore
137. Jith Chacko, Ostersund, Sweden
138. Shwetha Vachani, New Delhi
139. Sudha Narasimhachar, Bangalore
140. Arunesh Maiyar, Bangalore
141. Jamila Verghese, New Delhi
142. Gita Madhu, Kuala Lumpur
143. Vijayshri Iyengar, Akshara, Bangalore
144. Payal Dhar, Bangalore
145. Vineetha Mokkil, New Delhi
146. Utsav Banerjee, Hyderabad
147. Sudeshna Mukherjee, Bangalore
148. Malathi Velamuri, Wellington, Newzealand
149. Harish Sadani (Men Against Violence and Abuse), Mumbai
150. C. G. Manjula, Bangalore
151. Markus Pfefferer, Bangalore
152. Bonita Aleaz, Kolkata
153. Sourindra Ghosh, New Delhi
154. Sumati Surya, Bangalore
155. Gita Chadha, Mumbai
156. Javed Malick, New Delhi
157. Neeraj Malik, New Delhi
158. Mariola Menezes, Nigeria
159. Sampreethi Aipanjiguly, Khatmandu
160. Thomas Nielsen, Khatmandu
161. Pramod A. Pullarkat, RRI, Bangalore
162. Ponni Arasu, Bangalore
163. Partners for Law in Development, New Delhi
164. Nirantar, New Delhi
165. Saheli, New Delhi
166. Seema Siddique, London
167. Walter Fernandes, NESRC, Guwahati
168. Suresh Parekh, Mumbai
169. Anagha Sarpotdar, Mumbai
170. Mukul Dube, Delhi
171. Nandini Manjrekar, Mumbai
172. Aurina Chatterjee, Mumbai
173. Anushree Banerjee, Mumbai
174. Lina Krishna, Bangalore
175. Harkant Mankad, Mumbai
176. Niruj Mohan R., Bangalore
177. Jayant Radhakrishnan, Chicago
178. Swathi Sivanand, Mumbai
179. Maithili Gupte, Mumbai
180. Ammu Abraham, Mumbai
181. Jagori, New Delhi
182. Di Cooper, Mumbai
183. Tanushree Gangopadhyay, Bangalore
184. Gayatri Sunil Phadke, Mumbai
185. Rajesh Ranjan, Hyderabad
186. Sana Rizvi, New York
187. Vikram Ahuja, Bangalore
188. Renjini Varghese, Pune
189. Sandeep Krishna, Copenhagen/ Bangalore
190. V. Uday Bhanu, San Francisco
191. Reama Ramachandran, New York
192. Roshan Suvarna, New York
193. Aasha Ramesh, Bangalore
194. Atuk Bhutia, New Delhi
195. Agnel Pereira, Bahrain
196. Lakshmi Lingam, Mumbai
197. Subodh S. Gupta, Sewagram, Wardha
198. Revathi Laul, New Delhi
199. Subhashini Muthukrishnan
200. Rajika Shukla, New Delhi
201. Lynne Henry
202. Renu Ramnath, Kochi
203. Rakesh Sharma, Mumbai
204. Sai Thakur, Mumbai
205. N. Devadasan, Bangalore
206. Kalpana Kannabiran, Asmita, Hyderabad
207. Vasanth Kannabiran, Asmita, Hyderabad
208. Volga, Asmita, Hyderabad
209. Vanaja, Hyderabad
210. Shyamala Shiveshwarkar, New Delhi
211. Hartman de Souza, Pune
212. J.M.K. Sekar, Chennai
213. Rajeev Kalekar
214. CEHAT (Sana Contractor), Pune
215. Sheelu, Women’s Collective, Tamilnadu
216. Sundari, TNRT, Chennai.
217. V.Chandra, WEED, Chennai
218. Sharmilee Nielsen, Chennai
219. Klaus Nielsen, Chennai
220. Shewli, Mumbai
221. Naresh Fernandes, Mumbai
222. Anita Cheria, Openspace, Bangalore
223. Prafulla Mishra, Nairobi
224. Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Kolkata
225. Ravi Vasudevan, New Delhi
226. Satnam Kaur, Saheli, New Delhi
227. John Kurien, CLR, Pune
228. Kumud Sharma, New Delhi
229. Tilottama S. Misra, Guwahati
230. Sapna Shahani, Mumbai
231. Mohan Haridas, Nagpur
232. Kumara Swamy H., Mysore
233. Jason Keith Fernandes, Goa
234. John Dayal, New Delhi
235. Dileep Simeon, New Delhi
236. Smitha S. Pendharkar, WUNRN Revere, MA (US)
237. Pradeep Narayanan, New Delhi
238. Citizens’ Inititiative for Peace (Jatin Desai), Mumbai
239. Vrinda Grover, New Delhi
240. Abhisheka, New Delhi
241. M. Rajkumar
242. Saraswati Raju, JNU, New Delhi
243. Philomena Lydia Fernandes, Goa
244. Aariz Mohammed, CSJ, Hyderabad
245. Beena, [all Asmita, Hyderabad]
246. Sharifa Siddiqui
247. Pallavi Gupta
248. Meera
249. Vaishali
250. Nagamma
251. Rajyalakshmi
252. Asha
253. Santhi
254. P. Anuradha
255. T. Anuradha
256. Padmalakshmi
257. Nikhat
258. Kranthi
259. Padmini
260. Subbalakshmi
261. Sujatha
262. Sarah
263. Sudha
264. Neela
265. Nivedita Menon, JNU, Delhi
266. Amrita Dhar, Kolkata
267. Feroze Mithiborwala, Awami Bharat, Mumbai
268. Kishore Jagtap, Ganai Sanskritik Andolan, Mumbai
269. Jyoti Badekar, Marathi Bharti, Mumbai
270. Varsha V V, Sameep Pratishthan, Mumbai
271. Amol Madame, Sameep Pratishthan, Mumbai
272. Sayeed Khan, Awami Bharat, Mumbai
273. Arif Kapadia, Awami Bharat, Mumbai
274. Gaurav Karia, Awami Bharat, Mumbai
275. Jagdish Nagarkar, Phule-Ambedkar Vichar Manch, Mumbai
276. Mulniwasi Mala, Indian Social Movement, Mumbai
277. John Fernandes, Rajahmundry (Andhra)
278. Rita D’Silva, Mumbai
279. Sudha Rajagopalan, Univ of Utrecht, Netherlands
280. Concerned for Working Children (Kavita Ratna), Bangalore
281. Malini Gurbaxani, Pune
282. Rohini Hensman, Mumbai
283. Suma Embar, Mysore
284. Rajani Konantambigi, Mumbai
285. Aryakrishnan Ramakrishnan, Kochi
286. Veena, Bangalore
287. Anchita Ghatak, Kolkata
288. Kirtiwan. D. Morarji, Mumbai
289. Daya Varma, McGill Univ. Montreal
290. Natasha Koshy, TISS, Mumba
291. Navneeta Majumder, Mumbai
292. Monika Mehta, TISS, Mumbai
293. Shubhobrato Ghosh, AIM, Manila
294. Paul Heron, Pune
295. Farida Gazdar, Mumbai/Paris
296. Vidya K.S., Mumbai
297. Shruti Chakravarty, FAOW, Mumbai
298. Nachiket Joshi, New York