Bengaluru : A case of sedition has been filed against Amnesty International’s India chapter in connection with the alleged raising of anti-India slogans during a debate it had organised in Bengaluru.
The debate, held on Saturday, had turned chaotic as some members from Kashmir — most of them students — entered into a heated argument with a Kashmiri Pandit leader.
The provocation came when a former journalist, RK Mattoo, asserted, “The Army is present everywhere in the North-East, Kashmir and other sundry places. I can tell you proudly that the Indian Army is one of the disciplined armies in the world.”
The “pro-freedom” Kashmiris vehemently objected, leading to a heated exchange and slogan shouting. Eyewitnesses said the group demanded freedom for Kashmir from India and the slogans were very similar to that held at a programme in JNU a few months back. As soon as the news spread about the incident, ABVP activists stormed the auditorium at the United Theological College in JC Nagar where the event was being conducted. The ABVP activists stopped the programme midway, even as police averted a clash.
The incident happened in a programme called `Broken Families’ wherein Amnesty International presented a few Kashmiri families allegedly affected by para-military action in the troubled state. Kashmiri pundits too were present at the event and demanded action against Amnesty International. They alleged that Amnesty was being funded by the ISI in Pakistan. On Sunday, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had said the intention and background of those involved will be investigated.
ABVP activists, who staged a protest on Sunday against the event, filed a complaint with the police and submitted a video recording of the event.
Amnesty India has said it had organised the event as part of a campaign to seek justice for “victims of human rights violations” in Jammu and Kashmir.
AntI-Indian slogans at KashmIr seminar
