A group of human rights NGOs have taken exception to a recent NHRC report on Kairana.
A group of human rights NGOs have taken exception to a recent NHRC report on alleged migration from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh and sought removal of "communally-charged" portion from it.
They said identifying a "minority community" as "criminal" in the findings amounted to "double victimisation" of the Muzaffarnagar riot victims.
A National Human Rights Commission probe team had found that many families "migrated" from Kairana because of threats due to "increase in crime" and "deterioration" of law-and- order situation there.
"We are deeply dismayed and shocked as this report is based on dubious facts and makes prejudiced and communally- charged assumptions blaming the very riot victims it should seek to protect," Harsh Mander of Aman Biradari told reporters in Delhi.
Besides Mr Mander, Madhavi Kuckreja of Lucknow-based Sadbhavana Trust, Akram Chaudhury of Afkar India, Delhi-based independent writer and activist Farah Naqvi and two riot survivors from Shamli, presently living in Kairana, also addressed the press conference.
"The report is not only based on flimsy grounds, it makes broad generalisations which lends it a communal flavour. It labels one community as criminal and that is where our objection is. We demand that the communally-charged portion be withdrawn and the NHRC apologise to the riot victims," Mr Naqvi said.
The Commission team had also found that in 2013, "after resettlement of about 25,000-30,000 members of Muslims community in Kairana town from Muzaffarnagar, the demography of Kairana town changed in favour of the Muslim community", which became the "more dominating and majority community".
Akram Chaudhury of Shmali said, the report talks about 25,000-30,000 Muslims people settling in Kairana. But, after the NHRC report, "we conducted our own survey and found that at maximum 2,000 people would have migrated."
Mr Chaudhury said he has sent a complaint to NHRC urging it to withdraw the "objectionable portions" from the report.
"We ask as to what was the basis for these assumptions. Also, according to 2011 Census, Kairana (in Shamli district) was a Muslim-majority town, but now, the report talks of change in demography. What kind of language is that?" Mr Naqvi asked.
When contacted, the NHRC said it will respond once it receives the complaint in this regard.
Brothers Shaukat (32) and Raees Ali (34), who were internally displaced during the riots, said, "Attempts were being made to defame Kairana. We lived in Simbhalka village in Tajpur area in Shamli district and now we live in Kairana. But why this labelling on our community?"
"We have the highest regard for NHRC and we seek this action only to restore our faith in the apex statutory body for human rights in the country," Mr Mander said.