Social Reformermist Dr.Asghar Ali Engineer was attacked by a fundamentalist group headed by Syedna Mohammed Burdanuddin, head of the Bohra community, at the Santacruz airport yesterday. Ali Engineer who was hit in the head
and the face, has been admitted to hospital, where he is recovering now.
His residence and office at Santa cruz have also been ransacked by a group of anti-social elements who were the supporters of this fundamentalist group. This is the fifth of such attack on Asghar Ali Engineer.
This incident happened while on his way back from a workshop at Bhopal organised by Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh on Communal Harmony.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Ali’s organisations, Bohra reformist movement, struggles against communal forces in the country. Engineer has been attacked four times before: Calcutta in 1977, Hyderabad 1977 and 1981 and even in Egypt 1983.
Dr. Engineer struggles to liberate his community, the Dawoodi Bohras, a small Islamic sect, whose members are generally engaged in trade and commerce and mostly found in Gujarat and Maharashtra, from the medieval and brutal stranglehold of its priesthood.
The Bohris community controlled by a rigid system that has been documented in detail by two citizens’ reports, headed by Justice Nathwani (1978) and the Justice Tewatia and Kuldip Nayar report of 1993. The Priests do not tolerate any dissent or discussion is evident in the attacks on the Bohra
reformist movement for over two decades. The powerful Bohra priests have almost total control over the lives of their community.
BOHRA REFORM MOVEMENT:
The Bohra reform movement advocates for the democratization of the community management (Jamaat) and accountability of the funds collected from the community.
The reform movement is requesting the government to ban the priest from using \”social boycott\” to silence any democratic opposition from within the community and also to stop the heavy taxes payments make by the community to the priest.
The Reform movement is also demanding that the priest should not have any control over the secular affairs of the members of the community. The people must have the right to exercise their franchise according to their conscience and not according to his dictates. They should have the freedom
to read the literature and magazines of their choice.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: We urge you to send faxes and letters to the authorities with following demands:
– those who physically assaulted him should be arrested, investigated and punished according to the law
– the priest responsible for the atttack must be investigate and proper action taken accoerding to the law
– full compensation for property damage and loss be paid to Dr. Engineer and his organisation
SEND APPEALS TO:
1. PRIME MINISTER
2. MINISTER
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFIARS
NEW DELHI
3. CHIEF MINISTER
MANTRALAYA
MUMBAI
INDIA
4. HOME MINISTER
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
MUMBAI
