Press Release Condemnation of Blasts in Bodhgaya by Religious Leaders and Peace Activists from Across India

We the undersigned are horrified by the serial bomb blasts in Bodhgaya, Bihar, in the early hours of 7^th July 2013 in which 3 persons are injured and fortunately there are no reports of loss of life or damage to the holy shrine. We are deeply pained and shocked by this heinous terror attack on a place of worship of great spiritual and historical significance targeting innocent people and unequivocally condemn this dastardly act of crime against humanity.

Speculation has already started that this attack could be in retaliation for the attacks on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. We urge that all such speculations should be discouraged till such time as proper investigations are conducted and the identity of culprits is firmly established as this could be used to target the Muslim community in India, to gain political polarisation before the forth coming general elections, and also to unleash a new wave of violence against the Muslims in Myanmar who are already suffering grave violence and untold sufferings for years and lakhs had to flee Myanmar to save their lives over the past years. This mindless action, God forbidding, may also make scores of Rogingya refugees around the world vulnerable and open to retaliatory attacks in different countries where they have taken refuge.

We appeal to people in India and across the world to view this terror attack as an action by some misguided criminals and not to consider this as an act of vengeance by the Rohingya community or Muslims in general. We also urge the government to initiate a speedy, professional and thorough probe to apprehend the culprits and expose and punish both the perpetrators and conspirators of this dreadful act.   

Mr. Mahesh Bhatt, Film Maker, Mumbai

Swami Agnivesh, Arya Samaj, New Delhi

Dr. Mazher Hussain, COVA, Hyderabad

Dr. D. Yadiah, Boudhik Pramukh, All India Samata Sainik Dal

Dr. Binayak Sen, PUCL,

Kamla Bhasin, New Delhi

Maulana Syed Shah Hamid Hussain Shutari, All India Sunni Ulema Board

Fr. Dominic Emmanuel, Delhi Catholic Church, New Delhi

Dr. Ram Punyani, All India Secular Forum, Mumbai

Dr. Zafar Mahmood, Zakat Foundation, New Delhi

Prof. Ilina Sen, TISS, Mumbai

Prof. Hasan Mansoor, PUCL, Bangaluru

Dr. Sandeep Panday, ASHA, Lucknow

Mr. A. Faizur Rahman, Islamic Forum for Promotion of Moderate Thought, Chennai

Sardar Nanak Singh Nishtar, COVA, Hyderabad

Mr. Iqbal Ahmad Engineer, Center for Peace and True Message, Hyderabad

Appeal for Organised Zakat Distribution for Myanmar Refugees in Hyderabad

COVA, a national network working for communal harmony, peace and social justice is also collaborating with UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) since 2010 to provide legal protection and facilitate support for survival and development to about 2000 refugees from 11 countries residing in Hyderabad. Refugees from Burma constitute the largest population with about 1500 members. Remaining 300 refugees are from Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.

During last Ramazan, many Hyderabadis came forward to distribute Zakat to the refugees generously that greatly helped them. However, as there was no organised way for distribution of Zakat, a number of serious problems were encountered. First, some of the active and able bodied persons were able to grab most of the Zakat that was brought for distribution while many others, including widows and aged persons, received very less and were deprived. This also led to fights among refugees leading to injuries and resulting in police cases. Most importantly, the refugees who go for work as labour stopped going to work during last Ramazan waiting for people who were coming to distribute Zakat at different times of the day and lost their daily wages amounting to Rs. 300 to 350. Finally, refugees from Burma are residing in different localities like Hafeez Babanagar, Balapur, Kishan Bagh, Sastripuram, Lal Dabha, No.9 and Shaheen Nagar etc and as people were bringing Zakat for distribution mostly in Balapur area due to the media publicity it received, refugees residing in other areas did not receive anything.

Considering all these and other problems being faced by refugees, COVA has facilitated the constitution of a Rohingya Refugees Committee comprising of refugee representatives from different localities and selected by the refugees themselves through a wide consultative process. This Rohingya Refugees Committee has already started work and is successfully settling and resolving minor disputes that arise among refugees from time to time and provide other support for livelihood, education etc. This Committee is also authorised by the refugees to collect all Zakat and other donations, give receipts to the donors and distribute all the material received to all the families equally once a week on every Sunday. Donors are also invited to be present on Sundays at the time of distribution to gauge and contribute to the propriety of the process.     

Refugees, especially from Burma, are in a very bad situation and deserve whatever help that can be provided. But in order to ensure that all the refugees receive support equally and there are no disputes and fights during distribution, we appeal to all philanthropists to approach and use the services of the Rohingya Refugee Committee for fair distribution of donation and Zakat. 

Address and contact number of the Rohingya Refugee Committee donations and zakat collection Centre is: 

Beside Al Hira School, Dargah Shareef Balapur, Hyderabad 500 005. Mobile No.9391148966

Mazher Husssain

Executive Director

COVA