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List
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Help in curbing violence
in your area
If someone from your family or neighbourhood exhorts you to come out
and do some 'equivalent' action against 'what the other community has
done', try to stop them politely from any such action. Ask them where
have they heard the news, and is it confirmed? Always discourage any
action of your family members or neighbours that may lead to hostility
in the area. If you are unable to persuade the people, and see that
things are going out of hand, inform the police or some human rights
groups immediately. Try to make friends with other activists of peace
and human rights in your town, and keep their contact numbers/address
handy. You must also keep the numbers of influential people such as
the police commissioner, high court judges, celebrities, journalists,
and political leaders such as MLAs or MPs. If you know any people in
your area who have a tendency to get violent at the slightest pretext,
and may perpetrate communal violence, keep a watch on them. If you
observe any of your neighbours or friends keeping a weapon, firearms,
or other dangerous items at home – enquire from them casually if
they have the license to keep them, and why do they own them. If they
don't have a license for the weapons, inform some human rights
activists. Some people may tell you that they keep the weapons for
self-defense or security. But these could also be used irresponsibly
during a riot or violence.
Dealing with the Law
Help the police or authorities in their investigations or combating of
a violent or criminal activity. If the authorities announce a special
condition such a curfew or any other prohibitory law in your area, do
not violate it. If you have been witness to something untoward in your
area, remember all the details, so that if you have to report to the
police, you can give them all the details. While reporting, insist on
filing a First Information Report (FIR), which is basically a detailed
written account on a plain paper, of what happened, addressed to the
Station House Officer of that police station or police post. Do not
change your account on your whim or anybody's pressure – honestly
report what you have seen. Also, make sure that the written report
signed by you and accepted by the officer, is not altered by anybody
in front of you, and get a copy received. If for some reason, the
police or the authorities try to arrest or detain you, ask them under
which code or law are they arresting you. If they have detained you
without a warrant, they have to produce you before the Magistrate
within twenty-four hours. In any case, you have the right to ask for a
consul or lawyer to defend you. If they want to enter your home for a
search, ask them if they have a search warrant.
You MUST help the victim
One unfortunate trait of the urban Indian society is a lack of
enterprise in helping people in desperate need or distress. Besides
large-scale tragedies where people do volunteer to help, smaller
accidents such as road mishaps are deliberately overlooked by
everyone. No one wants to get into the police hassle - even if they
know that the life of the bleeding person lying on the road could be
saved if they took him to the hospital immediately. But WE DO NOT CARE
- day after day. So who is at fault - the police or the people? Surely
the bureaucratic process of the police investigation is such that the
one who tries to help can sometimes land into further trouble. But if
you put yourself in the place of the accident victim or his relatives,
you will surely blame the people who left the bleeding person
unattended. So whatever the situation, WE MUST HELP. The first
preference should be to take the victim to the nearest hospital. If
that is not possible, then at least call up the police or medical
help. If nothing else, at least try to bring the injured victim to a
more comfortable posture and location, try to stop the bleeding and
apply whatever first-aid measure you can. This applies to all
situations including communal violence, criminal attack, road
accidents, or natural disasters (God forbid if any of these happen).
Is it news or rumour?
What do you do when the news of some communal violence comes on TV,
radio or newspapers? First thing - don't jump to any conclusions until
you get a clearer picture. Don't trust entirely on what one channel or
newspaper is telling you. If possible, hear the news on different
channels, radio stations, and papers. Assume that there can be
something more than what the media is telling you. Never take any
hurried actions based on the news you hear. While discussing the news
at home, workplace, or any public place, never state anything more
than the facts you know - even little things said wrongly can
deteriorate further and become completely different rumours. Always
try to curb the news that sounds like a rumour. If your child brings
some disturbing news from outside, don't take it for granted. Ask the
child where has he/she heard it. What sorts of people were discussing
it, and what was their source of information. Tell the child not to
trust any news without confirming it.
How many humans suffered?
In many of our homes, when the news of an accident or violence is
heard on television/radio, people start asking about the religion of
the victims or effected people - how many Muslims or how many Hindus
died? Most unfortunately, some people even express their happiness or
satisfaction if the people of the 'other' community have died. This is
a dangerous trend and can easily introduce prejudices in the child's
young mind. Whenever there is news of a tragedy or riot, express your
shock and grief - whatever be the religion or community of the
affected people. Even if your children get curious about this, tell
them that so many human beings have been affected, not Hindus or
Muslims. Give them a sense of the pain and destruction that has
occurred to so many humans like them, and how futile all this violence
is.
Understanding pain,
tolerance, non-violence
Many of our children's textbooks or some TV programmes praise the
virtues of non-violence and satyagraha without exploring the human
beings' natural tendencies towards anger, violence, and pain. Anger
and pain are natural emotions or reaction of the body against
unwarranted situations, just like love and affection are for
favourable situations. The parents or teachers could evolve some
activities or games in which children could get a real sense of pain
and violence; how these are stimulated and what is the meaning of
'tolerance' in the real sense. Being tolerant does not mean holding up
our anger against someone. To be tolerant means to accommodate the
views that may differ from your opinion on a given subject. The
intolerance arises from insecurity, and the insecurity of the masses
is manipulated by politicians and vested interests, to unleash
violence in the society. To make our children feel secure, we must
make them recognize that just because somebody's name or faith, or
facial features, or colour of skin is different, does not mean that
they are conspiring against us, or hate us.
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