-The Indian Express   The inquiry of the National Minority Commission has held the local administration and police department responsible for “over-reacting” and “acting in panic” during the recent communal clashes between Meo Muslims and Gurjjars in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. NCM chairperson Wajahat Habibullah told The Indian Express that the initial report of the inquiry team had been finalised and sent to the Rajasthan government. The report had found that the local...

Of late, there has been a debate on whether public programmes such as school education, scholarships, health-care delivery and access to microcredit can be targeted at beneficiaries based on religion; some consider this ‘unconstitutional' and argue that it amounts to discrimination. I highlight the constitutional provisions and argue that there is nothing in the Constitution which bars identification of beneficiaries based on religion. Religious identity is listed on a par...

-The Times of India   Even as chief minister Ashok Gehlot met the families of the victims of Bharatpur communal clash, the police on Saturday told the one-man inquiry commission that they have registered five FIRs since the violence broke out on September 15. The police also said they registered a case against imam Abdul Rashid for disturbing peace through his provocative statements. The opposition BJP has demanded action against him. Nine...

The key to determining the events that led to the death of nine Meo Muslims in clashes in Bharatpur’s Gopalgarh on September 14 could lie with two figures, a Meo and a Gurjjar, both “underground” at the moment. The Meo is a 47-year-old maulvi called Abdul Rashid, who was allegedly severely assaulted by the Gurjjars the day before the killings, which greatly agitated the Meos. The Gurjjar is an unidentified man who...

-The Times of India   Claiming that the Gopalgarh incident which claimed nine lives was not a communal riot, the fact finding team of Muslim Forum on Wednesday said it happened due to the total failure of the state government and demanded stepping down of chief minister Ashok Gehlot and home minister Shanti Dhariwal. The Muslim Forum, a joint organization of all the Muslim organizations of the state, lashed out at the Ashok...