May 13, 2014
Statement on the Demise of Shri Mukul Sinha
The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) expresses its
deep sense of loss at the demise of advocate Mukul Sinha of the
Jansangharsh Manch (JSM), an indefatigable champion of the voice
of the dispossessed, especially those who became victims of the
stateÂ’s extrajudicial killings in Gujarat post September 2002.
In this moment of loss, the CJP extends the deepest of
condolences to surviving members of his family, Nirjhari and
Prateek Sinha.
The presence of Mukul Sinha at the Nanavati Shah Commission
appointed to probe the 2002 carnage, strengthened the invaluable
evidence placed by serving policemen and administrators against
the powerful perpetrators of the 2002 Gujarat carnage on record,
and this thereafter became the basis and strength of criminal
prosecutions launched by the CJP in the Courts. The
contribution of the JSM under the leadership of Mukul and
Nirjhari Sinha in deconstructing the Godhra train burning
tragedy and also the CD of telephone records submitted by then
DCP Crime Branch (2002) Rahul Sharma before the Nanavati
Commission when he gave evidence in 2004, exposed some of the
perpetrators. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by
the Supreme Court unfortunately failed to test much of this
evidence in investigation and this has been remarked upon by the
judgement of Judge Jyotsana Yagnik in the Naroda Patiya case
(August 2012) leaving those powerful perpetrators (politicians
and policemen) unprosecuted so far.
Mukul Sinha, apart from the struggle for justice for the
survivors of 2002, strived hard for a better world order where
the contribution and participation of the working class, artisan
and agrarian peasantry and their contribution to the political
economy central, and together with colleagues launched the New
Socialist Movement (NSM), a political party. In 2007, Mukul
Sinha and the trade unions associated with him decided to
affiliate with the Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI). In 2010,
he was elected the President of the TUCI at its 6th conference
in Kanpur and was re-elected to the post in the 7th Conference
in Kolkatta in 2012. He held the post till his demise. The
Truth of Gujarat, a website launched by Mukul Sinha and
colleagues contributed much to de-constructing the media hype
and propaganda around GujaratÂ’s development and Narendra Modi.
His demise is an immeasurable loss to the voice of resistance
and sanity.
More than ever before, he will be missed today, as the struggle
for justice and truth in the face of all adversity, must
continue.
Teesta Setalvad
Secretary & Trustee
Trustees:
Alyque Padamsee Raghunandan
Maluste Teesta Setalvad
I.M. Kadri
Cyrus Guzder
Javed
Akhtar
Anil Dharker
Ghulam Pesh Imam
Javed
Anand
Rahul Bose
Cedric Prakash
Shakuntala Kulkarni