Atul Kumar Anjan is the national Secretary of Communist party of India. These days he is in headlines for his tireless battle against illegal arrest of youth particularly from Muslims community of India. With the help of other like-minded people both from Communist parties and other parties too he formed the Peoples’ Campaign against Politics of Terror (PCPT) and is creating awareness throughout the country on the issue. The forum is holding seminars in different part of the country. AN Shibli of NVONews.Com talked him on this issue.
You are fighting against illegal arrest and for the release of innocent Muslims from jail in different parts of India. Do you think that there is any impact of your fight against this gross human rights violation?
Yes why not? Before that there were no interests in this regard at least in public space and government circles and it largely remained a Muslim community issue. After our initiative now people are thinking that illegal confinement and incarceration of Muslim youth is a major problem for this country. Now the politicians are raising this issue in parliament and other forums too. Most of the secular politicians are thinking that there is something wrong as far as the day to day arrest of Muslims youth is concerned. When we raised this issue with Mulayam Singh Yadav he took initiative in this regard and the Samajwadi party said in their party meeting that all the innocent youth who are in the jail will be released very soon. To be true several youths have been released very recently only because of our efforts.
The Central Government too said that give us time we are collecting all the related records. It means that now this has become an important issue and we are very happy that our initiative has given some result. Now we are demanding form the Samajwadi Government to release the Nimesh commission report.
As this is the issue of Muslims, why there in no Muslim religious leader in your team that has been formed to work for the release of innocent youth from different jails. Is it right that few leading Maulanas thinks that this is their agenda and as you have hijacked their agendas that is why they are angry with your team?

This should not be the agenda of any single person. This is a team work.  The main thing is that it is wrong to say that this is a Muslim issue and only Muslim should work for that. I am a Hindu and I am working for the welfare of Muslim youth. This is not the issue of Maulvi and Maulana but this is the issue of human rights and every person who wants to work for the human rights should join us. As far as the Maulvi and Maulanas are concerned though they are not directly involve with us but their blessings are with us and because of their blessings we are working on this issue. Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadvi sent his message in our one program and has said that he is with us in this fight. We are happy that the Muslim organisations who claimed themselves as the torchbearers of Muslims are now awakening on this issue and they too are also raising this issue.
It is being said that there are a few people in your team who are with you just for gaining political mileage. Apparently they have no any sympathy for Muslim youth.
No, this is not right. As far as I am concerned everybody knows me very well. I cannot play with the sentiments of anybody for the political benefits. Not only me but our entire team is working as one unit for the benefit of innocent youth and they have no political agenda. The main agenda of all the people with us is to save the humanity and to stop the violation of human rights. Everybody thinks that illegal arrests should be stopped and the innocent youth who are in jails should be released as soon as possible.  We all are working on this issue and there is no hidden agenda of anybody.
Mulayam Singh Yadav formed the Government with the help of Muslim youth but despite giving assurance in this regard in their manifestoes he has done very little as far as the Muslim youth in jail are concerned. What is your opinion?
This is wrong to say that Mulayam formed the Government with Muslim votes. It is right that Muslim played important role in the formation of Akhilesh Yadav Government but the fact is that nobody can form a government with the help of a single community.  This is a misconception. This year 68 Muslims MLA won in Uttar Pradesh. Is the population of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh is in that ratio? As far as the Muslim youth of Uttar Pradesh is concerned why you are blaming only Mulayam, why you are not raising this issue with Ahmad Patel who is in Congress like a khalifa of Muslims. Why the Muslims are not raising their demand with Congress? The number of Muslims in jail is higher in Andhra Pradesh and Maharshtra than in Uttar Pradesh.