Javed Anand (born ca. 1950) is an Indian journalist and civil rights activist who founded the Mumbai-based Sabrang Communications in 1983. He is married to Teesta Setalvad and they co-edit the monthly Communalism Combat.Template:Sfn
Early years
Javed Anand attended the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, graduating with a degree in metallurgical engineering in 1971. He worked for the Front for Rapid Economic Development of India, a social action group, then became a writer for The Daily, a Mumbai-based tabloid newspaper in 1971. In 1983 he met Teesta Setalvad, and they married four years later.Template:Sfn
Sabrang Communications
Shortly after the Bombay riots of 1992–93 that followed the demolition of Babri Mosque in December 1992, the launched Communalism Combat.Template:Sfn They started Sabrang Communications and Publishing Pvt Ltd in the hope of undertaking professional assignments that would generate revenue to sustain Communalism Combat.Template:Sfn The first issue was published in August 1993.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
The magazine struggled at first, with friends pitching in. Some regular ads pulled them through.Template:Sfn In the run-up to 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Communalism Combat came with an ad campaign featuring 18 fact sheets/backgrounders pitched against the Sangh Parivar. This campaign was funded by the Congress, CPI, CPM and about 10 prominent individuals. BJP and RSS unsuccessfully petitioned to the Election Commission against this ad campaign.Template:Sfn By 2003 the magazine was printing up to 10,000 copies monthly.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn
In 1998 Sabrang published Damning Verdict: Report of the Srikrishna Commission on the riots in Mumbai in December 1992 and January 1993, and 12 March 1993 bomb blasts.Template:Sfn Following ongoing communal violence in Gujarat, in 2000 Sabrang published Saffron on the rampage: Gujarat's Muslims pay for the Lashkar's deeds.Template:Sfn In 2002 Sabrang and South Asia Citizens Web published The Foreign Exchange of Hate: IDRF and the American Funding of Hindutva, which investigated how funding raised by the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF) in the USA was being distributed in India.Template:Sfn
Javed Anand was a founding member of Citizens for Justice and Peace.Template:Sfn In October 2003 he was a participant in the first national meeting of "Muslims for Secular Democracy", and was chosen General Secretary of the group.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn
Opinions
Talking of violence, he has said: "Put bluntly, do groups and organizations whose rights we defend themselves believe in democratic forms of mass mobilization? Is it ethically right and politically tenable that rights groups focus their entire attention on violations by state personnel but remain mum when 'militants' maim, rape or kill fellow citizens".Template:Sfn Speaking of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Anand said: "They (terrorists) claim to be doing this in the name of Islam. We have to tell them, 'Not in our name'".Template:Sfn
Anand writes columns for mainstream newspapers such as The Indian Express.Template:Sfn In a November 2009 article for this paper he slammed a UK-based Muslim charity for insisting that only Muslim willing to follow strict Shariah rules could receive their help.Template:Sfn Writing in the Deccan Chronicle in April 2011 on the proliferation of Muslim parties he said "Ideologically speaking, it means secularism by daylight, Sharia after dark. Politically speaking, at best they'll cancel each other out; eat into votes of mainstream parties that swear by secularism. At worst, they'll provide propaganda fodder to Hindutva, feed Islamophobia".Template:Sfn As a columnist for the Asian Age he has written a number of articles on Muslim-related topics, all generally hostile to India and pro wahabi fundamentalism.Template:Sfn
In September 1998 Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand published a paper on Saffron Army Targets People of the Cross that documented forced conversions of Christians to Hinduism with the assistance of state agents.Template:Sfn Talking of a police probe of radical Hindutva organisations in November 2008 he said "I can't see a serving IPS officer going after an army officer or saffron outfits unless these is concrete evidence".Template:Sfn He has singled out the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for attack, describing it as an extremist organisation that rejects democracy and secularism and espouses violence as a means to achieve a new Caliphate.Template:Sfn
Legal issues
In January 2014 the Ahmedabad Crime Branch registered a First Information Report that alleged that Javed Anand, his wife Teesta Setalvad and others had embezzled Rs.15 million intended for construction of a memorial for riot victims.Template:Sfn They were accused of misusing funds they had collected for making a museum for the Gulbarg society.Template:Sfn The accused denied wrongdoing and said the case had been filed with "ulterior political motive".Template:Sfn In March 2014 a local court in Ahmedabad denied the couple anticipatory bail in the case.Template:Sfn On 12 February 2015 the Gujarat High Court refused to grant anticipatory bail. Later that day the Supreme Court stayed the arrest of the couple in the alleged misappropriation case.Template:Sfn
On 8 July 2015 the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against Setalvad and her organization for accepting foreign funding without first obtaining permission from the Home Ministry, a violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. The filing also named Javed Anand and Gulam Mohammed Peshimam, both Sabrang directors. Setalvad told reporters she had assured the CBI she would cooperate fully with them, but had not been contacted by the CBI with any requests.Template:Sfn
References
- Sources
- Founding Declaration (October 2, 2003). Muslims for Secular Democracy. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- A conditional charity, Anand, Javed(19 November 2009). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- The Jamaatis' new robes, Anand, Javed(29 April 2011). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- Calling Tavleen Singh's Bluff(2 December 2004). Retrieved 4 August 2013.
- Cosmopolitanism{{#if:Breckenridge|, Breckenridge}. Duke University Press(2002). ISBN 0822328992
- Javed Anand And Teesta Setalvad – Two dedicated Mumbai journalists wage war against communalism, Chaudhury, Shoma(18 October 1999). Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- Pogrom in Gujarat: Hindu Nationalism and Anti-Muslim Violence in India{{#if:Ghassem-Fachandi|, Ghassem-Fachandi}. Princeton University Press(2012). ISBN 978-1400842599
- Gandhi in his time and ours: the global legacy of his ideas{{#if:Hardiman|, Hardiman}. Columbia University Press(2003). ISBN 0231131143
- Mumbai's Muslims speak out against attacks, Kapur, Mallika(5 December 2008). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- Agent Orange. Outlook({Template:Date).
- The Branding Machine. Outlook({Template:Date).
- Communal violence in Gujarat: Rethinking the role of communalism and institutionalized injustices in India{{#if:Peer|, Peer}(2007). ISBN 978-0549517535
- CBI Registers Case Against Teesta Setalvad for Alleged Violations. New Indian Express({Template:Date).
- Communalism Combat Completes A Decade, Punwani, Jyoti(14 September 2003). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- Beyond nationalist frames: postmodernism, Hindu fundamentalism, history{{#if:Sarkar|, Sarkar}. Indiana University Press(2002). ISBN 0253342031
- Teesta Setalvad, Javed Anand face arrest. Deccan Chronicle({Template:Date).
- Javed Anand. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- SC restrains arrest of activist Teesta Setalwad, husband. Manorama Online({Template:Date).
- SC stays Teesta Setalvad's arrest. The Hindu({Template:Date).
- Javed Anand. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ASEAN, India, Australia: towards closer engagement in a new Asia{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies(2009). ISBN 978-9812309631
- Meet the husbands: Javed Anand, journalist-activist, Varma, Anuradha(4 March 2012). Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- Anti-Rushdie chant gathers momentum. The Times of India({Template:Date).
- Anyone involved in secular action is going to be targeted, Pestonji, Meher. Retrieved 22 August 2012.