Nirjhari Sinha
Nirjhari Sinha has worked as a Senior Research person in a Physical Research Laboratory from 1973 till retirement in 2008. She has several scientific papers on Cosmic rays in moon-rocks and meteorites. In her social work, Nirjhari Sinha has worked actively in the Trade Union since 1978. She is a founding member of the Jan Sangharsh Manch, a civil rights organization since 1987 and also a founding member of the New Socialist Movement. In addition to being the Editor of Elaan she has assisted in the work of Nanavati Commission inquiring into the Gujarat violence of 2002 in the analysis of mobile phone call records leading to arrests of several rioters. She holds a BSc (Chemistry).
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Judiciary and Events of Mass Violence: Jan Sangharsh Manch’s Experiences in Gujarat
Abstract
During the turbulent times of mass violence, minorities have very few options for justice. Socially ostracized, physically and economically devastated, the last hope of the minorities is to turn to the law courts, but during the communal polarization does the judiciary itself remain immune from the prevailing environment within and outside government?
The experiences of the past eight years of “Jan Sangharsh Manch” a civil liberties organization consisting of social and trade union activists and lawyers , have given rise to some hope. In the struggle for the justice for the victims of violence, JSM experiences shows that sustained, consistent and meticulous work in the field of law and investigation linked with grass root struggle can revive the secular democratic forces and make the judiciary functional even in the state like Gujarat where thousands of Muslims were killed in the genocide of 2002.
The experiences of the past eight years of “Jan Sangharsh Manch” a civil liberties organization consisting of social and trade union activists and lawyers , have given rise to some hope. In the struggle for the justice for the victims of violence, JSM experiences shows that sustained, consistent and meticulous work in the field of law and investigation linked with grass root struggle can revive the secular democratic forces and make the judiciary functional even in the state like Gujarat where thousands of Muslims were killed in the genocide of 2002.
