ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) is an Indian socio-cultural organization established in March 2003, as a response to

2002 Gujarat riots The 2002 Gujarat riots, also known as the 2002 Gujarat violence, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which caused the deaths of 58 Hin ...

. Social activist

Shabnam Hashmi Shabnam Hashmi (born 1957) is an Indian social activist and human rights campaigner born to Haneef and Qamar Azad Hashmi. . She is the sister of Safdar Hashmi and Sohail Hashmi. Safdar Hashmi was a communist playwright and director, best known f ...

, sister of the slain activist

Safdar Hashmi Safdar Hashmi (12 April 1954 – 2 January 1989) was a communist playwright and director, best known for his work with street theatre in India. He was also an actor, lyricist, and theorist, and he is still considered an important voice in Indian ...

and founder of SAHMAT, Marxian historian Prof. K N Panikkar and social activist

Harsh Mander Harsh Mander (born 17 April 1955) is an Indian author, columnist, researcher, teacher, and social activist who started the Karwan-e-Mohabbat campaign in solidarity with the victims of communal or religiously motivated violence. He is the Direc ...

are the founding members of ANHAD. Based in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, ANHAD works in the field of

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and communal harmony. ANHAD's activities include secular mobilization, sensitizing people about their democratic rights as enshrined in Indian Constitution, research and publication of books and reports, welfare programs for marginalised sections of society, launching creative mass mobilization campaigns. People's tribunals. It also work as a

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

among political circle to take action against

communalism Communalism may refer to: * Communalism (Bookchin), a theory of government in which autonomous communities form confederations * , a historical method that follows the development of communities * Communalism (South Asia), violence across ethnic ...

. ANHAD plays a major role in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

to fight against human right violations, as well as in the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

. ANHAD is registered as a trust and has six trustees as of now: They are

, Aban Raza, Amrita Nandy, Harsh Mander, Shubha Menon and Mukhtar Shaikh.

History

The organisation works with victims of communal violence, and in 2005, ANHAD rehabilitated 25 children from the 2002 Gujarat riots in Delhi. Initially they lived in ''Apna Ghar'' hostel in Jaitpur on Delhi's outskirts, later shifted to a new hostel, ''Bal Sahyog'', in Connaught Place, the children study at Balwant Rai Mehta School in

Greater Kailash Greater Kailash (often referred to as GK) is a residential area in South Delhi consisting of prime and luxurious real estate in several neighborhoods and multiple markets. It is divided into two zones, namely Parts 1 and 2, located around a se ...

II. It took the initiative in screening the film ''

Parzania ''Parzania'' (translation: ''Heaven and hell on earth'') is a 2007 Indian drama film co-written and directed by Rahul Dholakia; David N. Donihue is the other co-writer. The film featured Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in the lead roles, while Cori ...

'' in Gujarat in April 2007. The film based on a Parsi family who lost their son during the 2002 Gujarat riots, was not screened in the state, upon its nationwide release in January, as the cinema owners feared backlash. In July 2010, in a statement, ANHAD said, "“The presence of the Army and security forces dominates the (Srinagar) Valley and reinforces the deep-rooted angst of people. The reality is that democracy is under severe strain and is almost absent in many parts in the State, despite an elected government backed by the Centre holding the of power in Srinagar". ANHAD filed a plea against the Delhi Police in

Batla house encounter case The Batla House encounter case was an armed Delhi Police operation to arrest terrorists of the Indian terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, hiding in a flat in the Batla House area of Jamia Nagar, Okhla, on 19 September 2008. The operation resulted ...

Reports published by ANHAD

*Interim Report of Independent People's Tribunal on Human Rights Violations in Kashmir * Systematic discrimination oozing out of the pores in Gujarat * National Meet on Status of Muslims: Summary of Findings and Recommendations * 26/11 Mumbai * 5 Years of ANHAD: 2003-2008 * Visit to Orissa * ANHAD in Kashmir * State Ka Order Hai * Interim Observations - Tribunal On Atrocities Against Minorities * Selected Testimonies: Tribunal on the Atrocities against Minorities in the Name of Fighting Terrorism *Citizen's Fact Finding Report on Dhule Riots To support the proposed

Women's Reservation Bill The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 9 th March, 2010, is a bill passed in the Parliament of India which says to amend the Constitution of India to reserve 1/3 of all seats in the lower house of Parliament of ...

, ANHAD along with the support of various other organizations, organized a nationwide campaign called "Reservation Express" in 2009, which involved three caravans travelling through the country, apart from Campaign, public meetings, conferences and cultural programmes.Nationwide campaign for Women Reservation Bill
''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'' (PTI), 29 May 2010.

References

External links

BJP lifts now ANHAD’s photo for its "Kashmir Bachao Divas" ad
- TCN News
Reservation Express (Pass the Women's Reservation Bill now!), website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anhad Organisations based in Delhi Human rights organisations based in India Organizations established in 2003 Political advocacy groups in India Secularist organizations Secularism in India