The Congress leader compared the RSS’s targeting of Muslims in India to the persecution of Jews during Hitler’s regime in Germany
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – The courts rarely grant bail when the affected party is Muslim, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has said. The 77-year-old politician was citing a recent Supreme Court observation that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception”.
During a panel discussion here on Tuesday, organised by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) to mark four years since the arrest of activists from the anti-CAA-NRC protests, Digvijaya Singh criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He compared the RSS’s alleged targeting of Muslims in India to the persecution of Jews during Hitler’s regime in Germany.
Joining families of jailed activists, including former JNU scholar Umar Khalid, Singh claimed that he comes from an area where the RSS is referred to as a “nursery.”
The event saw the participation of noted human rights activists, journalists, politicians, artists, students, and concerned citizens united under the theme “Curtailed Freedoms: A Travesty of Justice.” They all demanded the immediate release of political prisoners who were languishing in jail for dissenting against the ruling government. The event focused on the growing crackdown on civil liberties, with several speakers calling for justice and the restoration of democratic freedoms.
“I have always known them closely. They believe neither in democracy nor in the Constitution. The way Hitler made Jews his target, they have made Muslims their target… The way the ideology has infiltrated at every level is dangerous for democracy,” Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted Digvijay Singh as saying.
The RSS, Digvijaya Singh said, is an unregistered body with no formal membership or accounts and it disowns individuals if caught as its leaders “did with Nathuram Godse”.
“Bail is a rule, and jail is an exception, then what is the reason that for Muslims, bail becomes an exception?” asked Singh.
Meanwhile, Dr SQR Ilyas, Umar Khalid’s father, expressed concerns about the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, under which Khalid and others have been arrested.
“Whether it is Umar or Gulfisha or those arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case… These draconian laws framed inside Parliament are meant to curb terror, but they are used against common people. The BJP brought POTA, the Congress scrapped it, but then brought back all its provisions under the UAPA,” media reports quoted Ilyas as saying.
Ilyas strongly criticised efforts to allow laws that indiscriminately target citizens while protecting real perpetrators. He questioned the accountability of police and denounced the absurdity of using code names such as “Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta” for witnesses. Ilyas highlighted the damage caused to the nation by imprisoning brilliant minds and urged citizens to speak up against the state’s growing authoritarian tendencies.
Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation, referred to the jailed activists as the “freedom fighters of this era” and “soldiers of democracy.” He noted that even the Chief Justice of India had questioned lower courts’ reluctance to grant bail, wondering what fear was preventing hearings in the Supreme Court. Bhattacharya also criticised opposition parties for failing to elevate the issue of political imprisonment to a national level, media reports said.
Hartosh Singh Bal, Editor-in-Chief of Caravan, drew a chilling comparison between the current targeting of Muslims in India and the treatment of Jews under Hitler. He lamented the weak response from civil society and argued that the real fight is against the RSS ideology, which he claimed had been nurtured by the Congress Party and is now fully exploited by the BJP.
Comedian Kunal Kamra, speaking as a Hindu, explained his presence at the event by condemning the systemic discrimination against Muslims. He recounted personal experiences of being threatened in Gujarat, where both the police and venue owners discouraged his performances. Kamra emphasised the importance of alternative media in countering the misinformation spread by mainstream outlets, which often label dissenting voices like Umar Khalid as “anti-national.”
Sanjay Rajoura expressed his disappointment at the intellectuals being imprisoned. He suggested that had justice been served after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the 2002 Gujarat violence might have been prevented. Rajoura called the BJP a “psychological disorder” driven by hatred and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “diabolical.” He urged attendees to fight bigotry and praised their courage in standing up for justice.
Farzana Yasmeen, sister of jailed activist Meeran Haider, and Noorjahan, mother of Athar Khan, emotionally recounted their loved ones’ prolonged imprisonments and the challenges they continue to face. Farzana shared how her brother has been imprisoned for five years for standing up for the rights of the people. Noorjahan detailed her son’s four-year imprisonment and the frustration over being denied video calls with him.
Actor Swara Bhasker also spoke at length, expressing her frustration over the continued incarceration of Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider, and others. She noted that despite significant national and global events in recent years, their cases remain unresolved, and the judiciary appears indifferent.
The event concluded with heartfelt testimonies from the families of political prisoners, including Nargis Saifi, SQR Ilyas, Farzana Yasmeen, Noorjahan, and Shakra Begum, who shared the agony they have endured during their loved ones’ imprisonment.
