Torture and execution -- The Calcutta Quran petition

[Dileep Karanth]

The following book contains detailed information which should adequately 
answer Lou Fenech's question. (It is actually available in the US, and is 
very inexpensive, because it is published in India. In case you are 
interested, I can put you in touch with a distributor.)



	"THE CALCUTTA QURAN PETITION" 

This book contains the petition made by Shri Chandmal Chopra to the
Calcutta High Court to have the Quran banned. The petitioner was in
part motivated to do so when he enquired as to  why the stream of Hindu
refugees from Bangladesh did not abate even after India made immense
sacrifices to help the people of Bangladesh. The detailed arguments
are best read in the book.

	PREFACE TO "THE CALCUTTA QURAN PETITION"

			I

Muslims in India have often sought shelter under Sections 153A and
295A of the Indian penal Code (I.P.C) for preventing every public
discussion of their creed in general and of their prophet in
particular. Quite a few publications which examine critically the
sayings and doings of the prophet or other idolized personalities of
Islam, have been proscribed under Section 95 of the Criminal Procedure
Code (Cr.P.C) as a result of pressure exerted by vociferous, often
violent Muslim protests. Little did they suspect that the same
provisions of the law could be invoked for seeking a ban on their holy
book, the Quran.

The credit for this turning of tables goes to Shri Chandmal Chopra of
Calcutta. It was he who filed a Writ Petition in the Calcutta High
Court stating that publication of the Quran attracts Section 153a and
295A of the I.P.C because it "incites violence, disturbs public
tranquility, promotes, on ground of religion, feelings of enmity,
hatred and ill-will between different religious communities and
insults other religions or religious beliefs of other communities in
India." He also prayed for a rule nisi on the Government of West
Bengal "to show cause as to why a writ of mandamus be not issued to it
directing it to declare each copy of the Quran whether in the original
 Arabic or in any of the languages as forfeited to the Government" 
in terms of Section 95 of the Cr. P.C. 

The case had caused considerable excitement among the "believers" and
interest among the "infidels" in April-May 1985. The press in India
and abroad gave many headlines to what was rightly regarded as an
unprecedented event in the history of religion.

The Petition was disallowed by the High Court. But the issues raised
by the Petition remain pertinent. No laww court can deny to the
"infidels" the right to kno what treatment the Quran prescribes for
them at the hands of the "believers".

Law has its limitations, particularly in a country where its main
corpus continues to be what alien regimes had devised for their own
political purposes. Moreover, a law court is hardly the forum for
framing final judgments on matters of grave moral and spiritual
import. A free and forthright discussion of the Quran cannot come to a
stop simply because the existing law is not competent to take
cognisance of its contents.

The surahs and ayats of the Quran which Shri Chopra had cited in
support of his plea, received scant or no attention at all in the heat
of the controversy whether a book regarded as sacred by a large number
of people can be the subject of a lawsuit. Those who have not read the
Calcutta Quran Petition, as it came to be known, cannot envisage the
quantum and quality of evidence marshalled by Shri Chopra. Our people
are entitled to know exactly the issues that were involved. It is only
a properly informed public opinion which can decidde in the long run
whether a book qualifies or not as a religious scripture. This is the
end we have in view while publishing verbatim the Petition as well as
other papers relating to it.

A brief history of the case will help in placing the Petition in its
proper perspective. Most people do not know why the Petition was
presented. They also do not know how the case was politicised from the
very outset and what political pressures were brought into play even
before the High Court had a chance to consider whether the Writ
Petition could be admitted for adjudication.

Chapter XV: The Petition has served a great purpose

By filing the Writ petition for a ban on the Quran, Shri Chandmal
 Chopra has invited attention to a subject which Hindus have neglected 
for long and at great cost to themselves. They have yet to examine
 critically the claim of the Quran as a sacred script
ure and of Islam as a religion. If Hinddus now take up this study in
 all seriousness and educate themselves about the character of Islam,
 the Petition will have served its purpose. 

Others subsections include:
Mahatma Gandhi on Hindu Psycholgy, How the Quran became a
"Holy Book" for Hindus, Pioneering work of Swami Dayananda, Political
expediency triumphs over truth, Blinded by the Make-Beliefs, Muslims
start the game again, History to be re-written, Medieval Muslim
history is a commentary on the Quran, Warning from a veteran
historian, A voice in the wilderness, Falsification of history becomes
state policy, The fundamental Failure,
 
and finally, 
Hindus should appeal to a higher court
	The law which prohibits Hindus from having a public discussion
on the Quran embodies a disability which was once imposed upon them at
the point of a sword. The law courts cannot be helpful so long as that
lawless law continues on the statute book. Its repeal is a task to be
undertaken by an informed public opinion. India is a democracy in
which the sword of Islam is not supposed to have any sway.
	There is, however, a court higher than the Calcutta High Court
or the Supreme Court of India. That is the court of human reason, of
human values, of human conscience, of human aspirations for a purere
and loftier life. The Quran should be brought before that court. The
devotees of the Quran should be invited to defend it in that cort
rather than in the streets. 
	It was not so long ago that the Bible enjoyed a stranglehold
similar to that of the Quran over vast populations in the West. The
theocracies propped up by the Bible in Europe and America hadd enacted
similar sagas of slaughter and pillage for several centuries. But a
sustained Western scholarship showed up the Bible for what it was. The
spell of Jehovah was broken. The rest is history. Christianity is now
seeking a refuge in countries like India where its rout in the West
remains unknown.
	A similar scholarship will not only put the Quran and its
Allah in their proper place but also restore the image of Hindu
spirituality which has suffered due to an adulteration of religious
language. The Muslim mulla and the Christian missionary had an upper
hand so long as Islamic andd Christian-Western imperialism prevailed
in this country. A class of Hindu scholars learnt from them how to
process Hindu spirituality and culture in terms of Islamic and
Christian monolaties. It is that class which still passes for what is
known as India's "intellectual elite".  ....  )

XVI	A close look at Allah

Section II
    
etc...