Activists release Documentation of the Oppressed, National Database on hate violence

Documentation of the Oppressed- a national Database on hate violence- was released on March 7 in the National Capital. This database, a first of its kind after is a joint civil society effort and is run by a large network of civil society organizations both at the national and at the grassroot level. The work on the database had started in late 2017 from 2014.

The objective of the database is to encourage community-based reporting and intervention through a common documentation platform for the civil society of marginalised groups: DOTO database. A platform that addresses both immediate and long-term issues related to the systemic violation of fundamental rights, erosion of constitutional values and the organization and deployment of 'hate'.

DOTO database is simple, and easy to use, and seeks to create a large-scale repository which can then be used for various purposes: from activating the legal machinery in individual cases, to national and international advocacy.

Currently, the database has 488 incidents in which 2607 victims are reported. These incidents record different kinds of violence and the major categories of nature of violence include Murder/Lynching (54), Physical Assault (125), Attack Against Religious Infrastructure (51) and Communal Violence (52).

Zafrul Islam Khan, the chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, pointed out that thousands of minorities have suffered. He highlighted that the incidents of terror which have been on the rise in the nation. He lauded the effort behind the database and stressed on the need of reporting.

Teesta Setalvad, the founder of Peacemap and Helpline, was also present at the launch. The initiative Peacemap is a seven-stage conflict management platform that aims to warn, predict and prevent violence across India.

Amnesty International has also been working on a database which looks at the prejudice behind the hate crimes. Likhita Banerjee from the organisation pointed out that the database records cases of caste violence, mob lynchings, hate crimes against other identities like Adivasis, Dalits and transgenders.

Ram Puniyani, a senior activist, pointed out that the efforts like this database are a major step in moving towards social justice. He said that we should also address the hatred that has been created after 9/11 all over the world so that innocents can live with dignity in the society.

John Dayal, a senior activist, illustrated the years of experience of civil society and Christian Networks in documenting cases of violence against Christians, and how they have been using church-based documentation, a specific helpline to record data and thereafter the network of lawyers and advocacy tools at national - international level to pursue justice. He stated that they submitted 316 cases of violence against Christians in the year 2017, at UPR process of United Nations.

Other dignitaries Adv Sanjay Hegde, Senior Adv, Supreme Court of India, Ravi Nair, Civil rights activist, and senior journalist Saba Naqvi also spoke based on their experiences of dealing with state institutions.

OneIndia News