Withdraw UAPA on Arundhati Roy: 200 academics write an open letter
Claiming "freedom of expression" in our nation is at stake, nearly 200 academics, activists, journalists have penned an 'Open Letter' to Indian government to withdraw its sanction to prosecute Roy
By : The Federal
Update: 2024-06-24 10:10 GMT
Worried that there should be no "infringement" on our fundamental right to freely and fearlessly express views on any subject, 200 academics, activists and journalists have penned an 'Open Letter' urging the Indian government to withdraw its sanction to prosecute Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain under a dreaded draconian law.
Last week, Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena had given the go-ahead to prosecute Roy and Hussain under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA, an anti-terror law that will make it tough for accused persons to get bail.
Hussain and Roy are to be tried for making speeches at a conference in Delhi called ‘Azadi: The Only Way’ in 2010. Roy is reported to have said the disputed region of Kashmir had never been “an integral part of India”.
Hussain is a Kashmiri academic, author and human rights activist, and Roy is a celebrated author and writer, who is also an activist and an open critic of Modi's government over issues like laws targetting minorities. There has been outrage around the world from intellectuals and writers’ organisations on the news of a sanction to prosecute Roy under UAPA.
What the Open Letter said
In India, the signatories, who include Romila Thapar, Tushar Gandhi, academic Nandini Sundar, Yogendra Yadav, students, journalists, environmentalists, lawyers, and others, said in this open letter, "We the concerned citizens of India deplore this action and appeal to the government and the democratic forces in the country to ensure that no infringement of the fundamental right to freely and fearlessly express views on any subject takes place in our nation."
According to the signatories, the Supreme Court had ruled sedition is applicable only when there was incitement to violence or public disorder.
Roy's statement made in a seminar cannot be considered as an incitement to violence, they pointed out, adding that nor did any violence result from her statement. Others have also questioned the 14-year-delay in making a case against her.
The letter further stated that the issue at stake is freedom of expression guaranteed under our Constitution. Indeed, the health and vibrancy of our democracy is crucially dependent on upholding such rights, they wrote.
They ended the letter appealing for the LG to immediately withdraw this sanction to frame charges against Roy and Hussain for sedition and also to remove draconian laws like UAPA.
Experts weigh in
Even as many legal experts were skeptical if her prosecution will hold considering the 14-year-delay and the fact that her speech did not incite violence, they also pointed out that it is not clear whether the decision to sanction action against her is based on evidence already gathered from a police investigation.
Or, if they yet to start a police investigation into the case.
Many liberals had hoped BJP's lowered majority verdict in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would usher in a more tolerant approach to dissent. But, according to legal experts, the opposite seems to be happening.
Roy is being made a high-profile target to send out a warning to other intellectuals and activists not to go against the government, said experts, according to news reports.
There are also voices raised against Roy.
In an article in The Guardian, news anchor Arnab Goswami, said he was happy at the lieutenant governor’s decision.
Calling Arundhati Roy a "terrorist supporter, Maoist sympathiser, and a Gucci separatist", he said that he was happy that Roy was finally going to be prosecuted since she had made a career of speaking against India when her books failed.