India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Noted professor and Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha member Manoj Kumar Jha has commented that all is not well with India known as ‘mother of democracy’ in the world.
“This mother has been made so sick in the last nine years that it is a fit case of multiple organ failures,” he declared while speaking at Press Club of India on Friday in a proramme titled ‘Democracy, Dissent and Censorship’, in connection with former JNU researcher Umar Khalid’s 1000 days in jail. Umar Khalid has been in jail for the crime he never committed.
In his speech, Jha discussed the judiciary’s role in democracy in detail. He said, “We have very thoughtful and committed judges but mostly they exhibit this commitment in seminars. When we hear them in seminars, we feel overwhelmed and hope that they would completely change our country but when I see the judgements, we find the commitment and nice words missing. Be it the ex-judges or the sitting ones.”
He asked, “What is the crime of Umar Khalid or his colleagues, say Safura, Meeran or Sharjeel?”
He quoted from Umar Khalid’s obituary of Ranjit Guha. Umar wrote in the Telegraph, “The present times are different and far less hopeful. But even in our times of rising authoritarianism and majoritarianism when power seems to have turned the world upside down, inverted meanings of words and hollowed out languages, we will do well to critically engage with Guha’s works.”
Professor Jha referred to the book ‘How to stand up to a dictator’ written by Maria Ressa. He said jokingly, “Iska apne wale se koi khas tallquq nahi hai (this was not related to ours).”
Maria Ressa has written, “Democracy is fragile. You have to fight for every bit, every law, every safeguard, every institution, every story. You must know how dangerous it is to suffer even the tiniest cut. This is why I say to us all: we must hold the line.”
Mr. Jha said, “All of us standing here are holding the line. And I must tell you that your tribe is growing. I can smell the coffee of change. This is happening and this is happening because you hold the line.”
He expressed hope and added, “Maybe when we will be meeting next year, Umar will be here. When I say next year, I don’t refer to the election next year. This timeline may be just a coincidence.”
He said that democracy is all about institutions. He put many questions, “How are the institutions working? How are the universities performing? What do we expect from those institutions where we used to go?”
He explained further, “When we faced problems in the legislature, when the executive becomes tyrannical, we go to the judiciary seeking relief. Then he asked, “But what happens when you feel that even seeking relief from the judiciary is not helping?”
He hoped, “Imagine, Umar would be free. All similar detainees would be free.”
He quoted Hindi poet Avtar Singh Pash who had said that national security is the biggest deception.
He expressed his disappointment that in the name of national security, anyone can be picked up put and put behind bars.
Without naming Prime Minister, Mr. Jha said, “This is not a national security issue but the reality is that you feel insecure. He is said to be a strong Prime Minister, believe me, I have not seen such a helpless PM despite having a brute majority.”
Professor Jha cautioned that when we hold the line, we may face more problems. “We have heard that the Law Commission was made to say that more severe punishment was required in sedition law. This is meant for those who are not framed in financial cases, such as activists and politicians who cannot be accused of money laundering”, said the professor.
He said, “When PM is equated with the nation, every criticism of the PM would be taken as the criticism of the nation. We would face such problems but believe that the expiry date of this regime is around the corner.
He declared that 1000 days of incarceration were 1000 days of resistance and hope.
He clarified, “Our endeavour is not limited to Umar but all the political prisoners. We feel connected to all of them
because we are connected to ‘holding the line’.”
He expressed the need to expand the ambit of solidarity. He appealed, “Think of the tribals of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh, think of Bhima Koregaon.” He said that the fight of Bhima Koregaon is the fight of memory.
He emphasized that this fight should not be left alone to the political parties as that was too important to be left to the political parties. He said, “Political parties do arithmetic as they have to fight elections. He appealed that this resistance must not be allowed to cease. He concluded his talk with “We shall fight, we shall win.”
Professor Emeritus of JNU Prabhat Patnaik said that the imprisonment of Umar Khalid was not only a personal tragedy but also a social waste. He said, “It is worth mentioning that during the anti-colonial struggle, no major leader was incarcerated for so long. Gandhiji was never incarcerated for more than two years, and Jawaharlal Nehru had a slightly longer period of incarceration.”
He clarified, “It is not that the colonial rulers were kind but in those days the judiciary was relatively independent of the executive. Now we have a situation where the judiciary is subservient and we have terrible laws.”
He added, “UAPA is referred to as a draconian law but it is an understatement. It is against the UN-declared human rights. It is against democracy and the constitution.”
He suggested that the Supreme Court should take Suo Moto notice of all the cases like that of Umar Khalid and insist that anyone who has been in jail for more than one year should be entitled to automatic bail irrespective of what the letter of the UAPA says.
He added, “If the Supreme Court is unwilling to take these up as suo moto cases, many of us would like to go the top court with an appeal to make it a rule that such worse than a draconian law like UAPA must not be made to thwart people’s fight for human rights.”
Umar’s father and noted journalist SQR Ilyas said that when democracy gets reduced to autocracy, even further to fascism, when the rule of law is replaced with lawlessness and when dissent is a crime then the youths of the country should come to the fore.
He said, ”if anyone wanted to know whether 1000 days in jail have demoralized us or have shaken the confidence of Umar Khalid and his friends, let me tell, that not a bit.”
He claimed that when the youths facing jail under UAPA came to court he witnessed confidence and calm on their faces. “They don’t feel frustrated. Rather they think that they waged a war for a cause and if this meant jail, so be that,” said Mr. Ilyas.
Umar’s father hoped, “If this courage gets imbibed in the new generation, those who are in power and think that they could not be ousted, should know that their days are over.”
He said, “It worries me when I see Umar Khalid, not because he is my son, but because there are others who are like my sons and daughters and have been put in jail, like Khalid Safi, Gulfishan, Sharjeel Imam, Shifaur Rahman and many others.
He elaborated, “When UAPA is slapped, it is the accused who has to prove that he or she is innocent. These youths had dreamt of an India where every citizen gets a livelihood, a place to reside and get justice. But they have been pushed behind bars. This is a small sacrifice compared to our freedom fighters.”
Mr. Ilyas recalled, “Umar was a normal college-going student but a sea change took place in him when he got admission at JNU. He got to observe the Adivasis closely. Umar refused to get his passport made as he used to say that he wanted to work for the voiceless in the country. Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya were jailed in 2016 but nothing could be proved.”
Expressing his disappointment, he asked, “When we don’t get justice from the court, where do we, common people, go?”
“When our people get disappointed from bureaucracy, they look towards court but when the courts disappoint them, where shall they go?” he asked.
He said that we need to raise our voices and should not wait for the day when all voices are made silent.
