A Sad Saga of Incarceration – Ba Izzat Bari? (Hindi)

What happens when one says good bye to truth and justice – for good. And that too to implement some sinister design or to become part thereof – all in the name of ‘combating terrorism’. This is what those responsible for maintaining law and order in the society – at least a considerable section of…

Written by

Sikandar Azam

Published on

Authors : Manisha Bhalla and Dr. Aleemullah Khan

Publisher : ‎ Bharat Pustak Bhandar, 4393, 4A, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi

Pages‏ : ‎ 296

Price : `295

First Edition: 2021

 

Reviewed by Sikandar Azam

 

What happens when one says good bye to truth and justice – for good. And that too to implement some sinister design or to become part thereof – all in the name of ‘combating terrorism’. This is what those responsible for maintaining law and order in the society – at least a considerable section of them – seem to have been practising for decades. Though hate and bigotry against the Muslim community had been simmering and simmering since the early days of Independent India, it was brought to a boil post Babri Masjid demolition, which goaded the authorities to attack Muslims and imprison their youth.

Then the 9/11 gave them new impetus to wage a copycat ‘war on terror’, therefor they devised draconian laws presumably to counter acts of terror, which were practically exploited to subjugate minorities, Muslims in particular. With this ‘war’ coming into vogue, the police picked up Muslim youth and put them behind bars – with a heightened sense of impunity. This long incarceration – in most cases stretching from 10 to 20 years – ruined the lives of hundreds of innocent Muslim youth.

Ba Izzat Bari? by Manisha Bhalla and Dr. Aleemullah Khan, like Innocent Prisoners (Begunah Qaidi) by Abdul Wahid Shaikh, and Framed as a Terrorist by Mohammed Aamir Khan and Nandita Haksar, records a sad saga of  the Muslim youth who had been incarcerated on trumped-up charges for years together and after long legal battle were acquitted with literally no relief like apology, compensation, rehabilitation and punishment to the officials who had framed them as terrorists, but rather with the social stigma thereof trailing them all through the rest of their life.

The book narrates the tell-tale stories of 16 Muslim youth, who had been subjected to third-degree torture in custody. It also tells us how inhumanly the officials treated them, and how immensely this willing suspension of truth and justice on the part of the authorities concerned told upon the lives of these innocent citizens even after their acquittal – psychologically, familially, socially and financially.

In the Foreword, the learned authors inform the reading public: While serving jail terms, parents pass away, education of children get hampered, wives cannot go out to earn some money, relations maintain distance, neighbours keep aside, post acquittal they do not get jobs, nor do they have capital left with them to run some business, they always stand in want of even a single paisa. So much so that they do not remain mentally stable.

Duniya ki sab se badi jamhooriyat mien aisa hona hai to yaqeen se bahar lekin in bequsoor naujawanon ke muamle mien yahi sach hai,” (In the largest democracy of the world, such a happening is unbelievable but in the case of these innocent youth this is the truth), assert Bhalla and Khan.

A close study of the book reveals that in these cases truth has been suppressed to the core and what the police officials, investigating agencies and the authorities have done in tandem makes a mockery of justice, and demands sincere and serious reform of police and criminal justice system.