The Parliament Attack case has generated many controversies but in this book Nandita Haksar links the issues of the campaign to save two Kashmiri men from gallows, to the larger problems of perverted democracy, degenerating secular values and rising communalism in India. This book is a war cry against the curbing of civil liberties, against barbaric torture in dark detention cells, against the crawling pace of the judiciary process, against what Haksar terms “imperialist forces”.
The book is an assortment of open letters to authoritative and influential public figures who have the power to make a difference. The focus is on the efforts made by the activist and lawyer Haksar and her associate(s) for the acquittal of SAR Geelani and Afzal. Though this acquittal has been made out to be a cause celebre by the secularists and democrats as a symbol of Indian democracy and justice, Nandita Haksar points out the irony of acquitting a man who was innocent and yet sentenced to death for a crime he never committed.
Tracing Geelani’s and Afzal’s long and desperate struggle for justice, she points out how there are hundreds of prisoners wasting away in jails and prison cells, innocent but without a voice. Condemning the media for undue exaggeration, she accuses it of instigating the masses against beards and caps, Kashmiris and Muslims. She argues for the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”, and berates the fact that this was sidelined so blatantly when communal groups, the police and the junta declared Geelani and Afzal ‘offenders’ even before the court judgment.
She derides the government and media for talking loquaciously about terrorism without any mention of its root causes. Presenting strong historical facts, she proves how the Kashmiris have taken up arms after more than five decades of non-violent, democratic yet futile struggle against oppression and domination. Repression is not the answer; rather dialogue and genuine understanding of their circumstances is the real need, says Haksar.
Her first letter is addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh where she argues that the endeavour for Geelani’s acquittal is not merely defending an individual but a case for Indian democracy itself. The most difficult part of this case has been to break the ice of hatred and prejudice which built up like an indomitable wall in spite of absence of evidence.
In her second letter which she writes to Prof. Upendra Baxi, she castigates him “respectfully” for not raising his voice against the injustice meted out to Geelani. Then, in her letter to the well-known historian Bipan Chandra, she makes some very cogent arguments regarding nationalism, composite culture and the war against terror. In her letter to Barkha Dutt, Nandita Haksar addresses her as a representative of media community and accuses her of partiality. She goes on to urge her to courageously present “the other side of the story”. Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehar also receives a letter from Haksar in which she appreciates the iconoclastic image of his “Rang De Basanti”, and asks him to come out with a thriller based on total reality this time – the story of an innocent Kashmiri Muslim’s desperate quest for a normal life amid the atrocities of STF, the Army and the police; his arrest, his sentence and dramatic acquittal.
Her letters are a courageous depiction of her attitude towards the problem of communalism and depravity that rules the Indian politico. They express the anguish of a citizen who is helplessly watching her country become authoritarian and fascist without any effective political resistance. She expresses grief over the outrages against a targeted community and is pessimistic that political parties and alliances will ever address this diabolical predicament. Her only hope lies in “we”, the people. Regarding Geelani’s acquittal she says, “The battle has ended but the war will continue.” There are several Geelanis languishing behind bars, suffering intense third degree torture, waiting for their countrymen to rise for their cause.
The truths that this book unfolds are indeed dark and grim, but Nandita Haksar writes not in frustration but with a deep sense of solidarity with these terror-struck “terrorists”. This book is a must read for those who want to change the course of the future. Unless our countrymen stand up for the cause of such “deprived-lesser-citizens” their dream to enjoy a peaceful life faces an imminent demise on the altar of Indian democracy.
In The Slaughterhouse of Love
The Parliament Attack case has generated many controversies but in this book Nandita Haksar links the issues of the campaign to save two Kashmiri men from gallows, to the larger problems of perverted democracy, degenerating secular values and rising communalism in India. This book is a war cry against the curbing of civil liberties, against…
