The prosecution of renowned Indian author Arundhati Roy and a former professor from Kashmir over remarks they made in 2010 has been approved by a high-ranking official in Delhi; this action has been criticized as the latest blow to the country’s commitment to free speech.
The 61-year-old Booker Prize winner is a polarizing figure in India since she is one of the most vehement opponents of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The prosecution of Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain for allegedly “delivering provocative speeches in public” was approved by Delhi’s lieutenant governor (LG), Vinai Kumar Saxena. Showkat Hussain is a former professor at the Central University of Kashmir.
As a result of Ms. Roy’s and other speakers’ comments at a conference dubbed “Azadi (Freedom) – The Only Way” and sponsored by the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners, a criminal complaint charging them of sedition was launched against them in 2010.
A Kashmiri activist named Sushil Pandit lodged a police report stating that the attendees had discussed and encouraged the “separation of Kashmir from India.”
Kashmir, a region in the Himalayas, is the focal point of an ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. Despite only having partial authority over the region, both nations claim it as their own.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a separatist leader, and Ms. Roy, according to a representative of the Delhi LG’s office, “strongly propagated that Kashmir was never the part of India and was forcibly occupied by Armed Forces of India and that every possible effort should be made for the independence of the State of J&K from India,” according to The Telegragh. The meeting included Geelani.
According to the official, Roy and Dr. Hussain might be charged under several provisions of Indian law with “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, and language, and doing acts prejudicial to maintaining harmony,” among other offenses.
In the 13 years since the case was first filed, Geelani and professor Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, two of her co-defendants, have both passed away.
Politicians in the opposition and members of civil society who have accused the Modi administration of stifling dissent have criticized the move to allow prosecution immediately.
“I stand by what I said in 2010 on Ms. Arundhati Roy’s address… P Chidambaram, a former federal minister and prominent member of the Indian National Congress, stated that there was no need to file a case against her at the time for allegedly inciting sedition.
He continued, accusing the use of the sedition statute improperly, “There is no justification now to sanction prosecution against her.”
“The state must be tolerant and forgiving when remarks are made, regardless of how strongly others may disagree. I support free expression and oppose the sedition statute from colonial times.
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“Arundhati Roy has spoken with power, courage, and eloquence for justice and truth at every turn of the journey of the Indian republic,” commented author Harsh Mander on social site X.
“The government’s current attempt to bring charges against her is a sign of its desperation and its fear of her candor. She, though, won’t be silenced.According to novelist Meena Kandasamy, “If Modi is targeting India’s most brilliant and brave writer for a speech made ten years ago, it shows the levels of desperation of the regime.”
Roy was last seen on October 4 in Delhi, when he was protesting the arrest of Prabir Purkayastha, the editor of the NewsClick news website, and another administrator of the site after raids on the homes of journalists who worked for the site.