The real fact that the Left fashioned anti-India activists/crusaders/urban naxals/urban terrorists were never revealed for the last many decades is that they were able to speak against the country because they were protected by the country. We can rephrase this statement. They can speak against the Constitution because they were protected by the Constitution. The above so-called pseudo-activists were in reality parasites who exploited the leniencies of the Indian Constitution.
Nod for Prosecution
Recently, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena gave prosecution sanction against Arundhati Roy and Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, former professor of International law in Central University of Kashmir, under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for making anti-national speeches against Kashmir in an event organised under the banner of “Azaadi- The only way” on October 21, 2010 at LTG Auditorium, Delhi. An FIR in the matter was registered on a complaint made by Sushil Pandit, a social activist from Kashmir on October 28, 2010. Other speakers who shared their views in the event were Syed Ali Shah Geelani, SAR Geelani and Varvara Rao. Arundhati Roy in the event said, “Kashmir has never been an integral part of India.” She further stated that it was forcibly occupied by the Armed Forces of India. In October 2023, LG of Delhi granted sanction to prosecute them under Sections 196 of CrPC for commission of offences punishable under different sections of IPC: 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintainance of harmony), 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 ( statements conducting to public mischief).
Courting Controversy
“Azaadi – The only way” seminar was conducted by the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). As per the report of Shuddhabrata Sengupta on this conference and its aim, “CRPP thought it necessary to pose the question directly, as the people of Kashmir, in their persistent struggle for their right to self-determination braving the repressive apparatus of the Indian State had dared even in their death”. In the report, it was clearly stated that SAR Geelani had quoted that how “a small boy was brutally beaten to death by the CRPF, which was just one example of the untold atrocities and oppression committed by the occupation forces of India. Thousands have been injured, many have been blinded, raped, maimed and yet many are languishing in prison.” Thus, making false allegations on our brave soldiers. Geelani also clearly stated, by quoting Nehru, that the Indian Parliament had no right to decide on the future of Kashmir.
False Claims
Varavara Rao stated that the anti-national activities happening in Kashmir was a fight to regain their lost independence against the “imperialist oppression”. Rao also stated that the Indian state has repeatedly used military force against the people. He further asserted that “much like British colonial rule, the rule from Delhi was and is still being imposed through force in Kashmir and Telangana. He implored the audience to critically reflect on the reasons for our silence as to why the army is being deployed in Kashmir and the North-East.” Rao had also made false claims that in almost all the regions of India wherever people are fighting against the oppression of the Indian state, they are in support of Kashmir’s independence. Rao even supported the activities of CPI (Maoist) in his speech by asserting that Naxalite movement upholds the right of the oppressed nationalities for self determination, including that of the Kashmiris, and even stated that the Constitution has proven to be hollow for the last 63 years for the vast sections of the people of the subcontinent.
“The British drew the map of India in 1899— so that country became a colonizing power the moment it became independent, and the Indian state has militarily intervened in Manipur, in Nagaland, in Mizoram, in Kashmir, in Telangana, during the Naxalbari uprising, in Punjab, in Hyderabad, in Goa, in Junagarh…So often the Indian government, the Indian state, the Indian elite, they accuse the Naxalites of believing in protracted war, but actually you see a State—the Indian State—that has waged protracted war against its own people or what it calls its own people relentlessly since 1947, and when you look at who are those people that it has waged war against— the Nagas, the Mizos, the Manipuris, people in Assam, Hyderabad, Kashmir, Punjab—it’s always a minority, the Muslims, the Tribals, the Christians, the Dalits, the Adivasis, endless war by an upper caste Hindu state, this is what is the modern history of our country”
— Excerpt of the speech by Arundhati Roy, delivered on October 21, 2010 at a seminar titled ‘Azadi: The Only Way’
GN Saibaba, in his speech, has clearly stated that the right to self determination for oppressed nationalities including the Kashmiri, Nagas, Manipuri people, etc. is enshrined in his organisation Revolutionary Democratic Front’s basic programme and is an inalienable right. He was the deputy secretary of Revolutionary Democratic Front at that time. He also falsely accused that when Kashmiri people came out in millions in the streets of Jammu and Kashmir, the response of the Indian state was to kill and maim the protestors. He further stated that the people of Kashmir were not merely asking for their human rights. “The voice is loud and clear that they want India to go out. The demand of the people of the North East, too, is the same.” He further claims that “We are living under a military rule imposed in the name of democracy” . He calls our Armed Forces as “fascist”.
The seminar also included speeches of pro-Khalistani leaders like Har Charanjit Singh and Kanwarpal Singh.
Using Roy’s Speech to Lambast Bharat
In 2017, Maleeha Lodhi, then Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, quoted Arundhati Roy to castigate India’s policies as murderous by showing a photo of an injured girl. However, that photo was of a girl from Gaza and not from Kashmir. But Lodhi quoted Roy, “These horrific murders are only a symptom. Life is hell for the living too. Whole populations of Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and Christians — are being forced to live in terror, unsure of when and from where the assault will come.” However, later on The Wire in order to defend Roy’s intentions, stated that Lodhi misquoted Roy by omitting words like “of deeper malaise” after the word “symptom” and “millions” after “Whole populations”. But does that change the meaning and intention of Roy?
In 2019, a video clip of the year of 2011 surfaced in social media in which Arundhati Roy had said that “Pakistan has not deployed its army against its people the way India has”. And the video sparked criticism with Twitter users in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh making the hashtag #ArundhatiRoy trend on X (formerly) Twitter. However, when the controversy get strengthened, Arundhati Roy had to make an appology reported The Print. Roy accused “Hindu nationalists” of digging up and generating outrage over the nine-year-old video clip. However her appology statement also contains that “I do not believe that the States of India, Pakistan or Bangladesh are in any way morally superior to one another. In India right now, the architecture of pure fascism is being put into place. Anybody who resists it risks being smeared, trolled, jailed, or beaten down. But it will be resisted”
In a televised discussion on a media channel in 2019, Pakistani politician and geo-strategist Mushahid Hussain said that the role of Pakistan in the struggle of Kashmiri Muslims was key, and the country will have to take up the issue with seriousness in a sustained manner. Hussain said that India was a large country and there were many in India who were Pak-sympathisers. He took the names Arundhati Roy, Mamata Banerjee, Congress party, Communist party, Left parties to give examples.
In 2017, Maleeha Lodhi, then Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN quoted Arundhati Roy to castigate India’s policies as murderous by showing a photo of a injured girl, however that photo was a girl of Gaza and not of Kashmir. But Lodhi quoted Roy : “These horrific murders are only a symptom. Life is hell for the living too. Whole populations of Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and Christians — are being forced to live in terror, unsure of when and from where the assault will come.” However, later on The Wire in order to defend Roy’s intentions, stated that Lodhi misquoted Roy by omitting words like “of deeper malaise” after the word “symptom” and “millions” after “Whole populations”. But does that changes the meaning and intentions of of Roy ?
In 2017 Maleeha Lodhi, then Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN quoted Arundhati Roy to castigate India’s policies as murderous by showing a photo of a injured girl, however that photo of the girl was of Gaza and not of Kashmir. Later on The wire in order to defend Roy’s intentions stated that Lodhi misquoted Roy by omitting some words from the original version. But that doesn’t changes the intentions of Roy.
Arundhati Roy’s book Broken Republic delves into sympathising with Maoist terrorists and making arguments defending the maoists by asserting that they are the people fighting for their land and mines and trying to protect them from State which is under attack. This work is quoted by many Left-leaning scholars on several occasions.
In her essay “The Greater Common Good” published in 1999 she was critical of the Narmada River Valley Project by criticising the projects on the grounds that it will disturb the “social ecosystem” of tribal people and “Social links have been smashed, communities broken up” due to the construction dams.
Roy had been a staunch supporter of anti-India elements working in foreign countries also. One example of this can be depicted from the fact that she had connections with one Pieter Friedrich, a fundamentalist Baptist and provocateur believed to be behind the vandalising and destruction of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Davis, California and a man accused of colluding with Khalistani terrorists. He went on a hunger strike because he wants Jack Dorsey to take back the $2.5 million he donated in his personal capacity to Sewa International, a charitable organisation at the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the same person who had written an article titled “Gandhi has got to go” and states that Gandhi was a racist. This Pieter Friedrich had been a part of an anti-India cabal led by Bhajan Singh Bhinder. Friedrich’s name was provided credibility by publishing a number of books in his name and these books were published by Sovereign Star publishing registered by Bhinder in 2007. In order to boost Friedrich’s credibility he was appointed to the boards of various anti-India organisations like Organisation for Minorities of India (OFNI). Friedrich has tried to deny that OFMI has any links to Khalistanis but it has been reported that Bhajan Singh Bhinder is one of its leaders who was investigated for trying to procure arms for the Khalistani movement in 1992.
Equating Separatist Agenda with Independence Movement
Arundhati Roy, in her speech at “Azadi- The only Way”, had claimed that the Indian state was trying to capture part of India by using Armed Forces. She further tried to exploit the Indian faultlines by alleging that minorities and various ethnic groups were being persecuted by the “upper caste Hindu state” . Here is an excerpt from her 2010 speech at the seminar in which she tried to exploit our faultlines. “The British drew the map of India in 1899— so that country became a colonizing power the moment it became independent, and the Indian state has militarily intervened in Manipur, in Nagaland, in Mizoram, in Kashmir, in Telangana, during the Naxalbari uprising, in Punjab, in Hyderabad, in Goa, in Junagarh…So often the Indian government, the Indian state, the Indian elite, they accuse the Naxalites of believing in protracted war, but actually you see a State—the Indian State—that has waged protracted war against its own people or what it calls its own people relentlessly since 1947, and when you look at who are those people that it has waged war against— the Nagas, the Mizos, the Manipuris, people in Assam, Hyderabad, Kashmir, Punjab—it’s always a minority, the Muslims, the Tribals, the Christians, the Dalits, the Adivasis, endless war by an upper caste Hindu state, this is what is the modern history of our country.”
Roy also tried to equate Kashmir’s separatist movement with the Indian Independence movement. She asserted that “Now, sometimes it’s very difficult to know from what place one stands on as formally a citizen of India, what can one say, what is one allowed to say, because when India was fighting for independence from British colonization— every argument that people now use to problematise the problems of azaadi in Kashmir were certainly used against Indians. Crudely put, “the natives are not ready for freedom, the natives are not ready for democracy.” She further stated that “The colonial state whether it was the British State in India or whether it’s the Indian State in Kashmir or Nagaland or in Chattisgarh, they are in the business of creating elites to manage their occupations, so you have to know your enemy and you have to be able to respond in ways where you’re tactical, where you’re intelligent, where you’re political— internationally, locally and in every other way— you have to make your alliances, because otherwise you’ll be like fish swimming furiously around a fish tank bombing the walls and getting tired in the end because those walls are very very strong,”
In 2019, a video clip of the year of 2011 surfaced in social media in which Arundhati Roy had said that “Pakistan has not deployed its army against its people the way India has”
Friedrich and Roy
Roy also claimed that the growth of radical Islamism and Maoist terrorism was a concept created by “Hindutva Fascism” and “Economic totalitarianism”. She in her speech has clearly theorised this – “I often say that in 1986 when capitalism won its jihad against soviet communism in the mountains of Afghanistan, the whole world changed and India realigned itself in the unipolar world and in that realignment it did two things, it opened two locks , one was the lock of the Babri Masjid and one was the lock of the Indian markets and it ushered in two kinds of totalitarianism- Hindu fascism, Hindutva fascism and economic totalitarianism and both these manufactured their own kinds of terrorism —so you have Islamist “terrorists” and the Maoist “terrorists”.”
Roy also tried to equate Kashmir’s separatist movement with the Indian Independence movement
India has undergone significant transformations and progressed to a higher echelon in various domains. This evolution has led to a shift in ideological trends, where extreme left-wing views and anti-national sentiments are out-fashioned. The act of charging individuals like Arundhati Roy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) serves as a stark representation of this change. It underscores the stance of new India against tolerating any anti-national or terror-sympathising narratives operating within its geographical boundaries.
This move is a clear message that such activities will not be allowed under the guise of some bogus and fraudulent ideological theories of free speech, which is perceived by some as a baseless justification for propagating anti-India conspiracies. The country’s development and increased self-confidence have led to a more stringent approach to maintaining national integrity and security.
Leave a Comment