[Reader-list] Jamia Millia should be prosecuted

[Iram Ghufran]

Dear all

This is in continuation of the discussion on whether or not, Jamia 
Millia Islamia should provide legal aid to its students - Mohammad 
Shakeel and Zia-ur -Rehman, arrested on charges of terrorist and anti 
national activities.

Before I go further, let me say very categorically that like many others 
on this forum and elsewhere, I believe there needs to be a judicial 
inquiry in the Batla House encounter, attempts should be made to ensure 
that the students do not remain in police custody longer than necessary 
and that pressure should be built to ensure that they are treated with 
dignity in police custody.

I will begin with a question. What choices did Mushirul Hasan, Vice 
Chancellor of Jamia MIllia Islamia have in terms of 'show of support' to 
his students?

In his address to the student body and later at a press conference, 
Mushirul Hasan, VC of Jamia Millia Islamia stated that the University 
would provide legal aid to the arrested students, from the Student 
Welfare Fund. I feel that the Vice Chancellor, should not have promised 
this. He can provide legal aid in a personal capacity, as part of a 
citizens collective but NOT as Vice Chancellor ON BEHALF of the University.

Before I go into my reasons for saying this, let me add that my argument 
is based on the premise that the term 'legal aid' implies monetary help 
to fund a court case - specially for people who would otherwise not have 
a fair legal representation.

The VC cited an earlier incident when armed policemen forcibly entered 
the SRK boys hostel, beat up and took in custody many students. He is 
using this as a precedent for Jamia to support the two students on issue 
under discussion. For a PUCL report on the previos episode, see - 
http://www.pucl.org/reports/Delhi/delhi-jamia.htm
The aforementioned incident happened on campus. The students were 
mistreated within the University compound, under the 'guardianship' of 
the VC, the Proctor, the Registrar, and the hostel Warden. The 
University administration, responsible for the welfare of the students 
residing on campus was unable to prevent this unfair police action.

The Butla House encounter and arrests are a different issue. Here the 
charges on the students have nothing to do with their academic life 
(they allegedly did not blow up the chemistry lab in a failed 
experiment), nor their non- academic university life (they did not 
injure spectators in a inter university football championship). They 
were certainly not representing Jamia Millia Islamia or the University 
ideals of universal brotherhood, peace and secularism in the act that 
they have been accused of committing (falsely or not).

My question is that if for example, the University has two thousand 
students on its rolls, and even two percent of them get involved in some 
form of litigation, will Jamia Millia be willing to support 40 cases a 
year - cases that may drag on, beyond the academic term of the enrolled 
student? Will the University provide 'legal aid' to students accused of 
other 'anti State', 'anti national' activities (such as aiding militants 
in the north East, Kashmir, maoists in Orissa, Chattisgarh)?

If a University believes itself to be the guardian of its students and 
in that capacity provides legal aid, then there have to be norms laid 
down - Which cases will get primacy? Who will decide which particular 
student should be legally supported and which student should be left to 
his or her own devices? The University also has to take into account the 
thousands of other students and its responsibility to them. By making 
Jamia Millia Islamia, an interested party in this 'case', the VC has 
dragged not only the University, faculty, staff, students into this 
unfortunate series of events but has put at stake the Universitys 
reputation. Does the VC have a plan of action, in case the arrested 
students are implicated on charges of 'terrorism'? Will the logic of 
'innocent until proven guilty' help the rest of the students adjust to a 
world that will see them as 'supporters' of 'terrorists'.  Even if one 
of these students is sentenced to even one year of jail for aiding/ 
abetting an anti national act, it is not just an individual who will 
lose face, it is not a team of lawyers, activists, supports who will 
lose face, it will be the institution which lays claim to being the 
'liberal' face of the Indian muslim. Has the VC calculated the 
implications of this?

I feel that an autonomous body (perhaps with University support - Jamia, 
JNU and DU) should be set up - that provides legal aid and counseling to 
students. The Universities can provide financial support to such a body, 
the students can contribute and raise independent funding. This is a 
tentative proposition which has had precedent in various forms of 
Committees for Defense for people accused of 'crimes' against the 'State'.

I understand that a strong political statement was the need of the hour. 
But was a commitment to legal aid the only option?

Warm regards
Iram







Yousuf wrote:
> The Vice-chancellor in his speech and statement has said that the money for the accused's legal support will come from the "Student's Welfare Fund" - which does not come from the UGC or any ministry. It comes from donations and a small fraction of the fees students pay. Which means that no tax-payers money is involved here.
>
> And even if you depended on the court-appointed counsels, that would be paid by the tax-payer.
>
>   
>
>
> --- On Thu, 9/25/08, Mohit Agarwal <mohit_agarwal at indiainfo.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> From: Mohit Agarwal <mohit_agarwal at indiainfo.com>
>> Subject: Re: [jamia_millia_alumni_directory] Jamia Millia should be prosecuted
>> To: jamia_millia_alumni_directory at yahoogroups.com
>> Date: Thursday, September 25, 2008, 6:56 PM
>> It is true that everybody is innocent until proven
>> otherwise. But just
>> for junta's knowledge, in criminal cases, if accused is
>> unable to get
>> legal defence, court arranges legal counsel at
>> taxpayer's expense.
>>
>> The question is not whether Prof Hasan is a secular person
>> or not. I think more relevant question is ..."is it
>> proper for a
>> university to bear litigation expenses for the accused
>> students? If yes
>> then where do you draw a line? Only for students accused of
>> terrorism? or
>> for all sort of accusations?
>>
>> But either which way calls for sacking of Prof are totally
>> ridiculous.
>>
>>
>> Mohit Agarwal
>> Course - ??
>> Batch - ??
>>
>> ------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>