[Reader-list] Jamia Millia should be prosecuted

Fri Sep 26 04:34:58 IST 2008

Thanks Iram for this well thought out mail. Such mails are rarity on the 
list these days. I wonder what have the regular contributors to the list 
discussion have to say about your views. When it comes to happenings 
considered to be related to Islam or Muslims, some of the great minds on 
this list either remain silent or use lots of ifs and buts. They don't 
believe that Osama doctrine has inspired and mislead some individuals so 
much that they are ready to become suicide attackers on Indians, which they 
believe are all Hindus. We sensible people think of social conditions as 
responsible for fundamentalism among certain Muslims. When it comes to 
increase in Hindu fundamentalism, apparently social conditions have no role 
to play.
No doubt, after a while they lose rationality. Somebody starts having dreams 
because couple of people were shot by the police and some were arrested. 
That person doesn't lose sleep, at least he doesn't publicly announce it on 
the list, when co-ordinated bomb blasts take away so many innocent lives. 
Killing of two Jamia students, not proven guilty till now by any court of 
law, generates so much unrest on this list, but there is barely any mail 
showing "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" for the Christian 
community in Karnataka and Orisa. I wonder if we worry all the time only 
about the majority in the minority communities. I wonder why did people of 
India started supporting the communal powers so much that BJP became such a 
big power in Indian politics. The hindutva rhetoric they use was always 
there in the time of Jan Sangh and Hindu Maha Sabha. The secularism of the 
secular lobby has certain loop holes to make sure that Indians do not 
consider the secular powers (whoever they are) as hypocrites. Okay, enough 
of ranting.
Now to your mail. I agree with you not because it is wrong for a university 
to provide legal aid to its students, the universities can make such 
policies and there is nothing wrong in it. But the reason that VC gave for 
the legal support of these students was not good enough. He is right in 
saying that they are innocent till they are proven guilty. But so is every 
suspect. If Jamia vc says that he is willing to give legal aid to all its 
students arrested on the suspicion of murder, rape, pickpocketing etc, it 
won't be a wrong policy. But why only this case? He is worried about the 
unfair image of Jamia being portrayed in the media, rightly so, but will his 
decision do anything good to the image?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Iram Ghufran" <iram at sarai.net>
To: <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com>
Cc: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>; 
<jamia_millia_alumni_directory at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 3:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Jamia Millia should be prosecuted

> 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 - ??
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
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