[Reader-list] Jamia Millia should be prosecuted

[iram at sarai.net]

Hello

There are two main points that I raised:

- Will the University support/ provide legal aid to students accused of
other 'anti state', 'anti national' activities? I would be very happy if
such a practice becomes the 'norm'. My problem is that this shouldnt become
a one-off case - but the more optimistic list members see this as a good
precedent for a university, and teaching institution to have a larger stake
in the future of its students.

- The other key issue is that the VC is acting on a principle that a person
is 'innocent until proven guilty', and that he as 'guardian' is responsible
for the welfare of the students. I agree with this. However, I feel the VC
should not be tying the University interest with those of the two students
arrested. It is not just a question of 'larger good'. The University could
have shown support in many ways. This action is more of a political
statement. Except that I don't understand what it is saying..

I have no desire to get into a discussion on this guy called Osama, nor do
I wish to  discuss Right, Left politics with you. I can only say that
please try to understand situations in a more nuanced way, instead of
'black and white'.  Please be a little more sensitive to other peoples
responses and reactions to a situation of crises. Some people do lose
sleep. Others could be plagued by nightmares.

A bomb blast in a city market has anonymous targets. It is a heinous crime
by people who lack basic humanity. It is a crime that is condemned by all
sections of civil society.

I am sure that you would agree that a fake encounter is also a crime -
committed by the State, by the people who are meant to protect the
citizens. It is an act of betrayal. So if someone can see loopholes in the
police version and believes that the Batla House encounter was fake, they
have probably lost faith and trust in the State and all those who are
Silent. Sometimes the Silence of those who must speak is painful. One can
lose sleep over it.

Warm regards
Iram




On 4:34 am 09/26/08 "TaraPrakash" <taraprakash at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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-jami
> a.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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