RWPI condemns the repression of Arundhati Roy and Dr. Sheikh Showkat Hussain!
Repeal UAPA!
Release all political prisoners!
Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India (RWPI) condemns the totally unjustified, politically motivated, undemocratic sanction by the Delhi Lieutenant-Governer Vinay Saxena to prosecute Arundhati Roy, noted writer and Dr. Hussain (former Professor, International Law at Central University of Kashmir) under the draconian UAPA law. This sanction comes 14 years later for a speech that took place in 2010 in Delhi.
The reason for this sanction is to suppress all dissenting voices that go against the stated policy of the fascist regime, to send a message that the fascist policies will continue even under a minority BJP government, and to divert the attention away from the failures of the government in Kashmir after revocation of article 370.
Roy and Hussain were part of a discussion that took place in Delhi in 2010, in which the historical reality of Jammu and Kashmir was discussed. Citing this as an abetment to security of the country and incitement to violence, charges were slapped on the participants. It must be noted that the state has made no attempt even to argue that this program lead to any incitement to violence in Kashmir.
After the temporary suspension of the sedition law by the Supreme court, and realizing that sanction under IPC 153A, 153B, 505 are not sufficient as they demand taking cognisance within 3 years of slapping charges, the provisions of the UAPA are now being used to suppress voices of the likes of Roy. The very fact that it took 14 years to “decide” on slapping of UAPA charges shows that it is done out of political motives of suppression of voices, and nothing else.
It is now well established that laws like UAPA, which allow the government to put people behind bars for years without a bail, exist to suppress political opponenets, in the name of national security. The conviction rate of cases under such laws are as low as 2 percent. Out of 5027 cases filed under UAPA between 2016 to 2020(a number which itself raises question of why so many people in the country are “suddenly” trying to harm the national security!) against 24,134 people like journalists, activists, human rights lawyers, union leaders, students, etc. out of which only 212 were convicted shows that the law exists to suppress voices against the government. Laws like UAPA do not get misused, rather they are constructed in such a way to empower governments to supress people and that their very use is a misuse.
This decision comes immediately after the third NDA government, in the leadership of fascist BJP has been formed, is a clear signal to the capitalist ruling class that the government will continue its policy of suppression of all democratic voices and will leave no stone unturned in serving their interests. Roy and Hussain have been made a target to set an example this time.
Thirdly, after the revocation of Article 370, the situation in Kashmir has not at all been like projected by the BJP. The continued and recent attacks in Reasi and also in Kathua, Doda show that contrary to the claims of BJP the militancy has not stopped in the region. The attempt of the government is also to divert the attention away from their failure in dealing with the Kashmir issue, and to stoke a nationalist frenzy using the issue of Kashmir.
We demand that the UAPA charges against Roy and Hussain be immediately revoked, all political prisoners arrested under such laws be released, and the law of UAPA itself be repealed immediately to establish the democratic and civil rights in their correct sense.
