What I Say Comes From Love And Pride - Arundhati Roy

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena's sanction to prosecute author Arundhati Roy under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for an alleged provocative speech she gave in 2010, is being criticised by the Opposition, who calls the move “misuse of power”.

The sanction was announced last week for the prosecution of Roy, 62, who is one of the most celebrated authors, and Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, former professor at the Central University of Kashmir. This move has come 14 years after the original complaint.

The UAPA charges make it exceptionally challenging to get bail. This often results in years of detention until the completion of the trial.

On October 21, 2010, Roy, and Dr Hussain addressed a conference organised under the banner of ‘Azadi-The Only Way’ at the Little Theatre Group (LTG) Auditorium, in New Delhi.

During her speech, Roy had said, “Look, Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. However aggressively and however often you want to ask me that...”.

Her statement had triggered a controversy with protests being taken out by members of the BJP Mahila Morcha. A first information report (FIR) was registered against Roy and Hussain for making ‘provocative speeches’ at the time.

“Not just about Kashmir, Roy has always spoken out against atrocities on tribals in Chhattisgarh and other places. It is scary to see that after 14 years she is being persecuted. Feels like this government is again trying to send civil society a message,” an activist based in Delhi told The Citizen.

On June 14, Lt. Gov. Saxena gave a go-ahead for the case to be taken to the courts under section 196 of CrPC for commission of offences punishable under different sections of the Indian Penal Code: 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).

He also said that Sedition charges were being considered against Roy and Hussain but were not filed given the Supreme Court’s May 2022 order on the validity of the colonial-era law.

“This is nothing but misuse of power,” NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said regarding the LG’s decision.

At the time, Roy had defended her right to free speech. In a response she wrote, “In the papers some have accused me of giving 'hate-speeches', of wanting India to break up. On the contrary, what I say comes from love and pride.”

She further wrote, “It comes from not wanting people to be killed, raped, imprisoned or have their finger-nails pulled out in order to force them to say they are Indians... Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds.”

A case was registered at the Tilak Marg Police station in 2010, after the speech by Sushil Pandit, who is identified as a social activist based in Kashmir. The case was later transferred to Delhi Police Crime Branch for further investigation.

Soon after the LG’s decision however, Pandit, told ‘Times Now’, “Those who sat on these files and decided to act now should explain. There must be an inquiry into why this was delayed, and accountability should follow.”

The decision has left the civil society and lawyers agitated and confused. “It has been such a long time, why now?” a user wrote on X.

The author’s persecution has also garnered international outrage with organisations like P.E.N International, a London based association of writers, taking out a statement in solidarity with Roy and Hussain.

“We condemn the Indian authorities’ latest effort to pursue prosecution against writers Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain over comments made more than 13 years ago. Counter Terrorism legislation must never be used as a tool to criminalise peaceful dissent”, Romana Cacchioli, Executive Director of PEN International said.

Meanwhile, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi termed the decision “extremely ruthless”. He further said that the law "ruined" the lives of thousands of Muslims, Dalit and tribal youth who were held under the UAPA law.

Owaisi posted on X, "The UAPA law is in discussion again today. This is an extremely cruel law due to which thousands of Muslim, Dalit and tribal youth were imprisoned and their lives were ruined… This law led to the death of an 85-year-old Stan Swamy”.

He said he has opposed the law at all stages. "This law was made more stringent by the Congress government in 2008 and 2012. Even then I had opposed it. In 2019, when the BJP again brought stricter provisions/restrictions on this, the Congress supported the BJP. I had opposed this law even then," he said.

Since the decision, Roy and Hussain have not been arrested. However, according to a report by ‘Dainik Jagran’, the Crime Branch has prepared a chargesheet “exceeding a thousand pages against Roy and Hussain”. Quoting an official source, it further said that the chargesheet is supported by “several videos and forensic evidence”.

Many international and national writers and activists have blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using UAPA to curb free speech in India.