By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The speakers that included veteran journalists and intellectuals at a program in Jamia Millia Islamia today supported in unison Vice Chancellor Prof. Mushirul Hasan for his decision to provide legal aid to the Jamia students arrested in connection of the Delhi serial blasts.
They said the VC’s decision is well within the parameter of the Indian Constitution and so it is absurd to say he is assisting terrorists. The Jamia students – Md. Shakeel and Ziaur Rahman – arrested on September 20, a day after the Batla House encounter, are just accused and so are entitled for the legal assistance. If Jamia does not help them, the government will have to provide the legal aid as it is the right of the accused, they argued.
While supporting the decision of VC Mushirul Hasan, Justice Rajinder Sachar, former chief justice of Delhi High Court, condemned the vilification of Jamia Millia Islamia just because a couple of its students have been picked up in Delhi bombing connection.
Justice Sachar said terrorism should not be attached with religion as it has nothing to do with religion and so Muslims need not say they are against terrorism after each and every bombing. He further said India will be incomplete without Muslims.
Veteran journalist Vinod Mehta, Editor, Outlook Group, said he was attending the program to show his solidarity with Jamia Millia, its VC Prof. Mushirul Hasan, and the silent majority of the country which is against violence and discrimination. He also supported the VC for extending legal aid to the accused students, saying it is minimum constitutional requirement.
Social activist Swami Agnivesh said terrorism should not be attached with religion and if media is maligning a particular community or religion, it should be confronted. He congratulated VC for being the spokesperson of the community in the wake of the developments after Delhi serial bombings.
Noted columnist Praful Bidwai blasted the practice of encounter saying it is unconstitutional and so unacceptable. He further said even terrorists should not be killed in encounter as encounter is against the ethos of a civil society. He opposed the institutionalization of non-judicial execution.
He rejected POTA and TADA terming them as draconian laws. In TADA 60,000 cases were registered, out of which only 550 cases resulted in convictions, not even 10% of the total cases.
He condemned the presentation of Delhi bomb accused in Arab headgear. This was to show that what is happening in India is part of global Islamist jihad, he said.
The symposium on “Restoring Confidence in the Jamia Neighbourhood” was held under under the Outreach Programme of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Referring to the topic senior journalist Seema Mustafa said the very topic suggests that this locality has lost its confidence in the administration and government, so the government has no right to continue.
Expressing her surprise at the extraordinary speed and rate of success in nabbing ‘culprits’ for bombings, she said the same police is unable to crack Arushi murder case in months and the recent TV journalist murder case, but drums its 100% success in arresting masterminds of serial blasts and their network within hours or days.
She was sad on the fact that media is not objecting the police version in such cases.
Presiding over the program Shafi Qureshi, Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, said that to doubt Muslims’ loyalty and patriotism will be a disaster for the country.
“Muslims need not give certificate of their loyalty and patriotism” he said adding they are the true citizens of this country. “To offer Namaz, we do ablution with water from Ganga or Jamuna and sometimes we take soil from the land of this country and rub on our faces and become clean enough to offer Namaz,” he said and asked why Muslims should give certificate of loyalty.
He warned that the atmosphere of fear and hatred against minorities will destroy the country.