Following his release from Tihar jail on June 17, student-activist Asif Iqbal Tanha in an interview with TCN recalls his experience in prison, where he spent 13 months.
Shadab Farooq | TwoCircles.net
NEW DELHI – Asif Iqbal Tanha, 25, a BA final-year Persian studies student at Jamia Millia Islamia, along with student activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita of Pinjra Tod, were released on June 17 from Tihar jail, two days after Delhi High Court granted them bail in the case related to Delhi riots conspiracy.
The three were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Law (UAPA), a law that has widely been condemned as ‘repressive’ in India.
On June 17, people gathered outside Tihar jail to welcome Asif. Talking to TwoCircles.net on his release, Tanha, who hails from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, said “This is a very wonderful feeling.”
“Because of the charges levelled against me, I assumed I would not be released early. But justice was served, and the Delhi High Court order offers us a lot of hope and strength, as it restores our faith in the Indian courts standing up for the people’s right to free speech and democratic dissent,” he said.
Asif said that he has been involved in politics since he was a teenager and joined the Students Islamic Organization of India (SIO), the student arm of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind when he was 15 years old.
Jailed for dissent for 13 months
On May 16, 2020, Asif Iqbal Tanha was summoned by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, which was investigating the Jamia violence, and his arrest was registered on May 17 following a night-long investigation.
Asif was imprisoned for 13 months. “It was like travelling from one space to another, a whole new planet,” Asif recalled of his time in prison. “However, after a month, I realized that I needed to keep working, even if it was in a different place. We were in a law-making and constitutional-rights-saving discourse before I went to jail, and I continued that dialogue once I got there,” he said.
“One has plenty of time to read in jail. In a single day, one can read several pages, pass the readings, and begin a discussion. It was difficult at first because the majority of the people in jail are lawbreakers. But it eases gradually, and everyone was reading, writing, and painting. Inmates began debating issues and reading the constitution. Some even started to compose poetry. I can confidently state that my time in prison was not wasted, but rather was productive enough to sow the principles of a democratic nation,” Tanha said.
Tanha was a key decision-maker in the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) regarding the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He travelled across the country, giving speeches and motivating people against the CAA and NRC.
Before his arrest, Tanha was also involved in humanitarian efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Highlighting his dissatisfaction with prison conditions, Tanha said, “Nobody is talking about vaccinating the inmates inside the jail, and the situation is dangerous. I can confidently state that no one has been vaccinated inside the prison yet. In Tihar Jail, one barrack houses approximately sixty to ninety inmates. If the situation remains the same, the lives of those in prison are at huge risk.”
In the bail process, following a preliminary examination of the charge sheet, a High Court bench comprised of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani concluded that the allegations do not prima facie constitute the claimed UAPA terrorist acts (Sections 15,17 and 18).
“Since we are of the view that no offence under sections 15, 17 or 18 UAPA is made out against the appellant on a prima facie appreciation of the subject charge-sheet and the material collected and cited by the prosecution, the additional limitations and restrictions for grant of bail under section 43D UAPA do not apply; and the court may therefore fall back upon the usual and ordinary considerations for bail under the Cr.P.C.”
Many prominent Indian media outlets falsely claimed that Asif Iqbal Tanha admitted to orchestrating the Delhi carnage and participating in the Jamia violence. On the media trials, Tanha commented, “In today’s India, free and sensible media is a misnomer. The media has lost its conscience. I remember that every night before sleeping I used to stare at the wall where I used to sleep. The wall had newspaper cuttings glued to it, of mostly Hindi newspapers with headlines targeting a certain community. I used to stare at the cuttings for long, only to recollect what I am here for.”
Tanha points out that India is a democracy and “no single marginalized religion should be discriminated against.”
“Muslim protestors, like other demonstrations, demand rights and liberties. The only problem is that our protest is ignored since the government never listens and continues to showcase its Islamophobia by disregarding us and our demands,” Tanha said.
Tanha wants to continue on the path that he has chosen for himself. “The fight for freedom will continue. Our only sorrow is that we were unable to take the movement forward and that it was brutally suppressed due to Covid-19. However, the movement lives on in the hearts of every Muslim, and we will continue to struggle for our rights and freedom.”