“We have seen the prison reforms in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, in some other states, apart from that, let me tell you, it makes no difference in this country, whichever government there may be, because their perception is that they (the prisoners) all are culprits.”
At a recent event at the Mumbai Press Club, veteran journalist Neeta Kolhatkar released her book ‘The Feared’, a hard-hitting book with the interviews of political prisoners in India. The author shared the stage with Senior Advocate Aspi Chinoy, Former Justice B.N. Srikrishna and director-playwright Ramu Ramanathan who spoke at the book launch about the issue of political prisoners.
Neeta Kolhatkar talked to Shahnawaz Islam about the book in detail explaining the conditions of jails in India and the cases of political prisoners and what society needs to do about the injustices that exist within it.
Author Neeta Kolhatkar speaking at the book launch of The Feared (picture by Shahnawaz Islam)
Beginning from left: The author Neeta Kolhatkar, Senior Advocate Aspi Chinoy, Justice BN Srikrishna, director-playwright Ramu Ramanatham (picture by Shahnawaz Islam)/
What inspired you to write a book about these prisoners, and what personal experiences or observations influenced your perspective on this topic?
When I started writing these interviews, it was not with the aim of writing a book. Then my friends persuaded me that I am doing such long form work, why don’t I think of writing a book? But the inspiration to write on political prisoners, it was my own self-motivation. I am not somebody who can write fiction, I love fiction. For me as a journalist, fiction is my outlet. But as a journalist, I am so close to the real stories that I wanted something that had journalistic value and I thought of this myself that I would like to write about political prisoners.
Definitely the Bhima Koregaon case has brought into public domain once again the issue of rights of political prisoners, the judicial failure, I am going to say this, where political prisoners are concerned because there is a hypocrisy as we see, people like Pradnya Singh Thakur get bail easily, they go, they contest elections, she becomes a member of the parliament while the rest of the political prisoners are out on bail on severe conditions. Some of them are exiled, some of them are not, they are not allowed to interact with each other, by the way. In some cases like Dr. Binayak Sen, he is out of the public realm, people have forgotten.
So when I thought of this book, I was very clear that I am not going to stick to any particular case, to the root cause why this has happened to this country, then I must assess which was the government that came up with these draconian laws in the first place. So we continue to carry the colonial legacy. The British used these seditious laws, draconian laws against colonized countries, against the subjects of the colonized countries and here we have governments that are doing it to their own citizens. So I wanted to explore that further.
This book would never have reached its conclusion had I not taken in reference which I have mentioned in my preface and in the introduction of Dr. Binayak Sen. That case in modern India is a changing case of what power does to the citizens, to this so-called democracy that we have in India. And as I explore further, I also realize that if Congress has done something to the people of this country, the BJP has taken it to another level since 2018 specifically, specifically from the near to the end of the first term and the beginning of the second term. Take for example these arrests – the government arrested Nawab Malk’s son-in-law and then Nawab Malik. Of course that was the BJP, the BJP did that. The government did that to Sanjay Raut also.
So I then realized this is one aspect that is whichever political ideology and party is in power, they will quash the voices of opponents. So that is why I took the interviews of, I mean incorporated the interview of Nawab Malik’s family, I had already interviewed them and I interviewed Sanjay Raut. By then I had already spoken to Kobad Gandhi and like I said the book would have been incomplete if I had not spoken to Dr. Binayak Sen.
I did not select to speak Varavara Rao is because of the legal challenges, that’s one but more than that I realized his partner, his spouse Hemalatha has been a political prisoner. Now the reason I have spoken to her is because around 19 cases that Varavara Rao has had on him, he has never been convicted in anyone. Hemalatha has two cases only on her and she was convicted during the emergency. So you see I had to incorporate people who were there during the emergency. What were the conditions?
Now we always criticize rightly so, the blot on a democracy being the emergency, but what has happened since 2018, it’s way beyond emergency, it’s worse than that. People across society have been arrested, journalists, so what I realized as I was interviewing and what needs to be in this book is the complete failure of the four pillars of our democracy. Our executive, our bureaucracy which is the police also and the police are unaccountable for what they are doing, what they have done to the political prisoners, the judicial, I mean both of these are colossal failures.
What severe conditions exist? Are they terrorists, these political prisoners? I mean the system, the machinery, the administration, the government is so scared of these people. That is where my change of perception took place – from sympathy, empathy to know these are very powerful, their stories are strong and that is how the message should be conveyed to the public. The judiciary, I am again saying that we don’t hold them responsible which should happen because see the conditional bails that they have been put and forget only the conditional bails, those cases are not coming to a finality, they are not being allowed to reach a closure.
Why? After 10-20 years these cases continue, they want people to die so that their names are not cleared, this is ridiculous, this is not democracy. Important also is the failure of the media, the fourth pillar which is an important and crucial pillar of our democracy. The systematic police leaks that are dominating the mainstream media and the perception that is in the eyes of the public of these people and that is why, who are they? Why is the system, why is the government scared of these people? And more importantly are two factors which I wanted people to know is the conditions of the prisons. This book highlights conditions during the emergency and post-emergency and I am very sorry to say the conditions of the prisons have just deteriorated.
We need prison reforms and this is what my book is trying to say and lastly and not the least mental health, mental health of prisoners, mental health intervention, health intervention in prisons and the mental health of the families that are of these political prisoners. The immense, you know how they are mentally scarred, emotionally scarred, this is what I wanted people to know.
Can you describe your research process? How did you gather information and stories from political prisoners, and what challenges did you face in doing so?
So, for my research, firstly, I read up a lot. I read up on, firstly, say, let’s start with the laws, who implemented these laws and which tenure was it. I also looked for the speeches of various political, during the dispensations. The turning point for UPA government and the laws of this country were during the Congress-led UPA government in 2008. It’s there in my book that Dr. Manmohan Singh, as the Prime Minister, addressed all the Chief Ministers and when he said that the greatest threat to internal security of this country are the urban naxals. I think this is really the turning point of history in our country. And we need to pinpoint and bring it out that Congress played a crucial role in the situation and the deterioration of faith and trust in its citizens. Then, of course, research of going through these cases, a lot of cases since the BJP government. So, Freedom of Press Index, arrests of journalists (are moot issues to be looked at).
We didn’t see that happening earlier, which has happened now. Arrests of various people who are across civil society, education, journalism, in various fields. And then, when I started interviewing, I used to read up about these people, obviously the cases, because I made it very clear to everybody. Since I am a journalist for over 35 years, my entire life I’ve covered courts. So, I know what sub-judice is and the cases that are still going on in courts and what you can speak and you cannot. My point was never to speak about the legalities because, unfortunately, a lot has been said and whether rightly or not. So, I decided (to talk about) who are these people, the real people behind the personas that have been put out in the public domain. What is the journey? The journey in and out of prison.
I also called on the family members. Some of them are still inside, (so) I’ve called on to the family members. I’ve spoken to their friends. I have spoken to their friend circles. So, they would give me tidbits. They would give me some information. I would go and then, you know, when I interviewed and what I have done is I didn’t use these interviews as if I am holding them responsible. No. I really think it’s like I was more like a patient listener.
What I did was I gave them a patient hearing. I listened to their stories. I spoke of them as human beings, as people, the immense work that they have done. How vital that hard work of theirs has been that made them the work that they have done with the poor, with the demarginalized. That all of them have a grassroots connect is something that I realized. And that is also what has helped them to survive in jail and be empathetic to those who are as a privilege inside prisons. And so this, while I spoke also, I was making notes, apart from recording, obviously, which helped me. I think the fact that, you know, and I ended up being always one of the first few to interview them.
Like I said, since it was subjudice, nobody had gone and approached Sudha for a long interview, which I did. So I would sit with them. I would tell them what I plan to ask them, which is a broad framework and nothing about their case. I took them into confidence. It was over a period of hours, sometimes days. And they bestowed that trust and faith in me. And I didn’t let them down, which is, I think, very important.
Your book likely includes personal narratives. Can you share a particularly impactful story or testimony that you encountered during your research?
Every interview has had an impact for me, but what really has impacted me, I mean, of course, the first is close to heart, which is Sudha Bharadvaj. I mean, stellar, stellar lawyer, trade unionist, worker, no doubt.
But if I have to speak of an impactful testimony or story I encountered, Dr. Binayak Singh, I have seen him for years. I know him, I have spoken to his children, I know his daughters, I knew his wife and his story makes a lot of difference. How he has become frail today, mentally, emotionally, physically, how the kind of hardships the family has gone through. And I think, you know, here is a doctor, a pediatrician, and only because he did not cooperate with the state, with the government, what they have done to him and his family. This story is very, very close to my heart. And that they have deliberately obliterated him and his story from the public domain. Political prisoners and his case made headlines globally. And remember, this was during the Congress time, and I have no favorites where governments are concerned and political parties or politicians are concerned. But I want to put this out, how we have reached this situation today in India. And you have to call out the governments that have contributed to this. There is no doubt that Congress has to take ownership of this. And his story, he still has no bitterness. He is still so inspiring. And I think this story is really, really close to my heart.
Does the political climate affects the treatment of political prisoners?
Nothing affects the treatment of political prisoners. I think Congress has not made any distinction between political prisoners, other prisoners, under trials, and criminals. Every dispensation continues to treat their favourites favourably compared to anyone else, which also includes political prisoners that they have differently. There are judicial and prison reforms, for example the prison reforms in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, in some other states. But apart from that, let me tell you, it makes no difference in this country, which government there may be, because their perception is that they all are culprits. What, however, I have noticed as a change from the conversations is definitely not the treatment of the political prisoners, but the jails and prisons personally. So what I have got from everybody for something as simple as books, okay, so you see a little bit of saffronisation taking place, and the focus shifting to, like in Maharashtra, more Marathi books compared to any other language. So again, it is basically to deprive the prisoners and here it is mainly political prisoners of their basic rights. So this is what I am seeing more in the current government of disallowing English and other languages, books, they have more of Savarkar books and Marathi.
So does the political climate affect political prisoners?? I would say politics affects. This book pinpoints and tells how, whether any ideological bent of mind of the powers are. For example, since independence, we had Congress ruling us.
And we’ve seen draconian laws that the Congress has, in fact, enacted against its own citizens. It is really sad that the legacy, the British legacy Congress followed, British brought (0:44) in sedition against the subjects who they colonized. And see how democratic India has been since 1947, with every government, because BJP had the opportunity to undo what the Congress did, but they didn’t.
Congress has a lot of blood on its hands. But we are pinning the blame on the BJP. Congress brought severe draconian laws against its own citizens that have elected it to power. Breach of constitution, breach of the same faith and apostles of democracy. So, the only difference and the BJP has gone many, many, many leagues further and extended it to such a level, as we’ve seen since 2018 specifically, every person that speaks up against their government, against their leaders, against their actions, you will be silenced.
The freedom index for the media we see (today) – we are amongst the lowest today, but it’s a journey, it’s a process that we are seeing that has come to this stage. When the UAPA was amended, when PMLA was amended, when FARA became FEMA, who brought in these laws? Why is Congress being whitewashed for what they have done? To give a free hand to the judiciary. We are seeing that in both the times and I’m sorry, judiciary, the whole judicial system today, excuse me, they really owe a huge apology to the people of this country.
What are the options for justice? Where do the poor, unlettered, where do the unempowered go to if they see these examples of such highly educated people, people who are working and serving for the people of this country, when they are not spared? When journalists are not spared and they are arrested, what do the others do? Where do they go? They don’t get bail. And when they see, contrary, that you have the underworld, you have the many accused who belong to the Hindu extreme rightist factions who get bail, they contest. Obviously, the politicians, the political powers are giving a very strong message, fall in line.
And this is (happening) in a democracy.
In your opinion, how aware is the general public about the plight of political prisoners? What do you think can be done to raise awareness and foster empathy for their situations?
The people, the general public, are aware that jails are terrible, pathetic. Once you go in, you will die. So, they are very much aware of it.
They are aware of the people who have been fighting for them and the way they have suffered. It is the educated, actually the middle class that needs to be more aware of this. The poor are the ones who know exactly what is happening because just let me tell you that often the poor go inside for no fault of theirs. It is an unlettered person, it is somebody who doesn’t have the wherewithal and it’s easy to put them inside, you see. And they know that the political prisoners have been fighting for them, what their plight is. They know who Father Stan Swamy was and he was killed by the system. So, there, the raising of awareness is not for the poor. I am going to correct you in this. And this is my reply which you will not edit.
The task is to raise awareness and foster empathy in the educated middle class who think that you may be wrong, you are guilty and that is why you have gone to prison. The empathy and the awareness should be within people who are editors, news anchors and those who are in the media. That kind of empathy and awareness you need amongst the judicial system.
You need them amongst the politicians, not amongst the poor. Please, absolutely not. That’s a very lopsided way of looking at it.
What role do you believe the media plays (or declines to play) in highlighting the issues faced by political prisoners? How can journalists better cover these stories?
Media plays a very crucial role. Like I said, we are the fourth pillar of this democracy. And the examples I’m going to give, Dr. Binayak Sen, he has deliberately been put out of public domain, out of public memory.
We cannot blame the public for not remembering and we say that their memory is short. But have we done as media to remind them, to put it out to them? The one good thing, like I said, happened with the BK16 case is that there was constant (pressure from the media, constantly things were being written about the political prisoners, those arrested, Father Stan Swamy got killed. So, yes, this is the kind of follow-up which has not happened with the other cases till now.
So you have, see Muralidharan, after so many years, he still has to come for just five minutes, once in three months from Kerala, overnight journey, two way. Come here, stay over one night, get up in the morning, come to Kala Chowki ATS, just sign for five minutes, he has to do this. They have not quashed the case, they have not cleared Dr. Binayak Sen of his charges, though he’s on bail.
And why? Because he didn’t cooperate with the state. So would they either clear him or whatever it is, come to a decision? No.
So it is our role as media that we remind the people, we bring back to them what has happened. And there’s so many others who are languishing in jail. What about the poor who cannot afford even simple bail? They don’t even know of their cases.
The public prosecutor couldn’t care less. All these public prosecutors hold them responsible. It’s the public money that they (public prosecutors) are getting, the public tax that they are paid.
What are they (public prosecutors) doing? Why are people languishing in jail for so long? Why is it that people can’t afford even 5000 rupees bail and they continue to stay in the prisons or they’re forcibly kept in the prisons. So the media needs to play a role, not once in a while that you have some attack that takes place or once in a while that someone will speak of the conditions of the jail. No.
We need accountability. We need judicial reforms. We need accountability.
We need prison reforms. We need accountability from the government. We need to have more such stories.
What impact do you hope your book will have on readers, policymakers, and the broader conversation about human rights and political freedom?
I do hope, I don’t have expectations, I do hope that these stories of political prisoners help shape people’s ideas of what democracy is, what freedom is, what justice is. society that is not inclusive, then is it really what it claims to be? And can we be called as a progressive state? What we learn and what we see, what we experience, there are such huge disparities. Apart from the school books, because whichever government be it and whoever are these people who write our curriculums and our lessons and history lessons and civic lessons see the world outside, see the society outside, experience, try and be close to what some reality is and don’t blindly believe what is forwarded on WhatsApp and social media see the real picture try and get it this is what I was told that this is what journalism is my book is journalism I have followed up I have I mean followed up with cases.
I have investigated through research and through the traditional way of interviewing. What we’ve got is the truth because they are the ones who are telling us they have experienced and they have suffered. And there is hope because and I wish people people read such books, mine and such books and such stories of such people because nowhere they speak of revenge. They are not embittered. They continue to do what they believe in. They are helping people inside the prison. When they come out, they are still helping. They are so inspiring and I think that is what we have to see.
And that is what we’ve been told I mean I don’t know about the others but from my grandfather onwards it was told to us in our family you are empowered, you are privileged you are in a position to make a difference in someone else’s life and you must and don’t expect returns if those who have been helped carry forward and help others, good, it’s their lookout. You have done your bit because you are in a position to do it. So I do hope that especially the educated don’t put their heads down, don’t see it like what is happening to others is not of my concern.
No, it is. It is. We are a society. We are a part of this ecology. We are a part of this planet. So to say think global and act local. I’m not expecting somebody to become an activist. No, I’m not. I’m not even saying that. But and a more empathetic person and see through the conspiracies and deliberate you know government plans. I think it is important. you know government plans. I think it is important. I think that would make a difference and I think that is a hope.
How do the experiences of political prisoners differ across various cultures and political systems? Are there common threads that unite their experiences?
You attended the book launch. So for the question that, you know, what is the common thread that binds people across various cultures and countries who are political prisoners. Ramu Ramnath spoke of Dostoevsky and what he (Dostoevsky) went through. I mean, I am not flattering myself. It’s not. I’m not going to flatter myself by putting myself in that league. But comparisons, he spoke of the prisons in that time. See, if you see in my book, that is why I spoke when I conceptualize this book, I deliberately conceptualized it on the lines that what happened during the emergency.
So you have P. Hemalata, you have Muralidharan, you have people who have been to prisons during the emergency. There was MISA, even then there was, you know, there were laws that made one feel there was sedition and there was MISA.
You now have UAPA, you have anti-terror laws. Look at what happened in Latin America. Look at what happened during in Spain. Look what happened in Italy. Look what happened in Germany. You don’t, I mean not just Hitler, Mussolini, all the autocratic rules. Here we say it’s democratic authoritarian government.
Each has been authoritarian.
Each has safeguarded their power by coming up, by drafting laws and gagging and silencing people.
So, power is what binds everybody. Everyone wants this power.
And once you’re in the government, once you are a king, once you are a leader, you want to keep it at any cost. And I think the best person who has described this was Karl Marx. So at any cost and I think the best person who has described this was Karl Marx. So that’s what he said and I think the way they make their systems, the way they make their laws, the way they allow the systems to function and keep the unaccountability whether it is a democracy, whether it is a monarchy, the unaccountability is what binds everybody together. They want power, they want to retain that power at any cost and then they don’t want any opposition. So it’s all very nice to say we are inclusive, we are da da da da da, but it’s not happening.
And a country cannot grow if you’re not inclusive.
You’re not plural.
And a country cannot progress if you have such a wide gap between those who are empowered and those who don’t have the basic means and two square meals. And that is what we are seeing.We cannot keep stating that we are a poor country, third world country and at the same time, we are a trillion dollar economy.
These disparities in the world are increasing.
And that’s what we see in the modern times, okay, also, where to refugees, the refugees are seen as a menace. They are fleeing for life and they are being threatened of imprisonment. They also are political prisoners eventually because they are refugees, migrants, when they are arrested or they are pushed out, they are forced out. There is so much in the modern context also that is happening across cultures, across countries. We have to relate this and see it in different new perspectives, which is very important.
Given the current political landscape, what do you foresee for the future of political prisoners? Are there any emerging trends that concern you?
And I also hope with this, you know, what I’ve said, the impact that they realize the kind of work others are doing. Somewhere they stop judging those who are different, those who stand up for the poor, who stand up against the state. They should not be judged. Don’t think that people who go to jail are guilty. So I think I hope this book helps to clarify so many things that people and most important how draconian laws are and what it does to those who are upholding the fundamentals of the Indian Constitution and the democracy. I think that is very important.
And how each pillar of our democracy has failed its people. And I think that’s very important because if people are educated, they read, if they read this book, it even makes them realize that don’t judge people before anything has happened, how the judiciary is dragging cases and the hypocrisy that exists in our society and in our country that while you know you have the means, you have the clout, you get bail and you get and you are connected, you are out there while those who still continue despite these cases on them, they still their commitment is for the welfare of the people. I think that is important and that is a value we need to take back with us.
How has writing this book changed your own views on freedom, justice, and the role of individuals in advocating for human rights?
Freedom, justice and the role of individuals advocating for human rights are what I believe in. I strongly believe in them. I believe in justice. I believe in the fact that, like I said, a country has to be and a society has to be inclusive. I am fiercely independent, and I revere freedom and justice. Having said that, since I believe in it – I as a journalist. I mean before as a journalist, when everybody around me was leaving India wanting to go abroad and study. I stayed back. I chose to stay back in India. And once I chose to stay back, my professor who pulled me out of Elphinston (college) and wanted me to go into Xaviers and I gave the interview when I got in, he wanted me to be a part of the system, give the UPSC exam so that I (could) make a difference. I would have been a misfit. And I always had been wanting to be a journalist, because my father was a photographer and I was already taking pictures, my photos were published. I saw art, I saw media as a way of communicating what I believed in, what impacted me most at that time, when I had already started working then with the leading newspaper were the riots in Mumbai after the that was the erstwhile Bombay, after the demolition of Babri Masjid, the riots really affected me When I saw millions of Indians living in Bombay completely shocked, lost, scared, feared, rushing to the railway stations, fleeing for their lives, and you had deliberate planned pogroms taking place across the city. I refuse to i – I filled the forms for the UPSC exams, but I refuse to sit for that.
And I said, I have chosen to stay back in this country. Then I need to know the issues of this country. And I always saw journalism as a means to make an impact on society. So I sat for the entrance exams of masters in social work. I got into one college. I completed it, and I always and always knew that I will be in the media and I will always uphold the human rights and fight for justice. This was because, at that time, journalism in Maharashtra especially, was seen as the media was the real fourth pillar of this democracy where, through media, you inform the people of what is going on, and it makes a difference. People have written to me after reading the stories. People have written letters. But people have also followed up after even 10 years, asking me, thanking me that I have done something.
People having this (reaction) – (this) is what journalism is. So the book is an extension of what I am and what I believe in. So when I did these interviews, the first interview, of course, was of Sudha. And like I said, I went, I went about planning this book, and after I wrote it and put it together, is when I scouted for publishers. So this book is me. This book is what I believe in. This book is what I breathe, and this is why I wanted it out under any circumstances, because what I believe in, what I see, what I feel, is this book, and I completely get what they also believe in in the time that I completed my Masters in Social Work, there was again a time that, I mean, of course, I worked as a media advocate in an organization where five of us were the founder members, the five women. In fact, it was called Samarthan.
Media has played such a significant role we we read newspapers. It was mandatory for us to read newspapers when we grew up, to improve your handwriting, improve your English, we had to write 100 lines every day, be better informed. You must know general knowledge. I think this was mandatory in our house. I am not saying that that is what it happens, but to be educated is a privilege, and that is what I understood, and that is how I realized that we can make a difference. I will continue with this in the next.
So I like believe in it. I also know that freedom is kind of a carrot that is flashed in front of us. I mean, what we’ve been taught in our schools and in civic classes, uphold the Indian constitution. Be proud of it. We have so many rights. We have fundamental rights. We have the freedom of speech writing, and at the same time, we are so intolerant a country and society where, I mean, we are intolerant families don’t appreciate anyone one minute.
I mean we don’t let anyone rebel and that is extended to our society. What I have seen as a culture in this country since the time of every riot, every skirmish that takes place, every major conflict in this country is keep your head down, don’t interfere till it affects you this is the middle class grooming and this is the middle class culture that people have been brought up in if you talk too much firstly if you talk you will not be successful mind your own business so I want to know: what do you mean “what is mind your own business”? What is “your business”? When we are told that as a society we have to be sharing but we only will interact and share what is good and what is not.
So someone is dying and you will turn your face away, you will turn your cheek away. This country is born out of conflict. This country is born out of 100 years of being a colony and we over a 100 years not 100 specific and we fought for that freedom. We have rebelled in nonviolent ways. The methods can be different but they were also violent means and I am not saying that that is wrong and what is right I am saying whichever the means are. The foundation of this country has been born out of freedom, out of the urge to get freedom, out of human rights, out of justice and that is why India is what India is. prior to 1947. We were a country, we were a land because at that time there was even Pakistan which was not created as Pakistan.
There was, there were, we were a subcontinent with people who were being subjugated, who were being terrorized. It was a tyranny. There’s no doubt. The country was looted, plundered, there were kingdoms, different kingdoms of different religions and that is how this country has been formed. This country has been formed on the basis of rebellion, on the basis of dissent and these are the principles that we are forgetting and telling people to forget it. Mundi niche daalke chalo. Keep your head down, don’t bother. How? How can this country progress like this? Why is it that we have come to this stage that we are scared? What is this fear that is being drilled into people? And I strongly believe, be fearless. Don’t of course have skeletons in your closet. It’s easier said than done. But be straight in the terms of, I’m not bribe-able. I don’t want, that is what my parents have brought me up.
And you’re on this path, there is no return on this path. Whatever comes on this path, you have to face, good, bad, whatever the consequences are and if I believe in these things I am going to uphold them because like I said I believe in these things I am going to uphold them because like I said I believe in it.
How do you think these stories of political prisoners can shape future generations’ understanding of democracy and human rights?
First and foremost, I hope people read and become aware and they become aware that there are such situations in this country where families of political prisoners are on the edge 24 by 7. Murali Dharan and I were followed from Vashi, then he came to Semenyam BT to meet me and we were followed. Next to the cubicle where we were sitting in the cafe, it’s not a cubicle actually – it was just one partition so that people get to have their coffee and have conversation. Next to us, a lady was sitting trying to hear us. Thankfully, we went to another cafe which had an open air section and she would have been identified, so she didn’t sit there. People need to know firstly that it’s not because you’re guilty and that is why you are in prison. Any one of us can go and only because you speak, you will go in. Speak! Stand up! Believe in something!
Don’t be under fear all the time because if you have a mass country of human beings, of citizens who are educated, the educated are the ones who fear more. Don’t fear. Be informed, not from WhatsApp. I hope this book helps people to realize what work these people have been doing all their lives, how they’ve empowered the poor, how they’ve gone into the interiors, left cushioned jobs, cushy jobs, left the lure of profits and they’ve gone and they have dedicated themselves to public welfare.
Anything you would like to add.
I do think, I want to make one thing, one distinction here that these are people who these political prisoners have gone to the real people and made a difference they have not unlike you know say one self-proclaimed activist postured by certain political parties who was supposed to be the face against corruption his name is Anna Hazare they are not like that they really have gone into the real people into people who are completely unempowered, poor made a difference quietly but because the administration because the governments have feared their influence okay, their influence and that is why they are facing the consequences but just imagine how empowered and how powerful these people are that all the governments fear their power to influence and their work. Even today if you see what is happening in this country, in the poor remote areas of this country, there still isn’t power, there still isn’t drinking water. Families in Vidarbha, in the remote areas of Buldhana, Akola, are paying 75 per family for a week of tanker water. It should shame every government that after so many years, they still have failed their real people. they still have failed their real people. So I think that is very important.
I just want to say that the difference that we want to see will happen only when people and that is the educated realize that there is any injustice and we need to correct it, then only it can happen. Not that oh we know there is something wrong happening and leave it as if the universe – you know these affirmations/assertions and all — that the universe is going to take care of it all by itself. No. It’s us as society that needs to correct things. Otherwise, it’s not going to happen.
Shahnawaz Islam, a freelance journalist, has worked for Times Journal of Construction and Design, Fluid Power, and Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
