Why Left liberals must let the court decide on Sudha Bharadwaj's innocence
For quite a while in our country, the political discourse has been based merely on emotions and feelings. We have absolutely disregarded truth and facts. Last week has been no different. The house arrest of certain 'urban Maoists', who have been rebranded 'urban Naxals', has sparked a fresh wave of melodramatic outcries.
There is no doubt that dissent is the basic right of citizens in any democratic society, so we have every right to criticise both government and its policies, but we do need to remember that criticism should be limited only to people and their policies.
It should not create any threat to the foundation of a democratic society. Democracy is the basic foundation on which this country has been built and the very idea of Left extremism is against this principle.
Yet, from Left-leaning media houses to politicians, we've seen it all. They've gone around in circles, beating about the bush, dodging questions regarding the hard facts of the matter, ardently arguing that the police are being used to further political motives. All this while, they have exhibited selective amnesia as soon as any questions on the past conduct of the people under house arrest are brought up.
There has been a major drama around the house arrest of lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj, on the grounds of alleged procedural irregularities and her unverified, yet hugely touted, activism record.
However, the fact is also that many of her associates have reportedly in the past been arrested, tried and convicted for crimes such as sedition. It's no wonder that she has herself advocated repealing the law against sedition, perhaps thus helping like-minded people carry on undermining the state.
Since the case is sub-judice, it wouldn't be appropriate to comment on it. However, it's hard to see the arrest of some of her closest aides such as advocate Surendra Gadling just a few months ago in relation to the Bhima Koregaon violence as a mere coincidence.
A YouTube search of Sudha Bharadwaj will throw up over a dozen of her interviews, each targeting the establishment. Most of the claims being made here are debatable. For instance, she apparently claims that there is a seemingly grand conspiracy against people like her, apparent saviours of the poor and downtrodden. This is troubling, but nothing out of the ordinary.
We have seen this happen in the past too. The hypocrisy of the Left is wide open for all of us to see, and it has been like that for a very long time. Unfortunately, state-funded organisations have come out in support of the likes of Bharadwaj this time. The National Law University has issued a statement claiming: "Sudha Bharadwaj is an embodiment of the best in our profession — a fearless critic of governmental lawlessness, an emphatic and empathetic advocate amplifying the voices of those who are rarely heard within the corridors of power, and a beacon for future generations of lawyers in this country. Through her advocacy, her teaching, and her life, Sudha Bharadwaj exemplifies the transformative role of a lawyer in a society like ours. We can only hope to be as brave, insightful and conscientious as her in our work and our daily lives. Citizens like Sudha Bharadwaj are the reason that our democracy lives and thrives...Her extensive contributions to labour law, development, environment, women's rights and access to justice have seen Sudha Bharadwaj being invited to the National Judicial Academy, state judicial academies, and also nominated to the governing body of the Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority. Despite her work on redressal of some of the gravest injustices in our country, she maintains an unwavering commitment to the vision of the Constitution and constantly emphasizes the use of constitutional methods in addressing injustice."
Our view differs. We would like to point out that in our viewpoint, Bharadwaj is definitely not an embodiment of the best in the legal profession. To us, that has been absolutely clear following the way she has allegedly been in an apparently close relationship with people who proudly wear the Maoist tag, people who have rejoiced at the deaths of our soldiers, people who have claimed Kashmir must be allowed to be independent.
Something that was really astonishing to see here though was the final quote about Bharadwaj being committed to constitutional values. It is mind-numbing how a law school of such repute can create such fallacies. This lawyer-activist, who claims to have no mass support or funding, was able to appeal to the Supreme Court with a team of star-studded lawyers against her arrest overnight. No common, ordinary citizen of the country has this much clout around her.
She represents the depths of the Left establishment. Had their hands been as clean as they claim they are, they would actually have nothing to fear. There is a cure to the alleged procedural irregularities, but the people supporting the activists now want to create a shroud of conspiracy to cover up facts that will be revealed after investigations go forward in this case. They'd rather create a smokescreen of fallacies than let the world see the real truth about the 'urban Maoist movement'.
We are all aware that people who are innocent do get acquitted — after trial. If Bharadwaj is innocent, she too will be set free. It is wrong to question the justice delivery mechanism of the country itself.
Instead of criticising the police and other agencies, people should follow the system and wait for the courts to decide.