Just a week ago this country celebrated 70 years of Independence and the glory of getting freedom from the British, but since ages, many have been denied freedom in this country. The Indian society, for long, has imprisoned many sections like Adivasis, Dalits, Minorities (including sexual/national/linguistic) and women in its casteist, Brahminical and patriarchal jails. The society along with its various institutions has been denying the people their freedom in order to maintain and preserve the caste, class, false pride and honour. It has perpetually trampled people’s freedom and denied them their choices like it was done in the case of Hadiya. Today, Hadiya is under house arrest for daring to make her own choice, choice of whom to stay with and choice of which religion to practice. Today, her liberty is curtailed for choosing and practicing the faith which she believes in and for breaking the shackles of patriarchy.
A country which claims to be free and democratic and claims that it works according to the Constitution must allow its citizens to take their decisions. Hadiya as a citizen of this country must be given the right to choose her life-partner and the right to decide the faith that she wants to practice.
The thuggish right wing elements are spreading the false and xenophobic propaganda that Hadiya was brainwashed by Shafin Jahan and others to accept Islam and subsequently marry Shafin Jahan. But Hadiya has strongly denied this and assertively claimed that it’s her own conscience that made her accept Islam and much later accept the marriage proposal by Shafin Jahan. The false xenophobic propaganda of ‘love jihad’ was hyped by Indian media without the sensitive and responsible approach that the profession calls for.
As a result of such campaigns, we now see the Brahminical judiciary in the form of judgement of Kerala High court which rejected the conscious decision-making right of a 24 year old independent citizen, Hadiya; it has denied her freedom to make her own choices, including the choice of leaving the Brahminical tenets that make women vulnerable and subject them to be dependent on men all the time. It rejected Hadiya to be free from the clutches of Manusmriti and exercise her freedom. After Kerala High Court, the Supreme Court directed NIA to probe into a matter regarding conversion. It shows the state-judiciary alliance to strengthen and propagate the fabricated lie of Love-Jihad in Hadiya’s case.
It is highly unfortunate that judiciary, being one of the important pillars of Indian democracy has failed to uphold the basic rights and choices of a free citizen. At the same time, Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA) strongly condemns the role of the whole Media machinery for showing grave insensitivity and biases towards Hadiya. We also condemn in strong words the spineless silence of the “progressive” government of Kerala.
Friends, in this time of Brahminical suppression, all of us need to speak up and fight back. The pressing need of the hour is to stand up to the dictates of the Brahminical state and fight it face to face. At this trying hour, we appeal everyone who believes in liberty, equality, and fraternity to stand in firm solidarity with Hadiya in her fight for justice and the right to exercise her basic freedom.
(This is the parcha of BAPSA-JNU)
