A video of actor Swara Bhaskar questioning the Indian judicial system on its delay in giving verdicts on prisoners languishing in several jails without a trial has gone viral on social media platforms.
She, along with other prominent personalities including politicians, activists, legal experts, and artists like Digvijay Singh, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Kunal Kamra, Nargis Saifi, Swara Bhasker, and Justice Madan Lokur attended Curtailed Freedoms: A Travesty of Justice hosted by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Concerned Citizens Delhi at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi.
Bhaskar’s speech went viral on social media when she questioned the Chief Justice of India’s DY Chandrachud about his priorities.
Swara Bhaskar criticized the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for hosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Ganapati puja in his residence, which drew criticism from various sections of society. Bhaskar questioned, “What are you afraid of? You have time to do a puja with PM Modi but don’t have 20 minutes for justice?”
Remembering former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid’s four years of jail without a single trial she said, “I also raised my voice and was one of the protestors during the movement. But I was not jailed? Why? Because coincidentally, I was born into a Hindu family. They must have thought that putting me behind bars would be too much. It was not convenient enough for the authorities.”
Highlighting her privilege of being born as a Hindu to a former naval officer and a professor’s mother Bhaskar stated that their (Umar Khali and others) Muslim identities made them easy targets.
“You can label a Muslim as terrorist, but they must have thought that to tag the daughter of a Hindu ex-Navy officer as a terrorist, ye shayad thoda jyada ho jayega,” she added.
Umar Khalid along with Sharjeel Imam and other activists has been languishing in jail under the draconian anti-terrorist law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA) after the Delhi Riots in 2020.
Slamming the Delhi High Court judge Amit Sharma, who recused himself from hearing the bail pleas Umar Khalid, she questioned what was he afraid of.
“Why are you not capable? You must be well-educated. You’ve been receiving your salary from the taxes that we pay. Then why do you have the right to recuse yourself from your responsibilities? By doing this, are you not betraying the people of India?” she asked.
I am a Hindu and therefore I am here: Kamra
Speaking at the event, standup comedian Kunal Kamra pointed at the irony of his Hindu identification that did not land him in jail.
“I am a Hindu, Therefore I am here in front of you, speaking, if I were a Muslim I would have been in the photo like Umar Khalid and others,” he said.
He further questioned the police system in India. Taking examples from his own life, he said, “If I scheduled to perform in Gujarat, someone on Facebook (governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party), posts they will burn the auditorium. Then I get a call from the auditorium person not to come. I also get a call from the police who says not to perform. But the irony is no one questions the person who posts the inflammatory message on social media. Where is the policing?”
Further giving an example of an event in the United States, Kamra explained how the system works. “If the same thing happens in America or other countries, the person posting the message will be questioned by the police and in some cases will be taken into custody. This is policing,” he said.
“A country is known by its policing, not police,” he concluded his speech.
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