Elgaar Parishad probe: Arundhati Roy compares activists’ arrests with Emergency

Miffed and concerned with the recent arrests of activists from multiple cities, renowned author Arundhati Roy compared the current situation with the declaration of an Emergency. The Pulitzer Prize winner while condemning the arrests pointed out that the act is ‘absolutely perilous’.

In the raid conducted by the Maharashtra Police on Tuesday, houses of nine activists were raided and five of them were detained. The arrested people include — Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, activists Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves. They were arrested for their alleged connection with the violence at Koregaon Bhima in Maharashtra on January 1, when Dalits had clashed with upper-caste Marathas. The police have arrested them after conducting raids in Delhi, Faridabad, Goa, Mumbai, Ranchi and Hyderabad.

Sharing her opinion on the latest arrests, ‘The God of Small Things’ author said, as quoted by the NDTV, “That the raids are taking place on the homes of lawyers, poets, writers, Dalit rights activists and intellectuals – instead of on those who make up lynch mobs and murder people in broad daylight tells us very clearly where India is headed. Murderers will be honoured and celebrated. Anybody who speaks up for justice or against Hindu majoritarianism is being made into a criminal.”

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Comparing the situation with ‘Declaration of Emergency”, she noted, as the website quotes, “It is in preparation for the coming elections. We cannot allow this to happen. We have to all come together. Otherwise we will lose every freedom that we cherish. It is as close to a declaration of an Emergency as we are going to get.”

This is to be known CJI Dipak Misra has agreed to listen to the petition filed by eminent historian Romila Thapar, on behalf of the activists arrested, at 3:45 pm today. Also, the National Human Rights Commission has issued a suo moto cognizance on Wednesday. Observing that the police have not been satisfactorily explained the offence, they were arrested for, the Delhi High Court has stayed the transit remand approved Chief Judicial Magistrate of Faridabad.

More updates to be followed up soon.

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