zahira shaikh victim of justice
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Economic and Political Weekly March 18, 2006934
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Letters
(Continued on p 1140)
Zahira Shaikh: Victim of Justice
While we, the members of
womens groups andconcerned citizens in India,
welcome the Supreme Courtsinterventions in matters relating to thecarnage in Gujarat, we are dismayed atits stringent verdict on March 8, 2006that pronounced one-year imprisonmentto Zahira Shaikh for having committedcontempt of court. Zahira is notaroutine hostile witness; she is primarilyan injured witness, who has been used asa pawn in the unfolding drama of statepolitics. While the court has punished
Zahira, it has not passed similarstringent orders against politicians likeMadhu Srivastava, who intimidatedZahira to change her testimony eventhough the fact has been brought onrecord. We are dismayed that thosewho systematically planned andimplemented heinous crimes have gonescot-free because the law enforcementsystem failed to implicate them withenough evidence. In the end, it is thevulnerable victim who has had to beara criminal sentence.
Zahira may not have been perceivedto be a good victim by many, but thisdoes not mean that she should go to jailsince she could not bear the multipleburdens of courage and truth placedsolely upon her against impossible odds.Nor does her perjury erase the factthat she has survived unspeakableviolence. Even though Zahira hasrepeatedly changed her statements, andtherefore the court has felt aggrieved, wemust remember that she is a survivorfirst and foremost and her hostility tothe prosecution is a product of
surviving in a highly hostile andinsecure environment. The interests ofsociety lie in both upholding thedignity of the judiciary as well asproviding substantive justice forsurvivors, such as Zahira. It is in thelarger interest of society that we shouldensure that the instigators of suchterrible violence are punished in futureand the fate of Zahira is not repeated.In the interests of substantive justice, webelieve that the Supreme Court shouldtake action against Madhu Srivastavaand the political powers responsible for
the violence in Gujarat in 2002, and
that this intent be made public.SAHELI, SAMA, NIRANTAR,
UMA CHAKRAVARTI, FARAH NAQVIPRATIKSHA BAXI, AND 10 OTHERINDIVIDUALS
New Delhi
Gokhale Institute ofPolitics and Economics
We the undersigned are concernedabout the disturbing events thathave been taking place at the Gokhale
Institute of Politics and Economics,Pune. The present crisis has seriousadverse repercussions for the institutesreputation and future. The long-termimplication for the students is ofparticular concern. The institute is aprecious national asset, a heritageinstitution of a unique kind, and itsreputation is a serious matter forthe entire academic community.We believe that these problems needto be probed and resolved by anindependent body.
In the last few years, the GokhaleInstitute of Politics and Economicsmade news for good reasons. In 1993,the government of India declared theinstitute a deemed university. In 2003,the National Assessments andAccreditation Council team visited theinstitute and awarded it A+ status, anendorsement of its commitment toraising the quality of its teaching andresearch. Since March 2004, underthe directorship of Ajit Sinha, theinstitute made rapid strides again.Its infrastructure improved dramatically,
course offerings went through majorinnovative changes, and it organisedseveral high profile international andnational conferences. 2005 was thePlatinum Jubilee year of the institute.In February 2005, the president ofIndia visited the institute as the chiefguest at its convocation.
In September 2005, when Ajit Sinhawent as a visiting scholar to theCollege de France, the joint director ofthe institute, Tirthankar Roy, assumed
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Economic and Political Weekly Maqrch 18, 2006 935
(Continued from p 934)
Letters
Economic and Political Weekly March 18, 20061140
the duties of the director, followingrules laid down in the memorandum ofassociation of the institute.
Between October 2005 and January2006, dramatic changes took place inthe institute leadership. We understandthat these changes happened largely atthe behest of the institutes trustees, theServants of India Society (SIS). Thoughtrustees of the institute, the SIS doesnot either finance the institute ormanage its administration directly. Theinstitute, which is a deemed university,functions according to a memorandumof association, prepared followingguidelines supplied by the UGC. InAugust 2005, the SIS elected a new
president. Within a day of assumingoffice, the newly elected presidentstarted criticising the work of Sinha
and Roy. There were attempts by theSIS, which is not an academic body, tointerfere in the academic administrationof the institute. The board ofmanagement was reconstituted drastically.
Several distinguished members of theboard, who had served the instituteably, were summarily removed beforetheir terms were over. Many major pastdecisions were revoked. Roy was forcedto resign from the additional charge ofdirectorship. He was also removedfrom the office of joint director. Mostdisturbing of all, the proceedings oftwo faculty selection committees wererevoked. We understand that Sinha andRoy now also face enquiry andharassment.
These events are far too serious to
be ignored by the larger academiccommunity. First, we are shocked tohear that charges were brought against
two individuals who are known to beupright, honest, progressive, and menwith impeccable reputation in theirrespective fields. Second, we areconcerned that the leadership change
will cause a setback to the courseinitiated by Ajit Sinha. And, third, theGokhale Institute has in the pastwitnessed unsavoury episodes ofleadership change. With every suchepisode the institute risks beingbranded as an unsafe place forindependent-minded scholars.
R M HONAVAR, NARENDRA JADHAV,K L KRISHNA, SUJATA PATEL, PARTHA SEN,
SURESH TENDULKAR, A VAIDYANATHAN,M GOVINDA RAO, VIJAY L KELKAR,AMARESH BAGCHI, MIHIR RAKSHIT,
ROMAR CORREA, JEAN DREZE,
R RADHAKRISHNA
AND
OTHERS
.New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata andChennai
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