This story first appeared in National Herald

When Hindus flock to Mohammed Ali Road during the holy month of Ramzan, “ek apnapan sa lagta hai,” say restaurateurs

Come Ramzan, all roads in Mumbai lead to Minara Masjid. This year was no different. March 23 onward, the bylanes of Mohammed Ali Road have been aglow with lights and abuzz with people, Hindus and Muslims breaking bread together, foodies and faithful alike.

Throngs of selfie-takers and memory-makers, office-goers and bargain-hunters can be spotted cheek by jowl with those who have offered their prayers and broken their fast. It’s a joy to behold, especially in the face of the current dispensation’s anti-Muslim narrative, a reminder that Mumbai still has its heart in the right place. During the holy month, Mohammed Ali Road is certainly the heart of foodie heaven. Friends and families from in and out of town flock there—all drawn by the raunaq and barkat of celebration.

For a whole month the economy of these streets gets a huge boost, the way Crawford Market, for instance, does during Diwali, with shops staying open well past midnight. As you walk, or wait your turn for that mouth-watering malpua, it’s par for the course to hear many tongues around you— Marathi, English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali, Himachali, Oriya, Assamese, even French, German or Spanish.

Most food vendors say, however, that the daily crowds are primarily Maharashtrian. And not only from the state but also from outside, as I learned the evening I made tracks to Mohammed Ali Road. A group of media students (both vegetarian and non-) are nosing around, savouring the scents and flavours. While the vegetarians make a beeline for the malpua and firni, the meat-eaters are spoilt for choice.

“This is our first time here, we were urged by our teacher and our friends to visit Mohammed Ali Road. I am a non-vegetarian, so I am going to go for the chicken tikka kebab,” said Shruti Gupta from Kolkata, a media student currently studying in Mumbai.

Among the first-timers are the Kakade twins from Indore. Tulza Kakade said their stay in Mumbai would have been incomplete without a visit to Mohammed Ali Road. “A lot of reels on Instagram brought me here. I’m excited to eat seekh kebabs. Food is above all socio-political noise, and also, Mumbai wouldn’t be the same if it were not for these festivals that we celebrate together. See how diverse we are and yet, we celebrate together, very closely.”

According to Rudraksh, her twin, “Ramzan is the best time to come here and not just for the food. The place is lit up and the vibes here are warm and festive. None of us had second thoughts about coming here.”

Among globetrotters keen on local cuisine was a British couple, James and Julie. James recounted a near-death experience that he had on a flight a few years ago—a cardiac arrest that he recovered from at a hospital in Andheri. This year, he’s back to visit friends who helped him. “I have visited Dubai, Oman and other Middle-Eastern countries during Ramzan. This time, I’m in Mumbai to celebrate my rebirth. Celebrations in Oman and Dubai are quieter and [more] restrained. Here, like everything else, even Ramzan celebrations are wild and noisy.

“It is exciting to come here in the evenings. The food has distinctly Indian flavours, be it of any community. In Oman, for instance the blend of flavours is different. Here, there are many more vegetarian options. We have come here during Ganesh Chaturthi and even during the floods, and I must say the food is the same— always good. I have seen that they are an extremely friendly and welcoming community and their cuisine is wonderful,” said James, as Julie, his wife, nodded enthusiastically.

In contrast, Steve and Rachel, another British couple on the food trail at Minara Masjid with their Muslim guide, find it too noisy and crowded. This is their first time ever on the Ramzan tour and they are overwhelmed. “It is nice to appreciate a different culture and cuisine,” said Rachel. “Yes, it’s really nice and overwhelming.” Steve seems to have vibed a bit better with the multicultural mix, “There are so many different people, so many cultures and different foods to eat in just one place. Ramzan is an interesting experience. It was nice to see the joyous celebrations after a daylong fast.”

Thanks to social media platforms, Ramzan celebrations have become a priority on people’s bucket lists. There are walking tours and festive food-hopping trips, which have become quite the fad. And one can see why, with some items on the menu only during Ramzan. Every day the live kitchens use fresh ingredients, none of which are stored or frozen. Just to understand the massive scale on which food is cooked here, on an average, 13,000 eggs are used daily for the special malpuas by just one eatery, the Shalimar Restaurant. The malpuas are the super-speciality of the street.

Shopkeepers source spices and ingredients through the year, putting it all together for the monthlong fast and the night before Eid. Other special items include a scrumptious soup, sundal and bater (quail kebab). The haleem and khichda served during this time are also very popular. For vegetarians, there is paneer butter masala to match the butter chicken, peas patties to challenge the seekh kebabs, yummy dals, kathal (jackfruit) biryanis that some aver top even the mutton biryani in terms of deliciousness, and seasonal vegetables in finger-licking masalas that linger on your taste buds for hours afterwards. Among the regulars are Priya and Dhruva Srinivasan. The couple from Dadar has been coming here for two decades now. While Priya eats the non-vegetarian delicacies, Dhruva, a vegetarian, sticks to the sweets. Familiar with the shop vendors and au fait with who sells what, Priya hands the vendor a box to pack haleem to take home. “For the last 20 years, my husband Dhruva and I have been coming every single year. We get the same quality and fresh food. You can never go wrong here. I come to buy khichda or haleem, which you only get here. Nothing has changed in all these years, as far as my experience goes,” she said.

Priya recalls an incident with her brother which, in a nutshell, sums up the quality of the food on Mohammed Ali Road. “Some years ago, my brother had come down from the US and on the last day, I told him he should come here with me. Of course, my mother was not in favour [of this plan], because she feared he would end up with an upset stomach. I said, just come on, yahaan khao toh zara, kuchh nahi hone wala hai. He ate everything he wanted, stuffed himself silly and was fit as a fiddle the next day. He flew back greatly satisfied and happy with the adventure,” she said.

Many believe it’s the social media hype and a craze to be where the action is that explains the lure of the place. Sayeed Hamid, an Urdu journalist who lives in Andheri, has been coming here for the last 40 years. He says this place unites the people of Mumbai. “I can say Mohammed Ali Road has been the centre of food and cultural unison for all communities, including various Muslim communities. The ambience is of an interfaith celebration during the night. After roza and until sehri, this food unites all the people of our city, every night,” Sayeed observed.

Meanwhile, Gillani Nooruddin, owner of Modern Sweets, who has never missed a single Ramzan, looks on happily at customers being served their favourite malpuas. He finds that over the years, the festival has become a lot more inclusive. “It was rare to see non-Muslims visiting the Minara Masjid area a couple of decades ago. Now, they comprise at least 50 per cent of the crowd. People from other towns and cities come here especially to eat Ramzan food. Ek apnapan sa lagta hai. It warms our hearts to see them feel at home,” says a smiling Gillani.

Amin Parekh, the block president of the Congress party points out that even before the social media era, it was when celebrities began visiting during Ramzan that Mohammed Ali Road first began attracting non-Muslim crowds. “Now, social media plays an important role in promoting unity, which is seen even during other festivals in Mumbai. The most crucial role is that of the word-ofmouth publicity, despite the politics seen [being] played out.”

As Mayur, a food lover said, “Of course, Mohammed Ali Road in real life is so happily different from what is otherwise told to us. Food is the winner, be it Ramzan or any other festival. We come here regularly because we get quality food here.”

Office-goers come for a night out and, like pub hopping, they go ‘food hopping’ from street food to restaurant food. The most popular restaurants are Bade Miyaan, Shalimar and Jafferbhai Delhi Durbar. These restaurants have also drawn up a good vegetarian menu, given that many vegans and vegetarians also want to be part of the celebrations. The concept of iftar boxes has caught on. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a huge demand for iftar gift boxes, sent to family members and non-Muslim friends, to draw them into the festivities.

Waseem Pathan, the general manager of Shalimar, Dongri, explains, “These iftar boxes are special. Every fortnight, the menu changes, whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian. In fact, the demand for these boxes has increased by five per cent every year. During Covid, the takeaways and boxes were in high demand, as business at the restaurant was virtually halved. Since 2022, the footfall has improved and now we are back on track.”

Hassan Jaffer, owner, Jafferbhai’s Delhi Durbar, says this bonhomie needs to stay intact permanently and it needs to go beyond posturing. “We need this genuine interaction in today’s times, not just a hypocritical show of emotions. We all need to share food, share a bond and be true friends, whichever community we may belong to. Some people are influenced by some unsavoury events that have occurred in our city, due to which they may prefer to stay away. But the majority are not like that. Here, at Mohammed Ali Road, everyone has a sense of belonging. At all the restaurants, 60-70 per cent of the patrons are Hindu. So, we neither serve beef, nor do we eat beef. Chicken and lamb is the staple for non-vegetarians. Paneer and potatoes are big on the vegetarian menu,” Hassan said.

He gives credit to Instagram and Facebook users, and also food bloggers, for being honest. “As a result, many non-Muslim food lovers come from Surat, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Indore, Calcutta and even Lucknow and Delhi. They take the Shatabdi, or the morning flight, spend a few hours here and go back the same night.”

Just then Afzal Vaid calls, wanting to send an iftar box to his Punjabi friend. “There are many non-vegetarian dishes and items in this one box. You can sit with your family and eat together in your own home, enjoying the food. It’s a different feeling. Many of my friends wait for Ramzan time, just like I wait for their sweets during Diwali and Ganpati. This is what friendship is, to exchange and share with each other,” said Vaid.

This is also what India is, was and hopefully will always be despite attempts by some to divide and rule. You only have to go to Mohammed Ali Road during Ramzan to renew your faith in the power of food to bring people together.

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This story first appeared in Rediff

Kobad Ghandy, has been a sympathiser of the Communist movement for half a century including its radical wing, the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Along with his late wife Anuradha Shanbag Ghandy, he dedicated many years to the cause living in Vidarbha.

Both Kobad and Anuradha ensured they lived by Communist ideals and gave away their possessions and wealth for the cause.

Kobad was arrested in 2009 and released in October 2019.

After his release, Kobad wrote Fractured Freedom — A Prison Memoir, which has been translated in various languages and which has received flak from radical Left circles.

“I’m persona non grata in these (radical Left) circles. I have been for 10 odd years in jail, cut off from any civilisational contact, let alone political touch. In fact, for 15-20 years I haven’t been in touch with any organisation. I just find it pointless,” Kobad Ghandy tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar in the first of a multi-part interview.

How have the last three years been for you? Have you tasted real freedom? Where are you staying and have you adjusted to the new way of life?

The last jail term was in Surat and I knew nobody in Gujarat.

It was a general conspiracy case and like all others I got bail.

The people handling my case and those of the others were mostly human rights lawyers.

Actually my sister has been there for me.

In fact, she paid my bail and brought me back once I was released.

In Surat I knew I would be out soon, but my biggest worry was once I come out where would I go? I had sold out my properties and I don’t have any place.

I thought who would keep me. Not one of the my left associates offered me their place.

They all have big flats, extra flats, rooms and so on. But not one of them offered me place.

Till today, not one of them has asked me. Anyway, my sister offered and has been cooperative. Since then I’ve been living in her house even though she doesn’t agree with our ideology.

I also found it difficult to adjust to such an upper class atmosphere, but without her help i would have had no place to stay, this was around five to six months before Covid, a lockdown was declared.

It was first pure freedom immediately after release and then semi-freedom, locked in our houses.

What I found out in these three years, the Parsi community and especially the Parisiana magazine and other community members have been extremely supportive.

The editor of Parisiana, Jehangir Patel, is an extremely nice person.

I had to recently travel a lot to Jharkhand and other states to attend court dates which took a toll on my stomach.

I happened to casually mention this to him and he purchased online chlorine tablets for me before I went on my next trip.

Since I subscribe to Parisiana, he knows my address and he just sent them. (Laughs).

Such type of a nice feeling is there. Like I have mentioned in my book, Fractured Freedom — A Prison Memoir, I have raised questions on philosophical aspects of the communist movement regarding values, freedom and happiness.

I found I am getting support, which has been refreshing.

One didn’t realise that ordinary, old, Parsis want to meet me. I never expected that.

When did you think of writing Fractured Freedom — A Prison Memoir? You have mentioned in it that the Parsi community supported you along with your friends from Doon School. Was this unexpected?

From the Surat arrest I began to think of writing a memoir.

I didn’t have the intention earlier because nothing was sure — will I ever be released? will I get bail? where will I stay? Nothing was sure.

Then it seemed possible that I may get bail and from then on I began to conceptualise it.

Around January 2020 I was looking for a publisher because I know nothing about the publishing industry.

A few friends put me in touch with some publishers. Then the lockdown was declared.

It was a boon for me, as I could focus on my book and there were no distractions.

At that time Jehangir Patel told me his daughter Simin would help me because she knew about publishers.

I also needed legal help to draft an agreement and she knew of a lawyer friend and that is how I met Xerxes Ranina.

Now he has become a friend. In fact, this book came out around March 2021 and has given me a lot of confidence as it was promoted excellently by my publisher, Roli Books.

I’m told it is still a bestseller on Amazon. The way it has sold, people do seem interested in reading about the possibility of a better future.

I have kept the translation rights and I knew I could get it done inexpensively, so it has already been published in Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Hindi, Kannada and will soon be coming out in other languages as well.

I’ve been told the Bengali version of my book is selling well in Bengal, though there is strong opposition from many of the Maoist circles. Marathi has sold the maximum especially after the awards controversy and the publicity it got.

I believe the Maoist Party written a 100 page paper attacking my book. I am told it is sub-standard. They have written it in English, Hindi and Telugu.

They have nothing better to do or what, I don’t know.

I’m persona non grata in these circles. I have been for 10 odd years in jail, cut off from any civilisational contact, let alone political touch.

In fact, for 15-20 years I haven’t been in touch with any organisation. I just find it pointless.

Since you have been released, are the authorities keeping a watch on you?

I haven’t noticed anything as such.

On the other hand, I feel they don’t have the need to do keep an eye on me.

They know everything. I am doing everything legal — I go to the courts and attend to all my case dates.

If at all they want to watch is if I was doing any organisational work.

That they would want to know, but I am not interested in that.

I am interested more in research, study and analysing in what we have done and not done in the last many years.

I want to dwell on those concepts. My talent was writing, even when I was an activist.

Whether they (party people) are disturbed or not, I don’t care because what is more important is the future — the future of humanity and the future of our work.

I feel that dialectical materialism and Communism is the best and there is no better alternative to it. But the fact is, it has faced a setback because of the reasons outlined in my book and I have given an example of Anuradha (his wife who died in 2008) as the ideal Communist in my book.

She is a model kind of person and I had presented her as an example.

Then I posed the concepts of freedom, happiness and the question of values of simplicity, truthfulness, straightforwardness, etc as the model values seen in Anuradha.

I realised if these incorect values are present at these small levels, this must be worse at the higher levels throughout the Communist parties of the world resulting in the setbacks.

The Parsi community, a community not known to revolt, has supported you. Is it unexpected?
Like all communities, Parsis too are classists and despite you being a Communist, the Parsis have supported you.
Is it because you belong to an upper class Parsi family? Has that made a difference?

Yes, to some extent it could be, because class and caste is relevant in our entire society.

A person who comes from an elite background is given support when he/she sacrifices everything for the poor and oppressed. But a poor person who joins the cause has nothing to sacrifice. It is another aspect that most do not sacrifice and keep their wealth while also keeping their Communism.

I found this even among the police officers, they all respected me for this sacrifice which is rare these days.

Maybe because I have been living by the ideals. The IB (Intelligence Bureau) and authorities knew I had given away all my property and had nothing in my name.

From that point of view, I got support in all jail authorities except Tihar.

They expressed surprise and respected me from this point of view — in this day and age few individuals live by ideals for the poor.

Now I found this respect even among my Doon School alumni.

As far as the Parsi community in particular, well that is also divided.

Many years ago when we used to stay at Colaba, my neighbour, who is a Parsi, was telling me that while some people are against me, many are sympathetic.

I think Parisiana has made a huge difference in influencing the community.

In fact, I have personally sold 150 copies of my book, mostly within the Parsi community.

There is a section of the Parsi community who are anti-Muslim and pro-Narendra Modi — some of my relatives too are like that. But there is a large section of Parsis who are ethical.

My father was sympathetic towards us. The Parsis are sympathetic because of their ethical values, honesty.

Still these are prevalent amongst the general Parsi community. During my incarceration also I got a lot of support.

Jehangir, the editor of Parsiana, in fact came to Tihar jail, despite being nearly blind in one eye.

Since the time I am out of jail, he continues to be extremely supportive of me.

So the community is supportive, because write ups are being carried in Parisiana regularly.

Speaking of your school mates at Doon School — Kamal Nath, Naveen Patnaik, Sanjay Gandhi, Ishaat Hussain, Gautam Vohra. How have they reacted to your ideology, jail term and release? Have they distanced themselves or have been sympathetic to you?

(Laughs). Actually earlier I wasn’t in touch with these people.

First, college and then till 1972, I was in the UK. I wasn’t in touch with all of them.

After I returned, I was involved in my activism work.

The only person who was in touch with me and even came to visit was Gautam Vohra.

A maverick Leftist who has met Castro, Che Guevara and hwent on a march against the Vietnam War, he still has this spirit.

He was one person who during my entire stay in different jails was in constant touch with me, throughout.

Practically every week I would get a nice postcard from him.

Once he came all the way to Jharkhand to meet me in jail. He has been consistent in his views.

To some extent because of him others have come forward to support me.

He tried contacting Kamal Nath and a few others who didn’t respond; the others have.

He even gathered money for my eye operation when I was in Tihar.

He helped build the atmosphere and support for me.

Ishaat initially wasn’t in touch though he was my closest class friend.

As I have written in my book, he said he pursued CA because of my father and me.

Later he met me often in the UK and that was all. We lost touch since.

He apparently asked Gautam if I’d be willing to meet. Since then we meet every month. He is cooperative and sympathetic.

Gautam initiated a class WhatsApp group. Everyone is extremely well-read, progressive, even though some are pro-Modi, yet there is no negativity.

They are open to discussions and I found a lot of progressive discussions. Of course, there is a lot of humour too.

Navzer Taraporewala is always sending us jokes. He lives in Malaysia and is extremely well-read.

He has read Noam Chomsky and all. Where for a Parsi he has read all this, I wonder (laughs).

I must say they are very sympathetic and nice.

Classmates are positive, Parsis are sympathetic. The book is selling well and most are not Leftists and that is interesting.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com

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This story first appeared in Rediff

She was kidnapped by child traffickers when she was 14. Today, this 17 year old wants to become a lawyer so that she can help the survivors of such heinous acts.

This interview will not be easy to read.

But read it you must.

In doing so, you honour a young girl’s bravery.

Her determination to pick up the threads of her shattered life after she was kidnapped to be sold to the sex trade.

Her desire to help those who have not been able to escape, like she did.

You honour her parents, who have stood by their daughter even as members in their known circle, and even strangers, sought to humiliate the three of them.

And you honour the selfless members of the NGO who fight every day to rescue victims of sex trafficking.

This child, who originally belonged to a village in West Bengal’s 24 Parganas district, once wanted to become a part of India’s national throwball team.

Today, after scoring 83 per cent in her Class 12 exam, her dream, she tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar, has changed.

Congratulations! You must be so proud of your marks.

I have been able to get these high scores only because of the support of my parents and the World Vision NGO.

I would never have reached here without them.

More than anything, it has been overwhelming to see the entire room with my colleagues, the media, volunteers and guardians wish me a bright future.

I have no choice now but to create that bright future for myself (smiles); I will become a lawyer and a very good one at that.

Why do you want to become a lawyer?

It is not in my control to completely stop child trafficking; I have to be realistic.

However, in the future, if any girl needs help to get out of child trafficking and wants to book the accused, I promise to be there for her.

I want to be there for fellow survivors and I will ensure the accused are punished under the law so that they will never be able to traffic another girl again.

How has your personal experience influenced your decision? Do you believe the law can make a difference?

My life changed because I was a victim. There are other survivors like me, but there many more who are still trapped in this evil and are struggling to be free.

I don’t want any girl to face what I have faced. No girl should be put through such torture (breaks down).

Like many girls who have fallen victim to this horrific trade, I am still being stigmatised in my community.

I am lucky to have my family’s support; many survivors don’t have that.

I want these families and communities to know that girls like me deserve to live freely, without guilt.

I have faced a lot of barbed comments. I have been sarcastically asked where I had run away to, with whom, what I had done for so many days and why I was back now.

My parents have been extremely supportive; they have told these questioners that I had been kidnapped. But these people behave as if my parents had lied to cover up my ‘wrongdoings’.

My parents have been amazing. They tell me to ignore such gossip and not to get affected by it.

How old are you now? How did you get trafficked?

I am a little over 17 years now.

I was trapped in this evil cesspool at the age of 14.

I was always an outdoors person; I loved sports. I used to play chuckball (throwball) very well in my school days.

My school sent me to the national throwball national selections; I was supposed to go to Bengaluru with some other girls from my village.

On the scheduled day of my departure, I was waiting at the station for my train. A lady sitting next to me had been waiting for some time as well. Though we hadn’t talked, she offered me some water. I don’t have any memory of what happened after I drank it.

When I woke up, we were travelling in a bus.

I saw three women in burqas. I was terrified; I didn’t know who they or where we were.

When I started crying, they threatened to kill me if I made any noise. They added that no one would ever know about my whereabouts and nobody would come looking for me. They warned me to keep quiet and follow their instructions.

But I could not stop crying because I was really missing my parents.

Can you tell us what happened next?

I remember being taken to a room in a broken-down temple.

My hands were tied; they gagged me so that I could not scream for help.

I was locked in this room for four days.

I was given dal bhaati to eat twice a day; that’s it.

Till the time I lost consciousness, I was in touch with my parents on my cell phone. When they didn’t hear from me, my parents started calling. That’s when my captors snatched my phone.

Later, I overheard some boys who had come at night to ask my ‘rate’. They could not afford the amount so they went away and I was spared.

Did you overhear the rate?

Yes. I heard the woman say my price was Rs 2 lakhs because virgins are more expensive.

I’m sorry to ask you this, but were you sexually assaulted?

No. I was fortunate to be spared.

Were you physically tortured?

They beat me, but could not do anything more as they wanted to sell me as a virgin child prostitute.

This would have fetched them a lot of money, which meant they had to present me in an attractive manner.

I thought my life was over. I could not begin to wrap my head around the fact that I was being sold as a child prostitute.

It was heart-breaking to think I had missed the national selection and would never play throwball again.

But what I feared most was never meeting my parents; I just wanted to see them, touch them, hug them one last time.

Never in my worst nightmare could I have imagined something like this happening to me or my other friend or any other girl.

How did your parents react when you went missing?

My parents, I learnt later, panicked when they could not reach me on the phone and went to the police station to file a missing person’s complaint.

The police behaved very badly with my mother. They told her, ‘Your daughter has gone to play. Now you will see how she plays and comes back with a man she has eloped with.’

It’s this kind of thinking that leads to the stigma that children who are kidnapped for such vile purposes face.

My parents didn’t give up. My mother went to the village level child protection committee of the Rupantaran Foundation, a local NGO that helps in such matters.

They gave her the CID’s number and my parents asked them for help. The CID filed a complaint. They traced my phone number to a place between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The MP police deployed a search team to find me.

One day, my captors suddenly locked in the room alone. Later, I heard the police banging on the door and calling my name. I stamped my feet and shouted in response.

They broke open the door and showed me a photograph of my parents.

My captors, they told me later, had absconded.

They sent me to a girl’s orphanage, where I was kept for four days before being sent home. I had become very weak. Though they gave me food, I could not eat; I was mentally disturbed because of what had happened to me.

Once I reached West Bengal, I was again sent to a girls’ home.

I had my Class 10 exams in a fortnight and didn’t want to lose a year. I asked the police for help and they agreed to let me go early.

At the police station, my parents could not recognise me. I was so weak and dirty and my hair was unkempt. It was only when we spoke that my parents realised their daughter was alive.

They took me home immediately. Two weeks later, I appeared for my exams. I knew I was not going to do well. I scored 60 per cent.

Despite your ordeal, you did well.

Yes. I could not believe I had scored 60 per cent.

I promised myself that I would do so well in my Class 12 exams that the world would have to take notice of me and my capabilities.

And I did it (smiles)!

Do you find yourself distrusting people now?

I have learnt the world is not a safe place.

At the same time, I was helped by good people. There are NGOs out there doing good work. The volunteers have equipped me with knowledge and skills. The world is not entirely bad.

While I have to still learn much more in order to figure out who’s good and who’s bad, I think I have gained enough experience and knowledge to understand what is good and right for me.

I am not scared anymore but, yes, I am very cautious and very alert about people, especially strangers.

I do speak to people on the bus and train when I am travelling so it is not that I am completely cut off. At the same time, I understand a lot more than I did earlier.

And yes, I will never accept food or drink from a stranger.

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This story first appeared in Rediff

‘The only way to kill time in prison is to read and she can’t even do that properly any more.’
‘Her knees, too, are in terrible shape. I could see how she was trying to hide her pain every time she got up from the bench where she was seated.’

Three years, 11 months to the day.

That’s how long Professor Shoma Sen, the former head of the English literature department at Nagpur University — she was suspended after her arrest — has been in prison for her alleged involvement in the *Bhima Koregaon case.

On June 6, 2018, along with Sudhir Dhawale (activist, actor and publisher of the bi-monthly Marathi magazine Vidrohi), Mahesh Raut (the youngest accused in this case, he works with the Adivasi community in Gadchiroli), Surendra Gadling (human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist) and Rona Wilson (activist, researcher and a member of the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners), Professor Sen — who is also a well-known women’s rights activist and has worked with the Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights, a human rights organisation — was also arrested.

Koel Sen, her daughter, tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar how this “travesty of justice” has taken a huge toll on the family.

In this first of a multi-part interview, the film-maker and columnist shares the shock of seeing her “Ma” suddenly age.

You met your mother in prison recently. How is she?

I met her properly after almost two years. It was such an emotional feeling to be able to sit next to her like that and talk to her.

The last time we met physically was in February 2020, just before the first lockdown, when she was produced in court.

Since then, depending on the COVID restrictions at the time, the jails have been open or shut for visitors. We had maybe three or four mulaqats (mulaqats are visitations allowed by the court where family members can meet their relatives who are in prison) during this period where we were allowed to see each other and speak but could not touch each other.

When we met this time, I was very happy because we were meeting after so long. At the same time, I felt overwhelmed just looking at her. When you physically meet someone you know and love after a long gap, you can see how much they have changed.

Even without their saying anything, you realise they have been through a lot. My mother has aged a lot quicker than she would have and I could see that her glaucoma and arthritis have become more severe.

There was a magazine next to her; she was looking through it, but not reading it. I asked Ma if she was okay and if she could read. That’s when she told me she couldn’t read easily any more because her eyes are in really bad shape.

She’s had glaucoma for almost seven years now and it has clearly become worse.

One really feels bad. I was almost in tears but what can I do?

The only way to kill time in prison is to read and she can’t even do that properly any more. She does read by bringing the books close to her eyes but you can imagine how much of a strain that is. It is very difficult to see my mother like this.

Her knees, too, are in terrible shape. I could see how she was trying to hide her pain every time she got up from the bench where she was seated.

When you go to meet her, there are two police constables who sit next to her. They let you sit as well and allow the family to speak without interfering.

After ages, we got a chance to speak properly and we spoke for almost an hour.

Emotionally, she is fine. She’s pro-active (smiles) and talks about things she is doing inside the four walls she is limited to.

Women like Ma and Sudha Bharadwaj continue to help people even when they are in prison. They help them with their cases and other things; unko toh kaam karte hi rehena hai(they cannot stop themselves from working) even when they are in prison (smiles again).

I remember one mulaqat — Sudha was there as well — where they were talking about how a certain person got bail and how another person got surety. They were having what I call this ‘intra-jail’ conversation; it was very nice.

In a touching Facebook post, you wrote about how you stealthily gave her some food. It must be such a struggle to show your love to your dear ones who are in jail. Sudha mentioned how they didn’t let her hug her daughter.

Yes, hugging is tough.

I remember, when I initially gave her a big hug, they stopped us and said we can’t do that.

At one of the court appearances, one of our friends had brought kebabs and biryani and we wanted to give her some. There are times when the cops let the accused eat. but it depends on their mood. If they don’t, then you need to take permission from the judge.

We are compelled to resort to subterfuges. We opened our dabbas and, as we ate, we fed her a few small bites.

She had a bit of the shammi kebab and the Theobroma (a popular dessert outlet in Mumbai) brownie.

I could see the excitement on her face; her eyes lit up after the brownie went into her mouth (laughs).

It was nice… that moment.

Obviously, the constable figured out something was happening.

So, like when we used to when we did something wrong in school, we apologised and defused the situation.

As far as the police are concerned, do you see a bias?

They are constantly keeping an eye on you and you feel that. But they do understand these kinds of humane things (like sharing food and hugging). Like, we could sense the constable knew that Ma was eating.

She needs to eat and there is nothing wrong with that.

As per jail regulations, only packaged foods like chips and biscuits are allowed; ghar ka khana (home-cooked food) is not as it can contain suspicious items.

The cop pretended not to know and then, when she caught us, we apologised and everything was fine (laughs).

Previously, they were allowed to eat home-cooked food. It all depends on the whims and fancies of the police people on duty.

Now, when the men are brought from Taloja Jail (Navi Mumbai), they are allowed to eat. It is weird.

The prison rules — from Yerwada (Pune) where Ma was to Byculla (Mumbai) where she is now — are arbitrary. It all depends upon the jailers. Also, women’s jails have their own set of rules and the men’s jails have their own set of rules.

Honestly, it seems as if there is no one book they abide by.

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This story first appeared in Rediff

‘Just waiting outside the prison gate, thinking that your mother is inside those walls even though you know she is innocent, affects your psyche.’

But life turned upside down for the film-maker and columnist when her mother Professor Shoma Sen was arrested in March 2018 for her alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon case. Professor Sen was, as a consequence, suspended from her post as head of the English literature department at Nagpur University.

From prison visits, to dealing with extensive paperwork, to worrying about her mother’s deteriorating health, Koel has been dealing with multiple challenges.

“The first two years were extremely difficult; it took a long time to get accustomed to the fact that I had to go to jail to meet her.

“Many of the people who are in prison are undertrials. But this fact is ignored. You are considered the ‘family member of a criminal’ because you are waiting to see someone who is in prison. They look at you as if you are guilty,” Koel tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar in a multi-part interview.

We heard of your mother’s condition for the first time from Sudha Bharadwaj (a lawyer, an activist and a trade union leader, Bharadwaj — who was arrested and charged in the Bhima Koregaon case — was released earlier this year on conditional bail; she and Professor Shoma Sen were incarcerated at the same time at Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail and Mumbai’s Byculla Jail). It is only through a co-inhabitant or their families that we learn of the conditions in jails. Does your mother talk to you about her health problems?

Yes, she tells me.

But, as a daughter, I know there are things she doesn’t talk about because she is concerned about the impact it will have on me. For instance, there were things that Sudha told me about Ma that Ma herself hadn’t shared — instances like when Ma felt giddy after her blood pressure went down.

I understand Ma’s predicament. She hides those kinds of things from me because she is a mother. She is always thinking about what she should tell me and what she shouldn’t.

That’s why, when I came to know about this incident, I asked Sudha to tell me how Ma really is and what her problems are so that I am better prepared.

Have the authorities taken any steps to give her medication or ensure a complete medical check-up?

To be honest, the authorities are not bothered; they don’t care about what’s happening to the prisoners.

It is up to Ma to try and see that she is taken to (Mumbai’s) J J Hospital for her treatment (Professor Sen is now a prisoner at Byculla Jail). She has to keep telling them that she has a specific ailment; she has to keep detailing her medical problems.

Also, they are always taken to an intern at a government hospital because prisoners, though they don’t say it, are considered second class citizens. The interns are young and don’t have much experience.

Aur qaidi ko check karna matlab pehle se hi doctor log dar jatey hain (Doctors are petrified because they have to check a prisoner).

Sudha too mentioned that doctors are scared to examine them because they are coming from a prison. Now imagine explaining your symptoms to the doctor under these circumstances.

I don’t think Ma is getting good treatment for her eyes.

She has glaucoma and, before she was arrested, she was under treatment from one of the best ophthalmologists; not everyone can treat this eye condition.

Also, for this ailment, the doctor needs to see her in person. I don’t even know which doctor in J J is responsible for her treatment.

At our end, we are continuing with the medication from our doctor. But he hasn’t been able to examine her since she was arrested so we don’t know how her condition is now. No tests have been conducted.

These kinds of things make you worry constantly about her health.

Sometimes, Ma mentions some good things too. Once, we were lucky to get a good doctor. Otherwise, this is the way they are treated.

In how many jails have you visited Professor Sen in the four years since she was arrested? What were these visits like?

She has been in two jails only; the first one was Yerawada in Pune and second is the Byculla Jail in Mumbai. So I have visited only women’s prisons.

The first two years were extremely difficult; it took a long time to get accustomed to the fact that I had to go to jail to meet her.

Just waiting outside the prison gate, thinking that your mother is inside those walls even though you know she is innocent, affects your psyche a lot.

The presence of the prison walls, the prison structures, the uniformed people, the way they look at you — all of it gives you a huge shock. You go through immense pain.

Even the way you, as a visitor, are treated is — to a certain extent — violent. Many of the people who are in prison are undertrials. But this fact is ignored. You are considered the ‘family member of a criminal’ because you are waiting to see someone who is in prison. They look at you as if you are guilty.

The fact that someone you know is inside makes you, in a strange way, feel guilty too.

You are grappling with all these mixed emotions and with the overwhelming hope that you might get to see and speak with your loved ones.

There have been times when children have not been allowed to meet their mothers who are in prison; the wailing child is left outside because a certain timing, or a certain requirement, has not been met.

When you see such things, you feel luckier than most because so many people are facing problems and challenges that are so much worse.

I have also had nice moments at Yerawada where I have had conversations with women.

What about Byculla Jail?

The visits to Yerawada were more frequent because Ma had just been shifted there. We made many visits to give her clothes and medicines. All of us, including Ma, had to get used to the fact that she was inside prison; it was a shock for her too.

The move to Byculla was very sudden. She was shifted immediately after the case was taken over by the NIA (National Investigation Agency). That shift happened between January-February 2020 and, soon after, the national lockdown was imposed because of the pandemic.

Since then, I have been able to visit her only four or five times.

There have been annoying circumstances at the Byculla Jail, especially about regulations. They keep bringing up something new every single time.

When Ma was shifted to Mumbai, I had to get a police verification to prove that I am her daughter despite the fact that I had met her at least 15-20 times at Yerawada. My records are there in their prison system. So why do they force me to do this new paperwork to prove I am her daughter all over again?

During the lockdown, there were limited days on which I could visit her. Yet, they made me run around for this new police verification.

As a result, I was allowed to meet her only once a month whereas I could have met her four times if I didn’t have to follow up on the paperwork which already existed in their records.

It just gets so frustrating; you end up feeling helpless.

How did all this affect you? How did you keep yourself together?

I used to get anxiety attacks and faced bouts of depression because of these situations. I had to be put on medication initially and, yes, it has taken a toll on my life and my work.

In the initial phase, till 2020, I was bad shape.

Slowly, one becomes stronger and resistant to the hoops they keep putting you through, like unnecessary paperwork and chasing for permissions.

On rare occasions, when the person on the other side is ignorant, the process has been smooth.

Usually, the police see the kind of case your family member is arrested for — if it is under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) or MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act), then they make the rules more stringent.

Since ours is a UAPA case, compulsory police verification has to be done.It is a form of harassment.

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This story first appeared in Rediff

‘Nobody will be saved if you don’t stop this ideological and political-strategic bulldozer.’

On April 20, 2022, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation launched a demolition drive to allegedly remove encroachments in the C Block in Jahangirpuri in the national capital.

Most of the residents of the area — workers and small-time shopkeepers — are Bengali Muslims who settled down in the capital before the Emergency.

A group of petitioners, which included Brinda Karat, the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader, drew the Supreme Court’s attention to the demolitions.

Despite the highest court in the land staying the demolitions, the NDMC demolitions reportedly continued for a couple of hours more, a shocking disregard for the Supreme Court’s order.

“We have been seeing that they do not adhere to court orders, they also flout sections of the Constitution. So why shouldn’t they be also charged with contempt of court? They have breached the orders of the Supreme Court,” Brinda Karat tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar.

On the day the demolitions were taking place, you were the only politician who confronted the bulldozers. None from the Opposition was present. What was going on in your mind at that time?

I wasn’t alone, my party members and comrades were there with me.

Since April 16th, the various incidents that have taken place — be it on Hanuman Jayanti, the Shobha Yatra — we have been there, taking fact-finding teams, to find out who are the people behind it.

I was not alone, all my comrades work with me. But the fact is that it was only us.

Yes, nobody from the Opposition was present. Isn’t it surprising that while calls are being issued for the Opposition to unite, none from the other political parties was present during the demolitions.

Yes, it was only us comrades (smiles). As for your question, you should ask them, it is for them to answer. I can only speak for my party and myself.

I do not wish to speak for others nor do I find it necessary.

You went by the law book and your actions were borne out of sensitivity to basic human rights, but it has been deemed ‘anti-national’ by some people.

My action was to uphold the Supreme Court orders which they flouted. I was opposing only that.

These people were flouting the Supreme Court’s orders. At that time I was coming with the Supreme Court stay, Jahangirpuri is far so by the time I reached, what do I see? That they had begun bulldozing.

Why was this being done? Why were the houses being demolished? This is contempt of court.

We have been seeing that they do not adhere to court orders, they also flout sections of the Constitution.

So why shouldn’t they be also charged with contempt of court? They have breached the orders of the Supreme Court.

Although I am not one to use ‘seditious’ and ‘anti-national’, which you have asked, if at all anyone is, it’s them who have disobeyed the Supreme Court’s rules.

Let me tell you, I know the people of C Block. I also know the entire layout of the C Block in Jahangirpuri.

The people settled there 40 years ago.

It is completely wrong the kind of malicious accusations being flung — that they are Rohingya, Bangladeshis. They are poor Indian citizens.

You cannot deprive them of citizenship just because they are poor. These are Bengali Muslims who settled 40 years ago.

They are poor labourers who first came and settled along the river Yamuna.

During the Emergency, when Sanjay Gandhi launched his (demolition) drive, they were made to settle in Jahangirpuri.

Have they been evicted prior to this? Why do you think this demolition drive was undertaken?

This demolition drive has been done deliberately and selectively.

Everybody who knows Jahangirpuri is aware workers and self-employed shopkeepers live and work there. In every block the people have outside the houses cycle shops, mobile repair shops, mithai shops, any small shop where they work. That is their livelihood.

This you will see everywhere in Jahangirpuri. The bulldozers came to demolish only in C Block. It is because of the demographics of C Block.

So first, they attack the poor, and second, they attack because the poor belong to the minority community.

This is selective demolition. Now in the Supreme Court, they (the NDMC) said some Hindu (owned) shops too have been broken.

Yes, but the selection was of the (C) block. So they need to answer why did they select this particular block. Once the bulldozer starts working, it doesn’t discriminate whether the shop is owned by a Hindu or Muslim, it destroys everything in its way.

This bulldozer is only a machine. But this bulldozer represents a very narrow minded ideology and a political strategy which belongs to the Hindutva and Sangh Parivar ideology.

Today they are attacking the minority. But this is not just the minority.

What happened in Uttar Pradesh in the case of a Dalit who was asked to lick the feet of an upper caste person? How did they have the guts to do such a thing?

Today, it is the minorities to create a so-called Hindu identity. But within that Hindu identity, caste is there, gender is there, they are equally oppressed by this ideology.

Nobody will be saved if you don’t stop this ideological and political-strategic bulldozer. Nobody in India will be saved.

The CPI-M has been consistently opposing this government’s actions. You face flak, but despite that you and your party stand up against the government’s actions. What drives you?

As a Communist I can say that is our creed, that is why we exist, to be there wherever there is injustice and whereever there is exploitation.

When we take the red flag in our hands, we do not think about what is going to happen to us.

What we do is clear to us — that every action is geared towards the unjust economic and social system.

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This story first appeared in Rediff

‘Your faith in the system, and in the fact that you are a citizen of this country and have rights, starts eroding.’

“Jail is not a place for human beings.

“You don’t know what to do when you are there.

“Then, there the trauma of the sections under which you are arrested.

“It’s worse, much worse, when you have been falsely accused and are innocent.”

When Sameer Khan begins to speak, he is both resigned and angry.

Khan — who is Maharashtra minster and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik’s son-in-law; he is married to Malik’s daughter, Nilofer Malik Khan — and seven others were arrested on January 9, 2021, by the Narcotics Control Bureau under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

In its chargesheet, the NCB claimed the accused had conspired to procure, sell, purchase and transport 194.6 kilogrammes of ganja (a form of cannabis). The eight were charged for dealing with commercial quantities of the drug, a crime that carries a maximum punishment of 20 years.

Khan received bail on September 27, 2021, on a surety of Rs 50,000. This bail was given after the forensic laboratory report said 11 of the 18 samples it received could not be detected as cannabis.

A few months later, on February 23, Nawab Malik, who spoke strongly against the central investigative agencies, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.

Malik has been accused of funding terror because of a property transaction the Enforcement Directorate alleges he made with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, the late Haseena Parkar, and arrested under retrospective application of the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Speaking exclusively to Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar, Sameer Khan and Nilofer Malik Khan reveal how Sameer’s months in jail and now his father-in-law’s incarceration cast a grim shadow on their lives.

This is the first time Sameer Khan has spoken about his experiences in the Taloja (in the Raigad district) and Arthur Road (central Mumbai) jails.

How did you divert your mind in jail?

Sameer: I tried to read.

I read the book on J Dey’s murder (Jyotirmoy Dey, a 56-year-old Mumbai journalist who covered crime, was shot dead in broad daylight near his home on June 11, 2011. In May 2018, gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others were convicted for his murder).

Since I was kept in a general cell in both jails, I got the opportunity to speak to other prisoners.

And I can say one thing for sure: Jail is not a place for human beings.

Nobody deserves this.

Sadly, in our country, you are guilty until you are proven innocent.

It is the most painful experience for anybody to go through.

Did you get negative thoughts when you were inside?

Sameer: It is the most negative place for any person to be in, so, of course, I got negative thoughts.

You start doubting yourself and your existence. Your faith in the system, and in the fact that you are a citizen of this country and have rights, starts eroding.

Why was I undergoing all of this for no reason?

If these feelings are not enough, your case just keeps continuing and you keep going to court and they keep giving you dates. Yes, like taariq pe taariq pe taariq.

Moreover, your communication with the outside world is cut off, so you don’t know what’s going on.

Worst of all, you don’t know what’s happening with your own case.

Your right to liberty is snatched away from you.

They accused me under all these draconian acts. And I had to wait for six months for the agencies to file the chargesheet. In my case, it was filed even later because some investigations were going on and the forensic report was pending. And, since the chargesheet was filed later, they ensured my release was also delayed.

The process is made extremely lengthy and painful.

They leave no grounds for your lawyers to fight for your bail. They put you in a hole and then it is such a struggle to get out.

In my case, the various sections they had listed ensures you don’t get bail for a long time.

Were your lawyers not allowed to visit you?

Sameer: When I was in prison, we faced the second wave of COVID.

There was a lockdown again and prisons were shut.

Only phone calls were allowed, one with the lawyer and one with the family.

What was the condition of people around you in jail?

Sameer: A majority of people in jail are those who cannot afford a lawyer.

When I realised this, I would write their case numbers and send it to Nilofer in case she could help from outside.

I interacted with people who didn’t have the money for their sureties (in this case, money given as a promise that you will appear in a court of law when called) for the bail. So how could they get out of jail?

They require at least Rs 50,000 to do so and they don’t have that kind of money.

Nor do they have people who trust them enough to try and put together the money for them.

While many families cannot afford the amount, some prisoners have been disowned by their families who cannot cope with the stigma of their being behind bars.

Nilofer: The authorities need to understand that when a man, who is the head of the family and the main breadwinner, is jailed, the family has to deal with the stigma.

People don’t want to interact with the families of people who are in prison. They don’t want to have any financial or professional deals with them.

Nobody buys things from them and their resources are depleted. It is extremely tough for such families.

The ones who suffer the most are their spouse and children, who have to face all the taunts.

People say you are a druggie’s wife; the children are taunted and told their father is a criminal.

The school fees have to be paid; many families have to pay EMI; loans sometimes get cancelled.

These families — who now have so many new things to deal with — don’t have anybody they can rely on.

In our case, my father supported me. Otherwise, with our bank accounts frozen, how would I have fought the case? How would I have paid the lawyers’ fees?

How can daily wage earners, and their families, survive under the circumstances?

The worst is when your children’s friends start behaving differently and begin distancing themselves. The mothers ask us to stay away and not mix with their children.

I have been through all of this.

Are your children still scarred?

Sameer: Definitely.

Since I have returned home from jail, they have become clingy.

If I get up in the night to go to the toilet, the younger one wakes up crying and asks Nilofer where I have gone.

Nilofer: They were severely affected when he was in jail. The younger one would cry profusely and keep asking when is Dada coming back?

My mom would try and reassure him that Sameer would return the next day. I would explain to her that it was not good to give the children false hope since they would have to face the same situation again the next day.

If I stepped out of the house, my younger one would cry and ask when I was coming back.

When I took him to (the toy store) Hamleys, he bought a toy jail and Batman. He said Batman is going to release all those in jail, including his father.

‘You don’t worry, Mamma,’ he said.

I told him that, this time, his Nana (grandfather) and Mamma were Batman and they would bring his father home.

It was the worst thing in the world… to see how all this had impacted my children; they understand a lot more than we realise.

Now that Daddy is in jail, when children see anything in the news that is against their grandfather, they say that person is not our friend.

My younger one tells me, ‘Don’t be worried. My Dada came out. Even your Dada will be released.’

The agencies labelled my husband a drug peddler. Now, they have tried to connect (fugitive gangster) Dawood Ibrahim to my father.

There seems to be no end to all of this.

Do they even think before they make such allegations?

We have not been proven guilty, but we were made to feel bad as we have had to face so many allegations.

The kind of things that have been said against our family is very insensitive.

Now they have levelled charges of terror funding! What is terror funding? Purchasing property from your landlord by paying money is terror funding?

Then even the milkman, istriwala (the person who irons clothes for a living), baniya (grocer), tailor… everybody who received money from and sold goods to (Dawood Ibrahim’s sister) Haseena Parkar and her family should be accused of funding terror.

What they are doing to is right now is pure harassment.

Did the NCB officers tell you that their real target was your father-in-law Nawab Malik?

Sameer: They hinted at it many times.

When I was brought to the NCB office for the first time, the investigating officer announced that I was Minister Nawab Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan.

That announcement gave away their plot.

I stood my ground and repeatedly said I have nothing to do with the allegations they have made; the product was only tobacco. But they were not ready to listen to the truth.

Later, they said they wanted to ‘break Nawab Malik’s leg’, basically indicating they wanted to render him powerless and ensure he was longer a minister.

Now that I am out of jail, they have filed an application in court to cancel my bail.

There are eight accused in this case. But they have filed an application to cancel only my bail.

Obviously, it is a vendetta.

How has your life changed since all this began?

Sameer: People react to me differently.

My children are affected.

You are surrounded by a sense of paranoia as you wonder what will happen next.

You feel bad for what you went through and for the people who are in jail.

In a way, you are scarred for life.

We can’t live and work as normal people.

Something like this affects your mind, your business and the various relationships in your life.

There are quite a few people who are not comfortable staying in touch with me now.

Some feel compelled to limit their interactions with us as they fear they too might get into trouble.

By doing this, those who got me arrested want me to feel helpless. They want me to feel I can’t do anything. They want me to feel paralysed.

After I got bail, I thought the worst was behind me. I felt quite fearless.

Now, with his (Nawab Malik’s) arrest, the trauma is back with us.

Nilofer: In the initial days after Sameer returned home — it has been only six months since he was released — he would shiver and mumble in his sleep.

Our children don’t sleep alone anymore; they sleep with us.

My dad was a great support and now they have arrested him.

Before he was arrested, he would call us twice a day to check on Sameer. He would urge him to start working and urge all of us to treat this jail episode like a bad dream that had ended.

He’d say, ‘It’s in your past, now just look ahead.’

And look at what they have gone and done.

Link to original story

This story first appeared in Rediff

‘This chauvinistic attitude, what they call nationalism in the name of religion, is sad.’
‘It is a tragic state that we are all in currently.’

Why are Muslim women oppressed by their own families?

Why is someone fighting for the right to wear the hijab a hero and why is someone fighting against triple talaq ignored?

Why, after 75 years of Independence, does the Muslim community still not have a comprehensive personal law?

As the hijab controversy, which began in some Karnataka colleges last month, continues to grab national attention, Noorjehan Safia Niaz, an Ashoka Fellow who has founded the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (an organisation ‘that fights for the rights of Muslim women’), raises these questions.

“Is this what we are reducing our educational institutions to?” she wonders in a free-flowing conversation with Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar.

The concluding segment of a two-part interview:

• Part I: ‘The idea of Hinduism is at stake’

.

It is not easy for Muslim girls from conservative families to step outside their familial circle.
The girls who wear hijabs are battling various challenges at various levels. If they don’t wear the hijab, they will be pulled out from school/college by their families.
If they wear the hijab, they are hounded by right wing youth like we saw in one of the videos making the rounds on social media.

Why is there so much pressure on Muslim girls?

I felt very sad and helpless when I saw that video.

It made me wonder what our world has come to. Is this what we are reducing our educational institutions to?

It is also symbolic of how the community is being hounded and being pushed to the wall.

This kind of chauvinistic attitude, and what they call nationalism in the name of religion, is sad.

Overall, it is a tragic state that we are all in currently.

Can we hope for change?

Hope is the only thing we can hold on to. Umeed pe toh duniya qayam hai.

Hopefully, this is a phase and we can come out of it. Even Germany went through a bad time during Nazi rule. But they stepped away from their gory past, from their involvement in fascism and reconstructed their country.

I only hope it won’t take us the same amount of time to do something similar.

Our deep-rooted values and the solid foundations of our Constitution has pulled us along so far.

But this (anti-Muslim) agenda is 90 years old; battling it is not going to be easy.

Why isn’t the Muslim community speaking up?

We believed something like this would not happen and look at the situation we are in now.

As a Muslim women’s organisation, we have worked towards reforming the law. We have also raised our voice against our own religious practices and against fundamentalism as well.

We need to introspect and see where we have gone wrong. Why have we not been able to check a practice like triple talaq for example?

What have we been doing all these decades while Muslim women are fighting battles within their own homes? Look at their vulnerability; they have no idea when they will be thrown out of their homes.

Why didn’t we, as a community, stand by Shah Bano? After she secured her rights through the Supreme Court, a political party denied it to her.

To give you a historical perspective, the Hindu Marriage Act was codified in 1955 while the Hindu Succession Act, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act and the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act were codified in 1966. Even the Christians (Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872) and Parsis (Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936) have had their laws codified.

But Muslims — and we are 15 per cent of India’s population — still do not have comprehensively codified family law. It’s been 75 years since Independence and we still do not have legislative protection against so many practices.

As a community, why have we not been not able to introspect and tackle bad practices? Why did we allow triple talaq to become an issue that the government could pick up? As a community, we could have tackled it. Why didn’t we?

If you look at the historical development of Muslim law, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act was passed in 1937.

In 1939, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act was passed.

Then, in 1978, the Shah Bano case happened. It led to the the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act in 1986 and now we have the Triple Talaq Act which was passed in 2019.

But we are nowhere close to getting a comprehensive law.

Soon, we will complete 100 years as a community living without legislative protection which — and one should not have to say this — is the Constitutional right of every Indian citizen. And the community will continue to use patriarchy and religion to oppress its women.

In the past, Muslim women have challenged the state’s oppressive behaviour. Take, for example, the Shaheen Bagh activists or Muskan, the girl in the video who took on right wing protestors in the ongoing hijab controversy.

But when the same (Muslim) women are facing issues within their families, and are entitled to the same Constitutional rights, the same Article 14 which promises equality before the law, why is the community not supporting them?

Muskan is a hero, but someone fighting against triple talaq is not. Why is that?

Why are the five Muslim women who led the fight against triple talaq — they went all the way to the Supreme Court — not hailed? Why is their heroism and courage not acknowledged by the community?

This is where the hypocrisy is evident and taken advantage of by the fascist, chauvinistic regime.

What has the role of the ulema (body of Muslim scholars who act as the guardians, transmitters and interpreters of Islamic religious knowledge) been in all these years?

The ulema had a strong hold over the community for several decades.

That kind of religious leadership had the state’s backing and this was seen in the way the late Rajiv Gandhi buckled under pressure and allowed Muslim women to be overpowered despite the judgment in their favour; it was a ‘You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ understanding.

The ramifications of this behaviour lasted several decades and successfully drowned out the voices of Muslim women.

We all know how the late Dr Asghar Ali Engineer (the social activist and writer who raised his voice against communalism and communal violence) was hounded when he spoke about Islam and the rights of Muslim women.

Whenever my organisation speak about Muslim women and the issues they face, we are called stooges of the RSS and the BJP. We are questioned as to why we are allowing ourselves to be used by the government against our own community.

Nobody speaks about reforms needed in the community.

Every time we raise these issues, we are told it is not the right time to speak about it. When we issued a statement on the hijab controversy, we were told not to muddy the waters, that it is not a good time.

My question is: When will the time be right to raise these kinds of questions?

India has been independent for 75 years; in another 25 years, it will complete a century as a democratic nation whose Constitution guarantees equality in the eyes of the law. Yet, Muslim women continue to be denied their Constitutional rights and the right to equality within the family.

So, once again I want to ask, when will this right time come? And who will decide that the time is right?

What is the way ahead?

We must keep the discussion about our weaknesses and our issues alive. We must find a way to end this hypocrisy and bring in democracy within ourselves.

We must deal with our issues within our own community and not lay them on a silver platter for the other side to use against us.

What is happening in Karnataka is unconstitutional; they are depriving girls of their right to education.

How can you not allow your students to enter the campus? You cannot set one section of students against another.

Don’t forget, the students are your children.

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This story first appeared in Rediff

‘While the ordinary Muslim must speak up against Islamic fundamentalism, ordinary Hindus too have to speak up against the excesses and fundamentalism that exists in their religion.’

How does clothing become a symbol of hatred?

Why does clothing become polarising?

Last month, six students from a government-run pre-university college in Udupi, Karnataka — the only south Indian state to be ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party — protested when they were asked to leave the campus as they refused to remove their hijab.

The issue snowballed into a Hindu versus Muslim controversy as Hindu students wore saffron scarves and turbans and shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans.

The protests, which have spread to other campuses in the state, have taken a political colour across the nation.

Noorjehan Safia Niaz, an Ashoka Fellow who has founded the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (an organisation ‘that fights for the rights of Muslim women’), calls the protest a tragedy.

Religious hatred, she tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar, has entered the campus and is “pitting one set of students against another.”

The first of a two-part interview:

Why has the hijab controversy broken out in Karnataka now?

This has been building up since the BJP came to power; this has been their agenda.

Actually, since the RSS came into being in 1925, it has been on their agenda as well. They have been clearly anti-Muslim so their ideology is very obvious.

When an ideology is backed by political power, its religious fervour gets validation. Then, they will do whatever they can to achieve their goal.

The idea of a Hindu Rashtra is not new. So, whether it is corona jihad or Shah Rukh Khan praying at Lata Mangeshkar’s funeral, they can twist anything to suit their narrative and attack the Muslim community.

What is vicious about this fulfilment of their agenda is the fact that it is now entering our schools and colleges and pitting one set of students against another.

It is tragic is that the ordinary citizens, especially the Hindus, are not talking about it.

That is the damage caused by 96 years of indoctrination, of hate, of exclusion.

Do you think that the majority are guilty because they are keeping quiet?

Yes.

While the ordinary Muslim must speak up against Islamic fundamentalism, ordinary Hindus too have to speak up against the excesses and fundamentalism that exists in their religion.

The Muslims spoke up against the Taliban earlier and, now that they are back in power, it is our responsibility to speak up again.

The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, which supports the cause of Muslim women, has raised its voice against its own community.

When the Deoband’s Darul Uloom (located in Uttar Pradesh, this seminary was established in 1866 and is India’s oldest school for Sunni Islamic education) issued fatwas against Gudiya and Imrana 17-18 years ago, we had spoken up vehemently.

If we speak up against our own fundamentalism, then the Hindus must also speak up against the fundamentalism in their community.

This is not about Hindus or Muslims; this is about the idea of what this country should be. It is the idea of Hinduism which is at stake.

The pluralism that existed, the wonderful Hindu ethos that existed… all of this is at stake. Every Hindu needs to speak about it.

When you refer to the Hindu ethos, do you mean it promotes pluralism and inclusivity?

It does not because any one ideology is not enough to define religion. To understand this, one has to go back to the ethos of every religion.

Islam is about equality and justice. Hinduism is about taking the right path and being inclusive. Forgiving is an important part of Christianity. The core, I believe, is the same in every religion.

But, as we have witnessed, Hinduism can be identified differently by different people.

And that is true of any religion. To give you an example, certain sections of the Muslim community still believe the hijab is essential. I don’t agree.

We know what Hindus have done to their women in the name of religion. They have also promoted patriarchy.

Like any other religion, Hinduism is not devoid of its share of murkiness. I have read various books on Hinduism. When does Hinduism speak of violence and exclusion? I have not found it.

There is — if you go back to the basics — an underlying unity among all religions and the values they teach.

Even in 2022, why can’t India break out of its patriarchal stronghold?

Patriarchy is a religion in itself. It is overpowering and penetrates all ideologies and all our institutions and destroys them from within.

Why do we deny it? Despite my strong support for feminism, I am also patriarchal in many subtle ways.

For example, we subconsciously betray our patriarchal nature in the language we use.

We may consciously try to correct ourselves but, when we speak unconsciously, we reveal ourselves.

The fact is patriarchy is both deeply prevalent and deeply rooted in our society.

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This story first appeared in National Herald

Lata Mangeshkar was indeed an icon no one in this country can surpass. But she should not be put on a pedestal for she had some terrible human vices

The sweetest story about Lata Mangeshkar is that she used to sing privately for Raj Singh Dungarpur – on her landline.

They used to live yards from each other but nevertheless he would call her almost every day just for the song.

These were the days of landlines and telephone operators soon got wind of the romance between these two celebrities. Neither was important enough for government security agencies but the telephone operators routinely tapped into their phones just to hear their conversation, expressed in songs.

Both spent a lifetime oblivious to the fact that their privacy had been breached or that their phones were bugged.

Lata Mangeshkar’s is a household name spanning three generations– we have grown up listening to her melodies.

But the MTNL operators, privy to a lot of conversations and ongoings, thought it a bonus to be in on the romance. Whenever calls happened between the two, there would be pin drop silence in the MTNL operators’ room. They would attend no other calls and sit quietly listening until Lata’s song for Raj Singh came to an end.

Mangeshkar has been an icon of this country and the playlists at many events were dominated by her songs.

Most people found her endearing and it is well known that leading politicians including Prime Ministers like the late Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi would call Lata Mangeshkar personally. The latest in this line of prime ministers is Narendra Modi who is said to have called her on more occasions and the warmth shared mutually, with Mangeshkar calling him and praising him for leading the country in the right direction and calling on his mother.

These and many other entitlements and contradictions made her who she was– feisty and someone who could have wielded her power for the benefit of larger public, because she was in a position to do so. It certainly must have not been easy to hold the entire family together, be the sole breadwinner and pursue her dreams and ambitions.

This may have led her to fiercely guard her territory, but she too fell for nepotism to the extent that she failed to encourage and nurture young talent. Suman Kalyanpur was one example who had a melodious voice but remained in the shadows of Mangeshkar, because music directors saw her essentially as a replacement to Mangeshkar. They had a similar style of singing. In fact, even after the Mangeshkar sisters became successful, Lata and Asha were not known to allow talent to flourish. It definitely was not easy for Mangeshkar when she started playback singing, which was dominated by men.

She had a few disagreements that were well known in the Hindi and Marathi music worlds. Mangeshkar had a fall out with G D Madgulkar, Mohammed Rafi, S D Burman and many others. Some were known to have not repeated her in their songs because of her style of singing. Sudhir Phadke, known as Babuji or O P Nayyar for that matter signed her for only a limited number of songs as both preferred Asha’s style of singing. In fact, most Marathi music directors were known to be petrified of Mangeshkar because they felt they could not afford to pay her and they could not muster courage enough to ask her.

Her well known public fall out with Mohammed Rafi was over the issue of royalty. Mohammad Rafi was clear that unlike the western Rock stars and singers, he and Mangeshkar were basically only playback singers and it was not ethical to demand royalty since they did not cut albums for themselves when they sung for a film. He felt it was a team effort and they should be happy with the fees they were paid, which he said can be negotiable.

It is well-known that Mangeshkar got good royalty on her film songs, although some have also said they fell out because he refused to stop singing duets with other female chanteuses and thus aid her attempts to keep them out of the industry. But despite the friction, it wasn’t too long before their duet songs were back on track.

But it is in the field of politics and ideology that there is some reservation about Lata Mangeshkar. It is no hidden fact that both Mangeshkar and Phadke had very close ties with the Hindu Mahasabha and VD Savarkar. She never hid her preference.

In fact, though Mangeshkar complained she was a misfit in the Parliament after she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, her presence in strategic sessions helped this country enforce the dreaded POTA – Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.

She rarely attended the Parliament sessions due to her professional commitments. However, on March 2, 2002, the NDA government led by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not have the majority in the Rajya Sabha, but Mangeshkar was among the 98 members who voted in favour of this bill, while 113 voted against it. Moreover, she was yet again present to vote for this same bill on March 26.

She had also been vocal of her complete support to Modi and has made it public. Mangeshkar is not known to have taken dues paid to an MP, but sadly did not even use the MP funds for any public good.

While Mumbai city was her karmabhoomi, majority of Mumbaikars have felt let down by her. They were deeply disappointed when Mangeshkar refused to listen to the pleas of harried citizens demanding that the flyover at Peddar road should be constructed. This is one example when iconic personalities put on a pedestal brutally show their shortcomings when they choose personal benefit rather than larger good.

The then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said he had initiated the idea of a flyover at Peddar road after she had complained to him of the terrible traffic in Mumbai – being a stickler for time, she was furious people would get caught in traffic snarls. Now this is the same person who later bitterly opposed the Peddar road flyover.

Some residents who still feel they should have not objected to this project say that she was misled by a handful of rich, privileged people who felt this flyover would cut their exclusive access to this road – if these elite had objected the government would have shot down their objections but no one could have said ‘no’ to Lata Mangeshkar. Hence, they used her. But why did she willingly submit herself to their misplaced cause?

She really had no personal reason for such objections. But it was not just elite residents but also politicians who were allowed to manipulate her. Once I spoke to her for over five minutes and in that period, she also asked me to send her lawyer a message on her behalf. Now, interestingly this proved to be a good piece of evidence to be used when she backtracked.

She had said this flyover would cause her a lot of distress and it would block her balcony, apart from the traffic sound that would damage her vocal cords. This piece of news appeared in the papers and for four days all leading FM radio channels in the city ran talk shows on this controversy to ask citizens if she was right. She had said she would leave the city for good if the flyover project was undertaken.

Much to the surprise of the RJs and chagrin of Mangeshkar, most respondents said they will go over to her house to help her pack her bags and bid her leave. At that time, she had become a confidant of Raj Thackeray, chief of Maharashtra Navanirman Sena party. It was decided a clarification in her name would be issued, which the party did and was faxed from their party office. Could she not have done so herself?

I, for one knew she was dissembling. For, prior to this controversy, I had visited Mangeshkar’s house to officially shoot for a talk show on music and seen her studio which had excellent sound proof panelling. You could not hear anything from outside that room. So there could have been truth in what the other residents said – she could have used her power and position for the benefit of millions of Mumbaikars who have been suffering on a daily basis in huge traffic jams on Peddar road. But she didn’t.

In fact, after this incident, many disgruntled Mumbaikars started a horn bajao campaign outside her building, Prabhu Kunj, day and night. It caused a lot of mirth among kaali peeli taxi drivers who are among the biggest sufferers of the day long traffic jams. This anger against Mangeshkar diminished with her aging.

Speaking of her aging, many of the Manageshkar fans were highly disappointed after they attended a few of her live shows. One such was held at Andheri sports complex, where she was seen promoting her niece who lacked any talent. Many old-timers complained they had not paid to listen to a family band and left the show disappointed. But they did not blame her personally, rather like the flyover controversy, they attributed it to vested interests – her siblings and friends who she was able to resist as little as she was the elite residents of Peddar Road, even to the extent of billing the organisers for a cup of tea and packet of biscuits!

Lata Mangeshkar was indeed an icon no one in this country can surpass. But she should not be put on a pedestal for she had some terrible clay feet.

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