Over 200 academics write open letter for withdrawal of UAPA sanction to prosecute Arundhati Roy

Over 200 academics, activists and journalists have written an open letter urging the withdrawal of the sanction which allows prosecuting novelist Arundhati Roy under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Along with Roy, former professor of International Law at the Central University of Kashmir, Dr. Sheikh Showkat Hussain has also been booked under the same law for allegedly making 'provocative' speeches at a conference organized under the banner 'Azadi-the Only Way' in 2010.

Reportedly, during the speech, Roy said the disputed region of Kashmir had never been “an integral part of India”.

“We the concerned citizens of India deplore this action and appeal to the government and the democratic forces in the country to ensure that no infringement of the fundamental right to freely and fearlessly express views on any subject takes place in our nation,” an open letter they signed read.

Under the UAPA, an anti-terror law, it is difficult for accused persons to secure bail. In October last year, Saxena granted sanction to prosecute Roy and Hussain under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with promoting enmity between groups, making assertions prejudicial to national integration and circulating information with the intent to cause mutiny or incite offences against the state.“

The Indian constitution upholds Roy’s right to the freedom of her opinions and we are a constitutional democracy,” one of the signatories, the history professor Ajay Dandekar, said the decision was unjustified.

The decision sparked political controversy with Bharatiya Janata Party accusing Congress of sympathizing with separatists and terrorist organizations.

Meanwhile others have also voiced support for Roy with few protests by civil rights groups, activists, and students in Delhi and Bengaluru have also taken place.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella group of farmer unions, has also condemned the decision.
Arundhati Roy won the Booker prize for her debut novel The God of Small Things Ever in 1997. She has been a vocal critic of Narendra Modi’s government.