NEW DELHI: Prominent Indian literary figure Arundhati Roy is now in the legal crosshairs within India as Modi regime is victimizing every individual who voices support for oppressed Kashmiris.
In a climate overseen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is tightening its grip on those who advocate for the rights of the marginalized in the Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir.
The most recent example of this victimization involves Arundhati Roy, a prize-winning author known for her outspoken criticism of the Modi-led government’s repressive policies, particularly in Kashmir. Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, a member of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has granted approval for the prosecution of Arundhati Roy and Kashmiri intellectual Sheikh Showkat Hussain in a case dating back to 2010. They are facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sedition, for their speeches at the Kashmir Conference held in Delhi on October 21, 2010.
The event, orchestrated by the Committee for the Liberation of Political Detainees (CLPD) and themed “Azadi – The Sole Path,” showcased various speakers, among them Arundhati Roy, who boldly contended that Jammu and Kashmir had never been a rightful component of India.
They argued that the region had been forcibly occupied by the Indian Armed Forces, and they advocated for every possible effort to achieve the independence of Jammu and Kashmir from India.
A complaint was filed by a self-proclaimed social activist from occupied Kashmir, Sushil Pandit, who alleged that the speakers had called for the “separation of Kashmir from India.”
Among those charged in the case were the late veteran Kashmiri Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani Shaheed, and prominent Kashmiri intellectual Syed Abdul Rahman Gilani. Both of them have since passed away during the course of the case.
It is worth noting that Arundhati Roy, an acclaimed author, won the prestigious Booker Prize for her debut novel, “The God of Small Things,” in 1997. She is not only celebrated for her literary achievements but is also known for her passionate essays on the plight of the poor and dispossessed in India. Her critiques of the Modi regime’s repressive policies against minorities in India and the Muslim population in occupied Jammu and Kashmir have drawn the ire of the country’s elite.
