Nine from Bollywood write letter on anti-CAA protests; In the letter, that was read out in Delhi by Swara Bhasker and Zeeshan Ayyub, they asked for a judicial inquiry into “the loss of life and limb and damage to property”
BOMBAY TIMES (December 28, 2019)

Declaring that they don’t support any form of violence and vandalism, a group of people from the film industry on Thursday asked for an independent judicial probe into the violence against anti-CAA protesters in Uttar Pradesh. The appeal to the courts was read out at a press conference in Delhi by Swara Bhasker and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.

Stating that they “do not endorse or support any form of violence or vandalism — much less any damage to public property. We, in fact, condemn it and believe that if anyone has engaged in violence, they must be booked under relevant laws and subjected to due legal process,” the group said the “sacred right” of citizens to protest peacefully had been violated in the state. The letter — signed by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Aparna Sen, Alankrita Shrivastava, Kubbra Sait, Mallika Dua, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ayyub and Bhasker — urged Indian courts “to take suo motu cognizance of what has ensued in UP and request that a judicial inquiry be instituted into the loss of life and limb and damage to property.”

The letter says, “The CAA itself, as a legislation, has sparked contrasting views. But irrespective of one’s views on the merits of the law, there is something more fundamental that all of us agree on, in line with India’s constitutional values — the right of citizens to protest peacefully; the duty of the state to respond proportionately, within the framework of law; and the ultimate role of courts in determining guilt and punishment.”

The signatories to the letter said they believe that all these principles have been undermined in Uttar Pradesh, largely because of the excesses of the government. “The fundamental rights to life and liberty, free speech, free movement, and association are also under great jeopardy in the state,” the letter alleged. The signatories said they were “deeply disturbed” by the scale of deaths in the state, reportedly due to police firing and the excessive use of force, which, they believe, is largely targeted at one community. “...Media reports refer to 18 deaths in UP, mostly due to bullet injuries... There is reason to believe that the procedure was not followed,” the letter stated, adding that the administration was not following prescribed standard operating procedures while dealing with protests. “We condemn the killings, and call for justice for all victims immediately,” the appeal read out by Bhasker and Ayyub said. While Bhasker read out the appeal in English, Ayyub did so in Hindi.

When Swara was asked about her views on the “300 police personnel who were severely injured during the UP protests,” she replied, “I am not sure where your data is coming from. So I am not sure if I should believe the numbers that you are giving. As we have said in our statement that we do not condone any kind of violence. So if the protesters in UP pelted stones, then it was wrong. But the action against them should be taken as per the law.” Another question that was asked repeatedly at the press conference was why the three Khans — Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir — who are icons for millions, are not commenting on the issue. To which, Zeeshan replied, “I have talked about this before... There were about 2 lakh people in Kota who were protesting, about 1.5 lakh people on road during the Mumbai protests, toh ye sawal unn sabko badha chota dikhata hai. Why are you taking this in a different direction? Bollywood important nahi hai iss time, yakeen maniye.”