Historian Ramachandra Guha was detained in Bengaluru on Thursday during a demonstration against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA. He spoke to Hindustan Times after he was released about the reasons for joining the protest defying the ban on public functions. Edited excerpts:
Why did you choose to join the performance?
Given the extraordinary nature of CAA, I felt compelled to resist it. Secondly, I am a biographer of Gandhi and recognize how terrible and immoral this act is. Thirdly, I am very impressed by the huge number of students and youth who have come out from across the country to protest against the (CAA)… they inspired me.
Fourth, the police brutality in Delhi shook me. Vandalism of a library at Jamia Millia Islamia University Campus in Delhi [on Sunday]? Even the British did not commit vandalism in libraries. So I decided that I should go and protest.
Only yesterday I was giving a talk in Bengaluru in defense of pluralism. While I was doing this, this news came [of protests] and I decided that I would go [to protest].
If anyone saw the video where I am being arrested … I also told the police that what I am doing is speaking about Gandhiji and non-violence.
I am glad that I went to protest because after being detained we were tied together and kept at a place in Oudogodi, where I met more than 100 people from very diverse backgrounds.
It was a joyful and enriching experience for me to be with my fellow citizens when we most needed to come together and protest against this autocratic rule.
What happened after your detention?
When I was alone and talking to a member of the media, I was rudely taken away. Although I was treated well in the police station. They knew who I was. Unlike the students, I was not asked for any details. I was detained for about four hours and later told that I was free to leave.
Police say all those detained will be charged …
No such thing was mentioned to me. Protests are gaining momentum in some parts of the country … I was previously part of two dozen people who were at [Bengaluru protest site] and detained and now I am told that thousands are protesting Huh.
I have been told that the internet has been shut down in Delhi… The important thing is that every protest should be majestic, non-violent and collective.
That law [section 144 which prohibits the assembly of five or more people] is illegal. I also tweeted that Mr. Police Commissioner AAP is using an illegal colonial-era law to silence our voice, but our voice will not be silenced.
Criticizing the protest, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa said that the CAA does not even apply to Indian citizens and protesters are being misled …
… Gandhi, 72 years ago, assured security to 70,000 Muslims of Mewat [area in modern Haryana and Rajasthan] that they would not be made to go to Pakistan. The CAA is completely contradictory to Gandhi’s values … this regime believes not Gandhi but his killer … if this law is discriminatory to my fellow Muslims and used to intimidate and harass them Goes, we all have to stand against it.
CAA is completely illogical. Many groups have been abandoned. All this is just title management to deflect attention from a sinking economy…
What will be your next action?
I will continue to write, speak my mind about the values enshrined in our Constitution. I will continue to protest against discriminatory laws. I will continue to oppose Hindutva with every fiber non-violently in my existence.
