A Statement by Scholars, Artistes, Writers and Academicians

Press statement regarding arrest of publishers and editors for allegedly publishing anti-Dalit text

The arrest of two Punjabi publishers and two editors for reprinting old books of poet Babu Rajab Ali which allegedly contained some then used caste names, under the Prevention of Atrocities Against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, is a totally thoughtless, callous and ruthless action taken by the Punjab government.

We understand that Mr. Amit Mittar of Tark Bharti Prakashan and Mr. Ashok Garg of Sangam and editors Mr. Jagjeet Singh Sahoke from Moga and Mr. Swatantar from Samana, were arrested by the police on September 15 at the behest of the Punjab government, is absolutely against academic freedom.

Babu Rajab Ali (1894-1979) was a popular poet of Punjab. His poetry published much before the Indepence of India included qissas of Punjabi folktales like Heer Ranjha, Dulla Bhatti, Mirza Sahiban, and Bhagat Singh etc. His works have been published by the state-run Language Department, Punjab, besides various other publishers.  A new reprint of those works cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered to be a criminal offence. His works and the mention of the then used caste names in his poetry have to be understood in the historical context.

Making a reference to traditional caste names in academic works cannot be construed as name-calling. Some scholars make it clear in the beginning of their works that references to historical caste names are just for interpretation of the contexts rather for any other purposes. Moreover in the case of the publishers the intention is not at all for the abusive use of the particular caste category. It is in this context that this case needs to be understood.

The Punjab government, in its overzealous thoughtlessness, has entered a wrong territory, as this is not the only text containing traditional caste names. Such a cleansing, as the Punjab government has attempted to carry out, will need doing away with all the classical Punjabi literature containing the traditional caste names. This includes not just poetry by the likes of Bhai Gurdas, Waris Shah, Shah Husain and Dhani Ram Chatrik, who are regularly published by various state departments and universities run by the Punjab government, but, the sacred text of Guru Granth Sahib too.

Also, the government should have bothered to inquire from its agencies whether these publishers and writer are really against Dalits or not. All these people are known for producing pro-Dalit and pro-working class literature at affordable prices.

We appeal to the people, whose feelings have been hurt by these books should look these texts in broader context.

This act of Punjab government is not only against freedom of expression but also abuse of the law and this is not for what this law meant for.

We condemn the government’s move and demand immediate release of all publishers and editors booked under the SC/ST Act.

Signatories:

1 Harish Puri, Political Scientist and Historian

2 Ajmer Aulakh, Sahitya Akademi Award-Winning Writer

3 Amarjit Chandan, London-Based Poet

4 Navtej Bharti, Canada-Based Writer

5 Ronki Ram, ICCR Chair Professor of Contemporary India Studies, Leiden University, The Netherlands

6 Om Prakash Gasso, Shiromani Sahitkar

7 Parmod Kumar, Director, Institute for Development and Communication, Chandigarh

8 Nirupama Dutt, Writer and Journalist

9 Gobind Thukral, Senior Journalist

10 Rajinder Singh Rahi, Writer

11 Pritam Singh, Oxford Brookes University, UK

12 Rajeev Sharma, Filmmaker

13 Jainder Mauhar, Filmmaker

14 Daljit Ami, Filmmaker

15 Baljit Balli, Editor, www.babushahi.com

16 Meena Dhanda, Head, Department of Philosophy, University of Wolverhampton, UK

17 Prabhsharandeep Singh, student, Oxford University, UK

18 Satnam, Author of Jangalnama

19 Jagtar, Senior Journalist, Punjab

20 Arvind, Dean, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, Punjab

21 Yogesh Snehi, Assistant Professor, Ambedkar University, Delhi

22 Chaman Lal, Professor & Former Chairperson Centre of Indian Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Former President JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA)

23 Bhai Baldeep Singh, Classical Musician

24 Rajesh Kumar Sharma, Punjabi University, Patiala

25 Eleanor Nesbitt, Professor Emeritus,Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit, University of Warwick, UK

26 Maqsood Saqib, Punjabi Writer, and Editor Pancham, Lahore

27 Bhagwan Josh, Historian, JNU

28 Mushtaq Soofi, Punjabi Poet, Lahore, Pakistan

29 Jatinder Singh Toor, Senior Lawyer, Punjab and Haryana High Court

30 Gurdial Singh, Jnanpith Awardee

31 Umrao Singh, Assistant Professor, Punjabi University, Patiala

32 Tejwant Singh Gill, Academic and critic

33 Fauzia Rafiq, Canada-based Punjabi novelist and blogger

34 Waryam Singh Sandhu, Sahitya Akademi award winner writer

35 Gurcharan Rampuri, Poet, Canada

36 Ranjit Singh Ghuman, economist, Nehru-SAIL chair professor, Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, Chandigarh

37 Lakhwinder Singh, professor, department of economics, Punjabi University, Patiala

38 Jaswinder Singh Brar, professor, convener Democratic Teacher Front, Punjabi University, Patiala

39 Kesar Singh Bhangoo, professor, department of economics, Punjabi University, Patiala

40 Kuldip Singh, professor and head, department of political science, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

41 Dr Bhupinder Singh, former professor department of sociology, Punjabi University, Patiala

42 Birinder Pal Singh, professor department of sociology, Punjabi University, Patiala

43 Ajmer Rode, poet, Canada

44 Surjit Patar, poet

45 Dr Raj K Hans is a scholar of dalit studies