Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker recently attended an event in Delhi wherein she lashed out at the Indian judiciary for delays pertaining the cases of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other activists, who were booked under the controversial anti-terrorist law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA) after the Delhi Riots in 2020. She stated that they were easy targets because they were Muslims and she was spared from going to jail as she was born into a Hindu family.
During the event on Tuesday, Swara questioned the Indian judiciary as to why Khalid and other activists could not secure a date for their bail hearing despite languishing in jail for four years. "I also raised my voice and was one of the protestors during the movement. But I was not jailed? Why? Because coincidentally, I was born into a Hindu family. They must have thought that putting me behind bars would be too much. It was not convenient enough for the authorities," she said.
'Not convenient to label a Hindu as terrorist': Swara Bhasker
"You can label a Muslim as terrorist, but they must have thought that to tag the daughter of a Hindu ex-Navy officer as a terrorist, ye shayad thoda jyada ho jayega," she added.
Swara also slammed Delhi High Court judge Amit Sharma, who recused himself from hearing the bail pleas of the jailed activists, and questioned what was he afraid of. "Why are you not capable? You must be well-educated. You've been receiving your salary from the taxes that we pay. Then why do you have the right to recuse yourself from your responsibilities? By doing this, are you not betraying the people of India?" she asked.
As her speech received a thunderous applause from the crowd, Swara concluded by saying that she only wants the lawmakers to do their job. "Justice cannot be served through words, it's served through actions. We are not asking for too much. I just want to appeal that please do your work," she stated.
About 2020 Delhi Riots
For those unversed, protests erupted across Delhi around the end of 2019 and early 2020 against the Narendra Modi-led government's Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). As many as 53 people were killed in the intense clashes, and over 700 were injured as the protestors and supporters, along with the police, locked horns.
Several people, including Khalid, Imam and others were accused to be the 'masterminds' of the riots, and were slapped with sedition as well as the controversial UAPA Act charges.
While Imam was arrested in January 2020, he was granted bail in May 2024 in the sedition case against him. Khalid, on the other hand, was arrested in September 2020, and is still awaiting his bail hearing date.
