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Zahira Shaikh: 'Victim' of Justice
Letters Zahira may not have been perceived to be a “good victim” by many, but this does not mean that she should go to jail since she could not bear the multiple burdens of courage and truth placed solely upon her against impossible odds. Nor does her “perjury” erase the fact that she has survived unspeakable violence. Even though Zahira has repeatedly changed her statements, and therefore the court has felt aggrieved, we must remember that she is a survivor first and foremost and her “hostility” to the prosecution is a product of surviving in a highly hostile and insecure environment. The interests of society lie in both upholding the dignity of the judiciary as well as providing substantive justice for survivors, such as Zahira. It is in the larger interest of society that we should ensure that the instigators of such terrible violence are punished in future and the fate of Zahira is not repeated. In the interests of substantive justice, we believe that the Supreme Court should take action against Madhu Srivastava and the political powers responsible for the violence in Gujarat in 2002, and that this intent be made public. SAHELI, SAMA, NIRANTAR, UMA CHAKRAVARTI, FARAH NAQVI PRATIKSHA BAXI, AND 10 OTHER INDIVIDUALS New Delhi In the last few years, the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics made news for good reasons. In 1993, the government of India declared the institute a deemed university. In 2003, the National Assessments and Accreditation Council team visited the institute and awarded it A+ status, an endorsement of its commitment to raising the quality of its teaching and research. Since March 2004, under the directorship of Ajit Sinha, the institute made rapid strides again. Its infrastructure improved dramatically, course offerings went through major innovative changes, and it organised several high profile international and national conferences. 2005 was the Platinum Jubilee year of the institute. In February 2005, the president of India visited the institute as the chief guest at its convocation. In September 2005, when Ajit Sinha went as a visiting scholar to the College de France, the joint director of the institute, Tirthankar Roy, assumed Subscription (Rs) Six One Two Three months year years years Institutions – 1250 2300 3300 Individuals 500 935 1750 2500 Concessional Rates Teachers/Researchers – 685 – 1800 Students – 450 – – Concessional rates are available only in India. To avail of concessional rates, certificate from relevant institution is essential. Remittance by money order/bank draft preferred. Please add Rs 35 to outstation cheques towards bank collection charges. Institutions – 1500 – 4150 Individuals – 1250 – 3500 (US $) Air Mail Surface Mail Institutions 1yr 2yrs 3yrs 1yr 2yrs 3yrs Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh 80 150 200 65 120 175 Other countries 150 275 375 90 170 240 Individuals Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh 50 90 125 30 50 75 Other countries 100 175 240 65 120 170 All remittances to: Economic and Political Weekly Hitkari House, 284 Shahid Bhagatsingh Road,
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Director : S L Shetty Economic and Political Weekly March 18, 2006 (Continued from p 934) the duties of the director, followingrules laid down in the memorandum of association of the institute. Between October 2005 and January2006, dramatic changes took place inthe institute leadership. We understandthat these changes happened largely atthe behest of the institute’s trustees, the Servants of India Society (SIS). Thoughtrustees of the institute, the SIS does not either finance the institute or manage its administration directly. Theinstitute, which is a deemed university,functions according to a memorandumof association, prepared followingguidelines supplied by the UGC. InAugust 2005, the SIS elected a newpresident. Within a day of assumingoffice, the newly elected presidentstarted criticising the work of Sinha and Roy. There were attempts by theSIS, which is not an academic body, tointerfere in the academic administration of the institute. The board of management was reconstituted drastically.Several distinguished members of theboard, who had served the institute ably, were summarily removed beforetheir terms were over. Many major pastdecisions were revoked. Roy was forcedto resign from the additional charge ofdirectorship. He was also removedfrom the office of joint director. Mostdisturbing of all, the proceedings oftwo faculty selection committees wererevoked. We understand that Sinha and Roy now also face “enquiry” andharassment. These events are far too serious to be ignored by the larger academiccommunity. First, we are shocked tohear that charges were brought against two individuals who are known to be upright, honest, progressive, and menwith impeccable reputation in theirrespective fields. Second, we areconcerned that the leadership changewill cause a setback to the course initiated by Ajit Sinha. And, third, theGokhale Institute has in the pastwitnessed unsavoury episodes ofleadership change. With every suchepisode the institute risks beingbranded as an unsafe place forindependent-minded scholars. R M HONAVAR, NARENDRA JADHAV, K L KRISHNA, SUJATA PATEL, PARTHA SEN, SURESH TENDULKAR, A VAIDYANATHAN, M GOVINDA RAO, VIJAY L KELKAR, AMARESH BAGCHI, MIHIR RAKSHIT, ROMAR CORREA, JEAN DREZE, RRADHAKRISHNA AND OTHERS. New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai Here are some guidelines fortake up to six to eight months from the address, day-time phone numbers andauthors who wish to make date of acceptance to appear in the email address. submissions to the journal. EPW. Every effort will, however, be made (The email address of writers in the Special to ensure early publication. Papers with Article, Commentary and Discussion immediate relevance for policy would be sections will be published at the end ofEPW welcomes original research papers in considered for early publication. Please the article.) any of the social sciences. note that this is a matter of editorial * Authors are requested to prepare their * Articles must be no more than 8,000 judgment. soft copy versions in text formats. PDF versions are not accepted by the EPW. Authors are encouraged to use UK Englishprocessed. EPW invites short contributions to the spellings (Writers using MS Word or paper has appeared earlier in a different on occasion considered for publication. changes/additions, deletions of version, we would appreciate a copy of references, minor changes, etc, as this this along with the submitted paper. poses challenges in processing. Readers of EPW are encouraged to send comments and suggestions (300-400 words) immediately on receipt with a reference * Graphs and charts prepared in MS * All submissions will be acknowledged Office (Word/Excel) or equivalent software on published articles to the Letters column. number. Quoting the reference numberare preferable to material prepared in All letters should have the writer’s full name in inquiries will help. jpeg or other formats. * Every effort is taken to complete early and postal address. * EPW posts all published articles on its web processing of the papers we receive. site and may reproduce them on CDs. Since we receive more than 35 articles Address for communication: EPW encourages researchers to comment every week and adequate time has to be Economic and Political Weekly, on Special Articles. Submissions should be provided for internal reading and external Hitkari House, 1,000 to 2,000 words. refereeing. It can take up to four 284 Shahid Bhagatsingh Road,
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WGokhale Institute of Politics and Economics
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