Participated In CAA Protest: Academic J Devika Unable To Renew Passport, Attend Foreign Programs
Kerala: Feminist historian and social critic Dr J Devika has been in travel trouble since she was booked by police for participating in anti-CAA protests in Kerala. The academician who used to attend seminars and educational events in foreign countries and universities is now struggling to get her passport renewed as the case is still standing against her, despite state government’s continued assurance that all the CAA related cases would be withdrawn.
Despite getting invitation for the several programs including the New York’s Lana Literature Festival, Devika could not attend the event due to the passport issue stemming from the case against her for attending protest gatherings against the controversial act. India’s first religion-based citizenship law introduced by the Union Government in 2019, the CAA allegedly discriminated against Muslims by barring them from the benefit of the act while simplifying procedures to citizenship for other religious groups.
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Speaking to Malayalam news Channel Manorama, Devika says as a person who is aware of grave consequences of the discriminatory law, she along with others attended the demonstrations. She claims her name appeared in a poster of an organisation that declared a Hartal which she asserts she was against.
Out of the total eight cases, only one reached the court, and without any intervention from the public prosecutor, the case remains unclosed. “It is getting longer and things happen as per the wish of state,” Devika laments, adding that she can’t even go to meet her daughter and brother living abroad.
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Notably, the government has been time and again saying that it has withdrawn cases against the CAA protesters, despite persisting allegations that several cases are still pending. Devika says her own story proves that the government’s promise is just an eye wash as she wonders is it because she is a strong critic of the ruling LDF front that it has no interest in removing the cases slapped against her. She adds that she is not ready to pay fine and admit a crime that she has not committed. She affirms that she can’t consider CAA protest as wrong and is not ready to knee down before the authority.
A total of 835 cases were registered against CAA protesters in Kerala. Replying to the legislators’ questions, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in March this year said that requests for withdrawing 63 cases have been pending before the courts, adding that he has taken steps to initiate actions regarding the matter.
