Islamists’ conviction in TJ Joseph case welcome
With the conviction of the 13 accused in the barbaric TJ Joseph case, some semblance of the civility and social order that had been damaged, when Islamist marauders cut off the professor's hand for supposedly insulting the Prophet, has now been restored. Yes, the journey to full justice is far from over, as the case will now move through the higher courts; however, Thursday's verdict is an important step towards that end. The guilty are yet to be sentenced but, hopefully, the special court of the National Investigation Agency, that is handling the case, will hand down stringent punishment. This is one of the most important elements of a strong deterrence message. The state must make it amply clear that there is no place for Stone Age-behaviour in a modern India.
More specifically, the authorities must also show, in no uncertain terms, that while the Indian state guarantees religious freedom, it does not tolerate that freedom being abused and perverted to further a vile and venomous extremist ideology. On July 4, 2010, Mr Joseph was attacked by members of the Popular Front of India, a radical Islamist group, for supposedly hurting Muslim sentiments with his controversial reference to one ‘Mohammed' in a question paper that he had prepared. As the professor sought to explain later, the reference was not to the Prophet but to PT Kunju Mohammed, the author of a university-approved text from which an extract was lifted. But those motivated by extremist ideologies are hardly ever open to reason and common sense, forget debate and dissent. Besides, even if the professor had hurt religious sentiments, as alleged, there was still no justification for attacking him and chopping off his hand.
But shocking as the Islamists' brutal acts may have been, what has been more worrying is the ‘backdoor support' that the former initially received. Though the attack was condemned by almost all segments of society, the college authorities as well as the local administration lent a certain amount of credibility to the Islamists' ‘cause' through their harassment of Mr Joseph. Before the attack, the management of Newman College where Mr Joseph taught Malayalam, had suspended him. A criminal case was also being pursued against the professor. This was ostensibly in response to the public outcry that the Islamists had whipped up. In other words, instead of standing up for the professor, who was clearly in the right as his acquittal in court later, stands proof, the authorities as well as academics and civil society leaders capitulated before a handful threatening voices.
No doubt, this emboldened the extremists to take the next dire step. Unfortunately, even after the attack, Mr Joseph's harassment did not end. He was temporarily brought back into service but months later, in September 2010, removed from his job. A protracted legal battle followed, and it was only in March 2014 that Mr Joseph was re-instated, with just three days left for his retirement. This case serves as an important reminder that the threat to India's pluralist and tolerant social fabric comes as much from extremist fringe elements as from groups and individuals in the mainstream who do not have the guts to stand up for what is right and protect the values and ideals that they claim to cherish.