Prita Jha is co-editor of ON THEIR WATCH: Mass Violence and State Apathy in India. Examining the Record. She is a human right activist working in Gujarat. She replies to four questions we put to her.
Q.: The book is based on painstaking field-work. The chapter on Gujarat, written by you, is the longest. The hurdles you faced in Gujarat, where officials are very reluctant to part with any substantial information, should be enormous. How did you manage to conduct this study?
PJ: The challenge of conducting the research in Gujarat was indeed enormous. Unlike other episodes where there were a few violence afflicted districts, in case of Gujarat almost all districts of Gujarat were affected and FIRs (First Information Reports) were registered in hundreds of police stations. So, there was a kind of unexpected avalanche effect as far as RTI (Right to Information) responses were concerned. Keeping track of them was very difficult. The ten RTI applications we sent to each district, got transferred to hundreds of police stations in some instances. Sometimes we received a district level response but many times we did not.
Q.: What are the things you find most disheartening about your society?
PJ: I can only speak about the NGO sector as I have very little dealings with the society at large. What I find disheartening about them, with a few notable exceptions, is the lack of real passion and conviction. The scarcity of funding combined with the huge number of NGOS in Gujarat has created a very competitive environment. Bringing NGOS together on one platform on a common agenda and sustaining any kind of long-term work is very very tough.
Society in Gujarat, of course, is physically segregated along religious lines, and deeply communalised. As much as I believe we are a secular organisation, I am also aware that we are perceived as an Muslim entity by non-Muslims. Such is the atmosphere.
I find it very difficult that many of us work very hard to bring about transformative pieces of legislation but the work to ensure that the impact is felt by the most vulnerable is not prioritized. Certainly not with the kind of energy and urgency it requires.
Q.: And what are the resources of hope?
PJ: It is the courage, ene
rgy and dynamism of ordinary people from both sides of the divide, who are willing to speak truth to power, so to speak. The fact that many people keep on trying to bring about small changes within their communities on various issues. gives me a lot of hope.
Q.: What did we learn about the Indian Criminal Justice System from this research?
PJ: There is no such thing at present. The system doesn’t work and there is very little prospect of justice for the poor – not just in cases of mass violence, but also in everything else. What we have instead is a system of impunity, and compromise. The culture of compromise is deeply ingrained in the legal and juridical fibres in our country. All agents, police, prosecutors, witnesses, victims, defense lawyers, and most surprisingly, large sections of judiciary subscribe to illegal compromises.
I hope people will read our book and understand the patterns and systems of impunity that exists regardless of the political party in power. We, as people, need put into place systemic challenge to the Indian impunity and Indian compromise system. I would be very happy if the book inspires a few people to work towards creating a Indian criminal justice system which works for ordinary Indians during normal times, and in the times of violence.
