Former Fellows of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, including V. Krishna Ananth, Alok Bajpai, and Ritu Bhagat, have condemned in a statement the attack on senior journalist David Davidas. The other signatories are Ira Bhaskar, Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Anita Ghai, Meena Gopal, Mayank Kumar, Madhuri Sharma, Chayanika Uniyal, Rohit Wanchoo, Bhupendra Yadav, Naman P. Ahuja and Alok Sarin:
We record our shock and dismay over the events reported in The Hindu (Sept. 13, 2011) involving David Davidas, who was an NMML Fellow with us. Police personnel took the law into their own hands on September 5 in Srinagar. It is an eye-opener on the state of affairs in the valley. Such lawless behaviour by the police involving a senior journalist deserves strong condemnation.
David has been working as an educator and researcher among youth in the valley to help them overcome the trauma caused by the violence over the years. His presentations to us and academics and policymakers at Teen Murti regarding the causes of Kashmiri youth rage evoked great empathy for the distress endured by ordinary Kashmiri people. He pleaded strongly that the arms of the state should be responsive rather than repressive. He could have lived in the comfort zone of New Delhi but opted for life in the valley. Such a person has been brutally assaulted in a manner that should not happen in any civilised nation. We learn that there is an attempt to implicate him falsely in a case.
We condemn the assault on David Davidas and demand punishment against the policemen involved.
