By Snobar Khan
Rana Ayyub is not just an Indian journalist but a strong and brave voice of every underprivileged person, who faces discrimination in their own country in the name of religion, caste, colour, gender etc.
In society, there are many monsters who live in the face of human beings, that are trying to silencing this fearless voice but this voice has been battling for truth even after getting rape and death threats so many times, by them. India needs this voice under the current regime more to keep alive its democratic values, which are in jeopardy under the current government.
Indian people should always remember that India is a democratic country, it has its own valuable constitution, which gives them equal rights and duties. The constitution which took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to be ready by those immoral leaders who did not care of their life and fought for freedom and did everything to make this country, a democratic one, no government can pour water over their endless struggles.
Since the BJP came to power in 2014, the BJP supporters, anti-Kashmiris, anti-Muslims and it would be more reliable if I call them anti-humanity, got power to abuse and kill to those who speak against wrong, injustice, which happen with Indian minorities especially Muslims in India.
The BJP/RSS leaders and supporters have been trying to silent journalist Rana Ayyub’s voice since she conducted a prolonged sting operation aimed at snaring politicians and government officials of Gujarat and get them to reveal any potential cover-ups regarding the anti-Muslims massacre of 2002 of the Gujarat state when Narendra Modi, now India’s prime minister, was the top official in Gujarat, and penned down her experiences of this sting operation in the form of a book Gujarat Files-Anatomy Of A Cover Up.
This was her self-published book, which narrates “what the officials revealed about the complicity of the state machinery in the anti-Muslim violence in 2002, as well as in “encounters” such as the one that resulted in the killing of Ishrat Jahan, and the murder of the state home minister Haren Pandya, events that accompanied the consolidation of power in Gujarat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah”.
Despite of several death threats, she continued her sting operation fearlessly to dig out the truth of the 2002 pogrom of Gujarat, in which around 2000 people were killed, mostly Muslims.
Her report on anti-Muslims massacre had worked as an instrument in sending Home Minister Amit Shah to jail in the Saharabuddin fake encounter case in 2010, was then Home Minister of the Gujarat state.
Rana Ayyub is one such voice who has been risking her life to serving Indian society with her true and brave journalism.
She was awarded the McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage for the year 2020 on 24 February.
In 2018, The United Nations Human Rights Commission called upon to Indian government to protect her after she faced multiple threats to her life following an online campaign.
Recently she has shared the several screenshots of receiving rape and death threats on her social media platforms for speaking over a death of Kashmiri civilian, Bashir Ahmad Khan, 65, during cross-firing between security forces and militants in North Kashmir’s Sopore town.
One CRPF man was also killed in the cross-fire, while 3 CRPF men were injured, police said.
A 3 years old child told in a viral video, bade papa ko police wale ne maara, goli se, thak thak thak( grandfather was shot dead by a policeman).
He was not only witness of how his grandfather was dead but there were also other witnesses who told the same. Khan’s family speaking on camera that same morning told by witnesses that security forces made him get out of his car and then shot him. But the police rejected all these allegations, saying the civilian vehicle had gotten caught in a gun fight between militants and security forces and it is believed that civilian was killed by two militants in the attack, the police said.
A very insensitive photograph was also tweeted by senior police officers, in which a 3 year old child was kept on the centre of his dead grandfather’s blooded chest.
Rana Ayyub was just doing his duty as a journalist by speaking dauntlessly on the civilians death and his indecent viral photograph with his grandson clicked by someone from the security force in the midst of gun battle.
Instead of abusing and threatening a brave Indian woman journalist, Rana Ayyub, people should criticizing Central Reserved Police Force(CRPF) for failing in providing security to Kashmiri civilian and a 3 year old innocent who were clicked by them during a blooded violence in Kashmir. It was such a biggest shame for India that its security force was busy in clicking photos and making videos of 3 year old child with his dead grandfather, instead of placing child to the safe place.
Rana fulfilled her duty but security force has failed in doing their duty of serving safety to late Bashir and his 3 year old toddler. And after all that, CRPF men denied the family’s allegations of killing Bashir by security force.
Ayyub told, “Every time I write or speak on Kashmir, the hate is unimaginable. This time however I think they are doing it brazenly. Earlier at least they used to cover their words, use a language that isn’t specific, but this time they are being specific and aren’t scared of anything”.
Rana has also shared the screenshots of her social media’s inbox, in which an account named Hindu Rashtra, reminding her Gauri Lankesh’s death.
Gauri Lankesh was also a courageous and fearless journalist, who was shot dead in 2017, by the Hindu nationalists, who have been murdering of humanity since 2014-the year of BJP’s victory in Lok Sabha elections in India.
Who is giving them power to exploiting stout-hearted voices of women journalists like Rana Ayyub and late Gauri Lankesh?
After all that the voices of brave journalists like Rana Ayyub won’t be silent by anyone. She is one of those voices, which actually India needs this time especially, when we have many examples of how minorities are facing discrimination and injustice under the ruling dispensation.
