Published Aug 31, 2023 | 7:29 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 31, 2023 | 7:29 PM
All India Lawyers Association for Justice expresses concern over Supreme Court advocate J Sai Deepak giving lecture on UCC organised by Karnataka State Bar Council in Bengaluru on 31 August. (Instagram/J Sai Deepak)
Despite opposition from a section of advocates, the Karnataka State Bar Council went ahead with an event on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) with advocate J Sai Deepak as the main speaker.
The Bar Council’s Law Academy wing organised the event on the pros and cons of the UCC at NGO Hall in Cubbon Park on the evening of Thursday, 31 August.
The organisers invited Supreme Court advocate J Sai Deepak, who is the author of the book India That is Bharat, as a main speaker on UCC.
The All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), expressing its concern over Sai Deepak being the main speaker, had written a letter to Karnataka State Bar Council and demanded that it “call off” the event immediately.
However, sidelining the AILAJ’s concerns, the state Bar Council decided to go ahead with advocate Sai Deepak as the main speaker for the lecture event.
AILAJ penned a two-page letter to the state Bar Council expressing concerns about the lecture organised by the council’s law academy on UCC and inviting Supreme Court advocate Sai Deepak as the main speaker.
In the letter, AILAJ pointed out many instances where Sai Deepak reportedly issued Islamophobic statements and attacked minorities.
“The main speaker proposed for the event is known to be a staunch supporter of India being turned into a Hindu Rashtra, a proposition that runs afoul of our Constitutional democracy. He has also called for the denunciation of secularism by terming it b******t and a Western idea,” AILAJ pointed out in its letter.
It continued: “Despite the fact that the speaker is a practising advocate and is thus, fully aware that the value of secularism is a foundation value for the country and forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India.”
“It is also no secret that he has repeatedly issued Islamophobic statements and attacked the Christian community and its educational institutions calling them anti-Hindu. This speaker in question has publicly asked all non-Hindus to leave India as it is not their motherland,” AILAJ pointed out these instances involving Sai Deepak.
AILAJ has endorsed a joint letter to the K’taka State Bar Council and met KSBC seeking cancellation /changes to a public talk organised by it on the pros & cons of UCC with @jsaideepak, who openly made unconstitutional remarks and called for India to be made a Hindu state as sole speaker. pic.twitter.com/rpmlGJGwMO
— AILAJ_HQ (@AilajHq) August 30, 2023
Alleging that Sai Deepak gave hate speeches, AILAJ said: “In a podcast, advocate Sai Deepak proposed several conspiracy theories, made false claims and hate speech towards minorities. When the podcast host asked him to name three people who he thinks should leave India and never come back, he names historians Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib, and renowned journalist Barkha Dutt.”
“These statements qualify as targeted harassment of the individuals named based on the communities they belong to. After this statement, these three persons faced vicious trolling on social media,” added AILAJ.
The letter further highlighted: “In the same podcast, when asked about the future of Muslims and Christians in India, he talks about a conspiracy theory that claims Hindu and Christian girls being subjected to ‘religiously profiled’ sexual grooming in Kerala.”
“He also talks about supposed ‘rate cards’ mentioning the ‘price of girls’. He provides no substantiation for this theory about how Hindu and Christian women are being seduced.”
“These are undoubtedly statements that act as dog whistles against the Muslim community. He also said that the future of India lies in preserving its accommodating character and that can be preserved only if we are a Hindu majority,” added AILAJ.
Along with expressing concern about the lecture organised by the state Bar Council, the AILAJ demanded the council call off the event — a demand the council ignored.
AILAJ pointed out: “It is shocking that Karnataka State Bar Council, whose duty is to promote constitutional values, has readily platformed an individual who discredits Constitutional principles and openly speaks the language of rabid hatred against minorities.”
“The UCC is an issue that has been greatly debated, and if the purpose of the lecture is to have a debate on the same, it would have only been appropriate to ensure that both sides of the debate are represented properly.”
“The views of the present speaker are the only one side of the debate that would be placed before the public. It is also unfortunate that the entire panel is entirely male, with not a single woman speaker or any representative from the LGBTQI community, especially when the topic is under discussion is the UCC,” the association noted.
“The bar council must ideally represent all advocates and be the voice of the legal community in Karnataka, and we call upon the bar council to revise its program and immediately call off the event or alternatively conduct the event with an alternative set of speakers,” urged AILAJ.”
Despite opposition, the state bar council went ahead with the lecture on UCC and advocate Sai Deepak as the main speaker.
Admitting that they had received a letter from AILAJ, Karnataka Law Academy Chairman S Basavaraj told South First: “A delegation of lawyers and law students from Karnataka met me urging to cancel this event. I would like to say that these students have been brainwashed.”
“As long as Sai Deepak is an advocate, we will respect him. It is a legal seminar being held to understand the concept of UCC. If AILAJ has issues against him on hate speech, let them take legal remedial measures.”
“If he is violating the advocate’s professional ethics, have they taken any action? Let the law set into motion. He is our brother advocate and gives lectures on UCC. We are going ahead with the event,” reiterated Basavaraj.
This event is today in Bengaluru as scheduled. I *will* interact with the enlightened citizens of Bengaluru on the UCC. The event is open to the public and there is no registration process. Given the numbers expected, do try to reach the venue by 4.30 pm. pic.twitter.com/W3Xuk0i5dH
— Sai Deepak J (@jsaideepak) August 31, 2023
Posting about the event on X (formerly Twitter), Advocate Sai Deepak said: “I will interact with the enlightened citizens of Bengaluru on UCC.”
