‘Her face haunts me’: IIM-B faculty show solidarity with Bilkis Bano, write to CJI demanding justice

Letter a product of ‘collective angst’

“That woman’s face is haunting my dreams. As a nation, we have lost moral conscience in so many ways. With every incident, you feel like you are reaching new lows. This is egregious. Unless we speak up, it will never end,” said Prof Hema Swaminathan, who is among the 54 faculty and staff members of IIM-B who wrote the letter.

Prof Hema Swaminathan, Centre for Public Policy. IIM-B (Supplied)

Speaking to South First, Swaminathan said that it was the collective angst that was put in the letter framed by them and sent on Thursday.

The letter, which was written in their personal capacity, said they stood in solidarity with Bilkis Bano and her fight for justice.

Swaminathan said the crimes committed by the 11 men were no ordinary crimes. The sympathetic treatment of these convicted men, who murdered Bano’s kin and gang-raped her before leaving her to die, was “shocking”, she added.

Letter demands justice for Bano

“The remission is not only a denial of justice but also presents a real and immediate danger to Bilkis Bano and her family. What kind of a nation are we turning into if Bilkis Bano is left to defend herself while her violators are given a hero’s welcome?” the letter asked.

Swaminathan said the intention behind the letter was that “we are academicians, members of this society and we think it is part of our responsibility to speak truth to power.”

She explained: “We hope that this collective effort from society will bring some kind of change and force the judiciary to deliver justice.”

The letter also said that the “remission is bound to embolden perpetrators of such heinous crimes while simultaneously extinguishing the hope of millions of Indians who look up to the courts to deliver justice”.

It added: “As Blikis poignantly asks, ‘How can justice for any woman end like this?’ We appeal to you, Honourable Chief Justice, to enable us to continue to repose our trust in the Supreme Court.”

More support 

Meanwhile, several faculty and staff members of the IIM-B have also decided to participate in the protest to be held on 27 August at Freedom Park. It may be noted that Bangalore University shut down in protest for a day on Wednesday. Over 1,500 students boycotted classes and rallied around the university.

A student from Bangalore University, Rajesh Rao, told South First, “A large group of students from the university will also be part of the protest on Saturday at Freedom Park. We have to show solidarity. Otherwise, it will be like we are okay with anything and everything that happens in our nation.”

Health rights activist Dr Sylvia Karpagam said the gathering would seek justice for Bilkis Bano under the banner “Karnataka Demands Justice for Bilkis”.

Lawyer and social activist Hari Ram told South First, “The gathering would be to demand justice for Bilkis, who, after fighting for decades, had to witness remission of criminals. People across society will stand in solidarity with her.”

Ram added, “The remission of the 11 convicts is a travesty of justice that lowers people’s trust in the justice delivery system.”

The case

On 3 March, 2002, a five-month pregnant Bilkis Bano was gang-raped by a mob during Gujarat riots.

The mob killed 14 members of her family, including her mother, two-year-old daughter, and cousin.

In January 2008, a trial court in Mumbai sentenced 11 out of 19 accused to life imprisonment for gang rape and murder.

The Bombay High Court upheld the conviction in May 2017. Bilkis Bano was awarded compensation of ₹50 lakh by the Supreme Court in 2019.

This 15 August this year, the 11 men walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy.

The CJI-led special bench of the Supreme Court on 24 August issued notice to the Gujarat government on a plea that challenged the release of the 11 convicts.