Aligarh (India), November 20, 2019: The level of Indian government’s strictness towards internet shutdown can be gauged from the fact that police registered an FIR against n Aligarh Muslim University Professor Huma Parveen, and her husband, who lives in Kashmir valley, for just posting comments on social media about the agony of being disconnected in worlds most militarized zone, Kashmir. The FIR says that Huma posted her comments on Facebook, which said that losing contact was really dangerous and painful..Indian police have registered an FIR against an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Professor and her husband, who lives in Kashmir valley, for posting comments on social media about the agony of being disconnected from the world in Kashmir.
The FIR has been registered against Huma Parveen and her husband Nayeem Showkat on the complaint of Ashok Pandey, a leader of right wing Hindu nationalist political party, Hindu Mahasabha.
The FIR cited an inappropriate post in which the assistant professor, whose husband is based in Kashmir, referred to the communication blackout in the Valley immediately after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status."Sach mein sampark toot jana kitna khatarnak aur dukhad hota hai, chahe Chandrayaan ho ya Kashmir," the post said on the "pain" caused by losing contact. whether it is Chandrayaan or Kashmir. The police said that the “they are probing the case”. The complainant, Ashok Pandey, cited two Facebook posts of the couple to support his case. One of the posts, according to the FIR, by Huma Parveen said, “Really, losing connection is so dangerous and painful. Whether it is from Chandrayaan or from Kashmir.” Showkat’s post read, “Toilet is on your mind and Kashmir is in encounter site.”
The FIR was registered under Sections 153A (promoting enmity) and 505 (2) (statements promoting enmity) of Indian Penal Code at Aligarh’s Gandhi Park police station. The complaint was filed on November 14. The FIR says that the couple’s posts were “encouraging terrorism in Kashmir and bringing down the morale of the military personnel posted there. These posts are threat to the integrity and unity of the nation”.
Parveen in a media interview said that she was shocked to hear that a case had been registered against them. “I was heartbroken, as I was not able to contact my husband during the clampdown in the Valley. I had not written anything inappropriate and only shared a few posts written by others. I have a young daughter and my emotions of losing connection with family can’t be described in words,” she said.
Since August 5, when India diluted Article 370 and revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, restrictions on movement and communications remain imposed in the Valley. While all phone and internet services were suspended.
In other parts of India, cases have been registered against people for posting comments on social media about the situation in Kashmir. On August 29, the Jammu and Kashmir police filed a case against five persons who reside in Rajouri and Poonch districts for posting pro-Kashmir remarks on Facebook.
Huma Parveen, 34, from the AMU's Mass Communication department has been booked on a complaint on November 14 by Hindu Mahasabha spokesperson Ashok Pandey over weeks-old posts.
Talking to media persons, Huma expressed shock over the registration of FIR saying she had just shared a few posts written by others and that she had not written anything inappropriate on Facebook.
She said her ordeal when she had a tough time while trying to contact her husband or hear her daughter when the Valley was on lockdown