In a new twist to the ongoing ‘blasphemy’ row, several woman journalists who are members of the Indian Women’s Press Corps have distanced themselves from a statement in support of controversial journalist Saba Naqvi. The journalists have said that the IWPC issued the statement without consulting them, and they don’t endorse the act of insulting Hinduism by Saba.
Yesterday, the Indian Women’s Press Corps had issued a statement condemning the FIR filed by Delhi police against Saba Naqvi on the charges of promoting false information with intention to create unrest. The police have booked several persons for various comments on Hinduism and Islam, including Nupur Sharma, Naveen Kumar Jindal, Maulana Nadeem, Asaduddin Owaisi, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati and several others, and Saba Naqvi was one among them.
Reacting to the FIR, the IWPC had said, “The Indian Women’s Press Corps is shocked and concerned about the arbitrary manner in which an FIR has been filed against our member and senior journalist Saba Naqvi for her posts. It appears that select people are being targeted for their views which is very unfortunate. Time and again, we have seen that it leads to undue harassment of individuals on a subjective basis. We expect the legal system to be more judicious in the execution of its powers. In the present context we demand that the FIR be withdrawn by the Delhi Police and the process initiated to get it quashed in court.”
The statement was posted on Twitter by Saba Naqvi.
IWPC a statement pic.twitter.com/1HHuf9NKg5
— Saba Naqvi (@_sabanaqvi) June 10, 2022
However, now several members of the organisation have come forward to distance themselves from the statement. Journalist Aasha Khosa tweeted that she is an elected member of the IWPC management Committee, and she does not endorse the statement.
“While Saba is a valued colleague, I don’t support her hateful messages on Lord Shiva and felt insulted,” Khosa said, adding the hashtag #NotInMyName in the tweet.
I am an elected member of the IWPC management Committee. While Saba is a valued colleague, I don’t support her hateful messages on Lord Shiva and felt insulted. I have not endorsed this #NotInMyName @iwpcdelhi.
— AashaKhosa (@KhosaAasha) June 10, 2022
Another journalist Chitra Narayanan said that while the FIR against Saba was not warranted, as an member of the body she found the statement as it was issued without consulting with the members. She added that as a as a journalist body, it should equally plead for members not to post distasteful/incendiary stuff.
I feel the FIR was not warranted against Saba. However, as an elected member of IWPC find the statement in support problematic as it was not in consultation with members and also as a journalist body, it should equally plead for members not to post distasteful/incendiary stuff.
— Chitra Narayanan (@ndcnn) June 11, 2022
Times of India journalist Bharti Jain tweeted that she also does not endorse the statement. “Let the law take its own course. #NotInMyName,” she added.
I don’t endorse it either. Let the law take its own course. #NotInMyName
— Bharti Jain (@bharti11) June 11, 2022
Mona Parthsarthi, another elected member of IWPC, tweeted the same, saying she disassociates herself from the statement and she has not endorsed it.
I am an elected member of the IWPC management Committee. While Saba is a valued colleague, I don’t support her hateful messages on Lord Shiva and felt insulted. I have not endorsed this #NotInMyName @iwpcdelhi.
— AashaKhosa (@KhosaAasha) June 10, 2022
Similar views were expressed by several other woman journalists who are members of the body, including TOI’s Lakshmi Iyer, ANI’s Payal Mehta, Aditi Kapoor, and several others. Author and journalist Sandhya Jain, also a member of IWPC, pointed how so many woman journalists are upset at the “unilateral statement”. She said that it was issued without information or discussion.
While only some IWPC members condemned the Hinduphobic tweet by Saba Naqvi, all of the distanced themselves from the statement because it was issued without any consultation.
The FIR against Saba Naqvi was filed after a complaint was lodged against her for a tweet mocking the shivling discovered inside the Gyanvapi structure. To support the claim that it was actually a fountain and not Shivling, Naqvi had joined the Islamists who had started to post images of various things resembling a Shivling to mock Hindus wanting to reclaim the original Kashi Vishwanath temple.
She had shared a picture of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on 18th May 2022 with a caption that said, “Huge Shivling discovered at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.” She had attributed it to WhatsApp forwards, and after outrage on Twitter, she had deleted the post and issued an apology.
Apart from IWPC, Press Club of India has also objected to the FIR against Saba Naqvi. In fact, the body went one step ahead and claimed that the tweet posted by her was not blasphemous.
