On Tuesday, Project 39A issued a statement declaring that a lecture by a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, AG Perarivalan would be held online after threats of violence and vandalism were allegedly issued to the venue partner, the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. The organizers of the event said that they were concerned about the safety and security of the speaker and the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.
“There have been serious threats of violence and vandalism against the venue partner over our choice of speaker. We are committed to Perarivalan’s freedom to share his experience searching for justice through 31 years of imprisonment,” the notification read. “The 5th Project Annual Lecture will be held online on December 17,” it added.
Lecture by convict in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, AG Perarivalan, to now be held online, after threats of violence and vandalism.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) December 13, 2022
Talk was scheduled to be delivered at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, as organised by Project 39A. @P39A_nlud @ACJIndia #RajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/ZzDN4dZ0jO
Asian College of Journalism, one of the premier institutions for journalism has invited AG Perarivalan, convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, for a guest lecture. The guest lecture is organized by Project 39A, which is an initiative of the National Law University Delhi.
Asian College of Journalism, one of the premier institutions for journalism has invited AG Perarivalan, convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, for a guest lecture. Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) based in Chennai comes under the aegis of the Media Development Foundation headed by journalist Sashi Kumar. The Hindu’s N. Ram is also a founding trustee of the Media Development Foundation. The guest lecture is organised by Project 39A, which is an initiative of the National Law University Delhi. Project 39A also has a chapter at ACJ and the lecture by the convicted criminal will be held at the ACJ venue.
The lecture of Perarivalan has been titled “The denial of justice and a quest unfinished”, which in itself indicates the institution’s intention of painting the criminal as an innocent victim of the Indian state. However, that is not all. The initiative by NLU Delhi, in collaboration with ACJ, has gone a step ahead and claimed that the Indian judiciary and the system in general dehumanised Perarivalan. They also claim that his release was ordered after “grave doubts were cast on his role in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination”.
50-year-old A G Perarivalan, alias Arivu, is the son of Tamil poet Kuyildasan. On the 11th of June 1991, Perarivalan was arrested for his role in the assassination. He was convicted because it was proven that he bought the two nine-volt batteries used in the bomb belt and handed them over to LTTE chief Sivarasan, the mastermind of the operation. Perarivalan at that time had confessed to his crime under TADA (a law that has now been discontinued). It is pertinent to note that the release of Perarivalan was a product of politics and the result of technicalities. At no point in time, was Perarivalan proven innocent of the crime and he has remained convicted of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, however, ACJ and Project 39A have organised a talk to give a convicted criminal the platform to talk about his “innocence” after being convicted of being a part of the plot that led to the assassination of a former Prime Minister of India.
