Mumbai queers, others oppose sedition case against 51

Over 1,600 activists and celebs from Mumbai and other parts of India have opposed sedition charges slapped against 51 persons who raised pro-Sharjeel Imam slogans during the Queer Azadi Mumbai (QAM) parade here on February 1.

The Azad Maidan police station has booked 51 persons although the parade organisers, Humsafar Trust and other LGBTQIA organisations, have said the persons who raised the slogans were unauthorized participants in the QAM parade.

TISS Queer Collective spokesperson Christy Nag said on Friday that the charges against the 51 persons are "baseless and an act of political vendetta by right-wing politicians who have tried to hijack the Mumbai Pride in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections".

The statement also said that "the systematic targeting of a young trans-student, Kris Chudawala is malicious and unnecessary" and deserved to be condemned.

"By distorting the intent and taking one slogan out of context, politicians are using the same strategy they tried to use at JNU, at the Gateway Of India protests, and at Shaheen Bagh. By picking on one person, they have shown that this FIR is part of a continuous attack on student voices across the country," Nag told IANS on Friday.

Pointing out the Supreme Court's strict guidelines about the definition of sedition, she alleged that the Mumbai Police FIR invoking the charge violates those guidelines.

"As allies and members of a community that fought against a colonial law, Sec. 377, we cannot support the persecution of LGBTQI+ individuals under another colonial law of sedition," Nag added.

Through the statement, the 1,600 queers demanded that the FIR against Kris Chudawala and 50 others must be dropped immediately, their dead names and photos must not be used and their right to privacy must be respected and protected.

The signatories include a host of celebrities, academics, writers, Bollywood personalities, lawyers, social activists, politicians, medicos, student leaders, teachers, professors, feminists and women-support groups and queer activists from Mumbai and other places in India.-IANS