Cartoonist and editor hauled up before J&K Assembly, charged with contempt of the House

Recently members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly became so carried away by their zeal to serve that they were driven to use increasingly colourful language in their deliberations. This atmosphere of uninhibited self-expression might have remained a purely in-House matter had not a sassy young cartoonist, Bashir Ahmed Bashir, decided to illustrate their standards of decorum for his paperThe Srinagar Times. His cartoons were published on September 23, 24 and 25- and promptly drew literal howls of protest from the caricatured legislators.For the first time in the history of India's legislatures a cartoonist and his editor - Sofi Ghulam Mohammed - were hauled up before the bar of the House and charged with committing breach of privilege and contempt of the House.In fact, the cartoons touched off such pandemonium - with angry MLAs denouncing journalists as "drunkards, womanisers and recipients of foreign money" and the press corps twice provoked to walk out - that the Speaker, Babu Paramanand, forgot to refer the matter to the privileges committee, as would normally be done, and directly ordered Bashir and Sofi to appear.Editor Sofi Ghulam MohammedHowever, the two journalists were undaunted by angry demands that they be handcuffed and led off to punishment forthwith and repeated their view that the language used in the Assembly altercations was "unheard of even on the banks of the Jhelum". (The remark refers to brawls between boatmen.)This unrepentant attitude might have sealed their fate had it not been for the intervention of Sheikh Abdullah who defused the charged atmosphere. The Sheikh recalled that "as a founder-fighter for the freedom of the press, I cannot visualise a situation where this freedom is in peril", and urged the members to practise introspection for the sake of maintaining human values. After the incident Bashir commented: "The cartoons in question were a symbolic reaction to the members' own behaviour which by itself insulted the House. The ass, that poor animal, seems to have proved most annoying. I really doubt if most of them know that the accepted symbol for the Democratic Party of the US is the same donkey." Added Sofi: "I was prepared to face any eventuality but could never think of deviating from the responsibility vested in me as a conscientious pressman."Some opposition MLAs, however, saw evidence of deep intrigue in the episode. According to them the incident was part of a conspiracy hatched by the ruling National Conference which exploited some vacillating opposition members whose outcry would be used to justify a government clamp-down on the press, which the National Conference itself desired but did not want to demand openly. Bashir (above) and his cartoons:Said Janata MLA Abdul Rashid Kabli: "It was a plan of the ruling party to cover its misdeeds and objectionable performances by imposing curbs on the entire press. They succeeded in using the services of some senseless and whimsical opposition members. The concerned newspaper was only to be made a scapegoat. It was, in fact, the freedom of the press which was put in the dock."Unbecoming Conduct:Leaving aside conspiracy theories and reflections on the character and motivations of journalists, evidence suggests that the J&K Assembly is not as refined a place as it used to be. Late last month, Congress(I) and Janata members traded blows resulting in a bloody nose for Janata MLA Shiv Charan Gupta and an injured leg for Rishi Kumar Kaushal, the senior-most MLA in the House, also from Janata: Shah and Mohiuddin Malik sank to the "mother-sister-daughter" level. And at one point a disgusted Sheikh Abdullah even threatened to resign saying that the whole House had been turned into agaali khana(house of abuses).The House may or may not improve its behaviour now but at least the episode has encouraged the press and civil rights activists in the Valley. Bashir Khan, convenor of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, called it "a momentous victory of a citizen's right of expression which is not a subject matter for a legislator's privilege".Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 30, 2013 09:41 IST--- ENDS ---

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Cartoonist and editor hauled up before J&K Assembly, charged with contempt of the House

Recently members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly became so carried away by their zeal to serve that they were driven to use increasingly colourful language in their deliberations.

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