Guest Post by KAVITA KRISHNAN
AAP’s official position is: we’ll sack Bharti IF judicial probe finds him guilty. But what AAP leaders are saying about Bharti’s ‘version’ on TV is as disturbing as Bharti’s own actions and words.
(Here is a link to the NDTV show – on the NDTV channel on Youtube – where Yogendra Yadav and I confront each other about the AAP’s stand on Somnath Bharti)
a) The AAP did not bother to search or see footage of Bharti’s actions for themselves – they claim to have seen it only when I shared it with them; I merely googled it and found it on the net.
b) They say that Bharti’s words about ‘all Nigerians and Ugandans’ being involved in drug and sex rackets, and being ‘vaishyas’ who are a threat to ‘ma/behen/beti’ are not HIS words – they’re just the words of people who complained to him in his janta darbar. If this ‘version’ is found to be true, they say, they’re fine with Bharti remaining Law Minister. So, according to AAP, their Govt, their Ministers, their Party, have no tools to filter/assess whatever it is that ‘people’ tell them. Their Ministers can simply repeat any provocative, racist or sexist rubbish anyone says, and according to them he or she will just be doing their duty as elected representatives. Even when Aastha Chauhan tells Bharti about racist tensions in the area, the AAP Minister does not allow those concerns to temper his righteous espousal of the ‘complaints’ against Africans. By that logic, if Jagdish Tytler or Sajjan Kumar simply repeated whatever ‘their’ public told them about ‘Sikhs’ being killers of Mrs Gandhi, they did no wrong. Representing and repeating the prejudices of dominant sections of people is public duty. Lack of an ideological filter, conscious disdain for the lessons of the women’s movement or civil liberties movement, will tend to land you in a situation where you see no wrong in defending illegal searches, racial profiling and cleansing mohallas of immoral women – because ‘people’ wanted it.
c) If it’s ok for an AAP Minister to act as a courier for ‘complaints’ of people against ‘drug and sex rackets by Africans’, what would AAP do if tomorrow they have an MLA in Muzaffarnagar and citizens in a mohalla there came to a Janta Durbar with repeated ‘complaints’ of ‘love jehadi Muslim boys’? Would he lead cops to arrest all Muslim boys to check their credentials? What about if a Delhi RWA complains about ‘thieves’ in a neighbouring slum – can we expect a ‘raid’ again?What if a village in Bihar complains to a local AAP MLA that the adjacent dalit tola is a den of Naxalites: another raid?
d) The AAP, disturbingly, isn’t asking its Minister – or itself – why the Minister’s response to complaints of a sensitive social nature (such as sex work, or alleged crimes by African nationals) was to demand policing and lead moral policing? Why did the Minister not first initiate an enquiry, a dialogue, to assess the situation? Even after the situation went out of hand on the 12th night, the AAP and its Govt allowed the Minister to go to Khirki on 19th Jan and make provocative speeches to an approving crowd? Why could Yogendra Yadav or Atishi Marlena (who claim they are in dialogue to de-escalate racial tensions and are very concerned about Africans’ fear and terror) go with Bharti to the Khirki mass meeting on the 19th, to make sure that racial tensions were being calmed, not stoked up?
e) Much is being made of ‘evidence’ (a sting op) of a woman ‘agreeing’ to sleep with a man for Rs 10,000. Even according to India’s unsatisfactory and problematic law on prostitution, this act of the woman is not really illegal. Soliciting in a public place on her part would be illegal – for her to ‘agree’ when approached by a man is not illegal. Plus a ‘raid’ by cops in the context of sex work is justified only to rescue trafficked women – and Bharti is not claiming that the women in the building or street he wanted ‘raided’ were trafficked against their will. In any case, even the strictly legal position on sex work is complicated, and Bharti wasn’t legally (let alone ethically) justified in simply treating alleged sex workers as criminals to be rounded up.
f) Yogendra Yadav, Atishi Marlena, Prashant Bhushan and other AAP leaders talk of following ‘due process’ in terms of waiting for the judicial probe to be completed before sacking Bharti – but do not seek any problem with Bharti flagrantly violating all due processes – both legal (search warrant etc) and political (dialogue with different sections of the community to sensitively address all issues concerned) in Khirki!
So – Bharti may go eventually if push comes to shove – or he may stay. But is the AAP’s stance and their understanding of the relationship between ‘community’, ‘mohalla’, and ‘politics’; their understanding of ‘women who need to be kept safe’, and ‘sex workers’ and ‘crime’; their willful blindness to or willingness to be mediums of social prejudices (race and gender today, communal or casteist prejudices, tomorrow?) – as revealed in this whole episode – here to stay? If so, we need to be very very worried.
KAFILA - COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006 
It is worrying for you, just because you have made up your mind and declared yourself a judicial authority to pass ‘your judgement’ as the final judgement. You want to talk about the “due process”, please then let the judicial probe follow the due process and come out with the final verdict.
Would you apologise to AAP & Somnath Bharthi if the judicial enquiry gives him a clean chit???
Would you take the responsiblity of ‘defaming’ the minister as you have been doing for the past 4 days????
It is very easy to make charges against someone, would you take responsibility for all the defaming you have done till now???
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The point isn’t that AAP is waiting for judicial enquiry. The author isn’t passing judgement here but pointing out that Bharti didn’t conduct an enquiry before allegedly fuelling racial tensions in Khirki.
And as far as apologies are concerned, everyone should do so when they make a mistake. It doesn’t change what they did but it’s an admission of guilt & shows you’ve realized you’re wrong. Whether you defame a minister or persecute racial minorities, you have to take responsibility for your actions instead of blaming it on 3rd parties. Hopefully, if the situation arises, the author will have no trouble doing so since a lot of her post laments the fact that Bharti hasn’t.
As for AAP, well, they’re waiting for an enquiry before they act. But as Ms Krishnan says, one would wish that Bharti had done the same.
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I don’t watch TV. I don’t have a TV connection. So watching this was a little bizarre. Very smooth, Mr Yadav. But I keep wondering if this wonderful human has made a big mistake by associating himself with these people. How much could he defend and would he be comfortable defending it at all? I wonder. Such a pity.
About the minister not being able to influence the probe, I find it slightly hypocritical. But it is in a way disappointing to all the supporters of the AAP. I am sure the massive upsurge that we witnessed just a few days ago with ordinary people pledging their allegiance to this party will certainly subside.
Why did Mr. Yadav not advise his party members against this dharna? He is an astute political observer and strategist. Did he not know that there would be sheer dismay when this outrage is compounded by their blatant defense of the indefensible? What was the thinking? I am absolutely baffled. You have to be a cretin to even assume that there would be a huge mob supporting this incident. Why would the common people, decent people, even venture out to support this? Ah, but then we have the brilliant despot who is already showing that he has his own mind and will do whatever he thinks is best and all the people will automatically follow him, whether he is right or wrong. Not being a doomsday prophet, but I do think they have alienated all right thinking people in one stroke.
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Ms Krishnan’s piece makes a lot of sense and is indeed disturbing to a large extent though prostitution does exist in the place in question and the law minister is only as guilty as the next man of the cultural bias we are speaking of. But I have an anecdote to share. AAP is, perhaps, the only party in India which is open to dialogue about ‘radical’ feminism and why women do not need government protectionism. I was given to understand this by the incumbent transport minister, Saurabh Bhardwaj, whom I personally met in a street corner while he was canvassing for votes in the run-up to the last election and broached this topic to. I told him many women are against this sort of protectionism and some of us (like me) do feel safe walking at night (after two decades of praxis but not without suffering social boycotting from several corners) and that AAP should scratch women’s security from its agenda and focus on social justice instead. He saw my point immediately (my experience is so many wouldn’t) and said his party is open to engaging in such social reform though “we will have to work towards it”.
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When Somebody is hit left, right and centre, people are able to see their designs.You have gone in hyperbolic mode and creating imaginary situations.
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i think somnath bharti should be sacked as he is not fit for the job.
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Ms Krishnan’s piece is indeed disturbing though prostitution does exist in the place in question and the law minister is only as guilty as the next man of the cultural bias we are speaking of. However, AAP is, perhaps, the only party in India which is open to dialogue about ‘radical’ feminism and why women do not need government protectionism. I was given to understand this by the incumbent transport minister, Saurabh Bhardwaj, whom I personally met in a street corner while he was canvassing for votes in the run-up to the last election and broached this topic to. I told him many women are against this sort of protectionism and some of us (like me) do feel safe walking at night (after two decades of praxis but not without suffering social boycotting from several corners) and that AAP should scratch women’s security from its agenda and focus on social justice instead. He saw my point immediately (my experience is so many wouldn’t) and said his party is open to engaging in such social reform though “we will have to work towards it”.
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the whole system needs shake-up. if necessary law may changed to ensure justice.people have suffered a lot for high- handedness of congress rule, people must win at any cost.czh
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S*x work cannot be allowed in India…………it may be an industry for the foreigners…. It is a thriving multi-billion dollar industry for the Americans….. but when Indian culture is to be considered it is not a profession…… it greatly affects the society as a whole including innocent children and girls in particular……..If this work is ok , then there is no need for the genuine schools to operate for education… all girls can be made and trained into P* ostitutes…… and they can be trained to become P*rn stars and earn money thru it….. What happens to the Indian Culture??????What happens to the people who are sincere learners and what will happen to the sincere people who toil day and night to earn their bread…..What will happen to the Family culture of India????? Ultimately my opinion is Drugs & S*x Industry should not be allowed to be propagated in India……..
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What do you have to say about “Devdasis” then?
I agree with you on one thing. Prostitution is demeaning to women, and the status quo needs to change. Not because Indian Culture is pure, but to protect women from weaker sections and poorer belts of the country.
Sweden’s law punishes men for engaging in prostitution because they are the ones who seek it. That would be the culture which India has to adopt.
Ms Krishnans piece is spot on. I appreciate the firm view she has taken and she is indeed right.
What happened that night was moral policing by misogynists.
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The author has focused on the prostitution aspect yes, but, this story isn’t really about our country’s prostitution laws. The problem here is the racism that led the minister & others to harass ALL the African women living in that area because he received complaints against “such people” by which he means coloured people not prostitutes. The problem here is that without so much as conducting an enquiry, he tried to organise a “witch hunt”.
You’re supposed to follow due process so those in power can’t abuse it and target people they think of as “others”. In fact, even if there really was a “sex & drugs” racket, there should’ve been a specific investigation. And by that I mean, the house that the complaints were made against should’ve been surveilled, search warrants issued & then maybe raid the place IF the allegations seem genuine. You don’t just barge into people’s homes or harass them on the street because of complaints against a few persons of the same race/nationality.
Oh & by the way, who told you prostitution was an industry for foreigners? It is literally the oldest profession known to humankind. Now don’t get me wrong, I hate the industry and am convinced it embodies Everything thing Awful about patriarchal culture. But do stop romanticizing our society. I barely remember the things we were taught in history classes but I do remember how they glossed over anything that seemed to reflect badly on us as a people.
But prostitution is not a colonial phenomenon, it existed long before we even came into contact with the outside world. In fact, it can be said that coming into contact with the outside world is how things like the devdasi system slowly faded away (I assume it has that is). Now I don’t pretend to know much about prostitution in our culture but even knowing next to nothing doesn’t mean I say things like “when Indian culture is to be considered it is not a profession”. So what gives you the expertise to call Indian pimps and “their girls” A lifestyle choice at odds with “Indian values” propagated by the “evil foreigners”? Really, I’m extremely curious to know.
http://kafila.org/2014/01/21/somnath-bharti-and-the-terrible-everyday-racism-of-a-south-delhi-mohalla-aastha-chauhan/
http://kafila.org/2014/01/21/skin-deep-narratives-of-racism-in-delhi-university-aashima-saberwal-bonojit-hussain-devika-narayan/
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Thanks Kavita. Is it another moral brigade in the making. Why does people like Yogendra and Medha want to spoil their reputation by associating with such a formation. Many regional newspapers are giving a biased report on this issue, eliciting chauvinistic and anti African comments from male bullies.For instance see Madhyamam newspaper in Malayalam. Kumar Bishwas’s anti nurse & anti black comments are nauseating. It is high time to start a movement against anti black skin prejudices, from which even the progressive movements in India suffer. Intellectual bullies may laugh it off in their economic reductionist vein, as yet another remnant of cultural superstructure, half baked revolution and blah blah….
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That is exactly the question- Why do people like Yogendra and Medha join this group? There surely must be something which makes them interested to be a part of it rather than sitting somewhere like us and making comments on a post whose sole evidence is “print media reports” which are generally under corporate control.
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I understand Kavita Krishnan’s anguish about minister Bharti’s very crude words and actions in Khirki village that violated the due process of law. Bharti’s actions were wrong though his intentions may not be. His overenthusiasm and suspicion of police made him act in haste to remove a social scourge that the residents of Khirki had repeatedly brought to him. He went beyond the norms of law that require an investigation on public complaint and then a arrest warrant and then police raid.
AAP is now acting properly by saying that they will take action after they receive a report of the investigation in this matter. But Krishnan and some others want AAP to dismiss Bharti from his post right away. if they do that they will violate the due process. Two wrongs do not add up to one right.
Krishnan also appears to be saying that sex workers (prostitutes) should not be apprehended by police as they have a right to indulge in their profession. It does not occur to her that this scourge of immorality in the name of freedom to a prostitute to practice her occupation will destroy the Khirki village society.
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I wonder why you people are in so hurry to prosecute Somnath Bharti. On one side you people are making all huge and cry that he did not follow “due legal process”, which is still a allegation and not proved but on the other hand not waiting to get Judicial enquiry report. I simply dont understand that , why you people and so called “womens orgnasition” already branded him racist/criminal and even compared his action to that of khap panchayat. Dont you people have any faith in independent judicial enquiry.
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It is not clear if the Ugandan citizens were sex workers or not. However if AAP is planning on handling the sex trade issue in the city head on, its a very tall order, because really powerful and moneyed people are behind the business. No wonder the police did nothing. They know. It is no point catching a few Ugandan women, the issue will not be resolved in this manner. Kavitha Krishnan does not give an answer to how Bharthi as a minister could deal with this issue.Unlike Bharthi there are many ministers who finance the racket and are part of it. He should have exposed them. They say ‘prostitution is tradition’ an age old issue, can Kavita tell us what AIPWA thinks of women as sex objects and service providers of sex for men who want to pay for it? Is this progressive for women? Just like caste and racism, is it not this sexual oppression that women are trying to fight for years? In politics they become ‘onlybodies’.
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I think it all about adding fuel to the fire. Somnath did think out of box and took a proactive approach.The flak that some are trying to give is not desirable…
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1. On NDTV when confronted by Kavita Krishnan, Yogender Yadav has at least admitted that he heard the slang word for blacks. Has he investigated his Minister/AAP mob present about the identity of this person (should not be difficult given the `high moral ground’ occupied by this mob) and initiated legal action against him for spreading illwill?
2. The signatories of two open letters by Women’s groups and Citizens have rightly argued at length that Somnath Bharti must be dismissed. But Yogender argued that Bharti should not step down as he cannot influence Judicial Enquiry. He knows well that, a person under investigation, without even any charges framed, is arrested and denied bail, on the ground that he/she can influence investigation by pressurising witnesses,etc., even though he/she may not be a police person him/herself. Bharti’s subsequent visit and provcative speech at Khirki, following his earlier self-televised illegal raid without due process, is just a pointer to that end. Since Bharti openly THREATENED Arun Jaitley and Harish Salve that public will hound and beat you, his threats to others can be easily imagined.
3. Yogender apologised on Bharti’s behalf for his thuggish language. No such direct apology by Bharti in press or to concerned persons has come to light.
4. AAP’s diversionary Dharna demanded accountability of Delhi Police to Delhi MLAs/Minister instead Central Minister/MPs, rather than to citizens, and it defended prejudice on at least three social issues.
(a) Racial prejudice deeply ingrained in middle and upper class Indians: these people (Africans) are not like us.
Farah Naqvi’s telling comment: Bharti’s speech to cheering locals, on keeping “ma, behen, betis” of Khirki safe from “these people” echoed the language of khap leaders in the run-up to the Muzaffarnagar riots.
(b) Rape stereotyping: Kejriwal defends Bharti by saying `rape tendencies’ begin
with `sex and drug rackets’, cunningly ignoring the startling fact that 90 per cent rapes are committed by people unconnected to sex and drug rackets but known to women. Of the rest 10 per cent, a miniscule may belong to sex and drug rackets. Kejriwal or Yogender on his behalf has not apologised for this comment of Kejriwal.
AAP provides only false political and social consciousness. Example, their poster: Bhrashtachaariyon ko vote dete rahoge, toh auraton ka balatkaar hota rahega. Farah Naqvi’s telling comment: `To say rape will continue because politicians are too corrupt to end it trivialises real structural patriarchy in which gender inequality, sexism and sexual violence are part of a continuum’.
(c) Stereotyping of Homeless people: as vagabond rapists and criminals. Police rounded up over 100 homeless people during investigation of gang-rape of Danish tourist. AAP did not at all protest on street/TV studios for rights of aam homeless persons against Police’s high-handedness, showing their bias and priority.
5. Kejriwal claimed first time a CM sat on a dharna, which is a white lie. Apart from other cases, certainly West Bengal CM did it more than 40 years earlier. The incident of CM Kejriwal sleeping on the road in winter would not have been a tamasha if his ministers had done it not to save a minister but to do so till the deaths (170 of them till date) of homeless persons on Delhi roads stopped. Except for televised visits of Ministers to night shelters and marginal improvement, there is no dramatic reduction in the plight of the homeless. What are the lacs of AAPs members in Delhi doing on it? Simply convert all haals od Govt and private school and community centres into night shelters would solve the immediate problem. Fancy new infrastructure is not required.
But aam homeless fit at the bottom into Kejrival’s world-view, since according to him as stated in his address in Vidhan Sabha defending vote of confidence, a rickshaw puller, a shopkeeper, a docto, a trader, a CEO, a banker, an industrialist are all aam admis if not corrupt.
It is the conscious organised action of the exploited against their economic, social and other oppressors in-built into the nature and structure of present economic model, and not just corruption which is just a manifestation of the root problem, which leads to freedom from opression. But according to Kejriwal, who has become a believer in God, it is the miracle of God which has put AAP to success. With this mindset, AAP must be waiting for a miracle from God for the homeless to have shelter.
(Acknowledging inputs from Farah Naqvi’s more elaborate article in the Hindu of 24th)
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I agree with everything Kavita says about AAP and Somnath Bharti, but not her statements on prostitution. Firstly, she made no estimate of how much of prostitution going on in Khirki, or anywhere in India for that matter, involves women who have been trafficked over the years. My understanding from what I have read on the plight of Indian and overseas prostitutes is that the percentage of trafficked women (including women who have been tricked or threatened) would be as high as 99%. Given this, I have found it further admirable for Kavita to write a stinging letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner, Home Minister, Prime Minister and others seeking justice for the trafficked women. Perhaps she has already done that in the past, but perhaps she has not. We would never know the level of her senstivity towards women in India who have been abused due to trafficking.
Secondly, solicitation by a prostitute in public place does not happen only in the form of women approaching public members. They just stand there and a man approaches and asks her — this is also soliciation in public.
Khirki’s female residents are not safe if rowdy elements enter their locality and assume every female is a prostitute. It also puts them in a grave risk of being abducted and raped.
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People in Woman commission are Congress Agent or Congress party leaders.
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We can see How Delhi Police Follows the law.Haha. AAP Exposed them and you too that you seek money for your NGO’s. Police beating and doing Justice, HA HA . I want to see you with playcard on Jantar Mantar, otherwise you will expose that you are also Hypocrites.
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Is someone really surprised by what Yadav Ji (as Barkha and Kavita were addressing him in this program) is saying. Corrupt people in power are always smooth talkers. Few examples: Chidambram, Kapil Sibal, Modi ……………..
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#1. AAP has released a series of videos. Whatever you found by googling at a certain point of time may not be the whole truth.
#2. Bharti has never repeated ‘All Nigerarins or Ugandans…’ or any similar language to put Nigerians or Ugandans in a stereotype. As for people in junta durbars, you should know that not all common people use politically correct language all the time. Those very same Khirki residents have been renting accommodation to Africans for years and Africans have been feeling safe to choose the locality as their residence.
#3. People expect their local MLA (even more so if he is a Minister) to appreciate their everyday problems and intervene if local police or administration is lot listening. Let’s look at this specific issue and not muddle it by generalizing with imaginary situations. People of Khirki have been complaining to authorities for months w/o success and finally they requested Bharti for his help. In this case, drug/sex racket being a law and order matter, Bharti asked Police to take action. I have no idea what route would you want them to take.
#4. Since police authorities have been aware that ‘crimes of sensitive social nature’ are going on in the area, why didn’t they engage with residents or involve other ‘social authorities’? If you believe people have no idea what makes these crimes continue unabatedly under the nose of police then I’m sorry, our citizens are not so naive or dumb. As far as I know, a polite dialogue has never shut down a drug racket, not even in Bollywood movies.
#5. Yes, sex work is a complex issue and needs to be dealt with sensitively but if my next door becomes the newest pick up place in town or my neighborhood starts turning into a red light area, you bet that I would expect the local police to do something failing which I would approach higher authorities.
#6. With the evidence in public domain on date, Bharti has not flouted any law, a judicial inquiry is on though to clarify the position.
All that gets sensationalized in national media doesn’t make up for the whole story. Have you looked into yourself if you are not guilty of stereotyping the people of Khirki and Somnath Bharti in this case, thinking their judgment must be clouded by race because they never attended JNU or St. Stephens. Please take time off from tv panels and meet the common people of khirki to find the whole truth.
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i hate kavita krishnan for going to any point to prove what she is saying is right and always sitting and behaving in that upright and arrogant manner as if she is not in a debate but passing sermons…
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Having read the article and having seen the video, I do not understand why women’s movements, groups and individuals are demanding sacking of the law minister? Is de-powering a ‘punishment’ for such hooliganism? Why is there no demand of booking the minister under criminal charges? I fail to understand what is more heinous, the act of the minister or the academic-linguistic gymnastics exhibited by some of his supporters from the AAP?
But one thing is sure for women from Delhi, they will never have to face gangs like Sriram Sene of Bengaluru/Karnataka; AAP has left no scope or space for any such gang. How would one otherwise keep all the Somnath Bhartis and Kumar Vishwass occupied? ‘Delhi Government is AAP and Delhi (moral) police is AAP’ is the moral of the story. Any way, what can one expect from a party that rose out of the melting-wax democracy (recall the candle marches in past few years in Delhi on so many occasions.)
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You have become an inspiration for me. As an AAP member myself, I’m very glad and relieved to see that there exist people who can check AAP’s morality in check.
I totally support your views. I agree with you that Somnath Bharti must apologise to women and Africans of that area. And that AAP leadership must stop defending him.
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