AMU prof, journalist-husband booked over social media posts on Kashmir

The police here have registered an FIR against an Aligarh Muslim University professor and her journalist-husband over the posts they shared on social media, allegedly hurting the morale of the security forces in Kashmir.

The FIR cited an inappropriate post in which the assistant professor, whose husband is a journalist based in Kashmir, referred to the communication blackout in the Valley immediately after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

"Sach mein sampark toot jana kitna khatarnak aur dukhad hota hai, chahe Chandrayaan ho ya Kashmir," the post said on the "pain" caused by losing contact, whether it is Chandrayaan or Kashmir.

The reference was to the ISRO mission that went wrong in September with lander Vikram losing contact after crashing on the moon's surface.

Hindu Mahasabha leader Ashok Pandey, who filed the complaint on November 14 over the weeks-old posts, claimed that the comment indicated that she "did not consider Kashmir an integral part of India".

Huma Parveen, 34, from the AMU's Mass Communication department has been booked under sections 153-A and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity between different groups.

The complaint lodged at the Gandhi Park police station alleged that her posts were "a threat to the integrity of the nation" and aimed at "harming the morale of the security forces in Kashmir.

When contacted on Wednesday, Huma Parveen said, "I have not written a single post myself but have just shared a few posts published either in leading news portals or by some friends.

According to the professor, she shared these posts with her husband Naeem Shaukat, with whom she had lost contact during the communication blackout immediately after the Centre's decision to nullify Article 370.

She said she is a loyal citizen of the country and none of her shared posts even remotely suggest that she does not consider Kashmir an integral part of India.

Among the posts shared by her was one that quoted poet Rahat Indori, who said debate and dissent are the part of democracy.

Another quote, attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, read, You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy my body but you can never imprison my mind."
When contacted, AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai, who also heads Mass Communication department, said, "We will come into the picture only after the police files a charge sheet. The case has been filed on the basis of a complaint by a private individual."