Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Noor ul-Huda,who runs the Farooqiya madrasa in Deoband,was on his way to London on an Emirates flight,to deliver a lecture. Flight ab pandrah minute mein udne wali hai the flight will take off in 15 minutes,he told his son,on the phone. An Indian-American woman misheard him,and informed the cabin crew that the maulana was all set to blow up the plane flight udaane wala hoon. Immediately,the full force of the airlines security apparatus descended on ul-Huda,yanking him off the flight. The police slapped Section 425 of the IPC on him and produced him in court.
Forget the excitable woman who told on him edginess has its own narrative,though it is unlikely that she would have snapped to the same judgment if the words had been spoken by someone who did not obviously look like a devout Muslim. The incident reflects terribly on the airline and the police,for their reflexive suspicion and hostility,and their ready religious profiling. Enhanced airport security protocols are an annoying fact of our times. We have learnt to take their bloated regulations and drills in our stride,hoping that this will somehow keep us safe from a terrorist strike. Even when much of it is in the interest not of security,but security theatre the appearance of rigour and
Nothing excuses this action against ul-Huda,who had already passed the airports checks,and presumably the second scan after his co-passengers alert. By further detaining and harassing him without stating any offence,the police moved out of the realm of efficient enforcement,into that of,arguably,bigotry. This kind of action not only does not insulate us from terrorist attacks,it does lasting and real damage to the idea of India.
