Despite it being nearly a year after his release from Uttar Pradesh jail, Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan continues to live in an open jail.
Speaking to The Hindu in Vijayawada on the sidelines of Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Revolutionary Writers’ Association) Mahasabhalu on Saturday and Sunday, where he attended as the chief guest, Mr. Kappan says while he does not live in fear anymore, his life has come to represent an open jail these days. “This is because I have to travel to Lucknow thrice or four times in a month as part of the case process,” says the journalist.
Mr. Kappan was arrested in October 2020 while he was on his way to Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) to report on the gangrape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl. At the time of his arrest, he was working with a Malayalam news portal, azhimukham.com, and was the secretary of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists’ Delhi unit.
He was arrested on two charges: the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). While the Supreme Court granted bail in the UAPA case in September 2022, the condition was that he should report to the local police station in Kerala every Monday. He was released on bail in February 2023.
But he will have to travel to Lucknow until the trial is completed, he says, adding that the trips have become an impediment to his work life, besides increasing his expenses.
Moreover, being the sole breadwinner of the family of five, Mr. Kappan says paying the tuition fee of his three children, aged between 11 and 19, has become an uphill task. His and his wife’s relatives are now helping them to meet the expenses of educating their children.
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“My family had to go through a lot too. My absence left them without any financial support. When I was in prison, my wife was busy making visits to courts. With both of us being away, my children’s education took a hit,” Mr. Kappan, now working as a freelancer, says.
During his time in jail, he says he was discriminated on the grounds of his religion, of his native place and also for being a journalist. With all this happening, he often wondered why this was happening to him. “Then, I understood. I happen to be a Muslim, a Keralite and a journalist, a perfect combination required for a person to be labelled a terrorist in this country,” he says.
But, despite the troubles, he continues attending events across the country to speak against repression of journalists. “As a journalist and a democrat, I see journalism as a social service, and I feel it is my responsibility to highlight issues of the marginalised. I have chosen to continue my work as a journalist and tell everyone that we cannot be silenced,” he says.
Mr. Kappan attended multiple programmes during his two-day tour to Vijayawada and Guntur, and also met the family of Dalit Ph.D student from University of Hyderabad, Rohit Vemula, who had ended his life in January 2016.
