The Indian authorities perhaps don’t get it that strongarm methods like offloading a social activist (or anyone who is not a dangerous criminal) from an overseas flight which is about to take off shames the country.
Such tactics are more suited to dictatorships, not to our political ethos, which respects a citizen’s rights and liberties. As such, those responsible for such an arbitrary display of power should be called to account. Since the executive is still acting blasé, the judiciary could take suo motu notice of the episode and step in.
Priya Pillai of Greenpeace India was forced off a London flight last Sunday. She or her organisation had not been informed about any foreign travel ban. When the news broke, the Union home ministry said it had no idea what was up. Subsequently, it came out that the Intelligence Bureau had issued a “lookout circular” against Ms Pillai, and appropriate elements under the home ministry pulled her off the plane.
Ms Pillai’s offence, in the eyes of the servitors of the state, was that she was heading to London to brief a group of British MPs on the violation of tribal rights in Madhya Pradesh by a company that has British and Indian participation. Whatever one’s view of foreign-funded voluntary agencies, Ms Pillai had not committed a crime. As an Indian citizen she was free to travel where she liked. In the end she conferred with the British MPs on Skype, making the government look silly, or worse.
