Tale Of Two Obituaries– Late Babar Quadri and S.P Balasubramaniyam.

Ever since COVID 19 paralysed life in India (March 2020) we have been hearing more than the usual quota of deaths (Unnatural or suspicious deaths such as homicide or suicide naturally attract more attention). COVID 19 surely is a killer disease. True many nations boast of more than 90% recovery rate. Yet considering that COVID 19 infects large numbers, vulnerable sections of those infected more particularly people with comorbidities have borne the brunt of the death count. The disproportionately large number of health care workers/ doctors in the age group of 30 to 50 have died. Considering that the average life expectancy of Indians is just around 65, many of these COVID- 19 deaths, though very cruel to the people around the deceased means either elderly or sick, from the public health care perspective, if the dead are above 65, then it is just a number or an explanation for the cause of death.

Two deaths in the last 15 days attracted my attention the first was that of Mr Babar Quadri. Born at Baramulla in Kashmir, he studied law at Srinagar and settled down as a lawyer in Kashmir. He had anticipated threats to his life and in fact, posted his apprehension in Twitter as well. However, he did not complain to the police about the threats or requested protection. News reports simply indicate that he was shot by two assailants who came to his office under the disguise of taking legal advice. Thus, Mr Babar Quadri died in the course of discharging his professional obligations. In other words, he died as a lawyer. Usually, in case of such homicides, it is normal for the concerned state government to announce ex-gratia payments to the family of the deceased. In States like Tamil Nadu, even victims in police shootouts receive compensation often running into millions and crores (even though they were members of an unlawful assembly!) But unfortunately, I never heard any such news in the case of Mr Babar Quadri.

Mr Babar Quadri shot into prominence when he represented the cases of children who were taken into custody in the periodic Pakistani inspired uprisings against the Indian Government. Many of these children were caught throwing stones and showing displeasure to the members of the state police and national military and paramilitary personnel. (He had an uncle who was a researcher in Jawaharlal Nehru University. 10 years back the uncle, was shot dead again by unidentified assailants and the family had to move to Srinagar not only for better educational and academic pursuits but also to ensure their own safety). Apparently, Mr Babar Quadri did a very good job in getting many of these children out of the torturous and often cruel judicial process in the disturbed areas of Kashmir. Surely, the rest of India is several shades better, but only shades better. He had been travelling to Pakistan and had been listed as a speaker in workshops that advocate self-determination for Kashmiris. He is reported to have said that between India and China, he would prefer India because in India negotiation is possible in China it would result in disappearance/ internment of persons who demand negotiation With Pakistan he enjoyed a functional relationship, He is known in Pakistan also for his battles with the Indian establishment and had been feted for his laudable work by even the High Court judges of Pakistan. However, his relationship with the Srinagar Bar Association was strange. He was expelled from the association and very recently the Bar Association rejected a move to readmit him to back into the association.

Mr Babar Quadri has been seen on Indian national TV. He was interviewed by Arnab Gowswami. Due to Arnab’s needling Mr Babar Quadri shouted during the interview “Hindustan murdabad.” Mr Arnab directed him to get out of his TV show Babar Quadri didn’t bat an eyelid. This fact endeared Mr Babar Quadri to me because most of us hate Arnab’s self-righteous and unnecessary statements that can make even reasonable people lose their balance and so it became one more chance for Arnab to re-establish and cement his position in the minds of ultra-nationalist Indians.

Mr Babar Quadri had openly support Prashant Bushan and had also been humble enough to record that his support to Prashant Bhushan may not be very significant considering the safe environs from which Mr Prashant Bhushan operates. To me, Mr Babar Quadri is as much a tenacious fighter for justice to Indian litigants as Mr Prashant Bhushan. Mr Prashant Bhushan faced problems from the Supreme Court because he communicated a few. Strangely, the death of Mr Baba Quadri did not attract much attention. Neither the state government nor the Bar Councils of J&K and India announced any ex-gratia relief. The left-wing/liberals/rationalists/ social justice people around the country choose to ignore his death. But his death had been disturbing my conscience for the last few days we must not fail to honour the memory of the real heroes of the legal profession I’m sure had he lived longer, and been in a more civilized place, say even Delhi. Babar Quadri’s accomplishments would have been as commendable as that of Mr Prashant Bhushan himself.

Mr Babar Quadri regularly tweeted against Narendra Modi he had admiringly reposted the tweets of Rahul Gandhi. I don’t know how he looked at Karl Marx or Dr Ambedkar. All I know is that he was an anti-establishment man who fought for the enforcement of statutory rights of accused children fought against the vested interests in the Srinagar Bar Association, raised his voice against the Indian and other governments meddling in Kashmiri autonomy. But unfortunately, the rest of India did not take serious note of him. In one of his tweets, he had prophetically recorded that there is so much of abundance of life in India that nobody cares for anyone’s life, so long as they are alive. But after death, the people around, turn the dead man into a deity and start worshipping even the chappals of the deceased, as if in repentance.

Well lived Babar Quadri. We need more like you in our country but none should die an untimely and unnatural death, like you. Bar council of India should honour the hero who died discharging his duties and pay a solatium to the members of the grieving family of Babar Quadri- A Professional Role Model.

Soon thereafter, I also heard about the death of S P Balasubramanyam. He was born in Tamil Nadu in a Telegu Brahmin family. Surely the family had musical traditions and he never concealed his Telegu Brahmin identity. By and large, he led a very Brahmanical life. Just before his death, he donated his family house in Nellore to the Kanchi Kamakoti Shankar mutt of Kanchipuram.

He has sung more than 40000 songs in 15 different languages. Even though he was a Telegu he had sung a greater number of Tamil songs. Of late there is a movement in Tamil Nadu that political power must be held by people of Tamil ethnicity and not from the descendants of other linguistic groups. Even those people would hesitate to declare that SBP is not a Tamilian. Fittingly, the government of Tamil Nadu ordered a state funeral.

He had earlier suffered an attack of COVID and was on a ventilator, made a substantial recovery and yet he died soon thereafter. Actually, he was around 73 years old, commercially a very successful artist, led his life in full, always enjoyed the respect and love of his peers and he died when everything about his life was very good. When he died, many related to him as a Tamilian notwithstanding, his Telegu and Brahminical ancestry (double jeopardy!).

 Babar Quadri was not so lucky enough, I really don’t know who killed him, one can only guess. Mercifully, no one had yet blamed Indian agencies for his death. All I can say for sure is that the hostile environment created by Pakistani intelligence agencies and planned by secessionist locals crested an environment where good lives can be snuffed out without creating so much as a ripple in the pond, that sadly reflects our national tragedy. Babar became a victim of violent terrorist-related unresolved crime.

 May your soul rest in peace.   

 

Bibliography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wra0NKTQ_vI – the Arnab and Barbar Quadri’s argument.