How Maharashtra’s Women Academics Are Resisting The Hate Narrative
Priyanka Tupe | 24 September 2024 | Behan Box
Mrunalini Aaher’s phone has been inundated with hundreds of congratulatory messages and calls from across Maharashtra, celebrating her recent victory in the battle for freedom of speech. A professor of English in western Maharashtra’s Satara district, she recently won a case against the Satara police who instead of investigating right-wing youth bodies that had objected to her use of a literary reference on the grounds that it was “insulting” to Shivaji Maharaj, criminalised her.
The Bombay High Court reprimanded the Satara police for infringing on her right to free speech by taking illegal action against her, including issuing a letter to her college to initiate a departmental inquiry against her and accusing her of disrupting communal harmony. Following the court’s order, the Satara Police withdrew their action by giving a clarification letter to Aaher on September 2….