KOCHI: On a day when the NIA court sentenced six to jail for their involvement in the 2010 hand-chopping incident that left a former college teacher scarred for life, Prof T J Joseph stressed that he has only sympathy for the perpetrators of the crime.
In an interview with TNIE, he refused to play victim, saying instead, “The people who attacked me were indoctrinated and they believed that they will be rewarded in heaven. I hope religious leaders who planned the attack redeem themselves.”
Edited excerpts:
Does the quantum of punishment satisfy you?
I believe in one of the fundamental teachings of the Bhagvad Gita: ‘Ma phaleshu kadachana’, which means you are not entitled to the fruits of your action. The quantum of punishment does not affect me.
Will you accept the compensation ordered by the court?
As a citizen, the government was responsible to ensure the safety of my life and property. But authorities failed to do so. I informed the police about threats to my life and attempts made by some people to attack me. But they did not take them seriously. So I feel the government is responsible for the attack and my personal loss. I will accept the compensation.
Now that the accused have been sentenced, do you think your personal loss has been compensated?
Will it return what I lost? I don’t bear a grudge against anyone. The perpetrators are also victims. They planned the attack based on religious dogma. They are victims of the dogma. I have only sympathy for them. The court has merely carried out the due process of law.
Do you think the sentence will have an impact on society?
It was an act of religious extremism. It is for politicians and society at large to ponder whether the judgment will discourage youngsters from getting involved in such acts.
Do you think the sentence will discourage people from getting involved in violence in the name of dogma?
It doesn’t serve any message. The people who have been convicted were hired assailants. I believe change will sweep society only if people who engage such assailants are reformed. The real terrorists who planned the attack have not been tried and convicted.
The Church ditched you during hard times. How is your relationship with the institution now?
I am a freethinking Catholic. I stopped going to the church during the Covid lockdown and have not visited one since. Yet, I have not ditched the religion.