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Professor TJ Joseph’s mobile phone has been ringing constantly since the National Intelligence Court’s ruling found six accused of cutting off their hands and acquitted five others.
Thirteen years and eight days ago, the professor was brutally attacked by those identified as associated with the now-banned terrorist Popular Front of India for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a question paper.
I am neither happy nor sad with this ruling. I believe the real perpetrators who orchestrated the attack are still out there. Those who attacked me were just puppets in the hands of the PFI or their handlers. The attackers just followed orders. “I gain nothing from this ruling, but I hope the law of the land will help root out those who indulge in such crimes,” Joseph told News18 in an exclusive interview.
Joseph said that holding the accused responsible for the attack and punishing them is not fair. He stressed that the real culprits are those who spread terror and indoctrinate them with ideologies that do not reflect humanism.
“Those who misinterpreted what I indicated in the question paper that led to the brutal assault on me are the ones who should be caught and punished,” Joseph said, recounting the horrific day that shattered him and took a heavy toll on his personal life. . He adds that he has made peace with himself and is focused on spreading the idea of humanity.
“However, I repeat what I said to you in my previous conversations with you. The key people behind the attack are free from scratch. PFI may be banned as an organization but what about those who continue to sow seeds of hate and terror? There is no point in feeding hate but my moral values grant me The strength to fight every day.
He added, “I don’t think any justice can be done for what happened to me. The bigger fish should be caught and they should be the real culprits. I hope the investigative agencies will track them down and punish them.” Joseph said the attackers were blinded by their religious beliefs and bigotry, but what hurt him most was when those close to him left him high and dry after the attack.
The Malayalam professor’s autobiography ‘Attupokatha Ormakal’ (Unforgettable Memories) won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. It has also been translated into English under the title A Thousand Cuts: An Innocent Question, Killer Answers. The book contains detailed descriptions of coping with false allegations, Joseph’s economic and personal losses, and how society isolated him when he needed it most. Such was the trauma and psychological torture his family was subjected to that his devastated wife, Salome, who fell into depression, ended her life on March 19, 2014.
What happened that day?
The shocking incident dates back to March 2010 when a professor, who worked as a faculty member at Newman College, Thodupuzha in Idukki district, Kerala, was drafting a second year Malayalam question paper for BCom students. One of the questions was an excerpt from the book “Thirakathayude Reethisasthram” written by Malayalam director PT Kunju Muhammed.
The question is set to test the student’s punctuation. However, it was his choice of short story—about a mentally unstable, schizophrenic, nameless villager whom Joseph calls “Mohammed”—that caused the stir. This has been called incitement and insulting God.
After it was published in a local Malayalam newspaper affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami, the controversy escalated into snow, with many Muslim groups staging protests and unrest demanding an apology.
Small, quaint towns like Muvattupuzha and Thodupuzha have become cauldrons of communal tension and outbursts of passion. The professor had to flee his home as the police launched a manhunt for him, accused of stirring up religious tension. Joseph was eventually arrested and imprisoned for 10 days. Released on bail, he struggled for a job as Newman College terminated his services.
On July 4, as he was walking home from attending a church service, six assailants killed Professor. Armed with an axe, they forcibly stopped his car, dragged him out and cut his right hand below the wrist. The attackers stabbed Youssef in the leg and arm and left him bleeding on the road before he fled the scene. Then they threw the severed hand onto an empty site nearby.
Meanwhile, the police filed a report with the courts, convicting Joseph of intentionally using Mohammed’s name. He said, “They asked to charge me under various sections of the law even though I had no intention of hurting anyone’s religious feelings.”
By the year 2023, Joseph only wishes that people understand that they must believe in humanity and not become prey to those who have cruel and inhuman intentions. “Those who do this are still living in a centuries-old mentality. You can call this a kind of war that I am fighting to cultivate peace and humanity,” the professor repeated before cutting it short as another call arrived asking for his reaction to the verdict.
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