Mehak Mirza Prabhu said she only wanted to highlight lack of Internet freedom in Kashmir.
The Mumbai police have registered a complaint against a woman for holding up a "Free Kashmir" placard during the #OccupyGateway protest in solidarity with students of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, who were attacked by a group of masked intruders on Sunday.
Mehak Mirza Prabhu was booked under Section 153B of the Indian Penal Code - which deals with making "assertions prejudicial to national integration" - after photographs of her holding up the placard during the demonstration at the Gateway of India sparked off a political controversy.
"Protest is for what exactly? Why slogans of Free Kashmir? How can we tolerate such separatist elements in Mumbai? Uddhavji, are you going to tolerate this free Kashmir anti-India campaign right under your nose?" opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray soon after the photographs emerged on social media.
Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, the woman told NDTV that she was merely trying to highlight the lack of Internet freedom in Kashmir by holding up a placard she had picked off the ground. "Right now, I am numb. I am completely numb. I never imagined this would become such a huge issue. That was never my intention. If you go with an intention to do something like this, you are ready for things that are going to come back at you," she said.
Incidentally, Mehak Mirza Prabhu is only the pen name the woman uses to be publish her poetry. "This name was only seen with love so far, but it has become the target of so much hate now. Despite not being a regular to protests, I reached the venue at 7:30 in the evening because I was genuinely concerned. When I saw this placard lying around, I picked it up thinking that I can use it to highlight issues of internet freedom and right of expression in Kashmir," she said.
The woman said that her views on politics were based on humanity. "I just want peace, and I have always said this. It's not just about Kashmir. For me, 'Free Kashmir' translated to Kashmir getting the freedom to speak by allowing the Internet to function. We were voicing these concerns peacefully," she added.
She said it was unfortunately that so much was being said without anybody seeking a clarification from her end. "Nobody asked me, and it was all over social media instead. All these posts were made without anybody taking any responsibility for that. Nobody asked me what I was saying."
Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir have been under suspension ever since the central government scrapped its special status under Section 370 of the constitution and bifurcated it into two union territories on August 5. Several political leaders were also placed in detention as a precautionary measure.