Bhatkal has got another young man as a lawyer as Mr. Nehzan Ekkery s/o Abdul Azeez Ekkery successfully completed his studies and is poised to step into legal practise soon. Nehzan completed his studies at the School of Law in the prestigious Christ University, Bengaluru and was awarded the BA LLB degree in an official ceremony at his college on June 2018.

At 22, Nehzan Ekkery strikes people as a typical Bhatkali boy with an outgoing demeanour and a disarming smile. It’s when he starts speaking that you get a glimpse into the depth of his mind, the clarity of his purpose and the seriousness with which he grasps the subtle realities of life.
 
As a young Muslim man, especially as a Bhatkali youth, Nehzan is no stranger to the ongoing violations of human rights by law enforcement agencies in India, who have rounded up hundreds of young Muslims, accusing them of being involved in terrorism. According to a DNA report, hundreds of Muslim youth have been named in terror cases without proof.  While this has struck fear in the minds of many young men of the town, for Nehzan, it was the catalyst that put him on his current path. “The fundamental idea that every person is innocent until proven guilty is quite often put to shame by law enforcement agencies, and that was my propelling factor to pursue law as a profession.” He explains.  "I was moved when youngsters were being falsely implicated in criminal and anti-terrorism laws consequently being deprived of the right to life and personal liberty for too long.” he adds.

The profile of Mr. Nehzan Ekkery appeals more to the locals and people of Bhatkal because he is one of them. He completed his primary education in Naunihaal Centra School and Anjuman Hami-e-Muslimeen’s Islamia Anglo Urdu High School, both prominent educational establishments in Bhatkal. He later enrolled at Ryan International School in Surat and in 2013, was selected to study at the prestigious School of Law at the Christ University. He completed the five-year integrated program of BBA + LLB (Honors) with flying colors.

Nehzan is up for a flying start as he is beginning his practise as junior of Advocate K. Diwakara (legal advisor for Karnataka’s State Government). He willl be working in the High Court and other lower courts of Karnataka and will be handling Civil, Criminal and Arbitration matters. 

With an inspiring confidence, he states that “he wants to be the thorn in sight of injustice, be the necessary disruption, a distraction with the passion that transcends the confines of my own consciousness and play my part, howsoever little in reinstating the faith in justice system." He has been an active proponent against the government endorsed absurdity, policy paralysis and excesses of law and aims to play an imperative role in socio-political system with the instrument of law.

The Bhatkali community has seen an encouraging rise in the number of lawyers among locals in the last few years. The number saw a significant rise after a famous lawyer of the region, Naushad Kashimji was gunned down in Mangalore in 2009. Naushad’s shocking death had united the community at that time and many young men ha d vowed that they will avenge his death by becoming lawyers themselves. The trend caught on and currently, the town has several young lawyers who have established themselves not only in their practise but also in the public sphere as socio-political leaders.

(This Report was first posted on 2 June 2018)