Indian laws "criminalize" difference of opinion, should be in line with UN framework: PEN International

A top world organization advocating free speech, PEN International, in a comprehensive study of Indian laws, has said that the legal system of the country makes it “surprisingly easy” to silence those who disagree. Insisting that several laws either require to be repealed or urgently reformed, it says, in India, “if you disagree with something that can be said to promote ‘enmity’, jeopardise ‘national integration’, ‘maliciously’ insult religion, or foster “enmity between groups’, it is not difficult to invoke censorship.”

Insisting that Indian laws are not in consonance with UN covenants on freedom of expression, the report says, those who have sought to be silenced by using them range from top painter MF Husain, who was forced into a self-exile, cultural historian Wendy Doniger, who authored “The Hindus: An Alternative History”, Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan, who wrote “Madhorubagan” (One Part Woman), to journalists, social activists, and well-known NGOs like Greenpeace India.

MF Husain

Born in 1921, PEN – which originally stood for Poets, Essayists and Novelists, and later broadened to Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists – regrets that sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) are riddled with “vague and overbroad phrases” which can be used to “restrict freedom of expression, not only by governments, but by almost anyone who wishes to silence another.” PEN recently established its wing in Delhi and Mumbai.
PEN cites Section 95 of the CCP, which it says empowers state governments to seize and prohibit publications that “appear’ to violate” IPC. Then, Section 124A of the IPC which “criminalises sedition” – used by the British to silence Mahatma Gandhi – is still alive. It was recently used to “justify the harassment of several thousand protesters at a nuclear site, a situation that prompted a formal inquiry from three UN Special Rapporteurs”.

Wendy Doniger

Holding special consultative status at the UN and associate status at UNESCO, PEN’s report on India, “Imposing Silence”, released this week, says that there are sections which “criminalise defamation”, in order to “secure a conviction without proof that actual harm has occurred. Thus, only the intent or knowledge that harm would likely result is sufficient” to proceed against someone.
“Predictably, this provision has been used to silence political speech. In May 2014, the IPC’s public mischief provisions (Section 505) were used to arrest a Bangalore student who sent an allegedly offensive WhatsApp message about Prime Minister Narendra Modi”, it recalls.

Ashis Nandy

Coming to laws which it says should be repeal, PEN cites how Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA) is currently being used to “lodge complaints against small NGOs who do not toe the party line.” It adds, this act was again used in April 2015, when the Ministry of Home Affairs suspended Greenpeace India’s registration, observing its activities “adversely affecting the national interest”.
In what may lead to eyebrows being raised by Dalit activists, PEN takes exception to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which bans expression that “intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate” a member of a scheduled caste or tribe.

Perumal Murugan

“Notably, the provisions apply to expression that does not necessarily rise to the level of inciting hatred, but simply requires the intention to humiliate”, PEN says, giving the example of how noted sociologist Ashish Nandy was sought to be intimated in 2013 for his speech at a Jaipur literary festival, where he said “most of the people getting caught in corruption charges belong to marginalized sections.”

The report objects to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which has been used to prosecute a woman found with ‘Maoist leaflets”, even though, in a separate case, the High Court of Bombay held that the possession of propaganda from a banned organisation was not sufficient proof of membership. Local human rights groups report that the Act has been used with ‘fabricated evidence and false charges’ to detain and silence peaceful activists.”

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog