What is the Sedition Law and How is it Being Misused in India?

Do the journalist, activists, and students of our country have no right to express their dissent against the government? Must they blindly comply with any policy laid down by the government? Should they not have a voice against the malpractices in India? Should they let our country rot in bureaucracy?

Apparently, Yes, the government wants to curb every last of our freedoms and rights by calling it Sedition.

The 21^st century should have been the time for a landmark development in India, but with freedom of speech and expression under threat, this seems like a distant dream.

What is Sedition?

Any action or speech inciting people to rebel against the government, monarch, or any authority of the state counts as Sedition.

In simple terms, if anyone by way of words or actions tries to instigate people to start an uprising against the government or throw over a ruling party or inflict harm on the administration of the country, it is counted a serious felony punishable with rigorous imprisonment.

Prime Examples of Sedition in Pre-Independent India:

Many of our national heroes, like Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, faced imprisonment on the grounds of Sedition in the 1900’s

The national movement in India in 1940s was an act of overthrowing the British government to gain complete Independence for India.

The freedom fighters used poems, stories, organised marches to gain popularity with the masses and help them see the evil-side of the British Raj. They were instilling hatred for the British and patriotism for India.

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, a prime example of sedition against the British Crown, was met by mass-killing of thousands of innocent people gathered at the park flouting the rules of the crown that forbade public meetings.

The mass-killing was the crown over-stepping their authority by depriving individuals of their right to life and liberty. However, the act was wrongly justified under the name Sedition or protecting the British Raj against conspirators.

 Misuse of the Sedition Law in India Today

Now that we have a clear picture of what the Sedition Law means along with its implications in the Pre- Independent Era. Let’s compare it to the existing grounds on which the Sedition Laws has been reimposed on those under-remand.

Disha Ravi, a Climate Activist working alongside Greta Thunberg, is allegedly said to have made or edited the “Toolkit of the farmers protest”. The toolkit consisted of ways in which the common man can help the farmers. There was no intent of disruption or threat to the country, yet the activist was imprisoned under the charge of Sedition and collaborating with Pro- Khalistani’s to cause a turmoil in the Nation.

Later this month, Justice Rana’s verdict of releasing Disha on bail was much appreciated and seen as a mighty act against the oppressive bureaucrats that seem to be threatened by public dissent and agitation.

Kappan, a journalist that went to Hathras to probe into the gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit Girl and how the police allegedly under direction by the Yogi-Adityanath government, performed her last rites without the family of the victim, to safeguard the accused upper-caste men.

The journalist wanting to cover the event and bring the truth to light, was also arrested under the Sedition Act. He was said to have disrupted the ongoing investigation by inflaming religious enmity over the rape and death of the Dalit girl.

The Students and Women, that were a part of the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) rally and Shahin-Bagh protest were also charged with the same act.

The protests were aimed at merely protecting their identity, nationalism and citizenship in India, but the government threatened by the slightest of an uprising took up arms against the protesters, killing and injuring innocent students.

Munawar Faruqui, a stand-up comedian’s life changed as the police walked into the venue where he was to perform and arrested him on the grounds of sedition for hurting sentiments of Hindu’s over the jokes he makes. In his defense, Munawar said that he had made several jokes on his sect as well, and all were to be taken with a pinch of salt. There was no intention of hurting anyone’s religious sentiments and his usual audience were well aware of the same.  

 The Way Forward

The Sedition Law, if enacted prudently keeping all the prima-facie evidence in mind and acting on a strong basis of suspension would protect our country from internal and external threat, but acting just on whims and fancies of the government is causing serious harm to our democratic institution.

We need a mechanism independent from the bureaucracies to trace our path back to a liberal democracy. We need more officials in higher positions, like Justice Rana who see through the anarchy and are not afraid of standing up for what is right.

India has come a long way from attaining independence and laying the foundation of a democratic nation but the so called mighty pall-bearers of democracy in the 21^st century are supposedly threatened by tweets and jokes so much so that they have resorted to charges as serious as Sedition and Conspiracy to silence the dissented masses.

This is should certainly not be the fate of an Independent India for whom our leaders have laid down their lives. Rather, the India of our dreams is the democracy wherein individuals are entitled to express dissent without it being considered as sedition.

 

Written by - Tushna Choksey