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 21st 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.
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 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 21st 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
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