Elections UnInfluenced: a series by UnFound
Chapter 4: How free is freedom?
[Read the previous chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3].
Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian constitution states that all citizens have freedom of speech and expression (subject to certain reasonable restrictions), certain other laws such as Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code (sedition) are known to impede free speech, not just for the press, but also for individuals.
Reasonable restrictions & sedition
One major case that divided national consensus was the 2016 JNU sedition row. The controversy that erupted at Delhi’s JNU in 2016 over an event in which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised left an indelible tag for the institution and its students. The government was accused of shutting down students’ voices and cracking down on freedom of expression by charging JNU student leaders with sedition. Huffington Post had this to say:
When you say “Bharat ki barbadi” or “India, go back”, it certainly means territorial disintegration of India and this is how the common people of India will perceive it no matter how much one tries to defend it in the name of free speech. Slogans espousing the dreams and aspirations of terrorists like Maqbool Butt and Afzal Guru can hardly be seen as an expression of revolutionary Marxist ideals.
Other disagreed. They said that “advocating revolution or advocating the violent overthrow of the state does not amount to sedition unless there is an incitement to violence, and more importantly, the incitement is to imminent violence.”
It would be interesting to know that the reach of Section 124-A has extended even to faraway places. An entire village in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu had sedition cases slapped against it for resisting a nuclear power project. Adivasis of Jharkhand, resisting displacement, topped the list of those slapped with sedition in 2014.
Is it the BJP?
From Javed Akhtar to PEN international, concerns have been raised that the freedom of expression has deteriorated under Modi. In the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, India sank three places to position 136 (least free). The 2017 India Freedom Report, published in May by media watchdog The Hoot, spoke of “an overall sense of shrinking liberty not experienced in recent years”.
Although the flak received by the BJP is hardly undeserved, it must be noted that the situation wasn’t exactly all that better before 2014!
Even on the World Press Freedom Index, India’s ranking since last 10 years has been low, falling steadily since 2010 largely due to the violence faced by reporters in the field and investigative journalists, particularly in troubled areas.
The Wire points out that, “some 30 journalists have been murdered in India between 1992 and 2016… some 16 journalists were murdered in the country between September 2007 and August 2017 with complete impunity. No one was punished.”
In 2012, the government’s department of telecommunications, citing the “communal tensions” around Assam, blocked more than 300 individual web addresses, including the Twitter profile pages of some journalists.
Livemint points out:
The truth is that no Indian political party believes in freedom of speech unless the speaker agrees with its own point of view. As such, there is not much difference between a Congress and a BJP government on this issue.
Repeal or repeat?
In an interesting turn of events, the Congress party has promised to repeal the controversial law if they are voted to power in the ongoing election!
The idea had its fair shares of critics. Former Solicitor General of India, N Santosh Hegde, who supported the sedition law stating that the restrictions on speeches against the country are mandatory to ensure national integrity. Hegde opines that while it is acceptable to criticise the government and individuals, abusing the country is not.
The union home minister Rajnath Singh doesn’t mince his words.
I want to ask you all, should we forgive those anti-nationals who are trying to break the unity and social fabric of our country? If it’s within our powers, we will make the sedition law even more stringent. We will make such a strict law that it would send shivers down their spine.
What do you think?
This article was written by Snigdha Bansal, using inputs from UnFound’s AI. UnFound’s AI brings in multiple perspectives and opinions to help our readers read both sides of a story and make a balanced decision. Download our app today!