Desicritics Category: Politics: Laws

To Censor Or Not: Bloggers' Duties and Liabilities

Vinod Joseph — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:52:50 EST

Recently a young blogger from Kerala named Ajith got into some serious trouble after having started an anti-Shiv Sena community on Orkut. Anonymous commentators posted nasty and vile comments on Ajith’s ‘I Hate Shiv Sena’ community website. The Shiv Sena’s youth wing filed a complaint with the Thane (a city on the outskirts of Mumbai) police station against Ajith following which charges were brought against Ajith under sections Sections 295A and 506 of the Indian Penal Code 1860.

Fearing arrest, the young blogger approach the Kerala High Court and obtained anticipatory bail. Later, Ajith approached the Supreme Court for an order quashing the criminal complaint filed against him. The Supreme Court ruled against Ajith and directed him to travel to Thane and face the charges filed against him.

My initial reaction on hearing of this was on the same lines as my friend Jo who has written an article on this issue here:

However, on reflection, I have come to conclusion that the Supreme Court of India was absolutely right in its ruling.

My reasons are as follows:

Section 295A of the IPC says as follows:“Whoever, with deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”

Section 506 of the IPC says as follows:“Whoever commits, the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both;If threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc.: -And if the threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or to impute, unchastity to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.”

Though Sections 295A and 506 sound reasonable, they can be (and are) interpreted to cover a wide variety of sins. It is interesting to note that the Indian Penal code of 1860 was created by the British Parliament for its Jewel in the Crown which had mutinied in an unprecedented manner just three years ago (in 1857).

Over sixty years after independence, the IPC has not seen many amendments. As we all know very well, it is not the Supreme Court’s job to make the law. It only interprets the laws that are made by the representatives of the people in the legislature.

Let’s assume that Ajith were a journalist who writes a regular column in a newspaper. Also, let’s substitute the Shiv Sena for an individual Mr. X who is mild and meek and has difficulty melting cheese in his mouth. What would be your reaction if Ajith were to write an article in the newspaper saying that he hates Mr. X, who is the scum of the earth and should ideally be lynched. Would Mr. X have a cause of action against Ajith? You bet he would! Ajith would be liable for both criminal intimidation and defamation.

One of the fundamental principles of law is that every one is equal before the law. Though the intention behind such a principle is to ensure that the weak and the meek do not lose out to the strong and the dominant, the law cannot discriminate against the strong and the powerful either. This would mean that even a nasty piece of work such as the Shiv Sena should have equal protection of the law from criminal intimidation and defamation. If Ajith were to write a newspaper article against the Shiv Sena defaming it and criminally intimidating it, he would be liable under the IPC. The publisher of the newspaper would also be liable.

In this instant case, it was not Ajith who wrote those nasty comments, but some anonymous individual. However, Ajith is in the position of the publisher of a newspaper who is responsible for whatever is written in his newspaper. It is true that the internet is a free medium where everyone has the freedom to express himself or herself. However, there is no reason to take the view that rules regarding defamation or intimidation shouldn’t apply to the internet.

Bloggers and website owners should ensure that no one publish comments on their blogs or websites unless the blog-owner or website owner has approved the comment. Even DesiCritics should, in my opinion, follow this approach, rather than edit comments after they are made.

Finally, let me add this. It seems unbelievable that the Shiv Sena, a party that has specialised in intimidating and harassing minorities in Mumbai should file a complaint against a teenager in a faraway state merely on the basis of comments published on his Orkut community website. I’m sure that the Shiv Sena has not been intimidated by Ajith’s orkut community. It has surely been defamed, but one of the defences to a charge of defamation is that the alleged statement or writing that caused the defamation is ‘true’.

I’m sure that there will be hundreds of lawyers in Mumbai who are happy to defend Blogger Ajith (now a cause celebré). However, travel to Thane Ajith must, as directed by the Supreme Court of India, and answer those ridiculous charges.

India's Post-Independence Fight For Freedom

Aditi Nadkarni — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:55:37 EST

Let me cut right to the chase here. This is unacceptable. Let me say it again for emphasis. It is not just bothersome or even upsetting. It is unacceptable. In the 21st century, in a democratic, secular nation, what has been going on, festering like a recurrent lesion, sprouting in every part of India, is just, simply unacceptable and will not do.

In case you are wondering who it is that's going to stand up to it: we are. We will not allow our freedom to be violated and we will make sure we protect the independence we fought long and hard to get the first time around. We have come a long way. We have seen the change and been the change. So who better than our pioneering, hot-blooded breed to stand up to the revolting and shockingly regressive acts of a few who feel threatened by progress.

They are just acting out of fear. It is obvious, isn't it? They attack in packs, afraid to be the lone ones incriminated. They target women and assault safely from behind the vague curtains of culture. But we all know that it isn't their culture that is in grave danger. Their position, their power and the extent of their bullying is in great peril. The places where they once ruled the roost are now turning into big, bustling cities making them feel like small, insignificant fish in a big sea.

Institutions and companies have transported the educated, smart crowd into the vacuum in which these bullies once enjoyed unfettered omnipotence. Now, in place of the void, there is a young, vivacious bunch of professionals, men and women who work hard and party hard and do so shoulder to shoulder. These people are harder to manipulate. This crowd has not just taken over, they threaten to pull into their growing ilk, the younger ones too. Business are bending over backwards to accommodate the needs of this new species and everything that once belonged to the bullies is now up for grabs. So they are retaliating. They are like petulant little children who couldn't have all that they demanded, hated sharing and so now are acting up. Therefore it is up to us, the educated class to teach these spoiled little brats to grow up and stop reacting so bizarrely to change. We must do it in a manner that is as different from theirs as is humanly possible.

So now comes the big question: how do we do it? How do we make our presence known? The answer may seem too simplistic because it sits smack in front of our faces. Think about it: we travel through these cities like one stream of blood, flowing steadily, keeping the city alive, stuffed in trains, piled into buses, walking along the teeming streets. Even partying and a trip to the movie theater is all the more fun with a group. We work in teams and are all the more effective for that. We discuss films, fashion, clothes, the economy, the job market and even our health problems. Yet this fear of walking out on the streets of a free country seems like a personal problem, like we were alone in that walk, like when a bully arrived with his little gang and punched us in the face, we would be all by ourselves and the world around us would just suddenly go blind. What we forget is that in this lonely fear too, we are still together. In this anger against the unfairness of the situation, we are together. We can if we decided, be together in the one resolute determination of not letting a handful of insecure men undo all that we have put into making our cities. So the answer is simple. Whatever it is we do, we do it together.

We celebrated Valentine's Day battling fear and took the threats in our stride defanging the demons with the pink disarming humor of our proud underwear. With the International Women's Day approaching, it is time to get serious. In our busy, routine lives we have underestimated the power of silent, non-violent protests. All it takes is for people to stand at a side-walk with banners to get word around. Some major struggles were won with this strategy and somewhere along the line we just shrugged and rolled our eyes at the quiet potential of public demonstrations and satyagrahas. Maybe we started taking our precious freedom for granted and needed to be reminded that we simply cannot. We have to earn it and when someone tries to snatch it, we fight for it.

It is important, I feel, in today's world to use media smartly. Instead of constantly criticizing media's inadequacies, we could use it as a tool. Find a niche and throw yourself into the swift current of this ever growing medium. Find a female leader in your area who is looking to make an arrival on the political scene. Do a little research. If one political party is making your life difficult for wearing jeans and celebrating Valentine's Day and there damn well must be another party that will fight for your votes, or can be persuaded to do so.

Find a celebrity who is willing to make your cause their own or give your movement their support and voice. Find a television network, a newspaper or a magazine that will run your story and provide your opinions with a voice. Find an artist who will put your thoughts into a slogan or a creative, riveting poster. Write to your city officials, your ministers and drown their offices in letters of your indignant protest. Just remember that one or two voices are easy to be ignored. If you are fuming over a coffee mug at your kitchen table, take that rage to a medium that will express it in the most noticeable manner possible.

Haven't we whined about a dysfunctional system for too long? When has this "system" ever worked? Maybe we just don't realize that we are one of the appendages of this faulty system. If the system is not working, we, as a group could propel in into motion. What will it take for us to get off our bums and make a placard with a strong message on it? This is not a women's liberation movement at all. Genders cannot be fighting alone in a battle such as this one. It could be your sister wearing jeans, coming home from work. It could be your teenage daughter walking back from school or college, the neighborhood aunty who brought you food when you were sick, a dear friend or your colleague. Most importantly, it is them today and it could be you next.

Let us review what the odds are of your being targeted next. You have a very high chance of being next on the hit-list if you answer 'Yes' for any of the following questions. Are you considered an "outsider" in Bangalore or a non-Maharashtrian in Maharashtra? Do you party? Do you meet up with friends at pubs? Do you wear jeans or clothing that may not be considered "Indian"? Do you eat pizza or meat? Do you drink alcoholic beverages? Does your religious persuasion always match that of the political party currently raging a mini-war in the nation you know of as secular? Do you send children to convent or English medium schools? Do you have a spouse of a different religious persuasion than yours? Do you have friends of the opposite sex? Are you married to the girl you are driving home from work or who you happen to be having dinner with? Are you non-conversant in Marathi in Mumbai or in Kannada in Bangalore? Are you a blogger or a journalist who expresses their opinions about politics, culture, media and religion? In spite of your qualifications and the six figure salary, do you have no clout with the local law enforcement or political activists? Before you fall asleep at night you should take a moment to wonder which one of these labels will be tagged onto your identity and turned into a vice or a disqualification; which one of these labels will plant nagging fear into your routine as you go about working to make a living, partying to rid your stress and walking on the streets of a country whose freedom you celebrate once a year on a public holiday. India did fight a freedom struggle years ago and it is high time that yet another quest for independence begins.

As a civilized society, we must remember that curbed freedom is a disease, an epidemic that does not spare a gender or a certain religion. It has uprooted saplings of modern, free thinking from Afghanistan and left it barren under the regime of the Taliban school of thought. This disease feeds on your fear and on the social inertia that has settled over our generation. An active, proud and independent public cannot let this inertia set in. Let it be known that this disease feeds most of all on the little disabling voice in your head which tells you that this is not your struggle, that it isn't your battle to fight. Sadly, this malady spreads, swallowing in its wake our hard-earned progress, until the feeble voice in your head is one day replaced with the grim realization that your own struggle has arrived. The assailant and his prejudice have changed form and you are the next prey. And there is nobody left to fight for you or with you.

Bloggers and Blogging Rights

Jo — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:40:11 EST

Bloggers and blogging have come to the news again with a Supreme Court ruling on the latest case of Ajith, an 18 yr old blogger from Kerala. Ajith had started an Orkut community against Shiv Sena and the community message board had received messages alleging that Shiv Sena is trying to divide the country on region and caste basis.

Times of India reports on blogger Ajith's case:

Reacting to these posts, the Shiv Sena youth wing's state secretary registered a criminal complaint at Thane police station in August 2008 based on which FIR was registered against Ajith under Sections 506 and 295A pertaining to hurting public sentiment.

Ajith then sought anticipatory bail from Kerala High Court and approached Supreme Court to quash the criminal complaint. But the SC did not favour the blogger. SC bench said "We cannot quash criminal proceedings. You are a computer student and you know how many people access internet portals. Hence, if someone files a criminal action on the basis of the content, then you will have to face the case. You have to go before the court and explain your conduct." Now the boy has to face the court in Maharashtra, the home of Shiv Sena, and he is afraid of his life for obvious reasons.

One of the main advantages of blogging is that it allows you to express your opinion freely and fearlessly. Agreed that some bloggers misuse this, i.e. indulging in personal abuse, and such people should be brought to law if the offended person decides to do so and if there is a strong case. I emphasize on the word "strong case" because there should not be a situation where anyone can drag anyone to court based on mere allegations. In the light of new ruling, bloggers would resort to politically correct statements, which would not help much in open debates and discussions and it will take out the spirit of blogging and make it function like mainstream media.

Another sad thing is that the court now says that a blogger can be booked for the comments posted in his/her blog. It is true that mainstream media has such laws applicable to them, but blogging does not function like main mainstream media. Blogging is an opinion medium, not a reporting medium and should be kept at that and exceptions of law should be made in that line.

But bloggers are not above the law. Perhaps the discussions on Ajith's case would make bloggers become more responsible in their writing. By citing proofs/data/references to backup their statements/claims, which is good in the long run for a maturing media like Blog.

Now let us look into what the Delaware Supreme Court (in the USA) ruled in a similar case back in 2005. They reversed a lower court decision that had required an Internet service provider to disclose the identity of an anonymous blogger who targeted a local elected official on a newspaper site. Following were the comments from Chief Justice Myron Steele:

"Given the context, no reasonable person could have interpreted these statements as being anything other than opinion. ... The statements are, therefore, incapable of a defamatory meaning," Chief Justice Myron Steele wrote in his ruling, noting that blogs are inherently filled with opinion.

Steele described the Internet as a "unique democratizing medium unlike anything that has come before," and said anonymous speech in blogs and chat rooms in some instances can become the modern equivalent of political pamphleteering. Accordingly, a plaintiff claiming defamation should be required to provide sufficient evidence to overcome a defendant's motion for summary judgment before a court orders the disclosure of a blogger's identity.

"We are concerned that setting the standard too low will chill potential posters from exercising their First Amendment right to speak anonymously," Steele wrote. "The possibility of losing anonymity in a future lawsuit could intimidate anonymous posters into self-censoring their comments or simply not commenting at all."

Now compare this with our Supreme Court rule in Ajith's case and think about it.

Big-ticket Cases - CBI Under Government Influence?

Ashish — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 12:47:01 EST

In earlier cases such as the case dealing with Quattrochi and Bofors, or the murder case against Shibu Soren, it was pretty evident that the Congress Government at the Center was quite familiar with the idea of not treating everybody as equal before the law. If a person was needed by the Government or was close to it, it was pretty evident that the case would be weakened, or allowed to die a slow death by not fighting it as strongly as the Government would fight a case where the person facing the case was opposed to the Government. This is not something that Governments shirk from doing - earlier Governments and State Governments also did the same thing, but they roll back when faced with pressure from the media or from the courts.

However, in the above cases and in many other cases, the Government was willing to brazen out the outcry and continue with its actions; and in some cases, you will see how they have succeeded. In the Bofors case, all the outcry eventually fizzled out, in the Shibu Soren case, the case was so badly weakened that the High Court let him go.

Now you have this case about the disproportionate assets of Mulayam Singh and his family. The case seems to have followed the graph of the closeness of the politician to the Congress Government. When Mulayam was distant from the Congress, the CBI followed the case as per a complaint from a Congress worker. However, when the Congress needed Mulayam to provide critical support at the time of the nuclear deal, it was pretty clear that the CBI case would start to weaken, and so it happened; the Government suddenly decided that it has re-evaluated the case and has decided not to proceed. However, the Supreme Court is not amused, and has castigated the Government and the CBI on its flip-flop:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up CBI for "acting at the behest" of the Centre in the disproportionate assets case against former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. "You (CBI) are acting at the behest of Central Government and the Law Ministry. You are not acting on your own," a Bench comprising Justice Altmas Kabir and Justice Cyriac Joseph said.

Amid allegations of Centre trying to bail out the former UP CM, the investigating agency replaced Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium with Parasaran to represent it. The decision to replace Subramanium with Parasaran had also surprised the Bench which made it clear that it will not allow any last minute changes in counsel. However, the investigating agency during the hearing on January 6 was criticised by the Bench which had said it would not like the agency to become an instrument of the government.

This is perfect; however, when the Government of the day is not interested, then even the Supreme Court cannot ensure that the investigation is carried out properly and as per law. As a result, it becomes more difficult for other parties to believe the intentions of the Government and hurts the overall judicial and law environment in the country. It may soon come to pass that the CBI is made more distant from the control of the Government.

The 14th of February - Day Against Intolerance

thedailypheesh — Sun, 8 Feb 2009 20:15:29 EST

Let me begin with a disclaimer. I am often a skeptic when it comes to Valentine's day or any other day(including my own birthday, though old habits die hard). 'Days' affirm certain identities, give us an opportunity to celebrate and generally feel good. While I agree we do need such occasions, I also believe that the celebrations(and the rampant commercialization that often goes with it) sometimes obscure the questions we ought to ask ourselves. That's a subject for another time. The question is what now.

The Sri Ram Sene plans to 'marry off'(or en-brother/en-sister) men and women who would want to spend time together on the 14th of February. I am sure their sibling organizations, delighted at the oxygen their cause has received over the past couple of weeks, will be gearing up to go on the offensive on the same day. It's a toss up whether any state government will actually set out to protect those who dare to defy the culture police. The reasons are obvious, the unsavory dictates of politics that have been frequently analyzed and at a deeper level, the large gaps is society that the saffron hordes exploit. All signs point to yet another victory for those who would want to impose an archaic moral code on an ever-diversifying society.

Unless we chose to make a statement. Unless we decide that the 14th of February 2009 will be an occasion for a fresh engagement with our own society and our times. Let the 14th of February be a day of protest, a day for spreading awareness about the organizations and the mentality that give rise to such intolerance. Let February 14 also be a day of contemplation, a day for educating ourselves on our rights and our duties as citizens so that we know what we deserve and how much we must struggle to maintain it.

However education achieves only so much. If there is to be any impact, it must be via collective action. While Valentine's day is essentially a private celebration, the need of the hour is to ensure that people gather and make a statement. We need rallies and banners, slogans and placards. The size of the group does not matter. All that is required is concerted action. Besides any 'enforcer' of morality would think twice before assaulting a group.

Equally important is the right kind of chronicling. It is imperative to record each and every incident that occurs that day and ensure that there is greater awareness of them. We often are unaware of our own cities. We often see incidents like that in Mangalore with the comfort of distance. It is necessary to throw away those tinted glasses.

There will of course be a lot of criticism and doubt about such an idea. "Bah! mere symbolism" is likely to be the most common objection. Another is the question of how necessary such protests are when we have bigger issues at stake. After all, the logic would go, the section of society that is affected by such policing is pretty small and there are so many more significant issues. I understand the skepticism of those who doubt symbolism(see para 1). But it is also true that despite the often ephemeral nature of symbolism(especially in this age of saturated coverage), there are certain times when it does help mobilize opinion and spread some hope. After all, it's just symbolism. It can't hurt and is definitely worth a try.

It is perhaps true that there are issues that are more dire than the freedom of men and women to spend time together in a public space on a specific day. However I do not believe it's ever a question of either/or. The liberty that an individual or a group of individuals enjoy cannot and should not be exclusive in the sense that the achievement of(or the need to achieve) liberty for one group should lead to the suppression of the liberty of the other. There are occasions when an individual must sacrifice aspects of his liberty for a cause but assuredly, the creation of a society based on a prehistoric code of morals is not one such cause!

It is important that even those who are unsympathetic to Valentine's day or public displays of affection see this issues as one of an Indian citizen's basic rights. There is a huge section of the populace which even while rejecting the Sangh Parivar's political and cultural agenda as a whole, remain sympathetic to individual elements of it. They are a constituency that must be addressed and convinced of the need to stand up against mob culture even if it be in the name of an Utopian society of the pure.

So let us for once forgo Archies and gather as a group, whether it be on the streets or on forums online and ensure that the 14th of February is 'celebrated' as India's own "Day against Intolerance"*

*The International Day for Tolerance is celebrated by the UNESCO on the 16th of November every year.

Chief Justice Comments on Misuse of Dowry Laws

Ashish — Sat, 7 Feb 2009 11:58:46 EST

The prevalence of dowry in today's society is an open fact; most people see it in operation either in their own marriage, or in the marriage of their family members; or you see it in operation in the case of acquaintances.

So as an example, I have seen dowry in operation in the case of a family friend, where her in-laws insisted on a car as a part of the marriage (and even specified the type of car). They had accepted that this was a price to be paid for getting their daughter married (and one should fault them equally for being so desperate to get their daughter married). Of course, in all cases of dowry, the boy's side is always evaluating the value they can get for their boy and have no qualms in demanding the same.

A lot of this dowry expectation is now baked into society, and there do not seem to be any easy solutions. People giving dowry expect that this is the price they need to pay to get their daughter married, and those demanding dowry do not care that such expectations are illegal in law.

The government of India has introduced a number of laws that seek to even the scales, and empower women. However, in trying to even the scale, the laws give a lot of power to women, and in some cases, there has been misuse. There have been many reported cases where the threat of using such laws (and consequent police action) is used as a level to force settlements. This has been pointed out in court cases and by many pro-male organizations. And when the Chief Justice of India points this out, you can be sure this is a deep matter of concern:

Dealing a blow to women's rights activists who have been stringently defending the Section 498A provision of the Indian Penal Code, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan on Saturday said that in some cases this section — that deals with matrimonial cruelty — was being `grossly misused'. Elaborating on false cases being filed in recent times, the CJI said that relatives not involved with a matrimonial dispute were unfairly implicated. "In some cases, 498A is grossly misused,'' he said. Balakrishnan was speaking at a seminar, `Marriage laws -- issues and challenges', organised by the National Commission for Women.

The IPC section allows for immediate arrest of the husband and in-laws by the police on the basis of a woman's complaint and has been controversial.

The various laws that were supposed to empower women, even though trying to balance the scales, do not maintain the old adage of all people being equal before the law, and that everyone is presumed innocent until proved guilty. Unless the law allows for a better investigation and penalties for misuse, misuse will continue.

Book Review: Down Memory Lane by Ravi Govender

Amitabh Mitra — Sat, 7 Feb 2009 00:49:37 EST

My friend Ravi Naicker is a poet and a teacher in Umzinto, Kwa Zulu Natal. I told him about my desire to publish a book of South African poets that would focus on the politics of New South Africa.He immediately asked me to contact his friend Ravi Govender in Durban.

I called him up and requested him to introduce me to South African poets from Natal who were affected during the apartheid regime. He was enthusiastic and promised me to do the same. The same afternoon I chanced upon Ravi’s book, Down Memory Lane at a used book shop in East London. Definitely, this is the same Ravi Govender I had been talking that morning.

Quoting from Radio Lotus FM website –
Govender.....Ravi Govender was born in Victoria Street, Durban just two blocks from the Indian Market on October 17th not too long ago.

He writes two popular columns for POST newspaper - of which he is also on the editing team. He is a public speaker, entrepreneur, serves on the board of a Durban Hospital and also a successful author. His hobbies are rugby, reading and watching movies and he is a Hollywood film buff as well as a James Bond nut. Ravi’s favourite actors are Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino and his favourite movies are The Wild Geese and any 007 movie. His take on Bollywood is that "Priyanka Chopra is the cutest thing on two legs" and he rates Veer Zara as his best Eastern movie.

Ravi has a regular programme ‘Off the Shelf’ on Lotus FM which has gained immense popularity over the years.

Down Memory Lane is a book of historic value as it documents events through the eyes of a small boy growing in an apartheid era. This book had me engrossed as pages unfolded the Indian culture that blossomed even in severely restricted conditions of that time.

Aziz Hassim, Award winning Author of the Lotus People writes in his Forward, ‘There is a saying that if you forget your past you will be condemned to repeat it. When I read Ravi Govender’s essays and his reminiscences about our somewhat chequered history, I marvel at his ability to recall Durban’s bitter sweet past with touching finesse and a depth of perception’

Regarding the ‘bhais’ (gangsters) that prowled the Durban streets during that time, Ravi has aptly named this chapter as ‘Bada Bing, Bada Boom’. He writes, ‘Some of the cadres that ruled the streets were as follows: Victoria Street where I was sired boasted The Victorians, The Queens Brigade reigned in Queen Street. The Salots which consisted primarily of brothers operated taxis near Kapitan’s Balcony Hotel in the Grey Street area. The Dutchins laagered in Old Dutch Road and The Young Americans were united in Bond Street.

They were mostly ‘toothless tigers’ trying to live off their former reputations. You know the type: one guy initiates an argument and then edges backward into his mate, declaring “hold me back, hold me back, before I kill him”

Ram Gopal Verma can actually make a film based on such a story in Durban involving such characters.

In his column ‘ Proudly Indian – Our contribution to a better world’ Ravi recounts, ‘November 16 1860,the first vessel, the SS Truro, left Madras, sailed to South Africa and was borne along more through sheer human spirit than spook and diesel.
Another factor attests to our success. Foremost in the life of our forebears was the need for a place of worship and a place for education. Parents still sacrifice their own comfort and luxuries to ensure they give their children a good education and go on to further studies, to enable them to have good careers and be productive citizens. It also serves to preserve the hard earned reputation that Indians have as valuable contributors to this country'.

Not bad for people who arrived here to be cane cutters and who have gone on to produce doctors, educators and captains of industry.

Cato Manor is synonymous with the apartheid in South Africa. During1949 and 1950 when the Group Areas Act was passed on by the government, people were forced to move from the place to townships like KwaMashu and the Indians moved to places like Chatsworth and Phoenix. Cato Manor became an international symbol of resistance to apartheid by Indians.

Ravi has written about forced removals of Indians from a place called Magazine Barracks. He writes ’the murder weapon was the diabolic Group Areas Act and the misery and turmoil caused by its death blow is unpardonable. The action of its perpetrator was unconscionable.’

Ravi Govender’s book, Down Memory Lane is an unforgettable narration of the Indian community’s resistance to alien laws, their sacrifices and finally their victory over all odds. The present generation of youth in India and overseas have a lot to learn from reading this book, his words continue to inspire us all.

Is Karnataka Turning into a Police State?

Roshan Krishnan — Tue, 3 Feb 2009 06:59:01 EST

Bangalore Mirror had an article today on cops busting a party at the Dell office off Koramangala.Here's an excerpt from the article:

" They [the cops] landed at the office and demanded to be let in, but the security guards refused. “The police said they were acting on a complaint from a resident who could not sleep peacefully because of the noise in the party. We told the police that there are no residences in the area, but they were not ready to listen,” another Dell employee present at the party said.

An argument broke out between the police and the guards. After some time, the police forced their way in and seized the audio systems. A few security personnel were taken to the Airport Police Station for questioning. Though no techie was arrested, the employees were warned against holding late night parties "

If this isn't police high handedness, then I don't know what is! I agree that the music shouldn't be so loud that it disturbs the residents around. All that the cops needed to do on receiving such a complaint would have been to send a couple of constable and ask the employees to tone it down a bit. Confiscating the audio system and detaining the security personnel seemed uncalled for and smacks of police high handedness.

As soon as I read this article a couple of thoughts came to me. First of course was, are the cops entitled to do this? After all, the party was in a private property, not a public place. Can they barge in based on a complaint by someone and detain a few people and confiscate property? Second, shouldn't there be some laws in place governing such police acts? I'm no expert, but there must be rules laid down on how cops need to act in such situations. Otherwise it's like we are in a police state where cops can barge in to a private property anytime and confiscate property and arrest people.

I'd really like some legal expert to clarify this. And I hope he or she tells me that it's illegal for cops to do what they did at Dell. Otherwise it would mean that cops can enter any private property at their whims and fancy. I shudder to think what that would mean for ordinary citizens like me. Cops can come barging in my front door any day and confiscate my audio system because they received some complaint from someone. They could arrest me because I had a few friends over on the weekend and we played music past 11.30!!

Where are heading as a state? First the government restricts night life past 11.30. Instead of better policing, cops shut the city down by 11.30 and hope no crime takes place past that time. Then they ban dancing at pubs. They talk about banning pubs altogether now as that's where all the crime in the city happens apparently! Then they get into private property, the DELL office, to shut down a private party. That's important - to SHUTDOWN the party! Not ask the folks there to mellow their music down, but to shut it down and to warn them against late night partying! And next, it could be your home or mine. They could come in asking me not to drink past 11.30 or play music past 11 PM.

Where will this stop? For how much longer do we put up with this? Would we allow the state to dictate what we do inside our homes? Why were the techies warned against partying late night in private property? What business does the state have interfering with such high handedness in matters inside a private property, specially when there wasn't any henious crime or illegalities happening - except maybe for loud music? I'd really want to know if this is legal in India? Do the cops have such powers? Knowing how our police force is currently, I really hope to God that they do not have such powers!

Karnataka is slowly turning into a police state. One by one our freedoms are being restricted. We choose to remain quiet! I don't think people have realized that this will have dangerous consequences for all. We need to do something about such intrusive and unacceptable policing! By the way, I have music playing in my room as I write this. It's past 12.30 now and I'm hoping I don't hear a knock on the door now!

Friends Don't Let Friends Torture and Murder in the Name of National Security

ENSAAF — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:42:12 EST

As Indians gathered for Republic Day celebrations this week to mark the adoption of the Indian constitution, the international human rights organization Ensaaf and the Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) released a joint report that presents verifiable quantitative findings suggesting that Indian security forces actually have very little respect for the rule of law and human rights. The report, “Violent Deaths and Enforced Disappearances During the Counterinsurgency in Punjab, India,” adds scientifically defensible evidence to the litany of charges against Indian security officers for systematically perpetrating human rights violations for decades across all corners of the country. The report also has implications for exactly how President Obama should explore the US’s “rapidly growing and deepening friendship with India,” which he declared in a public statement on Republic Day.

After analyzing six sources of information comprising over 21,000 records relating to the Punjab counterinsurgency between 1984 and 1995, the report found a strong correlation between the increase in counterinsurgency deaths reported by the police and human rights violations reported by the victims’ families - meaning that the patterns of frequency for both events closely matched each other. The analysis specifically reveals a strong correlation between enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions reported by the victims’ families and “encounters” reported in the local newspaper. These observations are consistent with claims by human rights organizations that reported “encounters” concealed targeted extrajudicial killings by security forces.

The correlations strongly undermine the claims by the Indian government and security officials that human rights violations were “random excesses” perpetrated by a few officers. The data establishes that there’s nothing random about it – as security forces intensified their operations, reports of disappearances and extrajudicial executions correspondingly increased.

The pattern is also consistent with claims that security officials were more concerned with the body count than with actually identifying and capturing terrorists. Security officials in Punjab were rewarded with cash and promotions based on the number of dead terrorists they produced. As one Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Punjab told human rights investigators:

Before a meeting with [former Director General of Punjab Police K.P.S.] Gill, 300 to 400 Sikhs used to die in Punjab. Every SSP had to report: I have killed 14. The other who said “I have killed 28”was appreciated more. The third SSP, who had to outsmart the first two, had to report 31. The night before the meeting with Gill, the Sikhs used to die so that the SSPs could vie with each other in showing their anti-terrorist achievements (Kumar, et al., Reduced to Ashes, pp 107-108).

Given the empirical findings suggesting systematic abuses in Punjab, the government can no longer cover-up the facts or justify their acts with the rhetoric of national security. We need to have honest and clear answers about the policies and practices of security forces, not only in Punjab, but also in places like Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Nagaland, that lead to these pandemic abuses. A debate on the issues raised by the report is even more urgent in light of the new amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA), 1967, and the establishment of a National Investigating Agency (NIA), exclusively meant to probe acts of terrorism in the country. These measures give security forces greater powers to detain suspects, frequently the precursor to extrajudicial violence, and put blind faith in the very people who seem to consistently abuse the powers given to them. According to the Asian Center for Human Rights, four people a day die in police custody and jails in India.

We should, therefore, all be concerned when US President Obama expresses blind solidarity with India within a week of condemning the use of torture and closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center, while India is revamping its own draconian laws. The US undoubtedly should be a strong friend and ally to India. This friendship, however, must include engagement on the rule of law and the primacy of human rights, irrespective of the circumstances, and condemning the widespread use of torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings that currently pass for national security policy in India.

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The Ensaaf and Benetech report, “Violent Deaths and Enforced Disappearances During the Counterinsurgency in Punjab, India,” as well as and accompanying photo essay and podcast, is available online.

Citizen Safety and Law Enforcement

Puja Ahuja — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:07:32 EST

It has been decades since our country won its freedom with sacrifices awash in blood and yet I find myself questioning my liberty.

Fear stalks my path, its shadow unseen in the night. Even though I live in a city of over a million inhabitants, when I walk out of the office building to the car park, I’d rather not be alone. Because I know that there are many (I shudder to use the word human for them) who lurk in the dark recesses of unlit streets and parking lots waiting for an opportunity to give the evil in their hearts its coveted feed.

Molestation, rape, robbery, physical assault, acid attacks, hate crimes and a bullet from a crazed man’s gun are threats I face daily in the normal course of living my life. I remember these words from a book I read a long time ago- ‘the evil that men do lives after them’. The profound truth of this statement is evident in the trauma that scars the psyche of someone who has been the victim of a crime.

Why should anyone have to deal with such harsh reality? Do I not, as a citizen of a free country, have the right to go out and earn a living? The right to come home safely after a hard day’s work? The right to feel unafraid?

The Constitution promises to protect me through adequate machinery. So, I ask, where is the timely Law Enforcement Support to which has been awarded the exalted role of the ‘Savior’. In this murky world, the protector and the perpetrator have become one and I feel dismayed with the realization that I can’t trust anyone.

The police along with the judicial system need to address the issue of a citizen’s safety with the earnestness and commitment that this worthy cause truly deserves.

But how do we make this happen? By being there for each other and raising a voice for each other. How many times have we heard of the plight of victims and simply moved on to carry out our tasks for the day because in our lives the line of distinction between resilience and indifference has blurred to the extent that we fail to see any difference?

I remember reading a very touching story some time back. It spoke of an ordinary person, just like you and me, who was returning home after work and heard the cries of a girl in distress. The plea for help came from behind a bush and the man felt unsure of his ability to fight for the victim. He hesitated since he did not know whether the attacker was armed or strong. Being neither himself, the man thought it wiser to just move on. And yet a part of him couldn’t allow this to go on. So he jumped in, trusting God and his Fate to see him through. As he hit the attacker from behind, the girl was let free and he was shocked to see the face of his daughter staring at him with shock and relief.

The answer, my friend, lies with us. We have to make the right happen! I know we have come a long way but there is a lot more that we have to do. I don’t want my freedom compressed in a can of pepper spray. I don’t want to be the caged bird that sings. I want to be free to be myself, under the open sky, in a world where I rightfully have a place.

Who am I? I live in your city and I am the girl next door.