She has her view and she has a right to express it. Arresting her or vandalising places connected with her, only further justifies her stand. Militias have always behaved like this. Taliban or its brethren on this side of the border. We are however a genuine democracy. It is upto us to vote out militancy. As of now, if you have to stay in Mumbai, keep your mouth shut. We can change this situation in the next election, if we so wish. Bhindranwales and Thakarays are creations of the ruling party for short term gains that boomerang on them in the long term just as militancy was created in Pakistan for Anti-India operations which is now haunting its own rulers. As of now, every party, every celebrity is singing praises of the departed soul. It is the future that we have to think of. Do we want an irretrievable situation to develop ?
The Point is will the Government of India has courage to take steps to prevent police from acting in such fascist manner? It can not be claimed that the central goverment has no authority over state police. After all we know what I.P.S stands for. Manmohan signh Government’s democratic credentials are of course questionable.
my goodness…!!!!nw y in hell do you question the govt’s credentials..as if they have given the order to arrest them…this is totally out of the issue dear friend..rather we shud be concentre on the forces behind this ugly act…
From The Unreal Times:
SBI offers anticipatory bail loans to Facebook, Twitter users in India in wake of girls’ arrest
India’s premier bank, State Bank of India, has introduced an all new ‘anticipatory bail’ loan scheme for Facebook and Twitter users, who face a high likelihood of getting arrested under various colonial era provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the draconian Information Technology Act…
The fever has caught on with various campaign groups as well, with groups like “Vote4Change” expanding themselves to more sub-groups. One such sub-group, called “Bail4Safety” exclusively aims at creating awareness about the risks of being active on the social media, urging people to obtain their anticipatory bails as soon as possible.
“We want to sensitize people to the fact that blogging or posting innocuous Facebook messages is one of the most dangerous pastimes in India, which can lead to detainment and even incarceration. I urge people to apply for anticipatory bail and try not to be annoying to minimize chances of imprisonment,” explained Shrishti Behl, convener of Bail4Safety.
Statement by All India Students’ Association (AISA)
Shiv Sena Goons Waste No Time in Re-enacting Thackeray’s Legacy – 2 Young Women Arrested for Facebook Comments, Relative’s Clinic Vandalised by the Shiv Sena…
Violence, Hooliganism, and Outright War on Democracy in Mumbai
Immediately after Bal Thackeray’s death in Mumbai following a long illness, Shiv Sena indulged in orchestrated violence and hooliganism after a young Muslim girl in Mumbai made a simple comment on how public life in Mumbai was paralysed during his funeral.
Following Thackeray’s death and his funeral conducted with full state honours by the state government, the whole of Mumbai came to a standstill, with several shops shutting down and public transport being severely affected. After this, a 21-year old woman living in Mumbai, Shaheen Dhada, commented through a Facebook post, saying that a bandh on the occasion Thackeray’s funeral was not necessary – “we should remember Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev”, she added. One of her friends “liked” the comment. What followed was absurd – and highlighted just how weak our democracy is, and how vulnerable to muscle-flexing by the right-wing.
Shiv Sena has said Thackeray has “left a huge legacy” – and soon after has been showing us what exactly this “legacy” is all about:
21-year old Shaheen and her friend Renu were arrested by the Mumbai police (based on a complaint by the Shiv Sena) under 505 (2) for making statements “creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will”. They were remanded to 14-day judicial custody and finally released from custody only after they paid bail.
Shaheen’s uncle, Dr. Abdul Yusuf Dhada, runs a clinic in Palaghar, Mumbai and today Shiv Sena goons ransacked the clinic, broke furniture and other infrastructure in the clinic and forced all the patients to move out. Even though complaints have been filed with the Mumbai Police, no action has been taken on the 40 Shiv Sena goons who orchestrated this violence in full public view.
The attacks by the Shiv Sena, are, of course, in the good old Shiv Sena tradition of intimidation and violence. But these are compounded by the attitude of the Mumbai police – which has obediently carried out the Shiv Sena’s diktats and arrested two young women for expressing an opinion on a social networking site!
What is equally shameful is the attitude of the Maharashtra government. Balasaheb Thackeray, who was once disenfranchised by the Election Commission for six years for making communally provocative speeches, who presided over hate- and violence-filled campaigns against poor labourers and workers in Mumbai, was accorded full state honours in his funeral.
Even various leaders of the so-called “secular” Congress – including the Prime Minister of the country – have been busy trying to sanitise the actions of Thackeray and the mayhem he wrought over several decades. During the last phase of Thackeray’s illness, Digvijaya Singh, propagandist for Congress’s ‘secularism,’ on Friday said Thackeray was a “fighter” all his life and will also “fight” his illness. Of course Digvijaya Singh never mentioned what exactly Thackeray “fought” for all his life!
The corporate media was not to be left behind in this game of creating a halo around Thackeray. Take for instance a report released by the ANI which says, “Social issues such as immigration and communalism were of particular interest to him in the context of national well being and welfare”. So, the Mumbai riots of 1992-93, the repeated, organised, vicious assaults on south Indians, workers from UP and Bihar and Muslims in Mumbai have become innocuous sounding “social issues of immigration and communalism” and examples of “national well being and welfare”!
Such statements go way beyond expressing condolences on the death of a well-known political leader. In fact, they effectively help to rewrite history, and make communal hate mongering and orchestrated violence appear as “acceptable” political practice. They give a message to rabid saffron forces that law will never touch majoritarian communal politics – the shriller the better.
AISA condemns the arrest of Shaheen and Renu simply for posting comments on Facebook and the subsequent Sena-orchestrated violence and hooliganism in Mumbai. AISA also condemns the craven role of the Congress government and the Mumbai police in Maharashtra, which has capitulated in service of the Shiv Sena goons. But after all, what better can one expect from the Congress-NCP government which never acted on the Shri Krishna Commission Report that squarely indicts Thackeray for the horrific Mumbai riots of 1992-93, and which more recently agreed to removing Rohinton Mistry’s book from the Mumbai Univ. syllabus!
We all need to robustly resist all such shameful assaults on democracy, and speak out against the overdrive of the corporate media, the saffron brigade of RSS, BJP, Shiv Sena, MNS, as well as the slew of Congress leaders and the state machinery to valorise purveyors of communal hate mongering and violence.
At my location in Ottawa Canada, Facebook is not letting me “like’ this. may be it is for the best as after clicking the “like” I got worried about the implications of it showing up on the screens of my dear ones in Bombay.
KAFILA - COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006 
She has her view and she has a right to express it. Arresting her or vandalising places connected with her, only further justifies her stand. Militias have always behaved like this. Taliban or its brethren on this side of the border. We are however a genuine democracy. It is upto us to vote out militancy. As of now, if you have to stay in Mumbai, keep your mouth shut. We can change this situation in the next election, if we so wish. Bhindranwales and Thakarays are creations of the ruling party for short term gains that boomerang on them in the long term just as militancy was created in Pakistan for Anti-India operations which is now haunting its own rulers. As of now, every party, every celebrity is singing praises of the departed soul. It is the future that we have to think of. Do we want an irretrievable situation to develop ?
LikeLike
The Point is will the Government of India has courage to take steps to prevent police from acting in such fascist manner? It can not be claimed that the central goverment has no authority over state police. After all we know what I.P.S stands for. Manmohan signh Government’s democratic credentials are of course questionable.
LikeLike
my goodness…!!!!nw y in hell do you question the govt’s credentials..as if they have given the order to arrest them…this is totally out of the issue dear friend..rather we shud be concentre on the forces behind this ugly act…
LikeLike
Bullying/extorting money & hiding in Matoshree was his strategy.
His contribution to development of India is zero.
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It is a crime to be expressive in the largest democracy in the world. We are still savages.
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LIKE :)
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From The Unreal Times:
SBI offers anticipatory bail loans to Facebook, Twitter users in India in wake of girls’ arrest
India’s premier bank, State Bank of India, has introduced an all new ‘anticipatory bail’ loan scheme for Facebook and Twitter users, who face a high likelihood of getting arrested under various colonial era provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the draconian Information Technology Act…
The fever has caught on with various campaign groups as well, with groups like “Vote4Change” expanding themselves to more sub-groups. One such sub-group, called “Bail4Safety” exclusively aims at creating awareness about the risks of being active on the social media, urging people to obtain their anticipatory bails as soon as possible.
“We want to sensitize people to the fact that blogging or posting innocuous Facebook messages is one of the most dangerous pastimes in India, which can lead to detainment and even incarceration. I urge people to apply for anticipatory bail and try not to be annoying to minimize chances of imprisonment,” explained Shrishti Behl, convener of Bail4Safety.
LikeLike
Statement by All India Students’ Association (AISA)
Shiv Sena Goons Waste No Time in Re-enacting Thackeray’s Legacy – 2 Young Women Arrested for Facebook Comments, Relative’s Clinic Vandalised by the Shiv Sena…
Violence, Hooliganism, and Outright War on Democracy in Mumbai
Immediately after Bal Thackeray’s death in Mumbai following a long illness, Shiv Sena indulged in orchestrated violence and hooliganism after a young Muslim girl in Mumbai made a simple comment on how public life in Mumbai was paralysed during his funeral.
Following Thackeray’s death and his funeral conducted with full state honours by the state government, the whole of Mumbai came to a standstill, with several shops shutting down and public transport being severely affected. After this, a 21-year old woman living in Mumbai, Shaheen Dhada, commented through a Facebook post, saying that a bandh on the occasion Thackeray’s funeral was not necessary – “we should remember Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev”, she added. One of her friends “liked” the comment. What followed was absurd – and highlighted just how weak our democracy is, and how vulnerable to muscle-flexing by the right-wing.
Shiv Sena has said Thackeray has “left a huge legacy” – and soon after has been showing us what exactly this “legacy” is all about:
21-year old Shaheen and her friend Renu were arrested by the Mumbai police (based on a complaint by the Shiv Sena) under 505 (2) for making statements “creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will”. They were remanded to 14-day judicial custody and finally released from custody only after they paid bail.
Shaheen’s uncle, Dr. Abdul Yusuf Dhada, runs a clinic in Palaghar, Mumbai and today Shiv Sena goons ransacked the clinic, broke furniture and other infrastructure in the clinic and forced all the patients to move out. Even though complaints have been filed with the Mumbai Police, no action has been taken on the 40 Shiv Sena goons who orchestrated this violence in full public view.
The attacks by the Shiv Sena, are, of course, in the good old Shiv Sena tradition of intimidation and violence. But these are compounded by the attitude of the Mumbai police – which has obediently carried out the Shiv Sena’s diktats and arrested two young women for expressing an opinion on a social networking site!
What is equally shameful is the attitude of the Maharashtra government. Balasaheb Thackeray, who was once disenfranchised by the Election Commission for six years for making communally provocative speeches, who presided over hate- and violence-filled campaigns against poor labourers and workers in Mumbai, was accorded full state honours in his funeral.
Even various leaders of the so-called “secular” Congress – including the Prime Minister of the country – have been busy trying to sanitise the actions of Thackeray and the mayhem he wrought over several decades. During the last phase of Thackeray’s illness, Digvijaya Singh, propagandist for Congress’s ‘secularism,’ on Friday said Thackeray was a “fighter” all his life and will also “fight” his illness. Of course Digvijaya Singh never mentioned what exactly Thackeray “fought” for all his life!
The corporate media was not to be left behind in this game of creating a halo around Thackeray. Take for instance a report released by the ANI which says, “Social issues such as immigration and communalism were of particular interest to him in the context of national well being and welfare”. So, the Mumbai riots of 1992-93, the repeated, organised, vicious assaults on south Indians, workers from UP and Bihar and Muslims in Mumbai have become innocuous sounding “social issues of immigration and communalism” and examples of “national well being and welfare”!
Such statements go way beyond expressing condolences on the death of a well-known political leader. In fact, they effectively help to rewrite history, and make communal hate mongering and orchestrated violence appear as “acceptable” political practice. They give a message to rabid saffron forces that law will never touch majoritarian communal politics – the shriller the better.
AISA condemns the arrest of Shaheen and Renu simply for posting comments on Facebook and the subsequent Sena-orchestrated violence and hooliganism in Mumbai. AISA also condemns the craven role of the Congress government and the Mumbai police in Maharashtra, which has capitulated in service of the Shiv Sena goons. But after all, what better can one expect from the Congress-NCP government which never acted on the Shri Krishna Commission Report that squarely indicts Thackeray for the horrific Mumbai riots of 1992-93, and which more recently agreed to removing Rohinton Mistry’s book from the Mumbai Univ. syllabus!
We all need to robustly resist all such shameful assaults on democracy, and speak out against the overdrive of the corporate media, the saffron brigade of RSS, BJP, Shiv Sena, MNS, as well as the slew of Congress leaders and the state machinery to valorise purveyors of communal hate mongering and violence.
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I think now, they will arrest Justice Sri Krishna for indicting Bal Thakery in Bombay riots! This is simple capitulation to fascist forces!
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Just wanted to add this quote from Martin Niemoller, As Shivam has indicated, its time to raise our voices, friends.
“First they came for the socialists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.”
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That’s pretty much everything to be said.
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At my location in Ottawa Canada, Facebook is not letting me “like’ this. may be it is for the best as after clicking the “like” I got worried about the implications of it showing up on the screens of my dear ones in Bombay.
LikeLike
Please sign and share the petition to support Shaheen and Renu. I’m aiming to get 10,000 signatures.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Drop_all_charges_against_Shaheen_Dhada_and_Renu_Srinivasan/?fncnsbb&pv=0
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All talk on facebook/twitter in India should be about censorship laws (IT Act Section 66A) until it gets scrapped.
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