Law

The Trial: State of Chhattisgarh versus Pijush Guha, Binayak Sen and Narayan Sanyal

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bbc.co.uk

On Christmas Eve, the Raipur Sessions court delivered a surprisingly harsh sentence in the case of The State of Chhattisgarh versus Pijush Guha, Binayak Sen and Narayan Sanyal, where B.P. Verma sentenced all three to life imprisonment for “conspiring to commit sedition.”

This latest ruling on a sedition case isn’t so much about the narrowing of the space of expression in India (there are far more illustrative cases here, here and here) but more about the wide  application of the sedition law to convict when the supporting evidence is questioned by the defence.

Prosecution teams seem to have figured out that in cases involving “Maoist issues” – a poor investigation can easily be supported by planting “seditious” documents and pushing for sedition.

Through the course of this post, I shall try to collate some my coverage over the last two weeks to give you all a sense of how the trial proceeded. As always, I this piece serves as a starting point for further discussions. I would urge readers to post comments with links to articles that they found interesting (along with their own thoughts of course).

Continue reading The Trial: State of Chhattisgarh versus Pijush Guha, Binayak Sen and Narayan Sanyal →

Everyday Life, Identities, Law, Movements

Why is it so difficult to free India of manual scavenging?

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Guest post by BEZWADA WILSON

Safai karamcharis from across India declared their liberation at a function in Delhi on 20 December

Over the years, there have been many changes in the Safai Karamchari Andolan movement. The biggest change we have seen has been in the safai karamchari community’s outlook. There was a time when safai karamcharis were ashamed to admit they did manual scavenging. It was not uncommon for even family members to be unaware that someone was involved in the practice of manual scavenging.

Continue reading Why is it so difficult to free India of manual scavenging? →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Empire/ Imperialism, Excavation, Law, Violence/Conflict

Look who’s talking (to whom): FBI and Special Cell

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This note comes from Manisha Sethi of the JAMIA TEACHERS’ SOLIDARITY ASSOCIATION

Wikileaks has exposed that there existed secret channels of communication between the US agency FBI and our very own Delhi Police Special Cell. FBI—which has witchhunted American democratic and civil rights organizations and leaders (including Martin Luther King Jr.), raids the homes of anti-war activists, and helps the overthrow of popular governments around the world—and Special Cell whose personnel have been indicted in the past, by none less than the CBI, for manufacturing ‘terrorists’ out of thin air by planting false evidence; an organization often accused by rights activists of killing in cold blood, a.k.a. ‘encounters’, for medals and promotions. What possible information were they sharing in secret? Who to frame and fix next? Or the merits of water-boarding over indigenous torture techniques?  Continue reading Look who’s talking (to whom): FBI and Special Cell →

Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Excavation, Frontiers, Identities, Violence/Conflict

Noor Sahab in Horror Land: Gowhar Fazili

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Guest post by GOWHAR FAZILI

Some old memories came to mind when Noor Mohammed Bhat, a college lecturer in Kashmir got arrested for asking in an examination, “Are the stone pelters real heroes? Discuss.”

I studied at Burn Hall, a missionary school in Srinagar. In the mid-‘80s, they would make us recite the national anthem in the morning assembly on one of the week days. Interestingly, while the little kids would do as they were told, the ‘big’ ones who had just crossed their sixth grade, would for some strange reason go off tune so that Jana Gana Mana… would start sounding like “Jaaaaaanaooauea maaaoAAAonaa gaooooOOnaannNNaaaA…”, like it were a sound coming out of an audio tape that was stuck or a damaged gramophone record! This bad behaviour invited corporal punishment. Shah Sir and Mohinder Sir (P.T. Masters) used to lurk behind the assembly and surreptitiously appear and whip on our legs at lightning speed. They would lash at the whole queue in a single run and be gone before we knew it. While the tune in the queue that was being freshly hit would get restored, the queues furthest from the P.T. Masters would go really off the tune! They would keep running about madly like this from one end to another but the cycle (orchestra) would continue till the whole song was over. It used be maddening for them. Though they were quite ferocious if one were to encounter them in person, (having been used regularly to instil fear and maintain ‘discipline’) somehow as a collective, we dared them in this manner week after week and year after year. Continue reading Noor Sahab in Horror Land: Gowhar Fazili →

Debates, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Villain in Life, Hero in Death: Hindutva’s New found Love for Hemant Karkare

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…sources who were close to Karkare have said there was indeed a threat perception at that time and the former ATS chief was disturbed over allegations against his family after the Malegaon probe was made public.

However, they said “Karkare was not scared” and that “he was very practical and took adequate measures to ensure his family was safe”. According to sources, Karkare had raised the wall around his house just a week before his death and also brought home a dog. “The wall was raised around the garage-end of the house, as it faced the road outside,” sources said.

An officer, who did not wish to be identified, said, “Soon after the probe, there were news reports alleging various things about his family which disturbed him. He was not scared for his life nor was he the kind to be afraid of consequences of an honest probe. …It was the allegations against his family that disturbed him and he took practical measures to ensure their safety.”

(Indian Express, Posted: Tue Dec 14 2010, 03:31 hrs Mumbai) Continue reading Villain in Life, Hero in Death: Hindutva’s New found Love for Hemant Karkare →

Capitalism, Everyday Life, Government, Scams

Contract Workers in IIT Kanpur: Raj Sahai

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Link to full fact-finding report by RAJ SAHAI.

Link and background note below sent to us by AMIT SINGH.

[This follows the report by Rashmi Singh on the condition of contract workers in JNU – another institution of higher learning.]

Background

The practice of employing contract workers by IIT Kanpur started increasing at the expense of direct regular employees during the past two decades and presently the figure of the contingent workforce is estimated to be around 2,500. For its normal functioning, the Institute relies upon these contract workers not only for temporary construction works but also for perennial
works such as messing (food preparation, serving and cleaning of kitchen and dishes), civil maintenance, electrical maintenance, horticulture, sanitation and sewer cleaning. The Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India, views that inferior labor status, casual nature of employment, lack of job security and poor economic conditions are the major characteristics of contract labor.[1] These most vulnerable workers have been provided unequivocal legal protection by different laws, mainly,
Contract Labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 [CL(R & A) Act, 1970], Minimum Wages Act, 1948 [MW Act, 1948], The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 [PW Act, 1936], Workmen Compensation Act & Apprentices Act 1961, and Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 [ISMW Act, 1979].

Continue reading Contract Workers in IIT Kanpur: Raj Sahai →

Bad ideas

6 दिसंबर : न्यायिक विस्मरण के विरुद्ध

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एक बार फिर 6 दिसम्बर आ कर गुजर गया. लेकिन क्या ज़रूरी था कि हम इसे याद करें ही? क्या अठारह साल  पहले हुई एक ‘भूल’ की बार- बार याद दिला कर हम अपने  समाज को मानसिक रूप से आगे बढ़ने से  रोक तो नहीं रहे? याद करना और याद रखना  हमेशा स्वास्थ्यकर हो, आवश्यक नहीं. कई बार तो ज़िन्दगी में इत्मीनान के लिए भूलना बेहतर है. बल्कि,जैसा लातीन अमरीकी     कवि जुआन रामोन हिम्नेज़ का कहना है , याद करना  प्राय: कृत्रिम है जबकि  भूलना या विस्मृति अधिक प्राकृतिक क्रिया है. ऐसा तो नहीं कि हम याद करने को भूलने के ऊपर इसलिए तरजीह देते हैं कि याद रखने में आयास करना होता है और विस्मरण अपनेआप होने वाली क्रिया है?  क्या विस्मृति की निष्क्रियता उसे हीनतर बना देती है स्मृति के मुकाबले? और क्या इसी वजह से हम याद रखने को आधुनिक मनुष्य का नैतिक कर्तव्य मानते हैं? हिम्नेज़ लिखते हैं, ‘स्मृति शोर-शराबे की पुत्री है जबकि विस्मृति मौन की.’ वे कवि को यह कहते  हैं कि स्मृति पर काबू पाना विजयी होना है और उसके आगे घुटने टेक देना पराजित होना है. सबसे ताकतवर  व्यक्ति वह है जो सबसे अधिक भूलता है. हिम्नेज़ इसलिए विस्मृति का आदर करने की सलाह देते हैं क्योंकि वह  हमें वर्तमान  क्षण को विलक्षणता पर एकाग्र होने का अवसर देती है. कवि का मश्विरा है कि हमारे लिए ज़रूरी है अपनी ज़िंदगी के पैमाने पर स्मृति और विस्मृति को समान स्थान देना और दोनों के बीच  संतुलन की तलाश करना.
Continue reading 6 दिसंबर : न्यायिक विस्मरण के विरुद्ध →

Capitalism, Excavation, Media politics, Scams

800 new Radia tapes!

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It keeps getting better. The promise of more emperors losing their clothing, the promise of more political gossip and media wars and conspiracy theories. More light will be thrown at crony capitalism, sorry I mean economic growth. Outlook is putting out another 800 Radia tapes in the next few hours. There are a total of 5,000 and they’ve already put out 140.

Of those 140, some 36 yet to be transcribed.

Bad ideas, Empire/ Imperialism, Law, Violence/Conflict

“Are the stone pelters real heroes? Discuss.” Hundred marks?

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Noor Mohammed Bhat, a college lecturer in Srinagar, who decided to get creative with the English examination paper. Amongst his essay topics: “Are the stone pelters real heroes? Discuss.”

It also asked students to translate this Urdu-language text into English: “Kashmir is burning once again. The warm blood of youth is being spilled like water. Police and soldiers are beating even small children to death. Bullets are being pumped into the chests of even girls and women. People in villages and towns are crying in pain. Rulers continue to be in a deep slumber. It appears they’ve turned dumb, deaf and blind.” [Associated Press]

Although the AP report linked above says he has been charged with promoting secession, it’s not clear if he’s been charged with sedition. Kashmir Dispatch reports say he’s been charged under section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Ironically, the college where Bhat taught (he’s already been sacked) is named after Gandhi. Univesity spaces in Kashmir are heavily controlled to prevent political expression and student unions are banned. So much so that when Kashmiri students see campus politics at the Jawaharlal University in Delhi, they often remark that they are seeing for the first time what freedom looks like!

Meanwhile, Rohini Hensman says Kashmiris should not have azadi until they ask India and Pakistan for azadi in equal measure, or something like that.

Centre watch, Empire/ Imperialism, Frontiers, Violence/Conflict

“Trigger Happy”: An HRW Report on the ‘Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border’

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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH has released an 81-page report that documents the situation on the border region, where both Bangladesh and India have deployed border guards to prevent infiltration, trafficking, and smuggling. They found numerous cases of indiscriminate use of force, arbitrary detention, torture, and killings by the security force, without adequate investigation or punishment. The report is based on over 100 interviews with victims, witnesses, human rights defenders, journalists, and Border Security Force and Bangladesh Rifles’ (BDR) members. You can read the report here and download it here (.pdf). Given below are the report summary and recommendations.

Continue reading “Trigger Happy”: An HRW Report on the ‘Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border’ →

Capitalism, Everyday Life, Politics

Conditions of contract labourers in JNU: Rashmi Singh

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This is a guest post by RASHMI SINGH. This article is based on the research conducted by the author on informal labour, for AMAN Trust.

The recently concluded Commonwealth Games have exposed the government’s contempt towards the working class in Delhi.Even though some sections of the media did highlight the terrible working conditions of the labourers, much of it got lost in the noise about corruption scandals and nationalist jingoism. In the aftermath of the games, the so-called fourth estate continues to focus its energies on the question of corruption, while everyone seems to have forgotten about the lakhs of construction workers who built the very edifice of the Games. Indeed, the dusty secrets of labour code violations during the Games have been relegated to just that – the dust of the city.

Continue reading Conditions of contract labourers in JNU: Rashmi Singh →

Empire/ Imperialism, Excavation, Frontiers

Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

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Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.

No, that is not someone’s clever response to the attacks on WikiLeaks. It was written fourteen years ago.

The article by John Perry Barlow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation was quoted by Operation Payback which has done some great things recently! And Barlow says, “The first serious infowar is now engaged. The field of battle is WikiLeaks. You are the troops.” The MasterCard story of course runs deeper.

Operation Payback is the brainchild of pro-piracy hacker group 4chan, which incidentally has a Bollywood connection!

Debates, Left watch, Violence/Conflict

Maoist dilemmas in Nepal

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Exactly four years after a peace accord the end of Nepal’s civil war, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is going through a deep existential crisis. This was most starkly reflected in the separate political documents presented by chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, senior vice-chairman Mohan Vaidya ‘Kiran’, and another vice-chairman and ideologue Dr Baburam Bhattarai at an extended party meeting in Palungtar of Gorkha district last week. Almost 6,000 delegates – including 1200 Maoist combatants from UN-monitored cantonments – reviewed the party’s achievements and failures after entering the peace process, and discussed the future ‘political line’ the party should adopt. Continue reading Maoist dilemmas in Nepal →

Centre watch, Empire/ Imperialism, Frontiers, Identities, Violence/Conflict

Sinister designs behind Muharram ban in Kashmir: Zafar Mehdi

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Guest post by ZAFAR MEHDI

Muharram, the month of epic action, has announced its arrival. Black banners symbolizing grief are fluttering around. A pall of gloom has descended. 1500 years later, the lessons of Karbala continue to be the beacon of inspiration for strugglers of truth and righteousness. Muharram, contrary to perception, is not an event, episode or chapter in history. It is a philosophy, a concept, a movement. As centuries roll by, the great uprising of Husain(as), the beloved grandson of Holy Prophet (saww), continues to drive believers to hurl defiance at the forces of evil. The final call Imam gave to humanity still lingers in the minds of millions of Muslims around the world. It teaches that notwithstanding the inadequacy of numbers, if you run down the gauntlet backed by the staunch faith in the Almighty, triumph will be yours.  Continue reading Sinister designs behind Muharram ban in Kashmir: Zafar Mehdi →

Government, Law, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Gift the CBI a sheet for their next cover-up!

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CALL FOR ACTION  on CBI COVER-UP!

Let us Protest against CBI cover up report on Shopian Rape and Murder case

DEMAND  JUSTICE FOR NEELOFAR AND ASIYA!

A Public Event in New Delhi on 13th December, 2010 at 4 pm in front of CBI office, Delhi.

Come and participate with one white bed sheet with the words ‘TO THE CBI – FOR YOUR NEXT COVER-UP!!!’ written in huge letters across it with the name of the organisation/individual below.

Issued by: Women against Sexual violence and State repression (WSS), Delhi

For more details contact saheliwomen at gmail dot com

Continue reading Gift the CBI a sheet for their next cover-up! →

Bad ideas, Debates, Government, Politics

Uphold Freedom of Expression: Statement in support of KK Shahina

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We the following organizations express our strong concern on the charges framed by Karnataka police against journalist Shahina KK for her investigative report on Bangalore bomb blast case. Her recent article which showed that witnesses in the Bangalore blast case were fragile, false and forced has led her to be implicated under charges of IPC 506 which can lead to seven years of imprisonment.

The accusation of Karnataka police is that she ‘ intimidated the key witnesses’ in the Bangalore bomb blast case during the course of her article. The accusations of the police were also carried by the local news papers as “suspicious” visit by a “group of Muslims” to the place. The newspapers said that police were not sure about the identity of the woman, though she had showed a TEHELKA identity card! Continue reading Uphold Freedom of Expression: Statement in support of KK Shahina →

Ecology/Environment, Everyday Life, Government, Identities, Violence/Conflict

Apocalypse in Our Time: Ravikumar

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Guest post by RAVIKUMAR

Waking is Another Dream: Poems on the Genocide in Eelam, a slim anthology edited by Ravikumar, will be launched by Navayana on Wednesday, 8 December 2010 at 6 p.m. at The Attic, 36 Regal Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi.

[At a time when the Eelam issue is the news again owing to Channel 4’s coverage leading to the cancellation of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s talk at Oxford, citing emerging evidence of his war crimes, Navayana presents a volume of powerful poetry translated for the first time from Tamil into English. Says poet Cheran, “The lack awareness in a city like Delhi on the fallout of the genocidal war in Sri Lanka is appalling. People here who seem concerned about Palestine or even Kashmir seem utterly indifferent to the problem in India’s own backyard.”

Continue reading Apocalypse in Our Time: Ravikumar →

Bad ideas, Media politics

Of journalist citizens

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With Kashmiris forcing us to take note of them on Facebook and Twitter, with the internet noise on the Radia tapes making a mockery of the media’s radio silence over them, with WikiLeaks assuring us that we’re well into the age of information anarchy, the old, dogged question rears afresh its banal head: Are citizen journalists, journalists?

I was at a Google conference in Budapest in September, called ‘Internet at Liberty 2010’, which had bloggers, activists and policywallahs from 70 countries. At one of the theme dinners, we were asked how many of us identified ourselves as citizen journalists. No hand went up, even as we were all conscious that any one of us could be the first one to see a plane crashing and be the first to report it on Twitter. Continue reading Of journalist citizens →

Bad ideas, Government, Law

On sedition: Sarim Naved

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In this guest post, SARIM NAVED gives a chronological account of sedition in Indian law, and discusses the procedural aspects laid down for a magistrate to take cognisance of sedition

After the 1857 revolt, the Press Act of 1857 which prohibited all publications, without licensing, was passed. This Act known as Lord Canning’s Act  applied to all kinds of publication, including books in all languages and other printed papers in all languages. 1860 saw the enactment of the Indian Penal Code, which remains in force today in a relatively unchanged manner. The Indian Penal Code, while not directly dealing with the press, does incorporate provisions that impinge upon and regulate the activities of the press. The code dealt with issues ranging from offences against a person’s body or property to criminal breach of trust to offences like defamation and obscenity that directly concerned editors.  In the words of Rajeev Dhavan, “It was a comprehensive code. Not all these provisions were directed against free speech but virtually all could be used against it.” Amendments were later introduced to bring in the offence of sedition in 1870, the offence of promoting enmity between classes in 1898, the offence of outraging religious feelings in 1928 and imputations or assertions prejudicial to national integration, which were added by the government of independent India in 1972. Continue reading On sedition: Sarim Naved →

Everyday Life, Identities, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

City in Terror: Dilip D’Souza

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Guest post by DILIP D’SOUZA

Starting today eighteen years ago, for much of December and January (and then March 12), Indian killed Indian on the streets of my city. Terror at its most elemental: I felt it then. I saw it then. Others told me about it then.

Some memories of those weeks, in no particular order but they all still make my hair stand on end.

Debates, Law, Media politics

Clamping down on the dissenting voice

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Part 3 of a 3 part series by SIDDHARTH NARRAIN. First published on The Hoot.
 

While the Supreme Court’s decision lay to rest the debate on the scope and constitutional validity of the sedition law, the life of the sedition law is entangled with that of political dissent in the country. A brief search for reported High Court and Supreme Court cases on sedition gives us an indication of the kinds of situations where the sedition law is commonly used.

For instance, in 1967, the government prosecuted Ghulam Rasood Choari, the editor of an Agra based Urdu weekly called Ehsas for exhorting the Muslims of the country, especially the Muslims of Kashmir to violence against the government and bringing the readers of the paper into ‘hatred’ and contempt and dissatisfaction with the government (Ghulam Rasool Choari v. The State 1968 CriLJ 884).

Continue reading Clamping down on the dissenting voice →

DISSENT, DEBATE, CREATE