SEDITION vs FREE SPEECH

The news of the controversial JNU clips being authentic has yet again kindled the decades-old debate on Sedition vs Free Speech. There has been a plethora of opinions on the scope of Free Speech following this incident. 

Ostensibly, the Indian race is an irascible one. Perhaps the repetitive use of the term 'sedition' in the way it has been portrayed is responsible for such attitude. It has created a much  conception of it than has been enshrined in the IPC. Sedition is an extreme form of incitement of violence against the State and mere shouting of slogans, even anti-national, does not lead to sedition.
As per the Penal Code, a person is guilty of sedition, who,

" -----by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law."
Note: There are a few things that need to be kept in mind:

1-The expression "disaffection" includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.


2-Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

3-Comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section. 

Hence, advocating revolution, or even an violent overthrow of State, does not constitute sedition, unless there is incitement to imminent violence.Therefore, despite an immoral and non-patriotic conduct of the highest order, Kanhaiya, Khalid and Bhattacharya cannot be legally tried for sedition.

Reasonable restrictions on the Freedom of Expression were put for the primary purpose of ensuring that everyone had the space to enjoy one's freedom, without hurting the sentiments of another. Just exercising the right to put forward one's views doesn't fall under the purview of a crime as grave as sedition.

It is in the common knowledge of all that Arundhati Roy, Binayak Sen and Aseem Trivedi are the notable ones among those who have been accused of this offence. But none of them have been actually proven guilty by the Apex Court.

Our forefathers were far-sighted enough and provided for us just the echt rights and restrictions. An amalgamation of pre-conceived notions, limited thought process and
a latent 'un-acceptance' of radical and liberal thought fails the very purpose of those week- long deliberations. 

As Neal Boortz said, 'Free Speech was made to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.'

Are the numbers penumbral?

The Modi government and the economic policy framers in India are being lauded for the impressive GDP growth, apparently making India the 'fastest growing economy in the world'.

People are going gaga over the government's phenomenal fiscal policies that yielded this phenomenal growth. Unfortunately, it is being credited for nothing more than a gross deceptive data.

As per the Chief Statistical Officer, TCA Anant,the exponential rise has been the result of total consumption of  1,40,000 crore rupees, which surprisingly was less than 30,000 crore just a year ago. A rise in Manufacturing from around 9. 5% to 12.6% in just a quarter FY is equally abstruse. IIP reported a rise of just 2% in factory output. Manufacturing, that forms 75.5% in the IIP, actually contracted by 2.8% . Moreover, production of Electricity and Gas has also supposedly increased to 9.3% from just 5.6% in the December quarter. TCA's figures have been deficient in credibility, both at the national and international level.

• There has been a frightening drop of 17,000 crore in Investment. 
• Gross fixed capital formation has also just maintained a decent growth of 4.4%.
• Imports fell by 5% and Exports too fell by 6%.
• Government expenditure in itself has been 'bad' at a mere 3.3%.
• WPI inflation has fallen.
• All state-owned banks are in red. The largest state-owned bank, State Bank of India, saw profits falling by 66%. Bank of India lost almost 6,000 crores in just one year!

This is about the Government. But the Private Sector isn't doing very well either.

• Sales have been negative but wages, positive.
• Intermediate consumption and expenditure of Private Cos has been way too less.
• Students in institutes like IITs and IIMs are on strikes as there are no sufficient corporate job offers. Companies like Flipkart and its peers are literally running short of money, hence, the shortage in on-campus recruitment. If the economy is really growing so fast, what rational argument can the government put forward, explaining the dearth of jobs?
• An increase of 15.5% in Private Profits isn't in line with the numbers that Companies have reported. Maybe India has a huge number of outperforming firms that are not even listed!

The real numbers can be adduced for the global lack of confidence in Modi's India. Beneath all the illusory glitter, India's growth rate, in reality, is a mere 4.4%, half of what is being projected. 

Let's hope this '7 POINT SOME DECEPTION' withers away and we get to see the authenticated facts.

DYNAMIC DEFENCE MINISTER, DECIDEDLY...

From a distinguished IIT-B alumnus to Chief Minister to Defense Minister, Manohar Parrikar stands tall as the most trusted and capable ministers of the BJP government. Not only is he dedicated and dead honest, he also uses his expertise efficiently to maneuver political machinery in the nation's interests. He exhibits simplicity in conduct and strong conviction in thoughts and action. His right-winged country- first approach is sure to give Pakistan and China a tough time.

Under Parrikar, the defense ministry has been revived and revitalized. Not only has he been able to do away with the nexus between middlemen, arms dealers and a few defense ministry officials, but also made the office much pro-active in handling crucial issues, be it the successful implementation of the Rafale Jet Deal or the One Rank One Pension issue.

Parrikar's commendable work speaks volumes of his credibility. Under him, 

1. All PSUs and ordnance factories have shown a 20% increase in turnover.

2. After 32 years, Indian-made light combat fighters have been inducted and a formation worked out.

3. Before Parrikar, Tejas aircraft were made and dumped. He made them operational. 

4. For almost 36 years, there was no indigenous production of guns. With him in office, successful trials of Dhanush have been carried out and will be soon put to use.   

5. His intervention in an arms deal saved 49,300 crore rupees. Just another example of his efficient working.

6. In March, Parrikar revealed that $3 billion dollars were just lying in an account in Washington. 

7. Defense products list for industrial licensing has been shortened.

8. Of all the acquisition proposals approved by the government, proposals worth 8890 crore come under 'Buy and Make in India' category.

9. Interactions with industry are now more intensified through DRDO and DDP.

10. Not only is he technically skilled, he also effectively utilizes his leadership skills. Over 18   personal meetings, he sorted out deals between the Air Force and Aeronautical Development Agency regarding the Tejas. Also, contracts worth 1.15 lakh crores have been finalized and contracts worth almost the same are in the pipeline.

These achievements have earned him accolades in merely two years. His relentless efforts portend a bright future for Defense in India. He has undoubtedly set a precedence for everyone; hope every minister follows his footsteps. 

       

Error 377: Not Found

The five judge bench of the Supreme Court is set to take a call on Section 377.

The earlier judgement was reversed only because the court held that:

" 2009 order of the High Court is 'constitutionally unsustainable as only Parliament can change a law, not courts"
                               - Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice Mukhopadhyay.
                                 December 11, 2013

There seems to be absolutely no reason, moral or prudential, why we should criminalize consensual gay sex or any of the LGBT rights.

1. Section 377 offends the guarantee of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution because it creates an unreasonable classification and targets homosexuals as a class.

2. 'Public animus' and disgust towards a particular social group or vulnerable minority, if held, is not a valid ground for classification under Article 14.

3. Article 15 of the Constitution forbids discrimination based on certain characteristics including sex. The Court holds that the word 'sex' includes not only biological sex but also sexual orientation, and therefore discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation is not permissible.

Also, we need to understand the concept of 'gender' or 'sex' comprehensively.
It is biologically wrong to attribute a particular sex to an infant just on the basis of its reproductive organs. An individual's physical features and one's sexual orientation, are two very different things,
Our ancestors were so convinced of the divinity of the 'two-sex' model that the very presence of a 'third gender' was no less than a sin!

However, science has proven that bisexuality is as natural as unisexuality.

Many thinkers and feminist scientists have put forward theories explaining how and why gender and sex are often mixed up.

"Gender is constructed by relations of power, social norms and constraints that determine what is male body and what is female body."
   - Alison Jagger

Our understanding of Gender or Sex is shaped by cultural factors rather than biology. Society has pre-conceived notions of how a person of a sex is 'supposed' to behave. This reflects in our division of qualities like 'caring, loving, soft and kind' for women and ' brave, robust, strong, rational' for men.

Post modernist thinkers beleive sex is a 'fluid' concept.  For instance, Judith Butler explains how there maybe an element of male and female in everybody and it may not be necessarily stable all the time.

It is high time we understand that sex depends totally on biological factors. It is natural and beyond bi-polar division.

An Hour for The Earth

This year, on March 19, the world shall witness another Earth Hour. Electricity will be shut down for an hour from 8:30 to 9:30 in the night.

A trend started by Sydney, Australia, this movement is now global! This is the least a person can do to contribute one's bit to the environment.

The WWF ( World Wide Fund for Nature) is organising the Earth Hour.
I happened to visit the WWF Office, Delhi to volunteer for the campaign. It was indeed motivating to see over 100 students ready to devote the coming month and a half to this noble cause.

We shall be visiting RWAs , Corporates ,Malls, etc and spreading awareness about the programme through Posters, flash mobs, freeze mobs, nukkad naataks, and lots more. We shall get to interact with so many people, make new friends, visit new places and ultimately learn so much.

To Register yourself as a volunteer
Follow the link and fill the form 
goo.gl/x3NsfG

Be an ambassador for WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature ), go talk to RWAs and get them to install rooftop solar panels, choreograph flash mobs, form human chains, light candles at monuments, watch the India Pakistan match together with hundreds of people and what not. Being a part of the Earth Hour campaign will be one thing you’ll cherish forever.

Wondering whether you’ll get something out of it? Yes, of course. 
Certificates, experience, friends, free food (At times. No promises okay) and an association with WWF and You’re Wonderful Project which won’t just end here. 

So what are you waiting for?
This winter, join the dark side!


For more information
Contact
+919958827588
+919910550021

Like every year, this Republic Day, I sat in front of the TV watching the ceremony.

The flames of Amar Jawan Jyoti amidst the winter fog, the dignitaries arriving in their splendid cars, the pride of the nation; our armed forces; all in attention, the hoisting of the tri-colour, the perfectly co-ordinated contingents marching on the RajPath, the colourful tableau of all the states, etc.

But is our nation actually this colourful and serene? 

Since the beginning of this year, the nation has had to face the brunt of the Pathankot attacks, the Malda riots, the unfortunate suicide of Rohith Vemula, the imposition of President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and what not.
This is a clear indicator that we are still caught in the trap of caste-system, intolerance, aggression and dissatisfaction.

While we are becoming so international, that our Prime Minister is almost always abroad and a foreign nation's troups are marching with us on our Republic Day, what is actually happening within our domestic territory?

We have still not come out our stereotypes and prejudices. We are still fighting for basic equality. 

We have still not attained perfect religious tolerance. We have not achieved anything that our fore-fathers dreamt of some 67 years ago!!

We must go beyond 'symbolic patriotism'. Saluting the flag and singing the anthem for one day is not strengthening our nationalism. We seriously need peace, tolerance, open mindedness and mutual feeling of respect. This might be a cliche in words but very rare in practice.

We have immense potential. We deserve to be much more than what we are. Let's not let our diversity be a hinderance to progress. Respect humanity, respect law.

                                                  HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY 

ANNUS MIRABILIS?

“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.
Just when the caterpillar thought life was over, she began to fly.”

Time flies...real fast.
I still remember the panic and stress of Pre-Boards this time, one year back. Memories of the Farewell, Board Exams, the anxiety while waiting for the result followed by the excitement of joining college, are still so fresh.

To say 2015 was a year full of dramatic upheavals would be an understatement. The havoc caused by the shocking difficulty level of questions in Board Exams, the legal hassles in CLAT and various entrance tests, the joy of finally getting enrolled in a coveted college and the new world that the first few months of college exposed us to, were indeed moments of the most crucial time of our lives.

If there were achievements and celebration, there were also instances of error that called for introspection and improvement. So, following the tradition, I made resolutions for the coming year. And the most important of them all, is to keep my blog updated.

‘Class 12 stress’ was an excuse in 2014. Later followed by laziness and partly unwillingness, I further procrastinated. However, it’s never too late to start.

So, however unfortunate or upsetting the begone year might have been, it is time for a new beginning. Although any day is equally well to start, let’s celebrate this occasion of the beginning of a new year with a new ‘me’.

Wishing all the readers,
 A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!