India is in an odd situation with regard to freedom of speech and expression. On the one hand, anyone who is critical of the BJP government and its ideological parent is in danger of being put behind bars without getting bail for a long time. The draconian laws like UAPA, NSA, Sedition law, Prevention of Money Laundering Act etc. are being used liberally against journalists, social activists and political opponents. Even an innocent joke can land a person in jail, being accused of offending the religious sentiments of a particular community. Movies, especially the movies in which Muslim actors play key roles, are targeted for offending the religious sentiments of the majority community.

On the other hand, hate speeches and hate messages against particular communities travel seamlessly on social media platforms. Leaders of the ruling party who indulge in spewing the venom of hatred often go scot-free. No action is taken against the people who call for the genocide of Muslims. Thus, on the one side, there is gross abuse of the freedom of speech by the right-wing groups with impunity and on the other hand those who exercise the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech are put behind bars by misusing certain laws.  

Against this backdrop, four issues that were highlighted in the media during the last fortnight deserve attention: Blocking of BBC Documentary titled India: The Modi Question; Release of Siddiqui Kappan after remaining in prison for more than two years; Acquittal by a Delhi court of 11 persons accused of perpetrating violence in Jamia Nagar area of Delhi in 2019; and hate speech by Bhakt Hari Maharaj at a Sanatan Dharam Sansad (Hindu Parliament) organized by the supporters of Dhirendra Shastri at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

The government of India was quick to direct YouTube and Twitter to remove links sharing snippets from the documentary as soon as the two episodes of the documentary titled, India: The Modi Question were released. The reaction of the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry of India was aggressive. "This is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, the lack of objectivity, and a continuing colonial mindset, is blatantly visible," he said. In response to the criticism by the government, the BBC gave its clarification. It was "rigorously researched" and "a wide range of voices, witnesses and experts were approached, and we have featured a range of opinions, including responses from people in the BJP," it said. 

Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ambedkar University and Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi as well as the Tate Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai and Presidency University in Kolkata were prevented from screening the documentary. It seems that the government is afraid of the dissemination of views opposed to its version.

Those who have read the book, “Undercover: My Journey into the Darkness of Hindutva” by Aashish Ketan and “Gujarat Files” by Rana Ayyub may not find many new revelations in the first part of the documentary. The revelation by Jack Straw, who was British Foreign Secretary in Tony Blair’s Cabinet, is something new. Straw said that the British government in 2002 sent an inquiry team to look into the riots in Gujarat. The team had alleged that Modi had prevented the police from acting to stop the violence targeted at Muslims. The inquiry team also cited “reliable contacts” as saying that Modi met senior police officers on February 27, 2002, and “ordered them not to intervene” in the rioting.

On February 3, 2023 more than 500 scientists and academicians released a statement expressing shock at the “censorship” of the BBC documentary. “The removal of the documentary from social media violates our rights, as Indians, to access and discuss important information about our society and government,” they said. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, senior journalist N Ram and advocate Prashant Bhushan have approached the Supreme Court seeking direction to restrain the central government from censoring the BBC documentary. According to them, the Centre's decision to block the documentary is “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional”. 

What is described in the second part of the documentary was highlighted to a great extent by the media, especially by the alternate media in India. The second part covers the stigmatization of Muslims, after Modi came to power at the Centre in 2014, through mob lynching by cow vigilantes and the BJP governments allegedly giving them a free hand,  Abrogation of Article 370 and keeping Kashmir valley under unprecedented communication shut down, Passing the anti-constitutional Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)  and brutal suppression of anti-CAA protests, the East Delhi communal riots triggered by hate speeches by the leaders of right wing organizations and Arrest and incarceration of victims of the riots by partisan Delhi police. The documentary is based on credible footage and credible stories narrated by individuals, especially the victims of violence. That could be the reason that the Modi government is terribly afraid of the truth being told once again through the two-part BBC documentary, “India: The Modi Question”.

The second issue is the release of Malayalam journalist, Siddiqui Kappan, after being in prison for more than two years. He was arrested in October 2020 on his way to report on the gang-rape and death of a Dalit girl in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh. Her body was cremated by the police in the dead of night without allowing the family members to take part in the funeral rite.

Kappan’s crime was that he went to report on this issue as a journalist. Even before he reached the venue of the crime, he was arrested and put in jail. He was booked under the draconian UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), Information Technology Act and Money Laundering Act. On September 9, 2022, the Supreme Court had granted him bail in the UAPA case and he got bail in the money laundering case in December 2022. Still, he had to remain in jail for more than a month due to procedural delays.

Kappan has accused the police of physically and mentally torturing him. His family also alleged that authorities did not give him access to his medicines for diabetes. But the police denied the allegations. Kappan’s arrest and incarceration for more than two years is a classic example of misusing draconian laws by the state to curtail freedom of individuals whom it considers its adversaries or critiques. Less than 3% of the arrests made under the UAPA between 2015 and 2020 have resulted in convictions, according to a report released by People’s Union for Civil Liberties in September 2022. It points to the misuse of UAPA by the state.
 
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international non-profit organization, seven Indian journalists remained behind bars in December 2022. After the release of Kappan, the remaining reporters in jail are Aasif Sultan, Gautam Navlakha, Manan Dar, Sajad Gul, Fahad Shah and Rupesh Kumar Singh.
 
The third issue is related to a Delhi trial court dropping the charges against student activists Sharjeel Imam, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar and eight others in a case related to violence erupting in December 2019 during a protest against the controversial CAA.  “Prosecution cannot be launched on the basis of conjectures and surmises, and chargesheets definitely cannot be filed on the basis of probabilities,” the court said.
 
The court held that the police had failed to apprehend the actual perpetrators behind commission of the offence, “but managed to rope the persons herein as scapegoats”. Denouncing the State’s actions in the case, the court held, “Such police action is detrimental to the liberty to peacefully assemble and protest. Liberty of protesting citizens should not have been lightly interfered with.” The court also made it clear that “dissent is nothing but an extension of the invaluable fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression contained in Article 19 of the Constitution of India, subject to the restrictions contained. It is therefore a right which we are sworn to uphold”.

The Wire on 8th February reported that hate speeches were made at Sanatan Dharm Sansad organized by the supporters of Dhirendra Shastri on February 5, 2023 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.  At this meeting, the main speaker Bhakt Hari was reported to have said, “Those who will worship Hanuman will be killed by Christians and Muslims. Those who eat cows will eat you up. Thirty-six crore of our deities live inside a cow and these Christians and Muslims slaughter 1.5 lakh cows before every sunrise.”

“Kab maroge? Arey isai musalmano ko kab maroge? (When will you kill? When will you kill Christians and Muslims?)” he continued. “You don’t have any weapons to kill. You have knives to cut vegetables. Keep weapons. Keep swords. Keep guns. All our deities keep weapons in their hands. You should keep weapons in one hand and religious books in the other. Make the balance of weapons and books and move forward. Kill if it is required. Those who take our daughters and daughters-in-law shoot them in the open, Christian or Muslims.” As reported in The Wire, the police took action on Twitter Account and not hate speakers after the video of the violent call by Bhakt Hari went viral on social media.

The last incident shows very clearly that the government is not ready to take action against those who indulge in hate speeches against the minorities and even appeal to the members of the majority community to resort to killing the minorities. This trend has been going on since the Hindutva leaders at a Haridwar event called for Muslim genocide in December 2021. This is nothing but a blatant abuse of freedom of speech.

At the same time, journalists, social activists, intellectuals, academics who criticize the government and its policies are branded as anti-nationals and terrorists, and put behind bars, being charged under the draconian laws. In a democracy people have the freedom to express dissent and be critical of the government policies and actions. Two years ago, the present Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud termed dissent as “safety valve of democracy” and said that “silencing of dissent and the generation of fear in the minds of people go beyond the violation of personal liberty and a commitment to constitutional values”.

If democracy is to survive in India, governments’ refusal to take action against hatemongers and misuse of draconian laws by the state agencies to stifle freedom of speech and expression are to be questioned by all citizens.