India remains possibly one of the most conservative places in the world: Academicians back Jindal University prof facing FIR

 https://scroll.in/latest/1061750/targeted-for-muslim-identity-academicians-back-jindal-professor-facing-fir-for-lecture-on-dating

BBC Documentary and Freedom of Expression in India | Ram Puniyani

https://countercurrents.org/2023/02/bbc-documentary-and-freedom-of-expression-in-india/?swcfpc=1

BBC Documentary and Freedom of Expression in India

Ram Puniyani

 

The survey of Income tax on BBC offices in India, which were started on 14th February (2023) were stopped after three days. While IT department called it a ‘survey’, many columnists and agencies like Amnesty International called it a raid. The global media linked it to the release of BBC documentary, ‘India: The Modi question’. It was yet another attack on the democratic institutions in India and as Akar Patel of Amnesty International pointed out, “Indian authorities are clearly trying to harass and intimidate the BBC. Overbroad powers of the Income Tax Department are repeatedly being weaponised to silence dissent."  The response of US and UK governments was very interesting. UK PM Rishi Sunak, defended Indian PM Modi. The US spokesmen, after initially dodging the issue later did state that they defend the freedom of the press, their attempt not to annoy Modi were very clear.

Documentary is in two parts. First one presents the role of Narendra Modi in Gujarat carnage and Part two deals with his anti minority policies which he pursued as the PM of India. Part one was broadcast for global audience on 17^th January (2023); it was received by Indian audience also. Government was prompt enough to ban the documentary using its emergency powers. Meanwhile link of the film had been circulated by Twitter and downloaded and seen by many. Many student groups planned its screening, some succeeded and others were stopped midway by the police.

Why such an effort by the Government? The part one to begin with did accept the BJP view that Sabarmati S 6 coach was put to fire by Muslims. The Government and BJP commented that the documentary is having “the bias, the lack of objectivity and, frankly, a continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible”. It was labeled to be part of hateful; propaganda. Though there were some new incidents in this episode the major unknown part was that British Foreign office had asked for a probe into the carnage at that time. That report is being presented in the documentary. The British report done in April 2002 makes very disturbing observations. As per this report it was a pre planned pogrom, the number of those killed were much more than officially declared and that it was a pogrom. The British diplomat, who was part of the report, is not shown in the documentary.

As per the documentary the report based on the reliable sources states that police was asked to stand down as the violence erupts. As per this documentary Haren Pandya, the then Home minster of Gujarat deposed in front of Citizen’s Tribunal. As per him and also as per police officer Sanjiv Bhatt, in the meeting called in the aftermath of erupting of the violence on 27^th February evening, Modi in the meeting at his home had instructed that there will be Hindu reaction to Godhra incident and police should let them went their anger. Later Haren Pandya was murdered and Sanjiv Bhatt is undergoing life imprisonment in another case. The Jesuit priest Cedric Prakah, who requested Haren Pandya to depose in the tribunal stands to confirm that Pandya did depose in front of tribunal.

One of the victims, who survived the mass attack, is shown in the film. He tells as to how he was witness to Ahsan Jafri making phone calls to all concerned including Narendra Modi, before the mob went into the horrific action of cutting him to pieces. It is propagated that SIT gave Modi a clean chit. The fact that Amicus Curie, Raju Ramchandran, stated that there is enough evidence in the report to prosecute; is totally ignored. Also Gen. Zamiruddin Shah did state that his army unit had to wait for three days, before local assistance was provided for them to control the violence. And it was those three days when maximum violence took place.

Part two of documentary deals with Narendra Modi as Prime Minster. Here the abrogation of Article 370, giving autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, reducing its status from a state to Union Territory and giving more free-hand to the armed forces is shown. The divisive agenda manifested in throwing up the issue of Cow/Beef, even as many a BJP leaders from North Eastern states stated that they consume beef is presented. The horrific killings, lynching of many innocents on grounds of killing, consuming or de-skinning cows came up and its adverse effect on community psychology is brought out well. It is happening at a time when Indians emerging as the leading beef exporter in global market. The ministers of Modi Cabinet garlanding the accused of the crimes related to lynching was a shocker, the Government not reprimanding these acts in a way stands to promote such acts.

It puts together the events related to National Register of Citizens (NRC), Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University violence which are well known by now. The police entering the universities and beating up the students is horrific. Student’s opposition to CAA, which is totally discriminatory, in matters of giving citizenship to the persecuted people from the neighboring countries, excluding Muslims, is a big blow to the secular fabric of our Constitution. Even in NRC, the painstaking exercise in Assam revealed that out of close to 20 lakh people not having papers of citizenship, 12 lakhs were Hindus.

CAA wanted to find a backdoor entry as citizens for the Hindus not having proper papers and to send the Muslims not having citizenship papers to detention centers. The Shaheen Bagh movement shook the country and Muslim women came forward to reclaim Muslims’ place as citizens of India. The continuum between part one and part two is the divisive politics pursued by Modi, backed by Hindu nationalist organizations. Though many events in this documentary are not new, the documentary gives the salient points of Modi rule starting from Gujarat Chief Minster ship to Prime Minster of India. The UK report, later the European Union report (2012) did highlight the sectarian politics pursued by the subject of the film.

Today the Governments of UK and USA do not stand by this documentary due to strategic reasons.  This documentary is a mirror to our society. Global media and institutions seeped in democratic values will get a clear picture of what is happening here under the garb religion in India, irrespective of what the Government is asserting. And last but not the least how Indian Government is curtailing the freedom of expression by all the means possible, including ‘survey’ by IT department.

India: RSS the self proclaimed reprsentative of Indians tells Netflix/Amazon to restrict ‘anti-national’ & ‘anti-Hindu’ | Oct 2019

[RSS calls on online streaming platforms such as Netflix/Amazon to restrict ‘anti-national’ & ‘anti-Hindu’ content on shows & to show content that “represents real Indian culture & ethos"]

RSS wants streaming platforms to nix ‘anti-India’, ‘anti-Hindu’ content

Read more at:
//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/71485819.cms

India: Invitation to Nayantara Sahgal revoked, she was to inaugurate the 92nd all-India All Marathi literary; several Marathi authors, journalists announce they would boycot the meet

a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/67424836.cms">The Times of India

Won't attend literary meet now: Nayantara Sahgal; CMO distances from row
PTI | Jan 7, 2019, 09.16 PM IST


MUMBAI: Amid flak by opposition leaders and authors over rescinding the invitation to author Nayantara Sahgal to inaugurate the 92nd all-India All Marathi literary meet this week, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Monday distanced itself from the controversy.

Soon after the CMO clarification, Sahgal said she won't attend the meet now even if a fresh invite were to be sent to her.

"I am not reconsidering my visit to the literary meet in Maharashtra," Sahgal, 91, told PTI on Monday night.

In a statement, the CMO said the decision on whom to invite for the meet is taken by the organisers and the state government has no role in it.

The CMO statement came after the organisers invited Sahgal, 91, to attend the meet, scheduled this week at Yavatmal, and later cancelled it, citing law and order issues.

Opposition leaders like Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam alleged the invitation was cancelled at the behest of the ruling BJP.

The CMO statement said a section of media is dragging the state government's name in the controversy. The Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Mahamandal (which organises the meet), is an autonomous body and neither the CM nor the state government interfere in its functioning, it said.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP was not impressed by the government's statement and said the invitation was cancelled "out of fear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi" would not like if Sahgal, niece of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, attended the literary meet.

The NCP said Modi always speaks against Nehru and asked Fadnavis to re-invite Sahgal for the meeting.

The noted English-language author who was at the forefront of the 'award-wapsi' (returning of awards) campaign, was to inaugurate the meet on January 11 in the presence of Fadnavis.

In 2015, several writers returned their awards to protest against what they described as "rising intolerance and growing assault on free speech" under the Narendra Modi government.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, "The way Sahagal's invitation was cancelled by the organisers of the meet, the government's hand is there somewhere (in this)."

"Modi always speaks against Nehru. Sahgal belongs to Nehru's family. There is a fear in the mind of the Maharashtra BJP and the chief minister of Maharashtra that if Nayantara Sahgal attends the meeting, Modi won't be happy," Malik said.

The invitation was cancelled after a member of the MNS threatened to disrupt the meeting opposing Sahgal's presence, the NCP leader said.

"If the invitation was cancelled in the name of law and order, it is the responsibility of the chief minister, who is also home minister of the state, to convince Sahgal to attend the function," Malik said.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray issued a statement on Monday, admitting that one of his local party workers had opposed Sahgal's presence at the literary meet. "As the party chief, I am not against inviting her," Thackeray said.

"If Sahgal's presence at the All India Literary Meet is transcending into a cultural exchange, I or my party will not oppose it," Thackeray said, adding that he "deeply regretted' the inconvenience caused to supporters of such literary events by the action of a few of his men.

Nirupam said the decision of the organisers to rescind the invite to Sahgal was taken at BJP's behest. The MNS is just a front, he added.

"Literature should not surrender before politics. If a government is scared of writers, it means that its days are over," he said.

The rescinding of the invitation to Sahgal has exposed the "intolerant" face of the BJP government led by Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan said.

The invitation was cancelled to ensure "political security" of the chief minister, he said and attacked Fadnavis for issuing a clarification on the issue but not condemning the meet organisers' decision to cancel the invitation to Sahgal.

Chavan asked Fadnavis to invite Sahgal afresh if the meet organisers did not cancel the invitation to her "under his pressure".

"This episode has exposed the intolerant face of the Fadnavis government. Fadnavis conveniently distanced himself by issuing a clarification but didn't condemn the organisers," a statement quoted Chavan as saying.

"Are these not double standards? This shows what the organisers did (cancel the invite) was at the behest of the chief minister," Chavan said.

Maharashtra's cultural affairs minister Vinod Tawde, however, said the state welcomed everyone.

"If someone had opposed Sahgal after her speech at the meet, then it could have been understood. It is not fair to oppose her completely. Maharashtra is a state that welcomes everyone to present their work," he said.

Noted Marathi author Aruna Dhere, who will preside over the event, also criticised the organisers for cancelling Sahgal's invitation.

"It is shocking that you respectfully invite someone and later back out. Sahgal should be invited (again) with respect," she said.

Laxmikant Deshmukh, the outgoing chairman of the literary meet, said the organisers should have thought before inviting Sahgal, as her line of thinking was well-known.

The literary meet's reception committee said the organisers had decided to revoke Sahgal's invitation, "as a controversy has cropped up against her name and to avoid any untoward incident from those who threatened to derail the literary meet".

Meanwhile, several Marathi authors and journalists Monday announced they would be boycotting the meet to mark their protests over the Sahgal's 'insult' by the meet's organisers.

Historian Ramachandra Guha tweeted, "The Maharashtra that fears the words of a ninety one year old woman writer is the Maharashtra of Godse and his mentors, not the Maharashtra of Ambedkar, Phule, Gokhale or Tilak."

India: Congress, Now In Charge Of Rajasthan, Fails Naseeruddin | Brinda Karat

ndtv.com, December 23, 2018

by Brinda Karat

Naseeruddin Shah, one of India's finest actors, had in a most moving interview to Karwan-e-Mohabbat, referencing his inter-faith marriage, family and concerns for his children, expressed his anguish at a situation, like in Bulandshahr, where the "death of a cow has more significance than that of a police officer."

He said he spoke as a worried Indian. Well, he is not the only worried Indian. We are and should all be worried that things have come to such a pass that no one can express an opinion against the toxic politics of hate promoted by those in power without running the risk of being attacked and humiliated by them. The organizers of an event in Ajmer which was to be inaugurated by Shah on Friday decided to cancel it after members of the BJP Yuva Morcha and other groups tore down posters, vandalized the stage and reportedly threatened further violence.

These highly condemnable actions show the levels of impunity enjoyed by thugs and hooligans owing allegiance to the ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Under the Vasundhara government, as in other BJP-ruled states, those spouting hate speech and committing hate crimes have had a free run with not a single case registered for even the most communally provocative speeches. After the lynching of Pehlu Khan and later Rakbar Khan by the same breed of people who killed a police officer in Bulandshahr, Vasundhara Raje had in an interview during the election campaign sanitized the brutal and communal lynchings by referring to them as a law and order issue like any other. Concealing the specifically communal nature of a crime in a sense "normalizes" the kind of hate crimes that have become a hallmark of the rule of the current BJP governments.

The communal politics around the cow are a central theme along with the Ram temple in the agenda being pushed by the Hindutva forces. This includes the highly perverted argument that any violence committed in the name of cow protection is acceptable. The main accused in the Bulandshahr violence, a leading member of the Bajrang Dal, Yogesh Raj is still not arrested, while an FIR filed by him saw innocent Muslims locked up for cow slaughter. There are reports by journalists that Muslim houses are being raided and there is an environment of fear being created in the name of identifying cow slaughterers. The Special Investigation Team or SIT formed by the Yogi government has been unable to answer any questions as to who was responsible for the display of cattle carcasses which were conveniently discovered by members of the Sangh Parivar groups and how the only eye witness to the so-called slaughter of the cows was the very same man, Yogesh Raj, who reportedly led the mob violence that saw the policeman, Subodh Kumar Singh, being killed. It is quite likely that the entire incident was manufactured by a political conspiracy of the right wing groups to coincide with the large gathering of minority communities in the Ijetama in the region.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that his main priority is to identify those "directly or indirectly linked to cow slaughter"; by inference, who killed the police officer is low or no priority. Such statements give license and a cloak of political patronage to Sangh Parivar cohorts across the country to act in similar ways.

And those who even raise a question mark on this kind of toxic politics are targeted.

Naseeruddin Shah became an easy target.

But Vasundhara Raje is no longer the Chief Minister and Rajasthan is now governed by the Congress. The newly-elected Gehlot government had and still has an opportunity to show how it is different by taking suo moto notice and arresting those responsible. There is ample evidence of the identity of the men who attacked the venue. Shamefully, the attacks took place in full view of the police who stood by watching. Perhaps this is what they had been ordered to do in the past, to protect the saffron brigade when they indulged in violence. But surely the Gehlot government should have taken firm steps to send a strong message that this type of communal politics, violence and intimidation will not be tolerated.

While the official handle of the Congress party at the centre tweeted support for Shah, there has been no follow up in the state where the incident occurred and where they are running the government. Even 24 hours after the shameful incident, there has not been a single word of condemnation by any Congress minister or leader in Rajasthan. No case has been filed, there has not been a single arrest. No policeman is being questioned for their lack of action in what appears to be a clear case of connivance. It is a disappointing start.

Brinda Karat is a Politburo member of the CPI(M) and a former Member of the Rajya Sabha.

India: Let’s not dance to the tune of Hindu martial music | SA Aiyar

The Times of India, November 18, 2018


Music should respect no borders of nation, region, religion or language. It should soar across the world and captivate all humanity. I am aghast that a Delhi concert, sponsored by Spic Macay and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), had to be “postponed” after Hindu fanatics warned against the participation of Carnatic music maestro T M Krishna.

His sin is that he has often included Christian and Muslim themes in his music. That is actually the sort of inclusiveness that has always marked Indian music, and indeed all Indian culture. Alas, the fanatics had so much clout with the ruling BJP that the sponsors had to back down. This was cultural barbarism.

Jawaharlal Nehru would have been outraged by such barbarism. But no outrage flowed from Rahul Gandhi and his gutless Congress cohorts, who have abandoned Nehruvian secularism for a soft Hindutva that smells like the leftovers of a BJP meal. Fortunately, the Aam Aadmi Party, which rules Delhi state, came to the rescue by providing an alternative concert platform for Krishna.

Hindu fanatics have cowed many artists. But not Krishna. He says, “The troll army has the underlying patronage of people in power. I have been trolled for a long time for my social position, my perspectives on politics, and my disagreements with the BJP regime. I believe in every art form. Allah, Jesus and Ram make no difference. It is a multilingual and multi-religious country.” Bravo!

After the latest ruckus, he tweeted, “Considering the vile comments and threats issued by many on social media regarding Carnatic compositions on Jesus, I announce here that I will be releasing one Carnatic song every month on Jesus or Allah.” All musicians and artists need to applaud this stance, in contrast to the pathetic BJP whitewash attempted by dancer Sonal Mansingh (who, not entirely coincidentally, was earlier nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP government).

Hindustani music has many glorious roots, many sources of inspiration. The sitar is a modern version of the Persian setar (a three-stringed instrument), the sarod originated in the Afghan rubab, and the harmonium came from the European accordion. That does not make them Muslim or Christian or foreign. They are part and parcel of Hindustani music. Bismillah Khan and Amjad Ali Khan are as essential to Hindustani music as Ravi Shankar or Hari Prasad Chaurasia: their religions are irrelevant.

North Indians may not be aware of the remarkable absorptive capacity of southern Carnatic music. Classical music is often viewed as traditional and resistant to change. But the violin, introduced during the British Raj, has become so integral to Carnatic music that its followers would be outraged at the suggestion that it is alien.

Far from objecting, South Indian audiences cheered when Uppalapu Srinivas began using the mandolin to play Carnatic music. Indeed, he attained fame with the nickname Mandolin Srinivas. Today, Kadri Gopalnath is the foremost exponent of Carnatic music on the saxophone. Unlike Hindutva barbarians, these musicians know that music and musical instruments have no borders.

The bhajan may be called Hindu religious music. But Muslims have sung many of the greatest bhajans. Mohammed Rafi was among the greatest bhajan singers of all time. Probably the most famous bhajan in film history is O Duniya ke Rakhwale from Baiju Bawra. The music was composed by Naushad Ali, the lyrics were penned by Shakeel Badayuni and the song sung by Rafi. These three Muslims created a bhajan dearly beloved by Hindus, because music knows no boundaries.

My favourite bhajan of the 1950s is Insaaf ka Mandir Hai, from the film Amar. Here again, the music was by Naushad, the lyrics by Shakeel Badayuni and the singing by Rafi. In addition, the film was produced by Mehboob Khan, and its three main actors were all Muslims — Dilip Kumar (aka Yusuf Khan), Madhubala (aka Mumtaz Jehan Dehlavi) and Nimmi (aka Nawab Banoo). Did this detract in the slightest from the quality of the bhajan? No, it was a triumphant demonstration that music conquers all barriers.

The barbarians want us all to dance to the tune of Hindu martial music. Well, the most nationalistic musical event featuring the armed forces bands is the Beating Retreat ceremony every year on January 29 at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi. Every year, the bands play Sare Jahan se Achha, penned by Iqbal. They also play Abide with Me, which was Gandhiji’s favourite Christian hymn. The message is clear: patriotism and music should have nothing to do with religion.

The bid to silence TM Krishna reflects how ‘unfree’ India has become - Trolls might be expected to attack someone who speaks against Hindutva. But did Airports Authority of India have to listen?

scroll.in - 16 November 2018

The bid by trolls to silence TM Krishna reflects how ‘unfree’ India has become
Trolls might be expected to attack someone who speaks against Hindutva. But did Airports Authority of India have to listen?

Rohan Venkataramakrishnan

Cricket and music have in the past been held hostage to international politics, with nationalist Indian political parties and their rabid fans insisting that India should not play host to anything connected to Pakistan – even if the people being invited from across the border have nothing to do with their government. Emboldened by the success of these tactics, right-wing trolls are now attacking even Indian performers for espousing opinions that they disagree with. The most recent scalp is that of celebrated Carnatic musician TM Krishna.

A concert that had been scheduled for this weekend in New Delhi was postponed by its sponsor, the Airports Authority of India, because of “some exigencies of work”. Until just a few days before, the AAI, which organised the concert along with musical society SPIC-MACAY, had been promoting the event. But doing so brought it much trolling from right-wingers who insisted that Krishna is an “urban naxal” – a mostly meaningless term used by the Right to describe those who question Hindutva – as well as “anti-India” and a “converted bigot” who sang about Jesus and Allah.

[ . . . ]

https://scroll.in/article/902303/the-daily-fix-the-bid-by-trolls-to-silence-tm-krishna-reflects-how-unfree-india-has-become

India: Carnatic musician TM Krishna’s concert in New Delhi cancelled after pressure from the Hindu Right

Organisers urged to cancel Carnatic musician TM Krishna’s concert to protect Hinduism

Rohini Swamy 14 November, 2018

 

https://theprint.in/culture/organisers-urged-to-cancel-carnatic-musician-tm-krishnas-concert-to-protect-hinduism/149490/ 

 

If Krishna can’t sing

It’s in an uncivilised world that a great musician can be prevented from performing in the national capital

Written by Ramachandra Guha | Updated: November 15, 2018  

 

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/if-krishna-cant-sing-tm-krishna-delhi-concert-cancel-spic-macay-5446886/ 

The Right-wing’s use of draconian anti-free speech laws comes home to roost

The Print

The most undeserving man is on his way to becoming a free speech martyr in India

Shivam Vij 26 October, 2018

https://theprint.in/opinion/the-most-undeserving-man-is-on-his-way-to-becoming-a-free-speech-martyr-in-india/140719/

Book dropped from history reading list, Delhi University surrenders to saffron pressure | Press Statement by Democratic Teachers Front

Democratic Teachers’ Front

Press Statement, 31.08.2018

If the news item appearing in Times of India on 30.08.2018 that the Standing Committee on Academic Affairs has suggested to the History department that Nandini Sundar’s Subalterns and Sovereigns: An Anthropological History of Bastar, 1854-2006 and Archana Prasad’s Against Ecological Romanticism: Verrier Elwin and the Making of an Anti-modern Tribal Identity should be removed from the reading list as the books are “unfit for students in DU” is true, it is a sad and shameful day for the Delhi University’s academic reputation.

[ . . . ]

http://www.sacw.net/article13887.html

India: End Soft Approach Towards Sanatan Sanstha, Says Writer Konkan writer Damodar Mauzo

End Soft Approach Towards Sanatan Sanstha, Says Writer Facing Threat from Right-Wing

Seeking closure of Sanatan Sanstha, Konkan writer Damodar Mauzo says common people should rise up to the occasion to combat the culture of fear propagated by right-wing outfits.

Devika Sequeira

01/Aug/2018

Panaji: Almost a decade after the October 2009 bomb blast in Margao brought the shadowy activities of the Sanatan Sanstha into the open, the recent police disclosure that well known Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo also figures on the list of those marked for elimination by the group has hit a raw nerve. The Sahitya Akademi awardee was provided security cover after intelligence reports from Karnataka alerted the Goa government of the threat to Mauzo.

[ . . . ]

https://thewire.in/rights/end-soft-approach-towards-sanatan-sanstha-says-writer-facing-threat-from-right-wing

I’m a target because I’m an outsider: Sanskrit scholar Sheldon Pollock

Sanskrit scholar Sheldon Pollock, 70, who was in India recently, speaks on the relevance of Sanskrit in India today, dealing with hate and why he has never approached language through the prism of religion.
Written by Tanushree Ghosh | Updated: May 27, 2018

http://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/im-a-target-because-im-an-outsider-sanskrit-scholar-sheldon-pollock-5191995/

India: Injunction on book on Baba Ramdev’s life lifted in landmark victory for free speech - Statement from Juggernaut Books

Juggernaut Books Blog

Statement: Injunction on book on Baba Ramdev’s life lifted

April 28, 2018 at 8:03 pm 

By Team Juggernaut

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Injunction on book on Baba Ramdev’s life lifted in landmark victory for free speech

PRESS STATEMENT BY JUGGERNAUT BOOKS
On April 28, 2018 the court of JSCC­-ASCJ-­GJ, East District, Karkardooma Courts, Delhi, presided by Sh. Jay Thareja, DJS, lifted the ex-parte interim injunction on the publication and sale of Godman to Tycoon: The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev. The publisher Juggernaut Books and author Priyanka Pathak-Narain were represented by Rajashekhar Rao, Satyajit Sarna and Amit Agrawal.
On August 4, 2017 the court of the ACJ-CCJ-ARC (East), at the Karkardooma District Courts in Delhi had restrained Juggernaut Books from the publication and sale of Godman to Tycoon. We complied with that order immediately thereafter. That order was passed ex-parte, that is, without hearing either the publisher, Juggernaut Books, or the author of the book, Priyanka Pathak-Narain. 
The April 28 order overturning the injunction is a victory for free speech. The judge noted in his judgment that  the ‘usual course, in suits like the present suit, is to protect the right of freedom and speech guaranteed to an individual/journalist/author, as guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, unless the defense of truth, fair comment and fair reporting, pleaded by the individual/journalist/author, appears to be completely meritless.’
The book will be once again available for sale immediately on the Juggernaut app and in a few days on online and in physical retail stores.
The publisher of Juggernaut Books, Chiki Sarkar, and CEO, Simran Khara, said ‘At Juggernaut we will always fight for our books and authors and we are delighted by this judgment. We hope, too, that it will help other publishers and writers.’
The author Priyanka Pathak-Narain said, ‘It is a great relief that the injunction has been lifted. Temporary injunctions can kill books and it is heartening that the judiciary has stood up for freedom of speech and of the press.’

India: Kerala Poet Attacked Allegedly By RSS Workers | report on Outlook

Outlook

06 February 2018

Kerala Poet Attacked Allegedly By RSS Workers After Giving Speech Against Hindutva, Six Arrested

Sreekumar was attacked when he was returning after addressing a cultural gathering where he had reportedly spoken against Hindutva forces.

Outlook Web Bureau

COURTESY: FACEBOOK

Acclaimed Malayalam poet K Sreekumar was attacked allegedly by Right-wing activists at Kottukkal, Kerala on Monday evening.
Sreekumar said his car was stopped by assailants allegedly from the RSS, who then threatened and hurled abuses at him. Six people including a Panchayat member have been arrested.
Sreekumar was attacked when he was returning after addressing a cultural gathering where he had reportedly spoken against the Hindutva forces over their stand in the Vadayambady ‘caste wall’ controversy.

On the basis of the poet's complaint, a case was registered against the RSS workers, police said.
Superintendent of Police (Rural), Kollam, B Asokan told PTI that a case was registered against 15 RSS workers, of whom six were arrested.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office has also directed the police to take stringent action and launch a thorough probe into the incident.
The issue was also raised in the Kerala Assembly today.
Replying to the submission on the matter by Mulakara Ratnakaran of the CPI, the chief minister said that a group of 15 RSS/BJP workers led by a panchayat member Dipu were behind the incident.
Cases have been registered against 15 people under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and six have been arrested so far, he said.
There has been an increase in attacks on the freedom of expression in the country since the past few years, Vijayan said, adding that M M Kalburgi, Govind Pansare and Gauri Lankesh had lost their lives due to such intolerance.

In Kerala also renowned writer M T Vasudevan Nair and film maker Kamal were among those who had been threatened. Such incidents would be dealt with sternly and will not be allowed to be repeated, he said.
The government will provide necessary protection to ensure that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, the chief minister said.
Kerala stands out as an island of hope, when attacks on freedom of expression are taking place elsewhere in the country, he said.
 (Inputs from agencies)

India: watching “Padmaavat” is a statement against the creeping lumpenisation of public space and discourse | Smruti Koppikar

https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/padmaavat-proves-again-state-might-no-match-for-bullies/story-j9bWot1jNsolzxWKvrt69J.html

India: Mob violence over the film Padmaavat

Mob violence

Seven states, 35 cases: How the Karni Sena scaled up its violent agitation against ‘Padmaavat’

In the four days before the film was released, about 150 agitators were arrested across seven states. But not all of them belong to the Rajput group

https://scroll.in/article/866535/seven-states-35-cases-how-karni-sena-has-scaled-up-its-violent-agitation-against-padmaavat

India: Padmavati Row - BJP's Objection Over Distorting History Is The Double Standard Of 2017 Betwa Sharma

Huffington Post India

Padmavati Row: BJP's Objection Over Distorting History Is The Double Standard Of 2017

The gold standard of double standards.

20/11/2017 12:43 PM IST | Updated 20/11/2017 3:19 PM IST

• Betwa Sharma Politics Editor, HuffPost India

Deepika Padukone/Twitter

In 2017, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) went from distorting history, as it has done many times in the past, to fabricating history in order to advance its divisive ideology of Hindu nationalism.
Ignoring the pleas and protests against manufacturing history, the BJP government in Rajasthan changed fact to fiction in the Social Science textbook for Class 10, this year. The revised textbook says that Akbar lost the Battle of Haldighati to Maharana Pratap, even though historians have established that it was the Mughal emperor who defeated the Rajput king in 1576.

With the BJP shamelessly turning history on its head, its objections about historical inaccuracies in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie Padmavati reek of a level of hypocrisy that truly insults a person's intelligence. The ruling party has presented itself as the poster child of double standards, out to promote its Hindutva agenda at the cost of everything else.

'Treason'

The BJP's opposition to the movie about the Rajput queen, which started out with a few lawmakers writing letters, has amplified in the run up to the Gujarat state election. The Hindu nationalist party now appears to be on the same page as the Shri Rajput Karni Sena, the fringe group that has been leading a violent agitation against the multi-crore movie.

Detractors, including royal families from Rajasthan and Rajput women, are angry that the 13-14th century queen's character is seen dancing in the film. They also believe that Bhansali's film has a romantic dream sequence between the Rajput queen and the Muslim sultan Alauddin Khilji.

Even though Bhansali has said that there is no romantic dream sequence in the film, Karni Sena leaders have threatened to behead Bhansali and maim the movie's lead actor Deepika Padukone by chopping off her nose.
BJP leaders have compared distorting history to "treason."
In a letter to the Home Minister Rajnath Singh, a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, Arjun Gupta, wrote, "He (Bhansali) needs to be severely punished by being tried for treason for his attempt to distort history," he said. In a letter to Bhansali, Haryana minister Vipul Goel wrote, "Nobody is allowed to distort history and wrongly present facts."

Gold standard of double standards

Now, let's look at the BJP's treatment of history and facts.
In just the past year, BJP governments in at least two states have distorted history in school textbooks read by millions of students, with more states likely to follow.
The Rajasthan government, for instance, has not only flipped the outcome of the Haldighati battle, it has also portrayed VD Savarkar as a champion of the independence movement, sidelining Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. In reality, Savarkar had a limited role in the freedom struggle and he ended up begging the British to release him from prison.
It is tragic and true that classrooms have always been a battlefield for political parties to promote their ideologies, whether the Congress, the BJP or the Left. Textbooks in Gujarat, a BJP bastion for two decades, have been riddled with falsehoods for a long time. In the recent past, Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews were presented as "foreigners" and Hitler, who murdered millions of Jews, was described as someone who lent "dignity and prestige to the German government."
Over the past three years, however, BJP's presence at the Centre and in an unprecedented number of states has bolstered the party's plan to roll back what Hindu nationalists believe to be the domination of the Left and the "secular" thinkers in academics. They have openly declared their plan to "saffronise" history across the country.
On the one hand, BJP is protesting over a rumored dream sequence involving a Rajput queen, who may or may not have even existed. On the other hand, the BJP is not just manufacturing history, but also erasing the history that challenges its linear narrative of the barbaric Muslim invaders who persecuted Hindus and destroyed their temples.
The Maharashtra government, for instance, has removed from the history of the Mughal emperors and the Delhi Sultanate from the Class 8 textbook, with no mention of the monuments they built.
Students in Maharashtra will no longer learn about Muslims rulers like Razia Sultana, the first woman to rule Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, who circulated coins of copper and brass as token currency, and Sher Shah Suri, who introduced the first "Rupia" and made the highway that would eventually become the Grand Trunk Road.
The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is also planning to write out Mughal emperors from state textbooks. In September, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said the state's syllabus would reflect that "Mughal rulers were not our ancestors but looters."

'Don't tell me that words don't matter'

As a presidential candidate in 2008, Barack Obama explained why things like "words", "ideals and inspirations" and "hope" mattered in politics. "Don't tell me words don't matter. 'I have a dream' — just words? 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal' — just words? 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself' — just words? Just speeches?" he said
The importance of "words" is seemingly lost on Indian politicians. The BJP leaders don't even need a multi-crore film to distort history. They do it routinely in remarks and statements made to the press and at public functions, without any compunction or accountability.
Unlike Bhansali, who has no choice but to respond to the agitation against his film, politicians are seemingly answerable to no one, neither the state nor the public, let alone fringe groups like the Shri Rajput Karni Sena.
There is nothing stopping Vinay Katiyar, a BJP lawmaker in the Rajya Sabha, from claiming that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan destroyed a Shiva temple to build the Taj Mahal, and calling for the world famous monument to be renamed "Tejo Mahal. The BJP leader continued to fib even after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had debunked the temple theory in a court of law.
Before Katiyar, BJP lawmaker from UP, Sangeet Som, said that the Taj Mahal was made by a man who imprisoned his own father. On the contrary, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb.
BJP leaders have not only misrepresented the country's political, religious and cultural history, they have distorted scientific history.
In 2015, for instance, Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan said that Algebra and the Pythagoras Theorem originated in India. "Ancient Indian scientists have graciously allowed scientists from other countries to take credit for their findings," he said. While the origins of Algebra are traced back to the Islamic world, the Pythagoras Theorem is named after the Greek mathematician Pythagoras.
Earlier this year, the junior education minister of India, Satya Pal Singh, said that an Indian scholar Shivkar Bapuji Talpade invented the airplane, not the Wright Brothers in 1903. "This person invented the plane eight years before the Wright brothers," he said.
Hindu nationalists have always portrayed ancient India, before the coming of Christianity and Islam, as the golden age of prosperity and learning. They routinely claim that breakthroughs made in modern medicine, science and technology in the last 100 years were known to people living in ancient India.
In 2014, Narendra Modi became the first prime minister to publicly back the Vedic age theory of the Hindu right.
While speaking at a function in Mumbai, Modi said that ancient Indians knew about genetic science and plastic surgery, citing examples of the warrior Karna from the epic Mahabharata and Ganesha, the Hindu god who has the head of an elephant.
"We worship Ganeshji, there must have been a plastic surgeon in that era who put an elephant's head on a human body, plastic surgery must have started then," he said.
Modi has spoken of Ganesha's head and other imagined achievements of ancient India when he was chief minister of Gujarat. In fact, in the run up to the general election in 2014, Modi habitually distorted history, claiming that Biharis defeated Alexander the Great and that Takshashila was in Bihar (it is in Pakistan).
Last week, Yogi Adityanath said, "Distorting history is no lesser crime than sedition."
Is the UP chief minister accusing his colleagues and his boss of sedition?

India - Shoulldnt the Police take action when there is incitement to violence: Haryana BJP' media coordinator Suraj Pal Amu's announces award for beheading lead actress and director of the film Padmavati

Rs. 10 Crore For Heads Of Deepika Padukone, Padmavati Director: BJP Official
Padmavati, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, has faced protests by groups who accuse it of distorting history - a charge denied by the filmmaker.

All India | Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Updated: November 19, 2017

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/padmavati-row-10-crore-for-heads-of-deepika-padukone-sanjay-leela-bhansali-bjp-official-1777473?pfrom=home-lateststories

Padmavati row: Haryana BJP leader announces Rs 10 cr reward for beheading Padukone, Bhansali
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/padmavati-row-haryana-bjp-leader-announces-rs-10-crore-reward-for-beheading-deepika-padukone-bhansali/story-SNu3xwOyMQmJU3fNzbSVyL.html

India: The film Padmavati should not be allowed to become a victim to violent vigilantes - Editorial in The Hindu

The Hindu

Editorial
An absurd canvas: on Padmavati

November 18, 2017 00:02 IST

Padmavati should not be allowed to become a victim to violent vigilantes

The coalition ranged against the screening of Padmavati, a big-budget period drama, is growing more violent and absurd by the day. The Uttar Pradesh government has joined the ranks of the Karni Sena, a self-styled Rajput organisation that uses vigilante methods to uphold its notion of caste honour, to raise anxiety about the film’s scheduled release on December 1. Lucknow has written to the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry requesting that the Central Board of Film Certification be alerted of the “public sentiment” about distortion of “facts” in the film. Its release, the U.P. government has said, could disrupt law and order in the State, especially with the administration’s energies focussed on the municipal elections in end-November. Governments are expected to enforce law and order, not buckle down in the face of threats — whether perceived or real. As the Supreme Court observed in S. Rangarajan vs. Jagjivan Ram, a mere threat to public order cannot be a ground to suppress freedom of expression. By harping on the question of “historical facts” in connection with a film based on a work of fiction, the government is tacitly endorsing random groups and persons using Padmavati to delineate their notions of Rajput honour and Hindu-Muslim enmity. Over in Rajasthan, a Minister, Kiran Maheshwari, has intemperately railed against the film. And the Karni Sena, which vandalised the sets on location in Rajasthan earlier this year and on Friday blocked entry into the Chittorgarh fort where the story is set, freely hands out threats to the life and well-being of those associated with Padmavati, especially Deepika Padukone, its lead actor. Even Congress politicians are counselling that “sentiments” must be heeded.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film’s director who is known for his lush sets and high emotion, has been at pains to give an assurance that he has not distorted history. Leave aside the fact that the story draws from a 16th century Sufi poem, ‘Padmavat’, and has over the centuries been retold across north India, and that there is no historical record of Padmavati’s existence, the insistence on demanding accuracy in period dramas is anyway an infringement on creativity. Fictionalising the past is a longstanding way of understanding it, from K. Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam to Oliver Stone’s JFK. But the anxieties that are driving the Karni Sena and members of the Sangh Parivar are evident. That Alauddin Khilji, the Delhi Sultan who wages war in the story to try to win the beautiful Padmavati, could be humanised obviously disturbs the Hindutva narrative about ‘evil invaders’. The visuals of the heroine singing and dancing evidently militate against the latter-day patriarchal telling of Padmavati’s story, in which she is shorn of agency and is dutifully circumscribed by notions of purity and honour. In this, it is not just that the film is fuelling such worries: the film is being used to heighten such anxieties and consolidate a regressive and intolerant world view.

India: Due to Pressure from Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Mahasabha Pune cinema cancels screening of award-winning movie 'Dashakriya'

The Hindu

Pune cinema cancels screening of award-winning movie 'Dashakriya'
Shoumojit Banerjee
Pune, November 16, 2017 23:03 IST


The Citypride theatre in Pune, which has decided to not screen Dashkriya. | Photo Credit: Mandar Tannu

Pressure from Brahmin outfit behind decision to not show award-winning film

Protests by right-wing groups, led by the Akhil Bhartiya Brahmin Mahasabha, has led the City Pride Multiplex in Pune’s Kothrud area to cancel screening of the award-winning Marathi film Dashakriya.

The mahasabha wants theatres to not show the film as it allegedly depicts the Brahmin community in a “highly objectionable manner”, showing them as individuals driven solely by love of lucre. The film is scheduled to release on Friday, November 17.

No advance booking

Confirming the development, Govind Kulkarni of the ABBM said: “We met with a number of theatre owners across the State and many, including City Pride and Mangala Talkies, have accepted to our request and cancelled advance bookings of the film.”

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Kulkarni claimed that some theatres in Jalgaon and Aurangabad districts, as well as in parts of Mumbai, like Virar and Nala Sopara, had accepted their demand.

“We are determined to not permit screening of the film as it has hurt sentiments of the Brahmin community. It wrongly depicts Hindu traditions by portraying Brahmins as those who perform the last rites solely for commercial gains,” said Anand Dave, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Mahasabha. Mr. Dave said they have written to the Pune Police Commissioner and warned that their members would launch a state-wide agitation to halt screenings of the film.

Based on a 1994 novel by Baba Bhand, the film has been passed by the censors with a ‘U’ certificate. Dashakriya follows a family’s journey as they go through the final rites and rituals of a loved one, as per the instructions of Kirvants (members of the Brahmin community) whose sole intention is shown as to acquire money.

Curiously, the mahasabha or any other Brahmin group has not protested against the novel since its publication. The film has won three awards at the 64th National Film Awards. The director, Sandip Patil had earlier invited mahasabha’s members to watch the film, but it was turned down.

Meanwhile, the anti-Brahmin, pro-Maratha Sambhaji Brigade has dubbed the mahasabha’s attitude as “regressive”. “We urge the State government to show it [Dashakriya] tax free,” said Santosh Shinde of Sambhaji Brigade.