'An old 1870 law that a democratic state should have struck down seems to have become the weapon to muzzle dissent, used by politicians in power at the state and centre with increasing frequency, and without valid justification. The British used this law against Gandhi and other freedom fighters, and the modern Indian state in recent years and even more so in the past year, used it against artists, actors, writers, cartoonists, political opponents making arrests, and in many cases imprisoning the ‘offenders.’
A group of filmmakers and scholars have written a letter written to Arun Jaitley, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore, minister of state for I & B and C. Senthil Rajan, Director of Film Festivals condemning the manner in which students of the Film and Television Institute of India have been treated at the International Film Festival of India currently going on in Goa. They have pointed out that ex-students have been arrested for protesting and one student was even put in preventive detention. The letter reads:
'V.P. Rajeena, a journalist based in Kozhikode, has become the target of organised online abuse, after she shared her personal experiences of studying in a madrasa in her younger days. Facebook closed down her profile on Wednesday after mass reporting by her detractors. On Sunday, Rajeena put up a post in the social network on alleged instances of immoral conduct of madrasa instructors, which she claimed to have witnessed. The post touched a raw nerve and set off a torrent of abuses and open threats on her Facebook page and in her message box.
'A leader of the Punjab unit of the Shiv Sena has offered Rs 1 lakh to anyone who slaps Bollywood actor Aamir Khan for his comment on ‘growing intolerance’ in the country. The Shiv Sena, however, said on Thursday the remark was not the official view of the party. “Any person who slaps Aamir Khan will be rewarded Rs 1 lakh by the Shiv Sena. This is important because no one living in our country should dare to say anything against India… Anyone from the hotel staff or the film crew can slap him and take the reward,” Punjab Shiv Sena chief Rajeev Tandon said on Wednesday...'
'Even by the bogus standards of what makes for a “controversy” in these days of hyper-media, the noise around Aamir Khan’s statement is quite phony. It birthed countless hysterical panel discussions and hashtags and allowed the vast barmy army of trolls to come out and attack the actor. Much of the criticism was ad hominem – Aamir Khan (and his wife) were on trial, not the issue he raised.
'Taking advantage of the skewed pricing policy of successive governments both at the Centre and at the state level, rice mill owners across India have been literally milling thousands of crores of rupees for themselves through the sale of paddy by-products left over from the rice they process for the public distribution system (PDS). The by-products of rice milling are bran, husk, broken rice and nooks which enjoy a lucrative market – giving millers high returns on something which they do not have to spend a single rupee to buy. They get them for free...
'The BJP on Wednesday sharpened its attack on Aamir Khan for his remarks on intolerance, with senior spokesmen and ministers accusing the actor of “blaming the whole nation” and committing a “moral offence”. It said an icon like him should not use words that blamed the country, and hit out at some political forces for creating obstacles in the nation’s development process...'
'It's okay for the prime minister to be celebrated by a stadium full of British citizens who believe India is too filthy and corrupt to live in. It isn't okay for an Indian to say that his family feels vulnerable as a religious minority... Aamir Khan and his wife, Kiran Rao are not the only ones to have wondered if they should leave the country because they feel vulnerable and worried for their child’s future, because of the religious nationalism and the bigotry that attends it. But they are perhaps the only ones with a public profile to say this out loud.
'Reacting to Aamir Khan's statement about intolerance, BJP MLA Satish Mahana from Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh suggested that perhaps Aamir's wife Kiran Rao wanted to be strip-searched in an airport in America, reported NavBharat Times. Perhaps, Mahana was referring to the incidents where people are strip-searched in airports to check if anyone is hiding any illegal substances.
'On Tuesday, AAP party workers protested outside the MLA's house with regard to his sexist remarks against Alka Lamba. Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker, O P Sharma was suspended from the Delhi assembly for making derogatory and sexist remarks about Aam Aadmi Party MLA, Alka Lamba on Tuesday. The Hindustan Times quotes the MLA's remarks as "Ye toh Raat Bhar ghumne wali”.
