Upswing of totalitarianism

 In recent times, there has been an increase in the instances when sedition charges were filed under flimsy pretexts against intellectuals, human rights activists, filmmakers, university teachers, students, and journalists. All because they chose and dared to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of National Register of Citizens (NRC) or mob lynching in various parts of the country. On ‘Sedition’ the charges are filed under Under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code for an offence committed when “any person 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.” The Sedition Act of 1870 allowed the government to arrest or detain any person without a fair trial in the court who was seen protesting or criticizing the British Government. Section 124A was inserted in 1870 by an amendment introduced by the British when it felt the need for a specific section to deal with the offence. It was one of the many draconian laws enacted to stifle any voices of dissent at that time. Interestingly, the British have gotten rid of this law in 2009. Sedition is a non-bailable offence. Punishment under the Section 124A ranges from imprisonment up to three years to a life term, to which fine may be added. A person charged under this law is barred from a government job. Section 124A (sedition) of the IPC is being increasingly used as a tool for the suppression of dissent. This unwelcome trend is being attributed largely to the overzealousness of attention-seeking ‘nationalists.’ These cases often don’t have a leg to stand on in the courtroom as the charges are mostly unsubstantiated and politically motivated. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the number of sedition cases registered in India rose to 70 in 2018, up from 51 in 2017 and 35 in 2016.Among those historian who were booked for Sedition included- Historian Ramachandra Guha, filmmaker Shyam Benegal and vocalist Shubha Mudgal. They had written an open letter to the prime minister, voicing their concern over the growing incidents of mob lynching and other hate crimes. The FIR had been registered on the order of a court in Muzaffarpur (Bihar), by a lawyer well known for entangling VVIPs in litigation. After a nationwide uproar, better sense prevailed and the charges were dropped. Only two of the 18 persons against whom trial was completed in three years (2014-16) were convicted; the rest were discharged or acquitted. In the latest, a nine-year old school student, who took part in a school play that picked holes in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), her mother, along with the head teacher of Bidar’s Shaheen School, is in judicial custody for alleged sedition and other charges pertaining to provoking breach of peace. The police have been questioning the schoolchildren and the staff to find out who all were involved in scripting and staging the play. While democracy ensures equality and justice for all and freedom of speech, this essence appears to be taken away by totalitarianism from a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control over many aspects of life such as freedom, will, or thought of others.