In yet another crackdown on free speech over criticism of a religion, the editor and publisher of The Statesman has been arrested for running an article that contains material insulting to Muslims. The Statesman’s editor Ravindra Kumar and publisher Anand Sinha were arrested in Calcutta.
The Statesman re-ran an article from the British Independent daily entitled: “Why should I respect these oppressive religions?” The author, Johann Hari, writes: “I don’t respect the idea that we should follow a ‘Prophet’ who at the age of 53 had sex with a nine-year old girl, and ordered the murder of whole villages of Jews because they wouldn’t follow him.”
Members of Jamiat-e-Ulema e Hind (The Organisation of Indian Scholars) filed a complaint with police alleging that the publication had “outraged their religious feelings”, which is an offense under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code
The use of these criminal laws is an outrage against both free speech and the free press. The increase in such cases shows that civil libertarians and press organizations must organize an international effort to fight the spread of these laws and call countries to account for their crackdown on journalists and others who speak their minds about religion. If freedom of speech means anything, it is to be able to confront the most cherished views of the majority. Religion is one of the most important elements of a society and the subject of great debate. The effort to make such criticism as crime is a direct attack on civil liberties.
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There is a real difference between “inciting violence against”
and inciting critical thought. Most historical and current violence against religious/political/ethnic minorities is committed by or encouraged by the state. The inability to express or hear arguments that differ from majoritarian views or the views of people in power feeds into the willingness of people to go along with state sponsored violence. In my opinion, many of these States are completely insincere in their “concern” for insults to religion. These same states have burned down temples, churches, mosques and rounded up people based on religion or lack thereof. Make no mistake, the state will use any tool at hand to controll the people. That is all this is. For this reason, free speech is one of the best protections against tyranny.
India.
I had always wanted to see the home of the historical Buddha.
Recently, not so much.