It is crucial to take tough stands against hatred, provocation, and communalism with no discrimination because everyone is equal before law.
The Emergency
Years ago, in the month of June, when the Emergency was declared, it shook India with its attempt to crush democracy. In this trying time, all rights were taken away from the citizens of the country. One of these rights was the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 under the law that the Constitution gave to all Indians.
The country’s courts, every constitutional institution, press, were all controlled and muffled. Censorship was so hard that nothing could be printed without prior approval.
I remember one particular incident when famous singer, Kishore Kumar refused to praise the government, and he was banned, subjugated, and muffled, and his access to the radio was removed, where he was not allowed to sing even after he tried to get on air multiple times. During that terrible time, thousands were arrested and lakhs of people were tortured.
Despite this, Indians’ faith in democracy was not shaken because the values of democracy which have been going on for centuries with the democratic DNA running in Indian veins which finally won. Once the Emergency was removed, democracy was re-established.
Today’s Present “Undeclared Emergency”
Presently worldwide, there is a strange democratic trend of a dictatorship mentality. It is not difficult to find such an example.” A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech made the people of the country aware of the Emergency time in India.
Words like Constitution, Democracy, Liberty, Equality, Fundamental Rights, and Freedom of Expression hold dear to us and are extremely important rights to strengthen a nation and protect lives. While walking in this freedom and obeying their rules, our heads are held high with pride, whereas if freedom is not practiced, then it becomes a strain on the nation with horrific memories that are not easy to erase. That is why, forty-seven years ago, when the Emergency was announced and imposed, those memories have not faded away and, in fact, Prime Minister Modi reminds us of this ugly stain on India’s democracy.
Right now, when today’s situation comes to the fore, some people interpret these days as an undeclared Emergency. Referring to June 25, 1975, Mr. Modi said that the country’s courts, constitutional institutions, and press, were all under control. Incidentally, today the same allegations are being leveled against his government as well. A large section of the media has been written off repeatedly along these lines.
The current attitude of the judiciary and constitutional institutions has also been questioned by various sections of society. How many times have the courts themselves shown the mirror to the role of police and administration? Be it the case of riots, arrests after protests, and dharnas or discrimination against a section of the society, the police have time and again shattered the confidence of the people, especially the minority community.
The Supreme Court and Nupur Sharma
Recently, the Supreme Court’s comment on Nupur Sharma’s comment on Prophet Muhammad has raised many questions. While the Supreme Court was reprimanding the former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who has been boasting about what she said, the Judge said, “She actually has a loose tongue and has made all kinds of irresponsible statements on TV and made all kinds of irresponsible statements on TV and set the entire country on fire. Yet, she claims to be a lawyer of ten years standing… She should have immediately apologized for her comments to the whole country.”
The Bench went on to say, “These remarks are very disturbing and smack of arrogance. What is her business to make such remarks? These remarks have led to unfortunate incidents in the country…These people are not religious. They do not have respect for other religions. These remarks were made for cheap publicity or political agenda or some other nefarious activities.”
During the hearing, Nupur Sharma’s lawyer claimed that she was getting threats. To this, the top Court asked her whether she was receiving threats or was she becoming a security threat. He said she had inflamed the sentiments of the whole country strongly declaring that this “woman is responsible for what is happening in the country” and “When you file an FIR against others, they are immediately arrested, but when it is against you, no one dares to touch you,” Justice Pardiwala said.
In June, a team of Mumbai Police had come to Delhi to interrogate Nupur Sharma, but Maharashtra Police did not get any cooperation from Delhi Police. Finally, Maharashtra Police returned after five days of hard work. At the same time, the Kolkata Police also sent warrants to arrest Nupur Sharma several times, and summons was issued with no avail in service of summons from the Delhi Police.
If the government and the police administration were concerned after hearing the Supreme Court’s comment, they would have taken action but nothing has happened thus far. The question arises when will Nupur Sharma, who has put the entire country in trouble, be arrested?
Secondly, will the Delhi Police, which has made special security arrangements for Nupur Sharma, act now?
Thirdly, will Nupur Sharma come on national television and apologize to the nation unconditionally?
Fourthly, when will action be taken against the TV channel on which Nupur sat and used abusive language about Islam and Muslims? These are the questions that are being raised by the justice-loving category of people after the Supreme Court’s remarks.
Some questions can also be asked to the judiciary. One is that if the Supreme Court really feels that Nupur Sharma has committed a provocative and unforgivable crime, then why did they not order her arrest? What was the meaning of the Supreme Court’s comment?
Constitution in Danger?
It is strange that Nupur Sharma has not been arrested yet, but the arrest of fact-checker and journalist Muhammad Zubair was operated very easily on a dubious claim, with no crime committed, and he did not get bail, and for which the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta is in the fray. The bail application of Zubair, who was arrested over a four-year-old tweet accompanying a scene from the film, is getting rejected time and again in court. The answers to these questions are still not found, but there will be a debate all over the country whether the supremacy of the Constitution will be maintained or not.
Right now, it is the responsibility of the constitutional and government institutions to restore the confidence of the people who live in harmony with the law. In the eyes of the law, if Zubair has spread enmity and created a gap between the two classes, then action must be taken against him, but at the same time, the law should also see that those who openly talk about the massacre of Muslims, they should be punished. These people hurt religious sentiments, insult the dignity of religious figures, and in front of cameras, swear to murder Muslims, but what action is taken against them?
At the same time, those who executed the terrible murder in Udaipur must be punished.
Not only the judiciary but also the government, administration, and police have to take all possible steps to stop these sparks of hatred from turning into raging fires across the country. There can be no place in any civilized society for those elements who hurt the religious sentiments of others and create hatred and excitement in the society and no law or religion permits it.
(The author: Dr. Yameen Ansari, Resident Editor, Urdu Daily Inquilab, Delhi)
[The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of Hams Live.]