The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) which came into force on July 1st, represents one of the most significant legal initiatives since Independence. But the introduction of this law is marked by controversy.
One of the most contentious aspects of BNS is its replacement of the sedition law. Under these laws, a comment on social media against the government could be construed as an anti-national act, potentially leading to arrest. This broad and vague definition of anti-state activities poses a significant threat to free speech and civil liberties. The new law must be revisited and revised to ensure that it protects civil liberties, upholds the principles of justice.
Nazeer Ahemd Kazi
Prof SECAB, Vijaypur, Karnataka
Be true to soil, not to soil around feet of fake godman
Tragic events like the Hathras stampede tragedy are still not enough to remind us that instead of trusting the divine God within us, people wrongly believe in a godman.People gather in masses, unaware of the dangers they invite. Being true to self and true to soil is better than collecting soil around the feet of fake godmen. Let us embrace the divine God within us, and leave behind the illusions of man-made faith.
TS Karthik
Halls Road, Kilpauk, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
White Supremacist March in Tennessee Invites Condemnation
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on July 7 condemned a march by members of the far-right white supremacist group Patriot Front in Nashville, Tennessee a day before.
The Patriot Front men marched through downtown Nashville with a “Reclaim America” banner and a Confederate flag, covering their faces with white cloths, sunglasses, and wearing baseball caps. The Southern Poverty Law Center states: “Patriot Front is a white nationalist hate group that broke off from Vanguard America in the aftermath of the deadly ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, of August 12, 2017.”
Earlier this year, CAIR similarly condemned a neo-Nazi march in Nashville.“People of all faiths and backgrounds need to speak out and repudiate those who spread bigotry and division in our society,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Bigotry in all its forms can only thrive when the majority that rejects hatred is silent.”
He noted that earlier this year, CAIR condemned a march by the white supremacist group in Charleston, West Virginia, a white supremacist demonstration held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a rally by neo-Nazis in Greenwich, Connecticut, and white supremacist rallies in Cumberland, Rhode Island, and Paducah, Kentucky.
In March, CAIR condemned a reported demonstration by an armed neo-Nazi in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Hopper said CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
The Patriot Front march shows how the right-wing forces are vitiating the peaceful atmosphere in America. And the condemnation of CAIR underscores the conscious effort to keep the atmosphere free of such people with hate agenda.
Tariq Hifzulla
New Delhi