The following is the continuation of the text of “CITIZENS GUIDE to turn the once democratic India into an autocracy. Anyone can be din Punjab. A TO RAJIV GANDHI’S INDIA,” A book published by an Indian human arrested under these new laws which are still enforced in Punjab rights organization, the People’s Union of Democratic Rights. The arrested person is presumed guilty till he proves that he is innocent. Book describes various new laws which have helped the Rajiv Regime Hundreds are still in jail under these laws…
Beware Of Speaking And Written;
The government can intercept and interrupt your conversation if you are talking toa friend (TADA 521) on phone, since it might be suspected of facilitating “the commission of terrorist acts.”
We pass and receive “information” by speaking and writing. What is the “information likely to assist the terrorists and disruptions?”
The TADA Rules, 1986 are quite explicit about the nature of such information. It includes “any information which in intended or is likely
(i) To bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India:
(ii) To bring into hatred or contempt or to excite, disaffection towards the Government established by law in India:
(ii) To bring into hatred or contempt or excite disaffection towards the Armed Forces of the Union or the police force by whatever name called of a State or any public servant or class of public servants;
iii) To promote feelings of enmity or hatred or otherwise affect the harmony between different classes of persons in India.” (19.1. ¢.1.11111)
So be careful! If you are a journalist exposing corruption in the government you can be accused of “bringing into hatred or contempt towards the government. If as an ordinary citizen, you write a letter to a newspaper complaining about police inefficiency you can be charged with exciting disaffection towards the police force. If you area trade union leader and speak of the conflict between the working class and the industrial class, or if you are a social activist and write about the persecution of the landless class by the landlord class, you can be hauled up for “promoting feelings of enmity or hatred affecting the harmony between different classes of people…”
If you think this is an idle speculation or a baseless apprehension, let us take you back to Ahmedabad. August 1987. Workers of Reliance Industries Limited went on strike demanding the implementation of the Industrial Tribunal award and increase in wages. Six
“The Indian Post Office Act of 1988 enables the government to prevent transmission or intercept or detain messages from any person relating to any subject.”’
leaders of their struggle committee were arrested under TADA, who were refused bail by the specially designated court set up under the Act.
If You Are A Journalist…
Forget “Freedom of the Press”. The traditional privilege of interviewing anyone anywhere and the right to publish his or her view in newspapers is no longer there.
Under the TADA Rules: “No person shall without lawful authority, make, print, publish or distribute any document containing or spread by any other means whatsoever any matter derived from terrorists or disruptions, their sympathizers or associates, or sources sponsored or utilized by or otherwise connected with terrorists, disruptions, or their associates or sympathizers.
Publication of “any matter derived from terrorists or…” through interviews or otherwise, does not necessarily indicate that the reporter or publisher of the newspaper sympathizes with the view expressed by the interviewee, But our government thinks otherwise, and bundles together both the interviewer and the interviewee as criminals, If you publish “any matter derived from terrorists or disruptions,” or even “their sympathizers or associates” you can be punished with “imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.” (20.3).
Forget even interviews. If you happen to come across a leaflet and use its contents for writing a report a common practice in worldwide journalism you may attract the TADA which says that if “any leaflet distributed by the terrorists and disruptionists, by any means whatsoever is at any subsequent time reproduced whether in the same or a different form and whether with or without comments in any document,” the designated court can take action (20.2 ii).
At least four journalists have been arrested under TADA V.T. Rajshekhar, Editor of Dalit Voice; Sukhdev Singh editor of Dignity; Shahid Siddiqui, editor of Nai Duniya; Khalid Ansari editor of Midday; and Al Haj Naz Ansari, editor of Mashiriqui Awaz. While the first was accused of expressing criticism regarding the Indian government’s handling of the Khalistani secessionist
(The Laws)“ allow the police and para military forces to arrest you, confiscate your property, and even kill you, but deny citizens the right to due process of law.”
movement the other three have been charged merely for reproducing interviews with the Khalistani spokesmen.
If TADA spares you, there are other Acts to ensnare you. The National Security Act (NSA) of 1980, further tightened up by Rajiv Gandhi’s government through an amendment in 1987 which can keep you in jail for years can haul you up if the government both the Central and the State, is satisfied that you need to be prevented “from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.” Interview: your occupational obligations involve your meeting with different sorts of people for carrying out your professional responsibility of objective reporting. Such meeting with anyone, whom the government may consider a foreign spy or a terrorist, can be interpreted as “prejudicial to the security of the State,” or “prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.”
This is not wild imagination on our part. Letus remind you. One of your colleagues Kuldip Singh Arora a UNI staff correspondent in Amnitsar, was arrested by the police on Apnil 12, 1988 under NSA. The charge sheet issued by the authorities against him accuses him of meeting certain persons which he did in the discharge of his professional duty like any other journalist.
To escape going to jail if you decide to avoid touching domestic affairs and write about events a broad, you may still get into trouble. Reports do appear criticizing the Indian government’s role in Sri Lanka, the behavior of the Indian Peace Keeping Force there. But there is a constant threat hanging over the reporters and the publishers of those reports, the government may detain them under NSA if it is satisfied that their publication is “prejudicial to the defense of India, the relations of India with foreign powers.”
There are still other ways of preventing you from carrying out your professional duties. You may visit a trouble spot affected by a communal riot or a police firing or insurgency and send your report to your newspaper. But the report may never land up there. There is the Indian Post Offices Act of 1898 to take care of it. It enables the government to prevent transmission or intercept or detain any message from any person relating to any subject, if the government thinks it is necessary in the interests of public safety or on the occurrence of any public emergency. (S26) Your report may attract this catchall provision of the Act, Even after all that, if you want to send your report through a private courier you will be stopped from doing so by the latest amendment to the Act introduced by the Rajiv government. This amendment empowers the postal officers to enter the premises of anybody especially of private couriers and conduct search,
If you mention “Punjab”…
you may soon get into trouble.
The 59th amendment passed on March 23, 1988 does not only provide for the declaration of Emergency in Punjab, but also empowers the government to ban meetings to discuss anything on Punjab even outside the state. It can impose precursor ship not just within Punjab, but also in the rest of India to cover any report that discusses the Punjab situation.
If you are arrested in this connection anywhere outside Punjab, you cannot obtain judicial redress by way of habeas corpus in any court because Article 359 has not been amended to restrict its operation only to Punjab.
One of the grounds for declaring emergency in Punjab, under the new amendment of the Constitution is, internal disturbances” . A stir by farmers of Punjab for better prices for their agricultural produce, marked by meetings and demonstrations can be described as an “internal disturbance” and used as a plea for imposing Emergency. It is not only terrorist activities peaceful protests like a noncooperation movement also can fall under this category.
Any political protest, any democratic movement in any part of the country can be described as an “internal disturbance” by the Centre to be used as an excuse for declaring Emergency. Punjab can well be the test case
“The charge sheet issued by the authorities against him (the Journalist) accuses him of meeting certain persons which he did in the discharge of his duty like any professional Journalist”
See the prelude to the declaration of Emergency all over the country.
Once Emergency is declared in Punjab, the state’s inhabitants will lose their rights to freedom of speech and expression; to assemble peacefully to form association; to move freely the rights guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution. Article 21, which guarantees protection of life and personal liberty will also remain suspended’ during the Emergency period.
This can be prolonged agony for the people of Punjab for the 59th amendment provides for continuation of Emergency for three years, without bringing the matter up in Parliament for reconsideration.
During this period, the state will be cut off from the test of the country, since the government is empowered to regulate the entry of people into Punjab. The suspension of fundamental rights will encourage the police to put thousands behind bars without any accountability, and to shoot down citizens without any impunity whatsoever.
If you are living in Punjab…
You must have already been hemmed in by 25 odd legislations specially meant to combat terrorism in your state. There are the Code of CRPC (Punjab Amendment) Act of 1983, Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act of 1983; Punjab Disturbed Areas Act of 1983; Chandigarh Disturbed Areas Act of 1983 and a host of other such measures which allow the police and paramilitary forces to arrest you, confiscate your property and even to kill you, but which deny the citizens right of recourse due to process of law since actions taken by the police under these laws are immune from court proceedings.
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Article extracted from this publication >> April 7, 1989