CHENNAI: You can get arrested for your Facebook post if it is too critical of those in power.
While Tamil Nadu had earlier witnessed journalists being targeted for critical news reports, 2017 saw a new phenomenon of many common men being arrested or questioned by police for opinions they expressed in social media.
From Vellore school teacher Mahalakshmi being arrested for her Facebook post on a High Court judge to a few youth in Coimbatore, who were questioned by police for their popular social media campaign “Who killed Raghu”, it was clear that people should mind their words. “It is almost like we’re living in a state of an undeclared Emergency because it is only during Emergency that the right to Freedom of Speech and Expression is suspended,” said Sudha Ramalingam, an advocate.
“These days, the State is curbing the citizen’s right to Freedom of Speech rather than upholding it. A State that once had rational thinkers like E V Ramasamy (Periyar) seems to have lost its rational thinking somewhere along the way as political figures believe they are the personification of the nation and take it upon themselves to silence any kind of opposition. It is sad and completely against the law to silence someone in this manner.”
Cartoonist G Bala was arrested for alleged ‘obscene representation’ and ‘defaming’ senior State government officials in his cartoon posted in Facebook on November 6, 2017. He had made a scathing statement on how the government failed a family of four that immolated itself in public in Tirunelveli. When the cartoonist was asked why he had put out the controversial cartoon, he said he was expressing his anger against something that had left him shocked, upset and enraged.
Civil society under attack too
Nakkeeran Pugazhendhi, treasurer of NGO Arappor Iyakkam, was arrested on October 31, 2017 and later remanded in Puzhal Central Prison for raising the issue of an illegal temple construction. At a public meeting organised by the NGO, he spoke on the involvement of PMK and DMK party members in the construction. Soon after, a PMK party member, Kumar, filed a complaint against the activist, which led to the Central Crime Branch arresting him.
“If you analyse the cases of those who have been targeted, you see that they are all out of the ambit of electoral politics,” said Gnani Sankaran, a political commentator. “They are all part of civil society movements and the State is not able to handle that as they want you to play their game — a game that they orchestrate and have control over.”
However, it isn’t just active civil society participants who are being targeted. This year, several persons were penalised for merely expressing an opinion. Especially with telecom companies slashing data prices and a culture change set by jallikattu protests, more people took to social media to voice opinions. As there was ambiguity in the law on Freedom of Expression in the digital age, it was used by people in power to manipulate and arm-twist those with an opposing view.
A cyber law expert and Supreme Court lawyer, Pavan Duggal, warned citizens to exercise restraint. “There is a need to issue clear guidelines about what is protected speech and what is not on the internet,” he said. “Freedom of Expression is not an absolute right, it comes with ‘reasonable restrictions’. When criticising online, one needs to be very nuanced and ensure not to say anything defamatory, derogatory or abusive that can be used against you. I do see the State penalising more people for expressing their views online in future and feel this will have a chilling effect, effectively ensuring self-censorship.”
Preventive detention under the Goondas Act is another effective ploy that the State uses to stifle opposition. The Goondas Act was used prominently in the case of Thirmurugan Gandhi and Valarmathi this year. While Thirumurugan Gandhi, convener of ‘May 17 Movement’, was booked for staging a candlelight vigil to commemorate civilian victims of the Eelam war, Valarmathi, a journalism student, was detained for taking part in Kathiramangalam’s oil pipeline protests by distributing pamphlets.
“Preventive detention goes against the grain of a fair trial process,” said Geeta Ramaseshan, a senior lawyer at the Madras High Court. “It provides a means for those who can’t be convicted to be detained, which is a denial of liberty. Historically, the Act has been associated with detaining those who show political dissent.”
Experts believe this pattern of silencing opposition is not restricted to Tamil Nadu. What they cannot wrap their head around, however, is the deafening silence of the media around the issue. They attribute this to no one wanting to take on the might of the State and also complacency of having accepted this as the norm.
“The collapse of the Soviet Union and the degeneration of the Left led to people looking for confidence in Right wing capitalism,” explained Sankaran. “When that too failed, people began looking for ‘strong’ and authoritarian leaders. We are heading towards a society with fascist tendencies.”
Most recently, two activists were questioned by Tamil Nadu police over the graffiti that was painted at the site where 30-year-old techie, Raghupathy Kandasamy, was allegedly killed in Coimbatore a month ago. Three words, “Who killed Raghu”were painted in bold white letters at the site where Kandasamy’s motorcycle hit a huge arch that was set up by the State’s ruling AIADMK for its MGR centenary celebrations.
After he hit the structure and fell from his bike, activists alleged that a truck ran over him.
All these instances point to the intimidation and silencing mechanism that the government is adopting to muffle voices of opposition. All these people were voicing opinions against influential people and organisations, which made them the victims of severe backlash. Should one should be penalised for merely expressing an opinion?
No end to violence against women
Year after year, demand for equal rights for women has grown louder. But voices of many women continue to be unjustly silenced, in some cases forever. 2017 has been no different
February 5
A 7-year-old girl at Mugalivakkam was found murdered and her half-burnt body was recovered from under a bridge. Police arrested 22-year-old Daswanth, the victim’s neighbour, who allegedly kidnapped, raped and murdered the girl. Released on bail, the youth allegedly murdered his mother on December 2.
March 29
A 15-year-old school-going girl set herself ablaze after she was allegedly raped by her uncle Saravanan (35) in Chennai. The man had also blackmailed her that he would release the video clippings of the incident. The accused, who is running a private school in Chennai, was absconding for some time before being arrested.
April 1
John Mathew (22) allegedly bludgeoned a girl to death and subsequently committed suicide by hanging from a tree at Mahabalipuram. Investigation revealed that the girl decided to end their relationship.
April 2
A German tourist (32) was raped near Mahabalipuram. She was having a sun bath near a casuarina grove when three unidentified men accosted her. One of them is believed to have raped her. However, the suspect is yet to be arrested.
May 8
Angered by her refusal to accompany him, 28-year-old S Ilayaraja working as a fireman allegedly killed a 47-year-old government school teacher R Nivedha by ramming his car on a bike on which she was riding pillion at Anna Nagar. The woman died while she was being rushed to hospital. Two days later, Ilayaraja allegedly committed suicide.
May 10
A Class IX girl who was raped by her 45-year-old neighbour stayed quiet for five months as the suspect threatened her. The crime came to light only after the foetus the girl was carrying got aborted. D Mari was later arrested.
June 6
Bringing back memories of Nirbhaya gangrape case in Delhi, a minor girl was sexually assaulted in a bus at Narayanampalayam in Salem. Three persons, including the private bus driver and conductor, were arrested.
August 8
A Plus Two student who survived an acid attack during her class X exams was attacked again at Kokkupatti, near Nilakottai (Dindigul). The victim, was sleeping at her sister’s house when her stalker poured acid on her forehead and escaped.
August 12
Madurai-based documentary filmmaker Divya Bharathi left Tamil Nadu following persistent death, rape and acid-attack threats reportedly for her documentary Kakoos, which throws light on manual scavenging.
November 13
A 21-year-old IT engineer was doused with fuel and burnt alive at her home at Adambakkam by her former classmate after she reportedly rejected his proposal for marriage. The victim S Indhuja’s mother, Renuka, and sister, Nivedha, who rushed to her rescue, suffered severe burns and a few days later Renuka also succumbed to injures.