Retired defence officers are held in high regard in the society, and for a man who once held one of the highest ranks in the Indian Army to stoop so low also hurts the dignified and self-disciplined image of the Army. Many retired Army officers have distanced themselves from the statements made by Maj. Gen. Sinha in the debate, and one of them even called him a “loose missile”.

The clipping of the video is available in this tweet: https://twitter.com/imMAK02/status/1195958713531584512

Listen this Ex Army officer Major General SP Sinha.

He said “Balatkar ke badle Balatkar” (rape for rape) as a revenge for Kashmiri Pandit exodus.

He is openly supporting rape of Kashmiri women, such kind of filthy officers are protected under draconian Law like AFSPA. pic.twitter.com/GHaHFota1S

— Md Asif Khan‏‎‎‎‎‎‎ آصِف (@imMAK02) November 17, 2019

Our take:While a lot of officers voiced the need for a code of conduct for retired personnel, many more feel that this would only amount to silencing dissent. India is a Constitutional Republic and all its Institutions –as the women and men who man them—are bound and sworn to this Constitutional Vision of Equality, Justice, Fraternity and Non-Discrimination.  This includes its Armed Forces.

Army men are expected to conduct themselves with dignity and show a degree of self-discipline imbibedduring their years of serving. Imposing a code of conduct would only lead to unwarranted muzzling of voices, especially of those expressing dissenting opinions against a government of the country they served.A retired defence officer, just like any other person, ought to refrain from falling prey to majoritarian hate propaganda and more so, refrain from spewing such inciteful hatred from a public platform such as national television; given how common similar diatribe from loose cannon right-wing supremacists has become these days.

Incidentally such views are also violative of Sections 153a, 153b and 295 of the Indian Penal Code.

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Ayyub, an independent journalist, has investigated alleged crimes committed by government and public officials, and authored the book The Gujarat Files, which examines the 2002 Gujarat riots. Her troubles began in April, when she was informed that a Twitter account, with a name that was similar to the one used by a major television channel, had credited to her a remark that she had never made. The tweet reportedly read, “Minor child rapists are also human, do they have no human rights. This Hindutva Government is bringing ordinance for death to child rapists just to hang muslims in larger numbers. Muslims aren’t safe in India anymore”.

Following this, Ayyub received a flood of hate-filled messages, including calls for her to be gang-raped and murdered, and containing references to her religion. Her home address and phone number were posted on social media, and she continues to be targeted, despite having clarified that the tweet was false. Ayyub has been trolled previously, being targeted for her work, her gender, and her religion. Ayyub told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that, on April 23, she was sent a three-minute pornographic video via Twitter and Facebook in which her face superimposed on “bodies of naked women”. The UN experts have taken note of this and expressed alarm over the video, which reportedly prompted fresh threats. Although the police opened an investigation into the threats ten days after Ayyub lodged a complaint, she has thus far reportedly not been given police protection. 

Recalling the September 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh after she received death threats, the UN experts said, “We are highly concerned that the life of Rana Ayyub is at serious risk following these graphic and disturbing threats,” adding, “We call on India to urgently take steps to protect Rana Ayyub and to ensure the threats against her are promptly and thoroughly investigated. The Government has an obligation to provide effective protection to those who receive death threats and to protect individuals from foreseeable threats to life or bodily integrity”. The experts noted that “Governments also have a responsibility to build a safe environment for independent voices, including those of journalists critical of the authorities. We have previously urged the authorities in India to take active steps to reverse a political climate that, in recent years, has become increasingly polarised and hostile, especially to the media and those exercising the freedom of expression”. The experts have been in touch with the Indian government regarding this issue. 
 

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