The court order relied on the Supreme Court order, in the same case to grant bail to the accused.

“An important observation has been given by Hon’ble Supreme Court as pointed out by Ld. Counsel for the applicant in the order dated 10.05.2024, wherein it was observed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that:-

“..no doubt, serious accusations have been made, but he has not been convicted. He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to the society. The investigation in the present case has remained pending since August 2022. Arvind Kejriwal was arrested, as noted above, on 21.03.2024. More importantly, legality and validity of the arrest itself is under challenge before this Court and we are yet to finally pronounce on the same. The fact situation cannot be compared with harvesting of crops or plea to look after business affairs.

In this background, one the matter is subjudice and the questions relating to legality of arrest are under consideration, a more holistic and libertarian view is justified, in the background that the 18h Lok Sabha General Elections are being held.”

23. These observations of Hon’ble Supreme Court cannot be ignored while deciding the present bail application of the present applicant. It is reiterated by Ld. Counsel for the applicant that Supreme Court has considered the antecedents of the applicant and the same cannot be denied by the court.”

The court held that the ED had failed to establish that the co-accused Vijay Nair was acting upon the directions of Kejriwal and has also failed to show that Kejriwal has close relations with Vinod Chauhan and Charanpreet Singh.

“ED has also failed to clarify as to how it came to the conclusion that the sum of rupees one crore attached from Vinod Chauhan was the part of the proceeds of the crime. ED is also not clarifying as to how the alleged amount of rupees 40 crores being traced out during the investigation is forming a part of the proceeds of the crime,” the court said.

The court noted that the ED failed to reply on certain issues raised by Kejriwal like, he was not named in the CBI case or the in the ECIR FIR.

“Secondly, the allegations against the applicant have surfaced after the subsequent statements of certain co- accused. Thirdly, this is also an admitted fact that the accused has not been summoned by the court till date, yet, he is lying in the judicial custody at the instance of ED on the pretext of the investigation being still going on,” the court said.

The strong observations made by the trial court include, that the ED has failed to show the money-trial, the connection to Goa Election, work without bias, and connect Kejriwal to any proceeds of the crime, a timely investigation and any sort of connection with Vijay Nair.

The order of the trial court can be read here

The court while granting bail, observed that bulky documents had been filed by both the parties.

“Although, various bulky documents and citations have been filed by both the parties, most of which were not even relevant in respect of the present application but it seems that both the parties have filed the same alongwith detailed oral arguments with the apprehension as to an order may be passed in favour of the opposite party. Admittedly, the present matter is a peculiar case wherein various accused, witnesses and stake holders are involved and neither ED nor the defense wants the order to be passed in favour of the other. However, it is not passible to go through these thousands of pages of the documents at this juncture but this is the duty of the court to work upon the matter whichever comes for consideration and pass the order in accordance with the law.”

This statement created a stir of comments on twitter. The BJP IT cell attacked Justice Nyaya Bindu for the statement “However, it is not passible to go through these thousands of pages of the documents at this juncture but this is the duty of the court to work upon the matter whichever comes for consideration and pass the order in accordance with the law.”

Please embed the following tweets here:

A courageous judge Nyaya Bindu exposed the fabricated nature of an ED case against Arvind Kejriwal, causing significant turmoil within the BJP’s IT Cell. pic.twitter.com/WZMYNjwcWY

— Jitender Singh (@jitenderkhalsa) June 22, 2024

Justice Nyaya Bindu को BJP IT cell द्वारा troll करने पर सुनिए वरिष्ठ वकील विपिन शुक्ला ने क्या कहा

“जज को troll करना बिल्कुल ही गलत है, हम हिंदुस्तान में कहते judges bold नही होते अपने judgements में , यहां जज bold होगया तो आप उसे ट्रॉल करने लगे ” pic.twitter.com/kLGCxXr8JP

— Bhanu AAP (@LAXMINAGAR_AAP) June 23, 2024

So the Rouse Avenue Court had granted bail to Kejriwal without reading the full documents?

Why would they do this? It raises serious questions on that particular judge as well as the judiciary. pic.twitter.com/uiIpchWOKb

— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) June 21, 2024

This right wing campaign did not stop here.

The High Court of Delhi also in its order stayed Arvind Kejriwal’s bail while stating that the entire voluminous record was not perused. Such an observation was “totally unwarranted” and showed that the trial court has not applied its mind to the material.

“The observation made by the Vacation Judge in Impugned Order is uncalled for, unwarranted and out of context. The Vacation Judge should refrain from making such observations in the Impugned Order. The Vacation Judge was required to consider every important and relevant document at time of passing of Impugned Order,” 

The order of the High Court can be read here:

The law on bail

Bail is a right and jail is the exception, innocent until proven guilty are just maxim’s that have been left in India. The application of these principles in close to nil. In the case of Sumit Subhaschandra Gangwal & Anr. v. The State of Maharashtra  (Crl.) No(s). 3561/2023; 27-04-2023, the Supreme Court held as follows:

“Detailed elaboration of evidence has to be avoided at the stage of grant/rejection of bail/anticipatory bail. We do not appreciate such a lengthy elaboration of evidence at this stage.”

“It is always said that in the matters pertaining to liberty of citizens, the Court should act promptly. In our view, such an inordinate delay in passing an order pertaining to liberty of a citizen is not in tune with the constitutional mandate.”

In the case of Kadar Nazir Inamdar v. The State of Maharashtra (Crl.) No(s). 4793/2023 the rule of law laid down was reaffirmed.

“Recently, this Court, vide order dated 27.04.2023 passed in SLP(Crl) No. 3561/2023, had deprecated the practice of detailed elaboration of evidence in the orders granting/rejecting bail/anticipatory bail. This Court also depreciated the practice of long delay between reserving the matter for order and pronouncing the order” the court said, while reaffirming the judgement.

Justice Nyaya Bindu’s decision to grant bail to Arvind Kejriwal was firmly rooted in the principles of justice and fairness as emphasized by the Supreme Court of India. The Court’s stance that detailed elaboration of evidence should be avoided at the bail stage, as seen in Sumit Subhaschandra Gangwal & Anr. v. The State of Maharashtra and Kadar Nazir Inamdar v. The State of Maharashtra, underscores the need for prompt and just actions in matters affecting personal liberty. Justice Nyaya Bindu’s remarks on the impracticality of reviewing thousands of pages of documents in a short timeframe reflect the principles laid down by the common law system as well as the law of the country that is expedient justice rather than any dereliction of duty. The principles of “innocent until proven guilty” and the right to bail as opposed to pre-trial incarceration are foundational to our legal system, yet they often face challenges in practical application, especially under intense public and political scrutiny.

The subsequent criticisms from the right-wing factions and the Delhi High Court’s decision to stay the bail highlight a disturbing trend where judicial decisions are subject to public opinion rather than being solely based on legal merit. This public and political interference undermines the independence of the judiciary and threatens the core principles of justice. Justice Bindu’s approach, aimed at safeguarding personal liberty while the legal validity of the arrest is still under review, aligns with the constitutional mandate and Supreme Court directives.

Conclusion

The essence of our legal system is to uphold justice without fear or favour, irrespective of the public or political pressures. Justice Nyaya Bindu’s decision embodies this principle, focusing on the legal merits of the case and the rights of the individual. The integrity of the judicial process must be fiercely protected, ensuring that decisions are made based on law and justice rather than succumbing to external pressures. This case exemplifies the need for a judiciary that stands resilient against undue influences and upholds the rule of law, ensuring that the scales of justice remain balanced and fair.

By adhering to the principles laid down by higher courts and taking a stance that prioritizes liberty and justice, Justice Nyaya Bindu’s decision serves as a reminder of the core values that the judiciary must protect. The legal community and society at large must support and reinforce these values, condemning any efforts to undermine judicial independence and ensuring that justice prevails based on legal merits, not the court of public opinion.

Related :

Bail not Jail, India’s constitutional courts’ bumpy ride towards personal liberty

Understanding the PMLA & its bail conditions | Legal Insights

Examining Jurisprudential Shifts: The Evolution of Bail Provisions Under PMLA – Part II”

Prabir Purkayastha Case: Mandate of providing grounds of arrest to PMLA/UAPA accused, some safeguards

Arrest of Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Rautt a ‘Witchunt’ & ‘Illegal’ says PMLA Court granting him bail in Money Laundering case

The post Justice Nyaya Bindu grants bail to Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case, and becomes a victim of a right wing campaign  appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Since January 2, Lavanya Ballal Jain, a spokesperson for the Congress party, has become the target of online trolling after a heated TV debate with BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla. The incident occurred during a live interview where Poonawalla made comments on Jain’s name and mockingly referred to her as “Lavanya BJ”, which lead to a sharp exchange between the two. In the interview itself, Lavanya pointedly asked Poonawalla to not make sly comments against her name.

“Do not make vulgar inferences, I’m very aware of the social media team talking about my name,” Lavanya had said while asking the host of the TV interview to ‘control’ her guest during the debate.

In response to her remark, Poonawalla could be seen smiling shamelessly.

The controversy further escalated when Poonawalla posted a video clip of the TV interview on his social media account, questioning why Jain was triggered by his factual statements. The said video had been captioned by Poonawalla as “Don’t know why Lavanya BJ was so triggered when I quoted facts!!”

The said post can be viewed here:

Don’t know why Lavanya BJ was so triggered when I quoted facts !! pic.twitter.com/Vi6KdfDfvr

— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) January 2, 2024

As the said post started getting wind, Lavanya took to social media to express her dismay and accused Poonawalla of insulting her name and religion during the TV interview. She referred to the BJP spokesperson as a ‘cheapster’ and urged him to refrain from making vulgar comments during interviews. In a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Lavanya also claimed that Poonawalla was on the payroll of one of the richest Jain individuals, indirectly alluding to Gautam Adani.

“Abusing Jain’s while being on their payroll is a bj party habit. Your payroll comes from one of the richest (Jain) man on earth,” wrote Lavanya in her post.

The said post can be viewed here:

cheapster @Shehzad_Ind
You may think your antics are smart,but Mr.dimwit this comment is an insult to my religion.
Abusing Jain’s while being on their payroll is a bj party habit. Your payroll comes from one of the richest (Jain) man on earth.
Meanwhile your life is so pathetic… https://t.co/fahC9mCaB5

— Lavanya Ballal Jain (@LavanyaBallal) January 3, 2024

As was expected, the comments made by Poonawalla led to opening of a flood gate of misogynistic and derogatory remarks against Lavanya. Following the TV debate, Lavanya was severely trolled online on social media platforms, particularly on X, where the hashtag #LavanyaBJ gained traction and was trending for hours on X. Since the hashtag contained a derogatory term, the online attacks against the Congress spokesperson were further intensified. It is essential to highlight here that Poonawalla did not only ask the misogynistic bullies to not harass Lavanya, but rather was gleeful about the said hashtag trending for hours on X. in his post, Poonawala wrote:

Lavanya BJ is still trending from last evening

Never knew initials will trend so much https://t.co/ly4nyWbnfe

— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) January 3, 2024

In another post later, he wrote “Now let’s move on from #LavanyaBJ – I know this isn’t in my or your control and its spontaneous outburst of people on SM towards the arrogance, ignorance of the congress spokesperson but let us now have the bigger heart & ignore her.”

The complete post can be accessed here:

Chalo guys

I think from now onwards the lesson has been learnt – World’s largest Democratic Party should not be called abbreviations that you yourself cannot handle.

Now let’s move on from #LavanyaBJ – I know this isn’t in my or your control & it’s spontaneous outburst of…

— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) January 4, 2024

Poonawala has also reposted posts from his profile on ‘X’ which contains the said derogatory hashtag and misogynistic remarks.

Some of the same are:

This video of shehzad poonawalla’s will never be not funny! Lavanya BJ should have thought twice before messing with him! Thoda research kar leti BTW –#LavanyaBJ is still trending pic.twitter.com/HBhhKbqOe8

— Mini (@perfectminz) January 3, 2024

You were simply brilliant @Shehzad_Ind !@LavanyaBallal you need to learn from Shehzad how to do thorough homework before assuming the role of party spokesperson.

If I were you, I would intern with Shehzad for at least three years, learn to do proper research, garner facts,… https://t.co/qwCyTgX1M2

— Madhu Purnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) January 4, 2024

Some examples of the social media harassment that she was subjected to is as follows:

Madam #LavanyaBJ finds it “cute and positive” when grownup men from her Party, scan her from top to bottom. But she accuses a male co-panellist of another party being disrespectful and vulgur when she fails to answer his simple question. Hypocrisy or shamelessness?? pic.twitter.com/3wKhItflCj

— Alpaca Girl (@Alpakanya) January 3, 2024

In support of “Lavanya BJ” #CongressParty has renamed the new Comedy show of #Pappu #RahulGandhi from BNY to BJ Nyay Yatra. #BharatJodoNyayYatra #Lavanya_BJ#LavanyaBJ pic.twitter.com/c5ryhWfP3s

— Ganesh (@me_ganesh14) January 4, 2024

Lavanya BJ aunty after successful BJ Yatra got healthy after their party diet.#LavanyaBJ pic.twitter.com/YuDqkfBYZB

— RamSavarkar Reddy (@TGDharmik) January 3, 2024

Lavanya BJ (ballal jain) at BJ (bharat jodo) yatra.#LavanyaBJ #istandwithLBJ ma’am. pic.twitter.com/Vyby2e7AkF

— ದ್ರಿಷತ್ ರಾವ್. (@drishatwarti) January 3, 2024

Lavanya responded to the said cyber harassment and attack strongly and did not let the remarks pass by. One of her post, responding to a troll, is as follows:

Dear troll,

You getting triggered won’t change the fact that you supported the rapists

Beyond that you are just prosaic clown #Yawn https://t.co/KH2h3rNeDl

— Lavanya Ballal Jain (@LavanyaBallal) January 3, 2024

While many BJP supporters justified using the sexual innuendo against Lavanya by claiming that she herself refers to the BJP as the “BJ party”, she pointed that she had started using the word as a way to hit back at persistent trolling.

In view of the amount of harassment that Lavanya faced, many people, any some political leaders, stood in support of Lavanya. Supriya Shrinate, Chairperson Social Media & Digital Platforms and Member of the Congress Working Committee, took to ‘X’ to slam the bullies and express her anguish at the harassment that Lavanya was being subjected to. Calling the incident to be a “mob lynching of the worst kind, armed with sexual innuendo”, Shrinate wrote:

What has gone on for the last 48 hours is not just shameful harassment of @LavanyaBallal , it’s actually mob lynching of the worst kind, armed with sexual innuendo.

In any civilised world this organised attack is an offence.

It’s a new low even for the BJP’s official and…

— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) January 4, 2024

Mohan Kumaramangalam, Working President Tamilnadu Congress, also took to X to express his dismay and wrote:

I have never heard anyone use someone’s middle and last name’s initials to refer to them. Wonder why @Shehzad_Ind is so obsessed with BJs? Is his inordinate focus on the same the real reason for his rise in the BJ Party ? I have heard about stooping to conquer but kneeling to… https://t.co/bpcO9szOCL

— Mohan Kumaramangalam மோகன் குமாரமங்கலம் (@MKumaramangalam) January 3, 2024

Even today, more than two days after the incident, trolls were harassing her:

L BJ #LavanyaBJ

With filters. Without filter pic.twitter.com/hsCxPQTt6G

— ನಾಯಕಿ Nayakii (@nammsiem) January 5, 2024

This whole incident serves as a reminder as to how BJP leaders misbehave, and encourages others to demean women, especially if the woman is from an opposition party.

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Trolling, harassment of Dalit writer and activist, Shalin Maria Lawrence condemned: NWMI

The post Lavanya Ballal Jain, Congress spokesperson, subjected to online sexual harassment; incident motivated by BJP spokesperson appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: The News Minute

On November 17, when people gathered at the Garden of Five Senses in Saket, it was not just for their love of music, but also in solidarity with a particular kind of politics. The evening was special and the performance important because T M Krishna was performing in Delhi three days after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) “postponed” an event featuring the Karnatic singer, owing to a backlash from right-wing trolls who called Krishna an “anti-national” “Urban Naxal”.

The threats could not budge T M Krishna who made a public announcement asking for a stage, anywhere in Delhi on November 17, for him to come and sing. Responding to his appeal, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, stepped in and invited Krishna to perform. “No artist should ever be denied an opportunity to perform. I have invited T M Krishna to perform on November 17 for the people of Delhi. It’s important to maintain the dignity of the art and artists”, Sisodia said.

Politics and art, thus shared the same stage at the Delhi government’s event, “Awam ki Awaz”. Krishna said before commencing his performance, “The spirit of the day has transformed over the few days and keeping with the spirit, I will try and see if we can see multiple voices, languages, traditions, religion in the concert. I will not speak much.” And while Krishna refused to talk about politics, his music spoke for him.

He struck a mesmerising chord against the on-going cultural barbarism that the country is subjected to. Starting with an all-denominational prayer that Mahatma Gandhi had instituted at the Sabarmati Ashram, Krishna’s performance included a Malayalam rendition in praise of Jesus Christ, an adaptation of Nagoor Hanifa’s Islamic Tamil song, Kabir, Tukaram, Basava, Perumal Murugan and much more.

Around the same time when AAI decided to postpone Krishna’s performance, the organisers of another event hosting T M Krishna also received threat calls. Krishna is scheduled to hold a concert and music workshop on “Rare Krithis of Sri Muthuswamy Dikshithar” on 22–23 November at Gana Bharathi in Mysuru’s Kuvempunagar area. The organisers, however, as per a report in ThePrint, are planning to go ahead with the event. “There is no need to bow down to the pressure by some random elements”, Himanshu C R, one of the organisers said.
In the times when expressing a dissenting opinion mean threats, vandalising venues and cancellation of events, Krishna’s performance was loud enough to reverberate a rhythm of resistance.

Daniya Rahman is a member of the editorial collective of the Indian Writers’ Forum.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

The post Rhythm of Resistance: When T M Krishna Did Sing appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
New Delhi: Carnatic musician T M Krishna will perform in New Delhi on Saturday evening. In a tweet, the vocalist announced that he will be performing with RK Shriramkumar, Praveen Sparsh and Anirudh Athreya at Garden of Five Senses, Near Saket, New Delhi at 6.30 pm on Nov 17.
 

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, making the announcement Friday, said no artist should ever be denied an opportunity to perform.

 
 
The AAP government had offered to host Krishna in the national capital after an event in which he was to perform was called off by Airports Authority of India (AAI- SPIC MACAY.)
 
The Airports Authority of India’s decision to postpone the event came after Internet trolls attacked the organiser for supporting an “anti-India” musician.
 
“Give me a stage anywhere in Delhi on November 17, I will come and sing. We just can’t let ourselves be cowed down by this kind of threats,” TM Krishna had said.
 
Krishna’s views on constitutional values like secularism and his attempts widening the reach of Carnatic music concert repertoire by including hymns in praise of Christ and Allah, and poems by writers including Perumal Murugan, have made him a target of right-wing attacks.
 
“The troll army has the underlying patronage of people in power,” he said. “I have been trolled for a long time for my social position, my perspectives on politics in India and my disagreements with the BJP regime… I believe in every art form… Allah, Jesus and Ram make no difference… It is a multi-lingual and multi-religious country,” Mr Krishna said, a report said.
 
The Magsaysay Award winner first came to the attention of right-wing groups in August when an audio clip reportedly of his Carnatic songs on Allah and Jesus Christ was circulated on WhatsApp. A fringe group in Tamil Nadu had threatened him for singing the songs.
 
Born in Chennai, TM Krishna started learning music at the age of six and trained under several top musicians like Chingleput Ranganathan, Vidvan Seetharama Sarma and Semmangudi Srinivasier. An economics graduate from Madras University, he has authored three books — Voices Within: Carnatic Music – Passing on an Inheritance, A Southern Music – The Karnatik Story, and Reshaping Art.
 
Related Articles:
Airport Authority cancels T M Krishna’s concert after twitter trolls call him anti-Indian.
 

The post AAP takes up T M Krishna’s concert, to be held in Delhi on Saturday appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: E P Unny

On November 5, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) announced on its twitter handle that Karnatik vocalist T M Krishna would perform in Delhi as part of the programme “Dance and Music in the Park,” organised jointly by The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC-MACAY) and AAI. But according to a report in The Indian Express, on the night of November 13, AAI informed SPIC-MACAY over email that the concert has been postponed. “Because of some exigencies of work, we are not in a position to go ahead with the dance & music concert jointly organised with SPIC MACAY on 17th and 18th November, 2018 at Nehru Park, New Delhi. Hence, we request you to kindly postpone to a new date and inform all concerned. The new date will be discussed with SPIC-MACAY soon,” the email said.
This comes days after AAI’s tweets about T M Krishna’s performance received backlash from trolls who were enraged by the fact that T M Krishna was invited to perform.  AAI was accused of organising a concert that would feature the “anti-India”, “anti-Modi”, “Urban Naxal” singer using public funds. Some trolls also tagged senior government officials such as Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Civil Aviation.

Krishna’s attempts to increase the Carnatic music concert repertoire by including hymns in praise of Christ and Allah have been frequently attacked by Hindu right-wing activists. In August, TM Krishna, OS Arun and Nithyashree Mahadevan were targeted by the Rashtriya Seva Sangham, a group based in Tamil Nadu, for singing devotional songs about “gods of other religions”. In response, Krishna resolved to sing one Karnatic composition every month on Jesus or Allah, which was ostensibly the cause for his concert at the United States being cancelled. In September, during his tour of the United States, he was invited to perform at the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Maryland but his concert was cancelled by the organisers after he was accused by Hindutva groups of singing Christians songs. However, a group of music lovers in Georgetown University, Washington organised a concert for him on campus the same day.

This time too, like the Maryland incident, Krishna has many people standing by his side. According to a tweet by CNN News18, the AAP government has extended an invitation to T M Krishna to come and perform at the National Capital on 17 November after an unfazed T M Krishna announced, “Give me a stage anywhere in Delhi on November 17, I will come and sing. We just can’t let ourselves be cowed down by this kind of threats”.

Commenting on the incident, poet and critic Ashok Vajpayee told the Indian Cultural Forum, “The cancellation of Krishna’s concert in Delhi is yet another instance of a continuing assault on the pluralistic nature of the Indian culture, traditions and arts, including music. Krishna has boldly asserted and taken upon himself to highlight the presence in and contribution to carnatic music of Muslims and Christians. Apart from being an insult to the classical, this assault is anti-Indian and anti-tradition.”

Renowned poet and author K Satchidanandan told the Indian Cultural Forum, “I am very sad that the trolls have taken control over our culture. Very recently, Ramachandra Guha was not allowed to take the visiting doctorship at the Ahmedabad University and now T M Krishna has been discouraged from singing at this festival.” Calling the incident “disheartening”, he added, “Musicians and music lovers look at him with great awe. To deny him the chance to sing in Delhi and to deny the audience a chance to listen to him, is in my opinion, an extremely criminal act on the part of whoever has done it and we know who has actually done it. These trolls know nothing about T M Krishna’s music, they have only heard from someone or the other that he is very critical of the right-wing government at the centre. It is because of Krishna’s political position that they are denying him his stature as one of the leading musicians of the country, trying to popularise classical music. This is yet another step towards the kind of barbarism that is already prevailing in the country and all of us as writers and artists should stand up against this kind of trolling and attacks on all artists.”

Writer Githa Hariharan told the Indian Cultural Forum, “T M Krishna has integrity, not only in his artistic practice, but also in his convictions. All of us, whether musicians or writers or film makers, are citizens. We do not produce our work in an apolitical vacuum. We have the right to critique the present government and its extended family of hoodlums. Equally important, all citizens have the right to read our books, watch our films, and listen to our music without trolls as guardians. This is why we say, quite categorically: Sing, Krishna, we want to hear you.”

Ramachandra Guha too has tweeted in support, “When a scholar like myself is stopped from speaking, that is intolerance. When a great musician like T M Krishna is prevented from performing, it is not intolerance, but barbarism.”

T M Krishna talks to the Indian Cultural Forum:

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 
 

The post Let T M Krishna Sing appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
New Delhi: A concert by Carnatic singer T.M. Krishna scheduled for Saturday was postponed by the organizers, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and SPIC MACAY, allegedly after a tweet about the concert was attacked by online trolls who called for its boycott.
 

Krishna had re-tweeted AAI’s invitation on Monday, which triggered a spate of trolls who targeted the government body for sponsoring the concert. The tweets accused AAI of using public funds to sponsor Krishna, who sings about “Jesus and Allah”, is “anti-India”, a “converted bigot” and an “Urban Naxal”.
 
Soon after, the hashtag #DisinviteTMKrishna started doing rounds on Twitter.
 
The trolls also tagged senior functionaries in the government, including Minister of Railways, Coal and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal and Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu.
 
Krishna said he was even given assurances that the concert would go ahead as scheduled but it was cancelled without intimating him. “This is alarming. At least they could’ve come up with a better excuse to cancel my performance,” he told News18.
 
“Music fraternity is very timid and rarely do they take positions that are anti-establishment. I hope it changes culturally. We should be a country of artists who come together in supporting freedom,” he added.
 
AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra has denied the allegations that suggest the concert was postponed due to the backlash received for inviting Krishna.
 
Krishna’s views on constitutional values like secularism and his attempts widening the reach of Carnatic music concert repertoire by including hymns in praise of Christ and Allah, and poems by writers including Perumal Murugan, have made him a target of right-wing attacks.
 
“The Nehru Park concert was a collaboration between Spic Macay and the Airports Authority of India. Till late last week, the AAI was enthusiastically tweeting about the event, and asking people to come. However, when they heard that T M Krishna was to sing there, right-wing trolls began abusing him, and demanded that the event be cancelled. These trolls know nothing about his music; all they know is that, in his work outside music, Krishna is a critic of Hindutva and the Modi government. On Tuesday the 13th, the AAI announced that the event had been indefinitely postponed. They had succumbed to pressure, most likely exercised from above as well as from below. Who knows what calls were made from which office to make the AAI act as they did. But, because of their shameful capitulation, the music lovers of Delhi shall be deprived not just of the sublime pleasure of listening to T M Krishna, but of the two-day festival as a whole. (The other artists slated to perform were the sitarist Shahid Parvez, and the dancers Sonal Mansingh and Priyadarshini Govind.)” wrote Ramachandra Guha, a historian who was not allowed to teach in an Ahmedabad university due to the same pressure.

 “When, as happened to me in Ahmedabad, a scholar is prevented from speaking, that is intolerance. But to prevent a great musician from performing in the national capital is not mere intolerance — it is barbarism,” he said.
 
“Give me a stage anywhere in Delhi on November 17, I will come and sing. We just can’t let ourselves be cowed down by this kind of threats,” TM Krishna said.
 
the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government on Tuesday vowed to hold his event in the national capital. The office of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia has already contacted the singer and is working on a date for the event. CM Arvind Kejriwal also extended an invitation.
 
In August, a Maryland temple had cancelled his concert, allegedly after Hindutva activists accused him of singing Christian hymns. In January this year, a Hindu right-wing group had threatened to disrupt his concert in Tirupur, the textile town in western Tamil Nadu, but it was held under enhanced security.
 

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In a strongly worded press release NWMI says, “Over the course of the past few days, starting with a parody account of Republic TV that attributed a fake tweet to Ayyub in which she purportedly defended child rapists and supposedly said that Muslims were not safe in India, this campaign has shown no sign of abating.” Though AltNews proved that the account was fake, it was too late, as by then the fake tweet and its image had been shared thousands of times on Facebook and WhatsApp along with a Hindi translation of the fake tweet that was posted on April 22.

NWMI fears for Ayyub’s safety given how despite the deletion of the fake tweet and account, other fake tweets have been circulating along with videos and content with Ayyub’s morphed face, with exhortations to gang-rape. “In a classic case of ‘doxing’, her address and personal number have been made public, making her vulnerable to further abuse that could also become dangerous in the real world,” says NWMI. The press release further states, “This concerted, malicious misrepresentation and open intimidation as well as incitement to violence has serious implications for Rana Ayyub and, indeed, all journalists. It cannot but have a very real chilling effect on free speech and opinion. It is also in contravention of all laws in India concerning violence against women.” NWMI calls out politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to “rein in their followers who harass, abuse and threaten in their names.” It lists the following two demands:

• The NWMI demands that the Cyber-Crime cell of the Delhi Police take immediate steps to ensure safety for Rana Ayyub, identify the source/s of the threats and take stringent action against them.
• The NWMI further demands that social media platforms like Twitter take steps to distinguish parody accounts from real ones and intervene when the platform is used for hate speech and threats of violence.

Meanwhile Reporters Without Borders has also come out in support of Ayyub saying, “Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns an unprecedented week-old hate campaign on social networks against Indian freelance journalist Rana Ayyub and calls on the government and the New Delhi police to do whatever is necessary to protect her.”

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Humans of Hindutva, a satirical Facebook page that lampooned extreme right wing groups for their ridiculous interpretation of religion and culture, has been shut down. The page administrator, who has always remained anonymous, posted the following parting message on his website satyanash.com :
“I’m quitting out of my own accord. I’ve not been banned or mass reported. I have recently received some threats to my life which I can’t take lightly. I am outnumbered, I live in a BJP state and come from a middle-class family with no political or police connections. I have no desire to end up like Gauri Lankesh or Afrazul Khan. I hope those who threatened me consider this as a victory and leave us alone. I have deleted the HOH page and will delete this website soon. Congratulations to Hindutva on winning this David vs Goliath fight.”

The page has been in the eye of the storm for making fun of right wing political leaders, spiritual gurus, the saffron brand of science and even the prime minister. Trolls would often get nasty in the comments section of some of the page’s wittiest posts.

Earlier in September, HoH had temporarily shut down as the administrator feared for his life in wake of journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder. But following a strong show of strength and support from fans and followers, the page was back up. But this time, it looks like the page is gone for good.

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The Prime Minister’s twitter handle following an abusive troll? Is this the first time that this issue has come up?The outrage builds up every few months yet the twitter handle of Mr. Modi continues to follow many serial abusers and rumor-mongers. 

This time, however, the BJP’s Media Cell in charge issued this rather brazen clarification.

To date, Narendra Modi has 33.8 million followers and he follows 1779 people. Compared to his vast following, those he follows aee a select few. Of the ones he follows, many are government handles, ministers, heads of States, senior journalists and other such profiles that the Prime Minister of a country is expected to follow. However, a select handful of these 1779 are profiles that will make a decent, civilised citizen, embarassed, even squirm. Serial abusers, rumor-mongers, misogynists, handles brimming with communal venom… they are all there.
Let us take a look at some of these tweets of the people the Prime Minister of our country has handpicked to follow. Please bear with us, the list is long. It is a hall of shame.

Sexist tweets / abuse directed at women

For all that the “proud” nationalists may say about “sanskar” and rich traditions, when we review the handles followed by the Prime Minister, sexist tweets directed at women stands out as a prominent feature. The attack is always personal and the targets are often journalists who are seen as critical of the government like Barkha Dutt, Rana Ayyub and Sagarika Ghose.

Here are a few examples:

Here are some lewd jokes of Samir Varier, yet another person followed by Mr. Modi.

The abuse is often unprovoked. In this case, it is not sexist but this gentleman, whom Mr. Modi follows, doesn’t think twice before calling Rana Ayyub a terrorist and suicide bomber because she said her flight was running late.

Mahaveer who is also followed by Mr. Modi posted this picture of journalist Neha Dixit and her husband Nakul Sawhney asking whether payment was made in “cash or kind”.

Sonia Gandhi is also often a target of hateful misogynistic tweets

This is an old tweet of Alok Bhat, dating before 2014. Mr. Modi chooses to follow him as well.

Abusive Tweets

Former Vice President Hamid Ansari was following the flag code when he was called an “asshole” and a “bastard” by Rahul Kaushik.

Here is Nikunj Sahu of BJP IT cell abusing Arvind Kejriwal

Here is another example of a twitter handle that is humbled to be followed by Narendra Modi

It is not just politicians of rival parties who are target of abuse but other twitter users as well. Here are a few examples:

When Mahaveer’s account was deactivated for abuse by twitter, it was BJP’s Giriraj Singh who stood by him to get his account reactivated.

Rumor-mongering and tweets spreading communal tension

Amitesh Singh who projected himself as a BJP youth leader and claimed to be related to a BJP politician was followed by PM Modi. He tweeted a call to “kill 3000 Muslims” in response to a rumor that was doing rounds on the internet. What followed was his arrest and a denial from BJP that he was associated with them. If he was not associated with BJP, why did Mr. Modi follow this 19 year-old? That is a question we never got an answer to.

The rumor which led Amitesh to tweet the threat was started by a handle that was also followed by Mr. Modi. The handle has been suspended by Twitter.

Who spread the rumor of doctor lynched by a Muslim mob? Handles followed by Mr. Modi. Every tweet in the picture below is from people followed by Mr. Modi.

The rumor that the murder of Swati in Chennai was started by Ramki. His claims were later proven to be fake but there was no retraction or apology.

This handle followed by Mr. Modi called for a boycott of Muslim businesses.

In this case UP government had to tweet to bust the communal rumor being spread by Ritu Rathaur, another profile followed by Mr. Modi. The police filed a case against her for “attempting to disturb communal harmony by spreading sensational and controversial posts on social media”.

Even funerals are not spared when it comes to spreading fake news. No national flag for MP E Ahamed’s funeral, asked Kiran Kumar. A screenshot of TV footage said otherwise https://t.co/jKlNRbU0aC .

Here is another rumor spread by Rishi Bagree

In this case an attempt to malign a UAE based business was led by Mahesh Vikram Hegde, one of the select few followed by the PM. The company filed a police case and the pictures were found to be photoshopped. Hegde is the founder of postcard news, a website that routinely spreads fake news.

Meena Das Narayan raised the ‘Hindus under attack’ alarm after the Kollam temple fire. She knew “for sure”. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics display that was held despite a ban on the same.

So why does the Prime Minister of India follow such people? Is his social media team the culprit and Narendra Modi not really aware that his handle follows such profiles? In response to a RTI, PMO confirmed that “PM Modi himself tweets and posts content on his personal Twitter and Facebook accounts”. Mr. Modi is social media savvy and we have no reason to doubt the response of the PMO (:-P).

The other possible reason could be that these are all like-minded individuals, part of his core supporter group. He has also personally met many of these individuals in specially organized events. All of them flaunt the selfie with him, stating, “proud to be followed by Narendra Modi”. This also makes it very difficult for him to unfollow them. A tweet by RS Prasad condemning the celebratory tweets on the murder of Gauri Lankesh had upset some of them. Imagine the backlash from his supporters if PM Modi was ever to un-follow any of them. They are already running a hashtag #IStandwithNikhil in support of the person who called Gauri Lankesh a ‘kutiya”.

It is not that Mr. Modi has never un-followed anyone. After a massive outrage in 2014, he unfollowed a handle that had tweeted a morphed photograph of Gul Panag.

More recently he un-followed Jwala Gurunath after she had a spat with BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Bagga.

“How can Narendra Modi be responsible for the tweets of people he follows?”  ask many of his supporters. None of us are responsible for the tweets of our followers. But hey, he is the Prime Minister of the country and he has handpicked this select group to follow. Moreover, this issue has been reported many times, tons of people have raised it on social media and there is no way PM Modi is not aware of this issue.

“Who are you to tell the Prime Minister who to follow?” ask his supporters. Sure, it is his choice. He is free to follow anyone he likes, be they serial abusers tweeting lewd and sexist tweets, or rumor mongers and riot instigators. Including the person who described Gauri Lankesh’s murder as “A bitch died a dog’s death”. And the world shall know that this is his choice.

Screenshots from the collection of @TruthofGujarat, @kapsology and @samjawed65 on Twitter. AltNews article was authored by Sam Jawed. The text here is not entirely the same.

The post Twitter Wall of Shame: Abusers, Bigots, Rumour Mongers, All followed by PM Modi appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Sabrangindia has been raising questions regarding the willful tardiness of the Indian media, as a whole in not investigating the source of the vile and Venom –defined in human rights jurisprudence as inciteful speech and writing — influencing public discourse today. There is a legitimisation of Hatred and violent targeting by powerful men and women, who follow some of these hate trolls.

Shonan Talpade
He has a swastika before his name on Twitter. Calls himself – Architect,Metaphysician, Arya, Human. Location given- Aryavarta Kailasha.

Joined Twitter on January 2014
(No BIG follower.)

Govardhan Kathuria
No details given. On one hand abuses Gauri and on the other wonders why all the people who always want CBI’s involvement are saying NO TO CBI in this case.
 

The post Meet India’s Hate Mongers: Gauri Lankesh Killing appeared first on SabrangIndia.