The Siddique Kappan Case and the Assault on India’s Constitution
October 4, 2021
Police accusations against the journalist, if accepted by the courts, will push the boundaries of what is legally credible and rewrite free-speech guarantees.
Samar Halarnkar
SIDDIQUE KAPPAN wrote about many of the things I write about: India’s majoritarian turn and discrimination against Muslims. That he is in jail, and I am not, reflects my privilege – as a Hindu and as a journalist writing in English.
Kappan has now been in jail for a year, facing charges that include sedition, conspiracy to incite violence, outraging religious feelings and sundry terrorism charges. If he could face such charges merely for trying to do his job, so could we all.
The government’s modus operandi to cripple Indian democracy is apparent: get the police to file cases against anyone regarded as politically inconvenient – a journalist or anyone else – make some arrests on whim and political diktat and let the cases meander through the courts.
