One of the most shameful pieces of legislation in our penal code is the continuance of ‘Sedition’ in Section 124A of the Penal Code which provides that whoever excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India shall be punished with imprison-ment for life. The expression disaffection includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity. This provision was included by the British Government in 1870 as...
More »SEARCH RESULT
‘It is a story of betrayal'
-The Hindu Amid the intensifying protests against land acquisition by South Korean company Posco in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa, the resistance got some praise during a debate on “The Posco Betrayal”, which was held here on Sunday. Sharing his experiences of being part of the Independent Investigation Committee that reviewed POSCO clearances, general secretary of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) V. Suresh criticised the Orissa Government, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh...
More »I am not a sympathiser or opposer of Naxals: Binayak Sen
-The Hindu Human rights activist Binayak Sen said here on Monday that there was no question of his being a Naxal sympathiser. “Neither am I a Naxal sympathiser nor [an] opposer of Naxals,” Dr. Sen told journalists at the Press Club. “I believe that violence, either of the state or the non-state actors, does not cure any problem,” he said. Launching a scathing attack on Salwa Judum, he said that it...
More »Dr Binayak Sen, Human rights activist interviewed by Sahim Salim
Dr Binayak Sen has given a double blow to the state administration of Chattisgarh. First, the Supreme Court rejected the sedition charges levelled against him for which the state courts found him guilty. And then he was appointed to the 40-member steering committee on health in the planning commission. The Chattisgarh government has been vocally protesting against Sen's appointment, saying that he still remains a convict out on bail and should...
More »Poverty begets poverty by Richard Mahapatra
A 30-year survey of the poor gives a wake-up call POVERTY is becoming hereditary in India, at least for a sizeable population. That is the conclusion derived from a three-decade tracking of poor households in rural India. A survey by the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC), an international association of researchers and academicians, claims that those who are chronically poor may pass on poverty to their next generation. What’s more, people residing...
More »