-The Hindu   The Film has nothing to do with Mullaperiyar dam, says producer-director Producer-director Sohan Roy on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Tamil Nadu Government's ban on screening of his Film Dam 999 in the State. Mr. Roy in his writ petition questioned the subjective satisfaction of the Chief Minister (on whose directions the impugned November 24 order was passed), arrived on by “narrow political objectives.” He said the order had...

Indian courts have consistently upheld and championed the fundamental right to free speech and expression enshrined in the Constitution. This includes the right to put forward different and contrary views, right or wrong. A recent instance saw the Supreme Court of India striking down Uttar Pradesh's ban on the Film Aarakshan. This article by A.P. Shah, retired Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi High Courts, sets out key issues...

-The Hindu None of the reasons given by the Tamil Nadu government for imposing a ban on the Film Dam 999 holds water. The right to freedom of speech and expression, as enshrined in the Constitution and upheld time and again by the Supreme Court of India, is too dear to be sacrificed at the altar of political contingency. Everything the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, Debendranath Sarangi, stated about the Film...

What is our national aim? To my mind, our national aim must be to make India a highly prosperous country for its citizens, and for that it is necessary to have a high degree of industrialization.  Even setting up and running a single primary school requires a lot of money, e.g. for buying land, erecting the school building and providing for the recurrent expenditure for salaries of teachers, staff, etc. We...

The floodgates have opened on a movie ominously titled DAM999, which some political parties in Tamil Nadu feel is toeing the line of neighbouring Kerala in a dispute between the states. A section of Tamil Nadu politicians feels the movie, produced and directed by a Malayali businessman, relates to the controversy around the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam in central Kerala. Tamil Nadu holds the lease rights to the dam for 999 years...