Promotes disharmony and feelings of ill-will between Muslims and followers of other religions (s. 153A)

Imputes that Muslims cannot be true to India and its Constitution because of the reference to ‘Jihadi People’ (s. 153B)

Deliberately insults Muslims in India by insinuating that all followers of Islam are Jihadis (s. 295A)

Deliberately wounds the religious feelings of any Muslim who might see it, which is likely, since it’s a public post (s. 298)

Having said that, there is a need to take care before using laws like this. Bigotry is never something to condone, but putting someone behind bars because of a particular belief is a slippery slope, and opens the door to all manner of human rights violations. Right now, our sense of (justifiably) righteous anger means we may be able to get behind convicting Mishra under one or more of these charges and throwing him in jail. But we mustn’t forget that the crime of sedition is set on the same coin as these offences, and they can also be used to punish anything even remotely critical of any religious group – which is hardly something that Mishra’s harshest critics would want to sign up to. This is where the jurisprudence on hate speech by the courts has stepped in over the years, with a general trend towards protecting speech (as per the Law Commission of India ). Nevertheless, if there is a genuine incitement to discrimination, and there is reason to believe that this incitement could actually have an effect, these provisions can apply.

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Abhishek Mishra Hate Speech Against Muslims Musn’t Go Unpunished

Horrified by the Abhishek Mishra-Ola incident? Here’s what can be done to deal with this kind of hate speech.

Vakasha Sachdev

Updated: 25 Apr 2018, 6:38 PM IST

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Dear Government, Twitter, Facebook, Ola – you have an opportunity to tell bigots across the country that enough is enough. You all have the power to show those who indulge in hate speech that this will not be tolerated, that there are consequences for their actions, that discrimination on the basis of religion isn’t acceptable.

It starts with Abhishek Mishra.

Cancelled @Olacabs Booking because Driver was Muslim. I don't want to give my money to Jihadi People. pic.twitter.com/1IIf4LlTZL
— Abhishek Mishra (@Abhishek_Mshra) April 20, 2018

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Topics: Ola Cabs Constitution of India Censorship

Published: 24 Apr 2018, 4:26 PM IST