What is Sedition?
More than 70 years after the country got freedom, the country’s democracy is in danger. We are in a period where the Central Government is run by a party that believes that there should not be any objection to its policies and where dissidence is deemed as sedition. A period where we need to analyze the significance of the word ‘nation’ and what is meant by ’conspiring against nation’. According to the Centre, supporting peaceful protests that are taking place in the country amounts to sedition. It is a crime for citizens to raise voices against injustice and inequality. For committing this ‘crime’, 21-year old environmental activist Disha Ravi has been arrested and taken into custody by the Delhi police. Her crime was putting together a ‘toolkit’ that describes how to support the farmers’ agitation that is against the three recent farm laws. This ‘tool kit’ has been shared by global environmental activist Greta Thurnberg and other celebrities.
While Disha Ravi is arrested and taken into custody for the toolkit that was shared by Greta and others (there is no information whether permission from the Karnataka police was obtained for this), at the same time, former DySP Davinder Singh facing charges of terrorism walks out of jail on bail. Hundreds of such instances can be provided. A Saadhvi who is arrested on charges of terrorism and bomb blast is released and then elected to the Lok Sabha and continues to retain her seat even after supporting the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. In the absence of official pronouncement of Emergency, this country has witnessed incidents where famous poet Varavara Rao, eminent thinker and author of several books on Ambedkar Anand Teltumbe, leader of human rights activists and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj have been jailed and facing false cases of sedition while forged documents have been and planted in the mobile phone and personal computer of activist Rona Wilson.
The peaceful protests of farmers in New Delhi for the past two and a half months against the farm laws that seek to push the country’s farm markets into the arms of corporates have received support both nationally and internationally. All attempts and conspiracies to defeat the protests have failed. The conspiracy to defame farmers by making them responsible for the action of a few miscreants who were allowed to hoist the flag on the Red Fort on Republic Day came a cropper. Over the past few months, the country has witnessed how farmers were invited for talks while at the same time they were ridiculed or how those who supported the farmers’ agitation were arrested and imprisoned. The arrest of Disha Ravi, carried out only to make sure that the country’s citizens, especially youth, do not support the farmers’ agitation, reflects the government’s frustration and its dictatorial attitude.
Now, the country is not in an Emergency. But those who claim they fought Emergency in 1975 are in power. By trying to repeatedly muzzle differences and resistance, the government is resorting to authoritarian ways even without imposing Emergency. As the Constitutional bodies have also become inert, justice seems a mirage for innocent people. It appears that the huge corporate lobby has control over the government. The way people are being arrested, the whole country might turn into a prison soon. But this will not continue for long. We have many examples of countries where people’s voices are muzzled through policies of repression but it cannot be forgotten that such governments pay a heavy price. The government must immediately stop its dictatorial methods and respond to the farmers’ peaceful protests by meeting their demands, and releasing the young environmental activist.
A situation has been created in the country where everyone other than those in power have to bear the allegations of sedition. Not only Disha Ravi. They have not spared persons of the likes of popular journalist Rajdeep Sardesai and MP Shashi Tharoor. Questioning the act of selling public sector undertakings at throwaway price is an act of sedition. Opposing demonetization is sedition. Condemning atrocities against Dalits is sedition. Supporting farmers agitation is sedition. Not just this, in their view, Gandhi is a traitor. Nehru is a traitor. Who then is a patriot? Those who kill innocents on the pretext of transporting cattle, those who worship the assassin of Gandhi, those who raid and attack places of worship of the minorities and those who sponsor such events are seen as patriots. Such an autocratic repressive regime on the likes of Hitler’s will not continue for long. It is high time the government rectified its mistakes and provided governance that is appropriate for a democracy.
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England rallies after early setbacks on Day 4 of final Ashes test
Sydney (AP): England weathered multiple setbacks with skipper Ben Stokes limping from the field and opener Zak Crawley dismissed in the first over of the second innings before rallying to reach 80-1 at lunch Wednesday on Day 4 of the fifth and final Ashes test.
Opener Ben Duckett posted un unbeaten 40, his highest score of the series, but got a huge reprieve minutes before the interval when he fended a Michael Neser delivery and gloved it into the slips, where Cameron Green dropped a chance while diving in front of his skipper, Steve Smith.
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Duckett, who was on 37 at the time, was beaten by the next ball but survived the session. Jacob Bethel was not out 28. England still needed 103 to make Australia bat again at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
After dismissing Australia for 567, giving the hosts a 183-run lead, England's second innings started badly when Mitchell Starc struck in the first over to dismiss Crawley lbw on the fifth ball.
As he so often is, Starc was dangerous with his full, swinging deliveries early and Crawley, trying to leave, was trapped lbw without offering a shot to a ball that hit him high on the back pad. England reviewed the decision but the DRS technology upheld the umpire's original decision and England was 4-1.
Duckett got some edges that didn't carry to the wicketkeeper or slips early but settled into his best innings of the tour, hitting six boundaries in his 48-ball innings.
He and Bethell combined in a 76-run second-wicket stand that restored some confidence for the tourists.
The occasional ball was rearing up steeply off a length. Bethell was on 27 when he had to be assessed after a 140 kph (87 mph) short ball from Green glanced his batting helmet before skidding away to the boundary for four leg byes.
The follow-up ball was also a bouncer which the England batter ducked away from.
Stokes injured
England picked up the last three wickets for 49 runs after the Australians resumed at 518-7 but the morning session was overshadowed by an injury to Stokes. He bowled 10 deliveries before leaving the field, leaving question marks over his participation in the remainder of the SCG test. England team management said Stokes was being assessed for a right adductor complaint.
Australia's innings
Australia's commanding innings was built on centuries from stand-in opener Travis Head, his third of the series, and Steve Smith (138) and a late contribution from allrounder Beau Webster, who remained unbeaten on 71.
The Australians will be pushing for victory to complete a 4-1 series win after retaining the Ashes in 11 days of action with wins in the first three tess. England is determined to narrow the margin after its drought-breaking win in the fourth test at Melbourne.
Smith was 129 overnight but didn't settle into a rhythm before he was caught behind off Josh Tongue's bowling, ending a 107-run eighth-wicket partnership with Webster.
The last two wickets fell within six deliveries, with Starc (5) bowled by a full delivery from Tongue that moved late off the seam and off-spinner Will Jacks (1-34) having Scott Boland caught for a first-ball duck at first slip.
Tongue finished with figures of 3-97 from 20 overs.
The century was Smith's 13th in Ashes tests, the 37th of his career and his fifth at the Sydney Cricket Ground. With it, he moved up to sixth on the all-time list of most test centuries.
