A REVIEW OF ANTI-DISSENT LAWS IN INDIA, PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH

Mohammad UMAR
Assistant Professor of Law (Bennett University), India
ORCID iD: orcid.org/0000-0002-5806-5400
mohd.umar@bennett.edu.in

UDC 323

DOI :10.31733/2786-491X-2021-2-183-187

Keywords: dissent, sedition, freedom of speech, technology

Abstract. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were united during the era of British colonialism before they separated into new nations in the post-1947 developments. As a result, several laws in these countries find genesis in colonial times. One set of them are the anti-dissent laws which were framed by the erstwhile colonizers to scuttle any voice or movement that may snowball into a threat for the British raj. Interestingly, these penal provisions, especially the ones relating to sedition, continue to be administered in the same colonial form and spirit in all three countries even today. In fact, with the influx of technology and increasing avenues of public expression, these anti-dissent laws have got what we can call an upgradeʼ in the form of information technology related regulations.

This paper attempts a broad overview of these developments in the light of the judicial discourse in the countries under examination.

References

  1. (2013) 12 S.C.C. 73
  2. (2018) 5 SCC
  3. 1950 AIR 129, 1950 AIR 124
  4. 1962 AIR 955
  5. Jan, A. (2020). It is time for India and Pakistan to repeal their sedition laws. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/time-india-pakistan-repeal-sedition-laws-200220084422316.html.
  6. Bangladesh: Repeal Abusive Law Used in Crackdown on Critics (July 1, 2020). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/01/bangladesh-repeal-abusive-law-used-crackdown-critics.
  7. Bismee, T. (2020). Umar Khalid not alone, 7 more students were arrested under anti-terror law for Delhi riots, https://theprint.in/india/umar-khalid-not-alone-7-more-students-were-arrested-under-anti-terror-law-for-delhi-riots/503185/.
  8. Chitranshul, S. (2019). The Great Repression: The Story of Sedition in India. Penguin. 
  9. For a detailed opinion on the law see UN expert urges Pakistan to ensure protection of freedom of expression in draft Cybercrime Bill, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16879&LangID=EId.
  10. International Labour Organisation, http://ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/104952/128187/F424540000/PAK104952.pdf.
  11. Katatare Prajapati Collective. (2018). How Bangladesh’s Section 57 allows the state to gag free speech in the name of law and order, https://scroll.in/article/890343/how-bangladeshs-section-57-allows-the-state-gag-free-speech-in-the-name-of-law-and-order.
  12. Khaitan, N. (2019). New Act UAPA: Absolute power to state, Frontline, https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/article29618049.ece.
  13. Section 15 in The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, https://indiankanoon.org/doc/503626/?__cf_chl_f_tk=ahLDWgL.EkoXoEf6yhP11CG5seO.yVtVHbyGA7TW.rA-1642501785-0-gaNycGzNCOU.
  14. Sinha (1978). The Anthropocentric Theory of International Law as a Basis for HumanRights, 10 CASE W. REs. J. INT’L L.
  15. The Wire Staff, Sedition Case Filed Against Man Over “Objectionable Remarks’ Against UP CM Adityanath”, https://thewire.in/rights/sedition-case-objectionable-remarks-up-cm-adityanath.