Srinagar
Legal experts have said that Modi-led fascist Indian government is using sedition law as a weapon to stifle dissent in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and inside India.
The experts in their media interviews said that colonial-era sedition law is used as an intimidation tactic in Modi’s India.
They pointed out that charges under sedition against Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders have seen sharp rise since BJP attained power in India.
Citing the data, the legal experts stressed that India has witnessed 28 percent increase in the number of sedition cases between 2014 and 2020.
Kashmiri leaders who are facing the sedition charge for allegedly waging a war against India include Syed Ali Gilani, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Masarrat Aalam Butt, Aasiya Andrabi, Fahmeeda Sofi, Naheeda Nasreen, Bashir Ahmad Butt alias Peer Saifullah, Businessman Zahoor Ahmad Watali, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Mohammad Akbar Khanday alias Aiyaz Akbar, Raja Merajuddin Kalwal, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah alias Shahidul Islam, Syed Shakeel Yusuf, Syed Shahid Yusuf and journalist Asif Sultan.
It is worth mentioning here that India’s National Crime Records Bureau data recorded 25 percent increase in sedition cases and 41 percent increase in the arrests since 2019.
Six sedition cases were lodged during the farmers’ protest, 25 during anti-CAA protests and 27 after Pulwama attack.
Official data shows that the conviction rate for sedition in India has actually dropped from 33 percent in 2014 to 3 percent in 2019, which proves that these cases are politically motivated.—KMS
