Asking For Trouble?

If facebook and social networking sites are under the scanner, what platforms do the youth have to express themselves? There are forums aplenty in their schools and colleges, but what is so wrong in expressing oneself on the web? So long as it doesn't hurt religious sentiments, what wrong is anyone doing? Who decides what hurts religious sentiments and what is permissible? With the framework of some laws being ambiguous, be it cyber laws or otherwise, how does one know where to draw the line? Besides an individual's conscious call where to draw the line, the term is very relative as to each his own.

When 21 year old Shaheen Dhadha and her friend were arrested after her comment on the 18th November Sunday shutdown for Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackery's funeral in Mumbai, it raised an alarm across the country. Many look at it as a comment that did not hurt religious sentiments and ultimately she was let off after an ordeal she and her friend faced while suspects who ransacked her Uncle's clinic were arrested. But the fact remains is, where does the buck stop? It has spread fear amongst the youth and people at large. Does freedom of expression without crossing limits hold good in a free India in 2012?

In recent news, 2 employees of Air India were arrested for their comments on facebook. While there is still ambiguity on whether their comments went to the extent to outrage the modesty of a person in power and insult the National flag, the coincidence of this incident coming to light just after the Mumbai case might reiterate the thinking in the general public that their right to freedom of speech and expression is being curbed. In April in Kolkata, Professor Ambikesh Mahapatra of Jadavpur University was arrested for forwarding a cartoon depicting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that was seen as offensive. This sparked outrage over his arrest and will continue to be part of debates from time to time.  

Cyber laws are still relatively new to many and so is the fear instilled in many minds. While the internet is a boon, it is also a curse. But for the fearless, their conviction in being in the right does not stop them from speaking their minds while for some apprehensiveness ignites the thought of who decides where the buck stops and what the repercussions unfold.         

And Kasab Is Finally Hung!

When news came in of Ajmal Kasab's execution on 21st November 2012, a Wednesday morning, it definitely took time to sink in. Considering all the sarcastic sms forwards on Kasab in the last few years with an underlying tone of brickbats thrown at the Congress Government on the delay in execution and the expenses incurred by the Indian Government, indeed the news was true. Justice had been done in some way to the victim's families of the 26/11 attack. While the traumatic stories of victims is known, the tale of coming to terms with the loss and moving on was lost somewhere in the hustle bustle of life, that forces us all to wake up, face reality and take charge of life despite the void of loved ones. But it is easier said than done, as closure was always a heavy word looming large like a dark cloud for the families. Many lives have changed since 26/11 and 4 years later, with Kasab's hanging, the battle for closure is won for many of those unfortunate families that have lost their kith and kin. But for some, closure will still looms large, as the loss of a loved one is irreplacable with news of the young gunman's execution.

And what is worrying, is Pakistan's Taliban has vouched to take revenge with more attacks in the offing. But with the secrecy of the execution carried out by the Indian Government displaying an air of serious business, with political parties not letting individual party agendas get in way of delivering justice to the people of the country, a ray of hope is projected as a United India stands tall. The future is a challenge for the Government, with intelligence failure and unpreparedness that are often points that raise question about the Government's efficiency to tackle untoward incidents of such a magnitude. Yet it doesn't mean these lapses and others are not being worked upon to improve the efficiency of all concerned aspects of counter terrorism.

As citizens of the country, we are only in a position to trust our lives in the hands of the Indian Government, even as we keep asking pertinent questions that cross our minds. There is only so much we can do, while so much more that the Centre in coordination with State Governments can...to deliver in terms of action oriented answers to a billion plus questions being asked in different nooks and corners of the world's largest democracy.