How to Read a Sentence: The Supreme Court’s Order in Mahmudabad’s Case https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2025/05/21/how-to-read-a-sentence-the-supreme-courts-order-in-mahmudabads-case/ 
May 21, 2025 Gautam Bhatia One might expect the Court to explain why a Facebook post that fulsomely praised the Indian Armed Forces, before going on to gently suggest that the optics of having a Muslim woman army officer address the army’s press conference would remain only optics without addressing violence against Muslims, merits this judicial response of blood, thunder, and steel. One would search in vain. In its two-page order, the Supreme Court does not consider the substance of the allegations against Mahmudabad, and whether his Facebook post, on a plain reading, meets the ingredients of the offences that he has been accused of (and imprisoned for)...The Court says that it is setting up this SIT “to holistically understand the complexity of the phraseology employed and for proper appreciation of some of the expressions used in these two online posts.”

 Article 19(2). of the Constitution does not proscribe unpatriotic speech, no matter what our personal views on the subject. The reasons for this are two-fold, and they are important. First, what constitutes “patriotism” is deeply subjective, and not at all susceptible to judicial standards – certainly not enough to imprison a man over. 

the Constitution very sensibly does not outlaw “unpatriotic” speech: it, and the framers, recognised that it is futile to try and criminalise contested concepts out of existence. I believe this point important to make, because sometimes the effect of good legal strategy in a particular case can be to narrow the bounds of constitutional rights and freedoms for all other cases. In our desire to affirm Mahmudabad’s patriotism, thus, it is equally necessary to affirm that the Constitution is not in the business of compelling patriotism; it only steps in where speech constitutes incitement to violence or public disorder, and not before.

Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’ recited at Vira Sathidar memorial event, wife Pushpa & 2 others booked www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/faiz-s-hum-dekhenge-recited-at-vira-sathidar-memorial-event-wife-pushpa-2-others-booked/ar-AA1F9b5z 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/obituaries/vira-sathidar-dead-coronavirus.html

Singing Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’ is ‘Sedition’: Nagpur Police Book Organisers of Vira Sathidar Memorial https://sabrangindia.in/singing-faizs-hum-dekhenge-is-sedition-nagpur-police-book-organisers-of-vira-sathidar-memorial/ Sukanya Shantha     May 20, 2025 A group of young cultural activists sang the lyrics of Faiz’s famous poem last week. The police complaint says, 'At a time when the country valiantly fought Pakistani forces, the radical left in Nagpur were busy singing Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem.' 

 Sathidar, an accomplished actor, prolific writer, journalist, and political thinker, died on April 13, 2021, after battling COVID-19 for over a week. Satidhar was also an Ambedkarite and the editor of Vidrohi magazine. Since his passing, his wife, Pushpa, is one of the organisers of the annual memorial. A committee was formed after Sathidar’s death under the name ‘Vira Sathidar Smruti Samanvay Samiti’ which has been instrumental in organising the annual event. This year, social activist Uttam Jagirdar was invited to speak.

The FIR, filed by one local Nagpur resident Dattatray Shirke, cites a news report aired on ABP Majha, a Marathi channel. The channel was likely the first to find issue in reciting Faiz’s poetry in India. In his complaint, Shirke claims, “At a time when the country valiantly fought Pakistani forces, the radical left in Nagpur were busy singing Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem.

Shirke further claims that the line “Takht hilaane ki zaroorat hai (a need to shake the throne)” constitutes a direct threat to the government. However, while the FIR quotes the above line, the actual line in the poem is “sab takht giraye jayenge”. The poem was performed by young Mumbai-based cultural activists from Samata Kala Manch.

Despite an ongoing stay by the Supreme Court on the application of sedition charges, the Nagpur police have booked the organisers and speakers under the section. On May 11, 2022, the apex court had issued a historic order, staying all pending trials, appeals, and proceedings under section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code until the sedition law’s re-examination was complete. Since then, the BJP-led government has replaced the IPC with the BNS. However, the new law does not eliminate the sedition provision. Instead, the BNS introduces Section 152, which closely resembles the sedition law without explicitly using the word ‘sedition’.

 बुरे फँसे Arnab Goswami और Amit Malviya, FIR होते ही Republic TV ने माँगी माफ़ी?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqhA-eqYMZc 

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/abhijit-iyer-agrees-to-remove-tweets-on-newslaundry-after-delhi-high-court-rap-101747813388710.html

Newslaundry journalists move Delhi High Court against Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for calling them prostitutes https://www.barandbench.com/news/newslaundry-journalists-move-delhi-high-court-against-abhijit-iyer-mitra-calling-them-prostitutes They have alleged that Iyer-Mitra used ‘vulgar’ remarks by referring to them as ‘prostitutes’ and their workplace as a ‘brothel.’  “By referring to the Plaintiff Nos. 1 to 9 as prostitutes, repeatedly, in a series of posts and articles, the Defendant No. 1 [Iyer-Mitra] has clearly launched a series of scathing and belligerent attacks against the Plaintiffs. As such, the Defendant No. 1 cannot be permitted to disseminate falsities, only with the oblique motive to gain cheap publicity and eyeballs,” the defamation suit states. 

Abhijit Iyer agrees to remove tweets on Newslaundry after Delhi high court rap https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/abhijit-iyer-agrees-to-remove-tweets-on-newslaundry-after-delhi-high-court-rap-101747813388710.html  May 21, 2025 The Delhi high court slammed Abhijit Iyer Mitra over his objectionable tweets on Newslaundry, saying that his choice of words are impermissible in a civilized society.”

An FIR has been registered against BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya and Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV, Arnab Goswami 
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/fir-filed-against-bjp-it-cell-chief-journalist-arnab-goswami/articleshow/121305841.cms  on the complaint from the Indian Youth Congress's legal cell head Shrikant Swaroop B N that the accused have "maliciously propagated the fabricated claim" that the Istanbul Congress Centre in Turkiye is the office of the Indian National Congress (INC).

https://thewire.in/politics/ali-khan-mahmudabads-arrest-reveals-the-political-capture-of-womens-rights-in-india This article explores how Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad’s arrest exposes the political misuse of women’s commissions—especially in BJP-ruled Haryana, where the Women’s Commission acted swiftly on a tweet while the state reports 19 crimes against women daily. I discuss how BJP’s model of “Mahila Sashaktikaran” is hollow and how “majoritarian genderwashing” is being used to silence dissent rather than ensure real justice for marginalised women.

While the weaponisation of the women’s commission is new, the use of women’s rights to propagate a majoritarian agenda is something which we have seen aplenty in the past decade. ..

majoritarian gender washing is a term used often to describe how regimes, quite intelligently, adopt a language of gender justice in the garb of empowering women while fulfilling the actual intent of sanitising authoritarianism. In India, it has been quite rampant and visible through instances such as criminalisation of Muslim men under the guise of “protecting Muslim women” through moves like the triple talaq ban, or “protecting Hindu women” through “love jihad” laws, or selective invocation of women’s honour on any random day to justify majoritarian control. 

The UP Women Commission reduced “women’s safety” to a question of physical proximity to men. This not only infantilises women by implying they cannot make autonomous decisions about their bodies or professional interactions, but also reinforces deeply patriarchal and moralistic anxieties about women’s presence in public life.

By implicitly targeting professions that employ large numbers of Muslim men – such as tailoring and training – it furthers the ongoing vilification and otherisation of a specific community under the pretext of protecting women.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vcfsd1OncQ Differences Between Ali Khan and Vijay Shah Cases Differences Between Ali Khan and Vijay Shah Cases  TMC MP Mahua Moitra provides a detailed explanation of the distinct aspects of the Ali Khan and Vijay Shah cases. She sheds light on the legal and political nuances involved, offering clarity on the contrasting circumstances surrounding both incidents

Comment: FM: The irrepressible Mohua Moitra on the Prof. Ali Khan  & the Vijay Shah case. The double standards by the police are stark she says. And it's because Ali Khan is a Muslim, he's being targeted, whilst Vijay Shah runs around scot free.  Glad she had the gumption to say that. It is the shameful truth. This repressive action is a targeted attack against him because of his muslim identity. 

Read more …

Mainstream Media seems to have up the ante against Youtubers? 

YouTubers And Influencer Arrest Sparks Debate on National Security and Free Speech in India    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6by6_CM5Y1k   CNN-News18.    The rise of influencers like Jyoti Malhotra, accused of being a Pakistani asset, highlights a troubling trend in India's media landscape. As disinformation spreads, the government faces pressure to hold these figures accountable, raising questions about sovereignty and national security.

Read more …

Economic Update: The Corporatization of Universities and Trump's Attacks   https://youtu.be/c678RnTKNgg?t=103   Professor Wolff begins by presenting updates on the death of libertarianism and the rise of US economic nationalism, and US universities become big businesses, governed by money concerns. In the episode's second half, Professor Wolff interviews Professor Geert Dhondt, the Chair of the Economics Department and Economics Professor at John Jay College of the City University of New York, on how colleges and universities are reacting to Trump's attack on higher education.

 Systematic Elimination of Free Thinking   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKJ2ouqabbc | Nope w/ Kunal Kamra

​‘Pedagogy of Non-Discriminatory action’.

FURIOUS India BLASTS Trump for SCREWING THEM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K83cRrJqIHU 

Youtube transcript:  india is furious at the Trump regime
right now this is not being reported at
all by American media but it is being
reported in India let me explain to you
why India is furious there's three main
reasons number one Donald Trump was
taking credit for brokering the
ceasefire between India and Pakistan
after the terrorist attacks in Kashmir
india saying Trump had nothing to do
with it at all it's strictly bilateral
discussions between India and Pakistan
and India is saying by Donald Trump
pretending that he got involved in it it
actually makes India look weak when
India said we negotiated this on our own
based on the strength of the India
military stop interfering Donald Trump
another reason is that Donald Trump's
been misrepresenting that he has some
trade deal with India that hasn't taken
place and Trump said that he basically
used trade as a carrot to broker a
ceasefire between India and Pakistan and
again that makes India look weak and
India is saying that's not true we don't
have a deal we're only going to do a
deal that's in the interest of India
stop lying about our uh negotiations and
our discussions and along those lines as
well remember Donald Trump attacked
Apple uh the company Apple for saying it
was going to move factories uh to India
because Donald Trump said that you know
that was an end run around his tariffs
against China he said he called Tim Cook
and said don't build factories in India
so India is like why the hell are you
telling Apple not to develop factories
in India that's screwed up and then
finally the third reason why India is
absolutely pissed and there's deeper
levels of complexity here I'm
overeneneralizing it is that the Trump
family seems to have done a crypto deal
with Pakistan and with the Pakistan
government and Indian officials are
basically saying is Donald Trump going
to be changing his policies toward India
is Donald Trump engaging in behavior
that's pissing off the country of India
right now because Trump's family which
has a 60% stake in this WLFI this world
liberty financial uh company is that why
Donald Trump's position with India has
has changed so let let's break down all
three of these things and why don't we
bring you directly some great reporting
from India itself and then we'll break
down this kind of one by one i want to
give a shout out here to uh Vantage
Media show Vantage with Palky Sharma
they do a really good job here and in
this first clip I want to show you from
the show they talk about how uh this is
uh India's uh external affairs minister
saying that the negotiations regarding
ceasefire between India and Pakistan is
being handled on a bilateral basis and
this host by the way Pauly Sharma I is
incredible i mean I think that she's a
very strong host you know at least here
here play this clip the amount of
ignorance out there like we've said
before the Kashmir issue is not
thousands of years old it dates back to
1947 also what's this obsession with
trade Kashmir is a deeply emotional
issue for India and Pakistan you think
they would settle it over
trade Pakistan may need the money but
India is under no such pressure today
foreign minister SJ Shankar made India's
position clear all dealings with
Pakistan will be bilateral
Our relations our dealings with them
will be bilateral and strictly bilateral
that is a national consensus for many
years and there is absolutely no change
in that consensus that dealings with
Pakistan will be bilateral now here this
host Pali Sharma as well then talks
about uh Donald Trump
misrepresenting the trade deals with
India let me show you this clip right
here and then she also cites uh the
external affairs minister as well let me
play you this clip right here trump he
won't he is known for making such wild
unilateral claims take trade for example
trump says India is offering zero
tariffs to America basically no tariffs
on US imports just one problem though
india has not announced any such move or
offer again the clarification came from
Minister J shankar any trade deal any
trade deal has to be mutually beneficial
any trade deal has to work for both the
countries uh and uh I think that would
be our expectation from the trade deal
and until that is done I think any uh
judgment on it would be premature
india says any judgment would be
premature but that is not stopping Trump
he's also threatening companies against
making in India companies like Apple
apple was thinking about setting up
factories in India trump's tariffs made
China unsustainable so Apple thought why
not make in India but US President
Donald Trump says he will not allow it
i had a little problem with Tim Cook
yesterday i said to him Tim you're my
friend i treated you very good you're
coming in with $500 billion but now I
hear you're building all over India i
don't want you building in India you can
build in an India if you want to take
care of India because India is the
highest one of the highest tariff
nations in the world it's very hard to
sell into
India in baseball there are three
strikes trump has used them up in just
one week first he claimed credit for
ending the fighting between India and
Pakistan then he unilaterally claimed
zero tariffs from India then he warned
Apple against making in India and now we
get news of his family striking a deal
with Pakistan which brings me back to my
original question whose side is Donald
Trump
on personally we know he's on the side
of money now here's what DW News has to
say about these tensions between Trump
and Modi right now and why India is so
furious it's along the lines of what I
was saying but here play this clip trump
has claimed the role as dealmaker and
chief after the two nuclear armed
neighbors came dangerously close to war
when they struck each other with
missiles drones and heavy artillery for
4 days so what exactly did Trump say
that's rough feathers here in Delhi
let's stop it let's stop it if you stop
it we're doing a trade if you don't stop
it we're not going to do any trade
people have never really used trade the
way I used it that I can tell you and
all of a sudden they said "I think we're
going to
stop." And they have and Trump didn't
stop there he even claimed he prevented
a nuclear war i think it would have it
could have been a bad nuclear war
millions of people could have been
killed so I'm very proud of that that's
definitely not how India tells it modi's
government says it was Indian firepower
that forced Pakistan to ask for a
ceasefire on May 10th
pakistan
just to be clear India has confirmed
getting calls from US Vice President JD
Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio
right before the ceasefire but while
Pakistan later thanked Donald Trump for
the truth India doesn't acknowledge any
US role it's also pushed back on Trump's
claim that trade even came up instead
Delhi says it won't fall for what Prime
Minister Modi called nuclear blackmail
from Pakistan and it's sticking to this
one line let me be clear it was the
force of Indian arms that compelled
Pakistan to stop its firing now let me
show you what World Life Liberty uh
posted about their deal with Pakistan's
crypto council this is from April 28th
2025 so about 6 days after the terrorist
attack in Kashmir here's what WLFI
posted historic moment wlfi has
officially signed anou with Pakistan it
was an incredible experience meeting
with Pakistan Crypto Council and the
leader shaping the future of crypto
we're proud to be building with Pakistan
to drive innovation forward this is just
the beginning and I'll play you about 30
seconds of this hype video but mind you
the Trump family has a 60% stake in this
WLFI as it's been reported play this
clip it's an absolute pleasure to have
all three of you today in Pakistan we
were in Islamabad earlier and now in
Lahore tell me how has Pakistan been for
you um they want to participate in the
digital financial ecosystem they want to
participate in what the future of
finance looks like and you really have
to come here to see it and we thank you
and of course all of your uh your your
country mates uh for their hospitality
it's been nothing short of
excellent now let me flesh out some of
these clips as well that has really made
India furious i mean and you've seen him
there in those other clips that I played
for you but he here's Donald Trump uh on
his most recent interview with uh Brett
Bear saying uh that everyone knows that
without me the n-word would have been in
place the n-word Donald Trump says over
and over again which Donald Trump says
the n-word means nuclear and here's kind
of him saying that with Brett Bear here
play this it was tit for tat it was
getting
deeper and more I mean more missiles
every everyone was stronger stronger to
a point where the next one's going to be
you know what the nword you know what
the n word is right nuclear
thank you thank you for the
clarification I figured you'd want to
clean that up it's it's the n-word
that's that's a very nasty word right in
a lot of ways the n-word used in a
nuclear sense that's the worst thing
that can happen and I think now this was
Donald Trump giving a speech from the
Oval Office where he falsely took credit
for brokering the ceasefire between
India and Pakistan and as I just showed
you before with the foreign minister
Donald Trump had no role in this
ceasefire really at all here play this
strength and the wisdom and fortitude to
fully know and to understand the gravity
of the
situation and
uh we helped a lot and we helped also
with trade i said "Come on we're going
to do a lot of trade with you guys let's
stop it let's stop it if you stop it
we're doing trade if you don't stop it
we're not going to do any trade." People
have never really used trade the way I
used it that I can tell you and all of a
sudden they said "I think we're going to
stop." And they have and they they did
it for a lot of reasons but trade is a
big one we're going to do a lot of trade
with Pakistan we're going to do a lot of
trade with India we're negotiating with
India right now we're going to be soon
negotiating with Pakistan and we stopped
the nuclear conflict i think it would
have it could have been a bad nuclear
war millions of people could have been
killed so I'm very proud of that and
this was Donald Trump what he said about
Tim Cook let me play this apple as you
know it's coming in and I had a little
problem with Tim Cook yesterday i said
to him Tim you're my friend i treated
you very good you're coming in with $500
billion but now I hear you're building
all over India i don't want you building
in India you can build in India if you
want to take care of India because India
is the highest one of the highest tariff
nations in the world it's very hard to
sell into
India and they've offered us a deal
where we're basically they're willing to
uh literally charge us no tariff so we
go from the highest tariff you couldn't
do business in India we're not even a
top 30 in India because the tariff is so
high to a point where they have actually
told us I assume you too Scott you were
working on that also that there will be
no tariff right would you say that's a
difference they're the highest and now
they're saying no tariff but I said to
Tim I said Tim look we've treated you
really good we put up with all the
plants that you built in China so I
think you can see why there why India
would be absolutely livid and pissed
about this and again this is being
reported by media in India and elsewhere
and international media but not being
reported in the United States and I
think it's an important factor for you
to see how one people viewed Trump
internationally as as this clown as this
uh person who's just focused on himself
and putting his interests above uh you
know above even the United States