Strictness of the court on hateful thinking and hate speech

National unity And the problem of poisonous speeches destroying the social fabric is getting serious day by day. Due to narrow-mindedness and communal frenzy and ‘hate speech’, not only development is being hindered, but the unity and integrity of the country has also reached the verge of being fragmented. Now it is also being felt that where there is a need to redefine ‘hate speech’ under the country’s penal system, to deal with this problem, a law should be made to keep ‘hate speech’ in the category of a separate crime. Has the time for amendment come? The Supreme Court has once again made strong remarks regarding the hateful, frenzied, hateful and provocative speeches of politicians and so-called religious leaders. In a two-day hearing on a case, the court asked the central government what action has been taken so far against such hate speeches. Although the Supreme Court, while hearing different cases, has advised politicians and people associated with religious organizations to exercise restraint while speaking from public forums, but there is no improvement in this trend.
At times, it seems that leaders of various political parties and certain self-respecting sects are competing with each other to deliver hate speech to create hysteria, anarchy and unrest in the society and the nation. In this regard, the cases of hate speech during religious parliaments, hatred and hate speech in political gatherings and objectionable comments during debates on various channels have given rise to serious and complicated situations. In this way, blurring the glorious culture of India, destroying the mantras of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and harmony of all religions, dividing India’s unity and integrity is an unforgivable crime. That’s why these days, in the latest cases of the country, the Supreme Court has made strong comments on ‘hate speech’ and hate speeches. A two-judge bench said that the day leaders stop using religion in politics, hate speeches will also stop. Why don’t the people of India take a pledge not to insult people of other communities, to maintain communal harmony and goodwill? Referring to Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the court said that people used to come from far and wide to listen to their speeches. Why doesn’t any leader want to present such an example now? The court also objected to why people selectively file cases against hate speeches regarding a particular community. Why strictness is not shown in them on hate speeches given against all communities and creeds.

The Supreme Court has long been strict against such speeches, statements and discourses. It is not only a matter of Muslim bigotry and hate statements, about two months ago, regarding the Sakal Hindu Samaj rally held in Maharashtra, the court had also directed that the state government should ensure that no hate speech takes place there. The video recording of that rally was also ordered. Even when hateful and provocative speeches were made against a particular community by holding Dharma Sansad at various places, the court had asked the government to control it in a strict tone. But the spokespersons and leaders of political parties probably do not care about such court orders and instructions. The Supreme Court itself has mentioned that on TV channels, the spokespersons of political parties keep making statements disturbing communal harmony. Politicians are not expected to behave in a manner that affects the social fabric. But the form of politics of this era has become such that by giving hate speech against other religions, sects and communities, efforts are being made to increase its mass base. Surely this perverted and hateful thinking is becoming a part of vote politics. Obviously, the dignity and decency of the language is also not taken care of. The seriousness of the situation can be gauged from the fact that apart from leaders of political parties, religious leaders have also started using words that create excitement and bitterness in their discourses. There is a need to curb this trend without delay so that this problem can be effectively controlled before it becomes a canker. It is expected that despite the Center not taking concrete action on the Law Commission’s report, now the top court of the country is being aware of the issue of hate speech and is giving proper guidelines.

Today, when India is being blared all over the world, the ‘anti-India forces’ sitting inside and outside the country unitedly want to destroy the fabric of communal harmony and national unity. Such forces somehow want to snatch a period of development from India. The people of India have an amazing power of tolerance, but the foreign forces and the forces opposing the country keep creating various conspiracies to dwarf the seeds of hysteria and hatred. It is a matter of thinking that the sects and communities which give shelter to communal feelings and hate thinking are not free from danger. His future is bleak. That’s why Justice Joseph, who is heading the bench hearing these cases in the Supreme Court, expressed the usefulness of restraint, tolerance and harmony and said, ‘What is tolerance? The true meaning of tolerance is not to tolerate anyone, but to accept differences. It is necessary that while accepting such differences in our society, differences of opinion should not be allowed to flourish.

Certainly, due to political and communal interests, efforts are being made to break the country instead of uniting it, which is unforgivable. It is clear from the comment of the Supreme Court that governments need to show seriousness to stop this trend. But the irony is that the need to stop such anti-national cases has not been understood and leaders of various political parties and religious leaders keep giving speeches on hatred. It is difficult to say how seriously the political parties and religious leaders of different sects will take the latest comment of the Supreme Court. Can’t the people of India themselves take a pledge that they will not insult other citizens and communities. In order to control the storm of hatred and hysteria in the nectar of freedom, unity, harmony and coordination between different religions will have to be announced. Only then the whole of India will be free from the indecent atmosphere of hateful thinking and hate speech. Only then will the power of life prove to be more effective than the power of destruction.
(The author is a journalist and columnist)
Lalit Garg