Veto power
And here we go again.
Cowing under pressure from the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), the police on Monday served notice on reputed Goan artist Subodh Kerkar to “desist from getting involved in such activities which may insult religious feelings or religious beliefs”. SP (North) Bosco George said Kerkar “should keep in mind the sentiments of the community and avoid creating a law and order problem. We will soon take a decision on whether or not the artist’s graphics hurt sentiments. If it is found to hurt religious sentiments, we will initiate legal action against him,” he said. HJS had petitioned the police last week alleging that Kerkar had published “drawings of Lord Ganesh in various positions”, thereby insulting religious beliefs.
So that’s how it is in India – it is, in practice if not in law, illegal to ‘insult religious feelings or religious beliefs,’ and the police can order people to ‘keep in mind the sentiments of the community’ and can make it their responsibility to ‘avoid creating a law and order problem’ meaning not do anything which religious zealots might take amiss and might get violent about. If somebody draws something, ‘thereby insulting religious beliefs,’ then you call the cops.
What more is there to say?
“We can arrest you for anything, so don’t fall out of line, and what it means to fall out of line is a mystery known only to us so you really have no idea what not to do so to be safe just don’t do anything, ok?”
While the religious protectionism aspect of this is troubling, it is something of a piece with a more widespread problem. In Amerika, the same brilliant legal and constitutional reasoning falls under headings such as “disturbing the peace,” “resisting arrest,” and “assaulting a police officer.” (Oh, and don’t forget “leaving the designated ‘Free Speech’ zone” – applicable only at GOP conventions!)
I especially like the videos I’ve seen lately of criminals assaulting police officers. Apparently, our cunning criminal class has mastered vicious martial arts maneuvers like crouched-with-arms-protecting-head-from-nightsticks – dangerous attacks from which the police must protect themselves with as much force as they feel like exerting.
It is a perpetual conundrum of the human condition that those who desire positions of power are almost always the least suitable to occupy them. The only weapons against this are transparency and accountability, and there is not a society in the world that couldn’t use more of both.
That’s something which has bothered me for years. Surely “resisting arrest” is self-defence by definition, and would be laughed out of court by any jury worthy of the name?
Am I a horrible person for laughing at the word choice? Cowing to Hindu sensibilities, heh.
The religious protectionism lately in different parts of the world puts me at unease, but at least they’re not regularly tasering disabled people and planting weapons/drugs on people of a different color.
Paul, I feel confident that police brutality and corruption is much worse in India (and many other countries) than it is here: If they don’t taser, it’s because tasers aren’t standard issue. If they don’t plant drugs, it’s because they don’t need to offer even the slightest pretext for brutality and oppression. They get all that and the religious protectionism as a special bonus, lucky them.
I only brought up examples of police corruption and brutality from our own theoretically enlightened “First World” country to make the broader point about power and corruption, not to make any claim that things are no better here – because they certainly are.
Fair enough, G. And I didn’t really intend to build off of your point, that was just my reflexive cynicism regarding the US. However, it was naive of me to assume they wouldn’t have similar issues in India (or indeed, pretty much anywhere) as you noted.
“What more is there to say?”
Erm …
Irish blasphemy law?