Kerala student faces life in jail for not standing during National Anthem

I think that's a bit of an overkill.

A 25-year-old philosophy student in Kerala is facing life imprisonment after he refused to stand up during the national anthem at a theatre. The student, Salman M, 25, has been charged with sedition as well as under section 66A under the Information Technology Act for allegedly publishing abusive social media posts about Independence Day on August 15.

Salman, who was arrested on August 20 in Thiruvananthapuram, was denied bail by a court for the second time on September 6. He has been accused of sedition for allegedly "sitting and hooting" when the anthem was played at the theatre.

Salman was arrested after he and his friends refused to stand up when a music video of the national anthem was played at a theatre before the screening of a movie on August 18. This led to protests by a segment of the audience and a heated argument followed after which a complaint was filed against Salman and his friends.

Amnesty International India has criticised Salman's arrest and possible sentencing. "A criminal charge for such conduct, even if some might regard it as offensive, is completely unwarranted," said Shailesh Rai, Programmes Director at Amnesty International India. "Nobody should have to go to prison merely because they are accused of causing offense."

"The Constitution of India and international law recognize the right to freedom of expression, and this right extends to speech that offends or disturbs. Authorities must respect this fundamental right, not seek to curb it."

Rai further said that many Indian laws needed to be updated or repealed in keeping with the changing times. "The case against Salman M. should be dropped and he must be released. Indian laws on sedition and online free speech do not meet international human rights standards on freedom of expression. These laws must be urgently repealed."

Source: Student faces life imprisonment for not standing during national anthem : India, News - India Today

Punishment for disrespecting the national anthem is understandable, but life imprisonment

?? way too much..

"the constitution of india and international law recognize the right to freedom of expression, and this right extends to speech that offends or disturbs. Authorities must respect this fundamental right, not seek to curb it."

whhaaaatt?

I think sedition laws need to be abolished. They serve to do nothing but harass people.

i've never stood up while national anthem was played before any movie screening.
People go to movie theater to relax themselves and not to sing national anthem

its the theater's fault for playing it.

A 25 years old faces imprisonment for life for committing such a trivial mistake,but our so-called netas who commit all kinds of heinous crimes ranging from embezzlement to cold blooded murder are seldom charged with anything-these scoundrels and their ilk openly flout the law but no eyebrows are ever raised about it because they are rich and have the resources and power to ensure that the law always works for them,not against them.If this stupid 25 yr old fellow deserves such a harsh punishment for doing practically nothing other than creating a bit of commotion in a public place over a really silly matter,then what kind of punishment do you think these political leaders deserve?!! I,for one,think they should be executed!

India really is an outstanding country!!

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SaiyanGoku said:
i've never stood up while national anthem was played before any movie screening.
People go to movie theater to relax themselves and not to sing national anthem
its the theater's fault for playing it.

well said mate!lol

Is the law to arrest people for not standing while National Anthem is playing, equivalent to the disrespect shown when Indian flag is burned? Flags in USA can be burned to demonstrate your protest.

The guy should be released. Atmost with a warning.

some rituals we still get to follow, that were derived from ages when meaning of "freedom" was still unknown....... and only showing obedience would make someone "free" from hassles.

(i am pretty sure it still is at most places though, )

Vyom said:
Is the law to arrest people for not standing while National Anthem is playing, equivalent to the disrespect shown when Indian flag is burned? Flags in USA can be burned to demonstrate your protest.

The guy should be released. Atmost with a warning.

i think i saw some pictures where people wearing underwear with flag colour in USA.

being hyper

Nanducab said:
being hyper

Are you who I think you are?

ashs1 said:
Punishment for disrespecting the national anthem is understandable, but life imprisonment ?? way too much..

Really?

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
Are you who I think you are?

Survivor

J

WTF. This is extremely rude

although my own respect for the anthem got suspended when i learned about the controversy surrounding it years back, but anyway, atleast 2 comments on that page are interesting:

Soon as I finished reading the headline of the story, I took a wild guess of the religion of the student. Then, just to confirm if I was right, I read the article and saw his name. My guess was right. I know that no Hindu or Christian would disrespect their country in any way.

It is difficult to decide who is the bigger of the two rascals.

'actions' aside, intentions implied! :chinscratch:

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Nipun said:
whhaaaatt?

yes! welcome to the world of ultra-liberality & permissiveness! the statement would soon be like - "...and this right extends to speech that offends or disturbs, and actions that maim or kill."

God damn this is stupid. We Indians tend to overreact quite often.

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This reminds me of the quote used in the movie The Rock

Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious

In a further update on the above, Amnesty International has condemned the arrest and requests that sedition laws be curbed.

India: End use of archaic sedition law to curb freedom of expression | Amnesty International

Also, the accused considers himself an Atheist and anarchist.

Here is a transcript of an interview with him where he speaks about his views:

Interview with Salmaan Mohammed (translated by Dileep Raj)

Salmaan: ..I am an anarchist..such a person..a man like me..was put into prison..for 35 days..saying that I was a Pakistani spy..Why am I not a Chinese spy? Why am I a Pakistani spy? That is because of my religion..”

Interviewer: Were you unhappy about this? were you sad thinking public might think ill of you?”

Salmaan : I am not worried about what public might think about me..My face book page is my message..I have made sure that I have clearly articulated my political positions there..They knocked on my door at 12 o clock in the night and took me away..What democracy is this?”

Interviewer: So you are saying that you would have presented yourself during the day time if they had asked you to do so..?”

Salmaan: of course..

Interviewer: your father says that you are not a religious believer..That you are a rationalist..”

Salmaan: .No, I am not a rationalist, I am an atheist..Rationalists in Kerala are Islamophobics.
I am not a rationalist or a secularist..I am an atheist.. Atheism is not equivalent to rationalism..These are two different things..I am an atheist as well as a Muslim..”

Interviewer: What did this imprisonment teach you?”

Salmaan: Prison life is fabulous..Imprisonment is in fact an ontological violence..A lot of innocent persons are there in the prison solely because they don’t have money to pay for the bail..So called thieves doesn’t have nationality .. they liked somebody like me very much..That’s why I took my time coming out.. I bid farewell to everybody, they asked, ‘Salman, when will meet agian?’ ”

Interviewer: Did you conclude that people inside are much much better than people outside?”

Salmaan: Such a comparison can never be made.There are ‘good’ people outside as well as inside

Source: I am a Muslim, an Atheist, an Anarchist: Salmaan Mohammed | Kafila

Sitting and "hooting" - That is the key point here. I guess this guy wants to draw attention to himself and enjoying the spotlight.

srkmish said:
Sitting and "hooting" - That is the key point here. I guess this guy wants to draw attention to himself and enjoying the spotlight.

That may be the case. But arresting, denying bail and life imprisonment is still an overkill.

srkmish said:
Sitting and "hooting" - That is the key point here. I guess this guy wants to draw attention to himself and enjoying the spotlight.

He is not in 30's or 40's to be a role model or something. let him get attention from doing like this, but as david said it still too much that too in a movie theatre

What happened to the Delhi rapists?

Nanducob said:
being hyper

Welcome Back, Came to stay? or get banned again :lol:

ithehappy said:
What happened to the Delhi rapists?

All but forgotten I guess.

I don't like our national anthem anyway. Just talking about geographical beauty and states? Doesn't even mention all the states either and mentions Sindh?

Our National Song on the other hand is great.

amjath said:
Welcome Back, Came to stay? or get banned again

lol...

ico said:
I don't like our national anthem anyway. Just talking about geographical beauty and states? Doesn't even mention all the states either and mentions Sindh?

Our National Song on the other hand is great.

They should probably make it into the next national anthem. But does it/would it really matter?

A

A Life sentence is way overkill. This guy should be made to pay a fine and do some public service or something like that.

The only people who deserve life sentence are the dogmatic USA/EUphiles on this forum who constantly whine about how bad India is.

AbhMkh said:
A Life sentence is way overkill. This guy should be made to pay a fine and do some public service or something like that.

The only people who deserve life sentence are the dogmatic USA/EUphiles on this forum who constantly whine about how bad India is.

Is a man not free to have any opinion he wants?

AbhMkh said:
A Life sentence is way overkill. This guy should be made to pay a fine and do some public service or something like that.

The only people who deserve life sentence are the dogmatic USA/EUphiles on this forum who constantly whine about how bad India is.

I dont find any, except one from Romania

+1 for Amnesty International
[STRIKE]Indians [/STRIKE] people in India don't really have any human rights.

Gollum said:
+1 for Amnesty International
[STRIKE]Indians [/STRIKE] people in India don't really have any human rights.

You should see the people of Saudi Arabia, the most inhumane country in the world.

On topic: We have been taught since the beginning that we are a country of diversity. That means that we are supposed to be tolerant of other people's beliefs and opinions. If we cannot tolerate such minor offenses then the whole "unity in diversity" propaganda is a hypocritical joke.

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
You should see the people of Saudi Arabia, the most inhumane country in the world.

On topic: We have been taught since the beginning that we are a country of diversity. That means that we are supposed to be tolerant of other people's beliefs and opinions. If we cannot tolerate such minor offenses then the whole "unity in diversity" propaganda is a hypocritical joke.

I dont know what made you say that. But I have few points to agree to the statement even though what to know the reason behind the claim

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
You should see the people of Saudi Arabia, the most inhumane country in the world.

On topic: We have been taught since the beginning that we are a country of diversity. That means that we are supposed to be tolerant of other people's beliefs and opinions. If we cannot tolerate such minor offenses then the whole "unity in diversity" propaganda is a hypocritical joke.

Let forget what other countries have or don't.
We are here and this can affect even us.

Gollum said:
Let forget what other countries have or don't.
We are here and this can affect even us.

I never came across a situation of national anthem being played in a theatre. We [TN people] get to watch a short movie about "AMMA" [Her acheivements

] before screening :lol:

amjath said:
I dont know what made you say that. But I have few points to agree to the statement even though what to know the reason behind the claim

I was replying to Gollum's post regarding the people of India not having human rights. My point was that Saudi Arabia is worse.

But we are still not any better.

While agreeing to the opinion that sedition laws are outdated and need to done away with, I do believe there's more to the story than just an arrest for not standing during the anthem. Yes, the arrested person might have been wronged, and the audience and the police authorities might have overreacted , but to be honest I know how journalists portray incidents in the most provoking manner possible to make the news make more noise and spread with the flames. I hope the matter is resolved quickly and no political or religious affiliates take this issue and turn it into a communal thing for their own benefit.

The guys claims to be an atheist, how can this be turned into a communal issue?

What does it mean when people say "Proud to be Indian?"

RCuber said:
What does it mean when people say "Proud to be Indian?"

Circlejerking.

Or they are going with the flow. If you refuse to say that you are proud to be an Indian, people will call you stuff like Pakistani spy, deshdrohi, etc. It's equivalent to being called a racist. Since no one wants that, people who are not proud would say it as well.

Forgetting religious beliefs, it is pure common sense and decency to behave in a non-irritating manner. If one does not believe in the national anthem then it is alright but to actively catcall during its running shows bad behaviour. The punishment is however unjust considering the seriousness of offense. A compulsory directive of community service would have suited better more so if it was to benefit freedom fighters.

Regarding claims of Atheism I have my reservations because at least as per the quoted report above he is both a Muslim and Atheist. Atheist is one who does not believe in God while a Muslim cannot deny the existence of God. Let alone the numerous self styled fundamentalists who might be out for his blood.

sling-shot said:
Forgetting religious beliefs, it is pure common sense and decency to behave in a non-irritating manner. If one does not believe in the national anthem then it is alright but to actively catcall during its running shows bad behaviour. The punishment is however unjust considering the seriousness of offense. A compulsory directive of community service would have suited better more so if it was to benefit freedom fighters.

Regarding claims of Atheism I have my reservations because at least as per the quoted report above he is both a Muslim and Atheist. Atheist is one who does not believe in God while a Muslim cannot deny the existence of God. Let alone the numerous self styled fundamentalists who might be out for his blood.

This. As one matures, one realizes that rebellion is not about saying no to everything , but accepting the lunacy that society is and do your own thing. If you keep rebelling against society, you will have no energy left to pursue your own thing. And ironically, dedicating oneself to your art/passion is the highest form of rebellion there is cuz you are fundamentally doing something that society is uncomfortable with ( It expects you only to get a job and breed children)

For god sake , we are living a democracy not in a dictatorship or islamic country where you can be persecuted for silly things

amjath said:
Welcome Back, Came to stay? or get banned again

lol

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We have meetings in our home(females) .It ends after singing the national anthem after much sht talking and gossips.I will be infront of my pc;since I dont want to stand up I would go to the next room and come back after 2 minutes. I guess im not breking any laws

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Two comments from a website regarding the news.

aishpandey on October 11, 2014 at 12:45 AM
There is no version of the Indian national anthem, which can be mocked. Definitely action against the boy from Kerela should be according to the constitutional framework; but there SHOULD be actions. There have been people DYING to protect the dignity of the national flag and anthem (the story when seven people in line died to not let the flag fall down)… That is the reason why we today breathe in India, where we have so much of freedom. In short- legal actions be taken.

Reply
Aarti Sethi on October 11, 2014 at 2:24 AM
Patriotic Mathematics:

Someone is arrested for sitting during a song =>

“That is the reason why we today breathe in India, where we have so much of freedom”

=

In short- legal actions be taken

.

Never mind Malala. You should be given the Fields Medal.
Amazing.

Reply

A

In Soviet Russia, victim kills you !.

I seriously envy the freedom of speech that people of other counties enjoy. You could publicly rant about Obama or satirize him in the US and no one would care.

People say that we must not look towards other countries, but can we not adopt what is good about them?

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
I seriously envy the freedom of speech that people of other counties enjoy. You could publicly rant about Obama or satirize him in the US and no one would care.

People say that we must not look towards other countries, but can we not adopt what is good about them?

Yea, all the people of power care about is what women should wear and what not.

A

DeSmOnD dAvId said:
I seriously envy the freedom of speech that people of other counties enjoy. You could publicly rant about Obama or satirize him in the US and no one would care.

People say that we must not look towards other countries, but can we not adopt what is good about them?

Yes except for the NSA and a plethora of other espionage agencies.........Nobody cares.

Nanducob said:
lol

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We have meetings in our home(females) .It ends after singing the national anthem after much sht talking and gossips.I will be infront of my pc;since I dont want to stand up I would go to the next room and come back after 2 minutes. I guess im not breking any laws

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Two comments from a website regarding the news.

It's time to stir some controversy :stirpot:

Complete off-topic from the topic which we are discussing but it had to be known.

No offense to the great leader who fought for the freedom of India, but the truth is

England left India because of worst recession or economy slide after World War 2. [Same situation like US troops backed up from Afgan after economy issue]

Proof:
Here is a article from 2008 which talks about previous recession.

Britain's economy is heading for its worst year since the notorious post-war winter-torn 1947 recession, experts warned on Tuesday, as official figures shed light on the scale of the downturn....

A number of economists, including those at Capital Economics and Bank of America, believe that 2009 will see the worst year for the economy since at least 1947, when Britain was still recovering from the Second World War. That year, the UK was hit by one of the coldest winters on record, combined with fuel shortages and a fiscal crisis as the US threatened to pull back from their post-war loans.

Source

Another one

War bond holders also agreed in effect to accept that they might never get their investment back. Whereas the original bonds had been due to be repaid in full in 1947, Chamberlain converted them to “perpetuals”, giving the government the right not to pay back the loans if they so wished, as long as they continued paying the 3.5% interest.

Source

Before someone jumps and say "Oh this guy He is an a$$hole" or something, I dont read this guy's article, First time after a search I came across his website.

Hitler, NOT Gandhi Was the Reason for the 1947 Indian Independence

So what are we doing after we got Independence.

Spoilt it.
Zero/negligible beggers before Independence, even before British took over.
Peaceful India with neighbour countries

BBC - History - British History in depth: The Hidden Story of Partition and its Legacies

, and few

History is always written by the victor. Since India became independent, we have run the propaganda that our freedom fighters were the only reason that the British left India. But no one bothers to see the other side of the story. Thanks for sharing this.

*fbcdn-photos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-0/1012867_384996618314467_3806266719691931812_n.jpg?oh=0e7d78da1fa458275d9fe34d122946b2&oe=54AFE3AD&__gda__=1424475620_37d948593beb43b658bb820802cef727

“Nationalism is a great danger. It is the particular thing which for years has been at the bottom of India’s troubles. It is my conviction that my countrymen will truly gain their India by fighting against the education which teaches them that a country is greater than the ideals of humanity."

- Rabindranath Tagore, composer of national anthem of India and Bangladesh and the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.

IMO Indians are overreacting in the name of patriotism. In other countries (us) one can wear bikini with their national flag design, same can't be fine in India. But they do have patriotism too

But why put national anthem before movies anyway? What is to be achieved by doing that? Morons.

1

amjath said:
He is not in 30's or 40's to be a role model or something. let him get attention from doing like this, but as david said it still too much that too in a movie theatre

So Rahul Gandhi, salman khan or zayed khan is a role model? I have met 12-15 yrs who have more maturity than a 20-25 year. Like others I too was going to ignore this post but thought of shedding some light in your head. Maturity comes from understanding & understanding comes from thinking & not everyone can utilize this power properly.
I won't elaborate it since there is no need.

I have read all of your comments & I too think that punishment was too much for such a petty act by a petty idiot. Instead of making him famous they should have kicked (literally) him out of the theater that should have been a better punishment.

Except few most of yours comments are just pathetic. I don't need to explain it. I was going to ignore this thread too but thought of expressing my views since its a free forum.

amjath said:
IMO Indians are overreacting in the name of patriotism. In other countries (us) one can wear bikini with their national flag design, same can't be fine in India. But they do have patriotism too

Lol..people here show patroitism by kicking out others from theatres and utilising human errors to sue to them and brand them as anti-nationalists

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*3.bp.blogspot.com/-qtkQKPzNavY/Tsnum8b9PGI/AAAAAAAAEEc/-ovG1Wr9VA8/s1600/Kapil+Sibal.jpg

10 numberi thank you sir

While I do agree that life imprisonment is non-sense, but "If" the news about him hooting and catcalling is true then that guy deserves to get some punishment, either a fine, or writing the national anthem 1000 times on paper

I always stand up during a national anthem and its my choice, I cannot force people to stand up, but if someone disturbs me during that intentionally I'll probably end up confronting him. A person's right to speech only applicable when it does not violate others.

Also I am a bit astonished by the lack of patriotism in this thread. While I agree that we need to be liberal, but burning flags and wearing them as bikinis does not give you extra freedom of speech. If rights mean the freedom to do anything, I have the right to walk through the middle of the road as well.

Is it so hard to show some respect to our flag? If the citizens starts to show disrespect towards the flag then what will happen to the soldiers who are guarding the borders? By disrespecting the flag you are disrespecting those who gave up their lives to protect us during the kargil/sino-indian wars.

If you hate the anthem, do not sing it, do not stand up during singing. If you hate the flag, do not use it, never salute it, but YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DISRESPECT EITHER.

government is going haywire , there are many politicians who dnt even know wat our nation anthem is ( they think its vande matram) , life time imprisonment is totally bullshit in this scenario.........