The law, as exists, prohibits the act "in any polling area" .. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/100109554.cms Appeals to voters on social media outside polling area not under ambit of law: EC sources on Cong complaint against PM May 9, 2023
Section 126 specifically does not cover the use of social media or intermediaries during the silence period. It also does not cover violations outside the poll area, the sources said. Section 126 of the Act restricts the public display of election matter in the polling area during the "silence period" thereby limiting its application only to the display of election matter in the polling area, they said. "Silence period" is for 48 hours ending with the time fixed for conclusion of polls.
The dilemma of the Muslim liberal https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/on-a-knifes-edge-by-s-irfan-habib-liberal-muslims-left-with-little-elbow-room-to-raise-genuine-concerns-within-community/article66524533.ece S. IRFAN HABIB Faced with Hindutva hatred, the Muslim liberal is today sandwiched between two extremist groups. Feb 23, 2023
It is difficult to adhere to the new standards of patriotism thrown at them by the majoritarian “nationalists”. The secular space where a liberal Muslim or Hindu can prosper has shrunk dangerously. A liberal Muslim is sandwiched between two groups of extremists, one from her own community and the other, and more visibly vocal one today, the hydra-headed Hindutva’s foot soldiers and ideologues....
Most Muslims in India are converts but the reasons were diverse; although some were surely cases of forced conversion, many were attracted to Islam as an egalitarian and socially a seemingly less oppressive faith, which was a message spread through Sufi khanqahs as well. This hatred for the ‘other’ has peaked, or perhaps it has not yet, but we now see calls for genocide being made from the very heart of the capital at Jantar Mantar while the police remains a mute spectator...
In the midst of t...blatant communalism, we hear a call for peace and for all religions to be respected from the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat. Bhagwat also said that everyone who lives in India is a Hindu, as Hinduism is a way of life and Sanatana Dharma is a religion.
I see this merely as a façade to promote majoritarian politics. For me, as a liberal, anyone born in India is an Indian, he/she may later be a Hindu, Muslim, or even an atheist.
Rise of Hindutva politics and the progressive Muslim Feb 23, 2023 https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/looking-inward-progressive-muslim-voices-struggle-for-space-amid-rise-of-hindutva-politics/article66520174.ece The rise of Hindutva politics has further restricted the space for articulation of progressive views. A liberal Muslim must guard not just her personal freedoms but also actively resist the communal onslaught through democratic means. She must condemn every action of Muslim fanatics and Hindutva loonies. She must consistently demand accountability from institutions of the state. And while doing all of this, she must be prepared to be labelled fitna or even kafir for the personal choices she made in her own life! This is too much to ask from an ordinary citizen.
But I see hope in ordinary Indians who are religious themselves and yet do not hate those belonging to other faiths. Hindutva may have scored electorally in our first-past-the-post system, but 60 per cent of Indians still do not vote for divisive ideologies. They are the silent majority who give me hope.