000-tobecategorised

From Segregation to Labour, Manu’s Caste Law Governs the Indian Prison System https://cms.thewire.in/politics/rights/india-prisons-caste-labour-segregation In several states, prison manuals still dictate that labour within the prison should be assigned on the basis of caste.  everything in prison is decided by a person’s caste. He was able to tell a person’s caste merely by looking at the life they lived in prison. Ajay was a pre-trial detainee, and unlike those convicted, pre-trial detainees are exempted from working in jail. But at the undertrial prison, where convict prisoners were only a handful, detainees like Ajay were called in for free labour.

Caste-based labour, in fact, is sanctioned in the prison manuals of many states. The colonial texts of the late 19th century have barely seen any amendments, and caste-based labour remains an untouched part of these manuals. While every state has its own unique prison manual, they are  mostly based on The Prisons Act, 1894. These jail manuals mention every activity in detail – from the measurement of food and space per prisoner to punishments for the “disorderly ones”.

SC judge: Divisive rhetoric based on religion big challenge for constitutional ideal of fraternity https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/sc-judge-divisive-rhetoric-based-on-religion-big-challenge-for-constitutional-ideal-of-fraternity-9749377/  

Identity politics, while sometimes empowering marginalised groups, can become harmful when it focuses solely on narrow group interests at the expense of common good, often resulting in “exclusion, discrimination, and conflict,” he said.

“Divisive rhetoric creates mistrust among communities, leading to the spread of stereotypes and misunderstandings. These tensions can escalate into social unrest. Moreover, when political leaders use social identities for electoral gains, it deepens these divisions, making it harder to build a collective sense of belonging,” the judge added.

Justice Mishra also called for a “multi-faceted approach” to promote fraternity effectively, involving collaborative efforts of lawmakers, civil society and technology. “Laws should be crafted not just to protect rights but to ensure social cohesion and address systemic inequalities. By prioritising these values, the legal framework of the nation can provide the foundation for a society built on fraternity,” he said.

https://thewire.in/law/maharashtra-fadnavis-re-introduces-public-security-bill-to-target-urban-naxals  

“Naxalism is not restricted to remote rural parts alone, but frontal organisations have come up in urban areas as well which work towards creating distrust about the country and its institutions,” Fadnavis said.

“Even the anti-Naxal squads in Maharashtra wanted such a law to stop the activities of urban Naxals. This proposed law is not aimed at suppressing genuine dissenting voices, but to close down the dens of urban Naxals,” he added.

In response to Congress leader Nana Patole’s question on the need of having a separate Bill when existing laws have provisions to combat Naxalism, Fadnavis said that Maharashtra did not have a law to tackle Naxalism. “We have IPC (Indian Penal Code) and UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act). UAPA is for handling cases related to terror activities,”

Calling it a draconian, anti-constitutional law, activist Teesta Setalvad had said, “ Maharashtra follows Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh and Odisha to table a third and draconian law avowedly to tackle ‘urban Naxals’ not a legally defined but a politically stigmatising term used by proto-fascist forces to criminalise protest and dissent, jail writers, academics, activists, opposition leaders, etc.”

In July,  itself PUCL Maharashtra strongly objects to the repressive and unconstitutional Maharashtra
Special Public Security Bill 2024  ..the Bill, approved few days back by the Cabinet of the Eknath Shinde
Government, was drafted on the lines of the Chhattisgarh Vishesh Jan Suraksha Adhiniyam (2005)
(“Chhatisgarh Act”) and the Andhra Pradesh Special Public Security Act (1992). In the state of
Chhattisgarh, and Jammu and Kashmir - where similar law being the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety
Act, 1978 was first introduced, it has received extensive criticism for being used to target journalists,
lawyers, environmental defenders, citizen activists and adivasi protestors who have dissented against
state action. A constitutional challenge to the Chhattisgarh Act is pending before the Hon’ble Supreme
Court.