Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Proof is important' that was published in Newsband

Proof is important

The arrest of five prominent activists by the Pune police has disturbed the law abiding people. The case for proceeding against them will be properly scrutinised. The focus will now be on the next hearing of the Supreme Court.

Is this yet another clumsy failure to distinguish between those who indulge in or actively support violent activity, and those who attempt to understand or empathise with the social conditions that breed extremism and insurgency? The activists are accused of doing much more than inciting the violence that broke out in Bhima-Koregaon, near Pune, this year. They allegedly made provocative speeches at a Dalit conference relating to the 200th anniversary of an iconic battle site

Human rights activists, particularly those working in conflict-prone areas, have been harassed and even arrested on the suspicion of being in league with extremists. The bald truth is that successful prosecutions are rare. Charges such as sedition, waging war against the government and promoting disaffection against the state rarely end in conviction.

The Pune police claim that the five who have now been arrested were raising funds for the Maoists, and indulging in unlawful activities; that they had a nexus with other unlawful groups and, ominously, were plotting to “target high political functionaries”. Now the burden of proof on the police is extremely high.

The liberal/secular media is clearly batting for the "activists" and vilifying the government. These people take advantage of the rights and liberties enshrined in our Constitution and misuse them to further their own agenda. Police should be given a chance to prove its case before condemning it of high- handedness. Finally the judiciary has woken up and not allowed police to carry highhanded arrests in clear disregard to process and rights of citizens. It is time that police reforms are implemented fully.

The persons who were involved in arrests are just tools of the rulers. They need not prove anything. The powers that be should prove that they are not muzzling dissent and debate. Targeting dissent, as you aver, is an inexcusable and fundamental flaw in a democracy. Empathy and compassion are essential components of a civil society for its progress, prosperity and progressiveness.

That dissent is the bedrock of democracy may be a clichéd axiom. But its verity and relevance never recede. However, the apex court intervention in favor of the five activists signals that everything is not lost in the nation.