‘There is no such thing as race. There is just the human race,
scientifically and anthropologically.’
As per section 153A whoever by words, either spoken or written, commits
any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between
different religious, racial, language, regional groups, castes or communities,
shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years/with
fine or with both.
When India imposed a three-week national lockdown in March, social
media was flooded with videos of police using their batons to beat migrant
workers and other poor people with no choice but to go out to work.
The rare arrest of six police officers on murder charges over the death of
two men in custody has emboldened victims to speak up against targeted
police brutality in India, and demand an end to impunity. Shopkeeper J
Jayaraj and his son Bennicks Immanuel were beaten so badly for keeping
their shop in the southern state of Tamil Nadu open in breach of
coronavirus lockdown rules which led to their deaths in a local hospital.
As per the NHRC [National Human Rights Commission] nine people die in
judicial or police custody every 24 hours in India, just because of how they
look or which caste, creed or nation they belong to.
Racism does exist in this country right from the individual level. It’s time
we take a long hard look at the way we treat the marginalised groups and
pay attention to their unique struggles. Our feminism needs to provide a
platform to all groups who have been historically denied a voice. The time
has come for the privileged to pass on the mic to the marginalised.
hARTS magazine 