Voting cannot be made compulsory since as it would violate right of freedom of speech and expression.: EC says to SC

The Election Commission has filed an affidavit expressing its stance in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) that wants a direction to the commission to frame new guidelines making voting mandatory. The commission said right to vote was not a fundamental right but statutory. “The decision taken by the voter after verifying the credentials…

Bhairav Acharya: Free speech & its discontents

The irony of Subramanian Swamy’s newest challenge to India’s hate speech and blasphemy laws is lost on many of his supporters. The same laws were used to prosecute Wendy Doniger and harass Maqbool F Hussain, as well asShirin Dalvi and others who published images depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Free speech in India is messily contested.…

Kashmir University: The Oppressed Voice

The episodes which have been taking place in Kashmir University for more than a week now are truly disturbing. The arrest of a student and the breakout of protests for his release by the fellow students is a very common reaction and genuine. This is not the first episode that took place at this highest…